ST50 Owners' Thread - First impressions, Reviews, Tweaks, etc.

[lake1988]

This doesn't mean anything..get a power meter/APC UPS which can measure correct power requirement...
When you are AC there is no proper way of determining correct power usage other than using above mention methods.

 

[just4kix]

This doesn't mean anything..get a power meter/APC UPS which can measure correct power requirement...
When you are AC there is no proper way of determining correct power usage other than using above mention methods.

Agreed. The power metering devices will bring some sanity. However, they don't change what I will be paying ultimately.

 

[just4kix]

(True) 3D - Recap​

So long last, I purchased the 3D BD of Hugo. I wanted to test how the original 3D performs. I wanted to discard any assumptions, drawbacks, artifcats, of SBS-3D downloaded movies, if indeed there exist any.

I am not going to review the movie or how good/bad it is. I will talk on the 3D only.

Popped in the 3D BD into the Panasonic BDP. The 3D signal was detected and TV switched to 3D mode automatically. This is quite unlike the 3D-SBS movie where it displays twin images side-by-side and we have to press the 3D button to switch to 3D.

After watching for over an hour, I could not sense any flickering. But I still got a very light pain around the nose block and sinus areas. Perhaps it is the weight of the 3D glasses over my own prescription glasses. The 3D experience is better than the downloaded 3D-SBS content for sure. The picture is clearer definitely. I will attribute this to the full bandwidth being available.

Next, I sat as close as 2 feet from the TV. This time ghosting was visible and it became more apparent when I moved 1 foot closer. But picture quality otherwise was fantastic. I would really like to test this on a passive 3D model as they say that the passive 3D displays half-vertical resolution per eye.

Took a kitchen break for one hour --- to cook (yes, I am a tolerable cook and love cooking - I prepared Fettuccine in white chicken sauce last Sunday). Watched the movie completely while devouring the Fettuccine. No long headaches as such - perhaps the break helped.

Conclusions: I could not notice ghosting/flickering from normal viewing position. The 3D quality is quite good.

 

[krish199]

(True) 3D - Recap​

But I still got a very light pain around the nose block and sinus areas.

Got same kind of feeling while watching 3D although I dont use any glasses for my normal viewing. But then I tried to fiddle with 3D setting and changed depth to -2. The pain vanishes almost instantly. You can give it a try too.FYI
I watched IMAX under the sea 3D.

 

[just4kix]

Thanks. I will try that. To be honest never tinkered around with the 3D settings.

Also looking forward to buy IMAX Under the Sea 3D. I love these nature videos.

 

[just4kix]

Got same kind of feeling while watching 3D although I dont use any glasses for my normal viewing. But then I tried to fiddle with 3D setting and changed depth to -2. The pain vanishes almost instantly. You can give it a try too.FYI
I watched IMAX under the sea 3D.

On my tv, I only find three settings - min, mid, and max. Currently it is on max. Should I change it to mid?

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

 

[srinathr]

^^^ The modern engineers don't know everything - any problem and the standard answer is, "we will replace the pcb". And when they do, it isn't a new pcb but a refurbished one. Do not fall for that trap. It is a software issue. Try connecting with ethernet and update the firmware.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

Yesterday panasonic technician had come. He did some settings and bingo the tv is working fine. We switched off tv and tried again and wifi is working fine.
He says he didn't do anything, but he was checking some internal menus.

Finally I should say all is well that ends well

 

[krish199]

On my tv, I only find three settings - min, mid, and max. Currently it is on max. Should I change it to mid?

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

There are two kind of menu.

1. If you convert any 2d to 3d you will get option like 2D->3D depth which have default value of min,mid and max.

2. But if you play genuine 3d content like Hugo you will get an option like below.
3d Settings -> 3d adjustment-> turn it to on. Once it is on you will get access to effect setting. Change it to -2 or adjust it accordingly to your preference.

Try it out please.

 

[just4kix]

Great you got Hugo from.......flipkart. Or

Purchased it for Rs. 1399 from local Crossword. There was Rs. 100 off.

 

[just4kix]

One expert review: Panasonic TX-P50ST50 review - TV - Trusted Reviews

 

[just4kix]

I bought 42ST50 2 weeks back and I am very much thrilled with the Picture quality it offers. As "Just4kix" suggested, I have used the same picture settings as he is using.

Let me explain my experience when I switched On the new TV for the first time.
- I had Sony 40EX520 earlier and i MOVEDit to a different room. When I first saw the pciture on my new ST50, it completey surprised me. It was amazaing to watch after seeing EX520. The picture was very clean, sharp and refreshing.
- At the same time, I started seeing some sparkling dots or grains in the darker shades when I see at 1 or 2 feet away from the screen. Though it was not visible above 4 feet away from the screen, I got bit distrurbed thinking that there was a problem with the panel. But when I browsed the net, I saw few people saying that it is an inherent problem with all the Plasmas. They call that problem is Dithering noise. I am not sure if the dancing dots or grains in the darker shades is related to the Dither noise what techies refer.

At the same time, I do not see those grains/dots in the completly dark black images. I do see it only in the light dark shades and that too only when I move 1 or 2 feet close to the screen. Other wise, I do not see any problem and in fact I watched Avatar on Blu-ray and it was amazing.

I just wondrered why this issue of dots/grains (in the light dark shades only) was hardly mentioned in this forum. I just wanted to check with you guys on your experience on this specific issue. If you have seen, have you done some setting adjustments to reduce the dots ? Again - I say this is not an issue at all when I see the screen at 4 feet and above.

Any way I will share more poats in coming days.

These grains or noise as you see it is normal when watching from extreme close distances.

 

[miniwarmth]

Watched the movie completely while devouring the Fettuccine. No long headaches as such - perhaps the break helped.

@Kix, I'm glad you finally had a good experience with a 3D movie!

 

[krish199]

@Cheran , those noise are absolutely normal for Plasma, thats why they are not suitable for PC monitor as you can not view it from close proximity. Your TV is one of the best in the market. Enjoy !!!!

 

[just4kix]

Thanks Just4kix.

I saw in some other different forums on how to reduce the noise though some calibrations. Have you done anything specific on this ? Of course and as you said, it becomes totally a non-issue when viewed from the right distance, but curious to know if some thing is tuned to reduce the noise.

Just adding some more details on this new ST50 purchase. I bought the TV in Panasonic brand shop at Kalyan Nagar (Bangalore). The price quoted was around 85K, but I could get it finally for 83k along with a printer/scanner. I found the deal to be saitsfying since I was anyway planning to buy a printer as well.

I would like to bring a point on what people said when i bought ST50. They were surprised and some even felt sorry for me saying that I bought an outdated Plama technology. Though I always know that the Plasma TV has better PQ than any of the other technologies, I am still not knowing the reason on why the Plasma myth still prevails. WHen I was hunting for a good HDTV, most of the showroom guys were dicouraging me to go for Plasma and they gave a big list of negatives about Plasma. I think when Panasonic continues to invest in Plasma, I feel they should market it better. As a matter of fact, I heard that the Panasonic engineers went to the drawing board and designed the 2012 Plasma models (right from UT series) right from the scratch. So to the effort they put, they should market it much better.

I am yet to post few messages on the actual picture viewing on ST50 and I will do it shortly. And another thing ... Foe the guys whose pannels have crossed 100 to 200 hours, have you started doing change in the calibration to make the PQ better . Most of the experts say that the PQ of ST50 is almost on par with VT50 (ofcourse only in darker rooms as VT50 can perform better even in brighter rooms) after the calibration. Guys - share if you have done any experimentation or calibration after the burun-in period of 200 hours ...

I have not got to proper calibration as yet - just pain lethargy that's all. Waiting to cut the settings dvd.


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[lcdfreak]

how much is 42ST50 for?

I am thinking of getting ST50 instead of ST30, as it seems ST30 glasses may be an issue in future. J4K pointed it out and really handy observation.

 

[just4kix]

Re: how much is 42ST50 for?

I am thinking of getting ST50 instead of ST30, as it seems ST30 glasses may be an issue in future. J4K pointed it out and really handy observation.

ST50 is some steps ahead of ST30 - not that ST30 is bad. I was being offered 50ST30 from old stock for 85K when I was making my purchase. But I thought being current is better. Actually I was not aware/had not realized about the 3D glasses non-compatibility till then (because 3D was not at all important to me). Just goes to prove that there are many things one can overlook.

42ST50 in Pune used to retail at around 85-87k (when I was buying). Other places may be cheaper.

 

[rangan]

Hi ST50 owners,

Do you notice a very slight screen flicker in a completely dark room (in the night time with all lights switched off) when all the signal sources (Dish connection/DVD/Blu-ray players) are switched off ?. The screen goes almost black, but still I could see a very mild flickering. Of course I do not notice any thing when any video source is played on the screen. Also I do not notice any flicker even when the darkest scenes/images are displayed all over the screen.

 

[just4kix]

That is not flickering. It is a normal behaviour.

 

[rangan]

That is not flickering. It is a normal behaviour.

Thanks for your reply. I initially thought it was some thing to do with the refresh rate.

From a different context, when I looked at some of the reviews of ST50, I could see there were more calibration controls in the ST50 models delievered outside India. So wondering why the Indian version doesn't have the same level ? For example, there were a couple of reviewes which said that the refresh rate can be changed between 48Hz and 60Hz. Though I see that for 3D SETTING, but not for the normal 2D. A quote fro one the reviews:

"Refresh rate is selectable in 48Hz or 60Hz, but again this year the ST50 did not perform well at 48Hz as the judder (flickering) was too much to handle so again I suggest using 60Hz for all content. The 3:2 pull down works well so even BD 1080p 24 looks stable and clean at 60Hz."

 

[just4kix]

Thanks for your reply. I initially thought it was some thing to do with the refresh rate.

From a different context, when I looked at some of the reviews of ST50, I could see there were more calibration controls in the ST50 models delievered outside India. So wondering why the Indian version doesn't have the same level ? For example, there were a couple of reviewes which said that the refresh rate can be changed between 48Hz and 60Hz. Though I see that for 3D SETTING, but not for the normal 2D. A quote fro one the reviews:

"Refresh rate is selectable in 48Hz or 60Hz, but again this year the ST50 did not perform well at 48Hz as the judder (flickering) was too much to handle so again I suggest using 60Hz for all content. The 3:2 pull down works well so even BD 1080p 24 looks stable and clean at 60Hz."

I need to settle down and look at various callibrations and settings. I just have been too lazy of late.