Frustrated with new plasma

[mtrycrafts]

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.

Can your new TV's red gain be adjusted?

 

[mtrycrafts]

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 take offense.
Such childish behavior from such a seasoned veteran of 30 years of experience?
Factory settings are not NTSC setting and in most cases not even close. Factory setting may be to impress customers indeed. Why not? After all, it is a business to sell, isn't it?
As was mentioned, perhaps a phone call to Joe Kane, you do know who he is, may help?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Pro Calibration

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.

It may be adviseable to seek an ISF certified tech to calibrate your expensive investment?

http://www.imagingscience.com/isf-trained.cfm

 

[rgriffin25]

In the last 4 years I have yet to see on HD monitor or HD set look great while displaying a SD signal. Some look better than others, still nothing close to HD. I like to use this analogy when trying to explain this to customers, with the higher resolution on the new TVs viewing an analog channel is similar to looking at a picture from a newspaper with a magnifying glass. Sure you can still see the image, it looks fuzzy and out of focus. If there isn't an actual defect with the TV, just know that SD broadcast days are numbered. It will help you deal with the poor picture quality.

I am not sure if anyone has asked this yet, how far is your sitting position from your TV?


(I have seen some sets with the levels set at 100% out of the box.)

 

[jeffsg4mac]

(I have seen some sets with the levels set at 100% out of the box.)

Yes, and mine was one of them

Vancouver, hopjohn was correct about setting Svideo seperatly. Most inputs will have to be calibrated seperate. Use the Svideo out of your dvd player and run DVE again.

 

[Vancouver]

In the last 4 years I have yet to see on HD monitor or HD set look great while displaying a SD signal. Some look better than others, still nothing close to HD. I like to use this analogy when trying to explain this to customers, with the higher resolution on the new TVs viewing an analog channel is similar to looking at a picture from a newspaper with a magnifying glass. Sure you can still see the image, it looks fuzzy and out of focus. If there isn't an actual defect with the TV, just know that SD broadcast days are numbered. It will help you deal with the poor picture quality.

I am not sure if anyone has asked this yet, how far is your sitting position from your TV?


(I have seen some sets with the levels set at 100% out of the box.)

Well I feel a little better knowing most HD plasma's look like crap when playing an analog channel. I would like it to be at least as good as an average CRT, but then again I bought the TV to mainly watch DVD's so I better get a new Progressive scan DVD player and post a review after that.

It does look out of focus when watching SD, the black areas have no detail, the red seems to red, and generally the picture intensity is very low. I am not sure if I can change the red by its self.

Some suggested I call Panasonic customer service...think its worth it?

By the way...the picture was set at 100% out of the box. (picture and contrast mean the same thing right?)

Another quick note...the manual says the TV can play 480i, 480p and 1080i. Im I to understand I paid an extra 2,700 to play 1080i? because the EDTV version plays 480i and 480p.

 

[hopjohn]

I doubt very much there is anything wrong with your set, and correcting user level picture adjustments really isn't something covered in the warranties, unless there is a severe problem that would require service menu adjustments, I wouldn't call Panasonic. You could call an ISF tech also, but that won't be cheap, so keep that in mind.

I tried giving you a suggestion earlier in this post that you might use to improve your analog picture for the s-video input. That seemed to get overlooked with everyone correcting T. So here it is again in more detail.

Plug your s-video cable from the DVD player to the TV, then take out your DVE and set the TV to the s-video input. If your tv has video memory settings for each input then great, but if not you'll need to write down the component video settings before you make the changes that might effect the work you've already done with the component input. Afterward, adjust the levels as you did before using the DVE test patterns at the end of the disc that way you don't have to listen to all the vebage again if you don't want to. After your done try out your satellite on the s-video input, and see if the picture looks any better. By doing it this way you are simulating the satellite signal as it is being sent to your tv, and making everything look as good as it can using this particular input, which is one you'll probably be using quite a bit for everyday TV viewing. You'll want to write down these settings as well, just in case you need to change them back for watching a DVD later. Some TV's have the memory settings some don't. I can't tell you what your set will do as I'm not that familiar with it but, either way it can't hurt to write them down.

 

[Vancouver]

I doubt very much there is anything wrong with your set, and correcting user level picture adjustments really isn't something covered in the warranties, unless there is a severe problem that would require service menu adjustments, I wouldn't call Panasonic. You could call an ISF tech also, but that won't be cheap, so keep that in mind.

I tried giving you a suggestion earlier in this post that you might use to improve your analog picture for the s-video input. That seemed to get overlooked with everyone correcting T. So here it is again in more detail.

Plug your s-video cable from the DVD player to the TV, then take out your DVE and set the TV to the s-video input. If your tv has video memory settings for each input then great, but if not you'll need to write down the component video settings before you make the changes that might effect the work you've already done with the component input. Afterward, adjust the levels as you did before using the DVE test patterns at the end of the disc that way you don't have to listen to all the vebage again if you don't want to. After your done try out your satellite on the s-video input, and see if the picture looks any better. By doing it this way you are simulating the satellite signal as it is being sent to your tv, and making everything look as good as it can using this particular input, which is one you'll probably be using quite a bit for everyday TV viewing. You'll want to write down these settings as well, just in case you need to change them back for watching a DVD later. Some TV's have the memory settings some don't. I can't tell you what your set will do as I'm not that familiar with it but, either way it can't hurt to write them down.

If infact the S-video connection makes a slight color difference from component then I wont worry about it to much because my new cable box I am getting which offers HDTV has component video outputs. At that point all of my video connects will be via component. Any know the cost of hiring someone certified to calibrate?

 

[Audioholics]

I seem to remember it costing ~$150 per input... Probably discounted if you do several at once. That is for a basic "front of set" calibration, not opening up the back of a RPTV for example.

Be sure you get someone who has experience with your set (or at least the brand). The ISF website has a search function that may help.

 

[dlorde]

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.

The pictures most people get with out-of-the-box TVs that they haven't calibrate won't necessarily be 'crappy', but most of them could be improved for home viewing with a little adjustment. You only have to look at the number of people (and even TV stores) who have an incorrect aspect-ratio selected on their wide-screen TVs, giving a distorted picture, to see how many will accept a poor picture without realizing it.

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.

Eh? When I got my Loewe TV, I adjusted it using a calibration DVD and improved the picture noticeably. Even quality TVs don't always seem to be factory-calibrated for typical home viewing conditions.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Another quick note...the manual says the TV can play 480i, 480p and 1080i. Im I to understand I paid an extra 2,700 to play 1080i? because the EDTV version plays 480i and 480p.

Your TV plays 1365x768 - that's how many pixels it has (or something like that) and that is all it plays. It doesn't play 480p (853x480 pixels) or 1080i (1920x1080 pixels, interlaced)... it doesn't even play 720p (1280x720 pixels). When you see a full image on the screen it is playing, as it only is capable of playing, 1365x768 pixels.

It scales and processes any input it receives to fit 1365x768. So, while it accepts 1080i, 720p, 480p, and 480i - it actually does not display one of those formats in it's raw native form.

Likewise, a EDTV plasma processes everything to fit on a 853x480 display. Every EDTV plasma I have seen accepts 1080i, 720p, 480p, and 480i - the exact same formats yours accepts.

Was it worth the extra 2700 bucks for your TV? In my opinion, from a quality manufacturer, at a viewing distance of 10 feet+ you will find almost zero difference in viewable picture quality difference on a 42" plasma that is 1365x768 vs. one that is 853x480. As I always say though, everyone must view it for themselves to believe it.

Good luck with the calibration work... If I were you I would play with it some more, calibrate the S-Video input with a S-Video source, the component input with a component source, and composite with a composite source. Then see how things look. If it all sucks, then get the ISF guy to your door. Make sure you can individually adjust red, green, and blue. There is a chance that you may need to get into a 'service' menu to make that adjustment.

 

[Cuteman]

Using an upconversion DVD player with either DVI or HDMI will give you the best possible resolution.

Progressive Scan: 480p
Upconversion: 720, 1080

Progressive scan is pretty much standard on most of the DVD players i see.