new plasma... need some input

ndcoop · 11-05-2009, 07:07 PM

I just received my Plasma 50' S1 and currently have it hooked up via coaxial cable only. The dual receiver (dish network) is in the other room and hooked directly up to that TV. My problem is that the picture in SD is just horrible. I tried to watch ESPN (football game) and it is a very poor picture. My 24inch crt has a much better picture. I plan to upgrade this Saturday to HD. My questions are:
1. Am I doing something wrong with the settings or is it just entirely the fact that I'm watching SD on a big screen?
2. Can I expect the picture to be that much better once HD is installed and I hook the TV directly to the receiver via HDMI cable?
3. I am trying to keep contrast down to around 50. I increased the contrast to 75, just to see if the picture was any better, and I didn't think it did all that much to improve matters. Are there any other adjustments that I need to make? Thanks in advance for any input.

katf1sh · 11-05-2009, 09:56 PM

i own the 50s1 and it is on direct tv HD and the sd channels are junk ...the HD channels are unreal!

why buy a HD tv if you don't have HD? that would be like paying 500.00 for a hooker and just talk to her all night!

pappylap · 11-05-2009, 10:58 PM

A Discussion On Poor SD On HDTVs

happy reading

Bigloww · 11-05-2009, 11:07 PM

Not only is SD kaka, connecting the STB via coax is about the worst connection choice you can go. As mentioned above, SD and especially the way it is connected, it is not going to look very good with any settings. It looks much worse than your 24'' CRT because it is a FPD HDTV and more than twice the size. So the weak 480i signal is going to be twice as bad basically. And Dish is digital.
Just wait until you finally get HD. It is night and day compared to SD. And sports will be amazing, trust me on that. And since many major channels are HD now, your SD blues will soon be over (mostly)..

I would wait to calibrate you get HD to calibrate your settings again.

**PFC5** · 11-06-2009, 01:56 AM

It sounds like sharpness is set way too high and it should be on 50 for a neutral sharpness.

Check out the "SETTINGS" link in my signature for some info on good starter settings and some info on break in.

Techlord · 11-06-2009, 04:09 AM

Viewing SD on a technology that was designed for HD will look horrible! That's like using low grade gas in a turbocharged engine, it just wasn't meant for it.

ndcoop · 11-06-2009, 06:53 AM

Thanks for all the comments. I feel much better after reading all the posts. I will have an HD upgrade as of tomorrow morning and I am now confident that I will be in much better shape. I have been watching a 24" inch screen for the last several years. This whole HDTV thing is brand new to me. Wifey was not excited about the whole "big screen" idea and when I plugged this baby in for the first time, I was looking for the "wow". I was thinking "wait till she sees this!". Obviously, it was more of "what the $%$# is that". Needless to say, I have been catching an ear full for the last couple of days. My ego was deflated. You have given me hope. Tomorrow I shall prevail. Thanks again for the help.

**PFC5** · 11-06-2009, 02:21 PM

SD signals were never designed for screens bigger than 27", so naturally viewing on a 50" screen is not going to look as good since to fill that screen the TVs have to upscale the SD signal and basically guess what to put in all those additional pixels. Not all SD signals are the same either and not all service providers are the same with such signals either so it is one of those YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) also.

Did you try my settings which with my provider make SD look better than it looked with the other HDTVs I had before my 50" plasma. It is important to turn off all noise reduction and other "enhancements" because they cause more PQ problems than help because they cause artifacts trying to guess what is noise and what is detail. But most important make sure that the sharpness setting is at 50 since this is the neutral position on Panny TVs. When you put it up much more than 50 (mine is on 56 which seems to be the limit IMO) what happens is that it adds white edges on everything including noise so this is an important setting especially with SD signals.

Did you check out my SETTINGS link?

ndcoop · 11-06-2009, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFC5

SD signals were never designed for screens bigger than 27", so naturally viewing on a 50" screen is not going to look as good since to fill that screen the TVs have to upscale the SD signal and basically guess what to put in all those additional pixels. Not all SD signals are the same either and not all service providers are the same with such signals either so it is one of those YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) also.

Did you try my settings which with my provider make SD look better than it looked with the other HDTVs I had before my 50" plasma. It is important to turn off all noise reduction and other "enhancements" because they cause more PQ problems than help because they cause artifacts trying to guess what is noise and what is detail. But most important make sure that the sharpness setting is at 50 since this is the neutral position on Panny TVs. When you put it up much more than 50 (mine is on 56 which seems to be the limit IMO) what happens is that it adds white edges on everything including noise so this is an important setting especially with SD signals.

Did you check out my SETTINGS link?

I did try your settings and it did improve the picture. Thanks. The screen just seems to be very dark. I think it is because I am so accustomed to the "bright" crt tv. I am trying to keep the contrast around 50 most of the time. Thanks again.

Techlord · 11-07-2009, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndcoop

I did try your settings and it did improve the picture. Thanks. The screen just seems to be very dark. I think it is because I am so accustomed to the "bright" crt tv. I am trying to keep the contrast around 50 most of the time. Thanks again.

You eyes will adjust after time, I remember I had my first HDTV bright starting out, but after time I began going dimmer and dimmer with time.

ndcoop · 11-07-2009, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Techlord

You eyes will adjust after time, I remember I had my first HDTV bright starting out, but after time I began going dimmer and dimmer with time.

Not to make you out to be a prophet or such, but I turned on the TV this morning and I swear the thing seems brighter! Do these panasonic plasma's get better with age? Or, are my eyes just adjusting to it? By the way, I am having Dish upgrade to HD today. Hoping for the best. Thanks for the help.

**PFC5** · 11-07-2009, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndcoop

Not to make you out to be a prophet or such, but I turned on the TV this morning and I swear the thing seems brighter! Do these panasonic plasma's get better with age? Or, are my eyes just adjusting to it? By the way, I am having Dish upgrade to HD today. Hoping for the best. Thanks for the help.

Most people have their TVs set too bright and colors to oversaturated trying to get that "pop" from it. What you need to do is look around your room, and everything you see in the real world and look for the "pop" in the real world. What you will find is there isn't as much "pop" in reality as there is on TV screens everywhere in homes.

I like it to look like it REALLY is and not overdone colors or brightness. I want a natural pic that matches the source material. Once you try this and realize THIS is the most accurate picture then you can adjust easily to it. Natural/accurate to the source. That is what we should all be looking for IMO.

Techlord · 11-07-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndcoop

Not to make you out to be a prophet or such, but I turned on the TV this morning and I swear the thing seems brighter! Do these panasonic plasma's get better with age? Or, are my eyes just adjusting to it? By the way, I am having Dish upgrade to HD today. Hoping for the best. Thanks for the help.

I think it's time for a calibration disc, I bought mine before my TV arrived. You get to set the black levels perfectly and never have to guess again, it's in your best interest to get one.

11-05-2009, 07:07 PM	#1
ndcoop What is HD? Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 4	new plasma... need some input I just received my Plasma 50' S1 and currently have it hooked up via coaxial cable only. The dual receiver (dish network) is in the other room and hooked directly up to that TV. My problem is that the picture in SD is just horrible. I tried to watch ESPN (football game) and it is a very poor picture. My 24inch crt has a much better picture. I plan to upgrade this Saturday to HD. My questions are: 1. Am I doing something wrong with the settings or is it just entirely the fact that I'm watching SD on a big screen? 2. Can I expect the picture to be that much better once HD is installed and I hook the TV directly to the receiver via HDMI cable? 3. I am trying to keep contrast down to around 50. I increased the contrast to 75, just to see if the picture was any better, and I didn't think it did all that much to improve matters. Are there any other adjustments that I need to make? Thanks in advance for any input.

11-05-2009, 10:58 PM	#3
pappylap Poopmaster Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Way over Yonder Age: 4 Posts: 2,874	A Discussion On Poor SD On HDTVs happy reading __________________ Bar Wench...Where's my Waffle! You can checkout anytime you like but you can never leave.." 50"Pioneer KURO 111FD Pro Elite Pioneer BD320 Blu-ray player Pioneer VSX-919AH A/V Receiver 32" & 37" Olevia LCDs Sony DHG HDD 500 gig DVR Samsung DTBH260 Digital Tuner One Roll of Charmin Quilted Plus in each Bathroom...

11-05-2009, 11:07 PM	#4
Bigloww Shitter was full. Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: In a van, down by the river. Posts: 5,135	Not only is SD kaka, connecting the STB via coax is about the worst connection choice you can go. As mentioned above, SD and especially the way it is connected, it is not going to look very good with any settings. It looks much worse than your 24'' CRT because it is a FPD HDTV and more than twice the size. So the weak 480i signal is going to be twice as bad basically. And Dish is digital. Just wait until you finally get HD. It is night and day compared to SD. And sports will be amazing, trust me on that. And since many major channels are HD now, your SD blues will soon be over (mostly).. I would wait to calibrate you get HD to calibrate your settings again. __________________ Commit to the Indian.. *In Loving Memory of Junkie, The Rizz, Eagle and the Boys.. They are gone (wasted in fact) but not forgotten..*

11-06-2009, 01:56 AM	#5
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,356	It sounds like sharpness is set way too high and it should be on 50 for a neutral sharpness. Check out the "SETTINGS" link in my signature for some info on good starter settings and some info on break in. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

11-06-2009, 04:09 AM	#6
Techlord High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Orange County, California Posts: 1,110	Viewing SD on a technology that was designed for HD will look horrible! That's like using low grade gas in a turbocharged engine, it just wasn't meant for it. __________________ I'll admit when I am wrong, why live in denial? I should have bought a Panasonic Plasma! Samsung LN52B750 240Hz LCD HDTV Oppo Digital BDP-83 Denon AVR-5700 THX Ultra Certified Receiver M&K Sound LCR-750 THX Certified 5.1 Speaker System w/V-1250 THX Powered Subwoofer LCD's viewing angle issues seen here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOYnAmDLXbY

11-05-2009, 09:56 PM	#2
katf1sh A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10	i own the 50s1 and it is on direct tv HD and the sd channels are junk ...the HD channels are unreal! why buy a HD tv if you don't have HD? that would be like paying 500.00 for a hooker and just talk to her all night!

11-06-2009, 06:53 AM	#7
ndcoop What is HD? Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 4	Thanks for all the comments. I feel much better after reading all the posts. I will have an HD upgrade as of tomorrow morning and I am now confident that I will be in much better shape. I have been watching a 24" inch screen for the last several years. This whole HDTV thing is brand new to me. Wifey was not excited about the whole "big screen" idea and when I plugged this baby in for the first time, I was looking for the "wow". I was thinking "wait till she sees this!". Obviously, it was more of "what the $%$# is that". Needless to say, I have been catching an ear full for the last couple of days. My ego was deflated. You have given me hope. Tomorrow I shall prevail. Thanks again for the help.

11-06-2009, 02:21 PM	#8
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,356	SD signals were never designed for screens bigger than 27", so naturally viewing on a 50" screen is not going to look as good since to fill that screen the TVs have to upscale the SD signal and basically guess what to put in all those additional pixels. Not all SD signals are the same either and not all service providers are the same with such signals either so it is one of those YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) also. Did you try my settings which with my provider make SD look better than it looked with the other HDTVs I had before my 50" plasma. It is important to turn off all noise reduction and other "enhancements" because they cause more PQ problems than help because they cause artifacts trying to guess what is noise and what is detail. But most important make sure that the sharpness setting is at 50 since this is the neutral position on Panny TVs. When you put it up much more than 50 (mine is on 56 which seems to be the limit IMO) what happens is that it adds white edges on everything including noise so this is an important setting especially with SD signals. Did you check out my SETTINGS link? __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier