Ideal settings for Panasonic 50" plasma ?

[Draper185]

Hi - I was wondering if anyone had an idea for settings I should choose. I know I can go through the menu and play around it a bit, but thought I might be missing something. I have the Panasonic 50PZ700U.

[akirby]

The best way is to get a calibration DVD and use it to set the user controls (contrast, tint, color, etc.) based on patterns.

Not sure if ISF calibration is possible or recommended for Plasma - I'm sure Richard will chime in with that info.

[Richard]

There is not a one size fits all approach. Check out the following...

ISF and HAA - The Expression of Art using Science
viewtopic.php?t=4450

Calibration DVDs
viewtopic.php?t=5143

[rogerbennett]

I own the Panasonic TH-50PZ77U which I have had for about 7 weeks. Panasonic released this model about 3 months ago. Video wise I believe it is the same as your TH-50PZ700U. I used the Digital Video Essentials DVD in my Sony Blu-Ray Disc Player BDP-S300 to align my TH-50PZ77U. My settings after alignment are as follows:

Standard picture mode - Picture (same as contrast) +24, Brightness +10, Color -2, Tint 0, Sharpness +5

Vivid picture mode - Picture +25, Brightness +16, Color -3, Tint -1, Sharpness +6

Cinema picture mode - Picture +26, Brightness +9, Color -2, Tint -1, Sharpness +7

Custom picture mode - Picture +26, Brightness +11, Color -2, Tint 0, Sharpness +7

Most of the above settings changed quite abit from the factory pre sets.

For my viewing I only use the Standard picture settings. The other video settings which I always leave the same are the following: Color temp Normal, Color mgmt Off, Video NR Off, Block NR Off, Mosquito NR Off,Black level Light, 3:2 pulldown Off, HD size 2. Also I always use the aspect ratio of Full.

Hope this helps.

Roger Bennett

[perfectinght]

I had the unique opportunity the other day to view 3 samples of your model/size of plasma set up side by side. This was at a technical facility where I was brought in as an imaging assessment consultant. They had a controlled (dark) viewing environment for the assessment. All 3 of the TVs were set up with identical user menu picture setting values. The TVs had not been calibrated with instruments but the picture controls were optimised for the dark viewing conditions.

Of the 3 TVs, 2 were close in appearance to each other but not identical. The third TV was very obviously different than the others. The lesson here is: copying someone else's picture settings can get you close but not identical image quality. In some cases even quite different appearance. Viewing environment conditions are another variable that few consumers and even many professionals fail to take into account.

No video display can produce its best image without complete calibration, and that includes addressing viewing environment conditions. Each TV has its own unique performance characteristics due to the imprecise tolerances allowed in manufacturing and assembly line testing practices. True precision usually costs extra. Even professional monitors costing tens of thousands of dollars are regularly calibrated, and would never be used out of the box without careful alignment with instruments.

TV owner manuals are pathetic when it comes to really explaining how the product should be used. The best source for this kind of information is one or the other of the popular home theater setup DVDs. However, most consumers won't put forth the effort to learn how to use their TV. That's the main reason why manufacturers don't bother with the necessary detail in their manuals. If you care about getting the best image quality from your TV, the tutorial DVDs are a great start. My favorites are (in order of preference): 'Digital Video Essentials,' 'Avia II,' 'Avia Guide To Home Theater,' 'Sound and Vision Home Theater Tune Up,' and 'HDTV Calibration Wizard.'

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.
www.cinemaquestinc.com

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"