Frustrated with new plasma

[Vancouver]

OK Finally my Panasonic TH-42PX20 came in today and I bought a DVE video essentials in hopes of being able to calibrate the Plasma and get the best picture quality.

While most of the calibration was in klingon to me I think I at least came pretty close. I through in a movie and to me there seemed to be way to much red and everything looked a little blurry and a little to dark in some areas.

I ended up putting it back to the factory preset and just reduced the picture which I assume is the same as contrast as there is no contrast setting. I reduced it to be safe as I remember reading on here to bring it below 50%.


any thoughts suggestions? Does anyone have this model and is able to just tell me what numbers I should have all the color, tint, brightness at etc?

It would be much easier if there was a data base for new TV's and the numbers they should be set at for correct calibration.

 

[Mr.T]

Vancouver, congratulations on your new TH-42PX20 Panasonic Plasma TV.
Usually a brand new TV should come out of the box already adjusted to factory specifications and it shouldn't be touched too much.

As you know a large screen TV as it is yours, should be viewed from a certain distance from the screen in order to appreciate it and it takes a little getting used to, especially if you were watching a much smaller screen TV before.

A simple method that most service technician used to use to quickly adjust the color-tint-brightness and contrast is to tune in to a channel where there is a lot of people's faces close up, something like the news.

Increase the color control to a higher setting where the faces of people look red as tomatoes, than adjust the tint control to get the faces to look as close to orange as possible, go back to the color control and reduce it so that the faces skin color have a natural skin tone. Adjust brightness and contrast to your liking.

I don't know if you're getting your channels thru a digital cable or a satellite dish, as you know a strong/ clean signal it does make a great difference in the quality of your picture in a large screen TV, keep it in consideration.

 

[mtrycrafts]

OK Finally my Panasonic TH-42PX20 came in today and I bought a DVE video essentials in hopes of being able to calibrate the Plasma and get the best picture quality.

While most of the calibration was in klingon to me I think I at least came pretty close. I through in a movie and to me there seemed to be way to much red and everything looked a little blurry and a little to dark in some areas.

I ended up putting it back to the factory preset and just reduced the picture which I assume is the same as contrast as there is no contrast setting. I reduced it to be safe as I remember reading on here to bring it below 50%.


any thoughts suggestions? Does anyone have this model and is able to just tell me what numbers I should have all the color, tint, brightness at etc?

It would be much easier if there was a data base for new TV's and the numbers they should be set at for correct calibration.

I don't have the new DVE disc, just the old one. Does your DVE have segments in the end showing off the TV set in a variety of film clips?

Factory settings rarely are the proper setting to the NTSC standards. You only have to read the Sound & Vision about a number of TV reviews.

Once the TV is set to NTSC, you will need to watch in low light settings.

If the red seems too reed, the Avia test CD has three color filters to set each primary colors, red, green and blue to the right levels if your TV has individual color level adjustment.

You may want to see if there is an ISF certified tech in your area and have him calibrate the TV?

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Vancouver, 99.9% of displays do not come calibrated and in-fact are usually set to dangerous levels that could harm your set. DVE should be adequate to adjust your set if you follow the directions. You might also want to look at my experience with DVE. Remember, if after you have set the color and tint with the filters and red seems too red, then you have red push and need to back down on the color level. Do not move the tint or hue once it is set. Go to sections on your type of display on the DVE disk. Setting contrast is a little different on a plasma display I believe.

 

[Mr.T]

Vancouver, 99.9% of displays do not come calibrated and in-fact are usually set to dangerous levels that could harm your set. DVE should be adequate to adjust your set if you follow the directions. You might also want to look at my experience with DVE. Remember, if after you have set the color and tint with the filters and red seems too red, then you have red push and need to back down on the color level. Do not move the tint or hue once it is set. Go to sections on your type of display on the DVE disk. Setting contrast is a little different on a plasma display I believe.

Jeff, the way you describe it, sounds like when you get the plasma out of the box you better calibrate it immediately otherwise the plasma TV will blow up.
In 30 years in the TV businness, I never took a TV out of the box that was set to dangerous levels to a point that could arm the TV set, that's nonsense!

Most of TV sets either is a direct view TV, LCD,Plasma don't come out of the final quality control line unless are calibrated to factory specifications, now I am not saying that there is no room for improving the picture, color,tint and contrast, I am saying that most TVs out of the box look pretty darn good, unless the TV was a floor demo TV in the store then put it back in the box.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Mr T, most all tv's out of the box have white levels set to dangerous levels that can damage crt tubes. DLP's are another matter. Plasmas are easy to screw up so I would be very wary of the factory settings. Any contrast setting above 50% is dangerous on a lot of sets. This information is not my opinion but rather the opinion of experts in the field. DVE and Avia disks also stress this fact. Most sets out of the box are not anything close to being set to correct NTSC standards. My Panasonic was so far off it was disgusting. Contrast up all the way and brightness about 75%, sharpeness turned on, svm engaged, ect, ect. This is the case for most all consumer sets.

 

[Vancouver]

I followed the DVE disc as close as possible and still I am very disapointed with the video quality coming from my cable using an S-video connection. I found after calibrating as far as the DVE disc goes people's faces look much to red when watching regular TV. Is it because I am watching TV in the wrong aspect ratio? I am watching it in "Just". Or am I just seeing what everyone says about Plasma's not being as good as regular CRT's?

If you can belive it I don't have a progressive scan DVD player yet, so I am thinking when I buy a Denon 2910 I will at least notice a better picture when watching DVD's. I can say at this point the picture quality isnt noticably better then my old 32' Toshiba CRT flat screen that only cost me $1,200.00. Conisdering the TH-42PX20 cost me apx $7,500 CDN I expected more.

I hope to see my money worth when I get an HDTV tunner from my cable company and when I get my new DVD player. I guess as far as watching regular analog TV channels Plasma isnt the way to go.

Other then that when the Plasma is turned off it looks great.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Vancouver, if you are not using component video with a progressive scan player or a high def signal you are not seeing the full potential of your set. Go get a progressive scan player now.. The pioneer 578 can be had for 140 bucks or less. I could not even watch S video on my set. You also need to be looking at the correct aspect ratio. That won't affect red but it will affect overall quality. You need to use the compenent inputs and calibrate again. Then post back with results. Go get a cheap progressive scan player. Svideo on my set too has an abnormal amount of red. Also, standard tv on my set looks horrid too. I cant watch it. High def is the way to go and replace that DVD player quick.

 

[Mr.T]

Mr T, most all tv's out of the box have white levels set to dangerous levels that can damage crt tubes. DLP's are another matter. Plasmas are easy to screw up so I would be very wary of the factory settings. Any contrast setting above 50% is dangerous on a lot of sets. This information is not my opinion but rather the opinion of experts in the field. DVE and Avia disks also stress this fact. Most sets out of the box are not anything close to being set to correct NTSC standards. My Panasonic was so far off it was disgusting. Contrast up all the way and brightness about 75%, sharpeness turned on, svm engaged, ect, ect. This is the case for most all consumer sets.

Jeff, there are reports from Panasonic headquarters in Seacacus NJ that, the company is going thru major restructure changes in the management, engineering divisions, consumer, industrial and professional divisions lately, and it seems somehow it's effecting quality control in different type of productions in the USA and Japan as well.

Last week and this week combined we have installed at least 7 50" Pioneer and NEC Plasmas in corporate teleconferencing rooms in NYC and they all looked perfect out of the boxes, with minor adjustments on one NEC plasma.

We have ordered some flat screen TVs and front projecting LCD projectors more than a month ago from our Panasonic distribuitor and we haven't received them yet. We might have to cancel the order and get something else. I am not trying to contradict your findings, I am just sharing my experiences with flat screen TVs which we deal with everyday.

 

[Vancouver]

Vancouver, if you are not using component video with a progressive scan player or a high def signal you are not seeing the full potential of your set. Go get a progressive scan player now.. The pioneer 578 can be had for 140 bucks or less. I could not even watch S video on my set. You also need to be looking at the correct aspect ratio. That won't affect red but it will affect overall quality. You need to use the compenent inputs and calibrate again. Then post back with results. Go get a cheap progressive scan player. Svideo on my set too has an abnormal amount of red. Also, standard tv on my set looks horrid too. I cant watch it. High def is the way to go and replace that DVD player quick.

I am getting the Progressive scan DVD player ASAP, but currently I am using Component video cables with my Denon DVD 800 which is not progressive scan. DVD's look OK through it, but you are right and I am sure it can look much better. I did use a component hook up when I went through the DVE, even thou it wasnt progressive.

I only use the S video coming from my cable box to watch regular TV, and my concern about that is that I would expect the quality to be at least the same as it was on my last TV and that is just not the case.

I have a question for you. When you are watching standard TV is it going to make a difference whether I hook it up with S video or Component? The reason I ask is because I am buying a HDTV cable box and obviously it will be hooked up via component for all the channels (HD and SD)

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Mr T, have you ever used DVE, Avia or some other calibration DVD tool? If you have not ran those displays through the needed test patterns then they are not calibrated to NTSC standard. They may look good, they will look better calibrated. Not trying to argue, just stating fact. A full blown ISF calibration is the only way to get a display completely up to it's full potential, they do not come this way from the factory. Over the last year I have calibrated about a dozen and a half brand new high def sets for friends and family and not one of them was ever close to being set correct from the factory. Not one. I just did my sisters brand new Mitsubishi and it was just as far off as my Panny. Also, with crt displays such as my sisters and mine, convergence is always way off.

 

[Vancouver]

Anyone know where a good resource is with regards to finding someone here in Vancouver BC that can calibrate a TV? I would rather just pay a profesional and be done with it.

I should ask if anyone knows wether Panasonic plasma's have enough settings available to for techs to access in order to justify hiring a pro.what would it cost to hire a pro to calibrate?

 

[Mr.T]

Vancouver, listen to me, your plasma is only a couple days old, you have a full home service warranty from Panasonic. I am going to give you Panasonic customer support telephone number, please call 1-888-843-9788 and ask them to send you a local authorized Panasonic service Technician which it should all be free of charge. Make sure you tell Panasonic that the TV never looked good from day one.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Vancouver, standard tv looks so bad I try to never watch it on my big set. It does look better with the compenent connection but not much. DVD with svideo looks awful, I am spoiled with progressive scan and HDTV, I could never go back to standard tv, I would just throw it away if that was the only choice I had.

 

[Audioholics]

Usually a brand new TV should come out of the box already adjusted to factory specifications and it shouldn't be touched too much.

Bad advice for getting the best picture. You are an installer, or do you just work for an installation company (i.e. doing the books)?

Please consider taking an ISF certification class where you will learn some very basic concepts about how TVs come from the factory. They are indeed adjusted to factory specs, however you will find that they are set to impress those viewing it under bright flourescents in lareg showrooms, not those who care about getting the most dynamic range and color accuracy.

While CRTs may not self-destruct at factory specifications, they will most certainly often last longer if calibrated and the picture will be considerably improved on almost any set.

Nearly ALL TVs will look considerably better than factory specifications once calibrated.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Mr T, please do not take any of this personally. We are here to educate and debunk. The things you are saying are the things that people like Joe Kane and the other folks associated with the ISF are trying debunk and reeducate what people have learned in the past. The public has been duped when it comes what a good picture is supposed to look like. Take Clints advice and go take an ISF course and unlearn what you have learned. You will be glad that you did.

 

[Mr.T]

Bad advice for getting the best picture. You are an installer, or do you just work for an installation company (i.e. doing the books)?

Please consider taking an ISF certification class where you will learn some very basic concepts about how TVs come from the factory. They are indeed adjusted to factory specs, however you will find that they are set to impress those viewing it under bright flourescents in lareg showrooms, not those who care about getting the most dynamic range and color accuracy.

While CRTs may not self-destruct at factory specifications, they will most certainly often last longer if calibrated and the picture will be considerably improved on almost any set.

Nearly ALL TVs will look considerably better than factory specifications once calibrated.

What you're saying is that people that buy new TVs and don't know anything about DIY calibration CD and DVD exist which the majority don't, they're all watching TVs with a crappy picture? That doesn't make any sense, you don't make any sense and further more you surely need to take a CEDIA certification class and don't know anything about administration behaviors.

don't take it as an offens but you're very childish and need to grow up.Even when you buy an expensive HDTV from a reputable company and have it delivered by professional people, you still don't get your new TV calibrated to make it look much better.

Good Bye!!

 

[hopjohn]

Just thought I'd point out that my HDTV doesn't do a very good job with analog sources either. Maybe the quality of the scaling isn't so great with some fixed pixel displays?? Is it posssible that this may have something to do with Vancouver's s-video connection not looking so great? Analog looks better on my CRT RPTV as well.

If you use DVE to calibrate with a component connection, and then switch to view the s-video input which seems red, would it be possible that the s-video input needs to be calibrated seperately? Can we be sure that the settings would carry over? Have you tried this Vancouver?

I've considered running my satellite's s-video out (no component connection ) through the s-video input of a tv card in my HTPC and then out to the RGB input of the DLP to see if the picture quality would improve any. Anyone ever tried this to see if it is worth the effort?

 

[rgriffin25]

What you're saying is that people that buy new TVs and don't know anything about DIY calibration CD and DVD exist which the majority don't, they're all watching TVs with a crappy picture? That doesn't make any sense, you don't make any sense and further more you surely need to take a CEDIA certification class and don't know anything about administration behaviors.

don't take it as an offens but you're very childish and need to grow up.Even when you buy an expensive HDTV from a reputable company and have it delivered by professional people, you still don't get your new TV calibrated to make it look much better.

Good Bye!!

I have worked at locally owned TV store for 4 years. It is common knowledge that all TVs come in the box with the Brightness, Contrast, and Sharpness turned way up. Manufacturers do this on purpose, to make their TV look better in a brightly lit sales floor. A properly calibrated TV would look far too dark on a sales floor. When delivering a set we do not go as far as calibrating the set (no delivery charge). I do lower the the settings and adjust the convergence to a more viewable level. Lowering the brightness/contrast is important on rear projection CRT TVs, it can actually damage the CRT or shorten the life expectancy of the coolant. (Trust me it is quite expensive to get the coolant changed replaced).

 

[mtrycrafts]

Jeff, the way you describe it, sounds like when you get the plasma out of the box you better calibrate it immediately otherwise the plasma TV will blow up.
In 30 years in the TV businness, I never took a TV out of the box that was set to dangerous levels to a point that could arm the TV set, that's nonsense!

Most of TV sets either is a direct view TV, LCD,Plasma don't come out of the final quality control line unless are calibrated to factory specifications, now I am not saying that there is no room for improving the picture, color,tint and contrast, I am saying that most TVs out of the box look pretty darn good, unless the TV was a floor demo TV in the store then put it back in the box.

Actually, none of the settings placed in the max extreme will blow up the set, rather simple. However, it can affect performance.

Factory setting? What standard is that? Are you implying that all factories have the same standards? Like the NTSC standards? Really? I have read a few Tv reviews in Sound & Vision and just a few before that mag, never seen one that is ste to NTSC standards, even simpler.
Reports from competent ISF certified techs also supports the rather poor factory settings that are used to impress an uninformed viewer.