Official Panasonic VT50 owners thread - Page 142

I used to have comcast and I would see this time to time on my kuro. Also, turning the motion smoother on (on the vt50) will also cause this

Unless it is somehow hardware related they should have a fix. Panasonic has known about it since the Value Electronics Shootout so there is no great revelation in complaints such as mine.

Last October I received a new A94 Mitsubishi LaserVue DLP and the Grayscale controls were not working properly. There had been no such problem in the previous year A91 model. I notified their service people who had not been aware of the problem. The situation was rectified via a firmware update in less than a month. It can be done.

I just tested it again with AVR converting to 1080p before the TV vs 1080i to TV direct with a motion resolution test.

yes, video is noticeably cleaner with AVR converting to 1080p before the TV. There are de-interlacing artifacts I can clearly see (weird line edges) when the VT50 is doing the de-interlacing. None of which exist when when the AVR is doing it.
Edited by SiGGy - 7/13/12 at 12:19pm

I'm kinda surprised this is an issue: consumer line doublers have been around for over a decade.

Anybody know which video chip the Vt50 is using? I have an option of using a Denon 3312C to output 1080p for DirecTV 1080i sources. Opinions?

jdg

Can I get some recommendations for a 5.1 AVR that does 1080p up-convert please? I want to spend around $200. Not sure if this amount is even close. I prefer a place like best buy where I can easily return/exchange. Thanks.

For how long? Wouldn't aging throw this off at some point? What then?

i have a big indecision between st50 and vt50
what are the difference in the image quality? there is a big difference after all?

I don't understand why everyone keeps blaming the content and not the TV? If it in fact the content, why does it stop if you turn off the motion enhancer? That tells me that Panasonic did a bad job with the video processor in this TV. This TV is nowhere near perfect and it's not always the content to blame as some people like to say.

Agreed. I send 1080p60 (or 24 when appropriate) YCbCr 4:2:2 to the VT50 and have no problems save for cringing while viewing non Rec.709 calibration programs, networks, cameras.....

Running mine through the Radiance Mini and see no problems.
You're using a Duo aren't you?

Duo > 65VT50
Duo > PN51D8000
Mini > L75-A94 LaserVue - display will likely be replaced next spring by a VT60 unless someone wants to sell me a 65" OLED for four grand. The A94 has good MLL of .003 but ANSI stinks due to light bouncing around the inside of the DLP cabinet.

I am watching NBC Nightly News on WNBC which is 1080i via D* right now and it is nothing short of stunning. I am not experiencing any of the 1080 vs 720 issues that are being discussed.
I do not see any difference in the guide either.
If anything this set does a better job with 720 than my previous display (Pro151). Both calibrated.

I have that option, too. I will be trying it out once the new Harmony is set up and we can bring the Denon online.


Yes, ht, I'm not testing any 720p channels. They honestly look as expected. All-Star Game, NBA Finals, random selection of TV on Fox (although mostly Gordon Ramsay since it's summer, probably not the best test material) looks as sharp as you'd think it would.

This could be true SiGGy.

I think, to be honest the "have something else deinterlace the 1080i" test will prove conclusive in one of two ways:

1) The TV is soft with interlaced content for some reason due to deinterlacing weirdness.
2) The source material is soft and it's now noticeable on a big TV.

I'll try my Denon as soon as a I can and have it just output 1080p for everything.

That's why I said to let the dust settle. One thing to keep in mind here is that on top of all of the other variables, is that we have a tidal wave of people that have moved up in screen size. That combined with the heavily inconsistant quality of broadcasts can account for much if the reported issues including my own. I do not see the difference in the crispness of the guide when switching between 720 and 1080 however.

So much of this truly is NTS. This morning and last night I was seeing nothing but dithering and other "issues". This afternoon I threw on the set and was floored again.

I do think that sub par content could be sharper but I think we may be blowing things out of proportion.

Definitely some good points in there, Topper, particularly in the fact that there are SO MANY variables. Like I said in my original post on the subject, I am primarily using my on-screen Dish guide to avoid broadcast-specific issues, and I'm still observing sending 720p directly to the VT50 as appearing the sharpest. The "sharpness hierarchy" I'm seeing is as follows (most to least sharp): 720p directly to TV --> 1080i to receiver, receiver deinterlacing to 1080p to TV --> 1080i directly to TV. There is a much larger gap in sharpness between the second two than the first two. Something that has piqued my interest is the notion that perhaps the TV is over-sharpening the 720p feed, which could be worth looking into.

I've decided to keep the 65VT50. Here are some crappy iphone pictures of my set up ( I miss my pitch black man cave )






Edited by jbrady3324 - 7/13/12 at 8:36pm

Nice photo is this the 65 or 55 inch...........and how does it perform in bright light. I am almost on the verge to pulling the trigger on the 65 inch but i am worried about ir burn in.

I moved from the Sammy PN64D8000 to the P65VT50 (only one inch bigger diagonally). I am using the same TWC HD DVR on the VT50 as was used on the D8000. I did NOT have any issues with 1080i loss of sharpness on the D8000 that I am having with the VT50. Both 720P and 1080i broadcasts looked sharp with the D8000. And the TWC box's menu guide looked sharp with both resolutions as well. On the VT50, the menu guide always (and usually programming as well) looks unsharp at 1080i compared to 720P. Maybe the solution is to put a quality video processor (either with AVR, or something like the iScan Duo) in between the STB and the TV and upscale/convert both resolutions to send 1080P to the set.

It is a 65. It performs very well. It does not perform as well as an LED, but it definitely gets the job done. Bright scenes still shine in a bright room. Dark scenes have washed out blacks but they still are very good. You will see reflections in dark scenes, however this is also a problem with LEDs (that use don't use a matte screen like the Elite).

May i ask why you made the switch from the Samsung...................because i have heard the Samsung process video much better than the Panasonic vt50

Thanks for the quick reply................how do you handle the ir burning factor or is it a none issue for you. I am worried because i have a lot of old martial arts movies that do not full up the tv screen.

Your price range seems too low to me for an AVR with a video chip.

Go to the AVR forum for AVRs, and check the owner's threads that are related to last years models. For instance the Denon xx12 owners thread has all the models listed in the second post. Find the cheapest one that has the feature that you want and then check Amazon to get an idea about what their current street price is. You could do the same for the other big market companies like Sony, Onkyo and Yamaha. You can also do a search at Amazon for "audio receivers 5.1",

For instance, this is a solid AVR that passes 1080p, but I don' t think it converts other resolutions to 1080p.

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1612-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B004U403WM/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1342238933&sr=1-5&keywords=audio+receiver+5.1+video
Edited by htwaits - 7/13/12 at 9:13pm

As long as you don't abuse the set you should be fine. I've owned 4 plasmas (2 Panasonics, 2 Pioneers) and never had an issue with IR/Burn-in. If you find yourself watching a lot of material that doesn't fill up the screen, just run the scrolling white bar (screen wipe) afterwards. How much non full-screen material will you be watching weekly?

The D8000 was only 7 months old. On Father's Day, a PS3 controller flew out of my hand (while playing a bowling game) and hit the front glass. I'm sure I don't need to say what happened upon impact. Anyway, I started the process of researching all over again, and decided to go with the VT50. I was very tempted to just get a new D8000 or E8000, but I really liked the design of the VT50, not to mention the outstanding reviews.

These are some I am looking at. My much older Sony Home Theater Receiver is 5.1, but doesn't process/convert video signals, and has no HDMI support. Some of the below AVRs use either Anchor Bay or Marvel Qdeo Video Scalers.

Cheapest on Crutchfield is the Onkyo TX-NR515 @ $400.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_642SR6006/Marantz-SR6006.html#details-tab

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130VSX1122/Pioneer-VSX-1122-K.html#details-tab

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_580TXN616/Onkyo-TX-NR616.html#details-tab

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130VSX1022/Pioneer-VSX-1022-K.html#details-tab

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_580TXN515/Onkyo-TX-NR515.html#details-tab

Thanks for the input. Instead of an AVR, how about a DVDO Edge Green HD Video Processor? Here is the amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/DVDO-High-Definition-Processor-Connectivity-Solution/dp/B001OOZU8I/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top , and the manufacturers page: http://www.dvdo.com/EDGE.aspx

What AVR?

Pioneer VSX-33.

I believe the video processor in this AVR can be had in cheaper models. Like the 1120 for example.


On another note...

It's pretty sad you have to have an external processor for a premier TV in 2012 to do de-inerlacing. Kinda a joke IMO.

The color on VT50 is "OK" at best but only really at 40-60% luminance. With no working CMS luminance controls the TV can never be properly saturated from 0-100% luminance. Blue is high in luminance on a lot of TVs and unfixable without a fully working CMS. Some have green push which is also unfixable without a properly working CMS.

If you have a device which you need to calibrate to it's own unique color space the VT50 is not your answer. You can't re-align the VT50 CMS properly. If you get a VT50 that is less than perfect you won't be able to get it dialed in right color wise.

Turning the color down to 46 is cruddy work around to a design issue with the VT50. As well, if you don't re-adjust saturations in your CMS after turning down to 46 all your simply doing is under-saturating the picture. Which makes the VT50 look even more dull.

The TV doesn't suck by any stretch but it's just not nearly as refined as the 2011 D8000 was in terms of color and detail. In fact unless Panasonic fixes the CMS I see no reason to buy the VT50 besides if you need a better AR filter. I'd just get the ST50.

I have tracked luminance/saturations for:

RGB 4:4:4
YCrCb 4:2:0, 4:4:4
Component video input

All for 25,50,75,100% stimulations. None of these modes can be properly dialed in luminance wise.

I hope Panasonic fixes the CMS luminance control, it'll at least give everyone a fair shot of having closer to accurate and properly saturated color. As well people will be able to dial in any source better. And or anyone who got a panel that's just a bit off from the factory will be able to fix it. It also gives good reason to purchase the VT50 over the other models

...

The VT50's lack of good processing is another conversation in itself.
Edited by SiGGy - 7/14/12 at 9:55am