Panasonic 50 S1

[fabs109]

I am a newbie and i am picking up my first high def. tv. After much reading i went into abc today with a new confidence and talked the salesman down to 1199.00 and i got a great tv stand for 100 off so that costed me 150 and the 3 year warranty which is actually a 2 year because it already comes with a one year. So for everything plus tax i paid 1779.89. I put money down and I am going in with the rest tomorrow. considering the tv is advertised for 1799 i figured i got a hell of a deal. I could have got the g10 for 103$ more now i know that many are going to say i should have done it but truthfully i dont think the color on the thx setting is that great, once again i know that thats how its supposed to be but i just am not that big of a fan. Please share anything you can with me about this also your thoughts about the S1 and the g10. i respect everyone on this page and look forward to reading your comments. DID I DO GOOD OR WHAT???? THANKS IN ADVANCE

[Kryptron]

Most online stores have the S1 for around $1399. Not sure what stand you got so i can't comment if your getting a really good deal or not. If you don't use THX and don't plan on hooking up your computer to it then the S1 seems to be right for you. No point in paying more if your not going to use the THX setting and VGA input or the internet connectivity.

EDIT* Not sure why they had it priced at $1799 but from Panasonics official website and most retailers it seems the msrp is $1599.

[fabs109]

thank you but actually yes i do plan on pluging my computer into it so what is the difference with that i thought the g1 just had its on internet connectivity which is like news and sports updates which i have on my blackberry really no need for the tv to have it right?

[hienesey]

I ordered the 50" S1 for $1269 from US Appliance (says it's part of ABC Warehouse, what a coincidence), so I think that's a pretty good deal for a B&M store.

Panasonic also has a rebate for up to $200 off a stand or white glove delivery. Here is the link: $200 Panasonic HDTV Add-on Rebate

As for your computer, if you only have VGA connection for your computer, the S1 does not have that.

[fabs109]

wow that rebate kicks ass thanks soooooo much that is really cool

[fabs109]

can anyone tell me some more about the tv itself? the good the bad, also what about the burn in period i dont know much about it at all? what should i do when i get it tonight

[SleeperAgent]

I just got my G10 last night, haven't put in THX mode because I'm breaking it in. Turn the settings down and watch full screen content for 50-100 hours and you should have no problems. There is even and anti-image retention mode in the menu that scrolls a white bar across the screen to deal with IR if it happens.

DO NOT run it in Vivid mode. That is WAY too bright.

[fabs109]

ok watch it for that long straight, like just leave it on? I actually havnt even had a tv for 2 months cuz i sold my last one and was waiting for the time to buy a new one. so i dont even have cable back yet. what about movies and xbox 360?

[SleeperAgent]

You don't have to do it straight. Just watch full screen content for the first 100 hours so that it breaks in evenly. Some people don't believe it's necesarry but I like doing it for peace of mind.

[meloveHD]

Originally Posted by fabs109

ok watch it for that long straight, like just leave it on? I actually havnt even had a tv for 2 months cuz i sold my last one and was waiting for the time to buy a new one. so i dont even have cable back yet. what about movies and xbox 360?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=949107

All of your questions can be answered there. And congratulations on your S1!! We're TV brothers now

[fabs109]

thank you that is really cool i cant wait to see what this is made of. how do you like yours?

[meloveHD]

Oh man I couldn't be happier! I never realized how gray my blacks were on my LCD lol its hard to even watch that thing now. Now i feel like im watching all my blu's for the first time! Everything looks so beautiful on it, every time i walk in my room i just smile. Plasma for life!

[fabs109]

thats awesome man. one of the best things ive heard in a while. how long did u brake yours in did you use the breakin disk or no? I have a feeling i will do the same thing i see mine

[meloveHD]

I did a 150 hour break-in using thumb drive files on an SD card, minimal gaming and 1.78:1 blu's and i've definitely seen an improvement in PQ from when i first got it.

[fabs109]

howd you get the thumb drive files and thats awesome you can put it on a card that will make my life easier. you are my savior right now man... i just picked it up today i cant believe how much bigger it is at home than in the store

[meloveHD]

http://www.webapalooza.com/plasma/

You can find 'em there ^^

Download the newest version and then just copy the files to your SD card, pop it in the tv, hit the SD card button (if it doesn't pop up automatically). Then hit menu and go to the slideshow settings, set to repeat and medium speed will be fine.

You can adjust the specific picture settings for SD card content, it's been recommended by an established AVS forumite to use these settings while running your break-in images (regular programming viewing settings should all be below 50):

Picture Mode: Vivid
Contrast: 100
Brightness: 55
Color: 65
Tint: 0
Sharpness: 50
Color Temp: Cool
C.A.T.S: Off
Video NR: Off

Advance Options
MPEG NR: Off
Black Level: Light



It might do you good to check out this thread on AVS also, if you haven't already found it...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1128487



Oh, and this one: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1127194

[SleeperAgent]

Quick question.

Can I just run the Anti-image retention thing (black screen with white bar that scrolls by constantly) for the break in?

I'm quickly running out of full screen movies to watch. I don't have an SD card and I couldn't get the dvd break-in thing to work right. I know this wouldn't break in colors but I can watch movies for that and since this will be running a lot I could play video games.

I currently run it for 10-20 minutes when I'm done with the tv for the day because I noticed a faint image of my ps3 background when I turned the ps3 off. All my settings are turned way down too.

[meloveHD]

That's not going to do any good towards breaking in the set, that's a feature specifically meant to for removal of IR. The point of a breaking in using these files is to evenly age ALL color phosphors, which will ensure a more even color range once the TV has made it past those early 100-200 hours. Having a white bar move across the screen isn't going to age your color phosphors.

If you want to use this method just go buy an SD card, you can get a 1gb (pleeeeenty of space for these files) for like 10 bux.

[fabs109]

i have the settings set at what you told me and i haunt done the sd yet but have watched a couple full screen movies, this this is incredible you weren't kidding when you said that you are seeing your blues and blacks for the first time. i love this thing i cant wait to play video games on it

[fabs109]

ok so it is on 480i the whole time how do i switch to 720p or 1080 p