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1 Attachment(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
How did you determine that I should turn down the red? (not by looking at the photo...we already agree that you cannot judge color accuracy from the photo...ESP?) Can you explain please?
I am amateur photographer with 40 years of experience. When I took those pics I used the self timer mode (eliminates camera shake) on a quality Sony digital camera which was mounted by a RRS 9-E bidirectional plate to a tripod system, consisting of a RRS B2 LR II lever release clamp, Markins M-10 ballhead and a Benro C228-n6 carbon fiber tripod (Gitzo knockoff). Total cost, $845 not including camera.
http://reallyrightstuff.com/QR/04.html
http://reallyrightstuff.com/QR/03.html
http://www.markins.com/2.0/eng/produ...heads/m10.html
http://www.benro.cn/ENbenro/AA_ProductShow.asp?ID=50 (C-228n6 is North American version of C-258n6)
The photo of the bearded character in Dead Man's Chest was shot at ISO200, flash off, 1/40th second, F2.8, VGA resolution (computer/e-mail size) and overcast white balance. The remaining photos were all shot at the same settings except some were at 1/6 second thru 1/60 second, -1.0EV and auto white balance or incandescent white balance. All shots were with Blu Ray disc in pause mode.
Note The above photos were intended only to roughly represent the superb clarity of this display with Blu Ray playback. No photo can reproduce with any accuracy the actual PQ (including color accuracy, contrast, blacks, etc.) of the display image. Thank you for shopping at Walmart and have a pleasant day.
I think it's so upstanding that you are in a ridicule free mode!
RR6 :biggrin5: :biggrin5: :biggrin5:
Oh, BTW, I am a member of the Nikonians (Nikon owner's community).
I had a Minolta SLR and a complete kit, but with this stuff, women,
gambling, crack, etc, something had to be tossed over the side,
and seeing the advent of digital, I just lost interest.
AND it is a problem judging accurate color in a jpg, expecially one shot VGA (try svga next time) but its still easy to tell you have something oversaturated. Dont worry, that makes you like most of America,
most like their video a little "rich" instead of accurate.
Don't need a high res pic of the moon to tell its been hit by meteors.
Of course I am taking into act that you are shooting a pic of a plasma!
;-) :1:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Woochifer
The calibration process is about.....The ~$1,300 that you would spend upgrading the display from 768p to 1080p would probably be better served upgrading the rest of your video chain to HD
Thanks much Woochifer for the explanation and detailed comments and clearing up the effect on resolution of the calibration. You make a great point on the price. $999 is almost down to the throw away level. The extra $400 will almost pay for the Oppo BD-83 when it is released. I have checked out the owner's manual on the new Panny model 55 and see that the sub crossover is limited to 100Hz and the OPPO, at least on the 983, was at the better 80Hz level for my situation (sub by neccessity being in the rear of the room and also my older Sony ES receiver which I intend to keep for some time).
On second thought, if I want to stay low budget and depending on how compelling the new OPPO is, I might consider going with the Panny new model 35 (doesn't have the in player decoding for True HD and DTS MA thru anaolog outs, but is pretty much the same otherwise) and just stay with the Sony ES using Dolby Digital until I can upgrade to a new HDMI receiver. I now have a Velodyne SMS-1 sub EQ and the Sony ES has a great Para EQ that allows for very effective frequency response tweeking which I would loose passing the HD audio thru the player's bass management.
The new model 35 is suppose to list for $299 versus the model 55 at $399, so it should be down to $250 or so in no time online.
Thanks for helping make the choice easier for me on the plasma.
Thanks also to Duds and Wits. I'd also like to thank my third grade teacher, Sister Mary Holy Water.......(orchestra volume increases drowning out RR6's acceptance speech).
RR6:biggrin5:
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1 Attachment(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
Note The above photos were intended only to roughly represent the superb clarity of this display with Blu Ray playback. No photo can reproduce with any accuracy the actual PQ (including color accuracy, contrast, blacks, etc.) of the display image. Thank you for shopping at Walmart and have a pleasant day.
Pix says: "its still easy to tell you have something oversaturated."
Some folk just can't read and/or understand simple English!
RR6 :frown2:
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Correction
Earlier in this thread Bobsticks asked: "Do either of the units have an RGB input?"
I answered: "Bobsticks, the model progression is 80U (same as my Costco model), 85U, 800U and 850U. Only the 800U and 850U have a mini D-sub input. I'm computer challenged but I presume that is the same as an RGB input"
Sorry, my answer was incorrect. The 50" 1080p version (TH-C50FD18) at Costco does indeed have the PC input, while the 50" 768p version (TH-C50HD18) at Costco does not. While the two Costco models are the same as the regular Panasonic models the 768p TH-50PX80U and 1080p TH-50PZ80U, there are several small differences (neither the PX or PZ have the PC input).
RR6 :confused5:
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1 Attachment(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
Pix says: "its still easy to tell you have something oversaturated."
Some folk just can't read and/or understand simple English!
RR6 :frown2:
And obviously you are one of those.
On most sets sold the first thing you do is turn down the red(color)
as the default is almost always too high.
Another problem you have is your choice of subject matter, you need
a film source, not one of the latest digital wonders.
I hate the pirate movies with a pink and purple passion, they represent the general decline in cinema that has been going on of late.
There are so many beautiful movies out there, why pick this one?:1:
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1 Attachment(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelthis
turn down the red(color) as the default is almost always too high......There are so many beautiful movies out there, why pick this one?
I knew you couldn't read. I explained in my review that I adjusted the settings. They were not left at the default. You are so mentally deficient that even after telling you about 3 times why any excessive red you saw on the photo posted was not on the display you still can't understand.
I also explained that I chose those movies strickly because they had the highest video rating and used them only for testing.
Why don't you try posting when you are not intoxicated. Now it's time for you to go to bed and sober up!
RR6 :hand: :hand: :hand:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
I have been financially challenged for years and have developed by necessity into a big bang for the buck guy (I've been a blue collar.worker for the last several decades and my wife cannot work). I think there is a line of diminishing returns on HT equipment but that line is significantly above my financial level. I would move up a lot if I had the funds. However, I'm very pleased with the performance I realized given the money output. It makes it more fun and rewarding for me when I have to put lots of research and bird dogging into each purchase to get the best price/performance results.
RR6 :thumbsup:
Pretty much exactly sums up my situation, except I'm sans wife. The hours and hours put into research that finally (hopefully) pay off into that great find of a product that is right on the sweet spot of price and performance is exhilarating! :)
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1 Attachment(s)
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Originally Posted by Wits
Pretty much exactly sums up my situation, except I'm sans wife. The hours and hours put into research that finally (hopefully) pay off into that great find of a product that is right on the sweet spot of price and performance is exhilarating! :)
No offense, but have you ever heard of the phrase "overthinking
things"?
I DO RESEARCH, but usually walk into a store, pick out the best they have that I can afford, and pull the trigger.
ONE THING MORE ENJOYABLE THAN "RESEARCH" and shopping for your new toy is actually enjoying your new toy.:1:
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1 Attachment(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelthis
I usually walk into a store, pick out the best they have that I can afford, and pull the trigger.
That explains why you ended up with a Vizio. Wits and I do extensive research and are never left up in the air wondering if we got the best bang for the buck.
RR6
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Update
When I started this thread I stated:
"......PQ On HD Broadcast PQ on HD broadcasts was very good to excellent, but was slightly soft and a little below what I would have liked to see. After a lot of viewing I realized this lack of perfection was due more to the source than the set IMO. Other users have reported great HD broadcast PQ, so either I have not the best cable signals or this set is less than tops on HDTV (I'm being pretty picky here). I have seen OTA HD broadcasts on my JVC plasma that were amazingly good......"
After more than 400 hours of use I have confimred my opinion above. It seems the average PQ on HD sources has improved slightly and I would rate it from very good to mostly excellent. I have read on other forums that plasmas have some improvement after break-in due to stability in the pixels. I'm not sure whether that is factual but it seems that I have observed this. I also have better cable program PQ late at night when there seems to be less use. I definitely noticed the same on my previous sets. Many times I will notice a sudden improvement in PQ when the source is changing on the same program. For example, when a newscast goes to a live HD feed from the field. The picture quality is very dependent on the source. Most of the time the HDTV PQ is excellent but not quite up to the PQ on Blu-Ray which is exactly what I expected. I am currenty watching the local news feed and switching back and forth between the SDTV and HDTV feed (adjacent channels). Sitting here at my computer (15 feet away) the difference is slight, very impressive SDTV PQ indeed. This has got to be the best SDTV PQ on the market. It is a sad commentary on our broadcast industry, both cable and satellite that we have to put up with substandard sources due to compression and crowded channels. I am going to try an OTA antenna when I get the chance. I presume that will improve the PQ.
In summary, this is one very fine set for the price. For someone who wants to get a 50" plasma for $999 it is a steal. I still have 30 days to go to determine if I want to upgrade to the 1080p for $400 more. If I do go with the 1080p I'll post my comparative comments.
RR6 :D
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
Update
When I started this thread I stated:
"......PQ On HD Broadcast PQ on HD broadcasts was very good to excellent, but was slightly soft and a little below what I would have liked to see. After a lot of viewing I realized this lack of perfection was due more to the source than the set IMO. Other users have reported great HD broadcast PQ, so either I have not the best cable signals or this set is less than tops on HDTV (I'm being pretty picky here). I have seen OTA HD broadcasts on my JVC plasma that were amazingly good......"
After more than 400 hours of use I have confimred my opinion above. It seems the average PQ on HD sources has improved slightly and I would rate it from very good to mostly excellent. I have read on other forums that plasmas have some improvement after break-in due to stability in the pixels. I'm not sure whether that is factual but it seems that I have observed this. I also have better cable program PQ late at night when there seems to be less use. I definitely noticed the same on my previous sets. Many times I will notice a sudden improvement in PQ when the source is changing on the same program. For example, when a newscast goes to a live HD feed from the field. The picture quality is very dependent on the source. Most of the time the HDTV PQ is excellent but not quite up to the PQ on Blu-Ray which is exactly what I expected. I am currenty watching the local news feed and switching back and forth between the SDTV and HDTV feed (adjacent channels). Sitting here at my computer (15 feet away) the difference is slight, very impressive SDTV PQ indeed. This has got to be the best SDTV PQ on the market. It is a sad commentary on our broadcast industry, both cable and satellite that we have to put up with substandard sources due to compression and crowded channels. I am going to try an OTA antenna when I get the chance. I presume that will improve the PQ.
In summary, this is one very fine set for the price. For someone who wants to get a 50" plasma for $999 it is a steal. I still have 30 days to go to determine if I want to upgrade to the 1080p for $400 more. If I do go with the 1080p I'll post my comparative comments.
RR6 :D
Its a steal alright, but you werent the thief.
ALL electronics have some sort of break-in period, plasma TV is the worst since the plasma is inherently unstable.
A few "consumer avocates" used to complain about 90 day warrenties,
but they are actually about right, if your set doesnt break in 90
days it probably wont, in most cases.
"extended" warrenties are for the most part a waste.
Expect the pic on your plasma to change gradually over time,
dont bother with ISF calibration unless you want to do it at least once a year. This is not only true with plasma but also CRT.
You're set is heading toward something called "half brightness",
the industry is banking on the brains ability to adjust to gradual change
to keep you from noticing.
Enjoy you new set!:1:
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Great review & pics!
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
My original thread, " Pulled The Trigger ... 50" Plasma", has become so infested with political haranguing and Pizio plasma trash talk that I thought I should begin anew with my findings on the Panny 50" 768p TH-C50HD18 plasma (Costco model).
I'm afraid I've played a part in taking your last thread off-topic, so I owe you an apology. Very nice TV and great pics, the kind you don't see much elsewhere. I am now definitely torn between Plasma and LCD. I originally was largely headed towards LCD, but the price drop on Plasmas really does need to be kept in perspective, and given that we're talking about Panasonic, a company that's been doing Plasma a healthy long time, that also tilts the scale. Finally, the fact that the Panasonic BR player is currently my top choice, it's getting hard to justify LCD anymore.
Now if Panasonic only made a decent pre/pro....
Who would have thought :yikes: !
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Nightflier, those comments about my thread getting off subject were meant to be humorous. I used the words infested and trash talk in a light hearted way, like I was pouting about it. It cracks me up that almost all the threads sooner or later get way off subject. In another of my threads, I complained about the fact that my thread was a "mere shadow of its former self," again simply my dry tongue in cheek humor. When in doubt know that I am probably joking or teasing, 100% of the time. I'll try to start using more smiley faces :D .
No apology necessary, friend.
I find that LCD's are great for very bright environments or long held static images. They have come a long way. However IMO, plasmas are still superior in most other performance factors inlcuding blacks, color accuracy, off angle viewing, fast moving subjects and natural picture quality. Even the new 120Hz doesn't help LCD that much. Those into lots of sports are much better off with a plasma. The LCD's are down to 4ms or lower response times while plasmas are in the .04ms range.
I am into photography and LCD displays remind me of photos that are over-corrected with sharpness controls...too much like computer monitors with the edgy/pixelated characteristics. This might sound trite but try it sometime. Go outside and look around at both nature and manmade object. Look at trees, plants, grass and flowers and then also at buildings, light poles, etc. Notice that these objects are clear but not overly so. Look at the edges of buildings. They are sharp but not like a razor. There is a natural smoothness outside without the over-sharp edges and over saturated colors of many LCD displays. Good plasmas have a smooth, natural and precisely accurate presentation like film movies versus video movies and what you really see in nature.
The only LCD I would buy is Sony or perhaps a Panny or JVC, but they are more money all things being equal. More important than the native resolution is the quality of the scaler, de-interlacer, digital picture processing circuitry, etc. As I put in another thread a 768p Pioneer plasma out performed 4 or 5 1080p sets of various designs in a shootout. I'll take this 768p Panny plasma any day over a low to mid budget 1080p plasma.
Anyway, the prices are gettin so low, soon they will pay you to haul one out of the store!
RR6 :D
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I agree wholeheartedly with the above comments about the sharpness of LCD. My Sony has a tendency to look like cut-outs in a shadow box. A person in the foreground with, for example, trees in the background, looks detached from their surroundings, like a cut-out of a person in front of a photo of trees. There's very little depth and nuance...far less gradation than reality.
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Plasma is looking better every day
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
I find that LCD's are great for very bright environments or long held static images. They have come a long way. However IMO, plasmas are still superior in most other performance factors inlcuding blacks, color accuracy, off angle viewing, fast moving subjects and natural picture quality. Even the new 120Hz doesn't help LCD that much. Those into lots of sports are much better off with a plasma. The LCD's are down to 4ms or lower response times while plasmas are in the .04ms range.
I am into photography and LCD displays remind me of photos that are over-corrected with sharpness controls...too much like computer monitors with the edgy/pixelated characteristics. This might sound trite but try it sometime. Go outside and look around at both nature and manmade object. Look at trees, plants, grass and flowers and then also at buildings, light poles, etc. Notice that these objects are clear but not overly so. Look at the edges of buildings. They are sharp but not like a razor. There is a natural smoothness outside without the over-sharp edges and over saturated colors of many LCD displays. Good plasmas have a smooth, natural and precisely accurate presentation like film movies versus video movies and what you really see in nature.
I like the nature-perspective you put it in. Frankly, even the less full-featured Panasonic Plasmas look better to me than the LCDs when they are right next to each other in the store. I did the pre-black Friday rounds this weekend: Paul's, CC, BB, Costco, and even Target and K-Mart. While there will be some deals, I'm not really going to stand in the cold all night to get in on the slim pickins that it seems will be offered. I'd rather buy into some kind of price protection a day before (CC & Costco offer this) and then come back after Friday and use the money saved to buy a few movies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
The only LCD I would buy is Sony or perhaps a Panny or JVC,
JVC?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
Anyway, the prices are gettin so low, soon they will pay you to haul one out of the store!
Well they're not that low. Granted they are quite a bit lower than LCD, but still up there. Costco's 120Hz. Panasonic at $1399.99 seems to be the best deal I was able to find. CC and BB are selling the TH-50PZ80U, with less features for $1699.99-ish. On Saturday, CC did have an offer to throw in a Panasonic BR player for free, which was tempting, but still not enough to beat Costco's price and 2 yr. warranty.
My goal: 120Hz Panny for around $1000. If I can find that's I'm buying.
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Upgraded to Costco Panasonic 50" 1080p Model TH-C50FD18
Due to my sweet wife saying "go ahead and get the 1080p model if you want" plus an unexpected profit recently in the stock market I returned the 768p and forked out $400 more for the 1080p model. I expected there to be very little difference in SDTV and HDTV broadcasts except at very close distances. I expected the same on the upscaling of standard DVD's. I presumed the biggest difference might be on Blu-Ray.
Well, was I in for a surprise!
As before, I started a break-in procedure with movies like Nemo, Chicago, etc. (with varied colors) set on auto repeat that would run for many hours with a quick rest period every 6-12 hours or so, plus some full screen TV. The mode was set to cinema and the settings were way below 50 at first.
Almost immediately I thought I noticed a difference in the PQ. I thought maybe it was my imagination at first. Then my wife without any questions from me said she thought the color was better and the picture seemed to stand out more. So I started paying close attention and confirmed that I was seeing an improvement in color saturation (not overly so, just more intense) and what seemed to be an increase in scene depth.
I also definitely saw an improvement in definition especially in HDTV broadcasts, subtle but more obvious than I had anticipated, even at my computer 15' away. I was surprised that just an increase in resolution would give this improvement in overall PQ even at 15' and more. (later as mentioned below I realized it was a combination of resolution and more so increased contrast)
Finally I went back and checked the specs again, and noticed what I had missed before. Besides the obvious increase from 768p to 1080p (which in real perceived visual difference should be very slight, especially over 10 feet or so, if at all), the FD has an increased contrast ratio over the HD, "up to 20,000:1" versus "up to 15,000:1"). I am used to not giving much notice to these contrast specs because of the exageration by most brands and the lack of any contrast spec industry standard. I know these specs are though relative within the same brand and I should have paid attention. I feel this and also an increase in inherent brightness is the main reason that I am seeing a difference in my perceived improvement in color reality and scene depth. The black levels are also sightly improved. We are now over the 100 hours and feel we can clearly see an improvement again at the higher settings both as close as 6 feet and as far away as 25 feet (the kitchen). I am surprised but pleased by this noticable improvement at an increase of $400. Don't get me wrong, the TH-C 50HD18 is one heck of a bargain with excellent relative PQ on both SDTVand HDTV and outstanding with Blu-Ray. However, we do see an improvement both on TV broadcasts and DVD's (no Blu-Ray yet on this new set).
For the price this is defintiely a 5 star plasma! Two big toes way up!
RR6 :D
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No such thing as a "five star" plasma.
As for the surprize at how big a diff 1080p makes, join the club.
Difference between night and day, really.
We hear this stuff over and over, repeated like a mantra, half the time its wrong.
Really a nice surprize, really:1:
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Great reveiew RR6. Congrats on the step up.
Now, about these two toes up. Would that mean that your.... uh....
Oh, just skip it.
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I'm pulling the trigger soon on a Pioneer.....either the 5020 or the pro-111. most likely going to be the 5020 unless there is a serious price drop on the 111.
Congrats on the Panny, a very very nice set!!
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Congrats RR for ignoring my advice, but welcome to the Panny 1080 club anyway! :biggrin5:
Glad to hear that you're enjoying that set as much as I have. With HDMI sources, the set does an outstanding job. And even with upscaled DVDs, the picture quality looks quite good.
I'd read that the 50" Pannys had very comparable picture quality with SD programming, but it seems like you observed some differences. I wonder though if some of the differences you observed with the colors had to do with differences in how the two models set their picture defaults, since you have yet to do a calibration.
BTW, what picture setting are you using? In my viewings, the Cinema setting provides by far the best picture quality, and it's purportedly the closest to reference levels. Using that setting, the colors and the depth of the image quality really come out. The Vivid setting looks awful, and the Standard setting also falls well short of optimal. It's too bad that this TV is set to the Standard mode out of the box, because it doesn't bring out the best in that TV. But, I guess that's the best compromise if someone's doing a comparison viewing at Costco where the LCD sets are all laid out in the torch mode.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Woochifer
BTW, what picture setting are you using? In my viewings, the Cinema setting provides by far the best picture quality, and it's purportedly the closest to reference levels. Using that setting, the colors and the depth of the image quality really come out. The Vivid setting looks awful, and the Standard setting also falls well short of optimal. It's too bad that this TV is set to the Standard mode out of the box, because it doesn't bring out the best in that TV. But, I guess that's the best compromise if someone's doing a comparison viewing at Costco where the LCD sets are all laid out in the torch mode.
Won't this depend on the room lighting etc? I have the same projector in two rooms but have them on different settings.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GMichael
Won't this depend on the room lighting etc? I have the same projector in two rooms but have them on different settings.
Yes it would, but the Cinema settings' gamma and greyscale settings are supposedly a lot closer to reference levels than the other presets. You cannot adjust those parameters without going into the service menus. The more limited user controls that come with those Pannys are their most glaring weakness. But, in order to get the more fine tuned user controls, you pay a lot more.
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I agree with Wooch that on these Panny's the Cinema mode is the way to go both for the 768p and 1080p. I'm at work now so can't tell you the exact settings. I'm at about 125 hours so I will still boost the setting up some (I'm extra careful on the break-in stuff). Also my wife has not found where she stuffed my Avia and RS meter (very funny...she cleans up my messes...one time I found the RS meter in a box with some candles).
I was immediately aware that the settings I used during the first 50 hours or so were quite a bit lower on the 1080p than the 768p. On the 768p I had the cinema with about 45-50 for picture, 35-40 for brightness and 30 for color. These were faily low and my wife would ask why the set looked so dim on many scenes. I explained the break-in thing and that the cinema setting was more dim but also more natural. On the 1080p I was surpirsed that I had to go down to maybe 35-40 on picture, 30 on brightness and 25 on color for the same effect. However even at these settings I saw a positive difference.
I have raised them up now to about 50-60 on picture, 40 on brightness and 35 on color. Already it looks very good. I think on the 768p without calibration after break-in I had about 80 on picture, 60 on brightness and 50 on color. I'm pretty foggy on these settings and will correct them when I get home if necessary. I left all the other settings at off with color temp warm.
Our viewing is some in the daytime, fairly dark since we have indirect east outside light only and then at night, quite dark. If you change from cinema to vivid, game or even standard it is not pleasant. Only the custom setting seems to be an alternative to cinema but I have not played with it much yet.
The resoloution difference is definitely more obvious than I expected but no where near night and day. The increase in contrast, black level, depth and color pop (for lack of better terms) is a very pleasant surprise. As I sat at my computer late last night and turned frequently to view the news, etc., each time I was aware of the outstanding picture. .
I am like most who many times have buyers remorse or am very picky and wonder if I made the correct decision. With the 768p I knew I had a great deal for $999. However, I also knew there was room for some improvement.
At this point I am very confident that my last two puchases were simply outstanding buys for me and my budget and I have absolutely no reservations. Emotiva XPA-5 amp and Panny TH-C50FD18.
RR6 :thumbsup: :23: :23: :8: :19: :6: :5: :14: :biggrin5:
PS: Thanks for the nice comments. Critiques are always welcome.
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The interesting thing about the Cinema preset is that once you go above +60 on the brightness and contrast, the image doesn't change that much. On the Vivid and Standard presets, the picture will keep brightening up until you get past the blooming stage. Can't really get the edges to bloom on the Cinema preset. I used to use the Standard preset for times of day when the room gets really bright, or when I'm watching hockey. But, I've gotten to a point where I just leave it on the Cinema setting, since it's optimal for most of my viewing.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRunner6
I agree with Wooch that on these Panny's the Cinema mode is the way to go both for the 768p and 1080p. I'm at work now so can't tell you the exact settings. I'm at about 125 hours so I will still boost the setting up some (I'm extra careful on the break-in stuff). Also my wife has not found where she stuffed my Avia and RS meter (very funny...she cleans up my messes...one time I found the RS meter in a box with some candles).
I was immediately aware that the settings I used during the first 50 hours or so were quite a bit lower on the 1080p than the 768p. On the 768p I had the cinema with about 45-50 for picture, 35-40 for brightness and 30 for color. These were faily low and my wife would ask why the set looked so dim on many scenes. I explained the break-in thing and that the cinema setting was more dim but also more natural. On the 1080p I was surpirsed that I had to go down to maybe 35-40 on picture, 30 on brightness and 25 on color for the same effect. However even at these settings I saw a positive difference.
I have raised them up now to about 50-60 on picture, 40 on brightness and 35 on color. Already it looks very good. I think on the 768p without calibration after break-in I had about 80 on picture, 60 on brightness and 50 on color. I'm pretty foggy on these settings and will correct them when I get home if necessary. I left all the other settings at off with color temp warm.
Our viewing is some in the daytime, fairly dark since we have indirect east outside light only and then at night, quite dark. If you change from cinema to vivid, game or even standard it is not pleasant. Only the custom setting seems to be an alternative to cinema but I have not played with it much yet.
The resoloution difference is definitely more obvious than I expected but no where near night and day. The increase in contrast, black level, depth and color pop (for lack of better terms) is a very pleasant surprise. As I sat at my computer late last night and turned frequently to view the news, etc., each time I was aware of the outstanding picture. .
I am like most who many times have buyers remorse or am very picky and wonder if I made the correct decision. With the 768p I knew I had a great deal for $999. However, I also knew there was room for some improvement.
At this point I am very confident that my last two puchases were simply outstanding buys for me and my budget and I have absolutely no reservations. Emotiva XPA-5 amp and Panny TH-C50FD18.
RR6 :thumbsup: :23: :23: :8: :19: :6: :5: :14: :biggrin5:
PS: Thanks for the nice comments. Critiques are always welcome.
Thanks for the info RR6. I ordered the TH46PZ85U on Sat. and this will give me a reference point to start with. I was going to use the Avia disc also. Sold my old Sony RPTV on Monday. That should give me room to work so I'm ready when it arrives.
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