Official Panasonic PX75U / PX77U Owners Thread *NO PRICE TALK* - Page 2

The way the price on these sets kept dropping (down $150 on Amazon in the past 3 weeks!) prompted me to buy this set for our upstairs. Brought it home from a B&M store today and just set it up. They agreeed to lower the asking price to a point where I felt comfortable pulling the trigger. I had narrowed it down to the Pioneer and the Panny, but the lower price and the tradition of plasma excellence sealed the deal for me.

One quick question is how should I break it in? My kids like video games, but how long should we wait before playing them? If there is a link to a thread with this info, I would be grateful.

TIA

Jer, my first impressions are that it works great. We have a 2 story open family room with 4 huge wall windows. The glare was/is so bad on our 40" Sony XBR Tube that we had the windows tented to cut the glare. The 77U reflects little to no glare. It is subtle, but you have to look for it. In contrast, we can't watch dark movies in the daytime on the Sony, the tenting made it easier, though - we can on the 77U. I popped in a DVD for a few minutes yesterday, then back to the Burn-In DVD...so far so good...6 more days to go.

This was the largest size set that would fit in the recessed wall space of our game room. It is our second HDTV, with a larger JVC LCoS RP HDTV at 56" in our living room. I was worried about the size of the 42 inch when I looked at it in the store next to all though 50 and 58" plasmas, but in the house it is just fine.

Set up was easy, though I'm still trying to get audio line out when I don't want to use the TV speakers. Not an issue for DVDs as they go right to the AV receiver. One plus was that our direct cable has HDTV of the local channels that I did not realize. So I can get HD content without a secon cable box (OK, only 4 channels, but it is at no extra cost)! I like the black bezel more than the silver of past models. Next step is to calibrate with DVE.

We have nearly the same situation - one side is just glass windows opening out to our backyard. The Anti-glare in the 77u really works - If I go near the screen I see a slight cloudy blur instead of reflection. The situation was unbearable with a CRT before..

I'm taking delivery of a 77U on Friday. I saw a reference to "break in" in an earlier post. What breaking in does it require, if any?

Here is the thread for the DVD. I used the ISO file burned on a DVD-R, and it works great.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=583089

Here is the thread about breaking plasmas, yes - it's a darn good idea - even Panasonic recomends a break-in/burn-in period of 100-200 hours by setting the Picture & Brightness low and not using static images for long periods of time (a couple hours on ESPN with a score line would be bad).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=608677

My 42PX75U is showing up tomorrow. I have the break-in DVD all ready. This is my first plasma, so I am pretty excited.

Has anyone posted their settings for their 42PX75U yet?

thats interesting my 60u does this to HD channel is full switch to an SD channel and it automatically changes to just

Hi,

First thanks to those you took time to reply about the Anti-Glare coating on the 77u. The AG sounds great so I am ready to buy.

Any suggestions on where to buy? I would love to patrionize a forum sponsor, but also am a bit worried about what happens if I have to send it back.

jerry

My old PX50U does this too - i think all the Panasonic plasmas do this so i'm surprised that the 6U did not. When i switch from an HD channel to an SD channel, the TV switches to whatever stretch mode i left it on the last time i was tuned to an SD channel. I usually leave my SD stretch mode on 4:3 and the TV remembers this whenever i switch from HD to SD channels - the TV switches from FULL mode to 4:3. My GF's LCD TV does not do this and it drives me nutz

Thanks! The links in that thread and then downloading DVD Decrypter was all that I needed. I'm running the break in DVD right now.

Anyone here using an Oppo DVD player with their new Panny (PX75U or PX77U) - how does it compare with your previous DVD player on component for instance?

I have my 50PX77U hooked up the new Oppo 981 over HDMI (of course), It's my understanding that the Oppo 981 over HDMI will have a higher PQ than any progressive scan DVD player on the market using component cables. Is this true?

edit:

I have an old Sony DVD player and Canare cables - I may conduct my own comparison this weekend, but I may be wasting my time...

I got a 50px75u for about a month and I love it.

I'm a little confused about calibrating this set... I have tryed various setting and always end up with the factory default because it look better.

Some shows in HD like Heros gives me a "grainy" image, I can see noise in the picture. Is it because of too much compression or can it be adjust in sharpness setting ?

I will try others setting just to see but for now it's an awesome set for the price !

Cnet recommends the following settings for a darkened room, has anyone tried this? (I will this weekend)

"Below, you'll find the settings we found best for viewing the Panasonic TH-50PX77U in a completely darkened room via the HDMI input with a 1080p source. Your settings may very depending on source, room conditions, and personal preference."

Normal: No
Picture mode: Custom
Picture: +21
Brightness: +9
Color: +1
Tint: -5
Sharpness: -30
Color temp.: Warm
Color mgmt.: Off
Zoom adjust: N/A

Other adjust menu
Video NR: Off
3D Y/C filter: Off
Color matrix: HD
MPEG NR: Off
Black level: Light

I had a problem with screen glare in my bright room so went with LCD earlier this year. I've been through the Sony XBR and the Sharp Aquos LCDs and each had problems with clouding and banding and each was returned. Plus...I watch a lot of sports and I didn't care for how LCDs handled fast motion. I looked into Samsung and saw they have complaints about pillaring (or something like that). Any other LCD maker suffered in picture quality based on reviews so I was in a "pick your poison" mode with $3000+ LCDs and these 3 makers. And not too happy about it. But the glare off a plasma was bad enough in my room that it trumped those concerns.

Along comes Panny with this TH-50PX77U plasma with anti-glare coating and PROBLEM SOLVED. This TV is stunning. The blacks are dead black, the colors are natural and vibrant, the motion handing on sports is superb and the anti-glare is allllmost as good as the Sony/Sharp LCD (and light years better than the new Sammy LCD which basically glares like a mirror). The images are practically 3D. I can't say enough about the PQ. It is the best I've ever seen (even better than the Pioneer plasmas IMO) and I looked at a lot of tvs. SD looks fine, HD is jaw-dropping and upconverted DVDs look amazing (I don't have Blu-Ray or HD-DVD). Also, be aware that the anti-glare on this PX77U is DIFFERENT than the anti-reflective coating on the PZ700 and is much, much better.

Yes, it is 720p but at 11-12 feet away in my den I am unable to tell the difference (I've had both 1080p and 720p in that spot and watched each for a couple of weeks). Don't be fooled by "full HD 1080p" advertising...MAKE SURE it will make a difference in your room before you splurge.

Cowgirl, what are your settings? Could you post them?

THX

I hope it works well. I just ordered an Oppo from Amazon!

Well I was playing around with them because I want to keep Picture and Brightness way down for break-in...but I couldn't help watching some of the Jazz-Warriors and American Idol with the settings turned up. I think it is also worth mentioning I have Verizon Fios and to my eye it is better than Cablevision IO (I live on Long Island). I settled on this for most of the night:

Picture +20
Brightness +14
Color +2
Tint 0
Shaprness 0
Temp = Normal
Everything else off, black level = light.

Randy Jackson's head (all of the judges really) looked so real on close-ups I felt like I could reach inside the TV and grab either side of his head. Same with Charles Barkley at half-time on TNT-HD. The blacks in the background of Idol were blacker than black (but you could still see audience detail) and the reds on the TNT halftime set looked, well, RED! Not orange! also - we watched some of Cars on DVD and Lightning McQueen was...you guessed it...RED! And the faces of Ryan Seacrest and other fair skinned folks looked natural and pleasing to my eye...I was unable to really dial that in with the LCDs I went though...maybe that was my fault though.

I really gotta keep up turned back down now for break-in but it is HARD when you know how good it looks turned up!

I have tried these settings. They look good, I'm not sure they are perfect, but they look good. Brightness comes down a good amount. The colors become more accurate - less of the artificial pop. I will examine more closely once out of the 100 hours.

I'm using an Oppo 971 DVD player via DVI to HDMI to the 42PX75U. Just got the TV so I'm breaking it in. I have DVE calibration disc so I will be setting it up using that (and the AVIA and the Silicon Optix HQV discs, too!). I can update you when I do. May take a few days, though.

Has anyone purchased a wall mount for their set? I want to hang mine on the wall but I'm having trouble determining whose wall mount will work.
Thanks in advance

I've had a 42" PX77U for a few days now. I'm also new to the world of HD. And I've managed to get myself confused a bit. Ok, a lot.

It's about settings. I see some posts recommending settings for the 50". How transferable are those to a 42" (if at all)? Does anyone have good settings for the 42"?

Its mostly about red. I watched a DVD last night and the reds were exactly the way I would expect them to be. But earlier I was watching some HD channels (via cable) and my wife said red wasn't right. They looked dead, lifeless, and rusty brownish. Even on Standard. So I started messing with Custom and still can't get what I want. So I reset Custom and start over. I've tried the C/Net recommendation (for a dark room) and that was really no better.

One major problem is that, being new to HD, I have no comparison point of reference. I don't know what it SHOULD look like. I don't want it to look cartoonish (Vivid), Standard doesn't do the trick, and I could mess with Custom for a year and get nowhere.

Anyone got some 42" settings I can plug in? You all know a whole lot more than I do about how this should look. I'd be grateful for your recommendations.

Thanks!

Just got my 75U and I'm also looking for recomendations on which SD card to get. Anyone had any good experiences?

Has anyone tried accessing the "secret/service" menu on the PX75/77u? Is it still the same sequence as the 6 series?

I'm trying to find out how many hours I'm been using my tv..

I'll actually answer my own question.. The sequence here does not work:

http://www.bruzziforum.com/vbf/showthread.php?t=15

I do go into the Service menu and can get to {Option}, but there, pressing {Mute} on the remote does not get me anywhere.. Also cycling through the "Options" Submenu, I see a "Clock Mode" set to 0 and "Clock" has value "000". Anyone know what these 2 fields mean? I'm wondering if the Clock is turned off on my tv and so it is not counting the hours used..

Well, one of the comparisons you have in place is the DVD color that you are happy with. In most areas of the US; cable and sat service is "not" good. Also, in the top 250 major US markets OTA produces the "best" HD you will see. So if you are within 40 miles of your major networks CBS, NBC, etc. Then pop a $5 rabbit ear on the back, and watch a couple of prime time shows OR live sports...in HD

You should find the color, sharpness, detail etc will even look a lot better then the DVD. Good Luck

Just picked up a TH-50PX75 today at BB - I originally had a Pio 5070, but it crapped out and there aren't any more of these units in Canada apparently...

In any case, I saw the 5070 and the PX75 side by side today, and from a viewing distance of 10 feet, I think they are both amazing - very little difference.

So ya, I'm a Panny fan boy now (haha!). Actually, let's make sure this one doesn't crap out, and then I can say that

I have the 75U and the sequence at Bruzzi's works fine for me. Are you holding down {mute} for over 3 seconds?

How does the glare on 50px77u compare against Pioneer 5070HD? I want to pull trigger on one of these.