Panasonic Viera TC-P50S30 vs. TC-P50ST30

[CLHatch]

Originally Posted by jaydee77ca

Hi,

Has anyone noticed the fluctuating brightness issue on the ST30? I'm looking at either the S30 or the ST30 and am not sure if the ST30 is worth the extra $200. I have read CNET articles that say that there is a fluctuating brightness issue on some Panasonics. CNET says it's better in 2011 models but other users are saying that the 2011 models built before August 2011 still have issues. They claim that Panasonic US technicians have to replace boards in their units to fix the issue. I've also seen that Panasonic Canada is not doing anything about the issue as they claim it's a "feature".

I'm not sure what to believe? Thoughts?

Thanks!

According to a review I read on Amazon, the fluctuating brightness was fixed in August, 2011. If you have a TV made before then, it would need a firmware update. Apparently it did need a board replacement for some reason, they couldn't just flash the firmware from SD. I plan on buying the P50ST30 myself, and will be looking at the manufacture date to be sure it was made in August or later to avoid the issue.

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by CLHatch

According to a review I read on Amazon, the fluctuating brightness was fixed in August, 2011. If you have a TV made before then, it would need a firmware update. Apparently it did need a board replacement for some reason, they couldn't just flash the firmware from SD. I plan on buying the P50ST30 myself, and will be looking at the manufacture date to be sure it was made in August or later to avoid the issue.

You won't be able to see the manufacturing date of the set until you open the box and look at the back of the set and I highly doubt any retailer is going to let you open every box until you find the right date.

[Webmaster1990]

QUESTION: It is not recommended to watch "letterboxed"(2:35:1) during break-in I hear. Are 1:85:1 movies an exception? They have very thin black bars on the top/bottom portion of the screen, but the movies pretty much fill the whole screen. Just curious becasue my 55 inch model arrives next week.

[ewsjr]

Originally Posted by Webmaster1990

QUESTION: It is not recommended to watch "letterboxed"(2:35:1) during break-in I hear. Are 1:85:1 movies an exception? They have very thin black bars on the top/bottom portion of the screen, but the movies pretty much fill the whole screen. Just curious becasue my 55 inch model arrives next week.

I've had my 42ST30 since the end of April and have watched every type of show, movie etc. on it and have not had any type of IR or burn-in of anything. Of course, I do tend to change channels while watching cable but I have watched numerous dvds & blu-rays in every aspect ratio and have never had a problem at all. I think you will be fine just watching what you normally watch.