Official Panasonic VT50 owners thread - Page 264

I've recently purchased the 65VT50 (have around 200 hours) and have been using Katzmaier's settings from CNET as I thought this would be a good starting point. Unfortunately, any TV programming with dark areas is being badly crushed on this TV. Interestingly, when I went into the Gamma adjustment settings and changed them from his recommendation of 2.4 to a lower value I can finally see details in dark portions of the picture.

For example, the recent Julia Roberts fantasy movie Mirror Mirror was playing on a pay channel and at the start of the film there are two guys riding on horses. At the original Gamma adjustment of 2.4, the horses were black and I couldn't make out any hair on them. However, once I changed the setting to 1.8 or 2.0 I could finally see some hair on the horses and noticed that they were in fact brown horses!

Could this mean there is an issue with the plasma or the signal being fed from my cable provider? I understand there is variation in panels, but could there be this much variation that blacks would be so crushed?
Edited by Cipher - 11/29/12 at 11:28pm

not sure if this has been mentioned before:

if you need analog audio out of the VT50 (e.g. for wireless headphones), u can buy a simple digital-to-analog converter, such as this one

Plug that into the digital audio out, turn off the TV speakers via the Menu > Audio > Advanced Audio > TV Speakers > Off

Unfortunately the volume is now not controllable via the remote anymore (my other TV has no problems with that), but you can control that on your headphones...

- M

Off subject question, is there any Panasonic projector that can compete with overall picture quality of the vt50?

I’m a new owner of a 65VT50 and would appreciate forum members’ opinion on an issue I encountered. I purchased the TV on Sunday and picked it up a couple of days ago. When i unboxed it, I found that the stand had a 1 inch gash and another small ding. Before contacting the seller, I wanted to first see whether there were any issues with the display itself. I checked the hours and confirmed that the TV is in fact new (had some doubts given the condition of the stand). I ran the slides and found no stuck pixels. There were also no vertical bands. There was a hum in a silent room, but I expect this to be a non-issue under normal viewing conditions.

As the stand appeared to be the only issue, I called up the seller and asked to have it replaced. They said the entire TV had to be replaced, not just the stand. Given the numerous issues owners have shared on this forum, I'm inclined to keep the TV instead of returning it for a new unit which may wind up having those issues. I feel like I received a really good deal pricewise, so I can live with the imperfections, especially since they are on the portion of the stand that is behind the display. My wife, on the other hand, thinks, regardless of price, any problems are unacceptable and would have me box the TV back up and drive it back to the seller.

Would you take the TV back and risk getting one with actual issues with the display? Also, is this something Panasonic itself could/should remedy?

Thanks.

Is it possible to get Dolby 5.1 from the viera link apps with the audio return channel?

I tried the Amazon Instant Video app via HDMI 2 into my Onkyo 818 but I'm only getting 2 channel audio. I tired a number of movies I know are streamed in 5.1.
Thanks.
Edited by djn2004 - 11/30/12 at 12:55pm

My first unit had a dead green subpixel. Dealer replaced it the next day without argument. Second unit is perfect. I would not consider any dead pixels to be acceptable.

+1 never had a dead pixel on a Panasonic, Samsung different story

I would switch out the whole unit. The chances are very good that you'll receive a unit built no earlier than 10/12 at this point, so have a low chance of the replacement having any issues.
Bish

Thanks for the reply Bish. So, generally speaking, the later the build date the greater chance that some/most of the early issues have been corrected? I checked the back of the unit - it is an Oct build date and has no issues other than the stand. Hopefully, the seller has more units from that same batch.

Great... Thank God the silver Bezel bothers someone else.. Thought it was just me!!!! Hope you find a solution and post it here. Maybe we could
get a panasonic silver bezel and spray paint that, and then replace it?

Can you tell me where you check the hours on this TV? I also have a new 65 VT50 and wanted to know how many hours I had used it?
Also where is the build date? My TV is hanging on the wall and I'm guessing it's behind the TV? Impossible for me to get down.. Would
like to know though.... Thanks

Well, will you be wall mounting it anyway ? That would help the decision. Also, just contact Panasonic directly and have them swap out only the stand piece with the blemish. Look on the parts instruction page to determine its exact name/number.

To me that would be best, cause you are sitting on a perfect tv at this point. No pixel issues, no banding, etc... Bird in the hand, baby !!

I didn't think people even still used the stands. Cause even if you ain't mounting it on a wall, the best home entertainment stands now-a-days allow you to mount your TV to them, giving a really slick, sleek streamline look. The TV appears floating -- pretty cool. You should get one of those stands if you aint wall mounting. In either case, you wont use the stand anymore.

That said, I still though agree with your wife, but just get the blemished piece replaced from Panasonic themselves.... and if you mount the TV (to a wall or a new entertainment stand), then there also is no real rush in the process. To me, thats WIN WIN

I use other means to stream Amazon VOD and Netflix, but I checked it out when I got my VT50, and it passed 5.1 over ARC just fine for titles that supported it.

Dead/stuck pixels are rare. I would swap it out.

Michael

I agree with this. DON'T WAIT. You'll have more clout if you can say you just got the TV. The longer it is in your possession, the more it looks like you did the damage.

Michael

I can't help you with the build date. The only way I know of to check the build date is by looking at the sticker in the back of the TV. So short of taking the TV back down, I'm not sure what else you could do to determine the build date.

With respect to checking the hours on the TV, I believe it's been mentioned in this forum before. I also ran a google search, which brought up the following from another site:


2012 Models : _ ST50 / GT50 / VT50
2011 Models : _X3 / S30 / ST30 / GT30 / VT30
2010 Models : _X24 / C2 / U2 / S2 / G20 / G25 / GT20 / GT25 / VT20 / VT25


Press and hold the {VOL -} button ON THE PLASMA TV.
Then press the {INFO} button on the remote control 3 times.

"Start Adjustment Menu" message will be displayed followed
by the Service Menu after few seconds.


ADJUST {Picture Adjustment}
WB-ADJUST {White Balance Adjustment}
OPTION {Option Setting}
V-SUS {V-SUS Adjustment}
AGING
SRV-TOOL {Service Tool}


{1} & {2} buttons move through options


Press the {2} button once to select "SRV-TOOL".

Then press the {OK} button to access it.

Using the cursor keys, highlight the right side
of the last item "PTCT :00.00.00.00.00" :





Then press and hold the {MUTE} button for 3 seconds.

Time and Count will be displayed in red color:




__TIME = Hours : Minutes of operation.
COUNT = Times the Plasma was powered on.


To exit, unplug the power cable.



The {VOL+} and {VOL-} buttons are used to change values while in the Service Menu. Make sure not to touch those buttons when navigating menus / sub-menus.

Thanks for the suggestions. I won't be wall mounting, and I have a wooden entertainment center which I've been using for my current plasma tv, so that means the appearance of the stand is relevant. I'll try Panasonic, as you suggest and see what they say. Thanks.

Well, just got off the phone with the seller. Asked to speak to the manager, who said we can swap out stands without having to return the entire TV. Problem solved! Thanks for your input.

Seabreeze.... thanks for the reply. I did a quick search on Google and didn’t see anything as far as a black trim kit from any aftermarket companies. I saw several other people on this forum and others who had the same concern with the silver bezel. Someone suggested using a black sharpie to darken the trim... but I am afraid it may slip off and mark up the glass screen area and permanently discolor it. I tried moving the lights around a bit but I’m somewhat limited with the TV location and lighting options for the room. I took a close look at the silver bezel and it seems like a micro-thin black trim kit could snap on very easily to the existing silver bezel without having to actually remove it. I’m not sure how to actually remove the bezel from the TV to paint it.

Try automotive pen striping tape,then you can remove it anytime you want,without damaging anything.

Not a bad idea!

Yeah I did this with the bezel of my last tv, thinking about taping the bezel on the new vt50 too, don't much care for the look of the silver myself.
Edited by jmcnatt - 12/1/12 at 1:20pm

I have to tell you, I hate the look of mine, too. Over time, however, I do notice it somewhat less.

If you do a mod, let us know how and take some pics. I'd try a reversible mod.

It bugged me too at first.

Over time, I stopped noticing it.

I installed a new ARC capable sound bar a Yamaha YHT-S401BL . I turned on HDMI Control on the Yamaha Receiver and I am now able to play 5.1 audio from all the VT50 internet apps over HDMI using ARC port# 2 on the TV to include Dolby Digital for streaming movies/titles that support it.
Edited by LBJ2 - 12/1/12 at 3:26pm

I am going to try my hand at the new CalMAN5 AutoCal for my VT50. Anybody have any idea/suggestions where I can find a second-hand/low cost meter that's compatible with CalMAN5?
http://store.spectracal.com/panasonic-calibration

You might try asking this ? in the display calibration forum, check Spectracal's website also they have some good packages and a rental program.

Hi All. I have owned a 55VT50 for about 2 weeks and have loved it. There have been a few times that I thought i caught a glimpse of some Rainbow Effect but I dismissed it since I thought that was only DLP. I do know that I am highly suseptible to the Rainbow Effect. I thought i noticed it when the Denon AV Receiver setup screen was on the TV and that was pretty much it. No issue when watching DirecTV. Now, i just watched my first movie using my AppleTV and I saw a bunch of Rainbows. Not as bad as when watching a DLP but still distracting. Am I the only one that sees this? Why would I only see it on one input and not another? Any help would be appreciated.

Pick up a used i1pro rev. d Spectro on Ebay. Now the the i1pro2 is out, the prices have dropped down under $300.00.

Jmcnatt……Thanks for the suggestion, but I’ve never heard of automotive pen stripping. How would I go about finding it and using it on the VT50 bezel? I’m anxious to give it a try. I’ve never attempted anything like this before.