Bought the Pana P42u30D

[jk_chaos]

Just bought the Panasonic P42U30D, it was such an experience here in trivandrum.. Went around the city trying stores after stores and none would even let me watch a video other than those demo videos provided, and none stocked Plasmas.. Heated arguments over getting a demo, finally one sales guy was kind enuf to let me watch whatever i wanted.. Had to convince my parents too, and he simply put on normal cable tv on the LED tvs in front of the other customers.. The difference was clear..

So now my questions are..
How do i break the TV in??

And any optimum settings you guys would recommend for the picture??

What are the dos and donts for Plasmas?

 

[neo23]

^congrats on purchase pls do report back the usb movie playback.
try with different format and resolution till 1080p.

 

[jk_chaos]

Thanks a lot neo!!

 

[thirurajesh]

Congratz on the purchase. What was the price u paid?

 

[icemanz]

@ jk..I am also looking for the same model here in cochin and nobody stocks Plasma, as if nobody in Kerala buys Plasma's anymore. All the shops are busy selling LCD's and LED's.
There was one shop that were dealers of Panasonic for almost 3 years and last week when I visited them they told me that Panasonic is a poor brand and there are lot of complaints hence they stopped offering Panasonic. They were trying to convince me on buying LG and Sharp LED TV instead. I just walked off from that store.

Do let me know how much did you pay for the P42U30D. Were you able to bargain, did you get to play the tv and check it before buying? Any accessories given along with it?

 

[van]

Just bought the Panasonic P42U30D, it was such an experience here in trivandrum.. Went around the city trying stores after stores and none would even let me watch a video other than those demo videos provided, and none stocked Plasmas.. Heated arguments over getting a demo, finally one sales guy was kind enuf to let me watch whatever i wanted.. Had to convince my parents too, and he simply put on normal cable tv on the LED tvs in front of the other customers.. The difference was clear..

So now my questions are..
How do i break the TV in??

And any optimum settings you guys would recommend for the picture??

What are the dos and donts for Plasmas?

Hey Congrads on the purchase:clapping:

please do share your observations on PQ & sound output. How much did you pay for this and anything else included in the deal.

Regards,
VAN

 

[pkr]

@icemanz, Panasonic Plasmas are on display at Nandilath, Bismi and QRS. They have only 42" at display. They do not have U30 on display. All of them have X30 on display while QRS and Bismi have ST30 also on display.

 

[jk_chaos]

Well they quoted 53k at the start and i got it at 49k on finance, They said if I could pay full cash they would give me a further discount which i couldnt afford. Also I told em it was a rape and that i have seen these TVs being sold at 45k and less. The answer was very simple, taxes are high in kerala and if you find this price high, try the next store. Obviously i had visited most of the options and none of the stores stocked plasmas, let alone full HD ones.. So had to settle to their terms. And they gave me a free reliance DTH(no HD btw). And yes 3 yr warranty on the whole TV,

Initial impressions,
connected to normal cable set top box, connections were through RCA and PQ was ok, Nothing great about it. My old philips CRT was giving me better results, but in the 2nd hour of breaking in i dont expect wonders from the TV

With blu ray, I had it hooked up wth my Sony BD player and maan the PQ was stunning.. I watched "PREDATOR" and "TRANSFORMERS" just to measure how far the TV would go and it didnt dissapoint me. Even my dad who kept yelling "LED" had his jaws wide open, thanks to the PQ.

Well the sound output was the thing that disappointed as I am used to a philips TV with built in subwoofer and stuff, the U30 sounds quiet. So planning to hook it up with a receiver very soon. I havent added the receiver in my system and hopefully by year end, plan to get one.

Overall it is a good buy, nice PQ on hd and on set top box though it may not perform as we may expect still is good.

Also for all those still confused on the LCD/LED/PLASMA thing try youtube.. there are hundreds of videos giving clear cut differences and why PLASMA emerges the winner.

 

[jk_chaos]

LCD vs LED vs Plasma Flat Panel TV - ZoboTV Charlotte NC - YouTube


check this video out..Should provide an answer to most who have the LED/LCD/PLASMA doubt..

 

[jithudigitised]

congrats jk_chaos for the tv. From which shop did you buy the TV ?

 

[great_guns]

OT but they are playing THE POLICE IN CONCERT on those TVs. How amazing is that??? I was there... Machester, june 2008!!

 

[icemanz]

What is the correct Picture settings for this TV?
My present settings:
Viewing Mode: Dynamic
Contrast: 48
Brightness: 0
Color: 38
Sharpness: 35
Tint: 0
Vivid color: On
Color Balance: Cool

Please suggest whether these settings are optimal.

 

[aakashr]

What is the correct Picture settings for this TV?
My present settings:
Viewing Mode: Dynamic
Contrast: 48
Brightness: 0
Color: 38
Sharpness: 35
Tint: 0
Vivid color: On
Color Balance: Cool

Please suggest whether these settings are optimal.

do not ever use DYNAMIC mode........its probably the worst!!! IF there is a cinema or true cinema mode, that is what you should use for watching movies. If you want to further tweak settings, you need to calibrate your tv with a basic calibration dvd like THX optimizer or Video Essentials to bring out the true performance of your tv.

 

[jk_chaos]

@icemanz : dude, just saw your post, i don't remember the settings exactly, but the contrast is around 60, brightness o, color around 30, sharpness 7, color balance normal..

Dynamic viewing maybe a sight to see, but contrast, color etc calibrated at high levels can reduce the life of the panel.. So play around with the settings and reach that comfort zone..