AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › Plasma Flat Panel Displays › Official Panasonic GT50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk]
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Official Panasonic GT50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 206

post #6151 of 9047
2/2/13 at 10:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HD-Master View Post

I run all of my audio and video through an AVR. It never made sense to me to do it any other way. That's just me though. I like to keep it streamlined and simple. Everything connected to the AVR and a Harmony remote to handle all the commands.

+1 Same here!
Reply
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #6152 of 9047
2/2/13 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stash64 View Post

First, I have a real "buzzer". If I have volume set lower than 25, I can clearly hear a buzz from 10 feet away when there is a bright image on the screen... and that's with panel brightness set to low. In fact, the buzz can overwhelm the TV volume at a 10 or lower setting.
I don't own a Panasonic plasma, but you are the only one who can evaluate whether or not the buzzing is tolerable.
Quote:
Second, the sound quality is really poor (tinny) no matter what audio settings I try. I guess it's a by-product of these ever thinner panels.
You are right and there is no TV that's any better than yours. There are all kinds of solutions for external audio that you can choose from. If you enjoy movies from a DVD or Blu-ray player, then external sound makes a vast difference.
Quote:
Lastly, it really bugs me that the image for 16:9 content (and TV set to "Full" wide) comes up almost 1/4" short of the bezel on all sides.
There are no pixels in that area. There is no reason for there to be pixels that close to the bezel. It's normal.
Quote:
I also noticed that the image shifts intermittently to the point where the gap on one side is even wider. (I'm guessing this is the pixel orbiter).
It's a combination of the pixel orbiter and the picture mode that you're using. You seem to be paying a lot of attention to the edges of your display. wink.gif
Quote:
I've read a little bit about the buzzing issue and it almost seems that some level of buzzing is now considered "normal" and most members with this problem seem to be working on their own fixes. Has anyone been able to get some kind of satisfactory resolution from Panasonic service ?
Theoretically all plasmas buzz to a certain extent. A lot of us have plasma's with no buzzing that we can hear. Some times the worst cases are caused by a defective power supply or a vibrating board. In my case I heard buzzing two inches from the screen when the set was new. I don't get that close, so I haven't heard it in the past five years.

Each and every display, no matter the manufacturer or model, will be less than perfect. The trick is to find one with faults that you can live with. When you sit in your normal locations, and you have the volume where you like it, and you're watching something that interests you, are you bothered be the buzzing? Or, are you bothered by the knowledge that there is buzzing present?
Reply
Reply
post #6153 of 9047
2/2/13 at 11:46pm
Actually the ST series audio is better than most.
Reply
Reply
post #6154 of 9047
2/3/13 at 12:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bond 007 View Post

Actually the ST series audio is better than most.
That may be but ... rolleyes.gif
Reply
Reply
post #6155 of 9047
2/3/13 at 5:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tpollagi View Post

Take those slides and slide them into the trash. Run the TV normally using the THX cinema mode then dial in Cnet's or HDMaster's numbers. If you plan on having you new set pro calibrated next week then you need to stabilize the RGB output before the calibrator arrives so those slides may help. If not, don't do it. I have read every post in this thread and have not seen a single post that suggests slides do anything useful or that slides + DNice settings give better PQ than allowing the set to stabilize naturally and using the settings from C-net, BlackOps, or HDMaster. If IR is a concern, just try to minimize prolonged viewing of fixed white elements on the screen.

I did not use slides and my set looks fabulous. If I had to do it all over again I absolutely would NOT use slides and I wouldn't waste a second thinking it
That's your preference and you can do what you want with your personal property, but I see value in the slides. At the very least, they will serve to evenly age pixels during the critical first 100 hours of the life of the display.

Please don't spread information such as this as fact unless you have actual factual information to base it on, (IOW, non-anecdotal)
Reply
Reply
post #6156 of 9047
2/3/13 at 5:43am
I know. The rest is understood. Better crap is still crap. Just letting the guy know that as far as tv audio goes he could do worse.
Reply
Reply
post #6157 of 9047
2/3/13 at 5:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iain- View Post

That's your preference and you can do what you want with your personal property, but I see value in the slides. At the very least, they will serve to evenly age pixels during the critical first 100 hours of the life of the display.

Please don't spread information such as this as fact unless you have actual factual information to base it on, (IOW, non-anecdotal)
Yi. When you see someone trying to speak for everyone its a good sign to ignore that post.
Reply
Reply
post #6158 of 9047
2/3/13 at 5:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HD-Master View Post

I run all of my audio and video through an AVR. It never made sense to me to do it any other way. That's just me though. I like to keep it streamlined and simple. Everything connected to the AVR and a Harmony remote to handle all the commands.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bond 007 View Post

I have the same setup but I dont turn the avr on all the time. I only use it for movies or sports or an occasional tv show. I figure I can save some wear and tear on the avr that way. No sense watching the news or a talk show in surround sound the way I see it. The way I have it set up is if the avr is off it automatically defaults to tv and as soon as I turn on the avr it disables the tv speakers.
+1
Reply
Reply
post #6159 of 9047
2/3/13 at 5:53am
Anyone else using VT50 cnet settings on the gt50?
Reply
Reply
post #6160 of 9047
2/3/13 at 6:47am
Audio?? Who cares about audio? You're going to pay over 2k for a tv but not have a receiver and proper sound system?
Reply
Reply
post #6161 of 9047
2/3/13 at 6:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HD-Master View Post

MY NEW SETTINGS
Night - Day - VIERA Connect - 3D

Just a few notes:
  • I have added settings for VIERA Connect. (Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, VUDU, etc.)
  • My 2D settings have not changed from the previous version (from 1/19/2013). I have only added the 3D settings in this edition.
  • 3D settings have been added! Please note that the "Color temp" setting is Warm1.
  • The "Night" settings are at about 34 fL and the "Day" settings are at about 48 fL.
  • I use a ViewHD 2 Port HDMI 1x2 Powered Splitter. All of my sources are sent from the HDMI output from my AVR to the splitter. Then split to HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 on my GT50. HDMI 1 has my Day settings, while HDMI 2 has my Night settings. I use a Harmony One remote, with two activities for each function (Watch TV - Day, Watch TV - Night, Watch Blu-ray Day, Watch Blu-ray Night, etc.).

My GT50 is not identical to any other GT50. The following settings may work well on your TV or they may not. Find what works best for you and enjoy!




Thank you for these settings. I really like them except for one problem. The night is VERY bright, it hurts my eyes after a while. What should I lower? Both contrast and brightness a little or just one or the other? Thanks
Reply
Reply
post #6162 of 9047
2/3/13 at 6:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 413X3 View Post

Thank you for these settings. I really like them except for one problem. The night is VERY bright, it hurts my eyes after a while. What should I lower? Both contrast and brightness a little or just one or the other? Thanks
Contrast. Once you have the proper settings you shouldn't have to mess with the brightness much at all. You can also try lowering the gamma 1 setting.
Reply
Reply
post #6163 of 9047
2/3/13 at 7:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mohanman View Post

Anyone else using VT50 cnet settings on the gt50?

Probably not. They won't translate over to the GT50 well at all.
Reply
Reply
post #6164 of 9047
2/3/13 at 8:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tpollagi View Post

Take those slides and slide them into the trash. Run the TV normally using the THX cinema mode then dial in Cnet's or HDMaster's numbers. If you plan on having you new set pro calibrated next week then you need to stabilize the RGB output before the calibrator arrives so those slides may help. If not, don't do it. I have read every post in this thread and have not seen a single post that suggests slides do anything useful or that slides + DNice settings give better PQ than allowing the set to stabilize naturally and using the settings from C-net, BlackOps, or HDMaster. If IR is a concern, just try to minimize prolonged viewing of fixed white elements on the screen.

I did not use slides and my set looks fabulous. If I had to do it all over again I absolutely would NOT use slides and I wouldn't waste a second thinking it
That's what I say!wink.gif

To some of the others: What proven "facts" are there that running slides will improve your TV's performance?
Reply
Reply
post #6165 of 9047
2/3/13 at 9:00am
I did use the slides and DNice settings and my picture also looks fabulous. Whether its because of the slides or not can be argued until the earth blows up. Certainly people with more knowledge than you 2 have argued for and against it many times already.
Reply
Reply
post #6166 of 9047
2/3/13 at 9:30am
The slides are ONLY for aging. DNice recommends them because it is his belief that if you want to use his recommended settings, it is best to follow the same path as he did when creating them. You need to have some hours on a plasma before calibrating it. One of the simplest and quickest ways is to put the slides on and leave it be until it is ready.

You can age your panel however you wish.
Reply
Reply
post #6167 of 9047
2/3/13 at 11:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by parkerwilson View Post

I wonder how hard it would be to find optimum picture settings for just hockey. I personally think HD-Masters settings are awesome for all content but hockey just doesn't look good on this tv. For only hockey I personally liked the cnet settings marginally better but still nothing to run home and tell mom about. Of course I have a Pioneer Elite 151 that might be causing me to expect more than the GT50 is capable of.

I find C-nets setting good for hockey with one exception...The Warm 2 setting makes the ice appear a bit off color. I just put it in Warm 1 or Normal for hockey and switch it back to Warm 2 for everything else.
Reply
Reply
post #6168 of 9047
2/3/13 at 12:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HD-Master View Post

The slides are ONLY for aging. DNice recommends them because it is his belief that if you want to use his recommended settings, it is best to follow the same path as he did when creating them. You need to have some hours on a plasma before calibrating it. One of the simplest and quickest ways is to put the slides on and leave it be until it is ready.

You can age your panel however you wish.
I agree but I'd like to point out one more thing. If you are actually calibrating your display, it's best to wait some amount of time just to get past the most rapid burning of a plasma's phosphors. If you are using someone else's settings, it makes no difference when you enter them. The effect that any settings (calibrated or borrowed) have on a specific display is always a moving target.

As D-Nice always points out, using his settings is in no way a substitution for a quality professional calibration. smile.gif
Reply
Reply
post #6169 of 9047
2/3/13 at 12:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 413X3 View Post

Audio?? Who cares about audio? You're going to pay over 2k for a tv but not have a receiver and proper sound system?

If you are talking to me, I have much more invested in audio than video. I have a Marantz pre-amp, B&K 7-channel amp, Transporter, and Jamo speakers (C809 towers up front). I was satisfied with the audio from my previous Panny plasma for watching basic TV programming. I do use my sound system for sports (football, NASCAR, etc) and movies of course... but I think it is overkill and somewhat wasteful to run such a system for most TV programming. To each his own.

It would be nice if thin-panel TV manufacturer's offered optional speakers that could be attached to the bottom or sides of the TV if they can't create natural sounding audio within the TV itself.

If the buzzing can be fixed, I think I will try this Vizio SB4020E-A0 soundbar:

http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-SB4020E-A0-40-Inch-Theater-Sound/dp/B00A3NDOQ6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2O1CF7N5EZADZ&coliid=IGDLUTT3CMKRJ&psc=1

It will fit in front of the TV when stand mounted and sit lower than the upper edge of the bottom TV bezel. It may even straddle the stand since it is narrow at the center and wider at each end. The only problem is that it will block the IR sensor, so I may need to set up a repeater.
Edited by stash64 - 2/3/13 at 1:44pm
Reply
Reply
post #6170 of 9047
2/3/13 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Serviio seems the most promising to overcome the formats the Panasonic fails to handle natively. I am not sure how much time you have spent with Divx plus or if it can do on the fly transcoding to assist the Pannasonic with formats its doesnt natively support.

Also serviio has some nice Thumnail generation where it goes to the web and grabs the movie cover for you and while small looks pretty cool to me.

For anyone using Serviio with a GT50 you might have to change the profile you are using. Mine defaulted to:
Panasonic Viera G/GT/DT/UT/VT (2011/2012)
and it wouldn't decode avi's.
I changed it to:
Panasonic Viera E/S/ST/VT (2011)
and now it will play the avi's through the DNLA server.

The profile "might" need some tweaking but for now it is passing the avi's to the TV.
Also running WIN7 64bit whether that matters or not.
Reply
Reply
post #6171 of 9047
2/3/13 at 5:25pm
HD master, one more shout out from moi on your latest settings. Watching the super bowl has been beyond enjoyable with 65"'s of eye candy. It's perfection, reference, super! Thanks again
Reply
Reply
post #6172 of 9047
2/3/13 at 5:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by htwaits View Post

There are no pixels in that area. There is no reason for there to be pixels that close to the bezel. It's normal.

It may be normal now, but it was not the case with past TV's I have owned. I'm an engineer and it would not be difficult to design the bezel right at the edge of the viewable image area just as it was with my earlier Panasonic plasma. I think the reason it is not is obvious... aesthetics. People go gaga over thin panels and narrow bezels. Panasonic marketing won out over engineering in this case.
Reply
Reply
post #6173 of 9047
2/3/13 at 5:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bond 007 View Post

I did use the slides and DNice settings and my picture also looks fabulous. Whether its because of the slides or not can be argued until the earth blows up. Certainly people with more knowledge than you 2 have argued for and against it many times already.


Its definitely hit or miss with the slides from what ive seen most folks that hat have done the procedure get good results some dont i talked to chad about this and he has seen lots of sets thtat were pretty far off usin dnices settings imo they are valuable in aging the panel for dnices settings getting ready for a pro cal beyond that you can break in with normal content with good results but lots of schools of thought its really an individual preference
Reply
Reply
post #6174 of 9047
2/3/13 at 5:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by htwaits View Post

It's a combination of the pixel orbiter and the picture mode that you're using. You seem to be paying a lot of attention to the edges of your display. wink.gif

I agree that I shouldn't being concentrating on the edges but, watching the Super Bowl right now, I realize why it has been bothering me. I am watching the OTA broadcast and the TV is set to HD Size 2 with the pixel orbiter on. This Panny's pixel orbiter behavior of intermittently shifting the entire image from one side to the other results in a line of video noise on the side opposite to the shift. Again, this never happened or was never noticable with my old Panny plasma. And if it happens with a quality broadcast like the SuperBowl, it will probably be noticable on most other OTA broadcasts. The fix I guess is to change the HD Size to "1". I don't like cropping 5% of the image but so far it is a better option than seeing that line of noise down an entire side.

... Well I wish I was watching the Super Bowl right now. Has there ever been a power outage at a Super Bowl ?
Reply
Reply
post #6175 of 9047
2/3/13 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stash64 View Post


... Well I wish I was watching the Super Bowl right now. Has there ever been a power outage at a Super Bowl ?

Good Question. Seems to be several firsts tonight.
Reply
Reply
post #6176 of 9047
2/3/13 at 7:40pm
And what a game it has turned into. All the while I have been tweaking and discovered the energy saving mode. I have seen no mention of this in any of the recommended settings discussions. Has anyone played with the energy saving setting during a calibration ? I certainly will once the set has a couple hundred hours on it. It could offer some improvement in black level.
Reply
Reply
post #6177 of 9047
2/3/13 at 7:57pm
I'm looking at a GT50 to replace a broken Samsung D7000 plasma, but a little concerned about all of the IR talk on the Panasonic side. I've never done anything to prevent IR on the Samsung, and I've never seen IR at all. I'm a little worried about the switch to a GT50.

I don't want sports, I only play video games about 5 hours per month, and I watch probably about 5 movies per month with black bars. Most of my TV watching (about 3 hours per day) is regular 16x9 TV shows through my Tivo, but every now and then I pause it to answer the phone or something. Is it a huge problem if I pause it for 30 or 60 minutes? Is there the possibility for permanent damage there, or is it just something that would disappear automatically in 10 minutes of TV watching. Also, would it drastically impact the picture for those 10 minutes, or would it be faintly in the background.

I'm trying to gauge how concerned I should be, or if this wouldn't be a huge risk to me as a pauser, considering I don't watch a lot of sports or video games.
Reply
Reply
post #6178 of 9047
2/3/13 at 8:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by stash64 View Post

Second day with the new 65GT50 and sadly I am missing my 58" pz850u (sold it to a buddy). The GT50 is more modern looking, has deeper blacks, and better motion resolution as expected... but I am considering returning it for several reasons. First, I have a real "buzzer". If I have volume set lower than 25, I can clearly hear a buzz from 10 feet away when there is a bright image on the screen... and that's with panel brightness set to low. In fact, the buzz can overwhelm the TV volume at a 10 or lower setting. I never heard anything other than a little fan noise from my 850u.

While it's somewhat normal to be able to hear a Plasma buzzing when you're up real close to it, but you should not be able to hear any buzzing beyond a few feet from the TV even with bright content on the screen. The amount of buzzing does vary a little from TV to TV, but any buzzing beyond say 3-4 feet is not normal. Any buzzing beyond that would be completely unacceptable and i'd have the TV replaced or repaired. Myself and several others here have GT50s/ST50s/VT50s that are virtually silent and cannot be heard beyond a foot or two away. That is what should be considered normal.


Quote:
I've read a little bit about the buzzing issue and it almost seems that some level of buzzing is now considered "normal" and most members with this problem seem to be working on their own fixes. Has anyone been able to get some kind of satisfactory resolution from Panasonic service ?

Actually most owners that get buzzers either have them replaced or repaired. I've only seen a handful of people here who have taken the back off their TV and attempt to fix the problem themselves but aside from a few people that had success with tightening some screws or wrapping their cracked power supply transformer with zip ties, the offending board or power supply or even the panel module needs to be replaced. If you get a capable service tech that isn't deaf or dumb or lazy, the TV gets repaired properly. Several people here have had theirs repaired successfully, and my buddy had his loud buzzer repaired in less that 30 minutes under warranty (board with a defective coil was replaced).


Quote:
I also noticed that the image shifts intermittently to the point where the gap on one side is even wider. (I'm guessing this is the pixel orbiter). The image on my 850u filled the screen from bezel edge to bezel edge and I never noticed any pixel orbiting.

The Pixel Orbiter is virtually useless and causes more irritation than it's worth. I don't like how the image seems to "shimmer" when it's activated and it does nothing to prevent IR so why even use it? It's mostly just a Placebo anyway.



Quote:
Lastly, it really bugs me that the image for 16:9 content (and TV set to "Full" wide) comes up almost 1/4" short of the bezel on all sides. Is this normal?

Yes it's normal. There is a narrow black mask around the perimeter to hide the absolute edge of the panel. Most Panasonics have this mask, including the Pro models.

Quote:
It may be normal now, but it was not the case with past TV's I have owned. I'm an engineer and it would not be difficult to design the bezel right at the edge of the viewable image area just as it was with my earlier Panasonic plasma. I think the reason it is not is obvious... aesthetics. People go gaga over thin panels and narrow bezels. Panasonic marketing won out over engineering in this case.

It's not just aesthetics - it also prevents unwanted reflections where the raised edge of the bezel meets the glass. My old PZ700U has the bezel right up to the edge of the image (no mask) and it reflects the light from the panel badly, even moreso when the TV is being viewed from an angle. That raised edge is like a thin black mirror and is extremely distracting as the reflections change color and brightness with the image. I MUCH prefer the 1/4" masking on my GT50 (and older G10) as it pushes that reflective edge well away from the image and eliminates these reflections.
Reply
Reply
post #6179 of 9047
2/3/13 at 8:04pm
Is there a way to make voices come through more clearly? I find that voices sound quiet while movie effects and music sound very loud. I am only using stereo and do not have a surround receiver. Thanks.
Reply
Reply
post #6180 of 9047
2/3/13 at 8:11pm
tpollagi, does the bluetooth box you have need to be turned back on or reconnected to the tv every time the tv is turned off and then back on?

I gave the box to my daughter after it failed to connect to my tv. It said, "device not supported." Tried several times. Not sure what else I could have done but I'm open to suggestions. Appreciate all the help you have given me.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Plasma Flat Panel Displays

Gear mentioned in this thread:

AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › Plasma Flat Panel Displays › Official Panasonic GT50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk]