Panasonic S20 Owners Thread

Timbobuk

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Hi All :hiya:

I'm new to posting on here but have been a member for nearly a month now. Great site, I have found it very informative and has been a great reference for my TV hunt.

I was looking to replace my 5 year old Samsung 32" LCD which had started to play up recently. The Samsung served me well over it's time, but after seeing my brothers Samsung C530, which he purchased earlier in the year I couldn't help myself from wanting an upgrade.

I decided after much pondering that I would like to go down the Plasma route, I play a lot of games on xbox and from the reviews I've seen this seemed to be a Plasma strong point.

Anyway, I purchased the Panasonic 42" S20 from Amazon on Tuesday evening and it arrived yesterday (Thursday) at mid day. £599, cheapest price I could find. It’s bound to be the norm within a blink of the eye and most likely cheaper come the winter sale.

This TV is awesome, I'd hoped for a significant step up from my LCD and the Panasonic has truly conquered this. Understandably this was a one horse race given the age and capabilities of the Samsung. However I was not expecting such a good TV for so little money. Especially as the Samsung cost £200 more when new back in 2005.

I had a look around the site for a S20 owners thread and even though there are many references there didn't seem to be a one stop place (unless I’ve somehow completely missed it, I wouldn’t be surprised, this site is massive). Plus it also seemed that a lot of people are considering this TV or have just purchased given the lower price over the G20 and other similar spec systems. Obviously given the extra funds I would have also gone for the G20 but what can you do.

I'm still playing around with the settings, but if people could possibly let me know their findings then this would be much appreciated. I understand that S20 obviously doesn't have the same amount of possible settings as other systems like the G20, but it would still be interesting to see.

I will probably be adding my settings sometime over the weekend once I’ve player around some more. As it would seem that a lot people are considering this TV, if you do want me to feedback any of my finding then feel free to ask.

I also understand that there is apparently a (secret) service menu, do any of the pro’s know how to access this or if it’s even required? I’d probably be in way over my head but it’s always good to know.

Many thanks for reading.

Timbobuk
 
It is good to see a thread dedicated to a tv that I can afford, I have been searching for info about this unit, one question is what is the difference between the S20B and the S20E? I know that one is for Europe and the other for the UK but what else?
 
I too have this TV and was only thinking the other day about starting a thread like this. It definitely helps that all talk is in the one place!

Regarding settings, I am currently using the settings 200sx gave in another thread which I have quoted below. They seem to be very good to me using the built in freeview.


From a previous thread of mine. I've since returned the S21 but it was a great set while I had it. These settings do not require entering the service menu. I eventually did adjust the greyscale in the SM and got every dE at less than 1. But improvements were merely incremental and not radical in any way.

---

I calibrated using DVE HD basics, Spyder2 and HCFR. Approx 150 hours running in

settings

Viewing mode:True Cinema
Contrast: -4 from default
Brightness: default
Colour: default
Sharpness: -2 from default for HD, -3 for SD
Vivid colour: Off
C.A.T.S: Off
P-NR: Off
IFC/24p+: Off
Resolution enhancer: Off for HD, Max for SD
16:9 overscan: Off for HD, On for SD.

Spyder2/HCFR results

Luminance at 100IRE: 36.061ftL

Delta E
0 263.5
10 12.2
20 4.7
30 2.8
40 0.9
50 1.3
60 2.6
70 2.6
80 4.6
90 5.9
100 4.3

As expected slightly warm below 30IRE and ever so slightly cool above 70IRE. It's pretty much bang on from 30-70, I did't think it was worth adjusting the greyscale in the service menu at all! :)

The only downside is the Gamma which tracks smoothly but slightly too high at 2.05.
 
It is good to see a thread dedicated to a tv that I can afford, I have been searching for info about this unit, one question is what is the difference between the S20B and the S20E? I know that one is for Europe and the other for the UK but what else?

The most obvious difference would be the lack of a DVB-T2 tuner in the European model and perhaps the lack of DVB-C in the British model. Otherwise I'd expect the sets to be the same...
 
How good is it for gaming? Any problem with double image when playing 30fps games?
 
Hi Titoin

The gaming so far on my Xbox has been superb, however the only reference i have to go against is my parents Samsung 42" Plasma. The S20 however is a lot more rounded and smoother in my opinion and I haven't experienced any double image what-so-ever.

I play a lot of FPS, the TV handles them amazingly, another world in comparison to my old Samsung mentioned above in my first post.

One of the main things that made me want this TV over the others available within my budget is the review on HDTVtest. The reviewer makes a point of expressing how good Halo seemed to run. See the below link. I'm certainly not disapointed.

Panasonic TX-P50S20B/TX-P42S20B/TX-P42S20/TX-P50S20 Review
 
The most obvious difference would be the lack of a DVB-T2 tuner in the European model and perhaps the lack of DVB-C in the British model. Otherwise I'd expect the sets to be the same...

They often don't vary much ie French models have Secam tuner too. Often they come with different coloured bezels too. Silver much more common on continent than here. Oh and finally the wall plug will obviously be different.
 
I'm seriously looking at the 50in model in JL for £899 which is £100 cheaper than they are selling the 46in for. Just hope I can sneak it in and onto the wall without my wife noticing:D
 
Just got my 42S20E (EU version).

hooked up analoge sd antenna, ps3 on hdmi, ps2 on component, and ps1 on composite, everything is fine. I had a 42PV70 hd ready tv before, and what i noticed is that there are less jaggion with this full hd set with the ps3.

oh and it smells new :)
 
Just got my 42S20E (EU version).

hooked up analoge sd antenna, ps3 on hdmi, ps2 on component, and ps1 on composite, everything is fine. I had a 42PV70 hd ready tv before, and what i noticed is that there are less jaggion with this full hd set with the ps3.

oh and it smells new :)

:eek: You must really like Playstation... :)
 
I have a TX-P42S21B coming on Sunday, I believe these are the same set. I should have got it Wednesday but the wrong one was sent and i got the TX-P42X20B HDready set not Full HD, comet have let me use that one untill the real one turns up on Sunday .

Good work with the owner thread.
 
I have a TX-P42S21B coming on Sunday, I believe these are the same set. I should have got it Wednesday but the wrong one was sent and i got the TX-P42X20B HDready set not Full HD, comet have let me use that one untill the real one turns up on Sunday .

Good work with the owner thread.
Will you let us know how the two sets compare and perform please,
 
Just had an engineer out to mine.It has retained the image from the settings guide and the banner from the built in freeview EPG,so when i watch something with a dark scene,i can see them.(i dont even use the freeview)
He said they will replace the screen for me or exchange it.
I thought this plasma was the best thing since sliced bread,against my samsungs(series 4 & 6 40inch) and panasonic U20 42 it beats them hands down.
I still love this tv but im a bit disappointed that this has happened after only 2.5 months.
 
When looking at the S20 in the showroom the screen always looks grey compared to other plasma tv's, does it look as good as the other models in the home with more subdued lighting?
 
When looking at the S20 in the showroom the screen always looks grey compared to other plasma tv's, does it look as good as the other models in the home with more subdued lighting?

Thats cause it has a poor black filter compared to the g20 & v20
 
Thats cause it has a poor black filter compared to the g20 & v20
But is it worse than the others in subdued lighting conditions? I thought the filter was only for rooms with high light conditions or has it still got a greyed out picture?
 
But is it worse than the others in subdued lighting conditions? I thought the filter was only for rooms with high light conditions or has it still got a greyed out picture?

its only in bright conditions
 
Semi off-topic, I know, but I guess most people who have an S20 got a DMP-BD45 blu-ray player thrown in for free.. The DVD region free hacks listed on the blu-ray forum for other Panasonic players works splendidly with the bluray player - all you need is a programmable remote (harmony/pronto or specific models of one4alls). I hacked it by sending the hex codes to logitech and getting them added to my harmony remote.

Now... All this TV needs to be perfect is a discrete remote code to enable/disable overscan and a built in beer dispenser :D
 
IMO opinion the blacks on this are pretty good,side by side with the U20 it beats it hands down.

Through the day my room is very bright and i dont have any problems,wether its 360,ps3,virgin or sky.ive had the u20 42 and a Samsung series 4 and 6 40 inch and the S21 is by far the best picture.

just a shame it needs a new screen after only 3 months,id rather have the whole thing replaced but comet say a new screen is what im getting.

anyone know my rights on this????do i have to accept the repair or can i demand an exchange????
 
Been happy with my S20 for the last 3 weeks but have come up with a snag and I'm not sure if its the TV, my bluray player or my receiver.

The TV is a Panasonic 50S20, bluray player is a BD60 and the receiver is a HK AVR255. If I set the 255 to output 1080p/24 the screen stays blank when I turn on the player.

If I set the 255 to 1080p and start the player its fine.

I can then change the output to 1080p/24 and its fine. However when I stop playback or put in another disc the screen goes blank.

Has anyone else come across this problem? It might be the receiver causing this but could just as easily be the TV.
 
Well finally decided and have opted for the s20 over the lg pk590 and should have it on 26th, hope i dont regret it.:)
 
What's the best price for this at the moment with a 5 year guarentee?

I got the S20 with 5 year guarantee + a Panasonic BD850 Bluray Recorder for £1099. I sold the the BD850 for £350 which reduced the overall cost.

Happy with that - other than this current issue but I think its the receiver not the TV.
 
IMO opinion the blacks on this are pretty good,side by side with the U20 it beats it hands down.

I agree, the TV is great for blacks, it's certainly not grey, plus I have a lot of light coming into my room throughout the day, no issues at all. :smashin:
 
Just arrived home from work and my S21 was busy updating itself - the message stated the update should take 40 mins, but it took well over an hour. Seems software version 2408 is being broadcast on the Freeview engineering channel (also for the G20, V20 and D25).

Can't see any differences with the new software - anyone noticed anything or have a changelog?
 

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