Thoughts on Panny TC-P42S1?

[Adam]

When it's audible, is that only when you put your ear right next to it, or can you actually hear it at the LP with a movie playing?

I can hear it at the LP, but typically only when I have the sound muted or really low. It doesn't annoy me, but it is certainly noticeable.

 

[nibhaz]

Hope this helps?

That is a nice distillation of mistah_g's guide. 7 pages down to less than one.

Would you be so kind to share your overall experiences, and particularly how you perceived any particular improvements? There are at least a few regulars here who are soon getting these . . .

edit: oh yeah, welcome back. Again.

Thanks for the welcome back meat, I’ve just been so busy with work…and my 360

To be honest I can’t really give a detailed before and after descriptions of these settings. As soon as I took ownership of the PDP I ran the burn-in slides for 120 hours strait. After which I tore apart my entire system and reinstalled everything utilizing my new TV/AV stand. I only watched one evening of program material before growing the cojones to dive into the SM. There were three main things that I did notice with these settings though.

1.Reduced scintillation of the pixels. When I first got this panel it seems as if the pixels were over excited or something because if you got close to the display it seemed as if the picture sparkled…it’s really kind of hard to describe, but I was considering returning my panel due to this phenomena before making these adjustment.

2.Color accuracy improved especially in regards to overly accentuated greens. Flesh tones were better than I was able to achieve just using a setup DVD with my previous PDP.

3.The day and night settings provided a quick and effective means to deal with varied lighting conditions. I use the day setting for almost all of my viewing, except for when I am able to achieve total blackout conditions, at which point it’s just too hot. The night mode, gives a better color accuracy and contrast to my eye, but the reduced output only works in a totally darkened room.​

To my eye, I have the best looking HD display of anyone I personally know, but then again I don’t know anyone who has had their display ISF calibrated, so perhaps it is just ignorant bliss on my part. I have found some other SM setting here, but I am happy enough that I don’t think I am going to mess with trying them.

 

[nibhaz]

I can hear it at the LP, but typically only when I have the sound muted or really low. It doesn't annoy me, but it is certainly noticeable.

I find this interesting.

I have an unusually high noise floor due to the cooling fan on my MH light for the fish tank, so I don’t notice these things. But after I did my little experiment last night, the only things I could hear was my DVR hd.

I’d say if it doesn’t bother you, don’t sweat it

 

[timmay8612]

I'm not exactly sure what I was supposed to take from the post with all the settings. Are those image settings or to help with the fan problem? Confused.

As for when its audible, I heard it this morning from my normal viewing position when I came downstairs after running break-in slides and a movie from 5 p.m. yesterday to 9 a.m. this morning. I shut it down to give it a breather.

I'm positive its the T.V. The only other gear powered on at the time was a DVD player and my receiver. Stuck my head down there and didn't hear anything. Stuck my head behind the T.V. and the noise got louder. The noise floor is pretty low in my room, unless the fridge is running.

 

[nibhaz]

I'm not exactly sure what I was supposed to take from the post with all the settings. Are those image settings or to help with the fan problem? Confused.

Those were advanced image settings for you to consider, sorry for the confusion.

As for when its audible, I heard it this morning from my normal viewing position when I came downstairs after running break-in slides and a movie from 5 p.m. yesterday to 9 a.m. this morning. I shut it down to give it a breather.

I'm positive its the T.V. The only other gear powered on at the time was a DVD player and my receiver. Stuck my head down there and didn't hear anything. Stuck my head behind the T.V. and the noise got louder. The noise floor is pretty low in my room, unless the fridge is running.

If you feel that it is going to bother you then I would consider exchanging it for a different panel. After all, you should be satisfied with your purchase when dropping that kind of coin.

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks for the welcome back meat, I’ve just been so busy with work…and my 360

You're welcome, and thanks a lot for the impressions!

To my eye, I have the best looking HD display of anyone I personally know, but then again I don’t know anyone who has had their display ISF calibrated, so perhaps it is just ignorant bliss on my part. I have found some other SM setting here, but I am happy enough that I don’t think I am going to mess with trying them.

That is a great list! I'm passing it on momentarily to my friends who have just bought Pannys (S1 & V10). There is quite a bit of chatter regarding THX FW with the last, if anyone has questions for me, but if it was bought very recently, you're probably ok.

I'm not exactly sure what I was supposed to take from the post with all the settings. Are those image settings or to help with the fan problem? Confused.

That "distillation" came straight from this well written 7 page PDF on service menu offset calibration for your TV. This was done by someone named mistah_g.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=28SRA7GZ

 

[timmay8612]

So the settings are calibration settings to improve the picture quality of my image?

 

[jostenmeat]

So the settings are calibration settings to improve the picture quality of my image?

Yes. They are SM (service menu) offsets (color). Typically, gor a long time, pretty much everyone would tell you to stay away from these SMs because if you don't know what you're doing, and meddle around, you can actually destroy the TV.

These days, with so many interested and obsessed consumers (and pros for that matter) are sharing so much information with each other, it appears to me that the consumer applying these offsets is becoming much more commonplace.

The biggest benefits, from what I remember, is that skin tones should be much improved, reducing the "sunburned" look of faces. I think* green improvements are supposed to be mild, if even detectable.

The PDF is well written, but if it's too daunting, then don't do it. It is rather simple I think . . . but YMMV!

 

[timmay8612]

Being that this is my first non-CRT display, I'm overall very satisfied with the image, so I think I'll go ahead and leave it alone. I suspect that I'm already ahead of the curve by researching my purchase on this site anyway. The PS3 is coming up next, perhaps I'll change my mind when that arrives.

 

[nibhaz]

Yes. They are SM (service menu) offsets (color). Typically, gor a long time, pretty much everyone would tell you to stay away from these SMs because if you don't know what you're doing, and meddle around, you can actually destroy the TV.

These days, with so many interested and obsessed consumers (and pros for that matter) are sharing so much information with each other, it appears to me that the consumer applying these offsets is becoming much more commonplace.

The biggest benefits, from what I remember, is that skin tones should be much improved, reducing the "sunburned" look of faces. I think* green improvements are supposed to be mild, if even detectable.

The PDF is well written, but if it's too daunting, then don't do it. It is rather simple I think . . . but YMMV!

Jostenmeat your comments have really hit the nail on the head IMHO!


timmay8612 if you are content with your picture then perhaps the SM is not the path for you and you should just enjoy your display.

However, if you do end up attempting service menu adjustments then I would highly advise using a digital camera to capture a screenshot of each factoring setting before you make an adjustment. This will greatly reduce the chance of you accidentally bricking your tv.

 

[timmay8612]

A good suggestion with the camera. Here is an elementary question for you. Is it safe to use the "game" setting for games? Two of the settings I believe are cranked almost all the way up, one of them contrast. I've finished breaking the set in, but want to take care of it.

Also, I've already noticed with some light video game playing (less than 2 hours) some image retention, do I need to worry about it?