Official Panasonic ST50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - AVS Forum

RandyWalters · 02-29-2012, 07:34 PM

Looks like the ST50 series is now available so time to start an official thread for it

Link to CNet 55ST50 Review:
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...continue;page2

Link to ST50 information page:
http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/TC-P55ST50?t=specs

Link to ST50 E-Help Manual (the one that's built into the TV):
http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/E-HELP_ST50.PDF

Link to ST50 Quick Start Guide with dimensions and mounting hole patterns for the 50", 55", 60", and 65" models:
http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/TCP50ST50.PDF

The Quick Start Guide has a schematic diagram at the bottom showing the exact locations of the mounting holes which will help determine if their existing wall mount has enough adjustability to accomodate the new mounting hole pattern. Note that on the 50" ST50, the bolt pattern has been moved up several inches higher so now it's on the upper half of the TV, unlike the other sizes which are at the bottom. I believe the same thing applies to the 50" GT50 too.

Seeing ads pop up when you adjust the TV's volume? Just go to Setup > Advanced Setup > then set the Viera Connect Banner setting to OFF

Dimensions without the stand: (The Stand adds 2 inches to the overall height)

TC-P50ST50 46.5" Wide x 28.0" High x 1.8" Deep
TC-P55ST50 51.0" Wide x 30.5" High x 1.8" Deep
TC-P60ST50 55.3" Wide x 32.9" High x 2.1" Deep
TC-P65ST50 59.4" Wide x 35.2" High x 2.1" Deep

Comparison of initial launch MSRPs from last year vs this year:

TC-P50ST30 $1,499 (at end of production MSRP was at $1299)
TC-P50ST50 $1,399

TC-P55ST30 $1,799 (at end of production MSRP was at $1599)
TC-P55ST50 $1,699

TC-P60ST30 $2,399 (at end of production MSRP was at $2099)
TC-P60ST50 $2,099

TC-P65ST30 $3,299 (at end of production MSRP was at $2999)
TC-P65ST50 $2,999

_____________________________________________________

RandyWalters · 02-29-2012, 07:34 PM

To find D-Nice's "2012 Panasonic Settings/Issues Thread" with his 2012 Reference Settings, you have to go to High Def Junkies dot com since they're hosted over there, not here on AVS. You need to be registered at HDJ before you can access the DISPLAY SETTINGS, CALIBRATIONS, & REVIEWS forum.

BlindGoldfish · 03-01-2012, 11:05 AM

This thread makes me excited. Can't wait for the first reviews to come in... especially input lag times.

brianw1957 · 03-01-2012, 01:10 PM

My 1st post in this forum, been hanging out doing the usual research.

I just got a look at a 50' ST50 at the local RC Willey here in SLC.
They said it was just put on display this morning.
Not having spent much time looking at the xx30 models, but drooling over them, I have to say they look nice.
I'm going to work on grabbing myself a 60ST50 here in the next few months and await, with bated breath, reviews and opinions.
Thanks Randy for stirring my interest.
It is interesting to note that their displayed price for the TC-P50ST50 is the same as the MSRP of the ST30 model.
I'll have to drop in on a regular basis and see how the rest of the line prices out.
Hope the MSRP projections are true.

karlmalone1 · 03-01-2012, 02:40 PM

If someone doesn't pick up an st50 pronto and post a review, pics, etc, I may have to take the plunge myself

badasscat · 03-01-2012, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karlmalone1

If someone doesn't pick up an st50 pronto and post a review, pics, etc, I may have to take the plunge myself

Same here, I am seriously thinking about it... tax refund is here, the TV is out... I just wish more retailers had it, so I could either get it locally (I'm a little nervous about shipping a 50" TV across the country) or buy from an online retailer I have experience with and know has a really liberal return policy. I guess I may have to wait a little longer if I want to be smart about it...

mbyrnes · 03-01-2012, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karlmalone1

If someone doesn't pick up an st50 pronto and post a review, pics, etc, I may have to take the plunge myself

Nobody is stopping you! If I were you I would just go buy it so you can brag to the rest of us that you have one!

Cleveland Plasma · 03-01-2012, 06:29 PM

I was looking to bring in a bigger size to do the review on.......

DavidHir · 03-01-2012, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cleveland Plasma

I was looking to bring in a bigger size to do the review on.......

When do you plan on getting it in?

xCREEP1NGDEATHx · 03-01-2012, 09:33 PM

Hey guys , just received my 55in ST50 today from ABT. Its a good looking TV, looks like the samsung plasmas from last year. The new louver filter is insane, it really blocks out a lot of the reflections to the point where it is just short of a matte screen, but for me Im not sure if I like it because I feel it takes away some picture clarity/sharpness especially when playing games. So far NO BUZZING, but I will update that as i get some more hours on it. No IR issues yet even after gaming. Input lag isn't a problem even with Game Mode off. So far so good, just not sure about that screen...

Joxer · 03-02-2012, 02:06 AM

New ST50 owners - please check to see if the reported issues of last year's plasma models have been fixed completely.
Like buzzing, floating black level, green/purple blobs, green tinting, motion artifacts, excessive IR, line bleeding, etc.
We are all eager to see if all the issues have been resolved for this year's models.

johnblowcls · 03-02-2012, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xCREEP1NGDEATHx

Hey guys , just received my 55in ST50 today from ABT. Its a good looking TV, looks like the samsung plasmas from last year. The new louver filter is insane, it really blocks out a lot of the reflections to the point where it is just short of a matte screen, but for me Im not sure if I like it because I feel it takes away some picture clarity/sharpness especially when playing games. So far NO BUZZING, but I will update that as i get some more hours on it. No IR issues yet even after gaming. Input lag isn't a problem even with Game Mode off. So far so good, just not sure about that screen...

Hi! Congrats for the new TV ! Could you post a video with the tv playing a movie pls ?

sage11x · 03-02-2012, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnblowcls

Hi! Congrats for the new TV ! Could you post a video with the tv playing a movie pls ?

Really?

GSDTrainer · 03-02-2012, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sage11x

Really?

No Rally!

xCREEP1NGDEATHx · 03-02-2012, 12:48 PM

Hey guys answered a bunch of questions from another forum so here ya go. I don't know if it would look any good if I took video and posted it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrVizio

That's very cool that you got one! Thanks for the report. Very interesting about the new filter. I'm sure you'll be flooded with questions, but I was wondering a few things.

First, did you/do you own a 2011 Panny plasma? How's this new set compare?

I did not, but I did have a 2011 Samsung and so far I can say the black levels are better, but I would say that mostly comes from having the dark matte like screen/filter. So far I have not noticed FBR or floating blacks.

How's the motion in games?

Motion in games looks good, not anything noticeably different from the 2011 samsung. Plasma is still the best for gaming IMO because LCD and LED can sometimes cause screen tearing when swinging the camera fast left to right.

Have you tried out any blu-rays?

Just a little of The Dark Knight this morning, it looked good.

Gradation. How's the false contouring/posterization/banding?

Not sure how to look for these things, but haven't noticed anything wrong with the TV yet.

What mode are you using (cinema, custom, etc.)?

I use my own custom settings for gaming, for regular cable tv/movies I used the st30 calibration settings and for blu rays I haven't found a perfect setting yet outside cinema.

And any other thoughts you come up with.

My biggest thoughts right now are that filter and how much to me it looks like the LGLW5600 edge lit LED tv when I tried it. There just seems to be a clarity difference to my eye, but it does keep the blacks looking real good.

Also, being my first panasonic, I have to say that I do not like the lack of picture settings/control. For example the Samsung would let you control cell light level along with brightness/contrast. Panasonic only has the panel brightness which to me is kind of like a dynamic contrast control. I also don't like how it handles aspect ratios. The only one I found that doesn't look ballooned up on the screen is Fill screen and Hsize 2. With the samsung the just scan size worked perfectly and figures looked smaller than 16:9 but on the panny it just makes the image blow up on the screen as well as all the other aspect ratios outside 16:9. I don't dislike the TV but the matte like screen and lack of picture options is making me seriously consider another TV either the samsung pn51e7000 when it releases or the sony hx929.

Thanks

ListedGuru · 03-02-2012, 12:57 PM

Thats interesting that you seem to dislike the almost matte like screen on the ST50 as you described it as. I have a Samsung and the glare is terrible at times. It seems that a lot of folks complain about the glare on plasmas. I am very interested in seeing this in the flesh so to speak. They are also supposed to be brighter as well.

-Guru

emp99 · 03-02-2012, 03:10 PM

@creeping
If you can't get the screen to fit perfectly that's on your end.
There are settings in there to get it to fit, you just haven't found it yet.

xCREEP1NGDEATHx · 03-02-2012, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emp99

@creeping
If you can't get the screen to fit perfectly that's on your end.
There are settings in there to get it to fit, you just haven't found it yet.

I have gone through all the aspect ratio settings and there are only 2 that work well. All the others seem pointless. As far as not liking the matte like screen, its ok but you take away some sharpness/clarity when doing this. For me it is ok except when playing video games.

gmarceau · 03-02-2012, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xCREEP1NGDEATHx

I have gone through all the aspect ratio settings and there are only 2 that work well. All the others seem pointless. As far as not liking the matte like screen, its ok but you take away some sharpness/clarity when doing this. For me it is ok except when playing video games.

Is this your first plasma?

DaveZ06 · 03-02-2012, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xCREEP1NGDEATHx

I have gone through all the aspect ratio settings and there are only 2 that work well. All the others seem pointless. As far as not liking the matte like screen, its ok but you take away some sharpness/clarity when doing this. For me it is ok except when playing video games.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmarceau

Is this your first plasma?

I was wondering the same thing. Even without the filter, plasmas tend to have a slightly softer picture than LCD.

badasscat · 03-02-2012, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveZ06

I was wondering the same thing. Even without the filter, plasmas tend to have a slightly softer picture than LCD.

Why would they have a "softer" picture if they're showing 1:1 pixels? The ST50 doesn't overscan, does it?

xCREEP1NGDEATHx · 03-02-2012, 08:26 PM

TV wasn't experiencing this problem till i turned on the hockey game. Picture started off dim (where I had it set ) then all of a sudden popped to a very high brightness and continued to do this (like a strobe light) till it gave me a headache and i turned it off. Tried messing with the settings and didn't have any luck. This did not happen on any other programming, but i know its not a cable thing. Returning the Tv for the Sony Hx929 sunday. Sorry guys. Maybe it was just a fluke and hopefully not to the same degree the 2011 plasmas had.

BTW - No this is not my first plasma. Owned the Samsung C8000 for a year, then tried the Samsung d6500 and now this set. The c8000 was fine except a lot of crosstalk during 3d. Im done fighting with the plasma sets for now, the sony should hold me over till oled.

Cinema626 · 03-02-2012, 09:17 PM

Unbelieveable. When will they ever learn.

BlindGoldfish · 03-03-2012, 06:46 AM

My 2007 Samsung DLP tv did the brighness pop, but my 2009 Panny S1 does not.

Can someone else please confirm this is an issue? I'm not going to consider *one* data point a trend...

gmarceau · 03-03-2012, 07:54 AM

Right now, this new ST50 owner sounds like someone working for Samsung or LG, so I think waiting to hear some more info from others would be helpful. Also if it really is the case, Panasonic has been on top of these issues so a fix might be in the works. Disappointing to hear if it's true...

jacksonmaha · 03-03-2012, 08:23 AM

Creeping, I smell a Samsung fan boy here

.......after the reported issues last year on some sets I would be suprised if this slipped out on the new line.

Time will tell.

Spanbauer · 03-03-2012, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xCREEP1NGDEATHx

TV wasn't experiencing this problem till i turned on the hockey game. Picture started off dim (where I had it set ) then all of a sudden popped to a very high brightness and continued to do this (like a strobe light) till it gave me a headache and i turned it off. Tried messing with the settings and didn't have any luck. This did not happen on any other programming, but i know its not a cable thing. Returning the Tv for the Sony Hx929 sunday. Sorry guys. Maybe it was just a fluke and hopefully not to the same degree the 2011 plasmas had.

BTW - No this is not my first plasma. Owned the Samsung C8000 for a year, then tried the Samsung d6500 and now this set. The c8000 was fine except a lot of crosstalk during 3d. Im done fighting with the plasma sets for now, the sony should hold me over till oled.

Make sure CATS is turned off.

DaveZ06 · 03-03-2012, 09:23 AM

So what you are telling me is that you are going from a great TV that maybe has a brightness pop issue under certain content (which most likely will be patched up); to a TV that has poor viewing angles, haloing, brightness fluctuations of its own (local dimming), and high input lag? Buddy, you're not upgrading...

I do plan on potentially buying the ST50, but I'm going to wait and see what issues pop up, and whether they will be fixed. I'll most likely buy one around the fall.

Seriously, the input lag on that 929 is going to be a killer. You never get low input lag with a local dimming TV.

DaveZ06 · 03-03-2012, 12:10 PM

I think we need to consolidate some of these 2012 Panasonic threads...

xCREEP1NGDEATHx · 03-03-2012, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveZ06

So what you are telling me is that you are going from a great TV that maybe has a brightness pop issue under certain content (which most likely will be patched up); to a TV that has poor viewing angles, haloing, brightness fluctuations of its own (local dimming), and high input lag? Buddy, you're not upgrading...

I do plan on potentially buying the ST50, but I'm going to wait and see what issues pop up, and whether they will be fixed. I'll most likely buy one around the fall.

Seriously, the input lag on that 929 is going to be a killer. You never get low input lag with a local dimming TV.

Not working for Samsung or LG lol. I just liked all my previous Samsung Tv's, the d6500 had floating blacks like crazy thats why I went to the ST50. I have isolated the problem to where it happens only during sports games and not all the time. It also happened once on a video game. Its not terrible and the rest of the Tv looks great, but I am not going to sit here and wait for a fix, Samsung CS were supposed to send me a firmware fix for the d6500 and never did after 6 weeks of waiting and constantly bugging them. So I returned it. As for the Sony, input lag is measured at 20-30ms by multiple sources on Game mode. That should be fine. I play casul MP so no big deal.

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