Official Panasonic GT50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 182

Hey looking for advice here. Anyone have comments on what I was experiencing? Is it just normal? I did search and some folks experience sparkles, but this doesn't seem to be what I have, although similar.

Also, I'm looking to get advice on what defects I should look for before my return period:
buzzing, IR, and any other majors ones? Thanks.

Also, should I be concerned by having a July manufacture date running the risk of some fixes not being implemented in my batch of TVs?

Issue resolved. Swapped HDMI cables and have both ARC and HDMI in from AVR. Thankfully I pulled 2 cables behind the wall 5 years ago just in case one was bad. Swapped cables and everything worked.

Might not be an issue for most, but I "cut the cord" and only receive OTA and streaming content. Nice to have ARC and other AVR components to the TV for viewing and surround sound. Beautiful when it works as designed!

GT 50 is a beautiful TV!

I noticed the same thing, and it appears to be related to the brightness setting. I am using CNET's calibration and the brightness setting is 59. When I turned it down to 58 or lower the phenomenon you're describing disappeared. The effect is even more pronounced at higher settings. In reality, I don't think it really has any effect on the picture quality since it is only noticeable when very close to the screen. Even so, due to my OCD I now have brightness set to 58 since it makes me feel better.

If its that disappointing, I would just return it. Seriously. The 2012's will be "obsolete" in a few months when the 2013's hit the shelves. Maybe the new models will have what you are looking for.

Trying to compare the black level from a 6 year old PDP with a new PDP is probably just not fare unless they are both producing the same max brightnes. Depending on how much use its seen, the old set may be down 20% in output compared to its original level.

There have been several other Kuro owners here that have indicated the GT compared very favorably or better.

I would get the white levels equal, move the 60 inch set back so the image sizes are equal, then do the same side by side with a top quality BD. If it still disappoints, pack it up.

^i concur. Life is too short not to get what you want and enjoy.

Thanks for your time, friend.
I would be seriously surprised if the lowest-end Kuro was still popping over a brand new GT50, so I figure it must be me and something I'm (not) doing.
You provided a couple of suggestions which I'll try before packing it up (the Kuro is only 720p so a BD wont even compare).


BTW, white balance is the RGB calibration, isn't it?

Thanks!

As rmallen indicated the brightness / contrast is probably a little to high. What you can see 2 feet away is irrelevant; please tell me you don't plan on sitting 2 feet away to watch the display Plasma dithering can start to take on a grainy / noisy look if the output is too high. Even if its calibrated to perfection, dithering will always be present. Another possibility is low level noise from your disk player or noise introduced by your cabling.

There are no other "defects" to speak of. There have been a few reports of part of the screen being dead or big green lines, but these are quite obvious. Someone reported a dead HDMI #4. A few reports of wonky stands and distorted sound when the volume was at 70 or some useless level like that.

No hardware "fixes" have been introduced for any manufacture date. There have been a few firmware updates so just let the TV update itself if it wants to

I wouldn't even be that fussy with the color balance. At this point they are what they are on both sets. Just dial up / down the brightness and contrast on the two sets until the overall "brightness" on a "bright" scene is about the same then compare the black levels. You will probably end up dimming the gt50 quite a bit from the settings you have now.

Nothing scientific here, just simple eye-ball'n.

One other thing to consider is the source. The 720p Kuro will require no image scaling with 720p video whereas the GT50's soft spot is 720p. Quite a few comments have been made about the less than stellar performance of the GT50 at scaling 720p sources.

So, if you have a way to control the comparison, feed the Pioneer a 720p version of the video, and a 1080p version to the GT. If nothing else, just give the GT50 anything but 720p (it doesn't like it).

I tried different settings IMO the CNET settings were the best, they popped the most for my tastes.

Picture mode: Custom
Contrast: +76
Brightness: +59
Color: +45
Tint: +1
Sharpness: 0
Color temp: Warm 2
Color mgmt: Off [grayed out]
C.A.T.S.: Off
Video NR: Off

-- Pro settings submenu
Color space: Normal
W/B high R: +8
W/B high G: +2
W/B high B: +1
W/B low R: +2
W/B low G: -3
W/B low B: +2
Black extension: 0
Gamma adjustment: 2.6
Panel brightness: Mid
Contour emphasis: Off
AGC: 0

-- Aspect adjustments submenu
Screen format: Full
HD size: Size 2
H size: [grayed out]
Zoom adjustments: [grayed out]

-- HDMI settings: [no change from default]

--Advanced picture submenu
3D Y/C filter: Off [grayed out]
Color matrix: HD [grayed out]
Block NR: Off
Mosquito NR: Off
Motion smoother: Off
Black level: Light
3:2 pulldown: On
24p Direct in: 60Hz

If the cable box can do the coverting to 1080i it looks pretty good IMO.

question about IR on my GT I have 100 hours on it

is it bad to keep getting IR over and over again>
for example, if I play a game and get IR from the HUD, then It goes away after a few days, and I play that game again, its going to IR again.
Is that a bad thing, will it become perm? I played a game today for 30 mins and the HUD was IR'd in on the wipe screen.

If I have directv, should I force 1080i with the directv box or keep it native, or would my Yamaha RX-V571 receiver do the up converting better before it gets to the tv

from what I understand, if you force the box to do the conversion instead of the tv, the picture will look better. That is what I did (I force the box to do the conversion) and IMO the 720 stations look better when the box is during the conversion vs the tv doing it.

I think you can also let the reciever do the conversion as well, if you are going to go that route, I would probably keep it naive. But just play around with it and see which looks better.

Thanks for your calibration report. Kevin Miller is monitorman at AVS. I've included your report in the flat panel (post #2) lists that are linked in the signature area at the bottom of my post.

Well, "soft" is an ironic choice of words... and unfortunately are somewhat true. The picture doesn't feel "crisp."

You know, I usually do a decent amount of research prior to making a decision like this so I was going for the same-panelled, lower cost ST50, then got a great deal on the GT so I went for it. Might have made a bad decision here. My viewing leans towards Sat-TV watching... sports and movies from all the movie channels... which come over at 1080i at the highest, usually 720/420p. You're saying that my usual viewing habits dovetail into the weak spot of the TV, previously discussed here.

I might have some choices to make.. If you have any other input, I'd be grateful. Otherwise, thanks so much for your time.

720p is the only resolution that is just not scaled sharply. 480i,p and 1080i,p all are fine. Check your sat. box to see if you can force it to upscale everything to 1080i,p or check if the sat box can be upgraded to a model that does.

There was a series of posts a while back dealing with the Darbee Darblet which is a small video scaler / processor that has the ability to clean-up and upscale everything before it gets to the TV. There are also a bunch of AV receivers that have the ability to upscale video.

The only source that I have at 720p is from OTA broadcast. At my normal viewing distance it looks fine but if you get closer you can see "softness". From what I have seen discussed here the issue is more pronounced from cable/satellite sources because of the additional compression they used to pack the signals that OTA broadcasts don't need to do.

Overall, I love the set but if I were primarily planning to watch a 720p source I would almost consider some type of external scaler (as mentioned above) as a necessary add-on. I'm sure not everyone will agree with that. I'm just trying to pass along what I consider to be the TV's only real shortcoming so you have a chance to do a little research first rather than "discovering" this later.

I should also mention that this is not just a GT issue. The guts in the ST and VT are pretty much the same as the GT. The Samsung units have there own issues but they do a much better job scaling 720p. I have no idea why Panasonic messed up the scaler in these sets.
Edited by tpollagi - 1/14/13 at 8:29pm

Mines set to 50 I believe which is standard ootb but I will check. Thanks. Maybe what I have is not the same. I'll check best buys floor model to see if theirs does it, too

Yeah man, in my circles, I'm the guy that's known for going from ignorant newb to semi-expert before I pull the trigger.
In this case, I was told by multiple sources at multiple locations that if I had been used to a Kuro - even the 5080 - that a Panny was the only way to go.
So based on that variety of sources, I limited my own research... and wound up here.

I can see the potential but just now watching A Few Good Men and Unforgiven on AMC, it lacks the depth of color. As I told davelanger above, I was out on Black Friday and found the Panny 50U50 at Costco for <500, so I picked it up to sell it to a friend. It's about the lowest of the Panny line and I swear, the black saturation in it is at least as good as the GT50, which, while tryuing to respect the thread, I got for =1700 out the door.

Thanks for all your advice friend and if anything else comes to mind, you can add here or feel free to PM.

Hey here's something weird on my new G50.

When watching a DVR show using Custom (with CATS off, noise off, etc) I get some occasional judder.
A person will move their head and the tv wont render some of the frames in the middle.
I can rewind it and it happens in the same spot every time.

If I switch it to THX mode, the exact same scene displays perfectly smooth.

Should I be worried ?

This juddering happens 10-15 times in a 60 minute show.

Originally I was blaming the DVR, but it appears to be the Custom mode on the G50.

Thanks for the information.

Since I posted the above, I've found a relevant thread in the LCD forum that provides in-depth information of chroma sub-sampling:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1381724/official-4-4-4-chroma-subsampling-thread

Seems to imply that this mode is only good for using display for PC graphics. I wouldn't want to use a plasma display for that, however. Over in the VT50 thread they have a quite different viewpoint, but it does correspond with what you posted; i.e. effects of this setting are quite subtle.

That said, I believe I will be exchanging my 50ST50 for a 50GT50 just for this setting. If I don't do this, the nagging doubt of "what if" will be always in the back of my mind.

BTW, this is getting ridiculous but short-term pain is long-term gain IMO.

Hey fellas, I've got my 55gt50 yesterday and gotta tell you, ST50 my foot! I lived with it for a couple of weeks prior to swapping it with GT, so I can tell you, there is no comparison. Period. Colors, facial tones, motion processing, HD signal - all important aspects (to me, anyway,) are simply not comparable. One small detail that bothers me. It has a ½” vertical light line that's mostly visible on bright backgrounds right smack in the middle and goes across the whole screen. I understand that's "a part of the manufacturing process” and all,) Do you guys recommend I swap this with another or most of them GT's have that? The ST wasn't perfect in that regard either, but the line was more to the right and didn't bother me as much. Do those things fade a little after a while or should I adjust my eyes and learn to live with it? Any opinions?

Line ??
What do you mean ,there is a visible line through the picture on the screen..That doesn't sound right ,,shouldn't be any lines anywhere

Just looked at Panasonic's new '13 lineup, and there's no GT series. They do have a new ZT series (apparently replacing the VT as the high end line), then VT and ST, ending with an 'S60' series.

Sorry, it's more of a lighter than the rest of the screen bar which I've seen on other plasmas in various places as well, but the problem here is that it''s right in the center and stretches from top to bottom. Long enough to be noticed but only on on bright backgrounds.

I think I might have tried them when I first bought the tv but then went to Cnet, now I'm using the GT50.

I believe that the line is similar to what others reported but on the right (?) side of the screen. It's not normal and should be exchanged. BTW, thank you for your comparison to the ST50, I'm with you on that opinion.

Can you see the ir when viewing programming, dvds, etc?

Have you tried D-Nice's settings located on hdj?

Glad I'm not alone on this one. Thank you, I'll probably swap it for another one and hope for the best!