[martinatkins]

Hi all, first time post for me but felt compelled to mention ive had this tv set up for around 2 weeks and have noticed a dead (purple-looking) pixel near the middle of the screen within a week and within the last 2 days another one (green) 2 or 3 inches above it.

I bought the tv as an upgrade from a panasonic crt set which was faultless, even after over 6 years. After much research i decided plasma was the best tv type for me thanks to its motion handling and low input lag for gaming. After seeing the tv in a local store i knew this was the one for me but im now feeling a little disappointed as i thought dead pixels were something to expect after a matter of months/years not within the first few days!

Having not owned an hd tv before can anyone tell me if this is acceptable for a brand new £800 plasma or am i the unfortunate owner of a dud set? I got the panasonic 5 year guarantee with the tv but want some feedback before i get anyone to come and look at the set.

Also, can anyone give a definitive answer as to how to 'run in' a new plasma, from scouring the forums on here it seems to be just having the contrast and brightness set a little lower than usual, maybe sticking with cinema mode for the first 100 or 200 hours?

Thanks in advance if anyone can help!

[Star Man]

That's annoying, my guess is if it's a green and a purple one it could be just a stuck pixel rather than dead. I've heard a couple of ways it could be possibly fixed?

1. Gently massage / rub the screen over the offending pixel with a soft cloth.

2. Download and play a stuck pixel video.

Don't just take my word for the above though, wait for some more replies, do your own research and I would speak to the seller.

As for running in, on my Plasma I mainly avoided channels which displayed a continuous logo on the screen.

[Star Man]

Also found this below, with reference to what I posted above. I think this is for LCD, though same may apply?

YouTube - HDTV Secrets - Fix Bad Pixels and Why 720p Often Wins

[martinatkins]

Wow quick reply, thanks for the info starman, i shall see if i can do anything to remove these pixels otherwise i'll be ringing panasonic on monday morning!!

[Star Man]

Not a problem, post back and let us know how you get on.

[dalbro]

Originally Posted by martinatkins

Also, can anyone give a definitive answer as to how to 'run in' a new plasma, from scouring the forums on here it seems to be just having the contrast and brightness set a little lower than usual, maybe sticking with cinema mode for the first 100 or 200 hours?

Not a definitive answer but most advice on the old G20 thread was to just put it in THX mode for the first 100 - 200 hours. I would also avoid any static images being displayed for long periods, including those awful solid channel logos. There is an image retention wiping tool (don't know the exact name) in the menus. I've been running that every now and again.

[Star Man]

Originally Posted by dalbro

There is an image retention wiping tool (don't know the exact name) in the menus. I've been running that every now and again.

That's an interesting and useful feature, I've not seen that in the menus. Post back and let us know where it is when you find it again dalbro

[neilmcl]

Originally Posted by Star Man

That's an interesting and useful feature, I've not seen that in the menus. Post back and let us know where it is when you find it again dalbro

It's the scrolling bar and can be found in the Advanced Picture settings.

[Star Man]

Originally Posted by neilmcl

It's the scrolling bar and can be found in the Advanced Picture settings.

Thanks for this neilmcl

[dalbro]

Originally Posted by neilmcl

It's the scrolling bar and can be found in the Advanced Picture settings.

That's the one!

[MILOS10000]

Originally Posted by Star Man

I'm not sure who supplies Richersounds warranty, but I doubt its Panasonic.

Richer Sounds don't outsource their Supercare to a 3rd party - it's an in-house warranty...

[dalbro]

Originally Posted by MILOS10000

Richer Sounds don't outsource their Supercare to a 3rd party - it's an in-house warranty...

For what it's worth, Panasonic, Sony and I imagine all others engage small local TV repair companies to fulfill their checks and repairs. You don't get an actual engineer from Panasonic. That said, the engineers I've had out seem to know their stuff. This I imagine will be Richer Sounds route too.

[MILOS10000]

Originally Posted by dalbro

For what it's worth, Panasonic, Sony and I imagine all others engage small local TV repair companies to fulfill their checks and repairs. You don't get an actual engineer from Panasonic. That said, the engineers I've had out seem to know their stuff. This I imagine will be Richer Sounds route too.

RICHER SOUNDS SERVICE DEPARTMENT

Originally set up for in house servicing of our own products and those sold by us, the department has now expanded to provide a facility direct to the public via our network of stores. We can carry out a repair or service to most makes and models of hi-fi systems or separates, DVD, DVD recorders and AV (audio visual) products including LCD and Plasma TV repairs.

We have a team of nine fully trained and extremely experienced service engineers (over 150 years combined experience!) who have second to none technical backup provided by some of the world’s leading manufacturers.

Training courses are regularly attended with major manufacturers so we are always bang up to date on the latest developments and, with having such direct contacts we can obtain spare parts that others cannot.
Five of our service engineers are situated in workshops within existing Richer Sounds stores at Sheffield, Romford, Bristol, Kingston and Reading.

The Service headquarters are located at Richer Sounds Offices & Service centre in South Manchester. Your unit may also be transferred here if necessary

Link here -
Richer Sounds - The UK's Hi-Fi, Home Cinema & Flat Panel TV Specialists!

[NastyNick83]

I've just ordered one of these after reading many reviews and this thread...

I tried to buy from RicherSounds but they didn't have any stock, so I've ordered from Amazon instead @ £684.90. For some reason, my local Panasonic store don't have the G30 in stock yet (for display or sale), which was a shame.

I'll keep you all updated

[Star Man]

When I phoned Richersounds last week, they said they had them in the warehouse to be delivered to stores, which stores they are delivering to I don't know. There is a list on Panasonic's website telling you who you can buy from to qualify for a free 5 year warranty. Most local stores listed in my area never had any, but said they can order and get me one in to collect.

[dalbro]

Thanks for the Richer Sounds info MILOS10000. I didn't realise they were being literal.

The stock situation seems interesting. It would seem a little early for demand to be outstripping supply. I wonder if the earthquake has affected production. There was a statement that initial shipments weren't affected, but haven't seen mention since.

[Star Man]

I ordered mine from a store on Friday and they have told me it arrived today for collection. It doesn’t seem all stores have had them in yet, but do know about the new model and can order you one. I think they are probably getting rid of the old model first?

I ordered sooner than later because I wanted to take advantage of the free 5 year warranty and that offer runs out at the end of June. No point of the free warranty offer till the end of June if UK stock dries up.

[dalbro]

Originally Posted by Star Man

I ordered sooner than later because I wanted to take advantage of the free 5 year warranty and that offer runs out at the end of June. No point of the free warranty offer till the end of June if UK stock dries up.

Although the five year warranty period is often / usually extended.

[Star Man]

Originally Posted by dalbro

Although the five year warranty period is often / usually extended.

Yeh, they might extend the free warranty closure date if they are unable to meet demand. Bit risky though.

[antonio1]

Richer Sounds in Prestwich had it in stock about 3 weeks ago. I certainly notice there are fewer major retailers stocking the G30 than where we were with the G20 last year. Eg Costco and I think John Lewis had them in by now. Also more tellingly, AV forums was, by this time last year, well into part 3 of the G20 owner's thread. Wonder if it's the recession, the Japan tragedy etc affecting things....

[Berrern]

Today I finally received my G30 too!! Just came home and found the box in the living room, so haven't had time to unpack it yet (wont be long though, he he).

However, I wanted to check with you guys... On the box, the label says TX-PF42G30, while I ordered the TX-P42G30! What does the 'F' denote? Does anyone know?

Any help would be appreciated... Thanks in advance

[NastyNick83]

Opened it up this morning and although I've only really watched it for 15mins or so, my first impressions are not great. I'll have a good play with the settings and give it some time to 'bed in' before making any rash decisions / opinions.

Anyone else feel the same? Definite green tint to it and actually very dimm - the room doesn't suffer from much sunlight and my previous tv was a Samsung plasma (720p) so I'm familiar with what to expect (i.e. non-led brightness levels)?

[Berrern]

Originally Posted by NastyNick83

Opened it up this morning and although I've only really watched it for 15mins or so, my first impressions are not great. I'll have a good play with the settings and give it some time to 'bed in' before making any rash decisions / opinions.

Anyone else feel the same? Definite green tint to it and actually very dimm - the room doesn't suffer from much sunlight and my previous tv was a Samsung plasma (720p) so I'm familiar with what to expect (i.e. non-led brightness levels)?

Hi Nick,
I've read about the very same issues in reviews and user opinions too..
Appaerently the green tinge will more or less disappear after 125 hours of running in - however calibration will also fix the issue.

Don't take my word for it, but playing with (reducing if I remember correctly) the white balance sliders in the settings helps.
The following quote is from the reviewer of the G30 on HDTVtest.co.uk (read the review + comments & replies here.

(...) make sure [advance(isfccc)] is turned on, select the Professional mode, go to Advanced Settings > White Balance and reduce the two Green controls. Setting these by eye will not get you perfectly accurate results, but if you feel there is an obvious tint to the image, altering the settings might help.

Good luck

[dalbro]

Originally Posted by NastyNick83

Opened it up this morning and although I've only really watched it for 15mins or so, my first impressions are not great.

Anyone else feel the same? Definite green tint to it and actually very dimm - the room doesn't suffer from much sunlight and my previous tv was a Samsung plasma (720p) so I'm familiar with what to expect (i.e. non-led brightness levels)?

Agree with Berrern re the green tint. I'd read a review that said as much and expected to see it on mine but haven't. Or maybe colour blindness is setting in. The dimness I did expect too after reading the G20 thread extensively and noticed this. This however, should be a run-in thing too and after a few weeks is supposed to become far more impressive. Mine's still running in but seems better already than on day one.

[dalbro]

Originally Posted by antonio1

Also more tellingly, AV forums was, by this time last year, well into part 3 of the G20 owner's thread. Wonder if it's the recession, the Japan tragedy etc affecting things....

I thought the same thing re last year's G20 thread. However there are a lot of comments being made on the '2011 Panasonic' thread. It's where the more critical folk seem to be. Stay away if you don't want to return your TV!

[Whrrr]

Could I ask an owner of a 50" G30 a big favour? I'd like to get my wall mount installed prior to the delivery of the TV but in order to do this I need to know where the mounting holes are in relation to the external width and hight dimensions, or rather the screen itself, excluding the surround (the owner's manual only shows the distances between the four holes). Would someone be kind enough to quickly measure? I can then get the mount at the correct height. Edge of screen to hole and thickness of surround - that sort of thing.

Incidentally, I assume the centre of the screen should be at eye-level? I've seen someone note eye level should be one third of the screen height up.

Many thanks for your help! I'd be lost without AVF!

Mark

[NastyNick83]

Originally Posted by dalbro

Agree with Berrern re the green tint. I'd read a review that said as much and expected to see it on mine but haven't. Or maybe colour blindness is setting in. The dimness I did expect too after reading the G20 thread extensively and noticed this. This however, should be a run-in thing too and after a few weeks is supposed to become far more impressive. Mine's still running in but seems better already than on day one.

Thank you for your reply Dalbro and Berrern. The quality is certainly there so I'll keep an eye on it (excuse the pun)...

[zainetor]

HI to everyone.
I would like to buy this tv in the 50 inch version.
Does anybody know how much is the input lag without game mode activated?
I really dont like that setting to play.

thx and sorry for the bad english

[Berrern]

Originally Posted by zainetor

HI to everyone.
I would like to buy this tv in the 50 inch version.
Does anybody know how much is the input lag without game mode activated?
I really dont like that setting to play.

Hi Zainetor,
I'm no expert, but according to the review I linked to above, it shouldn't make a difference as long as you don't have IFC turned on.
See the following question from the review (as well as the reviewer's reply):

Dave on 10 April 2011 10:58 am
Hi
Could you test the input lag in the [Professional] mode please

David Mackenzie on 12 April 2011 6:49 pm
@Dave:
It’s the same in the Professional mode, provided you don’t have Intelligent Frame Creation on.

Hope this helps...

As for my own experience, I've been testing quite a few games on my TV already, from fast-paced action shooters (PC) to FIFA and snooker (PS3), and I haven't had any issues with lag. I've tried several various modes; Game, Professional, THX, and can't really notice any difference lag-wise.
In short; this TV is awesome for gaming (in my opinion)

[Berrern]

Oh, I saw a question regarding buzzing earlier in the thread...

I returned my new G20 a couple of weeks back, due to it buzzing way too much (at times it even exceeded normal listening volumes!), and so I was very nervous when trying my new G30...
But this baby surprised me! It's dead silent, I can't hear anything unless I put my ear onto the grill covering the fans in the back; and even then I can barely hear a faint humming

Oh, and also, how come this thread is so quiet? I thought there'd be way more activity in here by now.. Or is everyone as happy with their new TV as I am, spending all their time actually enjoying it?