**Official** Panasonic X54 series RPTV Thread. - Page 2

I don't know where you are getting your prices dude but they are very high. Just search for that Sony model on Sears site and you'll see what I mean.

I thought the same when I saw the prices but he must be from Canada.

The panny has HDMI input which I believe you can get an adapter to use DVI. Hopefully some one will explain the pros and cons of DVI vs HDMI.

I don't think you can go wrong with either. I actually went to Sears to buy the Sony 51" but they were out.

First, sorry bout the double post. Now the SOny one excepts pretty much all types of signals i and p wise. IS that really a bonus? Also, has anyone compared the two? There must be a reason why the price difference is so great. And yes, those are Canadian prices.
Thanks

The Sony accepts 720p...but downconverts it to 480p. The Panny's generally do not accept 720p at all. This is only a concern for Xbox gamers.

I read Panasonic x54 upconverts 720p to 1080i.

ON games that support it does the Xbox do both 480p and 720p? Also, would you notice a quality difference at all between the two settings when it's converted to 1080i?

Yes, Xbox does both 480p and 720p on games that support them (almost all games support 480p). To gain the benefit of enhanced resolution of 720p games, you need a set that displays 720p natively or converts it to 1080i. Neither sets you mention do this.

Take a look at Hitachi and Toshiba in CRTs

Although I think the SOny does support 720p to 1080i. I guess the only thing I have to think about now is which has better video quality then? And size I supposed. If anyone here had to make a choice between the two which would you go for?
THanks

Marc, are DLP sets the only ones that can do 720p natively?

There are some posts on this forum from ppl that experienced less-than-great Xbox displays on their TVs via 1080i upconversion. How can that be worse-looking than 480p? I dont get it.

Marc,

Thanks for your input! I heard that CBS HD is 720p. Does this mean that if I had the Directv HD receiver with this panny I wouldn't be able to watch CBS HD?

If that is true is there external component that can convert 720p first and then display it on a TV in 480p/540p or 1080i?

CBS broadcasts their shows and sports in 1080i. ABC and Fox (Sept 12) broadcast in 720p and your DTV will convert that to 1080i. NBC and WB also broadcast in 1080i. The DTV rec you have has the option to upconvert everything to 1080i and it goes to your Panny that way. That is how I have my DTV rec set. Your tv or STB (set top box) will do all of the necessary conversions.

The only thing you have to worry about as far as 720p is concerned, is if you use an XBOX. There are several games that send a 720p signal, and there is nothing in the chain to convert it to a usable format for the tv.

However, I don't think anyone has tried an xbox at 720p on the x54 yet.

Anyone?

I highly doubt the new Panasonic models accept a 720p signal. Last year's models didn't and all the info i've read for this year's models make no mention of it accepting that signal.

DLPs and older Panasonic CRTs are the only RPTVs that display 720p natively.

Upconverted Xbox 720p to 1080i looks good to me on the Hitachis. Definitely better than 480p.

Think they would support 720p since it's the one of the two ways HD is displayed at correct?

I can get this TV for $1780 Can. Is this a good deal?

I have the 47x54 and have an xbox, it looks great but I've never seen anything other than a regular crt

How would I set it to upconvert from 480 to 1080? or will this be done all by itself?

the 47x54 is a great TV so far, im very pleased

since the 53" model is about $150 different. I'm deciding on getting that instead. Will there be much different? I know smaller TV usually have better quarlity. Any comments for the 53" version?

As the screen gets bigger, imperfections are enhanced. It's not that the quality is necessarily better at the smaller size.. It's just the way the human eye works.

One thing you may want to consider is proximity to the TV. That's one area where you may notice a difference.

Brightness for PT47x54??

I bought this set 2 weeks ago after much comparison with similar Toshiba and Hitachi sets and so far have been happy. I am considering ISF calibration in next few months.

However, until I get that done- I used DVE and the user adjustable settings to get the set as close to ideal as I can.

My only concern is that after all the adjustments were made my brigtness setting is at 37 (out of 60). Should this be cause for concern (ie burn-in) or are other owners having the same results. All the other settings are in the 20- 30 range.

Great forum- thanks for the info.

Right now I'm really favoring the 47x54 cause of the price.(Little under 2g's Canadian) Just wondering if anyone has changed their opionin on the set since some people have owned it for a while now? Also, please state any downfalls you see with this set, that would be amaizng, Thank you

Actually, brightness setting will vary based on how adjustable your dvd player. My dvd player has its own brightness settings and that was helpful in getting the right balance between the player's settings and the tv settings. When I used the Pluge pattern from Video Essentials, the "below black" stripe was still visible based on the 32 brightness setting on the Panny. It's not supposed to be like that. I had to go into the dvd player's user menu and adjust the brightness so that Pluge pattern was displayed correctly. That is how you properly set your brightness. There is a good explaination on how to do this on Video Essentials. Having said that, 37 appears somewhat high but somewhere around 30-33 should be okay, but remember that the Picture (contrast) setting is the one that plays a larger role in terms of burn-in. As I stated above, using the Pluge pattern on VE will help you get a brightness and contrast settings that should be right for your television. That is where I would start.

Got this TV yesterday. Did some minor adjustments to brightness and contrast and it looks better than my calibrated Toshiba 55HX70. SD channels especially look better. I have MSNTV which caused burn-in on the Toshiba. On the Panasonic my settings when using MSNTV are 20 for brightness and 10 for contrast so maybe I won't get burn-in. The TV can also stretch the picture which should help. I'm impressed with this TV.

apesma,
Congratulations!

Pulled the trigger and bought the 53x54 yesterday. Should get it Tuesday.

I saw the 53 on the showfloor. Great looking TV, better then Sony and I would say very comparable with Hita.

I will post my opinions on the TV once I get it. Just to you all know, I'm not a huge movie watcher, so my decision was based on this TV's performance for normal TV viewing.

Hello:

How does a 4-element lense differ from a 5-element lense? Why is a greater number of elements important? I know the current Hitachi S series has 5 element lenses. Will this effect overall picture quality greatly?

For the record, I too have been impressed with this television. Not only does it seem to have very good picture, it has very attractive styling and is cheap to boot.

Thanks,

John

Got the new TV. I won't get all my thoughts up right yet...

However I must point out to those that indicated there might be a problem with the XBox..... I have tested about 40 Xbox games and they all look FANTASTIC with no problems running them.

If someone could post what 720 XBox games have caused problems I will try and get my hands on it to test.

ico,

interesting news. I am torn between the f510 hitachi and the panasonic. One of the key selling points was the ability to upconvert 720 to 1080 in the hitachi vs. what i thought was the ability of the panasonic to only convert 480 to 1080.

did you set up your xbox to output 720 on games that support it? or was it set to 480?

looking forward to more comments.

I don't believe anyone has had problems with Xbox in 720p on the X54. I think the problem is that noone (up to this point) has had an Xbox to test with. Your news is very exciting!

How does this set honestly compare with a DLP or Sony XBR LCD set?