The Official Panasonic VT50 Settings Thread - Page 37

Originally Posted by scirica 

Oh...didn't realize you had ISF's activated or I would have suggested the same. I often load new settings to custom to compare with my calibrated settings in ISF Day and Night.

Originally Posted by mo949 

So last night I did a side by side comparison of D-Nice's settings to Robnix's with my wife in attendance. D-Nice's were an improvement that was noticeable to both of us so it is also our new settings as well. It wasn't a huge improvement but a noticeable improvement nonetheless, so kudos Robnix, you can 'hang' with one of the big guys on campus =]

Originally Posted by 7thSeal 

Did the picture seem any brighter with D-Nice's when comparing the two? That was the main difference that I could see, D-Nice does use quite a bit more contrast though so that might be what I was noticing. My daughter was watching planet earth afterwards and commented about how 'cool' it looked so I sat and watched some of it with her. Man the colors looked so natural with excellent deep blacks. Nothing looked over saturated but the colors blended very well.

I was always impressed with robnix's colors, they too looked very well with nothing over done but just smooth natural colors.

Originally Posted by mnc 

Finally getting mine calibrated this Sunday by d-nice! Should be interesting how his posted custom settings measure before the calibration.

Originally Posted by Glashub 

I have an appointment with BB calibration. I'm thinking of cancelling it and getting D-nice or someone to come out. I'd be willing to give the BB guy a try just for the heck of it (if I can undo what they've done) but I've been warned not to let them in the service menu. Don't they have to go in there to access ISFccc?

Originally Posted by KGB173 

don't go best buy. too hit and miss and much better to get one of the highly recommended folks here to come out and do it for you. i always prefer the peace of mind of having a professional do it.

Originally Posted by steve_podleski 

I am getting a 65vt50 delivered this afternoon. This is my new first tv in over 20 years and my first flat panel. I would like to use the recommended settings and proper procedure before applying the settings. I would like to apply the recommended slideshow but do not know how (I apologize for trying to avoid reading all 60 pages on the thread). I do not have a player yet but could I load the slideshow unto a thumbdrive and inserted it to the USB port on the tv (if it has one)? And if this can done, how do you cycle the slideshow for recommended hours?

Originally Posted by mo949 

One thing is for sure, from out of the box to now is a monumental change - and I was happy out of the box

Thanks Robnix and D-nice

Originally Posted by steve_podleski 

Cigarjohn47

Thanks for the quick reply. When I play the slideshow, is there an option to cycle endlessly (at least 100hrs)?

Hopefully I won't see that new handprint "trademark" :-)

Originally Posted by DSperber 

Looking for feedback, and perhaps some editorial commentary.

I'm now almost 2 weeks into my new 65VT50 ownership being "installed and operational", so far watching almost nothing except HDTV. After some initial comparison of 1st-time setup STANDARD picture mode to the other modes available, I quickly settled on CUSTOM (as preset by Panny at the factory to be essentially flat-0 color) as what I clearly preferred. Coming from a Sony 34XBR960 (also set to PRO for "flat" everything, ready for "tweaks") the overall color, brightness, contrast, etc. of "factory CUSTOM" on the 65VT50 looked almost "perfect" to my eyes, although I did make just a few minor adjustments (e.g. reducing SHARPNESS, turning off "motion smoother" and "noise reduction", etc.).

I have an ISF calibration scheduled for Feb 15, but for now I'm still just playing around on my own. I've purchased ControlCAL to have the additional two ISF presets available for use, at least to try settings setups of others on this thread to decide what I might like or prefer more than something else... and certainly to compare it to CUSTOM (slightly tweaked from Panny factory preset, but very little).

I have explored watching some 2D BluRay movies I'm very familiar with from watching on the XBR960 (e.g. "Toy Story 3") and it's stunning. Of course the XBR960/CRT is limited to 1080i, whereas the 65VT60 is 1080p/24... and also significantly larger screen size. The visual difference is substantial. I'm definitely "at the movies" now.

I've never seen home 3D before but with the 65VT50 I've now sampled "Up (3D)" and it seemed a bit dark to me ("3D THX Cinema" picture mode setting) but that may be from the Panny Real3D glasses. Or, maybe it's just the nature of home 3D, or "Up". I also have "Brave" and "Avatar" in 3D to try, so maybe it's just a matter of getting used to it. Anyway for the moment I'm not at all concerned about 3D. And in 2D, 1080p/24 (from my Oppo BDP-103) looks astounding on the 65VT50.

99.9% of my viewing is HDTV from my HTPC, via Linksys DMA2100 Windows Media Center Extender. Cable channels are from TWC/LA, and network channels are from OTA/ATSC roof antenna (which provides superior picture quality to TWC's re-compressed delivery of those local networks). Source 720p/1080i is being passed HDMI from the DMA2100 through the external HDMI input of an Oppo BDP-103 where it is upconverted to 1080p, and then on through HDMI-1 output from the 103 to a Yamaha RX-V867 for video HDMI delivery to the 65VT50.

So the BDP-103 is my sole source device, both for movies (from the player itself) as well as for HDTV (passed through from my DMA2100 via external HDMI input to the 103). And it delivers 1080p to the 65VT50 through the RX-V867.


I've now watched a fair amount of assorted HDTV (film, tape/live, 720p, 1080i) on the 65VT50, including numerous recordings from the London Olympics on NBC, whose indoor/outdoor venues were lit to perfection and provided amazingly real-looking HDTV images, with perfect colors and perfect skin tone... as shown on my XBR960 originally. I have to say I'm amazed at how the 65VT50 renders these same images... because it is just like the "almost 3D-like" image on the XBR960. There is essentially zero off-angle fall off of brightness on the 65VT60/plasma (just as there is not on the XBR960/CRT), something which is of course horrible on LCD/LED sets I've seen. This is hugely important to me and makes the 65VT50 just a stunning successor to my "HDTV reference" 960.

Ok. Enough well-deserved accolades for the 65VT50. It is simply remarkable, and I obviously made the best possible choice as the successor to my 9-year old 34XBR960. I'm in love.


However...

I just cannot seem to accept the look of the image when I try the various assorted settings of others which have been posted here, including the recently posted D-Nice setup. I suspect it's probably a matter of just getting used to how they look, but at the moment I cannot.

These other settings setups all look to me to be much too "jaundiced", with skin tone much too red/yellow. Seems too dark as well.

I'm sure this is primarily from the color temperature selected in these other setups, which is either STANDARD, WARM 1 or WARM 2. I personally never cared for this "color bias" on my XBR960 either, and I don't care for how it looks on the 65VT50. I much prefer to start from COOL 1. I just like the blue-white appearance, as I also do on my computer monitors which I have set to 9300K.

Is this just me? Am I going to have to learn to accept the "other look"? Is that what my ISF calibration will produce?? If so there will certainly be plenty of discussion at that time.

Is that really intended for watching movies, and if you watch "live" HDTV (like Olympics swimming pool coverage and indoor volleyball coverage, Super Bowl, etc). that the CUSTOM + COOL 1 color on the 65VT50 is simply much more comfortable and human-like and like "window onto the real world" as my XBR960 has been?

Note that I have no day/night or windows and bright sunlight issues in my room. I watch essentially always in the dark. Certainly that's how I prefer to do any serious watching, but even in the daytime the location of windows and outside day light is essentially a non-problem for both my XBR960 and now 65VT50 (both of which are in the same room). No sunlight on either screen, no ambient lamp issues reflecting, etc. Essentially this is an all-night setup, so color and brightness/contrast is always ideal.


For the sake of discussion here, the Panny factory-provided CUSTOM preset has ZERO color adjustments. It is absolutely FLAT-0 for all CMS and other WB, 10-pt WB, and 10-pt Gamma settings.

Panny factory CUSTOM does have a few non-0 non-OFF slightly "biased" values in Advanced Picture and Pro Settings (see below), but I still much prefer this CUSTOM "flat-0 color" + COOL1 against any of the other three user-contributed setups I've seen, all of which have significant changes to all of the color tweaks and use STANDARD or WARM 1 or WARM 2 color temperature.

So, is it just me? Why does everybody rave about what to me seems like "red push" (non-realistic skin tone)?


Look at the "Panny CUSTOM setup" shown below (again, with ALL other individually adjustable WB and color-related Pro settings still at 0) which is what I'm currently using. I suspect I may feel differently after my ISF calibration gets done, but note that I've made very few changes from Panny factory CUSTOM preset as initially delivered.

In particular, what obviously distinguishes the whole CUSTOM color-appearance and brightness/contrast of this on my 65VT50 from the color-appearance of other users' settings is due to my going to COOL 1 temperature, along with Panny factory values of (a) gamma 2.2, (b) black extension +5, (c) contour emphasis ON, and (d) AGC +7... along with the fact that ALL OTHER CMS AND INDIVIDUAL COLOR-TWEAKS ARE SET AT 0 with Panny CUSTOM as delivered!

Am I alone here??

---

PICTURE
=====================
PICTURE MODE: STANDARD -> CUSTOM
CONTRAST: +100
BRIGHTNESS: +50
COLOR: +50
TINT: +0
SHARPNESS: 50 -> 20
COLOR TEMP: NORMAL -> COOL1
CATS: OFF
VIDEO NR: WEAK -> OFF

PRO SETTINGS
=====================
BLACK EXTENSION: +5
GAMMA: 2.2
PANEL BRIGHTNESS: MID
CONTOUR EMPHASIS: ON
AGC: +7

ADVANCED PICTURE
=====================
BLOCK NR: OFF
MOSQUITO NR: OFF
MOTION SMOOTHER: WEAK -> OFF
BLACK LEVEL: LIGHT
3:2 PULLDOWN: AUTO

Originally Posted by DSperber 

Looking for feedback, and perhaps some editorial commentary.

I'm now almost 2 weeks into my new 65VT50 ownership being "installed and operational", so far watching almost nothing except HDTV. After some initial comparison of 1st-time setup STANDARD picture mode to the other modes available, I quickly settled on CUSTOM (as preset by Panny at the factory to be essentially flat-0 color) as what I clearly preferred. Coming from a Sony 34XBR960 (also set to PRO for "flat" everything, ready for "tweaks") the overall color, brightness, contrast, etc. of "factory CUSTOM" on the 65VT50 looked almost "perfect" to my eyes, although I did make just a few minor adjustments (e.g. reducing SHARPNESS, turning off "motion smoother" and "noise reduction", etc.).

I have an ISF calibration scheduled for Feb 15, but for now I'm still just playing around on my own. I've purchased ControlCAL to have the additional two ISF presets available for use, at least to try settings setups of others on this thread to decide what I might like or prefer more than something else... and certainly to compare it to CUSTOM (slightly tweaked from Panny factory preset, but very little).

I have explored watching some 2D BluRay movies I'm very familiar with from watching on the XBR960 (e.g. "Toy Story 3") and it's stunning. Of course the XBR960/CRT is limited to 1080i, whereas the 65VT60 is 1080p/24... and also significantly larger screen size. The visual difference is substantial. I'm definitely "at the movies" now.

I've never seen home 3D before but with the 65VT50 I've now sampled "Up (3D)" and it seemed a bit dark to me ("3D THX Cinema" picture mode setting) but that may be from the Panny Real3D glasses. Or, maybe it's just the nature of home 3D, or "Up". I also have "Brave" and "Avatar" in 3D to try, so maybe it's just a matter of getting used to it. Anyway for the moment I'm not at all concerned about 3D. And in 2D, 1080p/24 (from my Oppo BDP-103) looks astounding on the 65VT50.

99.9% of my viewing is HDTV from my HTPC, via Linksys DMA2100 Windows Media Center Extender. Cable channels are from TWC/LA, and network channels are from OTA/ATSC roof antenna (which provides superior picture quality to TWC's re-compressed delivery of those local networks). Source 720p/1080i is being passed HDMI from the DMA2100 through the external HDMI input of an Oppo BDP-103 where it is upconverted to 1080p, and then on through HDMI-1 output from the 103 to a Yamaha RX-V867 for video HDMI delivery to the 65VT50.

So the BDP-103 is my sole source device, both for movies (from the player itself) as well as for HDTV (passed through from my DMA2100 via external HDMI input to the 103). And it delivers 1080p to the 65VT50 through the RX-V867.


I've now watched a fair amount of assorted HDTV (film, tape/live, 720p, 1080i) on the 65VT50, including numerous recordings from the London Olympics on NBC, whose indoor/outdoor venues were lit to perfection and provided amazingly real-looking HDTV images, with perfect colors and perfect skin tone... as shown on my XBR960 originally. I have to say I'm amazed at how the 65VT50 renders these same images... because it is just like the "almost 3D-like" image on the XBR960. There is essentially zero off-angle fall off of brightness on the 65VT60/plasma (just as there is not on the XBR960/CRT), something which is of course horrible on LCD/LED sets I've seen. This is hugely important to me and makes the 65VT50 just a stunning successor to my "HDTV reference" 960.

Ok. Enough well-deserved accolades for the 65VT50. It is simply remarkable, and I obviously made the best possible choice as the successor to my 9-year old 34XBR960. I'm in love.


However...

I just cannot seem to accept the look of the image when I try the various assorted settings of others which have been posted here, including the recently posted D-Nice setup. I suspect it's probably a matter of just getting used to how they look, but at the moment I cannot.

These other settings setups all look to me to be much too "jaundiced", with skin tone much too red/yellow. Seems too dark as well.

I'm sure this is primarily from the color temperature selected in these other setups, which is either STANDARD, WARM 1 or WARM 2. I personally never cared for this "color bias" on my XBR960 either, and I don't care for how it looks on the 65VT50. I much prefer to start from COOL 1. I just like the blue-white appearance, as I also do on my computer monitors which I have set to 9300K.

Is this just me? Am I going to have to learn to accept the "other look"? Is that what my ISF calibration will produce?? If so there will certainly be plenty of discussion at that time.

Is that really intended for watching movies, and if you watch "live" HDTV (like Olympics swimming pool coverage and indoor volleyball coverage, Super Bowl, etc). that the CUSTOM + COOL 1 color on the 65VT50 is simply much more comfortable and human-like and like "window onto the real world" as my XBR960 has been?

Note that I have no day/night or windows and bright sunlight issues in my room. I watch essentially always in the dark. Certainly that's how I prefer to do any serious watching, but even in the daytime the location of windows and outside day light is essentially a non-problem for both my XBR960 and now 65VT50 (both of which are in the same room). No sunlight on either screen, no ambient lamp issues reflecting, etc. Essentially this is an all-night setup, so color and brightness/contrast is always ideal.


For the sake of discussion here, the Panny factory-provided CUSTOM preset has ZERO color adjustments. It is absolutely FLAT-0 for all CMS and other WB, 10-pt WB, and 10-pt Gamma settings.

Panny factory CUSTOM does have a few non-0 non-OFF slightly "biased" values in Advanced Picture and Pro Settings (see below), but I still much prefer this CUSTOM "flat-0 color" + COOL1 against any of the other three user-contributed setups I've seen, all of which have significant changes to all of the color tweaks and use STANDARD or WARM 1 or WARM 2 color temperature.

So, is it just me? Why does everybody rave about what to me seems like "red push" (non-realistic skin tone)?


Look at the "Panny CUSTOM setup" shown below (again, with ALL other individually adjustable WB and color-related Pro settings still at 0) which is what I'm currently using. I suspect I may feel differently after my ISF calibration gets done, but note that I've made very few changes from Panny factory CUSTOM preset as initially delivered.

In particular, what obviously distinguishes the whole CUSTOM color-appearance and brightness/contrast of this on my 65VT50 from the color-appearance of other users' settings is due to my going to COOL 1 temperature, along with Panny factory values of (a) gamma 2.2, (b) black extension +5, (c) contour emphasis ON, and (d) AGC +7... along with the fact that ALL OTHER CMS AND INDIVIDUAL COLOR-TWEAKS ARE SET AT 0 with Panny CUSTOM as delivered!

Am I alone here??

---

PICTURE
=====================
PICTURE MODE: STANDARD -> CUSTOM
CONTRAST: +100
BRIGHTNESS: +50
COLOR: +50
TINT: +0
SHARPNESS: 50 -> 20
COLOR TEMP: NORMAL -> COOL1
CATS: OFF
VIDEO NR: WEAK -> OFF

PRO SETTINGS
=====================
BLACK EXTENSION: +5
GAMMA: 2.2
PANEL BRIGHTNESS: MID
CONTOUR EMPHASIS: ON
AGC: +7

ADVANCED PICTURE
=====================
BLOCK NR: OFF
MOSQUITO NR: OFF
MOTION SMOOTHER: WEAK -> OFF
BLACK LEVEL: LIGHT
3:2 PULLDOWN: AUTO

Originally Posted by DSperber 

Looking for feedback, and perhaps some editorial commentary.


Am I alone here??

---

PICTURE
=====================
PICTURE MODE: STANDARD -> CUSTOM
CONTRAST: +100
BRIGHTNESS: +50
COLOR: +50
TINT: +0
SHARPNESS: 50 -> 20
COLOR TEMP: NORMAL -> COOL1
CATS: OFF
VIDEO NR: WEAK -> OFF

PRO SETTINGS
=====================
BLACK EXTENSION: +5
GAMMA: 2.2
PANEL BRIGHTNESS: MID
CONTOUR EMPHASIS: ON
AGC: +7

ADVANCED PICTURE
=====================
BLOCK NR: OFF
MOSQUITO NR: OFF
MOTION SMOOTHER: WEAK -> OFF
BLACK LEVEL: LIGHT
3:2 PULLDOWN: AUTO

Originally Posted by scirica 

You've got some unusual settings there. Gamma 2.2, AGC +7, Black Extension +5, Sharpness 20. Hmmmm....

Originally Posted by DSperber 

Other than my reducing Sharpness from factory-set 50 down to 20 (I tried going all the way down to 0 at first but it looked like it actually was blurring so I pushed it back up a bit to 20 at least for now, rather than just eliminating all edge-enhancement since it didn't look good... and I have my Sony XBR960 Sharpness set to 0 so I know what this setting does), all the other values are absolutely Panny factory-installed preset values, unchanged by me. That's what CUSTOM contained when I went to it.

These are the same values as ControlCAL initially shows when you launch it, as they are the 65VT50 defaults in CUSTOM.

Originally Posted by DSperber 

Other than my reducing Sharpness from factory-set 50 down to 20 (I tried going all the way down to 0 at first but it looked like it actually was blurring so I pushed it back up a bit to 20 at least for now, rather than just eliminating all edge-enhancement since it didn't look good... and I have my Sony XBR960 Sharpness set to 0 so I know what this setting does), all the other values are absolutely Panny factory-installed preset values, unchanged by me. That's what CUSTOM contained when I went to it.

These are the same values as ControlCAL initially shows when you launch it, as they are the 65VT50 defaults in CUSTOM.

Originally Posted by scirica 

When you access the SD card via the Panny menu and then hit the red button for slideshow the slideshow settings will come up. Make sure the slideshow is set to repeat and the speed is slow. It will go until you stop it.

Originally Posted by tcramer 

Regarding sharpness and for what it's worth, Chad says he found a setting of 14 to be optimal across all VT50s.

Originally Posted by steve_podleski 

Scirica

Thanks for the info. Will this menu also appear when I attach a thumbdrive?