T
turnergw
Guest
Well, I've finally done it - bought the Panny plasma ... after a few months of hectic research, reading all the useful info on these boards, and trekking all over the country to compare and contrast different screens!
First impressions : Wow ... It looks fantastic, even switched off! There's something magical about a 3" deep screen that can produce a picture this good ... and it takes up so much less space than the old 32" behemoth that was there!
At the moment I've only got it hooked up to DVD via s-video and a digibox by composite, but even with those connections it's pretty stunning. DVDs are clear and sharp, with incredibly vibrant colours. TV is acceptable, although a composite connection is obviously not a long term solution. Next step, RGB-VGA converter ...
However, a couple of questions for fellow Panny fans ...
Firstly, the unit has a quite distinct 'buzzing' - I've read about this as being an issue on the older model screens, but I thought it had been fixed. Even sitting 10 feet away from the screen, the buzz is very noticeable when the soundtrack is quiet. I assume it's some part of the power supply - anyone else have problems with this, or know if there's a fix?
I'm also seeing a slightly less-stunning picture with PAL DVDs - Region 1 (NTSC) discs look fantastic, presumably because the resolution matches that of the screen. However on some PAL discs (most notably so far on Mission: Impossible, for some reason) the picture seems more grainy, and less well defined. It's hard to describe the effect, but I've only noticed it generally on PAL discs. I guess it's quite likely to be because of the S-video connection, so I'll wait until I've got the RGB connection running to pass real judgement on it, but it's a slight worry. Anyone have any ideas?
Anyway, I can't wait to get home again and watch some more movies ... despite a couple of minor niggles, this screen really is fantastic.
As another aside, what sort of contrast / brightness settings are people generally using? I've got it set pretty much flat - brightness & contrast at 0, colour at +3 I think. Gives a great, cinematic image - although some people have reported using -20 settings for brightness / contrast - this seems far too dark to me.)
(Whilst I'm here, a big thanks to Ben @ discount electrical for the service and quick delivery !)
First impressions : Wow ... It looks fantastic, even switched off! There's something magical about a 3" deep screen that can produce a picture this good ... and it takes up so much less space than the old 32" behemoth that was there!
At the moment I've only got it hooked up to DVD via s-video and a digibox by composite, but even with those connections it's pretty stunning. DVDs are clear and sharp, with incredibly vibrant colours. TV is acceptable, although a composite connection is obviously not a long term solution. Next step, RGB-VGA converter ...
However, a couple of questions for fellow Panny fans ...
Firstly, the unit has a quite distinct 'buzzing' - I've read about this as being an issue on the older model screens, but I thought it had been fixed. Even sitting 10 feet away from the screen, the buzz is very noticeable when the soundtrack is quiet. I assume it's some part of the power supply - anyone else have problems with this, or know if there's a fix?
I'm also seeing a slightly less-stunning picture with PAL DVDs - Region 1 (NTSC) discs look fantastic, presumably because the resolution matches that of the screen. However on some PAL discs (most notably so far on Mission: Impossible, for some reason) the picture seems more grainy, and less well defined. It's hard to describe the effect, but I've only noticed it generally on PAL discs. I guess it's quite likely to be because of the S-video connection, so I'll wait until I've got the RGB connection running to pass real judgement on it, but it's a slight worry. Anyone have any ideas?
Anyway, I can't wait to get home again and watch some more movies ... despite a couple of minor niggles, this screen really is fantastic.
As another aside, what sort of contrast / brightness settings are people generally using? I've got it set pretty much flat - brightness & contrast at 0, colour at +3 I think. Gives a great, cinematic image - although some people have reported using -20 settings for brightness / contrast - this seems far too dark to me.)
(Whilst I'm here, a big thanks to Ben @ discount electrical for the service and quick delivery !)