The Official Panasonic UT50 Settings/Issues Thread - Page 22

I am a recent convert to plasma. I've been into home theater for quite a while, but my focus was always on audio. For the past 8 years I've been using a rear projection Hitachi46F510 as my display. I thought this cyber Monday would be a good time to look for a new display. I picked up a Vizio cinemawide from costco for $999. Yuck. I watch a lot of sic-fi and horror films. The light bleed was totally unacceptable. I'm not sure how people can live with edge lit lcds. The blacks from my CRT RP were great. To make a long story short, I had been misinformed and had bought into the myths regarding plasmas. It was hard to believe that a product less expensive could so clearly outperform the similar priced lcds. I ended up finding a returned 60UT50 for $999 at best buy. So, back went the cinemawide and home came the 60UT50. I've been incredibly happy with the TV. Here are my questions related to settings.

1. Are greyscale adjustments set at the factory individually for each TV? So if I open up the service menu and plug in anikun07 settings they probably won't be even close, or will they?
2. Contrast adjustment: I've been using the WOW blu-ray to calibrate. If I use the beginner settings (the screen with ideal white between two sets of 3 bars) the far right 2 bars start to merge together at about 50 or so. I've also tried using the advanced star pattern and I don't see any change in ideal white after about 50. What am I missing? Do you guys who are calibrating using a meter and software actually measure the value of light output and set it that way, or is it done by eye.

I've downloaded the AVS709 disc and I'm going to try and use that and see if my adjustments change.

This TV is used for a dedicated home theater are, so all my calibrations are done in total darkness.

On the white balance setting they may work for you they may not depends how close your default settings are to his worth a shot tho imo

Definitely check to see what your default settings are, and write them down in the user manual even if you don't change them right now.


Remember to change them based on clicks and not the actual values themselves. If the default R-Cut value is for example 78 on your set don't go to 83. Only go up 3 clicks to 81.

Just bought the UT50 and am going thru the set up in cinema mode. When I get to the 3:2 pull down it is greyed out. What did I miss?

I think you need 24p content, if I understand you correctly. Do you mean for 48 Hz?

Hello. I recently purchased a P50UT50. Everything seems to be working great however I am having an issue with 3D via streaming with an ethernet connection. If I stream Youtube 3D SBS content or SBS/top-bottom content through DLNA while in 3D mode, the video will begin to severely stutter within 30-90 seconds. This stuttering only occurs with 3d content. I am able to play SBS/top-bottom content via USB in 3D mode without issue. Also I'm able to play 3D content streaming via VUDU without issue, but that content seems to be anaglyph. Can anyone else confirm this is an issue with the UT50?

I just got a 55inch UT50. I'm used to Panasonic plasmas since I've had an older 50inch for 5 years now with zero problems. I've been trying to tweek the picture with Disney WOW but I'm having issues with the contrast and brightness settings of the TV. Even with both turned up to 100, it's still VERY dark, even in a completely dark room. I'm thinking about returning it and chalking it up as a bad unit, but wanted to get some opinions from some other people more experienced then me. Why is my picture so dark? It's nothing like my last plasma. Thanks

If you can download and burn the AVS 709 disc you can try those patterns. Typically a brightness of 50 and a contrast of 80-85 should give you a full range between black and white.

Thanks for the info. I tried those setting and the TV is still very dark. I'm not looking for the brightness of an LCD here. With both turned up to 100 the TV is super dark. I'm either crazy or this is a bad unit.

Just to clarify, I mean dark as in all the channels I go to look like night time even in the day. I just went to the discovery channel and they had a show where two guys are in the bright sun of the desert, and it looks like dusk. Man this is frustrating! Thanks for anyone's help.

Oh, make sure you're not using standard picture mode, that is dim indeed. Are you using Cinema or Custom? You could try Vivid, but I don't recommend it for regular use because it's too saturated.

Yes needed the 24p content. Thanks.

How does one go about finding the actual settings you posted because i am having trouble getting the picture perfect on my ut50.

Hi guys...i am in a little trouble and need help....i bought 55UT50 a month ago...and right from the box i started using it for regular use..xbox 360 for playing Call of Duty...and now i see at the bottom right and left marks left from game....i only see them on white screen..is this actually a pixel burn? Or stuck pixel? Is there any solution for this? I m paranoid and dont know what to do...

Do you only see it on a white screen? If so, cut back on your gaming and let it work its way out with normal content. You could run slides or the anti-IR bar, but it will probably just come back depending on how much you play games vs how much TV content you watch.

Yeah, it's just IR and it will go away eventually if you watch a lot of other content and stay away from CoD for a while. But as Anikun notes, it is something that will just keep coming back if you play the same game a lot.

If you're only noticing it on white slides, I wouldn't worry about it. I decided to get rid of my 55UT50 for an LED mainly because I couldn't handle the buzz, but I was also starting to get some IR from Borderlands 2 and longer ESPN sessions that I was noticing during bright scenes (basketball court, snow in x-games etc.).

Generally it's mostly something that will go away rather than any kind of permanent burn in (which is very rare). But if you're doing a ton of playing the same game or watching the same channels with tickers, you can get some pretty stubborn IR that takes a number of hours to go away. So if it's something that annoys you, plasma probably isn't right for you if you're not willing to change your habits.

I wasn't as I want a TV that works for my uses, not to change my uses due to drawbacks of the TV. I loved the PQ, but just not worth the hassles I was getting for my uses (annoying buzz, especially at night when I have to keep the volume down, worries about IR, having to keep the blinds down and lose my view for it to be watchable during the day).

If you're still in the return period, I consider exchanging for an LCD/LED if you're going to keep doing a lot of gaming. Otherwise just stop actively looking for the IR on white slides, and try to mix up your gaming some and limit the length of gaming sessions, and maybe turn the contrast down more when playing games to limit IR issues.

Yeah i ran the pixel pattern from disney wow last night and i cud for sure see the difference...it started to fade away a little...i love this tv and dont want to settle it for LCD/LED...i love watching Blue Ray movies and this is by far the best PQ...i will try to cut down on gaming....does the 100 hrs or so help reduce IR for long run? Or it will just keep coming back? If i continue to play games?

I just bought a UT50 and it is my first plasma. I have it hooked up to D* and have not watched much but one movie from thhe Hallmark channel and fox news that has streaming on the bottom but I noticed a logo on both fox and also hallmark that was there. I don't want this junk burned in so what do I do?
The only settings I have changed is to crank up contrast on standard from 50 to 60. Please help a newby with break in tips.

there is an energy-saving mode that will make the picture dark and/or a mode that dims/brightens the picture based on ambient room lighting.

Standard mode is very dark. Use custom or cinema and teak to your liking with a calibration disc or try some settings posted in the UT50 settings thread or early in this thread.

Also make sure to turn off CATS as that adjusts brightness based on ambient light and tends to make things dim.

Hey folks. My 50 ut 50 is coming this week. This thread had been fantastic. I've been pouring over all the akunin and co posts and settings. I'll be staying out of SM for now but just have one question. Do any ut 50 people live in the same world as most mortal tv watchers? As in people who watch in rooms with ambient daylight kicking around? I live in Pac Northwest and room faces north so no direct sunlight. Also have patio slider next to tv covered with blackout curtains but windows perpendicular to tv starting at a distance of about 15 ft are not covered. should i even bother with akunin's dark room settings? should i tinker until i get the WOW disc and then set it during day? but then at night i'm sure i'll be missing a lot... i suppose i'll have to find a happy medium. Can a ut 50 work at all in ambient daylight? did i buy the wrong set for my room????

For the uncovered perpendicular windows, it depends if you can see reflected light from your viewing position. If so, it might be distracting.

I don't have blackout curtains, and couldn't get the UT50 to work in my room with ambient daylight. I exchanged for an ST50

Thanks for the tips. If Al Gore can complain about global warming but burn a zillion KW and a million gal of Jet fuel, I am not going to sweat being a good eco. I guess Panny has to satisfy the EPA

Sorry I anukin07! Misspelled it!

I've bought the Disney WOW disc to calibrate, but can only run it via PS3. Can I calibrate all modes (Cinema, Custom, Game) via the PS3 and then consider those modes calibrated for other inputs (computer via DVI-HDMI, in particular)?

Also, what's the consensus on Game mode? Should it in fact be used for gaming? (ps3)

OK - I purchased the UT50, 55 inch and to be honest I was anticipating much more. I could'nt get to the level or quality of picture I anticipated. I knew it was a low end plasma, but scored extremily high in reviews. Purchased at Costco, the setting was "Standard", which is below average picture. In reality I trusted the CNET reviews and AVS reviews and made the puchase. After approximatly 200 hours of viewing I felt I should have at a minimum purchased the ST50 and purhaps lowballed my purchase. But then I discovered how to access additional calibration settings by holding the volume button on the side of the TV, not the remote, and pushing the info button on remote three (3) times. This opened up the door. I followed previously posted calibration settings for Custom and Cinima and WOW- The picture is everything I dreamed of. It blowes away any TV, Plasma, LCD, LED under $ 2800. It rivals Sony's XBR Series, which I love, my preference. I paid $799, plus tax out the door. You have to get to the internal settings. Then, unless you have the tools to generate your on calibration setting, follow previously posted settings. Do not attempt to just plunge in and start making adjustments- That would be a disaster. Thanks to the previous posters for providing the in depth settings. You have to appreciate blacks, deep and inky to love this TV. If your preference is bright , shiney pictures go the LED, LCD route. Look around, black is a real color and is hard, the inkier the better.
Thanks Again-

I purchased the UT50, 55 inch and to be honest I was anticipating much more. I could'nt get to the level or quality of picture I anticipated. I knew it was a low end plasma, but scored extremily high in reviews. Purchased at Costco, the setting was "Standard", which is below average picture. In reality I trusted the CNET reviews and AVS reviews and made the puchase. After approximatly 200 hours of viewing I felt I should have at a minimum purchased the ST50 and purhaps lowballed my purchase. But then I discovered how to access additional calibration settings by holding the volume button on the side of the TV, not the remote, and pushing the info button on remote three (3) times. This opened up the door. I followed previously posted calibration settings for Custom and Cinima and WOW- The picture is everything I dreamed of. It blowes away any TV, Plasma, LCD, LED under $ 2800. It rivals Sony's XBR Series, which I love, my preference. I paid $799, plus tax out the door. You have to get to the internal settings. Then, unless you have the tools to generate your on calibration setting, follow previously posted settings. Do not attempt to just plunge in and start making adjustments- That would be a disaster. Thanks to the previous posters for providing the in depth settings. You have to appreciate blacks, deep and inky to love this TV. If your preference is bright , shiney pictures go the LED, LCD route. Look around, black is a real color and is hard, the inkier the better.

How dark is your viewing room?

My 50 ut 50 is arriving this week so...

Have you ventured into service menus before? I'd like to try it but am nervous as i've never done it before. I have anukin07's settings in the SM so i suppose i could just give it a whirl but the big problem i have is in changing ambient light in my room and i know anukin is a serious dark room viewer.

so i'm really curious to know if you have a dedicated dark theater type set up.

thanks.

Hi, I, new to the forums. I just got my tv last weekend from Costco. Great tv. Thing is, I was wondering if anyone knew if there were any settings for the digital audio out? I'm connecting the optical cable to an old Sony AVR and it only inputs PCM 48. So no blue light or 5.1 audio. I have my Xbox 360 and AT&T Uverse STB connected via HDMI and the digital optical out connected to my AVR. On my older Sony LCD the optical out would decode out to the receiver and it would play though the AVR in Dolby Digital 5.1.

Hi,

Just purchased a UT50 and don't have color from my DVD? It's very clear and very black and white.

I have my Uverse cable box connected via HDMI and also have the ethernet connected from the cable box to tv.

The DVD is connected via component cables (green, red, blue). Also have fiber optic out connected to my AVR.

My AVR and DVD player are Denon components purchased in 2005 (not Bluray) and do not have HDMI connections.

Any help/suggestions much appreciated. Thx.