Panny TH42PM50U any info?

[Jobronie]

I've been asking myself that for a month now........

[nadum215]

I stick with Costco for the return policy. Especially it being such a new technology and all. Once you're out of warranty, the cost of repair/replacement is going to end up probably matching what you pay at Costco. Not to mention that it will probably go down at Costco at some point.

[Ranger]

This is a tough decision. Couple more hundreds can get me the Maxent 42" HD.

[jrjr]

I would say that I am well past 100 hours now. I don't really see any difference in the picture quality, but it was great to start with! Still waiting for the HD cable box. Man I wish it would get here!! I picked up a surge supressor for the incoming cable from Rad Shack for $3 and change. Read about it elsewhere in the forums. No change in picture quality so I guess it worked out ok. They will simply open and send no signal if jolted beyond capacity. Seems like cheap protection. I still need to get my ac protection in place but that is coming.

[plefkow]

Does anyone have a a discrete "Component 1" input code for TH42PM50U and Home Theatre Master MX500/MX600? The remote that comes with the TH42PM50U just has one key INPUT and I have to cycle through to get to component 1. I was trying to get a macro going so that my wife can hit a button and selects component 1 and turns the cable box on. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas? Thanks Phil

[Bud-man]

[QUOTE=plefkow]Does anyone have a a discrete "Component 1" input code for TH42PM50U and Home Theatre Master MX500/MX600? The remote that comes with the TH42PM50U just has one key INPUT and I have to cycle through to get to component 1. I was trying to get a macro going so that my wife can hit a button and selects component 1 and turns the cable box on. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas? Thanks Phil[/QUOTE]

Also this model does not have input selection, which on my old PA i could rename inputs and skip them if not used , you have to skip thru all of them, i think ive read the PD model does this?
The menu is really poor on this set, the setup menu is the least featured ive ever seen on any plasma, just 3 settings in setup

Language
Auto set on
Side bar color

Thats it!!

[cleoreve]

[QUOTE=Bud-man]Also this model does not have input selection, which on my old PA i could rename inputs and skip them if not used , you have to skip thru all of them, i think ive read the PD model does this?
The menu is really poor on this set, the setup menu is the least featured ive ever seen on any plasma, just 3 settings in setup

Language
Auto set on
Side bar color

Thats it!![/QUOTE]


and the Side bar adjustment is defaulted to "Bright" and greyed out.

[Bud-man]

[QUOTE=cleoreve]and the Side bar adjustment is defaulted to "Bright" and greyed out.[/QUOTE]
Mine is only greyed out when i'm viewing a HD source, try a SD channel and you can adjust the brightness, i like dark grey the best.

[cleoreve]

[QUOTE=Bud-man]Mine is only greyed out when i'm viewing a HD source, try a SD channel and you can adjust the brightness, i like dark grey the best.[/QUOTE]


Thanks Bud.

I'm not at home now to check, but it may be because I have the aspect setting to "Just" rather than "4:3", because I don't even have an HD source yet.

[sgnakster]

I apologize for being slightly off topic, but this PM50 series are ED's, or does that only apply to the 42's. Because I saw on the costco website the 50 inch version states the same resolution as the th-50px50u. I think it has no tuner though.

[RandyWalters]

[QUOTE=sgnakster]I apologize for being slightly off topic, but this PM50 series are ED's, or does that only apply to the 42's. Because I saw on the costco website the 50 inch version states the same resolution as the th-50px50u. I think it has no tuner though.[/QUOTE]The 42PM50U is ED, but the 50PM50U is "HD". Nobody makes an ED larger than 42" so any 50" you see will automatically be HD.

[cmunro]

What are you talking about,PA25 = older. PM50= Better picture. I looked at them side by side and the PA25 did not look as good as the PM50. I really wish it did because it includes a tuner and lots of other good stuff. My eye's don't lie I opted for the PM50 and sacraficed all the goodies the PA25 offered because of the poor picture quality.

[jrjr]

Has anyone used Avia on their 42PM yet? I have been looking into it but it sure sounds like a complicated process. Sounds like one would have to receive training in order to use the tuning disc and of course be able to get into the service menu... Thoughts?

[Bud-man]

I have Avia, DVE, i dont think it's really needed anymore panasonic has these 8th gen's pretty damn good!!
Even in vivid mode the blacks are too black, i turned the brightness down a notch to +25 and picture up to +10, i can now see better detail of say a black suit or sweater

The PA25 i had before had a nice picture, but it had a hard time rendering say underwater scenes and esp clouds, saw alot of gradiation rings around the clouds.
Underwater is the hardest for a plasma/LCD to reproduce, esp looking at the Titanic DVD when the sub's go underwater and show the bow of the boat, you can see the rings of posterization around the lights.

[everest_plasma]

The user manual of 42PM50U/50PM50U is located in the first entry of old
Yahoo search. (I can't post URL, because I am new here.)



42PM50U/50PM50U's remote control has about 15 keys. (page 12), which is
disappointing.

[everest_plasma]

[QUOTE=everest_plasma]The user manual of 42PM50U/50PM50U is located in the first entry of old
Yahoo search. (I can't post URL, because I am new here.)



42PM50U/50PM50U's remote control has about 15 keys. (page 12), which is
disappointing.[/QUOTE]

Search 42PM50U at Yahoo.

[jrjr]

[QUOTE=Bud-man]I have Avia, DVE, i dont think it's really needed anymore panasonic has these 8th gen's pretty damn good!!
Even in vivid mode the blacks are too black, i turned the brightness down a notch to +25 and picture up to +10, i can now see better detail of say a black suit or sweater

The PA25 i had before had a nice picture, but it had a hard time rendering say underwater scenes and esp clouds, saw alot of gradiation rings around the clouds.
Underwater is the hardest for a plasma/LCD to reproduce, esp looking at the Titanic DVD when the sub's go underwater and show the bow of the boat, you can see the rings of posterization around the lights.[/QUOTE]

Did you ever get into the service menu and see what its like? Since I have no experience with that I will listen to you and leave things as is. I'm a programmer at heart and like to fiddle, but if there is nothing to gain its probably better left alone! There are a lot of things in there that can backfire on you so I have read. I am happy with what I have, but there is always that desire to tinker... if you know what I mean :D


everest_plasma - there is also a manual online at the Panny site.

[Bud-man]

The service menu is very limited, you can see adjustments but cant adjust them without a special service remote.

[jaykay]

Does this set also lacks CC decoder and V-Chip???

[hammick]

If I run a Scientific Altanta 8300HD DVR into the PM50U using HDMI and I set it to have 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i all active will I be able to use Just mode on the SD channels and have the TV automatically lock in on the HD channels?

My Toshiba HD set currently allows me to stretch the SD stuff and it locks on to all HD content. I like it this way because I don't have to adjust anthing. Just change channels.

[Bud-man]

[QUOTE=everest_plasma]The user manual of 42PM50U/50PM50U is located in the first entry of old
Yahoo search. (I can't post URL, because I am new here.)



42PM50U/50PM50U's remote control has about 15 keys. (page 12), which is
disappointing.[/QUOTE]

But under that lil remote is ALOT of key's!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/Bud-man/DCP00866.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/Bud-man/DCP00867.jpg

[rjngh2005]

Panny TH42PM50U any info


I purchased the Panasonic TH42PM50U from Costco last night.
There is another class of users apart from the serious and knowledgeable. This class is the newbie amateur class (I am from this class of people)

I do not know the technical phrases and the exact details.

I have connected the Panny with a Dish network DVR. The Dish network DVR has two choices. Choice no. 1 is a video out which is an RCA socket and choice 2 is a S Video socket. I have connected the S Video socket to the PANNY. Second I have connected the DVD player to the Panny with the help of the S Video socket.
The sound from the DVR and the DVD player is routed through a Onkyo Home Theatre system. The sound from the DVD uses an Optical cable to get Dolby 5.1 sound when I play Dolby 5.1 DVD movies

I earlier had a Sony 27 inch. The picture quality of the PANNY is excellent. I have read posts of people who say that the words are squiggly and such things.
The next step is to get true digital programming.

The cost for this is fantastic. I am currently paying 90 dollars per month to Dish Network for their programming. I have made enquiries about their HD Box and last when I asked them they said 900 dollars plus you have to pay 15-20 bucks more for a measly 4 channels HD broadcast (when avaliable).....or the next choice is to watch DVD movies (blockbuster rental or their equivalent or rent from online vendors) or such.

The cost per month will shoot up if I start indulging myself with DVD and /or Dish HD Broadcast.

The world is not ready for the HD revolution.

But is this a step up from my Sony 27 inch...........ABSOLUTELY.
The picture quality is far far better. The price at Costco is $$$$. The price with tuner at BestBuy is $$$$.
I read somewhere in this thread that the life is 60,000 hours for the bulb. I think for the price this PANNY is an excellent buy. I even considered purchasing a Sony (I have a lot of Sony products at home). However the Sony equivalent does not have a Stand and does not have speakers and of course does not have a Tuner.

I contacted 3 online retailers for the PANNY and I ordered the PANNY twice from different online retailers only to call them after a few hours later to find that it was not available (no stock) . The online retailers 3 of them ended up at the same call center and the person at the other end realised that he was talking to the same client 3 times since morning and both of us had a big laugh about this being a small world etc etc.

Finally I ended up at Costco. They had 4 pieces on the floor when I went there at lunch time and I went back to the store around 6 pm with my UHAUL and when I left there was only one piece on the floor. In the span of 6 hours they sold 3 units.

At this price it is an excellent Value for Money.

I hope that other users feel the same.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!

EDIT>>

Mod note: no price talk, please. Thanks

[jrjr]

[QUOTE=Bud-man]But under that lil remote is ALOT of key's!!!

[/QUOTE]

Interesting find! Do any of the other keys actually do anything with the PM?

[sculptor999]

I will be getting the 42PM50U in a week. I wanted to order the cables in advance online to save some $$. The question is will an HDMI to DVI cable be any better than component cables for HD (I will use S-Video for SD) since this is an EDTV? Time Warner said that their cablebox- Scientific Atlanta 3250 or Pace HiDef has a DVI output (only if you order the box with DVR is there a HDMI output). Also which is a better box the SciAtlanta or Pace. Anybody with some experience with this will be appreciated.

[Bud-man]

[QUOTE=jrjr]Interesting find! Do any of the other keys actually do anything with the PM?[/QUOTE]
Yea a clicked a few and ended up with this service self check test screen, had to manually unplug the plasma to get out of it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/Bud-man/DCP00870.jpg

[jrjr]

Nice Bud-Man... don't know what good it would do without instructions but it's good to know anyway.

I did look around in the service menu and was able to adjust some things. I put them back to original though cause I don't really know what I am doing. Is there somewhere I can find detailed instructions?

Other things I noticed..... I just got an HDMI cable this last weekend. With that hooked up my SA8300hd cuts out the component output. I can't switch between HDMI and Component.... bummer. I read somewhere that setting the TV to component and cycling power on the SA would do it but it doesn't work for me. I guess I have to unplug the HDMI cable to switch back to component. I havent really checked but I think its the output that shuts down but it may be the TV input...have to check more thoroughly.

And another...... when on the HDMI input I have noticed a couple of channels have a narrow black space on the left side of the screen. This is not visible using S Video or component. All aspects seem to have this. Switching to 4:3 shows a funny black bar on the left side of the video (the actuall 4:3 image). This is not seen anytime except when using the HDMI. Anyone else experience this?

[Bud-man]

jrjr, barb1978 has that problem, mine only has the underscan when using hdmi only, get a small white line on top of HD 4:3 broadcast's, had a tech call me and he's gunna order the special remote to adjust, i told him order 2, 1 for me....haha

[Argetni]

[QUOTE=Bud-man]jrjr, barb1978 has that problem, mine only has the underscan when using hdmi only, get a small white line on top of HD 4:3 broadcast's, had a tech call me and he's gunna order the special remote to adjust, i told him order 2, 1 for me....haha[/QUOTE]

Anyone have any idea where to purchase one of these "special remotes"

Bruzzi where are you?? :D

[yancantcook]

I bought this tv from costco last night as well.

works great

what's the optimal viewing distance for this TV?

my apartment is small and I'm viewing it from about 5 feet away and SD tv looks awful!

Anyway to tweak it?

[jrjr]

[QUOTE=Bud-man]jrjr, barb1978 has that problem, mine only has the underscan when using hdmi only, get a small white line on top of HD 4:3 broadcast's, had a tech call me and he's gunna order the special remote to adjust, i told him order 2, 1 for me....haha[/QUOTE]

From the sounds of Barb's post her alignment is off all the time though. Mine is only off on 2 channels and only on HDMI.

Did they quote a price for the service remote?

Do you think the hidden buttons will do the same thing?

Is this too many questions? LOL

[jrjr]

[QUOTE=yancantcook]I bought this tv from costco last night as well.

works great

what's the optimal viewing distance for this TV?

my apartment is small and I'm viewing it from about 5 feet away and SD tv looks awful!

Anyway to tweak it?[/QUOTE]

You can tweak a lot with just the available user adjustments - color levels, sharpness, etc. 5 feet is too close for most people to watch ED. I have not had in home experience myself, but from what I have read HD is recommended for that close of a distance due to sde.

For me S Video seems to work the best for SD but I am sitting 14' away or so.

[won bae]

Does anyone know how to do this on 42PM50U? I would appreciate it if someone could post it...

[cnewsgrp]

I have one question.
What generation is 42PM50U?
How does it compare to 42PD50U? I am guessing 42PD50U is 7th generation, is that correct?

[Bud-man]

There both 8th generation, a PM50 is a PD50 without a tuner.
last year's 7th gen was only on the the commercial 7UY series, rest was 6th gen

[cnewsgrp]

[QUOTE=Bud-man]There both 8th generation, a PM50 is a PD50 without a tuner.
last year's 7th gen was only on the the commercial 7UY series, rest was 6th gen[/QUOTE]
Thanks. I guess I was wrong. I was planning to choose PM50 over PD50 thinking it was a better TV. Now I might go for PD50, I am willing to pay extra $100/- for a tuner.

Appreciate the info. Does that also mean that PM50 does not have 4096 shades of gradation like 42PWD8UK when connected to DVI input source? I emailed panasonic support and they confirmed that PD50 has only 2048 shades of gradation with DVI or HDMI.

[BarnacleBill]

[QUOTE=won bae]Does anyone know how to do this on 42PM50U? I would appreciate it if someone could post it...[/QUOTE]
Sorry, you can't adjust overscan yourself. The rumor is that a service tech with a special remote can make this adjustment. I have not read of anyone actually having this done, though This is a problem with the entire PX, PD, PM line, not just your set.

[RandyWalters]

[QUOTE=yancantcook]I bought this tv from costco last night as well . . . . .what's the optimal viewing distance for this TV?

my apartment is small and I'm viewing it from about 5 feet away and SD tv looks awful! Anyway to tweak it?[/QUOTE]Wow 5 feet is way too close for an ED plasma! I see SDE at 10 feet on the PD50/PM50 and at 8 feet it starts to look pretty bad, and the general consensus is you need to be at least 7-8 feet from an ED plasma for it to start to look good. At home my eyes are 7-9 feet from my PX50 and it looks fine, but when i stood 7 feet from the PD50 at one small store with an SD feed it looked bad. Unacceptable actually. I had to move out to 11 feet before the SDE went away. Hell, if i look at my 42PX50 from 5 feet SD looks bad as well and certainly would be worse on an ED model.

A better TV for your 5 ft distance would be the TH-37PX50U. Better screen size and a really smooth picture that you can sit closer to than any other plasma. Sure it's about $700 more but your super close viewing distance kinda dictates it.

[jrjr]

Did that tech show up yet with the remote(s) ??

[yancantcook]

at 5 feet away, the tv looks pretty good with SD and amazing with HD broadcasts.

however, how is this compared to the maxent mx3 at costco as well?

they are the same price actually

[Bud-man]

[QUOTE=jrjr]Did that tech show up yet with the remote(s) ??[/QUOTE]

Nope still waiting for the tech to call back, he got my serial# and hopefully ordered it last week, i know the stock remote can probably do it, just have to figure out the right combination of buttons, i clicked a bunch and got into a test screen as shown in my pic's, kinda scared me and i had to hard boot the panel to get out.
I might screw around soon again.

[jrjr]

[QUOTE=yancantcook]at 5 feet away, the tv looks pretty good with SD and amazing with HD broadcasts.

however, how is this compared to the maxent mx3 at costco as well?

they are the same price actually[/QUOTE]

In your post above you said that SD looked awful. What did you change to make it pretty good? Just curious :D

[sculptor999]

I just got my Panny TH-42PM50U. I am hooked up with component for HD and am using S-video for watching SD broadcasts. I have a Scientific Atlanta 3250HD box. I am having the same problem that jrjr mentioned above. When I hook up the HDMI (to the DVI on the SA box) and try to swith back to component for comparison there is no longer a picture on the component input. jrjr, were you able to fix this? I called Panasonic and the rep told me he never heard of this problem. He said he would research it and get back to me. I also called Time-Warner Cable hereon Staten Island. They suggested turning everything off, then plugging in the HDMI/DVI cable and power back on- it did not work. HELP!

P.S. HD is excellent even with only the component cables. SD is decent (about 80-90% as good as my old 27" Sony CRT depending upon what I am viewing. I am not exactly happy about that). Consumer Reports magazine said this was the best EDTV and rated SD viewing as very good for both high quality and basic input. It rated the true HD Panasonic TH-42PX50U and it's 50" counterpart as excellent for SD viewing via a "high-quality input" and very good watching SD via basic input. I thought this kind of strange since the general word is that EDTV gives better SD viewing (or am I wrong about this?). Also if they mean component or HDMI for "high quality" then why are they claiming that SD viewing is better with high quality as opposed to lower quality (like S-video). I definately get better SD when I switch from component to S-video. Has anyone seen the PX HD model next to the PM or PD EDTV models for SD? Is Consumers Reports correct to say that the HD model has better SD viewing than the EDTV model? At my Circuit City and Best Buy they will only show you HD- no way to compare.

[plefkow]

With the newly discovered remote keys, how do I find a discrete Component 1 input code for TH42PM50U and MX500?

Does anyone have a a discrete "Component 1" input code for TH42PM50U and Home Theatre Master MX500/MX600? The remote that comes with the TH42PM50U just has one key INPUT and I have to cycle through to get to component 1. I was trying to get a macro going so that my wife can hit a button and selects component 1 and turns the cable box on. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas? It takes forever to go from cable to dvd player. Thanks Phil

[Bud-man]

I played around again with the remote, covers off, those bunch of small buttons below the 2 big key's can do some interesting stuff, you want discrete comp1-2?, see the 3rd row down of small buttons?, to the left they are the component buttons, the top left 2nd in is service menu, 3rd in goes in self check as shown above, i still cant figure how to adjust screen size yet.

pkleflow, you'll have to modify your remote or you can maybe take it apart like me and use it to program your other remote?

[bd73]

I'm a newbie here...I wanted to get a plasma for this holiday season and 2 quick questions after doing some reseach (reading thru this whole thread and googling.

I'm about to get the 42PM50U from Costco but I just saw the 42PD50U at CircuitCity for $100 extra with tuner. So my question will be: 1) is tuner the only extra and the plasma quality is the same as the PM? 2) how would the costco return policy compared to Circuit city? To me, $100 for the tuners is a good deal for me but I'm not familiar with the return policy on both costco and cc.

Thanks.

[RandyWalters]

[QUOTE=bd73]I'm about to get the 42PM50U from Costco but I just saw the 42PD50U at CircuitCity for $100 extra with tuner. So my question will be: 1) is tuner the only extra and the plasma quality is the same as the PM? [/QUOTE]The extra hundred bucks gets you the ATSC/QAM Tuner, Optical Audio Output, and a much better remote control. It's worth the extra $$.

2) how would the costco return policy compared to Circuit city? To me, $100 for the tuners is a good deal for me but I'm not familiar with the return policy on both costco and cc. With Costco you can return the plasma at any time for any reason. With CC you have 30 days to return it for any reason and you get a full refund.

[Steve P]

I just got this today from my local Costco....my first post...

Anyways, is there any setup break-in standard settings that I can just use right off the bat, I've been searching this forum and the Panny faq and am overly confused to start. Just the basics would help. I, like most major first time plasma purchasers want to do this break in correctly and I noticed one major thing was to turn the contrast down, but when looking through the settings I noticed that there isn't even a contrast option through the limited menu which goes hand in hand with the limited remote. I am very happy with my purchase but want to start out on the right foot...any insight would be greatly appreciated. Just a simple run down of your break in settings for this model will set me straight.

thanks in advance,
Steve P

[jrjr]

[QUOTE=sculptor999]I just got my Panny TH-42PM50U. I am hooked up with component for HD and am using S-video for watching SD broadcasts. I have a Scientific Atlanta 3250HD box. I am having the same problem that jrjr mentioned above. When I hook up the HDMI (to the DVI on the SA box) and try to swith back to component for comparison there is no longer a picture on the component input. jrjr, were you able to fix this? I called Panasonic and the rep told me he never heard of this problem. He said he would research it and get back to me. I also called Time-Warner Cable hereon Staten Island. They suggested turning everything off, then plugging in the HDMI/DVI cable and power back on- it did not work. HELP!

P.S. HD is excellent even with only the component cables. SD is decent (about 90% as good as my old 27" Sony CRT)[/QUOTE]

No I havent been able to find a fix. I think its just the way the SA is designed. Mine is the 8300HD. Sure wish it wasn't like that and if you find a fix post back wiil ya? I will too... :)

[jrjr]

[QUOTE=Steve P]I just got this today from my local Costco....my first post...

Anyways, is there any setup break-in standard settings that I can just use right off the bat, I've been searching this forum and the Panny faq and am overly confused to start. Just the basics would help. I, like most major first time plasma purchasers want to do this break in correctly and I noticed one major thing was to turn the contrast down, but when looking through the settings I noticed that there isn't even a contrast option through the limited menu which goes hand in hand with the limited remote. I am very happy with my purchase but want to start out on the right foot...any insight would be greatly appreciated. Just a simple run down of your break in settings for this model will set me straight.

thanks in advance,
Steve P[/QUOTE]



Quote from Panny:

When the plasma is initially installed, videophiles say it is best to do the following:

· Make sure the display is in a viewing mode (aspect ratio) that completely
fills the screen (there are often three or more settings from which to
· choose). The panel is shipped in this condition, in what is called the
“Just” mode.
· Turn down the picture control (contrast) to 50% or less.
· Briefly engage the 4:3 mode to confirm the side bars are set to mid-gray
(there is usually an adjustment in the Set Up menu that takes the
sidebars from black to gray) to minimize the chance of burn-in.
· Return the set to a “full screen” (Just, Zoom, Full) position during the
first hundred hours of use.
· During the first hundred hours of use it is best not to view the same
channel for extended periods. This should prevent channel logos and
other fixed images found on some channels from being retained.
· Avoid any static images (video games, computer images, DVD title
screens, etc.) during the hundred-hour break-in.

After the hundred-hour break-in period, during the next nine-hundred hours:
· Continue to retain the picture setting at 50% or less.
· Limit the use of 4:3 aspect ratio mode (traditional picture size that does
not fill the entire screen) to 15% of viewing time.
· Limit the use of static images (computer, video games, etc.) to less than
10% of viewing time.
"

"After one-thousand viewing hours, panels are much less likely to experience image burn-in"

[Steve P]

Have read that burn in piece nearly a dozen times, actually...but I guess what I was really looking for in my post was for the owners of this set to give me what their desired menu settings were for break in period and post break in period. I also posted some questions in a separate thread.

still looking for help.
owners of this set, either PM me or respond.

thanks in advance,
Steve P

[sculptor999]

Jrjr, going back to the issue with the SA 3250 and SA 8300 cable boxes. I spoke to two seemingly knowledgeable reps at my local Time Warner Cable. They told me that the cable box cuts out the component output in the box when the HDMI/DVI cable is hooked up. They said it cannot support two hidef outputs at the same time. they said all of their boxes do this. I don't understand this or take this as gospel but this is what I was told.

[RandyWalters]

[QUOTE=sculptor999]Jrjr, going back to the issue with the SA 3250 and SA 8300 cable boxes. I spoke to two seemingly knowledgeable reps at my local Time Warner Cable. They told me that the cable box cuts out the component output in the box when the HDMI/DVI cable is hooked up. They said it cannot support two hidef outputs at the same time. they said all of their boxes do this. I don't understand this or take this as gospel but this is what I was told.[/QUOTE]This is true of every HD Cable Converter regardless of brand or type. Only one HD output will work at a time.

[jrjr]

Yea, curiosity got the best of me and I called Time Warner today too. They told me basically the same thing. There is only one HD output and whichever input is the strongest on your TV is the one that the STB will enable. I don't know if I completely agree with that. I feel that if there is an HDMI connected it cuts out the component...period... and strength has nothing to do with it. Oh well, what are you gonna do, they both wont work without swapping cables regardless.

[jrjr]

[QUOTE=Steve P]Have read that burn in piece nearly a dozen times, actually...but I guess what I was really looking for in my post was for the owners of this set to give me what their desired menu settings were for break in period and post break in period. I also posted some questions in a separate thread.

still looking for help.
owners of this set, either PM me or respond.

thanks in advance,
Steve P[/QUOTE]

As I recall I set both the picture and brightness to 10 for the first 100 hours. After that I didnt worry and set it to where it looked good. I still don't watch 4:3. I zoom everything. There are no video games for tv in my house so that is not an issue for me. I did leave the set on for the first 2 days to hurry up the break in. I set the channel to MTV during the hours I wasnt watching because of a reccommendation I read here somewhere. Then I thought..... why wear the set out and get no enjoyment out of these hours so I stopped. I didnt set around with a stopwatch timing the ontime or anything but I estimated the time close enough. In a weeks time I was past the 100 hours. Having a new plasma in the house, and for the first time, seems to make one watch more tv!

[Bud-man]

[QUOTE=RandyWalters]This is true of every HD Cable Converter regardless of brand or type. Only one HD output will work at a time.[/QUOTE]

On my Motorola 6412 DVR box i can use the HDMI and the Component at once, i had my old PA25 hooked up to component doing a side by side comparison before i returned it, also i on occasion have both inputs connected to see if one looks better, now i have a upconvert dvd player i use that for HDMI, as the 6412 has 5:1 surround problems using HDMI, waiting for a newer firmware update.

[sculptor999]

jrjr, I called Scientific Atlanta today. They said the same thing.

[cleoreve]

[QUOTE=Steve P]Have read that burn in piece nearly a dozen times, actually...but I guess what I was really looking for in my post was for the owners of this set to give me what their desired menu settings were for break in period and post break in period. I also posted some questions in a separate thread.

still looking for help.
owners of this set, either PM me or respond.

thanks in advance,
Steve P[/QUOTE]

Breakin period I set the Mode to Standard, Picture setting to 15 or below, Brightness and Sharpness to 0, others to taste.

Now, Mode=Standard
Picture=18
Brightness=5
Color=-12
Sharp= 5

[TheeeGod]

i just saw this TV back at my local costco so i may opt for in my parents room...their viewing distance is 14FT and currently they do not have a HD box...we have cablevision and use the SA explorer 4200...the TV will be used to watch TV meaning they wont play DVDS or hook up the comp or play video games...i just had a few questions from the experts or people who have had this set:

- will i need to switch the box to a HD box (the 8300) for optimum picture quality?

- at this viewing distance does HD vs ED really matter? or should i get a HDTV as that will provide better pq?


someone please let me know. thanks.

[TheeeGod]

bump

[Bud-man]

question #1 YES, HD is free with my provider Cox, dont know about cablevision, just need to spend a few more bucks a month for a 8300 box

question #2 NO, i sit in my chair at 14' looks great!!

[jrjr]

[QUOTE=Bud-man]I played around again with the remote, covers off, those bunch of small buttons below the 2 big key's can do some interesting stuff, you want discrete comp1-2?, see the 3rd row down of small buttons?, to the left they are the component buttons, the top left 2nd in is service menu, 3rd in goes in self check as shown above, i still cant figure how to adjust screen size yet.

pkleflow, you'll have to modify your remote or you can maybe take it apart like me and use it to program your other remote?[/QUOTE]

There is another service menu in there too but I cant find it again. Strange you cant select HDMI with the buttons.

[yancantcook]

does anyone have any experience with this plasma and a xbox 360?

I'm away on vacation and I have an xbox 360 waiting for me. It hope that even though it is EDTV, xbox 360 still looks great on it.

[TangoUniform]

[QUOTE=sculptor999]I thought this kind of strange since the general word is that EDTV gives better SD viewing (or am I wrong about this?).[/QUOTE]

I have this same question. Didn't see it get answered in the thread here. Is sculptor right about ED generally gives better SD viewing?

I'm looking to upgrade from 32" tube. Most of my viewing will be in SD or DVD. My viewing distance is about 11 feet. (HD will come later, with my HT project in a different room, later this year.) I'm trying to decide between plasmas in 42" HD, 42" ED, or 37" HD, or a 37" LCD. Any ideas on deciding factors?

thanks.

TU

[Argetni]

[QUOTE=TangoUniform]I have this same question. Didn't see it get answered in the thread here. Is sculptor right about ED generally gives better SD viewing?

I'm looking to upgrade from 32" tube. Most of my viewing will be in SD or DVD. My viewing distance is about 11 feet. (HD will come later, with my HT project in a different room, later this year.) I'm trying to decide between plasmas in 42" HD, 42" ED, or 37" HD, or a 37" LCD. Any ideas on deciding factors?

thanks.

TU[/QUOTE]

$$$ and brand recognition did it for me.

I had the Maxent MX50-X3 for 4 weeks and while I was pleased with the picture, I got sick of every person coming into my house saying "you spent 3k on a no name TV...are you nuts".

Which got me to thinking, and spending that kind of coin on an unknown brand is nuts.

Panny TH42PM50U for me and almost $1200 in my pocket

[GregF2]

I saw a 50 Panny, model 960600 on Costco's website and says it uses 8th generation glass. Is this similar to the current consumer 50 Panny? Sure looks like it. Sorry if this is a repeat question, but could not find the answer when I searched the forum.

[ellogan]

GregF2:
The 50-inch Panny at Costco is an 8th generation plasma. Similar to the ones sold at CC, BB, and other places, but it does not have a tuner and the bezel is gray instead of black.

[jimvad]

OK, it looks like it's been a while since anybody has posted about this model (42PM50U), so I wanted to bump this back to the front because I have a couple of questions. I've been looking at the Panasonic 42PM50U for probably six months and I finally have my house remodeled, so I have a place to put it now.

So here goes:

For those that have had this model for a while, do you still like it?

I plan on using satellite SD for my main input. Does anybody else use this format and if so, how does it look for you?

How long did you go before playing a DVD?

Thanks in advance to all that reply!!!
JIMVAD

[Moebius]

I've only been going for about 24 hours on mine, so I can't speak from long term, this is pretty much out of the box, with all picture settings at 0 for now.

SD is still SD, and any large display will magnifiy its shortcomings. That said though, even copressed recordings on the TiVo are more than watchable. The pq is about the same as it was on my 27" crt. I'm using Just mode for now (seems like it distorts more than on some of the older models, but that may just be me) and it's perfectly watchable. I should point out that I am a very critical viewer. I can see the flaws in SD, I can see the screen door effect, and I can see every little motion artifiact the TiVo introduces. But even seeing it doesn't take away, I still think it's great to watch.

I've not played a DVD yet, but that's mostly just because we haven't had a chance. Wife is in Olympic mode, so that ties up most of the time. We'll probably watch something tonight though.

On a side note, HD was most impressive. Detected some red push so I ended up pulling the colors back a little further, just eyeballing for now. I may put Avia in tonight and give it a basic calibration.

[Nuz]

I've had mine for about two weeks in my master bedroom and have no complaints. I have a DVD and Directv HD connected to it. Picture settings are currently all set to 0.

[Moebius]

[QUOTE=Nuz]I've had mine for about two weeks in my master bedroom and have no complaints. I have a DVD and Directv HD connected to it. Picture settings are currently all set to 0.[/QUOTE]

I ran an intial calibration with Avia last night, but it's on a 6 year old DVD going through composite, so I didn't put much effort into it. I'll have to wait till I get a batter player in place to do a full setup.

[Moebius]

Bud-man, I saw you were playing around with the remote some (was skimming the thread so didn't catch all of it), did you get any further in your experiments.

Also, does anyone the method for looking up hours used on the PM model? Obviously, the remote doesn't have a 1 key, so Bruzzi's guide doesn't seem to work.

[drizznay]

Hi everyone, first post here. I have read this entire thread and done some research online and am trying to decide between the 42PD50U at BB or the 42PM50U at Costco. I understand that they are essentially the same with the exception that the PD has tuner and audio out and better controller. There is a $200 difference in the two (hope it's ok to post price differnces without actually posting the price :) ) and I'm just wondering from you all's perspective would it be worth it to pay the extra? Also I understand that the tuner allows me to receive over the air broadcasts but does it have any other function/benefit? Thanks in advance for your help and forgive me for any newb questions! :p

[Moebius]

The tuner is nice, just a matter of whether it's something important to you or not. Another factor to weigh in is return policies, where Costco clearly wins out. (hence why I went with that over a 8UK).

[SweatyPalm]

[QUOTE=drizznay]Hi everyone, first post here. I have read this entire thread and done some research online and am trying to decide between the 42PD50U at BB or the 42PM50U at Costco. I understand that they are essentially the same with the exception that the PD has tuner and audio out and better controller. There is a $200 difference in the two (hope it's ok to post price differnces without actually posting the price :) ) and I'm just wondering from you all's perspective would it be worth it to pay the extra? Also I understand that the tuner allows me to receive over the air broadcasts but does it have any other function/benefit? Thanks in advance for your help and forgive me for any newb questions! :p[/QUOTE]

Correct me if I'm wrong. Not only that the 42PM50U is unable to receive OTA broadcasts, it doesn't even have NTSC/ATSC (analog/digital tuners) to receive all other broadcasts.

[drizznay]

Well I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the 42PD50U. Got it home at around 5:45pm and disciplined myself to not open it up till around 1am (we just moved so my wife insisted I help her with unpacking!). Initially I hooked it up directly to the cable in the wall using the tuner just to see the screen. I expected the SD channels to look as they did and wasn't disappointed. I was able to get some HD channels (tnt, pbs and a couple of other ones) and I smiled like a little kid. So crystal clear! Hooked up the DVD player just to make sure the component inputs worked OK and watched a few minutes of "Hero" (jet li flick that is visually beautiful) and was concerned that there were still black bars on the top/bottom of the screen. I thought that a widescreen would eliminate this? obviously I was mistaken, any reasons why? does it have to do with the DVD's aspect ratio? Sorry for all the questions. Anyways tonight I'll be setting up my SS and my PS2 to it to see how it looks. Thanks again for all the info, originally I came here just to see if the panny was a good choice but I may end up hanging around. I also collect watches and this is just what I need, another hobby and forum that will take up all my time and money!

[Moebius]

[QUOTE=drizznay]Hooked up the DVD player just to make sure the component inputs worked OK and watched a few minutes of "Hero" (jet li flick that is visually beautiful) and was concerned that there were still black bars on the top/bottom of the screen. I thought that a widescreen would eliminate this? obviously I was mistaken, any reasons why? does it have to do with the DVD's aspect ratio? Sorry for all the questions. Anyways tonight I'll be setting up my SS and my PS2 to it to see how it looks. Thanks again for all the info, originally I came here just to see if the panny was a good choice but I may end up hanging around. I also collect watches and this is just what I need, another hobby and forum that will take up all my time and money![/QUOTE]


Short answer: Your plasma is 1.85:1 or 16x9. Many movies are shot in this (or close to it) format. However, just as many (maybe more) are shot in a wider aspect ratio, usually 2.35:1. Hero would fall into that category I believe (though I'm not positive). Movies in 2.35:1 will still have letterbox bars on a 16x9 display.

Check the box for Hero and see what aspect ratio it's in. If it is indeed 1.85:1 then the problem is the DVD player is still in 4:3 mode. Depending on the DVD player, go into setup mode and switch it to 16X9 mode.

[drizznay]

[QUOTE=Moebius]Short answer: Your plasma is 1.85:1 or 16x9. Many movies are shot in this (or close to it) format. However, just as many (maybe more) are shot in a wider aspect ratio, usually 2.35:1. Hero would fall into that category I believe (though I'm not positive). Movies in 2.35:1 will still have letterbox bars on a 16x9 display.

Check the box for Hero and see what aspect ratio it's in. If it is indeed 1.85:1 then the problem is the DVD player is still in 4:3 mode. Depending on the DVD player, go into setup mode and switch it to 16X9 mode.[/QUOTE]

Cool thanks. I'll check when I get home. So a movie in 1.85:1 ratio will fit with no LB bars, good to know. Also I'm wondering if anyone else who has this set has any recommendations on settings and/or break in procedures. I read the entire manual today to get a feel for how to navigate it's menus and stuff. I just want to make sure it gets broken in properly. If I watch a movie like Hero with LB bars do i need to worry about potential burn-in or since it's about an hour and a half long will I be ok? I kind of skimmed through the sticky on burn-in and am I correct that I should just vary the types of things I watch for the first 100 hours or so? (i.e. DVD's, cable, PS2 etc.) Thanks again guys!

[Moebius]

I checked, Hero is 2.35:1, so the Letterbox bars would be normal. Look for a DVD in your collection that is listed as 1.85:1 or Anamorphic, or "Enhanced for Widescreen Televisions". Those should fill your screen If they don't, then you'll want to make sure the DVD player is set to 16:9 mode (actually you should check anyway).

As for watching letterbox, the general recomendation is break the unit in for 100 hours before watching letterbox materials. The reality is, one movie, followed by some full screen programming proabably wouldn't hurt. Personally, I've been going for about 70 hours so far, and haven't watched non-full screen programming yet. Not so much for fear really, I just haven't had one I wanted to watch yet. I've spent much time on the HD channels enjoying that stuff.

In any event, a little caution in the beginning is advisable. After that, just apply common sense.

Most of all, enjoy your new display!

[drizznay]

Thanks. Yea I did a search here for breaking in the unit and found a link to a Panasonic white paper on Plasma Facts and Myths that has break-in recommendations so I will follow those. I have read about these calibration DVD's that can be purchased. How exactly do those work? I read somewhere here that one could use a THX dvd (like Pirates of the Carribean) and there is a THX calibration tester or whatever on the dvd. Would that be adequate or should I just spring for one of those other dvd's?

[Moebius]

[QUOTE=drizznay]Thanks. Yea I did a search here for breaking in the unit and found a link to a Panasonic white paper on Plasma Facts and Myths that has break-in recommendations so I will follow those. I have read about these calibration DVD's that can be purchased. How exactly do those work? I read somewhere here that one could use a THX dvd (like Pirates of the Carribean) and there is a THX calibration tester or whatever on the dvd. Would that be adequate or should I just spring for one of those other dvd's?[/QUOTE]

Tons of DVDs have the THX calibration on them these days, if you have even a small collection, there's a good chance you already have one. Star Wars, T2 Special Edition, most Disney and Pixar animated flicks, Pirates, the list goes on and on. Find one and that will give you a good start.

I'd recommend investing in one of the two big calibration DVDs before it's over though as they do a great job with some fine tuning and explaining what settings actually adjust what. Avia and Digital Video Essentials are the two referenced most often around here.

[drizznay]

[QUOTE=Moebius]I'd recommend investing in one of the two big calibration DVDs before it's over though as they do a great job with some fine tuning and explaining what settings actually adjust what. Avia and Digital Video Essentials are the two referenced most often around here.[/QUOTE]

Which one would be the best choice or is that the same question as "which is the best, ED or HD"? Also where would I be able to pick one up?

[Moebius]

[QUOTE=drizznay]Which one would be the best choice or is that the same question as "which is the best, ED or HD"? Also where would I be able to pick one up?[/QUOTE]

You can find both on Amazon. As to which, do some searching around and you'll find reviews and such. I've had Avia, so I have no experience with DVE.

One note. I'm not positive, but I believe DVE may be a little more geared towards the newer display technologies like Plasma. On the other side, I'm not sure if DVE has much in the audio calibration (if you have a receiver setup as well) where Avia has a whole section dedicated to the audio, and test sounds to set up everything.

[iBleedGarnet]

Can anyone confirm a price drop on this model at Costco? If so, please PM me with the new price. Thanks.

[Moebius]

So I've had the display a bit over a month now (bought on 2/22) and thought I'd post my impressions up to this point. After typing, I came up with a rather long post, so apologies to those who get overly bored. :)

Overall : Thoroughly Happy and no hint of buyer's remorse.

This unit was actually a return at Costco, which had they not had their policy, probably would have swayed me away. However, the warehouse manager had just accepted the return the previous night, said the customers said it didn't fit where they wanted to put it, and offered to hook it up to their HD feed so I could check it out. I could see some residue on the screen that looked like the previous owner might have used some funky cleaner on it, and some fingerprints. I asked the manager if the satisfaction policy would apply if I couldn't get this out and he assured me of no problems with a return. When I got the display home, I tackled some of the fingerprint smudges with a soft t-shirt and some water. They came out without a fight. I've yet to get a nice microfiber cloth to go after the other residue, but feel pretty confident I can get it out. Otherwise, all indications were that the previous customers never even plugged the unit in. The power cable was still in the original zip-tie, and the remote batteries had not been installed. Confirmed this when I got home and looked up how to check hours.

The wife decided to go in the other room to keep the pooch at bay while I hooked it up. Her reaction was pretty good when she came back in once I was done. We replaced a 27" CRT with this thing and the difference was rather shocking at first. :)

Before I even hooked the display up, I had gone to the Comcast office to grab an HD box. So that was the first signal I fed in. Out of the box settings were pretty bright, even in Standard (Vivid was mega torch mode), so before anything, I pulled all the picture controls down to 0. Decided I'd let the display run for a while before working with Avia. Checked out Discovery HD and INHD on the box and was pretty blown away. I work from home, so I was able to hit the magic 100 hours in just about a week. By this time, my other sets of component cables had come in, so I switched the DVD to progressive and tossed in Avia. After working with Avia, I came up with a good base setting for standard mode, which I then tweaked a little based on the good ole' Flaming Rat and Polished Turd methods to get what I consider a very clean and natural picture.

Ok, after all that blabbing, on to the meat.

I discovered quickly that I will eventually need to get some nice light blocking blinds to replace the current. The display is directly across from the windows behind the couch and the sun comes in through those most of the day. There's not glare, but a very clean reflection. Even with that, the display is very watchable, just not "amazing". They're pretty cheap blinds, so I'm sure some good light blockers will make a world of difference. If I'm watching a very dark program during the day, I'll switch to Vivid mode (settings later) to compensate. A night, it's awesome.

HD PQ: Absolutely stunning. Yes, I know it's only ED. For the record, I used to install very high end home theaters (some of the first high quality projectors and such, $100,000 jobs) back when I was in school, so I am a PQ snob. I really felt this would prevent me from enjoying ED which was all my budget really had room for, but I turned out to be very wrong. The colors in HD are spot on with the looking through a window effect and the Screen Door is not a problem. I can see it, but then again, I could see pixel structure on my CRT too and didn't let it bother me.

SD PQ: More than acceptable. I use a TiVo, so there's some compression artifiacting that is magnified with the higher res and size display, but it's definately not enough to be distracting. (Again, I could see it on the crt as well). I generally use JUST mode for the TiVo. I'd say it took about 3 days to adapt to the Aspect Ratio distortion of stretching a 4:3. Now, I barely even notice it. About the only thing that is tough to watch is sports if it's a bad signal. If I've been watching HD for a while, and switch back to SD, it reminds me just how much better the HD is, but I get used to it again in a matter of minutes.

DVD PQ: Beautiful. You can definately tell if a DVD was a lousy transfer or not, but on good ones, I'm thrilled. The friend's that I've had over so far tend to do the jaw drop when I throw in Fifth Element or LOTR.

Now for the setup. It's a bit crazy as I'm in the process of transferring some old VHS to DVD, but it works well. I prefer to do as much switching through my receiver as possible and leave the display on a single input.

Cable splits to 2 cable boxes. One regular and one HD. The regular feeds via composite to the TiVo, which feeds composite to VCR, which feeds composite to DVDR. DVDR is set to progressive mode and feeds Component (and optical audit) to Receiver. HD Box feeds Component (and coax audio) to Receiver. Game systems (XBox and PS2) feed composite through a switch box to Receiver. Receiver feeds 1 composite and 1 component feed to Plasma, so I only have to switch inputs to play with the consoles. This setup allows me to transfer VHS and TiVo recordings to the DVDR for burning, and as it's my only DVD player at present, that works pretty well. Eventually, I'll get a higher end DVD player, but that's down the road. As for the components.

Cable Boxes : Motorola DCT2000 (TiVo) and DCT5100 (HD)
TiVo : TiVo 130 model (older but I prefer it)
VCR : Sony SLV-N77 (another oldy, but works well, and many of the VHS were taped on it)
DVDR : Pioneer 531H (HDD model so I can edit out commercials and such)
Receiver : Sony DA4ES (it only upscales to S-Video, so I did have to use two inputs on the TV)

I chose to use 2 cable boxes so I didn't have to worry about downscaling the HD signal to TiVo, and switching back and forth for HD stuff. Instead, I just use the Receiver to do that which is much easier, plus I can record one while watching another now. Good for Red Sox games.

For the settings I got with Avia:

Standard Mode:
Picture -12
Brightness -5
Color -4
Tint -5
Sharpness -12
Color Temp -Normal
Black Level -Light

Vivid Mode:
Picture -3
Brightness -3
Color -10
Tint -5
Sharpness -1
Color Temp -Normal
Black Level -Light

I've not really messed with Cinema Mode yet.

[mit]

I'm trying to connect my Toshiba laptop to my Panasonic ED plasma.

Toshiba Video Output: S-Video, VGA
Plasma Video Input: HDMI, S-Video, Composite, & Component

I tried S-Video from the laptop to the plasma's S-Video input and the image is blurry.

I was thinking of buying a VGA to component cable to make the connection.

Any suggestions?

[mit]

bump.

[Bud-man]

Unless your watching say movies from your laptop, forget text is way too blurry even 10'+ back.
i've tried HDMI thru my HTPC and it was acceptable, but i gave up on that all soon after.

[jrjr]

I've had mine for a year now and am still very happy!! It never ceases to amaze me the clarity of HD Tv!

Anyway, I have received phone calls from this company offering extended warranties two times (same company twice). I turned them down but the second one said that for $600 for 3 years they would open and clean the unit.

That got me to thinking that this may be a good idea. I clean our computers out every month or two so I guess the Plasma unit would benefit from this as well. My warranty will expire November 5th so after that I have nothing to loose.

Has anyone else opened thiers and cleaned it out? I would use canned air just as with a computer so as to avoid any contaminants and static discharge. There doesn't seem to be much in there but its probably breadboarded which could make the cleaning process more complex.

Thoughts anyone?