I just set up my new P42UT30 and it is great. However I don't like the standard viewing modes that panasonic have built into the set. Dynamic (for bright rooms) and photo (definitely the best mode for pictures) both do their jobs. However even in the pitch dark Normal, Cinema and True Cinema seem too dark. I'm viewing sky HD most of the time and the 'Game' setting seems to give the best balance of picture brighness with realistic colours. Has anyone else had a similar experiences with panasonic defaults? Is it perhaps sky related as it is less of an issue watching blurays?
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Panasonic - Viewing Mode settings
- Thread starter robkew
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Oldboy
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robkew,
All tv's presets are not right straight from the box and some calibration will always be needed in order to acheive a good picture for your particular viewing enviroment and a few minutes spent with a THX optimiser found on many dvd's will reap instant rewards! It's the simplest way to get the settings more like they should be and won't take long to perform, you can find it on many dvds such as star wars and a full list is available with a quick google and you will probably find you own one already.
My new panasonic GT30's settings were way out straight from the box and all the settings required calibration so you are far from alone but it's easy to remedy, of course there are many other ways to calibrate your tv and there are stand alone discs such as the DVE HD essentials calibration disc on the market that go into more detail so it's just a case of how far you want to go with it?
You can even get a meter that goes on the screen and then use computer software to get a professional calibration result if you really want to indulge yourself but a THX calibration is far better than doing nothing atall.
Hope that helps.
All tv's presets are not right straight from the box and some calibration will always be needed in order to acheive a good picture for your particular viewing enviroment and a few minutes spent with a THX optimiser found on many dvd's will reap instant rewards! It's the simplest way to get the settings more like they should be and won't take long to perform, you can find it on many dvds such as star wars and a full list is available with a quick google and you will probably find you own one already.
My new panasonic GT30's settings were way out straight from the box and all the settings required calibration so you are far from alone but it's easy to remedy, of course there are many other ways to calibrate your tv and there are stand alone discs such as the DVE HD essentials calibration disc on the market that go into more detail so it's just a case of how far you want to go with it?
You can even get a meter that goes on the screen and then use computer software to get a professional calibration result if you really want to indulge yourself but a THX calibration is far better than doing nothing atall.
Hope that helps.
i have just bought a panny tx-p42g30 plasma and find cinema and normal too dim. Dynamic is far too bright but THX and Game seem to be best. game is not available for watching tv channels though. THX is good but seems to lend a creamyness to whites white i do not like. I have tried calibrating and it has not made much difference unfortunately. I like bright whites and am a little disappointed with what I have seen so far. My last panny plasma , which is 3 years old, had better whites.
Oldboy
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It's all down to the contrast setting here Fraz1, it's the most difficult thing to get right when calibrating a tv but remember that it's also about personal preference so if after calibrating you find the whites too dim then turn up the contrast and see if the image improves more to your liking.
Turn on the isfccc modes from the set up menu and try the professional 1 & 2 modes as i find those much more accurate when calibrated and introduce less creamy whites, i too find the THX mode a touch to yellow for my liking but i have found that it works well with THX certified movies like the star wars blurays but for most content it is far to yellow in colour. It's something WHF noted in it's review of the tv too.
What i have noticed when i calibrated is that the different modes on the tv have vastly different levels of max contrast, dynamic will go off the scale and overblow whites, as will photo mode where as normal struggles to get to 230 and falls short of the ideal levels. I found cinema, THX and both ifc professional modes the most accurate across the board and i've got great results from these modes but i did have to use a more accurate calibration tool to get there.
I can't mention what i used on these forums as it breaks house rules but it's a free open source tool that can be burned to disc and is specifically for hd tvs, it is an excellent calibration tool and got me really good results.
Turn on the isfccc modes from the set up menu and try the professional 1 & 2 modes as i find those much more accurate when calibrated and introduce less creamy whites, i too find the THX mode a touch to yellow for my liking but i have found that it works well with THX certified movies like the star wars blurays but for most content it is far to yellow in colour. It's something WHF noted in it's review of the tv too.
What i have noticed when i calibrated is that the different modes on the tv have vastly different levels of max contrast, dynamic will go off the scale and overblow whites, as will photo mode where as normal struggles to get to 230 and falls short of the ideal levels. I found cinema, THX and both ifc professional modes the most accurate across the board and i've got great results from these modes but i did have to use a more accurate calibration tool to get there.
I can't mention what i used on these forums as it breaks house rules but it's a free open source tool that can be burned to disc and is specifically for hd tvs, it is an excellent calibration tool and got me really good results.
I would try and adjust the professional setting but for the fact I don't know how to adjust hue, gamma etc. I tried googling it but could not find anything that told you in straightforward terms what to do. I also like the brightness of THX mode, which you don't get on professional, or can you ramp up the brightness without washing out the picture? I am somewhat concerned about this, to the extent i am considering returning the tv . I also read a review today in a very well known and respected review magazine that said the TX-p42S30 had a better sd,hd and blue ray picture than the TX-P42G30 and it costs about £150 quid less.
Just tried the game mode for blue ray and it seems better than THX. Same brightness and seems to have similar colour balance minus the yellow. You can only use it for dvd and Blue ray though as well as gaming so no use for tv but my main issue with the yellow creamy colour is with dvd and blue ray so maybe game mode will solve that problem. I hope so. How this tv got 5 stars though with such obvious colour issues on a setting that is supposed to be spot on and is not adjustable, is beyond me. Not impressed What hi fi!
Oldboy
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With professional mode you shouldn't need to touch the gamma setting 2.2 is the ideal gamma level and the tv sets it at that as standard, of course i am going by the results with my GT30 but it should be the same with the G30.
Hue settings are quite straight forward if you have a good calibration disc as the differences are apparent immediately, normally any hue adjustment needed is minimal and sometimes not needed atall but it does depend on the picture mode being calibrated.
The best way to calibrate is by using the disc i have but you will need either a pair of blue tinted THX glasses (available on the THX website) or a tv with a blue mode to get the colour more accurate, it's very difficult without either of these! There are colour filters included with the dve basics calibration disc but i didn't find the actual disc very good, do a google search for 'free hdtv calibration tool' and look for links to AVS which is the disc i use. I won't say anymore for fear of breaking house rules (have i said too much mods? if so apologies) but you should be able to find it, use that and see if you get better results but don't forget you will need a blue filter or THX glasses to calibrate colour.
I've had no issues with brightness or contrast and my tv is pretty accurately calibrated now (of course a professional would get it even better) but it's strange that you are having issues, simply ramping up the brightness is not what you should be doing as that will affect picture quality and getting the right balance of brightness and contrast is what you should be aiming to do.
I have no knowledge of the S30 i'm afraid but the G30 has been well reviewed from what i have seen so perhaps after giving calibration another shot it still doesn't seem right you might have an issue with the tv as this is not mentioned in any review i have seen.
Have you tried normal mode on the tv? I use this for tv viewing both sd and hd and then use cinema, THX or professional 1 for bluray movies and game for games and it's lovely on all sources...THX gets used only rarely with THX certified movies and i have cinema and professional 1 calibrated with different colour settings so i tend to choose which is better for the movie i'm watching.
That reminds me...the colour temp can have a vast effect on brightness and contrast! If you use professional or THX you will find the colour temp is taken out of the options but if you use normal, cinema, game , dynamic or photo you get the option of colour temp. Try it set to cool or normal, cool introduces much brighter cleaner whites but it can look a little blue on some sources but may solve your issue.
Hope that's of some help to you, let me know how you get on with it.
Hue settings are quite straight forward if you have a good calibration disc as the differences are apparent immediately, normally any hue adjustment needed is minimal and sometimes not needed atall but it does depend on the picture mode being calibrated.
The best way to calibrate is by using the disc i have but you will need either a pair of blue tinted THX glasses (available on the THX website) or a tv with a blue mode to get the colour more accurate, it's very difficult without either of these! There are colour filters included with the dve basics calibration disc but i didn't find the actual disc very good, do a google search for 'free hdtv calibration tool' and look for links to AVS which is the disc i use. I won't say anymore for fear of breaking house rules (have i said too much mods? if so apologies) but you should be able to find it, use that and see if you get better results but don't forget you will need a blue filter or THX glasses to calibrate colour.
I've had no issues with brightness or contrast and my tv is pretty accurately calibrated now (of course a professional would get it even better) but it's strange that you are having issues, simply ramping up the brightness is not what you should be doing as that will affect picture quality and getting the right balance of brightness and contrast is what you should be aiming to do.
I have no knowledge of the S30 i'm afraid but the G30 has been well reviewed from what i have seen so perhaps after giving calibration another shot it still doesn't seem right you might have an issue with the tv as this is not mentioned in any review i have seen.
Have you tried normal mode on the tv? I use this for tv viewing both sd and hd and then use cinema, THX or professional 1 for bluray movies and game for games and it's lovely on all sources...THX gets used only rarely with THX certified movies and i have cinema and professional 1 calibrated with different colour settings so i tend to choose which is better for the movie i'm watching.
That reminds me...the colour temp can have a vast effect on brightness and contrast! If you use professional or THX you will find the colour temp is taken out of the options but if you use normal, cinema, game , dynamic or photo you get the option of colour temp. Try it set to cool or normal, cool introduces much brighter cleaner whites but it can look a little blue on some sources but may solve your issue.
Hope that's of some help to you, let me know how you get on with it.
Thanks for the advice but i have tried everything other than an optimiser disc like you used. I am hugely disappointed with the picture on all formats. Cinema, normal and professional are far too dim ( and i watch in subdued lighting in a room that does not get much natural light) so God knows what the picture would be like in a bright room. Whites are a bit washed out on these modes too imo.THX mode is bright enough but as i said it covers everything with a yellowish brown veil and makes whites creamy. Game mode improved things a little for blue ray but on dvd it is too harsh and bright.
Upscaled DVD pictures are not very good either compared to my last panny plasma, the TH-37PX80B, and are grainy and harsh looking.
My mate was round tonight, he has a panny TX-P46G20 and he can't believe it is the same make and supposed to be an updated improved model. He was as disappointed as me.His tv is night and day compared to this one. I know it was well reviewed by what hi fi but to be honest my trust in their reviews has dropped considerably after this purchase as the picture is so disappointing. I cannot for the life of me understand how it got 5 stars.
I have decided to return it to richer sounds. They will charge me 60 quid for doing so but i think it is a price worth paying as i will never be happy with this tv. Going to get the Panny TXL-42E30B which i have seen and been v impressed with. Should have bought that one but I stuck with plasma as its what i had previously. Thanks for all the help anyway.
Upscaled DVD pictures are not very good either compared to my last panny plasma, the TH-37PX80B, and are grainy and harsh looking.
My mate was round tonight, he has a panny TX-P46G20 and he can't believe it is the same make and supposed to be an updated improved model. He was as disappointed as me.His tv is night and day compared to this one. I know it was well reviewed by what hi fi but to be honest my trust in their reviews has dropped considerably after this purchase as the picture is so disappointing. I cannot for the life of me understand how it got 5 stars.
I have decided to return it to richer sounds. They will charge me 60 quid for doing so but i think it is a price worth paying as i will never be happy with this tv. Going to get the Panny TXL-42E30B which i have seen and been v impressed with. Should have bought that one but I stuck with plasma as its what i had previously. Thanks for all the help anyway.
Oldboy
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Hems said:
What would you like to know Hems? I can't give you picture settings as there are no numbers on the scalers on the menu except in professional mode so i can't give you the levels for brightness, contrast, colour and sharpness for any other picture modes. You must bear in mind that different rooms will require different settings as many conditions play a part in what settings are required but if i can be of any help i'm more than willing to share any or all of my settings to give you a starting point.
Oldboy
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Fraz1 said:
It's sounding increasingly likely that the tv is faulty then Fraz1.
My GT30 is a vast step up from my G20 from last year, it's a night and day difference in completely the opposite way that you have had. It's better in every respect from the G20 and i'm so pleased i upgraded this year, i think the tv needs returning but that's a bit strong from Richers to charge you to take it back and i would be negotiating as the tv is faulty in my eyes and you shouldn't be penalised for taking back a faulty tv!
Richers said that if it was a fault then i would not have to pay anything, so that's good of them. If it is not a fault then they normally charge15% but if i take a different tv they will drop it to 10%. Sounds a lot but other stores might not even have taken it back unless it is faulty.
Interstingly Which? magazine ( i hope i am not breaking a rule mentioning them) gave the tv a terrible review as well and said almost exactly the same things as me. Poor sd picture, dim pictures, poor blue ray pic and creamy whites. That makes me suspect its not a fault but when i was in Richers today their panny plasmas looked good with nice bright pictures. All will be revealed on Sunday or Monday when I return it and if i do have to change to a Panny LED i wont complain as the pictures are fantastic with deep blacks and good motion handling.
Interstingly Which? magazine ( i hope i am not breaking a rule mentioning them) gave the tv a terrible review as well and said almost exactly the same things as me. Poor sd picture, dim pictures, poor blue ray pic and creamy whites. That makes me suspect its not a fault but when i was in Richers today their panny plasmas looked good with nice bright pictures. All will be revealed on Sunday or Monday when I return it and if i do have to change to a Panny LED i wont complain as the pictures are fantastic with deep blacks and good motion handling.
Richers said that if it was a fault then i would not have to pay anything, so that's good of them. If it is not a fault then they normally charge15% but if i take a different tv they will drop it to 10%. Sounds a lot but other stores might not even have taken it back unless it is faulty.
Interstingly Which? magazine ( i hope i am not breaking a rule mentioning them) gave the tv a terrible review as well and said almost exactly the same things as me. Poor sd picture, dim pictures, poor blue ray pic and creamy whites. That makes me suspect its not a fault but when i was in Richers today their panny plasmas looked good with nice bright pictures. All will be revealed on Sunday or Monday when I return it and if i do have to change to a Panny LED i wont complain as the pictures are fantastic with deep blacks and good motion handling.
Interstingly Which? magazine ( i hope i am not breaking a rule mentioning them) gave the tv a terrible review as well and said almost exactly the same things as me. Poor sd picture, dim pictures, poor blue ray pic and creamy whites. That makes me suspect its not a fault but when i was in Richers today their panny plasmas looked good with nice bright pictures. All will be revealed on Sunday or Monday when I return it and if i do have to change to a Panny LED i wont complain as the pictures are fantastic with deep blacks and good motion handling.
Oldboy
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That's fair enough Fraz1, in that case Richers are providing a good service for you there. I can't beleive that your plasma is so bad picture wise, it really surprises me when i look at the lovely picture on my plasma...perhaps there is a real difference between the models this year then but i have been nothing but blown away by the picture quality of my GT30, it's outstanding and well worth the praise heaped on it by WHF.
I hope that you get a good resolution to the problem on sunday or monday and i look forward to an update on what you got to replace it and if you are happy with it so keep me posted.
Oldboy.
I hope that you get a good resolution to the problem on sunday or monday and i look forward to an update on what you got to replace it and if you are happy with it so keep me posted.
Oldboy.
Oldboy
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Hems,
I don't think Avatar extended edition does have a THX optimiser on it, i don't remember finding it on my copy...i will have to have another look. If it doesn't then Terminator 2 skynet edition definately has it and it's THX 2 for HD displays so give that a go, i got far better results from the disc i mentioed earlier in the thread however but it's a good place to start and see how you get on as you may well be perfectly happy with the THX results.
Just for your info here are my settings for Professional 1 picture mode, they are for a room with low lighting (just a floor lamp):
Contrast - 50
Brightness - 30
Colour - 30
Sharpness - 4
C.A.T.S. - off
P-NR - off
IFC - off
Resolution Enhancer - off
Gamma - 2.2
Pixel orbiter - auto
No adjustment made to White Balance or Colour Management both are at the default level.
Hope that's of some help to you 🙂
I don't think Avatar extended edition does have a THX optimiser on it, i don't remember finding it on my copy...i will have to have another look. If it doesn't then Terminator 2 skynet edition definately has it and it's THX 2 for HD displays so give that a go, i got far better results from the disc i mentioed earlier in the thread however but it's a good place to start and see how you get on as you may well be perfectly happy with the THX results.
Just for your info here are my settings for Professional 1 picture mode, they are for a room with low lighting (just a floor lamp):
Contrast - 50
Brightness - 30
Colour - 30
Sharpness - 4
C.A.T.S. - off
P-NR - off
IFC - off
Resolution Enhancer - off
Gamma - 2.2
Pixel orbiter - auto
No adjustment made to White Balance or Colour Management both are at the default level.
Hope that's of some help to you 🙂
Took my plasma back to Richer sounds today. They hooked it up next to the panny LED i was interested in so i could make a comparison.
The staff agreed with me that on THX mode the whites were creamy and there was a brown tone through everything. It was so noticeable that a member of staff said it was like a veil being put over the picture. On normal picture mode we could get rid of the cream tone by setting the colour to cool and whacking up the brightness to about 65%. This gave a better picture but still lacking a bit of pop for me.Unfortunately there is no option to set colour tone to cool setting on THX mode.
I decided to go for the TX-L42E30B as it had a sharper punchier picture with deep blacks the like of which i have not seen on an LED before. It was also next to a samsung 7 range LED at £1200 and outperfromed it imo. It's Blue ray performance was also on a different level to the Plasma . I watched a rugby match for a bit on freesat and there was very slight blurring on the LED at times but setting the frame creation pro option to medium eradicated it.
So there was no fault in the Plasma just a very poor THX picture and a somehat dull picture on other settings. Very disappointing Panasonic and my trust in What hi fi? has taken a knock as they gave such an obviously iffy performer such a good review.
To the original poster, try setting your picture mode to normal, up your brightness level to about 65% and set colour tone to cool, that might help. I cant remember the contrast setting but i am sure you could work it out.
The staff agreed with me that on THX mode the whites were creamy and there was a brown tone through everything. It was so noticeable that a member of staff said it was like a veil being put over the picture. On normal picture mode we could get rid of the cream tone by setting the colour to cool and whacking up the brightness to about 65%. This gave a better picture but still lacking a bit of pop for me.Unfortunately there is no option to set colour tone to cool setting on THX mode.
I decided to go for the TX-L42E30B as it had a sharper punchier picture with deep blacks the like of which i have not seen on an LED before. It was also next to a samsung 7 range LED at £1200 and outperfromed it imo. It's Blue ray performance was also on a different level to the Plasma . I watched a rugby match for a bit on freesat and there was very slight blurring on the LED at times but setting the frame creation pro option to medium eradicated it.
So there was no fault in the Plasma just a very poor THX picture and a somehat dull picture on other settings. Very disappointing Panasonic and my trust in What hi fi? has taken a knock as they gave such an obviously iffy performer such a good review.
To the original poster, try setting your picture mode to normal, up your brightness level to about 65% and set colour tone to cool, that might help. I cant remember the contrast setting but i am sure you could work it out.
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