Official Panasonic UT50 Series Discussion Thread - Page 17

Let us know how it goes.

Nope. Deal gone.

Hey guys - this is my first post on this forum. I'm about to purchase this TV. My thinking is that a model like the ST50/GT50 might have suited my family better, due to day-time TV watching, but prices are prohibitive here in NZ. The 55" UT50 is NZ$2599 (US$1975) at today's exchange rate. Given the limited models for sale here, a model that includes the louver filter (GT50, as the ST50 is not available in 55" here) will cost me over NZ$3500

I can control ambient light somewhat with curtains, but during the day, the family does watch some TV. For serious movie watching - we either draw all the curtains, or watch at night with the lights out.

So I guess the question is - what can I expect with this TV? Is it going to cut it for casual watching during the day? Am I going to have issues with moderate natural light?

I have an older Panny 42", not a high-end set, but it does appear to have an AR coating. I find it hard to believe that my older, cheaper set has an AR coating, but the UT50 does not. Are we talking about a glass panel with no AR at all here? Really, in this day & age?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Did some daytime viewing today with my 55UT50. Got the full effect of how reflective the screen is. At times it was annoying depending on where I was sitting in my family room and what was on the screen. Most times though it was not distracting at all. With the set off this is a big, black mirror of any light shining on it. At night it's awesome!

My room has 2 large windows to he left of the TV about 12-15ft away. There is a bay window with 3 windows about 25-27ft directly across from the TV. The sun was not shining in directly any of these windows as these were taken about 2pm and the sun was over the house. I had the blinds fully open to get as much light in the room as possible.

Here are some photos showing the reflectiveness. You can make out the variation in brick color on my neighbors house on one of them. Click thumbs to get larger sizes.



I'd really like to see an ST/GT in my house to see how the filter performs and changes the PQ. When I looked at an ST in BB, I could still see reflections of the overhead lights about the same as in the UT. Since the ST and UT were not on the same wall, or same height even, I could not fully judge the effectiveness of the filter vs no filter. But I still felt the UT would be more to my liking in my house which is why I chose it over the ST/GT not to mention the cost savings.

We got our Dish upgraded to HD this morning so finally getting some time with HD content. I haven't cal'd the set yet but so far the PQ is really nice and a big step up from our 32" CRT.

Couple things we're learning about HDTV:
- We are having to get accustomed to constantly changing the aspect ratio depending on the aspect ratio of the program we're watching. I have the TV set to FULL. Thankfully, our Dish 722k is easy to cycle through the options with the * button.
- With HDMI, or maybe HD signal in general, the "CC on Mute" feature does not work like it did on our SD CRT. Have to go into the DVR menu to turn on CC if we want it on when muting the TV. I've read this has been a long standing issue so seems unlikely the players involved - TV mfg, receiver mfg, and content providers - are interested in solving it.

Well I jump on it. I couldn't wait. This is my first plasma, I'm very excited.

I got it for $899.00. Is that not the deal?

why don't they sell matte screened plasmas? even apple offers matte screens on their macbook pros (they refer to it as 'antiglare')

Sorry I thought you meant 55.

Well I have mine now. I haven't had too much time to watch stuff on it though. It is reflective but I don't think it's too bad for me. It is mostly reflective when the screen goes black for me. Of course it looks best when it's in a dark room, but I think it's fine in the light too. I'm sure if the tv was on brighter settings it would be better in the light too, but I don't want to do that until I get some time on this tv. I started off with PathofNeo's settings and then made some changes after that. I'm still playing around with them.

My brother's reaction while I was calling out the settings to him from the other room. He got the longest first look since I wanted to change the settings right away and needed to look at the computer in the other room. He was in a brightly lit room with the tv and his reaction was: "It's nice... Oh it's really nice... I'm jealous." LOL. He has a 55" LG LED from late last year.

I have only watched HD cable content from TWC so far and I really like it. It looks good when it's on, and gigantic when it's off. I went from 32" to 55" so it's a big difference. I'll get used to it, I'm sure. Looking forward to getting some blu ray HD stuff playing later.

I think the sound is very good for my purposes. I put it on the simulated surround. If I watch anything that I really care about then I'll put it through the sound system.

I did hear a bit of a buzzing on the sound. When I decided to listen for it I shut off my AC so it would be quiet and it so happened that someone was wearing a bright white jacket in a medium shot on the screen. The buzzing was coming through the speakers because of the white of the jacket. I know this is something that happens with tvs from way back. Is there anything one can do about that though? It wasn't horrible. I had the volume up to almost 30, I think.

I guess I waited too long on the Amazon $1049 price for the 55" but I was still able to get 50" for $899. Same price as BB but no tax and I hate BB. Prime example of why: I go in there and ask to see the 3d on the 2012 Panasonic. Of course they have the 55" ST50 up but alas no working glasses despite a display of brand new in box 2012 Panasonic glasses nearby. Baffling. So then I am talking with the salesmen and we are talking about black levels of this year and last, 3d performance, etc. I tell him that the UT, ST of this year is on par with blacks of VT30 and they both give each other that look, like, this guy is dumb. I then had to spout off mll numbers of these tv based on findings here, CNET, Chad B. and they had nothing to say. It is just a crap place to shop. Nice to actually see TVs in person before you buy but they don't highlight tvs properly, don't have them set up correctly and the guys there, from my experience all these years, are mostly inept and clueless. That pisses me off because I am barely a videophile and know more than these yahoos whose jobs it is to know these things. Rant over! I will get the UT50 hopefully end of week and will post pics and impressions when I do. Thanks for all the knowledgeable posts on here that helped me make this decision.

I have a question about 24p mode. Which setting is better for picture clarity-48hz or 60hz?

And how do I set my PS3 to 24p or 48hz or 60hz. Couldn't find it anywhere?

Founds while searching for a better price. Anyone ever heard of them?

http://pcgamesi.com/panasonic-viera-...plasma-tv.html

Deal with this retailer @ your own risk. They're NOT an authorized Panasonic Dealer...............

My friend's UT50 looks better @ 60hz, 48 flickers..........Try 'em both & let your eyes decide.

I played BD's for about a week at 24p with 60hz. 48hz is obnoxious with all of the flicker and unwatchable. But honestly, I got quite a bit of flicker with certain types of scenes the player at 24p and the TV at 60hz and I couldn't get used to it, so I went back to setting my S380 to output 1080/60p and all is well. I prefer the look of it too - motion seems more natural and less distracting and there's no flicker in the image.

My 42UT50 shall be coming to my doorstep in a couple hours or so. Very excited. However, I am not sure whether or not it will be too small for my 9 foot viewing distance (I know I told some I was at 10', but I re-measured and I am at 9'). Thankfully, PaulsTV will let me take it back if I feel like it's too small. Can't wait!

9 feet is about as far away as you want to be from a 42 inch. Maybe...move your chair closer?

Not a chair my friend, a bed. We will see if it will need to be taken back though. I do not have a lot of wall space to fit a 50" comfortably, so yeah. My sister's room has an old Panny 42 incher in there and her viewing distance is the same as mine, and I have no problems while watching her TV. I guess I will just have to wait and see. I don't really think even with the Memorial Day discount I have enough to purchase the 50" too. I think if the TV is not appropriate for the viewing distance I am at, I might just purchase an articulating mount or just put it on my TV stand and not mount it. Nonetheless, I'm just so excited to get it today. I still have to wait approximately 5 more hours though for it to come!!

A 42" is perfect for a bedroom set. I'm sure you'll love it. Enjoy!

Thanks! The wait is killing me!

ROLF. I already bought mine off amazon so I wasn't planning to buy this one. I thought the site looked strange but I didn't look into it to much.

Well i went into the sm and checked my defaults and they were considerably different than Rich B's. My R-Drv is FF, G-Drv is F0, B-Drv 7F. That was my Warm HD defaults so his settings are a no go for me. Is there something i am missing. I see Method 00 and the option for WB select method is 0 on the remote. I wonder if theres something he left out that he adjusted. I'm not going to mess with it,oh well. Maybe the 42" is just different than my 50" I didn't have this variance on my g10 using dnice's back in the day but i think mine was the same size.

edit: I went ahead and changed them as i did i just used the + or - amount of clicks and noticed that mine that were different were only one click different default state on every one except for the R-drive,he moved his -1 so i just went -1 with mine. R-drive was the only one way off. So far everything looks good, neo you should try them and put the wow disk in and see how they do and if there is any noticeable difference. All you have to do is write down the start values so you can always go back.

Just got this baby! Set it up and WOW! The glare is pretty bad but hey what do you expect? Besides my viewing will be mostly at night so its no biggy. Really glad I went with the 42" model, it's the perfect size for my room. 50" would have been soooo overkill. Thanks to all for the help also these past few weeks.

Eh. I feel Cinema mode is the way to go with this particular set anyway, and that mode stays the same between the two HDMI inputs.
All I'm saying is that I really don't think it's worth the extra money just for an extra HDMI input.

Gamma isn't right in cinema and makes everything look too hazy. It's not that bad,just not where it should be. I do like cinema for OTA but i still prefer custom.

I agree. Everything runs through my receiver anyway as I'm sure most A/V enthusiasts as well.

Just wanted to report that the IR from Call of Duty is finally starting to fade away. What's working best are the break-in slides on the default Custom settings. Thought I'd share that for those that have IR.

Sorry if this has already be covered, but wanted to check on a few things.

How does the UT look with 3D content? I haven't seen any reviews - please let me know where too look if there are some.

Secondly, how does the UT handle sports like hockey (specifically with ABL - not strobe light issues as discussed - more of the problems that the ST has in Standard mode as per the youtube clip.

Really debating bewteen this set and a GT (THX modes being the draw) since my viewing area has one set of windows with shutters to the side of the TV, which should be fine for reflections.

Thank you for your help!

is there a secret place i can find how to go into the service menu? lol