[DougA]

Hmmm.... Bought this Panny this weekend. Something isn't right as the picture just isn't very impressive. I think the primary issue is that it doesn't have much detail to it. Grass looks green, but I can't see blades of grass. Trees look colorful, but I can't see each leaf. Faces are colorful too, but I don't see much detail in the skin.


What have I done wrong... I've simply been running DishNetwork directly from the STB into the plasma via a composite connection. I've tried s-video and it seems worse.


Which piece is likely the problem? Is the Dish signal just that bad, is it the composite cable, is it simply poorly calibrated?


Any ideas/pointers greatly appreciated. I'm nearly ready to take it back to CircuitCity and exercise my 30 day return policy.


Doug

 

[Maximus330I]

Hehe, its definitely the dish signal. I also have dish and the signal is crappy. For some reason, CNN is decent to look at. Have you tried dvd's yet? Go rent or buy Monsters Inc and report back asap. You may like it

 

[ferky1]

Have you tried viewing a DVD?

 

[DougA]

Have not watched a DVD yet. You'll laugh, but I don't own one. That's my next purchase (trying too decide between DVD and HTPC).


I any case, SD television will be 70% of my viewing. So I need to have at least an acceptable picture quality on that front or the whole Plasma thing doesn't make much sense to me from a value for the money perspective.

 

[Maximus330I]

Doug,

You have a good point about the purchase not making sense, especially if 70% of your viewing is going to be regular sd television. Do you have access to HD? IF you do, then you will be surprised how good it is. I wouldnt give up on the plasma just yet.

 

[rmcgirr83]

My PQ is not terrible (not like DVD's, ), check the signal on the receiver (mine reads 123 out of 125 using sat 119 and transponder 12). How was yours setup? The installer that I had used a radiospectrometer (I think that's what it is called). How was the PQ before the plasma?

 

[slb]

Quote:

Grass looks green, but I can't see blades of grass. Trees look colorful, but I can't see each leaf. Faces are colorful too, but I don't see much detail in the skin.

Simply put, a plasma (nor any display) will allow you to see details that aren't there to begin with. Smaller displays (and some larger ones) hide this lack of detail. SD cable and dish programming are definitely not the correct sources for judging your new plasma's display quality and performance. I highly recommend that you rent a DVD player and some DVDs before you make your final decision.


Regards,

Steve

 

[srgilbert]

Quote:

Originally posted by DougA Have not watched a DVD yet. You'll laugh, but I don't own one. That's my next purchase (trying too decide between DVD and HTPC).

Having a plasma without a DVD player is like spending $10,000 on a new stereo system and only owning a mono 8-track player! Obviously, the picture quality will only be as good as the source. If you were expecting the PQ to be better than your CRT, than that would be a mistake, at best it should be about the same for dish network signals. Once you see a good anamorphic DVD, you will really change your tune. Of course, if you don't really enjoy watching movies, than I'd say a widescreen plasma would be a waste of money.

 

[DougA]

Thanks to everyone... I really appreciate the insights and input.


I'd heard from people that an SD signal on Plasma would still be better than on my CRT. Now, I've seen with my own eyes that that isn't the case (at least with my particular situation). I suspect you're right in saying that my 27" TV was likely hiding the lack of detail.


I can get OTA HDTV and plan to do that, so my SD viewing percentage will probably drop to 50% or so. We primarily watch weekend sports and primetime TV.


It sounds like even if I upgraded equipment and went with a fully HD capable TV and even if I added a good scaler (or a capable HTPC), that I still wouldn't get great (or even really good???) SD on plasma. Would you folks agree with that statement, or does someone have a suggestion for changes I could make to ensure the SD signal is as good as I can get it (at a reasonable cost )


Thanks again!!

 

[R Harkness]

Doug,


Basically, you've got the idea. The Panny SD model really is one of the best displays of any type I've seen for playing cable and SD signals - in it's size range. If you really want a bigger image than your CRT, you'll be encountering the same issues no matter what type of display you buy. It really is a source quality issue.


As I have a pretty good analog and digital cable signal, I've found the Panny ED model is more than capable of showing whatever a CRT can show you. When the signal is good, the detail and clarity on some channels is thrilling. When it's not...well..nothing's hidden. But I still prefer watching even the lesser quality signals on my plasma vs our 27" Panny TAU CRT, because it looks more dimensional, more rich and immersive.


I hope you manage to get a good SD or cable signal sometime soon.


BTW, if you want to see what DVDs are going to look like on your plasma, try clicking the on the link below my name (I have the ED model too).


Cheers,

 

[DougA]

OK, so my challenge becomes determining which is the better source: DirectTV, DishNetwork, ATT Cable, OTA programming. Any pointers as to how to determine that?


One last question, If I go to a 50" Panny, would I expect the picture quality to degrade further, stay the same as the 42" or possibly get better?


Thanks

Doug

 

[bowen]

Quote:

Originally posted by DougA Thanks to everyone... I really appreciate the insights and input. I'd heard from people that an SD signal on Plasma would still be better than on my CRT. Now, I've seen with my own eyes that that isn't the case (at least with my particular situation). I suspect you're right in saying that my 27" TV was likely hiding the lack of detail. I can get OTA HDTV and plan to do that, so my SD viewing percentage will probably drop to 50% or so. We primarily watch weekend sports and primetime TV. It sounds like even if I upgraded equipment and went with a fully HD capable TV and even if I added a good scaler (or a capable HTPC), that I still wouldn't get great (or even really good???) SD on plasma. Would you folks agree with that statement, or does someone have a suggestion for changes I could make to ensure the SD signal is as good as I can get it (at a reasonable cost ) Thanks again!!

Even SD programming on a digital OTA station will be MUCH better than SD satellite. HDTV OTA will of course be better yet. The satellite companies hopelessly over-compress their signal so they can squeeze in more channels. The panny is a great set - just give it even a half-way decent signal and you'll see for yourself.

 

[rmcgirr83]

Quote:

Originally posted by DougA One last question, If I go to a 50" Panny, would I expect the picture quality to degrade further, stay the same as the 42" or possibly get better? Thanks Doug

If you happen to live in one of the "lucky" areas you may be able to get alot, heck more than me, HDTV. Las Vegas (thru comcast) is lucky enough to be getting ESPN-HD. Costs more $$ per month. OTA HD is also a possibility and also depends on where you live. There still is not much content right now available. More in some places, less in others.


I have Dish as well as local through cable. They are "Okay", watchable and some of the channels, as R Harkness said, do come out looking very good. DVD's on the other hand, look FanFrigginTastic.


As I believe this next question pertains to this thread, I have been wondering how to increase the PQ on the set I have (TH-42PWD5UZ). What does everyone think of the AVT-3700(?) scaler. It accepts component, composite and svideo and scales via a RGBHV (PC) connection to whatever your panels resolution is (480i upto 1080i). I read the other threads but they all seemed to point to projectors and such. If I were to route all my equipment through this unit and then to the plasma, basically bypassing its internal scaler, do you guys think it might improve the PQ of the attached components (signals)? It does have 3:2 pulldown and so on and so forth. The link to it is here:

http://www.avtoolbox.com/avt-3700.htm


I have learned a tremendous amount of information in the short time I have visited this forum and would appreciate any input anyone may have.

 

[DADoES]

I have an HD Panny with local cable (about 50 channels)._ Some channels are better than others. While I can't say cable looks better than my previous 27" JVC CRT, neither is it objectionably worse. The overall effect is a somewhat softer picture, but the colors are rich and there's no geometric distortion. Nobody who has seen it has made any disparaging remarks. My boss came over for a quick look recently, and said it's better than the little 13" set he uses in his office at home.

 

[Esben]

Quote:

Originally posted by slb Simply put, a plasma (nor any display) will allow you to see details that aren't there to begin with. Smaller displays (and some larger ones) hide this lack of detail.

Good use of parentheses

 

[LeroyC]

Quote:

Originally posted by rmcgirr83 As I believe this next question pertains to this thread, I have been wondering how to increase the PQ on the set I have (TH-42PWD5UZ). What does everyone think of the AVT-3700(?) scaler. It accepts component, composite and svideo and scales via a RGBHV (PC) connection to whatever your panels resolution is (480i upto 1080i). I read the other threads but they all seemed to point to projectors and such. If I were to route all my equipment through this unit and then to the plasma, basically bypassing its internal scaler, do you guys think it might improve the PQ of the attached components (signals)? It does have 3:2 pulldown and so on and so forth. The link to it is here: http://www.avtoolbox.com/avt-3700.htm

Rich,


I don't have any experience with the AVT-3700, but from the specs it looks like it doesn't do anything that the plasma circuits already do. It would be worthwhile only if does them better than the plasma. Seems to me that it's unlikely that it will improve the PQ $395 worth but, as long as AV Tools has a good return policy, maybe you'd be willing to buy one, check it out, then report back to the rest of us.


Leroy