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

[rajatk]

Hi just4kix,

First of all, thanks for the detailed explanation. It was very helpful. Regarding the lights, I can control the lights using the curtains; should be manageable. I wasn't aware of the fact that Plasmas use around 60% of rated power. So the power consumption difference between LCD and Plasma is not much then.
My viewing distance is around 10 feet, will the 50" be too big or should go for 42".
I have noticed one thing that Plasma doesn't suffer with off angle viewing, however LED/ LCD TV's have narrow "sweet spot" viewing area. However, Sony HX850 is comparatively better compared to other LCD's in that area (off viewing angle) but I guess it still can't match plasmas.

If the lights are controlled and room would not be very bright - you can go for plasma...

Yes, Good LEDs also offer wider viewing angle so shouldnt be an issue...

 

[just4kix]

What is the truth behind "free gadgets" offer?​

Early-mid July, Samsung started the offer of free 3D blu-ray player and a free 3D movie (apparently "Shrek 3 3D") with a select band of 3D TVs. There were good advertisement and all. Not to be outdone, Panasonic started offering a free HT (apparently SC-XH170) with a select band of TVs. During the festive season, there are similar offers, "buy this and get that free". These offers or promotions are meant to entice the new buyer and attract them to their own stable. Nothing wrong with that.

However, I will advice buyers to be a bit more mature and weigh the "free gift" more carefully. In the business world, a "free lunch" does not exist. You get a free lunch in lieu of something. Let us examine the so called free offers a bit more carefully:

• A free gift is usually something that does not sell on its own
• Why can't the manufacturers/dealers offer a cash discount instead?
• A cash discount means that you have subsidised on your profit margin and yet a non-moving product remains in the inventory.
• So in essence, free gifts help in selling your ware and at the same time getting rid of "useless" stock.

A close look at the Panasonic free HT offer will make you think like this:

• Dealer says that you get a free HT worth Rs. 17,500 free.
• You think, "Wow! Great offer. In fact, this makes my TV cheaper by Rs. 17,500".
• You do not stop to think that the dealer is quoting MRP value of the free gift offer. Street price will be at least 10% less.
• I am not even discussing the quality of the HT.
• Even at the street price, you would not have looked at the product, let alone buy it.
• The HT has a DVD player only which means it is useless for BD lovers.

Same is true for Samsungs free 3D BDP. Educated forum members like those over here will not touch the BDP because it is Region C locked. General public do not buy BDP. They are quite satisfied with a DVD-P, if at all. Most people download and play movies via USB; at most some will rent. So such people do not need a BDP. Consequently BDPs remain unsold.

Sony is also offering a 3D package worth Rs. 20,000 consisting of a BDP, 2 glasses and some 3 3D movies. The Samsung argument hold true over there also.

But all in all, this does not mean that the free offer is always useless. The free HT offer is good for people who have no HT for instance. The TV speakers are quite mundane and an HT, even a crude/entry level one, will certainly enhance the sound. The 3D BDP offer from Samsung is certainly better in my opinion. Sony's offer is also OK in this respect. But, all in all, I would certainly question the valuation of any of these free offers.

So, do not buy something because of the free gift. Assume that there was no gift and then choose your 2 or 3 choice brand/model based of quality, after sales support, failure rates, cost, etc. Then factor in value adds such as free HT, extended warranty, etc.

Other opinions, even if differing, are welcome.

 

[just4kix]

Yesterday, I crossed the first hurdle of 100 hours. :yahoo:

Next hurdle is at 200 hours. :indifferent14:

So far no IR issues.

I am still running with initial break-in period settings as follows:

Contrast: 30~45 (of 0 to 100)
Brightness: 0 (of -50 to +50)
Sharpness: 0 (of -50 to +50)
Colour: 40 (of 0 to 100)
Colour mode: Normal or Warm

Actually, both my wife and I are starting to like these colour settings. I has temporarily reset the "NORMAL" setting to factory and found that the picture was too bright, colours too saturated and in general less pleasing.

I may continue with the low contrast settings indefinitely.

 

[just4kix]

... I wasn't aware of the fact that Plasmas use around 60% of rated power. So the power consumption difference between LCD and Plasma is not much then...

In any case, one should not worry too much about cost of running a TV. Better power usage lowering techniques can be adopted that can reduce the overall power bill:

- use of CFL lamps
- change electric water geyser/boiler to gas powered geyser (this alone will knock off Rs. 600~800 from the bill per month); better still switch to solar
- do not keep equipment on stand-by for long; switch them off instead
- do not set AC temp below 27 C
- switch off lights/fans when not in use

There could be many more.

 

[rajatk]

What is the truth behind "free gadgets" offer?​

Thanks for the gyaan - a free gift should never be a reason to move to a different product... also each product may have different value for different people. Not everyone might perceive BDP to be better than HT..

So if I have decided for Panny Plasma UT50, I should not move to Samsung E550 because of free gift...

 

[Myzus]

Yesterday, I crossed the first hurdle of 100 hours. :yahoo:

Next hurdle is at 200 hours. :indifferent14:

So far no IR issues.

I am still running with initial break-in period settings as follows:

Contrast: 30~45 (of 0 to 100)
Brightness: 0 (of -50 to +50)
Sharpness: 0 (of -50 to +50)
Colour: 40 (of 0 to 100)
Colour mode: Normal or Warm

Actually, both my wife and I are starting to like these colour settings. I has temporarily reset the "NORMAL" setting to factory and found that the picture was too bright, colours too saturated and in general less pleasing.

I may continue with the low contrast settings indefinitely.

Hey just4kix,
Just curious , why are you targetting 200 hrs ?
Is 100 hrs of break in not sufficient ?

Thanks,
Myzus

 

[just4kix]

Hey just4kix,
Just curious , why are you targetting 200 hrs ?
Is 100 hrs of break in not sufficient ?

Thanks,
Myzus

Just being paranoid. :lol:

Yes. I believe that 100 hours is sufficient.

 

[lcdfreak]

uneven panel --XT50....

I clicked image using samasung phone with 3 MP camera..

When I use indoor mode, pics are equally good...i.e Black

However in night store story is bad...really bad..

Images shot using INDOOR MODE ; http://imageshack.us/g/821/nightmode.jpg/

Images shot using NIGHT MODE: http://imageshack.us/g/256/indoor2.jpg/

 

[Audiodoc]

In the night mode black levels look like an lcd.

 

[lcdfreak]

plasma...XT50..Images...Looks like uneven panel?

These Look better?

ImageShack Album - 7 images

 

[just4kix]

About Panasonic HTiB​

Apropos to my earlier post on the free gift offer.

Is this useless? Yes and a big NO. But one thing is sure. The SC-XH170 is not a piece of junk. In the days preceding the format war and before HD became popular, I would have even called it wonderful.

Look at it this way.

We all know that the sound of any flat panel TV is pathetic. I mean what can one expect from built-in speakers that are just 1 cm or so deep? The HTiB will greatly enhance the sound. Those who watch cable/DTH or DVD only, where is the need for HD audio? And how many people watch BD in India? For that matter, how many can download GB's of BD-rips? Even if they do, the TV can play the downloaded HD content. So you won't get HD-audio. Big deal. The need isn't that much anyway. People watch camera prints for crying out loud.

On the other side, it plays DVD but not HD. The USB can play SD source but not HD AV. It cannot upscale via USB (AFAIK; not tested). Its plastic speakers will not provide good sound clarity and in all probability will have limited range. It has optical in and so can take in external input but optical-in is Dolby Digital or standard DTS compatible only. So basically no HD video or HD audio. I can rant more and more. The point is that to a demanding user, this HTiB will not excite the feelings.

So there will be people on both sides of the river shore. To those who find the HTiB needless, they have two main options: sell it or gift it. Selling by an individual is easier said than done. The potential buyer knows that the HTiB was free to the seller and thus expects the system as rock bottom price, if not free. Then again, this is not something that can be sold so easily. Selling it to someone outside the city involves shipping cost. And I doubt whether anyone on the forum will want it.

This is a free gift. The occasion is not your marriage where loved ones give you things you might need. In fact just the opposite. A generic free gift is when people gift you things that they don't need and have.. Unfortunately, unlike Rachel, you can't exchange it for something else. But it can be put to some use. Maybe it can be used in the bedroom. It can play music too. If you still find no use, you can gift it.

If none of the options appeal to you, and if you can knock off a few (small) thousands from the selling price in lieu of not accepting the gift, then why not? After all, if you gift it away reluctantly, you have earned goodwill only.

p/s. Way back in 2007 or so, I had gifted my sister with a Sony HTIB system at Rakshabandhan. It was worth Rs. 15,500 or so. The HD format war was still raging on and there was no clear direction. HD discs (either BD or HD-DVD) were expensive. Anyway, my sister and family did not need a kick-ass HT. The Sony was good enough. It had a built-in DVD player, 1080p upscaler via HDMI and plastic satellite speakers. It said a total power output of 1000W RMS. This was a unit very much similar to the free HTiB gift of Panasonic. At that time, if Panasonic had offered such a gift, it was really worth. Today maybe not so.

 

[BLASTO]

This is a free gift.

Samsung BD player is also a free gift. A useful one at that. They give it for all the 3D models without prejudice. This is what I call a gift.
A 43"D490 which costs 42k has a real 11k 3D BD player bundled with it.

But in the case of Panasonic, sadly NOT all the models get the gift. Only the models which otherwise will not sell by themselves get the gift. Eg: 42XT50 gets the gift while 50XT50 does not. No one even tells you the exact list of TVs which get the gift and the rationale behind it. The only rationale I can think of is, non-moving.

My point is, when two persons are ready to gift you for favours, You still look into the nature and comparative usefulness of the gift. If you are already set on panasonic, it is a different story though. You dont lose anything..

 

[just4kix]

Blasto, I agree that Samsung 3D BDP is a better (perhaps real) gift.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

 

[just4kix]

Yesterday night, I was watching Sherlock Holmes (part I starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, et al).

I can't express how good the film looked on this TV. The film has a lot of blacks - black overcoats, black coaches, dark places, shadows, etc. It was a real treat to see that picture was really expressive with fine detailing. And the PQ of the panel was really complementing the experience. Now this is where 1L+ is really well spent and value well returned. :yahoo:

In this week (of holidays), I am going to check out on The Dark Knight which was used by FM haisaikat for many of his reference checks. I will post later.

Bad thing that happened this week: Harmony One is now without battery. The battery is swollen and now that I managed to prise it out, I do not wish to insert it back. Read here: Logitech Harmony with rechargeable battery - Beware

 

[miniwarmth]

I just crossed 100 hrs as well and finally spent some time calibrating. Pic of the ST50 is amazing. I concur with 'Kix' that the black levels of this TV are incredibly deep and enjoyable to watch. I do have a few questions but will post in the calibration/settings thread.

Kids also watched their first full length 3D movie 'Toy Story 3' -- very,very enjoyable for them; not so much for me. Since I only had two pairs of glasses, i picked up a pair of Sony Active Shutter Glasses. I thought these were universal as well, but it turns out that they didn't work with the Pana. Am quite disappointed I wanted to get the cheaper Samsung 4100's but they guy at the Samsung store (Mantri Mall, B'lore) wouldn't sell them to me. So in a pinch I bought the Sony glasses next door at the Sony Centre. Uggh.

 

[just4kix]

@miniwarmth, congrats on the 100 hours milestone. I too would suggest you to watch Sherlock Holmes and have a review.

Sony glasses are not universal. Sony has not joined with the Universal Active 3D standard as yet. And you don't have to buy Samsung glasses from Samsung shop. You can go to any multi-brand shop. Or you can order over Flipkart or ebay.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

 

[just4kix]

Here is a pic from Sherlock Holmes I. It does not do justice and I shot it without hand held and all. But still ...

 

[miniwarmth]

Uggh...I'll try to see if the guy will take them back at the Sony Centre -- he did say they were 'Universal' before I bought them. If not, I'll see if anyone with a new Sony TV on this forum is interested.

[Updated: Sony Center/Mantri Mall took back the glasses -- am very happy with them; too bad I'm not a big Sony fan or I would buy stuff from this store]

I did most of the 100 hrs with a D'Nices slide show. I wish I had come across them before I bought the set. Would have made calibration much easier. I find his calibration modified calibration settings (if you didn't follow his directions) to be pretty good with the exception of 'Brightness', I have to turn it much higher than his setting (his +6 mine +16) in order to see the 7th black gradient on both a THX Calibration image and an Avia one. One strange thing is that I see a white pixel during on the Avia images but not any other brand test images? Will check again today.

What calibration DVD's are people using? Avia used to be the standard but I recently read a great review of the 'Disney WOW Wonder of Wonder' calibration CD. Does anyone in B'lore have it?

Any referrals to Professional Calibrator's in Bangalore?

 

[miniwarmth]

Looked at the Avia test image (Needle Pulses and Steps) on another screen and the dot appears there too. Phew...looks like it's an issue with that test image.

 

[VMJ]

Hi just4kix,

I had gone to Baner's shop on weekend and checked ST50 and GT50. couldn't find much difference in them. I am also now inclining towards 50" ST50. Might buy it by this weekend. I remember you mentioned that you bought your TV from Rajesh Trading Company, will check the price with them on Wednesday.

Thanks for your help.

Need to find out in the forum if anyone else is also planning to buy ST50 in Pune, can get some additional discount if we go in the group.