The Official Panasonic U50/54 Owners' Thread - Page 19

I read in another thread that the ABL on the u50 in particular is more aggressive than the other models in this years line. Can you move up to an ST50 ?

Yes, I am unfortunately just finding this out now too. Yet this UK review has this to say bout it..

"The implementation of ABL on the Panasonic TX-P42UT50B appears to be a little more extreme than on other Panasonic plasma televisions, such as the ST50 series and up. In other words, images which wouldn’t trigger the dimming on the ST50 did appear slightly dimmed on the UT50, suggesting that the ABL kicks in sooner on this cheaper model. In any case, it should have a minimal effect on real usage since almost no TV content (other than iPhone commercials) features these average picture levels."

My display is certainly being affected by more than a solid white iPhone commercial. Anything even remotely "bright" is dimming my display. At this point I suppose I'm just hoping I can get them to agree to return the set for being defective. It's possible I could move up to an ST50 but I wasn't particularly interested in 3D and I would have to be 100% sure that the ABL would have an extremely reduced effect.

Toyed with a few settings while in game mode. No more apparent ABL problems. Everything looks quite amazing. Extremely pleased with the monitor!

What are your settings?

AVR = audio video receiver................

I turned the HDMI 1 Content Type to graphics and Black Level to Light. This was just for game mode as it was so dark it was crushing my blacks and made it look like there were shadows all over the screen when playing a game. The only thing that sucks is that when I switch to cinema, I have to readjust my settings as the menus do not remember your settings for each mode, unless I am missing something.

So I am talking to Panasonic Plasma Tech. support and trying to see if they will agree the set is defective and surprise surprise, he has no idea what ABL is.

One issue that I dislike about this set is the Menu display delay. Every time I press the Menu button on my remote it takes over 3 seconds before it displays. Press Volume, instant response, just the Menu.

Anybody else has this issue?

Mine takes about a second to come up, approximately.

Mine's about 2 seconds.

Thanks to this discussion I think I now know why my set keeps going from bright to dim and back to bright (frequently) during an NBA game.

Anyone else having these issues when viewing similar sports?

Should have revised this awhile ago but have been distracted ! I decided I like C.A.T.S. ON for TV viewing since it adjusts for room light, however, it also requires Color Management ON and different Contrast, Brightness, and Color settings to match darkened room non-C.A.T.S. viewing. I went Standard mode with C.A.T.S. for cable TV, and Cinema for disc playback.

For TV (coax cable):
Mode -- Standard
Contrast -- 80
Brightness -- 65
Color -- 31
Tint -- +1
Sharpness -- 50 (factory default, not fooled with)
Color Temp -- Cool1 (best gray scale)
Color Mgt -- ON
C.A.T.S. -- ON
Video NR -- OFF
Aspect: Screen Format -- (current selection)
Aspect: H/HD -- Size1 (reflects current signal)
HDMI -- N/A
3DY/C -- ON
NR (both) -- OFF
Black Level -- N/A
3:2 Pull Down -- AUTO

For Disc (HDMI & Component):
Mode -- Cinema
Contrast -- 48
Brightness -- 50
Color -- 50
Tint -- +1
Sharpness -- 50 (factory default, not fooled with)
Color Temp -- Cool1 (best gray scale)
Color Mgt -- OFF
C.A.T.S. -- OFF
Video NR -- OFF
Aspect: Screen Format -- (current selection)
Aspect: H/HD -- Size1 (reflects current signal)
HDMI: RGB Range -- set to match player (NONSTANDARD if player set for Extended or Cinema Black)
HDMI: Content Type -- OFF
3DY/C -- N/A
NR (both) -- OFF
Black Level -- LIGHT
3:2 Pull Down -- AUTO

My viewing is a mix if 4:3 and other ARs, so my settings for minimizing image retention are.
Pixel Orbiter -- ENABLED
Side Bar Color -- DARK (can only be set with 4:3 format selected, I find LIGHT too distracting)
Scrolling Bar -- I regularly activate this after a few hours of fixed bars/images on the screen.

FWIW: I generally prefer to preserve the original aspect ratio. The only screen formats that accomplish this are HD and non-anamorphic source 4:3 and ZOOM, or else FULL -- both JUSTIFY and H-FILL distort the image. 4:3 format with an HD source cuts off the sides.

I continue to be very pleased with the picture ! First time I've ever had a TV that is so interactive though (thinking IR avoidance), guess that's part of the cost of plasma -- LCD is basically set and forget.

PS. The only line bleed I'm seeing so far is mild dark shading to the left and right of black text on green title frames. Have yet to hear any buzzes from either front or back of the TV.

PPS. I like that the TV remote controls my Panasonic BD player via HDMI. The TV also senses player activation and automatically switches to it, and if I turn off the TV, it in turn shuts down the player -- pretty neat design. (I have three players switched into the one HDMI input and so obviously, this only works if the Panasonic is connected.)
Edited by TrevorS - 12/25/12 at 2:47pm

One of the few gripes I had with this tv set was the buzzing from bright or white images on screen.

I unplugged it from the power strip it was in, and plugged it directly into the wall outlet, and viola! No more buzzing.

Okay, I just bought my TC-P60U50. Really loving it. Especially with my BD's.

But...I was watching an old DVD of Star Trek:Voyager and every "space" scene with ships or any kind of special effect like that was really jerky. Any ideas? I noticed the same thing with ST: DS9. Is there a setting that I need to correct for these old DVDs to be smooth?

I tried the same calibration settings found in this thread. The only thing is that the 3:2 Pulldown option is grayed out for me. Do I need that activated perhaps? And, why is it grayed out when it sounds like this should be an option on this model?

Ended up settling on these settings for my 60PU54...

Picture mode: Cinema
Contrast: +82
Brightness: +55
Color: +45
Tint: +1
Sharpness: 0
Color temp: Warm 2
Color mgmt: Off [grayed out]
C.A.T.S.: Off
Video NR: Off

I did about 150 - 200 hours of break-in slides between normal viewing and video game playing, and unlike my other Panny plasmas, I've yet to notice any IR.

The picture capabilities of a set rely entirely on the content. On an old crt you wouldn't notice bad artifacts or jerking, the more high definition and accurate a set gets the more negative visuals it will show. That's the problem with watching SD content on an HD set. That's another reason for cinematic smoothing giving that "soap opera" effect, it makes things look so real that you can see what's fake.

I am thinking of pulling the trigger on this TV. I just got to do it for the price. My previous Plasma was the Samsung HPT4254. It died about 3 months ago with the clicking on and off issue. Obviously my warranty and extended warranty had expired on a TV I got 5 years ago.
What is the issue with the ABL? Im guessing it has to do with Black levels. I know it is a bare bones tv even with the picture settings. The Sammy I previously had all the settings but again that was technology from 5 years ago. I just heard you cant go wrong with Panasonic plasmas.

Thanks. But my previous display was a Panny HD plasma, and it never had the same issue.

ABL has to do with the whites, not black levels. This is the clearest example of ABL I have found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHndICrpxqs

In my case however the ABL didn't just stop with whites, it was dimming anything even considered remotely bright. I believe my set might have just been defective, but no one has really been able to give me an accurate description of just what the ABL covers, whether or not it should only recognize white or if "bright" is a subjective term. The way it works I believe, is that when more than 30% of the screen contains what the set determines as "white/bright" content it will dim the set accordingly.

I picked up the P50U50 from Amazon a few days ago and I'm not quite convinced. The colors on my cheap Acer monitor are more impressive, and the gamma is really messed up on this thing. I also have the wonderful infamous Panasonic green blob on the lower right corner. It's super obvious if I run the image retention wipe as the pixels change from black to white, the blob 'grows' and 'morphs' until then next pass of black hits it again. Other content make it harder to see. I'm debating on returning it, but I don't know if Amazon makes you pay for return shipping.

I've tried every single setting with nearly every compilation of HDMI content type and I can't get a pleasing image like my monitor produces. The blacks are obviously leagues better than my monitor, but otherwise the colors just don't match up and a lot of subtle tones are missing (comparing both side by side using the PC Duplicate screen feature while Skyrim is playing).

So far, the best I could come up with was:

Contrast 50
Brightness 55
Color 50
Warm1
Everything else to 0 or off.

HDMI level set to nonstandard
Catalyst Control Center on my PC set gamma to 1.25, everything else default.

In dark scenes (night time in Skyrim) Standard gives the most accurate colors, but it's gets really fuzzy for some reason. Cinema in dark scenes makes blues look very green.
In light scenes, Cinema is the best yet it dulls the colors and my monitor just looks better overall besides blacks.

----
So that this post can actually maybe be helpful instead of just a whine fest:
From my experience, anything below or above 55 brightness is a waste. Below crushes blacks, and above raises the lowest black level into grey. Contrast hasn't made much of a difference to me. It just changes how bright my display is, but doesn't increase or decrease black/white visibility.
Edited by Timber72 - 12/15/12 at 5:29pm

Just for the record I have a 50/54 and although I have experienced some picture issues, recently discussed here, I have not noticed any brightness fluctuations. Basically on my set, brightness was a problem at all the default settings across the various choices, but it was a different problem (all choices were way way way way way way to dark. By the way ........... dd I mention brightness settings were way too dark!. However, as I approach a 150 hours, in order to retain, what for me appears to be a perfect picture in custom settings (I haven't bothered with the others yet), I have gradually had to adjust contrast sharpness and brightness down from my previous, almost max settings, and colour up from my original 35 setting. Currently I'm using Contrast 65 (down from an my original 90), Brightness 50 (back to the default which was originally just a murky black). Colour now up to 45 and sharpness 65 (whereas at 20 hrs sharpness at 70 was like the worst well worn VCR tape your kids ever owned. Now that ultra soft, well worn look doesn't show up until the sharpness level is reduced to 40.
What is my point .......... you might ask? Then again you might not ask, but I'm going to tell you anyway.
Personally, from my 40 years working in various product manufacturing industries and 10 years running my own manufacturing business I would say this is a batch problem. Some units have this issue (Grover quit and the new guy is still figuring it out) and some units have that issue (the head quality control inspector's wife left him and now he has a alcohol or drug problem). I just take these kind of issues for granted now - quality control? just a figment of some long dead owners imagination.
As an example while I was here at AVS trying to sort out problems with my new TV I was also trying to resolve issues with an AVR receiver I bought for my daughter (easily returned via the Costco 90 day NQA warranty), but even the 3rd one we tried had the same problem, and several different DVDs from the same store each replaced twice because of the same problem (could not get beyond the main menu). Ended up buying a different receiver, but with the DVD's I got my money back and got working copies at a different store
Life is short and then you die! ........stillgolfing.
Edited by stillgolfing - 12/16/12 at 5:49pm

Well, my 2nd set buzzes too. I know all plasmas buzz as my 42" PX75U from a few years ago does as well when you stick your head behind it. On the P60u50 however, it's noticeable at normal viewing distances with bright scenes without having to go behind it to hear it.

I'm so frustrated right now because I was really hoping I would get a non-buzzer this go around but I didn't.

I'm curious to know if Panasonic would be able to send a repair tech out and get it improved or completely resolved rather than sending back a 2nd tv. I will also check other things that can cause buzz in the meantime.

I really don't want to send this one back because I hate, loathe, despise, etc. LED/LCD for that stupid motion smoothing crap they pull. It almost makes me feel nauseous when I see it.

just got this set after quite a bit of research and finally settling on this one.

i'm going to do 200 hrs on the factory settings before jumping the contrast full time- i turned it up momentarily to get an idea of what the final pic would look like and it's beautiful.

then a white screen came on and i did indeed hear the buzzing from the screen.

so my weekend project will be to run a dedicated duplex to the entertainment center, bottom plug for the power strip and top plug for just the television.

thanks for all the great info in this thread and on the forums in general. back to lurking

I can hear buzzing clearly from behind the set. But it is silent in front; no buzz whatsoever.

Testing the set in just white screen is idiotic IMO, since ther's nothing to watch and just looking for issues. You will find one if you try hard enough. Just enjoy the set and unless the buzzing bothers you, forgot about it. Just my 2C.

I've discovered a pretty serious issue. When using the aspect adjustments feature in the picture menu, setting the TV to 'Size 2' so that it doesn't clip 5% of the signal is a broken feature. It chooses a random placement for the picture which will more often than not, put the picture 1 or 2 lines offcenter either vertically or horizontally. Thus, making your set seriously susceptible to IR. The placement is random, and changes every time you reset the option, change input sources, or turn the TV off and on again.

Does anyone else have this issue? I used the AVS 709 sharpness video to test this, and the white border lines clearly change position each time I change the setting. I personally don't want 5% of my screen forcefully cut off. I want the full image darn it.

Edit: Though, I do want to say that I have finally been able to get the picture to where I like it. Mostly, I was just being an idiot. I had the source games in-game options brightness set too high without my knowledge. Upon fixing that, the gamma isn't so wacky anymore.
Edited by Timber72 - 12/19/12 at 11:54pm

I think what you're seeing is the anti-IR circuitry actually at work. I've also noted that my display is sometimes tight against one of the left, right, top, bottom borders and then a few minutes later it has randomly shifted one way or the other. It is NOT noticeable to me when watching a video or TV show.

I don't claim to know how the anti-IR circuitry works, but if this is it at work, I'm fine with it. If someone knows more about the topic and how it's implemented, please enlighten us all.

Sounds like pixel orbiter, that can be disabled somewhere in the menu settings.

Thanks guys.

Wow, reading this comment I didn't think in a million years that's what the pixel orbiter did. Indeed, turning that option off fixed my issue and it centers correctly now. Thanks.

So now my question is this: Is it safe to have the orbiter off? I'm getting about 2 lines of pixel shift for each orbit which seems to take around 1 minute, and sometimes it chooses the same position on its random switch. I'm worried about the edge of the screen (the ~2 rows/columns of black pixels) becoming a burn in problem.

Basically, as long as I'm mindful to not game on this thing for 5 hours straight, would leaving the pixel orbiter off be alright?

Edit: I have to say, I've changed my opinion on this TV now. One of the biggest things that was bugging me at the start of this was that I just could not get this thing to scale correctly my PC input and my PS3. That was driving me bonkers. Now that the issue has been solved, and I got the colors to where I finally like them, this was a pretty awesome buy. Just goes to show how asking questions, spending tons of time fiddling, and getting some help can really change your experience. I don't think I'm going to return it now and I'll probably just live with the green blob defect since it's really not that bad on my set.
Edited by Timber72 - 12/20/12 at 11:38am

So whats the general concensus on the 60" u50/54 model? I currently have a 50" samsung 720P plasma and I want to make the jump up in size. I've been looking at the Panny 60" U50/U54 and the LGPA6500.

Does this panny put off a lot of heat?

I assume the reflection will be about the same as my low end Sammy?

Will I notice dithering watching HD cable from around 8.5' to 9'?

Anyone care to chime in?

Thanks,

-Guru

Just bought the 60 inch U50 on amazon last week with the 10% off email. The only problem I have is with the hdmi connection to my desktop pc. Every time I restart or power up my desktop pc with hdmi cable plugged into my pc and the tv, I get the "No signal detected" error message on the tv. So I called Panasonic hotline and the only solution they gave me was to unplug the hdmi cable before I boot up or restart the pc and wait until windows loads up, then plug hdmi cable back to pc or tv. The rep said it didn't matter whether I disconnected the tv or pcI hdmi cable.

I have all of my connections (directtv, ps3, desktop pc) plug into my reciever. I have also tried to plug my pc straight into the tv's hdmi port and have the same issue.

I have the resolution set to 1920x1080 and 60 hertz on the pc. I have tried 24, 29 and 30 hertz.

Does anyone else have this issue or a workaround? It's very inconvenient to have to unplug the hdmi cable each time my pc boots up. My 2006 Pioneer 50 inch plasma never gave me this issue. Although, I realize the I am comparing a $3000 tv to a $750 tv when bought new, I figured these things were standard features on all new tvs.