Update!!!
Here is an update for everyone. I would like to start off by saying thanks to EVERYONE who posted in this thread. I really took most of each person's input in making my decision on how to proceed. I also took into consideration that I am very happy with the PQ on this set and that my only other option is to spend a LOT more on a Pioneer. This really helped persuade me to go after the solution along with a conversation with the Field Service Manager at Panasonic. If anyone has this same issue and needs to speak with him please PM me and I can put you directly in contact with him. He is the only person in Panasonic authorized to help out with this issue.
I had an "unoffical" converasation with the Field Service Manager at Panasonic and he verified that this Rattle and Vibration is an inherent Design Flaw. He was not really allowed to say this but he was being very straight up with me. He also said swapping out for another set will not help the issue since they all do this. He informed me that Panasonic knows of the issue and have come up with three options. The first option is they can send out a Field Service Rep to install a special "kit" that they have developed and are still developing that is installed in the TV to help quiet it down. He was very honest with me in saying that the response he has gotten from the 8 test units they have installed it in around the country is not positive. He said from the reports it looks like at best the issue is improved maybe 20 %. They are trying to improve this kit with the feed back they are getting from the field but it is not looking good. As a second option they are willing to give a full refund on the TV. As a Third option he said that Panasonic is offering customers a home theater system. We did not go into the specifics of the system but I will have him send me one on Monday. We also discussed using my unit as a test for the kit and giving feed back on how it can be improved. I will be exersizing option 3 but have also decided to take matters into my own hands.
I had a good friend come over after explaining the issue. We decided to take apart my TV and hunt down the issue and see what we could do. We started by findind a Blue Ray disc that we could easily reproduce the issue with. For this we used the first part of Fifth Element with the TV set on the factory settings and the volume on 24 out of 63. We also tapped around on the TV lightly to see exactly what was resonating on the back panel and the behavior of the resonance.
Then we proceeded to remove the back panel.
This is what it looks like with the back panel off. We installed very light thin foam weather striping around the perimiter of the TV to be sandwiched between the TV and the back panel. We played the TV with the panel off and found that a few of the blue capacitors where touching so we seperated them just very slightly so they would not contact each other and create a rattle against each other. We also put a screw driver on all the fastners and made sure everything was tight.
We listened to the TV with the cover on and off. We found the below sub woofer to be the main culprit of the resonant issues. It is an active driver in a small enclosure using a passive radiator. This sub floats on three rubber grommets inside the TV to help isolate vibrations when low frequencies are played. This sub sits about an 1/8th of an inch away from the back panel. First of all we found that each sub (there is one in each bottom corner) had two small pieces of sound deadening foam that where about 1/8th inch thick. This essentially make contact with the back panel. When the subs vibrate on thier rubber isolation mounts they shake the against the back panel cuasing it to vibrate. The air being moved by these subs also cuased the back panel to vibrate. We noticed that each sub was only being held in by one screw on one of the rubber isolation mounts. The other two had a screw missing. If we held the sub by hand when vibrating it moved around less. So we put in the other two screws to help limit the movement of the sub. We also moved the little rubber foam deadening pads so the sub would not make contact with the back panel when vibrating. This helped remove a good 30% of the vibration. We also noticed that the back panel was not secured anywhere in the center and was very flimsy in that area. So when re-installing the back panel we decided to put in 4 bolts that go in the holes for an optional mount if one wants to mount the TV on a wall. This braced the center very well and helped remove about 30% of the vibration in itself.
Below you can see the the bass driver in one of the subs with the passive radiator. This sucker really shakes around when a base note hits since it is essentially free floating on its three rubber mounts.
We re-assembled the back and the reduction in rattle/vibration was a LOT better. A good 70%. This is a lot better than what Panasonic reported with thier "kit" installation. Then we did some listening tests and decided to go into the sound menus. We turned off the BBE processing. This improved the sound and eliminated another 20% of the vibration. Where able to turn up the TV to 35 with 90% of the vibration gone. Now it is like a normal TV. One can listen to a Blue Ray Disc hearing everything perfectly with ample volume and little to no vibration. I would say it is still there just a tiny bit but you will almost never hear it at this point since it is only happens on rare occassion when a loud and low bass note hits with the volume up very loud. The vibration is pretty much gone.
I was happy with the results to say the least. I am really happy with the TV now and the PQ is amazing. On the last listening tests we forgot about listening for the vibration and ended up watching half way through the movie.
