Final round of TV questions

[Journey/Survivor]

I now, as of last Wednesday, have a brand new Panasonic Plasma TV.

Those of you who have good knowledge about TV settings, how do you suggest that I adjust the settings on my TV? How should I adjust the color, sharp, contrast, tint settings?

I know that I have to set those things to my own preferences. But can you give me a starting point from which to work with the settings?

[Enigma869]

Does it have a THX pre-set mode? If it has that mode, select the THX mode and leave it right there. That's the mode my Panasonic plasma is in, and the picture is SUPERB. Most of my friends don't realize how horrible the picture quality is on most LCD's until they watch a football game at my house. Which model did you buy?

[Journey/Survivor]

Which model did you buy?

Panasonic Viera Plasma 1080P TC-P50S30

[Journey/Survivor]

If someone has cable TV, but they can not get the HD package, would a cable-amplifier help get rid of some of the grain on the screen?

If so, any particular brand/model of cable-amplifier?

[Rick]

If someone has cable TV, but they can not get the HD package, would a cable-amplifier help get rid of some of the grain on the screen?

If so, any particular brand/model of cable-amplifier?

You may not be having a signal strength problem, but a signal to noise ratio problem.

Whatever it is, check out what this cable tech has to say on the subject.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 725AAI70xZ

[Enigma869]

If someone has cable TV, but they can not get the HD package, would a cable-amplifier help get rid of some of the grain on the screen?

If so, any particular brand/model of cable-amplifier?

Electroline makes the best cable amplifiers on the market. I've used one at every house I own with superb results. The flat panels in my house that don't use a cable box are completely unwatchable (due to snow) without the amp. With the amp, they are crystal clear. Usually, with a cable box of some sort, you shouldn't be running into those signal problems. Does that model have the THX mode or no?

[Enigma869]

Those of you who have good knowledge about TV settings, how do you suggest that I adjust the settings on my TV? How should I adjust the color, sharp, contrast, tint settings?

I know that I have to set those things to my own preferences. But can you give me a starting point from which to work with the settings?

Try these settings if you don't have THX as a pre-set mode. Again, if the TV has THX, you should absolutely use that, as it replicates a professional calibration quite nicely.

Picture Mode: Custom
Contrast: 80
Brightness: 70
Color: 50
Tint: 0
Sharpness: 20
Color Temp: Warm 2
Color Mgmt: Off
C.A.T.S: Off (you can experiment with this and decide which mode your eyes like best...off or on)
Video NR: Off

Aspect Adjustment:
Screen Format: Full
HD Size: Size 2 (so it doesn't crop 5% of picture)

Advanced Picture
Block NR: Off
Mosquito NR: Off
Black Level: Light

[Behshad]

Which model did you buy?

Panasonic Viera Plasma 1080P TC-P50S30

How much did you end up paying !?

[Ehwmatt]

If someone has cable TV, but they can not get the HD package, would a cable-amplifier help get rid of some of the grain on the screen?

If so, any particular brand/model of cable-amplifier?

Electroline makes the best cable amplifiers on the market. I've used one at every house I own with superb results. The flat panels in my house that don't use a cable box are completely unwatchable (due to snow) without the amp. With the amp, they are crystal clear. Usually, with a cable box of some sort, you shouldn't be running into those signal problems. Does that model have the THX mode or no?

John - are you a cable or satellite guy? Sounds like the former. I'm heavily considering DirecTV when I move into a house next year (my apartment makes getting dishes a pain in the ass). Obviously I'm mainly interested in the sports packages. Anyway, I'm well aware of the content. But, are the outage problems with satellite as bad as some people would have you believe? I get my fair share of rain/wind/snow here, and if satellite really goes out all the time because of weather, I can live without that. Some people have told me they have no problems.

So is the satellite-weather issue a problem of yesteryear, a boogieman like the plasma screen burn-in, or is it real?

[Behshad]

If someone has cable TV, but they can not get the HD package, would a cable-amplifier help get rid of some of the grain on the screen?

If so, any particular brand/model of cable-amplifier?

Electroline makes the best cable amplifiers on the market. I've used one at every house I own with superb results. The flat panels in my house that don't use a cable box are completely unwatchable (due to snow) without the amp. With the amp, they are crystal clear. Usually, with a cable box of some sort, you shouldn't be running into those signal problems. Does that model have the THX mode or no?

John - are you a cable or satellite guy? Sounds like the former. I'm heavily considering DirecTV when I move into a house next year (my apartment makes getting dishes a pain in the ass). Obviously I'm mainly interested in the sports packages. Anyway, I'm well aware of the content. But, are the outage problems with satellite as bad as some people would have you believe? I get my fair share of rain/wind/snow here, and if satellite really goes out all the time because of weather, I can live without that. Some people have told me they have no problems.

So is the satellite-weather issue a problem of yesteryear, a boogieman like the plasma screen burn-in, or is it real?

Dishnetwork is the way to go!

[Yoda]

If someone has cable TV, but they can not get the HD package, would a cable-amplifier help get rid of some of the grain on the screen?

If so, any particular brand/model of cable-amplifier?

Electroline makes the best cable amplifiers on the market. I've used one at every house I own with superb results. The flat panels in my house that don't use a cable box are completely unwatchable (due to snow) without the amp. With the amp, they are crystal clear. Usually, with a cable box of some sort, you shouldn't be running into those signal problems. Does that model have the THX mode or no?

John - are you a cable or satellite guy? Sounds like the former. I'm heavily considering DirecTV when I move into a house next year (my apartment makes getting dishes a pain in the ass). Obviously I'm mainly interested in the sports packages. Anyway, I'm well aware of the content. But, are the outage problems with satellite as bad as some people would have you believe? I get my fair share of rain/wind/snow here, and if satellite really goes out all the time because of weather, I can live without that. Some people have told me they have no problems.

So is the satellite-weather issue a problem of yesteryear, a boogieman like the plasma screen burn-in, or is it real?

I have DirecTV and it does go out when there is very heavy rain, but that's about the only time. The times when it was going out because of snow, I simply cleared the snow off of the dish, and I was back to enjoying TV again. Heavy wind hasn't really been much of an issue with DirecTV, just the heavy rain for me.

[Yoda]

Dishnetwork is the way to go!

If one is a huge NFL fan and their team is not in their market area, I'd have to disagree about choosing DishNetwork.

[Enigma869]

John - are you a cable or satellite guy? Sounds like the former. I'm heavily considering DirecTV when I move into a house next year (my apartment makes getting dishes a pain in the ass). Obviously I'm mainly interested in the sports packages. Anyway, I'm well aware of the content. But, are the outage problems with satellite as bad as some people would have you believe? I get my fair share of rain/wind/snow here, and if satellite really goes out all the time because of weather, I can live without that. Some people have told me they have no problems.

So is the satellite-weather issue a problem of yesteryear, a boogieman like the plasma screen burn-in, or is it real?

Hey Matt...

Definitely a cable guy these days. I had DirecTV for over a decade. As soon as they decided to end their relationship with TiVo, I ended my relationship with them. I'm not a fan of cable company or satellite company DVR's (nor do I want to pay to rent them every month). I think they're complete junk and am a TiVo diehard. As for the issues you're alluding to with the signal, it definitely is a real issue, and short of putting a heater in your satellite dish, there isn't much of a fix that I can see. Like you, I live in a snowy climate, so the signal loss is definitely something that can and will happen during big storms. It's usually not a prolonged issue, but can be frustrating if you're in the middle of watching something that you really want to watch. As for the providers, I'm not a Dish Network fan at all. If you're a sports fan, DirecTV is the way to go. I stopped paying for NFL Sunday Ticket when the price went up over $300.00 per year. Not to mention, even when I subscribed to NFL Sunday Ticket, I never watched any other channel other than The Red Zone Channel. I now subscribe to The Red Zone Channel through Comcast with a package that includes NFL Network (for those Thursday night games) for about $8.00 per month. It's a bargain for me, as I watch a lot of football.

[conversationpc]

Dishnetwork is the way to go!

If one is a huge NFL fan and their team is not in their market area, I'd have to disagree about choosing DishNetwork.

Yeah, that's the one advantage of DirecTV. Honestly, though, I have Dish Network and I far prefer it over DirecTV.

[Behshad]

Dishnetwork is the way to go!

If one is a huge NFL fan and their team is not in their market area, I'd have to disagree about choosing DishNetwork.

Well Im not an NFL fan I love Dish ! The interface, the layout and their simplicity to access everything is way above DirectTV. More HD channels and lower pricing is another bonus The new VIP922 allows me to not only set up my DVR from anywhere in the world through a computer/iPhone/iPad etc, but I can watch anything from my DVR anywhere I go !
JFB, If youre biggest gripe with DirectTV was Tivo, why not buy a standalonw DVR unit where you dont pay any monthly fees and it does exactly what tivo does ?

[Enigma869]

JFB, If youre biggest gripe with DirectTV was Tivo, why not buy a standalonw DVR unit where you dont pay any monthly fees and it does exactly what tivo does ?

For the same exact reason that you claim to love Dish. TiVo has the best interface on the planet. Nothing else out there comes close.

[Ehwmatt]

It's so frustrating that the cable packages are so crummy. I'd love to have all the sports options of satellite, but not at the expense of shitty coverage. I especially like the idea of having NFL games at my disposal and during tennis grand slams, being able to choose which court I want to watch (i.e., a men's court) instead of having to see Serena Williams beat up on some poor unsuspecting woman

Maybe Apple's iTV will offer some solutions.

[conversationpc]

JFB, If youre biggest gripe with DirectTV was Tivo, why not buy a standalonw DVR unit where you dont pay any monthly fees and it does exactly what tivo does ?

For the same exact reason that you claim to love Dish. TiVo has the best interface on the planet. Nothing else out there comes close.

We have DVR through Dish Network. Nothing wrong with the interface there as far as I can tell. It couldn't be any easier to use.

[Ehwmatt]

JFB, If youre biggest gripe with DirectTV was Tivo, why not buy a standalonw DVR unit where you dont pay any monthly fees and it does exactly what tivo does ?

For the same exact reason that you claim to love Dish. TiVo has the best interface on the planet. Nothing else out there comes close.

The DVR on my Time Warner box is AWFUL. Everytime you rewind or fast forward, it backtracks a certain distance. You can never just press play and land on the spot. It's as slow as one of those old cell phones and just generally blows.

I should get an external unit.

[Behshad]

JFB, If youre biggest gripe with DirectTV was Tivo, why not buy a standalonw DVR unit where you dont pay any monthly fees and it does exactly what tivo does ?

For the same exact reason that you claim to love Dish. TiVo has the best interface on the planet. Nothing else out there comes close.

Do they have HighDef interface on Tivo ? and sling !?

[Enigma869]

Do they have HighDef interface on Tivo ?

Yes, and not that it's necessary, but the new TiVo Premier now has 4 tuners built in.

[Arkansas]

This is usually a pretty good exchange of info - http://www.avsforum.com/ .

Plasmas - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdis ... une=&f=167


later~

[Journey/Survivor]

If someone has cable TV, but they can not get the HD package, would a cable-amplifier help get rid of some of the grain on the screen?

If so, any particular brand/model of cable-amplifier?

Electroline makes the best cable amplifiers on the market. I've used one at every house I own with superb results. The flat panels in my house that don't use a cable box are completely unwatchable (due to snow) without the amp. With the amp, they are crystal clear. Usually, with a cable box of some sort, you shouldn't be running into those signal problems. Does that model have the THX mode or no?

I cant find any listing on the remote or in the menu for THX, so I assume that there isn't a THX setting on my model?

[Journey/Survivor]

Which model did you buy?

Panasonic Viera Plasma 1080P TC-P50S30

How much did you end up paying !?

$800. I got it through Amazon, so there wasn't any sales tax.

[S2M]

Just a question, please don't jump all over me: Who talked you into getting a Panasonic? You could have gotten a better Samsung 55" for $150 less.


EDIT: I meant 51"

[Journey/Survivor]

If someone has cable TV, but they can not get the HD package, would a cable-amplifier help get rid of some of the grain on the screen?

If so, any particular brand/model of cable-amplifier?

Electroline makes the best cable amplifiers on the market. I've used one at every house I own with superb results. The flat panels in my house that don't use a cable box are completely unwatchable (due to snow) without the amp. With the amp, they are crystal clear. Usually, with a cable box of some sort, you shouldn't be running into those signal problems. Does that model have the THX mode or no?

John - are you a cable or satellite guy? Sounds like the former. I'm heavily considering DirecTV when I move into a house next year (my apartment makes getting dishes a pain in the ass). Obviously I'm mainly interested in the sports packages. Anyway, I'm well aware of the content. But, are the outage problems with satellite as bad as some people would have you believe? I get my fair share of rain/wind/snow here, and if satellite really goes out all the time because of weather, I can live without that. Some people have told me they have no problems.

So is the satellite-weather issue a problem of yesteryear, a boogieman like the plasma screen burn-in, or is it real?

A friend of mine has one of the satellite providers, either Dish Network or Direct TV, I can't remember which one. He loses his signal quite often during hard-rain-storms, snow-storms and high winds. He regrets having dropped his cable.

[Journey/Survivor]

Just a question, please don't jump all over me: Who talked you into getting a Panasonic? You could have gotten a better Samsung 55" for $150 less.

If I was going to get an LCD model, I would have bought a Samsung. And like you mentioned, it would have been cheaper. I was tempted to go that route.

But I watch a lot of sports and action movies, and everything that I was reading on tech websites said that Plasmas are better for sports and movies because the picture doesn't blur as much during fast movement, and that the colors are better with a Plasma.

All of the reviews that I read said that Panasonic makes the best Plasmas now that Pioneer stopped making them.

So, based on what I read in many, many reviews from several different websites, I would suggest that if someone wanted an LCD, that they should get a Samsung. But that if they want a Plasma, Panasonic is the way to go at this time.

[Journey/Survivor]

JFB, If youre biggest gripe with DirectTV was Tivo, why not buy a standalonw DVR unit where you dont pay any monthly fees and it does exactly what tivo does ?

For the same exact reason that you claim to love Dish. TiVo has the best interface on the planet. Nothing else out there comes close.

I have the original model of Tivo. It was one of the first 25.000 Tivo units sold in the world. But it's now out of date in many ways. I can only record about 5 and a half hours in best quality. it only has one tuner. It's not HD. I looked into getting one of the Tivo Premiere models, but they won't transfer my lifetime membership over to a new model.

[Enigma869]

I looked into getting one of the Tivo Premiere models, but they won't transfer my lifetime membership over to a new model.

That's because a "lifetime membership" is for the lifetime of the machine and not your lifetime! On another note, I disagree with the suggestion that you should have purchased a Samsung (who makes very good tv's). I still think Panasonic makes the best plasmas on the market, and many experts in the industry agree with me. If Pioneer were still in the plasma business, that's what I would have purchased.

[Don]

Just a question, please don't jump all over me: Who talked you into getting a Panasonic? You could have gotten a better Samsung 55" for $150 less.

If I was going to get an LCD model, I would have bought a Samsung. And like you mentioned, it would have been cheaper. I was tempted to go that route.

But I watch a lot of sports and action movies, and everything that I was reading on tech websites said that Plasmas are better for sports and movies because the picture doesn't blur as much during fast movement, and that the colors are better with a Plasma.

All of the reviews that I read said that Panasonic makes the best Plasmas now that Pioneer stopped making them.

So, based on what I read in many, many reviews from several different websites, I would suggest that if someone wanted an LCD, that they should get a Samsung. But that if they want a Plasma, Panasonic is the way to go at this time.

I mentioned it earlier, but I'm pretty sure that Panasonic is now using Pioneer's technology in their plasmas.

For Televisions, Panasonic is ranked number one as far reliability goes with a 2% fail rate.
Sony and Sharp are at a 3% rate.
LG, Toshiba, Samsung and surprisingly Funai (the makers of Phillips and Magnavox branded TVs) are at 4%.
Vizio and Sharp are around 6%.
After that it falls off rapidly. Westinghouse and Polaroid are other Western name brands being manufactured under license in mass market electronic factories like Coby, Haier, and Seiki.
While pretty much all the brands are MADE in China now, the latter group unfortunately have double digit failure rates.