Plasma Picture Quality

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Last week I joined the flat screen tv revolution when I bought a Panasonic TH37PX70 plasma telly and I have to say that I honestly wish that I hadn't.

The picture quality on normal programming is nothing special and the picture quality when watching football, sport or fast moving action is absolutely terrible. Motion blurring along with changes in focus make watching a game almost impossible, and this is with an award winning tv, Virgin cable and HDMI.

I am gutted, I have tried all possible adjustments to the set but have made little or no difference to the picture quality. If only I had known this a few weeks ago I would have kept my good old Panasonic CRT.

Any one else feel the same ? or have a solution for me ?

 

[professorhat]

See this thread, plenty of sympathisers and non-sympathisers...

Edit: would help if I included the link!

 

[Anonymous]

I have to say I agree with you. My TV packed up so I was forced to buy another one, and like you I bought the TH37PX70. Unfortunately , my supplier messed up by delivering the wrong stand and , failed to offer any reasonable service. As a result I have told them to take the whole thing away and give me back my money.

Faced with no TV, I went into the loft and got out my Sony 14'' Trinitron . Wow, what a picture. Fast moving objects, like sport is fantastic and so clear. This is where modern TV's are let down. I find it unbelievable that a company like Sony have given up their famous one gun tube to chase the flat screen market. I realise that CRT technology can't produce large wide screens, but I bet many people would prefer great picture quality instead. I would bought a Sony Triniton TV 26/28 inches if one existed.

From what I have seen, LCD TVs are even worse for fast movement than Plasma.. When you go into showrooms you are seduced by very bright pictures with rich colours. It is only when you start watching fast moving items that you think this is not so impressive. Flat screens, more like flat earth society if you ask me.

 

[John Duncan]

Understood, but in this case I don't think it's the TV's fault - you're looking at a picture on a 37" screen that was designed to be shown on your 14" portable. Only when HD broadcasts are commonplace will we really get the full benefit.

 

[Anonymous]

I too am very annoyed !

I had expected the picture quality on sports to be perhaps a bit "iffy" but its so bad its unbelieveable. At this time I am thinking of sending the set back and getting my money back. I gave my old CRT to a neighbour, hope she'll give it back.

 

[Anonymous]

I can only repeat my settings, I have a wonderful crt beating picture that handles sport and fast pans beautifully:

Preset: CINEMA
White balance: WARM
Brightness: 2 clicks left (although you may want to leave at 50%)
All picture processing modes set to OFF

 

[Anonymous]

Is this on the same model ? TH37PX70

 

[kitkat]

[quote user="joelemans"]
Last week I joined the flat screen tv revolution when I bought a Panasonic TH37PX70 plasma telly and I have to say that I honestly wish that I hadn't.

The picture quality on normal programming is nothing special and the picture quality when watching football, sport or fast moving action is absolutely terrible. Motion blurring along with changes in focus make watching a game almost impossible, and this is with an award winning tv, Virgin cable and HDMI.

I am gutted, I have tried all possible adjustments to the set but have made little or no difference to the picture quality. If only I had known this a few weeks ago I would have kept my good old Panasonic CRT.

Any one else feel the same ? or have a solution for me ?

[/quote]

As you may have seen I put a thread on here about this and it seems lots of people agree, I also have a Panasonic crt one of the original quintrix 8yrs old now and the picture is fantastic I have looked at both the lcd and plasma with a view to buy but I really am not convinced, my brother has a Sony lcd and I set it up for him but the picture is no where near as good as the old crt, so because I what a slightly bigger picture and flicker free I have found a 3yr old Panasonic Quintrix sr in mint condition I think that will be a better buy for now.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, it's the same model, otherwise I wouldn't have posted. For reference I've come from a 10yr old 25" panny quintrix TX25somethingorother.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks browelly

There is footie on l8r tonight and I will try these settings. I dont hold out much hope though.

 

[professorhat]

As has been said quite a few times, the issue is the quality of the broadcast / signal coming into these TVs. It was designed for smaller sets as this is what the majority have so, when enlarged on a bigger set with a better resolution, it doesn't look as good unless the TV manufacturer has built in decent processing to smooth this over. As time goes on, better quality broadcasts will start happening and picture quality will improve. It's a transition and, for the moment, you just have to bear with it if you've bought a new TV. It might not be fair if no one told you, but then it is always a good idea to research these things before you spend a lot of money.

The other option is to buy a PVR / DVD-R HDD etc. recorder that has an HDMI port and a decent upscaler in it. It won't solve the problem completely, but should give you a better picture.
*Edit - Or as Clare's post about the Onkyo TX-SR875 has just reminded me - this will upscale anything you put through it, so if you re getting a decent surround amp with this feature, you can try upscaling your TV source through this.

Just remember to try before you buy, otherwise you might waste your money!

 

[Anonymous]

I very much doubt that changing the settings will stop the blurring and fuz that accompanies fast movement. I was watching snooker in one showroom and every time the player potted a ball, there seemed to be a fuzzy trail behind the ball. It was almost cartoon like.

But let us know if it does work, or at least improves the picture.

Mark

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Very Annoyed"]
I very much doubt that changing the settings will stop the blurring and fuz that accompanies fast movement. I was watching snooker in one showroom and every time the player potted a ball, there seemed to be a fuzzy trail behind the ball. It was almost cartoon like.

But let us know if it does work, or at least improves the picture.

Mark

[/quote]

http://whathifi.com/forums/p/6427/35702.aspx#35702

What you have to understand about TV's in department store showrooms is that they are all fed horrible source material, have no attention paid to calibration or setup, and they have out-of-the-box picture settings designed to scream Pick Me! Pick Me! (think Donkey in Shrek).

Unless your lounge is 248'x335' and lit by multi-kilowatt fluorescent strip lighting, things are going to need a tweak or two to get to where you want to be.

 

[Anonymous]

I was just looking on Sony's site in Singapore, they offer this..

"If you are a fan of the trusted CRT TVs, Sony offers a wide range of CRTs that are durable, delivers high quality images, yet remaining extremely affordable, offering value for money."

Interesting they don't offer their British customers this choice.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I've tried the settings recommended in a previous post and to my eye the picture is still rubbish.

I dont think anything is going to make the picture on this tv acceptable when watching sport or action.

It wouldnt be so bad if the picture was just a bit iffy but it is just awfull to watch football on.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the 42" version and have had a few issues with tweaking the picture. I like watching the footie and it is okay via the inbuilt tuner but watching Setanta thru the Thompson box is awful. It looks as if the players have had Ready Brek and it has given them a nice glow. I am convinced that it is the quality of the signal that the set struggles with. I also have an old 28" Panasonic crt which is still going strong and gives a decent picture as does my 7 year olds Silvercrest 14"(Lidl) via Tvonics set top box. Size does matter, me thinks.

The only other thing I notice is when the camera pans quite quickly I seem to lose focus - the wife says its my eyes. It's not blurry or tizzy. Delayed response? Same on dvds. Colour rendition is fabulous though across the board.

 

[Anonymous]

joelemans, watch some sprt through the internal freeview decoder to rule out problems with the Virgin box or connectors.

@jimjams, Setanta is the worst bitrate/quality channel I have ever clapped eyes on. It was unwatchable on my old 25" crt, and it's no different on the plasma. I wouldn't worry about it, you aren't going mad.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

I'm only guessing here but are you guys linking your plasmas up using HDMI to a Sky HD box or similar? These flatscreens that boast HD and True HD ready are exactly that. They have been designed to be used with HDMI. I used to have a 28 inch Panasonic 100hz CRT and changed for a Sony 40 inch LCD. The picture with sport is great, sport in HD is fantastic. I've heard lots of times that Plasma is better than LCD and I can only comment on my brother-in-law's five year old Pioneer plasma vs my LCD. Mine wins hands down. Now, I'm not saying that the newer Plasmas won't beat mine but anyone telling me that CRT beats a flatscreen on Sky HD using a decent HDMI cable, well they are wrong.

 

[JoelSim]

I have to say I have a 42" Panny and I have no problems at all, but then again I don't have Setanta or Sky, I have to watch CL on ITV1 or FA Cup/England on BBC.

The solution of course is to go to the boozer to watch it.

Have you contacted Panasonic as this sounds like a problem with the set.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a panny TH-37PX70, i have Sky SD, footy and action movies are comfortable to watch, none - very little blurriness, not to the extent that you mention, i agree with the above post, sounds like your set, if it's still under warranty contact the retailer or Panny themsleves

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Gerrardasnails"]I'm only guessing here but are you guys linking your plasmas up using HDMI to a Sky HD box or similar? These flatscreens that boast HD and True HD ready are exactly that. They have been designed to be used with HDMI. I used to have a 28 inch Panasonic 100hz CRT and changed for a Sony 40 inch LCD. The picture with sport is great, sport in HD is fantastic. I've heard lots of times that Plasma is better than LCD and I can only comment on my brother-in-law's five year old Pioneer plasma vs my LCD. Mine wins hands down. Now, I'm not saying that the newer Plasmas won't beat mine but anyone telling me that CRT beats a flatscreen on Sky HD using a decent HDMI cable, well they are wrong.[/quote]

I fail to see why I as a customer should be made to to pay extra for SKY HD to get a picture quality that I used to get with SD on a CRT Telly. The very fact that Sony is selling CRT sets in the far East leads me to think we are being taken for mugs here in the UK.

Look, I have nothing against anyone who wants to pay extra for a big screen and have HD. What I think is wrong is that for for SD on Sky, (which I already pay £456 per year) for, and £800 pounds for a new TV gives me a worse picture (on fast moving action) that what i get on CRT.

By the way, I am not the only won who thinks this. My brother in law regrets hs purchase of a LCD TV, and he now tends to watch Tv on an old Panasonic CRT. All I am saying is the manfacturers should give us choice.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

All I was saying is that these new screens (plasma/LCD) started off with component connectivity (only Sky HD gives you that), then 1 hdmi, then 2 hdmi and now most of the top of the range give you 3 hdmi inputs. This is because they are high definition screens. You do not get high definition with scart/svideo/composite etc., I see it as quite obvious that if a product has been manufacured to work primarily with a connection such as hdmi, you will then need to match it to a similar source. The new upscaling dvd players are meant to be connected via hdmi - CRT's can't be used for that. The whole point of plasma or LCD is connecting them to hdmi ready DVD players, hdmi gaming formats like Xbox and PS3 and hdmi driven receiver boxes like Sky HD and V+.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

By the way, as a customer you were not made to buy a Plasma.

 

[Anonymous]

My plasma telly is split new, less than a week old.

It is connected via an HDMI cable to a Virgin V+ box, I do not have the HD service.

I have tried watching footy using the inbuilt tuner and it is very poor.

What improvement can be made by upgrading the HDMI cable ? Has any one done this and seen noticable improvements ?

 

[Anonymous]

"The other option is to buy a PVR / DVD-R HDD etc. recorder that has an HDMI port and a decent upscaler in it. It won't solve the problem completely, but should give you a better picture.
*Edit - Or as Clare's post about the Onkyo TX-SR875 has just reminded me - this will upscale anything you put through it, so if you re getting a decent surround amp with this feature, you can try upscaling your TV source through this."

Could someone explain this upscaling thing a bit further to me