Very disappointed with Panasonic 42PZ85B

[admin_exported]

I have just bought the 42PZ85, plugged in, let it auto find the channels etc. and sat back to enjoy a bit of TV. Wasn't expecting much from freeview - didn't get much! Picture is nowhere near as good as my 32LXD700 LCD.
Onto upscaled DVD using the BD30 (24 series 5) - appalled. Ensured IFC was off - still appalled. Tried many picture tweaks - still appalled.
Onto blu ray (ratatouille) - nothing like as sharp as the picture on my LCD. Just so it is not all negative, the motion was handled better than on the LCD.
Overall impression is one of shear disappointment. Blacks look deeper than the LCD and perhaps the picture has slightly more depth but all other aspects of the picture are far worse.

For me it seems that plasma is a far inferior system than LCD for television reproduction. Hopefully someone can tell me where I am going wrong and advise me on how to get a good picture, particularly PZ85 owners, otherwise I will be looking to send it back very quickly.

 

[Anonymous]

I think you'll find you need to let it "run in" for a bit to let the plasma cells get to their optimum settings.Might be a bit too soon to give it your final opinion.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the response Duncan21. Is it really likely that there would be a vast improvement with running in? Is this normal for a plasma? I seem to recall on the LCD that settings had to be toned down a little but the picture was still basically very good right from the off. Is the plasma picture likely to get sharper?

 

[Clare Newsome]

We have found some of the new Panasonic plasmas take a lot of tweaking to get to their best - but once they're sorted, all have been mighty impressive.

You say you've done some picture tweaks, but have you gone through our TV-tweak checklist (here)?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Clare, I have just checked your link and have complied with the basics but have not got a THX DVD or specialist set up DVD.

I believe that you have one of these sets in for review, could you please let me know how this was set up? Apologies if the information is already posted elsewhere.

Thank you.

 

[Anonymous]

I am amazed at this.

My Dad had the same LCD as you and while I find the picture adequate it does not compare to my 2 year old PX60 plasma.

Obviously the difference in screen size will highlight any flaws in the signal but from what I have seen the PZ85 is a stunning TV.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Cooney"]
Thanks Clare, I have just checked your link and have complied with the basics but have not got a THX DVD or specialist set up DVD.

I believe that you have one of these sets in for review, could you please let me know how this was set up? Apologies if the information is already posted elsewhere.

Thank you.
[/quote]

You're mean you have not got Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Terminator 2, Alien, Aliens, The Abyss or any of the Pixar films on DVD?!? Crikey

 

[Clare Newsome]

I also have a feeling there's a version of it on the Ratatouille disc - under the audio/video set-up menu of Total Menus?

 

[Simon Lucas]

[quote user="Cooney"]I believe that you have one of these sets in for review[/quote]

Not quite. The HD-ready TH-42PX80 is the lead First Test in the current issue (5 stars), and the TH-46PZ85 (a bit bigger than the screen that's causing the kerfuffle) is a First Test in the July issue (on sale 29th May).

The TH-42PZ80 (the same panel as the TH-42PZ85, but without quite the audio oomph) is featured in the next Ultimate Guide to Television (on sale June 5th).

We haven't had a TH-42PZ85 from Panasonic yet - but such is the glut of new screens at the moment, we've more than enough to be going on with.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the responses,

I don't have any of the listed discs but will check out the ratatouille menu.

Will there be an on line review (and posting of settings) for the PZ80 before the magazine date?

 

[SpiceWeasel]

Hi there I have the same tv. I turned off ifc and picture overscan on all the modes(cinema,eco etc),and the same on all inputs,hdmi,scart inbuilt tuner etc. Then used the thx optimiser on the star wars dvd. This made a huge difference to the quality of the picture once tweaked.

For a list of dvd's with the thx optimiser http://www.thx.com/home/dvd/search.html click on the "view entire list" under the main search bar. If you havn't got one of these dvd's then try and borrow one or even buy a star wars dvd. The original films are only £4.99 off play.com

I do find that the picture off sky is a little bit sharper than the tuner built into the tv. This could be down to the ariel though. Also dvd's look very good from a PS3 , and blue rays look bloody amazing.

I think in general lcd's give a sharper picture than plasma's, but I am very impressed with mine especially on dvd and blueray.

Also i don't know if I am seeing things but I swear the picture looks better now it's had almost 100 hours on it.

I need to re run the thx optimiser again now it's run in properly. I will try and get a screen shot of the settings as Pany don't seem to use numbers just a sliding bar.

EDIT: How far are you sat from the tv when watching sd content? I sit about 9ft (about 3m) from the screen and sd looks very good on a decent channel like bbc1 for example. If you move closer than 5-6ft then you do notice a loss in quality. HD though looks very good even if your right next to the screen.

 

[Anonymous]

Is there any chance you could post the review of the panasonic th-46pz85b online please ?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="stu31"]Is there any chance you could post the review of the panasonic th-46pz85b online please ?[/quote]As I've said so many times before:- They will post it when it is ready!!

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Oy of Mid World"]
I am amazed at this.

My Dad had the same LCD as you and while I find the picture adequate it does not compare to my 2 year old PX60 plasma.

Obviously the difference in screen size will highlight any flaws in the signal but from what I have seen the PZ85 is a stunning TV.
[/quote]

I am really interested as I have the Panasonic 32LXD700 and am interested in getting the 37PX80. In which way do you think the Plasma is better?

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

I am not sure exactly what you want. You say it handles motion better than your LCD. You also say that the colours are deeper, the blacks are better. I would say that is exactly what you want from a TV.

When you talk about sharpness do you mean brightness? LCD TV's are a lot brighter than Plasma. (which is why so many people fall for them in my opinion) But if Brightness is your thing, maybe you should exchange it for an LCD.

 

[Anonymous]

MR ****HEAD YOU ARE A NASTY PERSON

 

[Anonymous]

You really need to chill out mate ...................

 

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't you be screwing a coin meter to something ?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="vanman"]

MR ****HEAD YOU ARE A NASTY PERSON

[/quote]

Give it up mate, you are not funny anymore.

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="vanman"]MR ****HEAD YOU ARE A NASTY PERSON [/quote]

Second warning for insulting other forum members - Mods

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the many responses and advice.

Spiceweasel, the problems I found were with a very soft picture, lots of phosphur trails/flashes, colours within colours (noticeable blues, greens and reds on faces for example), lots of digital artefacts and generally horrible picture. My viewing distance is approximately 7ft. The first thging that I made sure of was that IFC was off for each input.

I do have an update now. Thanks to those of you who gave lists of appropriate DVDs with THX setup, I found this feature on the Ratatouille film. Following this improved things slightly, believe it or not, reducing some of the noise. Also it helped me to determine that overscan was not necessary. There was still a serious prolem with movement. Apologies but I do not know the technical terms for what I was seeing but it kind of stuttered but not like the judder seen on Blu ray without 24fps support.

As the evening drew on, I tried reducing major elements - brightness, colour and contrast (these were, or so I thought, reduced quite considerably from the factory settings and were certainly not gawdy).

This continued until at approx. 9.00pm the upscaled DVD of 24 started to look impressive and I actually felt that it was better than the LCD. Some more slight reductions actually led to smoother motion and greater definition! I then switched to freeview and watched heroes on BBC3. I was amazed at how sharp and defined the picture was. I could not believe the differences over the course of the evening.

The picture is far superior to my LCD and much more enjoyable. Plasma obviously works at least in darkened conditions. I quickly turned the set on this morning before heading off to work (7.30am) which was reasonable daylight and the freeview picture looked very good.

Although not apparently bright, high contrast and colour, my initial tweakings had not done anything like enough to kerb in the picture. Plasmas really do seem to need settings to be way down. I must have inadvertently being asking too much of the individual pixels and trying to fry them! By the way, the fans are not at all noisy and all you can hear is a gentle 'whoosh' of air at low volume. Once settings were reduced, so was the heat of the air from the fans.

I will certainly not be returning the set and may even think of replacing my 32LX700 in the other room, with a 37PX80. So Scotsgirl, I would recommend that you take the plunge!

My perceived better LCD sharpness was probably to do with the higher brightness of LCD as pointed out by Very Angry.

I will get a chance for further viewing this weekend but have had my opinion on plasma vs LCD totally changed and then back again in the space of a day!

I really appreciate the advice from all of you which has cured my despondency.

One final point on the sound. I never at any point in the evening did I have to think about the quality so therefore it must be quite acceptable (for a flat screen anyway).

 

[Anonymous]

I am glad that you have sorted things out and are now happy with your TV.I think that I will have to give the 46PZ80 a serious looking at.

 

[Anonymous]

I am glad that the changes you have made have had some effect. If you are watching mostly SD, motion handling will be far better on Plasma. The colours are much more natural as well. There is no doubt that if you watch Plasma at night the picture is very good. It brings out the deeper colours. It is quite a good idea to turn down the contrast and colour settings when you get a new plasma anyway, so you have done the right things.

Hope it works out for you. Give it a good go over the weekend.

 

[SpiceWeasel]

No problems for the advice mate. Glad to see it helped. I know there was a big difference in quality after I set it up with the THX disk.

Also give it a bit of time to run in properly , I swear it looks better now after 2 weeks useage and almost 100 hours. It certainly gives off alot less heat then when it was brand new.

Make sure to re do the THX optimiser after 100 hours or so. The phosphurs in the screen are at their brightest/hottest for the 1st 100 hours, so as far as I understand the picture will need tweaking after it's run in.

I have been leaving mine on for about 6-8 hours a day on bbc1 when not watching, or any other channel without channel logo's or info bars like the news etc. Just to get to the 100 hours faster.If you fancy doing this just make sure the pictures full screen,ie no black bars above and below. So the whole screen is being used equally. The verdict is still out on the whole running in issue. But for peace of mind I've been taking it easy with channel logo's and programs with banners like the news for example while I got 100 hours on it.

On the sound front have you tried the BBE VIVA virtual surround mode yet ? Sounds very much like having it turned off but with some surround soundiness. The other virtual surround mode sounds terrible btw.

EDIT: For sd viewing I find that some channels are far better than others, but even on bbc1 which is normally among the best on sky/digi tuner I do find the odd program which looks terrible. It really depends on the quality of the recording. This might explain some of the issue's you where having with noise etc.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Cooney"]
Thank you for the many responses and advice.

Spiceweasel, the problems I found were with a very soft picture, lots of phosphur trails/flashes, colours within colours (noticeable blues, greens and reds on faces for example), lots of digital artefacts and generally horrible picture. My viewing distance is approximately 7ft. The first thging that I made sure of was that IFC was off for each input.

I do have an update now. Thanks to those of you who gave lists of appropriate DVDs with THX setup, I found this feature on the Ratatouille film. Following this improved things slightly, believe it or not, reducing some of the noise. Also it helped me to determine that overscan was not necessary. There was still a serious prolem with movement. Apologies but I do not know the technical terms for what I was seeing but it kind of stuttered but not like the judder seen on Blu ray without 24fps support.

As the evening drew on, I tried reducing major elements - brightness, colour and contrast (these were, or so I thought, reduced quite considerably from the factory settings and were certainly not gawdy).

This continued until at approx. 9.00pm the upscaled DVD of 24 started to look impressive and I actually felt that it was better than the LCD. Some more slight reductions actually led to smoother motion and greater definition! I then switched to freeview and watched heroes on BBC3. I was amazed at how sharp and defined the picture was. I could not believe the differences over the course of the evening.

The picture is far superior to my LCD and much more enjoyable. Plasma obviously works at least in darkened conditions. I quickly turned the set on this morning before heading off to work (7.30am) which was reasonable daylight and the freeview picture looked very good.

Although not apparently bright, high contrast and colour, my initial tweakings had not done anything like enough to kerb in the picture. Plasmas really do seem to need settings to be way down. I must have inadvertently being asking too much of the individual pixels and trying to fry them! By the way, the fans are not at all noisy and all you can hear is a gentle 'whoosh' of air at low volume. Once settings were reduced, so was the heat of the air from the fans.

I will certainly not be returning the set and may even think of replacing my 32LX700 in the other room, with a 37PX80. So Scotsgirl, I would recommend that you take the plunge!

My perceived better LCD sharpness was probably to do with the higher brightness of LCD as pointed out by Very Angry.

I will get a chance for further viewing this weekend but have had my opinion on plasma vs LCD totally changed and then back again in the space of a day!

I really appreciate the advice from all of you which has cured my despondency.

One final point on the sound. I never at any point in the evening did I have to think about the quality so therefore it must be quite acceptable (for a flat screen anyway).

[/quote]

Many thanks for the info.

I think I will take the plunge and get the 37PX80. I know you have a different model but take it that you think the sound is as good as the 32LXd700?

I know some folk think I am obsessed with the sound quality but I have been really impressed with the sound on the 32LXD700 and it would be great if it was as good on the PX80 as it would save a lot of money as a separate sound system would not be necessary?