[vegetable420]

I've recently purchased a Panasonic (TH-42PX25) and I'm very happy with it so far - SD looks good (better than I thought) and HD looks fantastic. The one thing I've been a little disappointed in, however, is the black levels. This is my first non-CRT TV so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I've read many times on this board and on other site about Panasonic's great black levels. I watched the Sopranos the other night on HBOHD and I couldn't help but notice how grey the darker scenes appeared, and how these greyish areas seemed to lack any detail at all. I've cranked the brightness down almost to 0 and it while that helped I still wish I could get darker. Anyway here are some statements/questions. Any advice and/or correction would be great.


1. The color of my plasma screen when off is definitely not black, it's much closer to grey. I assume that this color is the lowest my blacks will get, but will I ever even be able to achieve that color? As soon as I turn the TV on to a blank screen the whole thing brightens a bit. I've looked at some other plasmas screens and they all seem pretty not-black (worse than my Panny). Is black levels considered a main flaw in Plasmas? (I know it is for DLP and LCD Proj)


2. I've read that I should calibrate my plasma with the help of a special calibration image (on a DVD or something), but is there any other Panny owners out there who have some suggestions?


3. What type of lighting is ideal for watching darker content? A pure dark room only serves to expose the black level issues since the "blacks" appear to glow. Some lighting seems to be better. I've heard light behind the TV is good.


4. How much better are black levels on great CRTs? How about LCD panels? My LCD monitor on the computer I'm using right now seems to achieve some pretty good black levels. I'm just curious what the benchmark for great blacklevels is.


The fact that my plasma has a jet black frame around it doesn't help this issue. While it does make the set aesthetically pleasing, it also serves to remind me what real black is. I'm definitely happy with this set, but black levels do seem to be it's achilles heel.


Thoughts?

 

[nuke]

Panasonics black levels are the deepest in the plasma industry. however, they aren't quite as low as a good quality well-calibrated CRT. But they should be pretty good.


In high ambient lighting, the screen when off is as dark as it is going to get. Same as a CRT in that respect. LCD's absorb light, so in bright office lighting, they appear to make good blacks. However, turn the lights off and the LCD glows a LOT more than your plasma does. LCD's are even weaker at making blacks than plasma under lower lighting conditions.


To calibrate your screen, you need a test pattern from the source you're connected to. If you are able, try and use the HDNet test pattern that's played about 5:00 am in the mornings (tuesdays?). I snagged it on my HD-Tivo, the first pattern has a step pattern with numbers in it. You adjust the brightness so the blackest square has a just barely visible "10" in and the contrast so that the white square as a barely visible "0" in it.


For your DVD sources, you can use either Digital Video Essentials or Avia.


On my 50PHD6UY, I use DVI for the HD-tivo and find that -12 is about right for the brightness setting for that source. I'm getting deep blacks and the picture is fantastic. My TV room has recessed lighting eyeballs and a dimmer, so I have controlled lighting on the wall behind the plasma.


The human eye is very sensitive to contrast, more so than absolute levels, so a little bias lighting helps out a lot. The bias light will also reduce eyestrain. The calibration DVD's I mentioned earlier have examples of what your bias lighting should look like too.


Here's a screen shot of last night's "Without a Trace" showing the black levels, with the room lights off.

http://homepage.mac.com/larrysb/DVI_comp_pix/cabDVI.jpg


Here's a pull back from the screen with the lights dimmed.

http://homepage.mac.com/larrysb/DVI_...x/traceDVI.jpg

 

[vegetable420]

Thanks a ton nuke, posts like that are why I love this forum so much.

 

[pcrx]

MMMMMmmm man now anyone why says that isn't black must be very crazy.... nice!!


I added a backlight to the back of my Panny and noticed a lot of improvement in eyestrain reduction, and in black level.