Panasonic TC-P50U50 Calibration - Page 2

Hello,

After spending some recent years with a 34" Sony HD CRT, I did my research and settled on the TC-P50U50 as my first flat panel TV. I don't need 3D or the internet, and as a fan of black & white movies and sci fi good black levels were important to me. When the price on this set dropped to $600, I finally placed my order.

The set isn't here yet, but I have been a bit surprised to see such a variety in calibration settings.

televisoninfo.com went with cinema mode (warm color temp) and

contrast 50
brightness 100
sharpness 0
color (default)

CNET went with cinema mode and

Contrast: +100
Brightness: +56
Color: +45
Tint: +1
Sharpness: 0
Color temp: Warm 2
Color mgmt: Off
C.A.T.S.: Off
Video NR: Off

Contrast all the way up?

Plasmatvbuying guide went with


Picture Mode: Custom
Contrast: 80
Brightness: 64
Color: 49
Sharpness: 15
Tint: 0
Color Temp: Warm2
CATS: OFF
Mosquito NR: OFF
Motion Smoother: OFF
Black Level: Light
24P Direct In: 60Hz

and even got into the service menus.

I do have some test pattern DVDs and Blu-rays so I'll tinker with the settings on my own. I have heard that 50 to 75 hours of burn in / break in should be done first before getting serious about the picture adjustments... is this still true?

All in all I am excited about finally having a big ass 1080p TV!

Hmm, is there a giant official thread for this panel? Still looking, but I don't see one yet.

Thanks.

Try turning CATS off.

My set should be showing up tonight. This is the first time my Blu-ray player has ever put out full HD 1080p. My last set was 1080i.

I am considering picking up this unit for $600 to replace my old Panasonic 42 inch plasma,  model TH-42PHD6. My 42 inch is probably 7 or 8 years old and still going strong.  It will be moved to the bedroom to replace an old 27" CRT Sony Vega. 

My question is about screen glare and brightness. I keep reading reviews saying the screen doesn't handle brightly lit/sunlight rooms very well. Is there any way to tell if this unit would be better, worse, or equal to my 8 year old unit?

I would hope the technology would at least allow this screen to be equal or better than what I have now.  If it's equal to it, I'd be fine with it, but I won't buy it if it will be worse. Any ideas?

Thanks. 

My TC-P50U50 showed up last night!

That CATS feature is terrible. It automatically adjusts the contrast up or down based on how light or dark your room is.

Once I turned that off, and fired up Game of Thrones on Blu-ray, my reaction was wow this thing is amazing! And that's without tweaking the picture settings too much.

Hello all:

Just bought this Panasonic P50u50. Have returned the first purchase due to some odd contrast issues and some strange streaks in the glass. Now on my second set, and I am still noticing an odd issue with some images where high contrast or striped images appear on screen. It is as if the conrast "bleeds" onto other areas. Not always noticable, but as a pro video nerd since 1990 (TV/video production background) it is driving me a little wacky.

An example last night: "Avengers" blu-ray. Scene with Thor in control room with railings behind his head. His face has streaks across it that exactly match the path of the high contrast imagery behind his head in the shot. It is "light" but noticeable, as if he had a band across his face while tanning.

At a loss. Also shows up through Directv. Both are routed through my surround receiver. Same cabling (HDMI) as was used on the old set without issue (also a plasma, old Hitachi).

Any thoughts? Wait for it to "break in" if that is even needed with plasmas anymore? I prefer plasma over LCD in terms of video quality and black levels.

Same issue showed up on original set but it was worse. Another prime example is if I have the grey sidebars enabled in an SD but letter boxed setup, the part of the screen where the gray meets the black letterbox is noticeably affected by the contrast.

Cinema mode, CATS is off, contrast at around 65, brightness 68, CT=warm.

Came across this thread and thought I'd toss it out there. Any thoughts are welcome and appreciated!

I bought one at Costco to replace a 36" CRT in my office. It was bigger than what I was looking for but it was $499 so I jumped. Sad to report that it's like a mirror bro. I can look at it and see through my window, across a backyard and into a neighbor's window. Fortunately, it's in a place where I can turn it a few degrees one way or another and lessen the issue *considerably.* I do NOT have a problem with wash out in a moderately lit room. I'm quite happy with the color/price and especially value, love it for where it is in the house but I would not want this as my primary TV. In fact, I'm breaking in a 60gt50 right now for my HT set-up.

Panny's new line-up will be out soon and this one is discontinued (despite good reviews for color and value). Come Super Bowl time, it should be Black Friday priced again. If your snug on cash and can buy it for what I paid, it's hard to get a better picture on a 50" flat panel.

I got this TV today and I'd appreciate any/all recommendations for adjusting picture settings. I'm replacing a six year old Vizio VP42, which I loved, it was a wonderful TV and worked great for my use.

If it helps, I have a DirecTV HR24/100 receiver. I'm a huge sports fan, watch a lot of MLB Network, MLB games, football, NHL and some college basketball. The shows I watch most: Game of Thrones, Parks & Rec, Community, Homeland, Workaholics, Justified, Happy Endings and Duck Dynasty. I have a PS3, my games include: Fifa, NHL, Batman Arkham and Assassin's Creed franchises. And I occasionally use the Amazon Prime app, usually to watch Parks & Rec, Arrested Development and the occasional movies. (Sorry if this is an unnecessary overshare.)

Thanks in advance for any/all guidance.

OK, I've had this TV for months now and it continues to impress me with the picture quality. I can't believe I got this much TV for $600. But the price seems to be going crazy now. It's up to $800 or $900 on Amazon. What gives? I thought it was a fantastic deal at the lower price.