FAQ & RULES LINKS_ Plasma & Panasonic Plasma FAQ - Read First! - Page 13

If I am at a 10ft viewing distance, should I stick with 42" HD Panny or will going up to 50" also be ok at that distance? Thanks!

Bruzzi, thanks for setting up that FAQ. Its answering alot of my questions and I'd be lost finding a stand on ebay w/o it, hehe.

will the TY-ST42PX5W fit the 8th generation commercial models? I'm going to get the TH-37PHD8UK and am looking, but I see alot of those stands available.

If you can afford it, the 50" would be excellent. Common rule of thumb for viewing distance is 1.5 to 3.0X the diagonal screen size.

For a more sophisticated chart try this.

Thanks for the site link. I am still confused as to what all of the results mean. If I calcualted your common rule of thumb correctly, 75" to 150" would be ok to view this TV. That would come out to 6ft 3" and 12ft 3". Am I right in figuring it out this way? Thanks again very much for your help!

You're welcome.

Yes, your calculations are correct. (Actually, 12ft 6", but I suspect that was just a typo.) This chart does the math for you, if you'd prefer.

I just looked through some of the DVD Player forum and am completely lost. I just got a TH-42PD50U, my question is:

1) how do you know if a DVD player has a "good" de-interlacer that's better than the one in the TV?

2) I looked at the Panny DVD-S77S player (~$200) and the Denon 2910(~$700), both progressive scans and both HDMI I think, but don't understand the huge difference in price. Anybody know if the S77 is a decent player for a newbie like myself?

3) Anybody know of an even cheaper progressive scan player w/ HDMI that doesn't have the unnecessary upconversion?

Thanks again

The Panasonic DVD-S77 gets high marks at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...h&articles=123

The Secrets benchmarks are probably the most rigorous and thorough DVD player tests anywhere.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...ut-1-2003.html

I just bought a 50PHD7UY from a Canadian retailer and it was cheaper than getting it from the US. It also comes with a full Canadian Panasonic warranty. If you are interested, PM me and I will fill you in (I'm not sure if I'm permitted to mention it on this forum).

Thanks BruZZi

Thanks again Macfan! My wife says she wants a 50" so now that it is viewable at our distance, just have to wait for a sale. Take care

I have questions regarding the use of a HTPC with a Panasonic TH-42PHD8UK Plasma TV.

What is the best video resolution to feed the VGA input on the set in order to fill the screen and get the best picture?

Would this differ with a 50" version noting that the horizontal pixels available on the 50" are 1366 vs 1024 on the 42"?

Thanks,

Mark

Hi,
I bought a 42px500u about a month ago. In checking for how long the unit it's being on, I went into the service menu. I fear that in the process I might have changed something by mistake. I'm not sure. I swear the picture doesn't look the same as before, but it could be my mind playing tricks on me. I even bought the service manual for it, but it doesn't really go into what the default settings are supposed to be. Can anyone please help me where to find what the default settings are for a 42px500u. I posted this on the 500u specific forum but no one bother to reply. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank,
Jules.

I am set to do that. Thanks so much for providing a newbie like me with a great help thread. I am sure I will be reading up on it soon when I get my set. Thanks!

Does she have a sister?

I noticed on the spec sheet for the new commercial models that they state:

Up to 2,048 shades of gradation (4,096 shades via HDMI or DVI connection)

Is the more shades what decreases the false contouring and color banding problems like when you look at a blue sky or fog on a dark screen.

I have the new consumer 42 ED model and notice this every now and then and have come to accept it. I am currently using component connection. If the statement above is true for the consumer model as well, if I switch to an HDMI connection and this doubles the number of shades, do you think I will notice less color banding issues?

In theory, yes.

However, in the real world things don't always work as planned, so you won't know for sure until you try. Some people seem to be more sensitive to this problem than others, so it's possible that it will be better, but not enough to completely satisfy you.

I'm not especially sensitive to false contouring, but when I do notice it, it seems to be related to the quality of the source material. I see it most often on poor grade signals. After I started to process external sources through an iScan Ultra, I thought I saw it less often. I'm not sure everyone would have the same reaction, though.

I am planning on getting a Panny 42" Plasma, probably the TH-43pd50U. My original plan was to mount this on the wall since I have a small viewing room. However both walls in my condo are neighboring walls with the adjacent condo.

I'm concerned with the builtin in speakers that the sound would be transmitted through the wall. Anyone have any comments or thoughts about that?

Also is there a way to disconnect (not remove) these speakers and use external speakers? Or should I just opt for maybe a commercial model with speakers?

Any comments?

No problem. You can either turn the speakers "Off" in the audio menu, or turn them all the way down. I do the latter so I can use them if I want to (which is rare). It also lets me activate the closed caption easily, by just hitting the "mute" button.

Of course, the commercial option would work, too.

I've been on and off the forums for several months just reading posts and keeping tabs on the PDP sets as a whole. Thanks to everyone for the tips/tricks/etc.

I'm finally ready to plop down some cash and get a new Panny (my first PDP, upgrading from a Benq6100 w/ 100" DIY Screen) as I think they have the best PQ from what I've seen in stores (granted thats an imperfect world but I went to 7-8 different stores and compared notes from each display at each one). I'm looking for feedback from the group on what they think between the TH50PHD7UY, TH-50PX50U, and the TH-50PX500U. I've pretty much settled on the TH50PHD7UY for the following:

- can change out the interface modules (HDMI, VGA onboard, Component, etc)
- Don't need the tuner on the TH-50PX50U or TH-42PX500U for cable
- Don't need the speakers
- It's all black vs having some silver in there
- All TV and DVD will come from the HTPC so only need 1 HDMI interface
- Xbox/Gamecube can come in via SVid or Component so no contention there
- Seating distance is around 9-10 feet so the 50" should be fine (although I'll miss the size of the 100" screen (wont miss only being able to watch TV at night though... the room is very bright during the day).

I'm wondering what you get besides Picture in Picture + cable card on the 500U? Does it really improve anything in the electronics? The glass is all 8th gen on all 3 units based on the Panny website so I can't think there would be much difference between the 50U and the 500U (saw them together at 1 HiFi store and didnt notice any diff on SD or HD content).

Next question is do I go with the series "8" industrial models or just get the "7" series. My budget cap is about $4000 (although if I went slightly over that would be ok ... already trying to rationalize it... sigh) and right now all 3 sets are in the $3600 range at a few places.

Quick edit: Just found a great price, few hundred $$$ cheaper than the "7" models, for the TH-50PHD8UK. Any reason not go with that one?

Any and all feedback is appreciated ...

friz

Thanks for your reply Macfan. I agree that the problem gets worse on poor source material. As long as I try not to look for it, it is not a problem for me. I still love the TV. Eye popping HD on an ED!

I don't have a receiver with HDMI connection yet, but I am sure I will when Directv releases their new MPEG-4 receivers. I will have to wait until then to see.

The other thing I still was not sure about was if the 4096 shades were just for the commercial models or was this for the consumer models as well. I never remember seeing that listed on the consumer models.

I assume you are aware of it, but just in case you aren't, this thread discusses (at great length! ) how you can get a D* HD TiVo for $200 or so, in case you are interested. No one knows for sure that it's true, but D*s CSRs are telling people that they will upgrade to the MPEG-4 units for free when the time comes. I think it will be a while before you need MPEG-4 in St. Louis, and if you already are a D* subscriber and get HD OTA, it's a great deal.

I just hooked one up to my TH-42PD25/U, and I'm delighted with it. The SD picture via HDMI is almost as good as it is through my iScan Ultra, and the HD is as good as through the Panasonic's built-in tuner. Plus it's a TiVo you can use for OTA as well as D* recording.

I read too much - just got my new px50u and wanted to get it set to the "norm". What is the link to the normal settings people start out with (not factory) - I can't find em now...

Galen.

Thanks Bruzzi, looks like the "8UK" is the way to go - cheaper, best features/price... I just can't figure out why its cheaper then the 7UY models??? I mean wow. $600 difference seems like a big deal - the "8UK" is $2000 cheaper (online) than the PX50U version in some stores.

Makes me wonder if I should take the savings and buy an ED version for the bedroom ...


friz

I've been following the following thread regarding stretch modes on the Panny consumer units, and I'm trying to find out a definitive answer regarding the 37" 8Uks. the answers in this thread are all over the place...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7&page=1&pp=30

Short version: If I'm connected to the 8UK from my Comcast HD cable box via component connection ONLY, will I be able to set aspect ratio (specifically sidebars or Just mode) from the monitor, or am I going to have to deal with some sort of hack where I have both component and s-video connected from the cable box, and have to switch inputs every time I change stations?

I ask because I specifically cannot do this on my current Samsung tube. Input via component is frozen at whatever ratio is provided by the source, and the stretch modes provided by the Comcast box are unacceptable.

"Should be able to" isn't a good enough answer before I buy.

Thanks!

To clarify a bit more, does the panny freeze display at the source's aspect ratio based on the input (component/DVI) or based on some information in the signal itself (SD station or HD station).

My Samsung tube disables aspect adjustment when viewing from the component input and I just need to figure out if this is a failing of the Samsung design, or a fact of life that I'll have to work around with macros on my universal remote.

tks