New Plasma Question...

[jdchess]

I just got a new Panasonic 42" Plasma...the TH-42PZ77U. I love the TV...amazing picture! I've watched less than 10 hours on it so far and mostly at the factory settings (high contrast, etc...). I've read some about the break-in period and how you should lower the contrast to 50% or less. I've done that now. What else should I do to ensure that the TV is broken-in properly and will have as fine of an image as possible? I don't mind waiting through a few hours of a break-in period if it means my TV will function better and image retention will not be an issue. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jdchess]

Also, what are the best programs and/or movies to watch during the break-in period?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

There isn't any specific content you should limit yourself, but make sure you watching it on FULL screen, no black sides etc...

Your best bet to prolong the life of your plasma and get bet picture is to buy/borrow AVIA dvd a perform TV tuning. In my case it helped a lot from factory settings.

 

[jdchess]

Are any of the break-in DVD's good...the ones that display a solid repeating color patterns in order to light everything evenly? If so, which ones? Any ofthe free downloadable ones any good?

 

[allargon]

Just what Boredsysadmin said. (Ironically, I am in the same profession.)

Short of paying $300 plus to have an ISF certified calibrator take care of your set, I would recommend that the OP use one of the video calibration discs, e.g. Avia or Digital Video Essentials. Just like not calibrating your receiver/speaker setup is a no-no, the same goes for your display.

The break-in DVD works well, too. I've made copies for all my coworkers with plasmas.

http://www.eaprogramming.com/

 

[Hi Ho]

I have the same set and I definetely recomend changing the picture mode from vivid to standard to start. Also, turn on "MPEG NR" and "Block NR". Those greatly reduce artifacts (why they're not on by default is beyond me).

I've had my set for a few months now and I couldn't be happier with it.