Panasonic's 2012 Viera Plasma HDTV line-up (CES 2012)

[Blu Balls]

I Hope the 60ST50 drops to around $1599 by Christmas. I was wondering... Is there anybody that sells "alternative" stands for flat panels or are you stuck with whatever is provided for that particular set. I really like the ST50 but would prefer a black stand that swivels instead of the silver nonswiveling stand that comes with it.

[bdinbo]

Sorry if this has already been asked and answered...

but is the 2012 65st50 considered to be better than the 65vt30 from last yr or is the vt30 still superior?
Thinking about taking the plunge on either of these, right around the same price *$1850-$2000*(from the lowest I've found) for the 65"...what do u think? Kinda leaning toward the 2012 65st50, and I think that my Samsung 3d glasses will work with the 2012, not the 2011...anyone confirm?

Thanks in advance!

[Blu Balls]

From what I have read. The ST50 has slightly better black levels. I'm sure the new features are better as well. I prefer the look of the ST50 over the VT30 but, this is of course in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I would go with the ST50.

[mblackm2]

After reading tons of reviews and articles (I ended up with GT50), I'd recommend the ST50.

[Scarriere]

http://www.hometheater.com/content/p...plasma-3d-hdtv

It seems Thomas J Norton agrees with you.

[gman102081]

Finally saw a 65VT50 in person at my local Frys and this thing is a beauty. I'm still pretty happy with my VT30 but if I was in the market for a new tv, this would most certainly be it.

[Robert Zohn]

Originally Posted by bdinbo

Sorry if this has already been asked and answered...

but is the 2012 65st50 considered to be better than the 65vt30 from last yr or is the vt30 still superior?
Thinking about taking the plunge on either of these, right around the same price *$1850-$2000*(from the lowest I've found) for the 65"...what do u think? Kinda leaning toward the 2012 65st50, and I think that my Samsung 3d glasses will work with the 2012, not the 2011...anyone confirm?

Thanks in advance!

Just considering price/performance the ST50 is the value buy. The GT50 advantages over the ST50 are:

1. THX Cinema and THX Bright modes

2. Thinner bezel and thinner depth

3. More shades of graduation, but the human eye can't detect this small advantage

4. PC Aspect Control

5. Dual core processor

6. 1080p Pure Direct

7. 3 USB inputs, vs. 2 for the ST50

8. PC Input (D-sub 15-pin)

9. Depth 1.9" vs 2.1" deep for the ST50

10. .4" small footprint

11. Possibly slightly better built-in audio

Sorry to say previous years glasses will not work on the 2012 VIERA displays. This year Panasonic adopted Bluetooth RF.

Black level is exactly the same on the GT50 and ST50 series.

-Robert

Originally Posted by Blu Balls

From what I have read. The ST50 has slightly better black levels. I'm sure the new features are better as well. I prefer the look of the ST50 over the VT30 but, this is of course in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I would go with the ST50.

I've read the same, but it's not true for North American produced VIERA displays. In the EU Panasonic has a brightness limiter on GT50 and VT50 series, but not on the ST50. Not sure why, likely an oversight in the EU engineering, but in the North American production we do not have any brightness limiter on any 2012 VIERA Connect models. So they all produce the same MLL and peak luminance.

The only difference in black level is the VT50 series, which due to its more aggressive coating and filtering maintains a slightly better black level in high ambient light.

Hope this helps.

-Robert

[reiella]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

4. PC Aspect Control

---

8. PC Input (D-sub 15-pin)

-Robert

Kinda curious with regards to these two items. Shouldn't you still be able to connect a PC to the TV with a DVI->HDMI cable and just select a 16:9 aspect ratio resolution on the PC instead of a 16:10? Or is there more to these two features than I'm realizing .

[ edit / add ]
Just actually looked at the picture to realize you said D-sub. Derp, so it's mostly for older connections, not really pointed with modern GPUs. Thanks .

[Elandyll]

Received my UT50 last night, installed without a hitch, and first impressions are really good.

Now it'll take a little bit to find the perfect setup for me, but so far so good

Still can't believe I got a Panasonic 50" 1080p 3D 2012 plasma TV for $799 lol

I remember a few years (like .... 4) ago, a Neighbor bought a nice little 37" LCD Samsung set for ... $799.

[Goat1]

Originally Posted by Elandyll

Received my UT50 last night, installed without a hitch, and first impressions are really good.

Now it'll take a little bit to find the perfect setup for me, but so far so good

Still can't believe I got a Panasonic 50" 1080p 3D 2012 plasma TV for $799 lol

I remember a few years (like .... 4) ago, a Neighbor bought a nice little 37" LCD Samsung set for ... $799.

I picked out the same one for my GF and after we got it going and I dialed it in.. I was so impressed I bought a 60ST50 the next week.. Absolutely love it!

[Red Pill 101]

I'm on the fence between a GT50 or ST50 (as of this hour anyway)

Are the few extra features of the GT50 really worth the extra money? In particular, the 24,xxx shades of gradation and the face detection? I'd love to seem them side by side to compare black levels too.

If I would go with the ST50, I could get a bigger size and still have money left over for a new receiver and glasses...

[mblackm2]

Black levels are the same. Unless you really prefer the design of the GT, save some money and get the ST. This is coming from a GT owner

[Red Pill 101]

Originally Posted by mblackm2

Black levels are the same. Unless you really prefer the design of the GT, save some money and get the ST. This is coming from a GT owner

Thanks for your reply! Pardon my ignorance, but what's different by way of design? They honestly look the same to me.

Also, could you comment on the face detection the GT features?

Thanks very much!

[dobyblue]

Yeah the design of the GT is schweet, gorgeous panel. The 55" ST50 is the same price as the 50" GT50, I'd have gone with the 55" ST50 if I had the choice but the 50" GT50 I have was given to me as an RMA to replace my faulty VT20 so I definitely cannot complain, it's stunningly good.

I already recommended to my buddy to save money and go with the ST50, it doesn't have THX but you can either get it calibrated, use a disc or use D-Nice's settings and I doubt you'd be able to tell a difference in the picture quality. VT50 perhaps, GT over ST? No I don't think so. Either one is a treat.

[mblackm2]

The designs of the ST and GT are quite different. Just go to Panasonic's website and should be able to see the difference fairly easily. I will say that the GT is thinner than the ST and I believe the bezel is slightly smaller as well. But design is very subjective so go to BestBuy and check them out. PQ will be about the same.

[Nick4Blu_81]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Yeah the design of the GT is schweet, gorgeous panel. The 55" ST50 is the same price as the 50" GT50, I'd have gone with the 55" ST50 if I had the choice but the 50" GT50 I have was given to me as an RMA to replace my faulty VT20 so I definitely cannot complain, it's stunningly good.

I already recommended to my buddy to save money and go with the ST50, it doesn't have THX but you can either get it calibrated, use a disc or use D-Nice's settings and I doubt you'd be able to tell a difference in the picture quality. VT50 perhaps, GT over ST? No I don't think so. Either one is a treat.

Ive looked around and I cant find where D-Nice's settings are?

[mblackm2]

If you can't find d nice settings just go to cnet.com. They also have their calibration settings posted

[Nick4Blu_81]

Originally Posted by mblackm2

If you can't find d nice settings just go to cnet.com. They also have their calibration settings posted

I will probably just use Tweakmytv.com. I was just curious to see what others are setting their displays at.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Nick4Blu_81

Ive looked around and I cant find where D-Nice's settings are?

Here are the ST50 settings - http://www.highdefjunkies.com/showth...-Issues-Thread


You need to sign up there for free I believe before you can access the forums.

[Red Pill 101]

Can anyone comment about how necessary it may or may not be for a break in period? Should I run a break in slide show for around 100 hours or is this not needed?

My wife watches several shows that do not fill the entire screen and a lot of HGTV with the HGTV logo on the bottom right of the screen.

Thanks in advance!