PANASONIC 65" 1080p PLASMA (TH-65PX600U) Owners Thread - Page 12

I think any comparisons to movie theater "blacks" is going to be tough as I've been in some movie theaters where you could read a newspaper off of the side lights left on during a movie and others that very dark which equated to deeper blacks in the projected image.

So this isn't a one size fits all comparison.

Robert,

It seems the "black fiends" on this forum (e.g me, Ken Ross and some others) have found the 1080p models have distinctly higher black levels than their lower-res counterparts, particularly the new Pioneer 1080p model.

The Panasonic 1080p model strikes me as having almost but not quite as deep blacks as the non-1080p models.

I just did a comparison of HD-DVD on the Panasonic 1080p model vs the Pioneer 1080p model. Not side-by-side, but within a day of each other, both under perfectly light-controlled/picture control viewing conditions. You can see my new thread about this. I found the Panasonic struck me as having the deeper black levels over the Pioneer.

I'm not yet an owner, but am on the verge, thank's to all the great info and the review from Rich. (See the new post)

I'm a newbee when it comes to buying electronics and and undersatnd the rules related to discussing specific pricing so I'll be general. My question is, I am located in an area with both custom and big box stores that sell this model and they are all pricing at full MSRP. On-line there are a variety of options to save some serious cash. Can you give me some recommendations relative to your experiences pro/con for paying an additional 20% for this locally? Or with warranties? Or should I just try to negotiate locally?

Thanks.

That's a great calculator!


Mr Bob

I am commenting more on the fact that with arc lamps - those used for welding, which is what movie theaters need to use - movie film cannot stop all that light, even in the darkest of passages, meant to be all black. On any movie screen, regardless of the ambient lighting of the theater, the black scenes are still not really all black. This is inherent in the composition of movie film, and would be the same no matter what kind of light used by the projector, to project with.

Yeah, it's easier to see this in a really well darkened theater, but most mall theaters I have been in have ambient lighting that is at least nicely controlled and as such within respectable light limits, and as such I can always see that the blacks are not really ALL black, even in an all black, fade-to-black scene transition. At any time. Ever.


Mr Bob

Mr. Bob,

I don't know if "suitable" is the appropriate word. Coming from my RPTV, I was "used" to a certain black level. Of course with this new plasma set I wanted it to excel at "everything." I was somewhat disappointed that it didn't match or best my old RPTV's black levels, but after having the set for over a month, I've come to recognize that the black levels are quite good, especially for a plasma.

Rich Harkness provides some excellent observations about the Panny's black levels in his latest look at the set. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748415

When I've gone to movie theaters I've plainly seen that the black levels were not as dark or as rich as my old RPTV or my tube TV for that matter. From memory I'd say that the Panny's black levels compare favorably to the level of blacks I've seen at movie theaters, but, I haven't been in a movie theater for many months, well before I purchased my set.

(Due to the "inconveniences" of today's movie theaters, I rarely venture forth from my own home theater. The exception is the ArcLight Cinema in Hollywood http://www.arclightcinemas.com or the DGA theater on Sunset where a movie goer isn't bombarded with cell phone conversations, inconsiderate chattering, or babies crying. Due to time constraints, I haven't been back to either since I saw "X-men 3" earlier this year.)

As a calibrator, I have found that even on CRT pjs, to see details in the darkness properly the brightness has to be set appropriately to the needs of movie film. You can't really go any darker than that or you start to have to struggle to see those details, and it becomes fatiguing to me.

As such, I've found that the brightness has to be set to exactly the same dark levels that movie film produces, even if that is not the best that CRT can ACTUALLY do.

With the advent of more and more all-digital "filming" - should say "shooting" - of 1080p movies like the last 2 Star Wars episodes, the black levels may become even better than film is presently capable of.

But until then, I think we are kinda stuck with the lowest black levels achieveable being those of movie film - at least whenever we are watching a movie SHOT on movie film.


Mr Bob

I have had my new 1080p Panasonic for about 3 weeks now. I looked at everything in so many stores & brought my own signal to view which was most important to me. My test was watching my own HD video from my 3 different HD cameras. I was somewhat disappointed with the Pioneer 50 1080p model. It was just to small. I all ready have 2 other plasma both Panasonics. One is 42 & the other is a 50 inch model. They both have been very good with absolutely no trouble. In fact these two models I have which are the HD versions displayed a more detailed image than most other current displays I have looked at. I believe they are 5th generation models???

I had a real good comparison of some footage I shot of my son's soccer game. The refs had these bright red satin shirts with fine black strips running down them. In a Best Buy store I was in the only display that could deal with the sun hitting these shirts where the red wasn't so over driven that you could not see the fine black lines was the Pioneer 60" 6071 model. The Panasonic 50 inch just looked no where near as good. I played with the adjustments also. Also the LCD Sony 46" 1080p was not good with this.

My old Panasonics I checked when I got home & they were much more like the Pioneer but the Pioneer just had stunning colors. I almost bought the Pioneer 6071 but what drove me away from this was the 720p. I hooked computers up to these screens also. My wife said how could anything be better than the Pioneer but after going to Tweeters in Dallas & hauling this new Panasonic 65inch 1080p model home she can see why I bought it.

Listen guys this is super important to me is how it can function with a computer hooked up to it because this is how I display most my recordings & also most movies on HDTV. This thing BLEW ME AWAY and here is why. The other displays would only do 1368 by 760 or around this. I could over drive some but the image was fuzzy with text surfing the internet etc. The 65 Panasonic is TOTALLY TERRIFIC in this aspect for me. I can display a full 1920 X 1080 with TOTAL clarity. Finally I found a BIG screen that I could use just like any normal computer monitor AMAZING!!

Every aspect of this screen has amazed me. I have a cheap LG up convert DVD player & was I in for a shock watching some of my old DVDs. I also was fooled as it looks like HDTV too me. I also have a Pioneer Blue ray DVD demo player a friend dropped off. I bought several movies to see the 1080p & WOW! I am running this all thru a Pioneer Elite 84 TSX receiver which I have been very happy with. This piece aloud the computer to display the best image from it's DVI output from the ATI All in Wonder 1900 graphics card to the one of the HDMI inputs of this Receiver. I am seeing flaws in movies I never saw before. My wife is now upset with me because with all this detailed imagery she can not show expressions since you can see every new wrinkle. She liked the standard definition much better in this aspect.

I looked at many displays including the Panasonic 58inch. The Pioneer 60 beat this in dynamic color I believe.

I also have a 60inch Sony LCD which is very good I feel for an LCD but I have worked this set 16 different ways or more & a computer monitor it is not!

Everyone that has seen this display have left in total amazment from my 1080P demos. I feel this is a good value at the moment for how truly good it is.

What hurts me more than anything is I paid more for my Pany 50 than this new pany 65 incher. The Times they are a changin'.

Anyway I am as happy as a Clam!

Thanks, Rance, for your impressions of your set.

I'll see if I can make you feel a little better about the price you paid for your 50" plasma. I bought a 42" ED plasma years ago for roughly half the cost of my new 65" 1080p set.

I can trump that.

The new Panny 65" 1080p plasma can be found going for LESS than my ED plasma was being sold for when I bought it.

Ouch.

Here is a Photo. The box to the far right is a computer I built for these Plasma. It contains 2 gig of ram, AMD x2 4600 processor overclocked with water cooling plus 1.5 terabytes of hardrive for storing HDTV. The speakers I custom build in the walls for surround sound. the one under the display is the center channel.

How do I make the photos show up in the post instead of just being files shown?

Thanks

Do you mean like this?

Yes exactly,

Thanks

Mr. Bob Do you know anywhere in the SF Bay area where the 1080p panny is on display?

Halvard, the consumer version is at Magnolia's in Palo Alto. Probably at other Magnolias as well I would guess.

It's not that hard to do... the first thing you need is some public web space that can be resolved over the Internet. If you have high-speed Internet access (e.g. cable/FiOS broadband or DSL) most ISPs will provide a limited amount of storage included with your account... my approach is to:

1) Capture a screen shot of the desired image (Alt key + Print Scr key)
2) Paste image into MS Paint
3) Edit out unwanted portions
4) Save as *.JPG format to conserve bandwidth (less bytes)
5) Use FTP to transfer a copy of the saved file to your public web space (e.g. for my account: ftp mysite.verizon.net)
6) When creating your post embed the picture with [img] [/img] tags

That's all there is to it.

Thanks!

Optivity,

Very good indeed thanks now I can do it! Owe you one.

Rance

Well, if ya don't mind a Brooklyn accent you can try out a few listings from Google:
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-...0TH%2D65PX600U

Just came back from Magnolia on Almaden. Saw the panny w/ blue-ray. The whole family went. This monster is amazing to say the least. I ask the rep if I can see a TV feed. They didnt have any tv feed hook up, so they just let me see a regular dvd. Regular dvd look ok I guess. I believe it was playing from the Bose system. Our family owns an Oppo dvd player, do you think this would improve the picture quality? In the end, my dad didnt bring his wallet. So we will come back tomorrow. The thing that is shocking most to me is the tv stand is $1250!! Just curious, is the picture quality on the commercial just as good as the consumer?

Yes. Many say the picture quality on the commercial set can be tweaked (due to more comprehensive user controls) to provide an even better picture than the consumer set.

Which probably causes more harm than good.

I am pretty sure most LCD's are limited to 24bit color, basically in the millions of colors. I read that plasmas like the panny are capable of 28 billion colors, or basically 30bit. Of course you need HDMI 1.3 for 30bit color. So the question is... Do you think they will have an HDMI 1.3 module for the commercial panny? Secondarily is there a limit somewhere other than the module on how many colors a flat panel can display? Some sort of internal mechanical processing like the stuff they say makes the Fuji tons better than the Panny with the same glass.

--prosumer

My dad and I were talking last night about the commercial vs consumer. I was wondering if the tv stand for the commercial model will fit the consumer model? Yes I told him about the 5 year warranty.

A potential big plus for the Consumer model over the Commercial is the availability of numerous inputs, ie three HDMI inputs. No need for purchasing extra input cards.

Expecially if one is looking to sell at a later date to J6P, the existing numerous inputs and addon speakers may be a plus in selling vs the commercials lacking of same.

Also if sold, the 5 yr warranty does NOT go with it!

you can use a site like imageshack .com to upload and host your pics. will limit the upload or pic size but can get pretty good pics to show.
then use their link for a forum site and paste in here and it should do it for you also.

You can read about my experiences using the commercial stand with the consumer set earlier in this thread.