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The Official Panasonic U50/54 Owners' Thread - Page 13

post #361 of 1035
11/17/12 at 6:01am
just use it as you would normally watch tv. Break in period is non existent anymore with today's plasma tv's. Sit back and enjoy your set, it is a steal for what it delivers and at a great low price.
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post #362 of 1035
11/17/12 at 7:59am
Looks like everyone is ignoring my post regarding bad line bleed issues with this TV as I had mentioned.

Or did I just get a bad set?
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post #363 of 1035
11/17/12 at 11:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmnopz View Post

Looks like everyone is ignoring my post regarding bad line bleed issues with this TV as I had mentioned.
Or did I just get a bad set?


My U50 has somewhat bad line bleed, I'm only comparing to an older Samsung plasma and another Panasonic I have here. It's noticeable enough to be seen during actual movie watching, gaming. I was hoping it would go away but that doesn't seem to be happening, have well over 1000 hours on the tv now.
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post #364 of 1035
11/17/12 at 12:11pm
Honestly everyone, I have never did anything but turn on the TV , adjust settings and enjoy!
Great Plasma TV for $599. 50" and same stuff as VT30 from last year!
I have over 1200 hours on set since July and all the same since day one! No worries, enjoy HDTV 1080.
Many would disagree, but I think the color is equal to the upper models and PQ.
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post #365 of 1035
11/18/12 at 3:56am
My only hope is exchanging for another set and crossing my fingers that l'll win the line bleed lottery, but I feel like this issue exists in all U54s.
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post #366 of 1035
11/18/12 at 2:25pm
Best of Luck, I have not seen this issue at all with Panasonic Plasma's I viewed. Had GT50 and VT30 for awhile before switching to the U54 for a savings for options I did not need.

Costco has a 90 Day return and 2 year warranty if that helps
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post #367 of 1035
11/18/12 at 2:47pm
my costco just dropped the 50" U54 another $100....nice deal
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post #368 of 1035
11/18/12 at 4:18pm
So it's $500 at Costco now?
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post #369 of 1035
11/18/12 at 4:47pm
Just saw it in a Penna. Costco for $499 til end of month! Guess they are trying to snarf up some Black Friday buyers. May get me one at this price, but am wondering how to hook up a laptop w /VGI only screen connection??? Want to avoid buying another blue ray player-could just use that money for a higher end set!
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post #370 of 1035
11/19/12 at 4:41am
Costco website lists it at $549.99. Did you see that price at the store or something?
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post #371 of 1035
11/19/12 at 6:24am
yep,in store-price good till 11/29 i think...any idea how to hook up a U54 to a laptop w/vgi/usb only?
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post #372 of 1035
11/19/12 at 8:33am
has anyone been able to play any movie files from the sd card slot? (AVI,MKV ETC)
Mine keeps saying no files detected, yet it plays movies off of the usb port just fine
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post #373 of 1035
11/19/12 at 8:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eeee87 View Post

has anyone been able to play any movie files from the sd card slot? (AVI,MKV ETC)
Mine keeps saying no files detected, yet it plays movies off of the usb port just fine

Exiting and re-entering the Media Player screen sometimes resolves this problem for me.

I've had a lot of playback problems on video, though, mostly on AV sync. Hope there's a firmware update someday...
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post #374 of 1035
11/19/12 at 6:46pm
Confirmed $500 at Costco.
http://i45.tinypic.com/2qte1ea.jpg

I am trying to decide between this Panasonic and this Samsung: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007BG47BE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Both would come to about the same price for me since I don't pay taxes on amazon.

Any thoughts?
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post #375 of 1035
11/19/12 at 6:52pm
Hard to wrong with either. Panasonic is famous for their plasma... The Samsung has a touch nicer packaged look. I liked the $500 Costco option with 2 year warranty. Amazon is great for a lot of things. But they are not a B&M Costco either...

I bought mine at Costco today.
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post #376 of 1035
11/19/12 at 7:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shobuddy View Post

Confirmed $500 at Costco.
http://i45.tinypic.com/2qte1ea.jpg
I am trying to decide between this Panasonic and this Samsung: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007BG47BE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Both would come to about the same price for me since I don't pay taxes on amazon.
Any thoughts?


I' had the Samsung and returned it, the black levels are no where near as good as this panny
the upside though, is the Samsung can play mkv files with dts audio and still pass the 5.1 audio out via the optical output.
the panny however has an hdmi port with an audio return channel which eliminates the use of an optical cable all together.


but based on pure picture quality the panny is the clear cut winner
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post #377 of 1035
11/19/12 at 11:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by eeee87 View Post

has anyone been able to play any movie files from the sd card slot? (AVI,MKV ETC)
Mine keeps saying no files detected, yet it plays movies off of the usb port just fine

I have the 60" and can play video files from the SD and USB. They are usually mkv/mp4 files, encoded h264, mp3/aac. Sometimes, it cannot read files with ac3 audio.
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post #378 of 1035
11/19/12 at 11:40pm
I have yet to touch the settings except to disable CATS.a116.jpg
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post #379 of 1035
11/20/12 at 12:33am
I'm thinking about picking up one of these models soon.

As far as I can see, the only difference between the u50 and the u54 is that the u50 has game mode. Is that really the only difference?
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post #380 of 1035
11/20/12 at 6:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eeee87 View Post

I' had the Samsung and returned it, the black levels are no where near as good as this panny
the upside though, is the Samsung can play mkv files with dts audio and still pass the 5.1 audio out via the optical output.
the panny however has an hdmi port with an audio return channel which eliminates the use of an optical cable all together.
but based on pure picture quality the panny is the clear cut winner

Are you saying that the panny does not play mkv files? I assume both play avi?

On a separate note, I've read the pros and cons of LED vs Plasma. With plasma being cheaper and offering better picture, why is it being abandoned by companies? Is it a dying technology?
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post #381 of 1035
11/20/12 at 8:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by shobuddy View Post

Are you saying that the panny does not play mkv files? I assume both play avi?
On a separate note, I've read the pros and cons of LED vs Plasma. With plasma being cheaper and offering better picture, why is it being abandoned by companies? Is it a dying technology?

the panny does play mkv but only from the usb port, so far ive only been able to play mp4 from the sd slot, no avi, and no mkv
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post #382 of 1035
11/20/12 at 9:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eeee87 View Post

the panny does play mkv but only from the usb port, so far ive only been able to play mp4 from the sd slot, no avi, and no mkv

My Panasonic TC-P60U50 plays mkv files from the SD slot, as well as the USB port. It also supports mp4 files. Video needs to be encoded H264. Supported audio is supposedly mp3/ac3/lcpm.

I have had occasional problems with ac3 audio, but the files play fine after encoding to mp3. I have also had good luck with aac audio.

The usb port cannot power a portable HD, so I've had to use flash drives.
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post #383 of 1035
11/20/12 at 11:06am
Hi everyone,
I've been seeing the P50U50 go to $499 at times, and that is kind of my ceiling in regards to price. Everything looks great. I don't think I would be getting the motion issues I have with LEDs (something like the Lion King tends to look awful, especially in dark scenes). Input lag seems great. I'm just tired of having to feel like I'm rolling the dice with LED TVs and the many issues I've come across (clouding, bad motion, viewing angle, input lag, etc).

The only thing that worries me about this TV is its brightness. We have a 5 year old Phillips Plasma in our living room that seems PLENTY bright enough to me, but reviews I've read about the P50U50 indicate that it doesn't get very bright. I don't know if that Phillips is comparable though, as I think when we bought it, it was around $1,700.

TL;DR: How bright does this TV actually get? Is it comparable to other plasmas? I can keep my bedroom dark when watching content or playing games. Do the settings on the TV allow for me to brighten the TV up without greatly sacrificing its deep black levels?

Thanks a lot and hopefully these aren't too noobish of me to ask.
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post #384 of 1035
11/20/12 at 2:16pm
In a room with no glare you will love this set.
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post #385 of 1035
11/20/12 at 4:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PogueSquadron View Post

Hi everyone,
I've been seeing the P50U50 go to $499 at times, and that is kind of my ceiling in regards to price. Everything looks great. I don't think I would be getting the motion issues I have with LEDs (something like the Lion King tends to look awful, especially in dark scenes). Input lag seems great. I'm just tired of having to feel like I'm rolling the dice with LED TVs and the many issues I've come across (clouding, bad motion, viewing angle, input lag, etc).
The only thing that worries me about this TV is its brightness. We have a 5 year old Phillips Plasma in our living room that seems PLENTY bright enough to me, but reviews I've read about the P50U50 indicate that it doesn't get very bright. I don't know if that Phillips is comparable though, as I think when we bought it, it was around $1,700.
TL;DR: How bright does this TV actually get? Is it comparable to other plasmas? I can keep my bedroom dark when watching content or playing games. Do the settings on the TV allow for me to brighten the TV up without greatly sacrificing its deep black levels?
Thanks a lot and hopefully these aren't too noobish of me to ask.


I use the "custom" calibrated settings from the cnet review during the day with no issues
and the cinema settings at night time or with the blinds closed during the day.

custom is definitely brighter even with similar settings
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post #386 of 1035
11/20/12 at 4:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by roadtrekker View Post

My Panasonic TC-P60U50 plays mkv files from the SD slot, as well as the USB port. It also supports mp4 files. Video needs to be encoded H264. Supported audio is supposedly mp3/ac3/lcpm.
I have had occasional problems with ac3 audio, but the files play fine after encoding to mp3. I have also had good luck with aac audio.
The usb port cannot power a portable HD, so I've had to use flash drives.


I have the 50 inch costco version....maybe the lack of a game mode isnt the only difference between the two sets hmmm....
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post #387 of 1035
11/20/12 at 5:55pm
I was a little worried that the screen would just get too dim when bright images are displayed. Is there a way to tone down any sort of Auto Brightness Limiter stuff? I also do kind of fear having to keep my room dark all the time.
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post #388 of 1035
11/20/12 at 6:53pm
I just picked up the last set at the Costco in Beltsville, MD. Yesterday there were four sets on the shelf.
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post #389 of 1035
11/20/12 at 7:26pm
just bought this set from costco. I noticed about three fuzzy horizonal lines acrosse the top half of the screen. anyone know what this is? Is it a bad set? Its not noticable untill you really get close to the set but it is apparent.

also - how do you upgrade the firmware on this set ? I can't find a place to download the firmware.
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post #390 of 1035
11/21/12 at 6:24am
[quote name="diyguy" url="/t/1410013/also - how do you upgrade the firmware on this set ? I can't find a place to download the firmware.[/quote]

This would be nice for the 54 owners so that we can play mkv files smile.gif
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