Hi guys. New to this thread. May I know if the V20 series in Asia is using the Inifinite Black panel or the Infinite Black PRO panel?

From what I've read up so far (e.g. avs forum, hdpanel, hdtvtest, etc) the Infinite Black Pro panel is used on the V20 series in US/EU, but I've noticed from looking at some Asian Panasonic websites that the V20 over here is only using the Infinite Black panel.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Sorry if this has been asked before. Appreciate your input. Thanks.

edit - also noticed that US/EU versions of the V20 has THX mode which Asian sets do not - any real-world difference? Sorry for the many questions, potential V20 buyer here. Thanks.

This post has been edited by terranova: Oct 6 2010, 01:29 PM

@ anfieldude - thanks bro for the clarification. you always come through for me. what about the THX-mode? Is this the same as the Cinema-mode on Asian sets?

@ steadypana - thanks for the input. fortunately for me, i'm not affected by b.yond HD.

@ paskal - i hope that the Infinite Black Pro panels (or an enhanced version thereof) will trickle down to the lower tier models. right now, it is being reserved only for the highest tier VT series (and EU V20 series).

the only reason i'm looking at a plasma right now despite being a live-long LCD TV user is because the Samsung C650 I was eyeing is known to have bad input lag for console gaming. research tells me that plasmas generally do not suffer from this.

if all goes well, may be a V20 owner soon and hope to join u guys. cheers and thanks for all the input.

For best PQ, go for the VT series.

Bro, go to the Panasonic Malaysia website to check the TV models and specs. They are different from those shown on your link. The V20 series in Malaysia does not come with Infinite Black Pro panel and THX-mode per my sifu's earlier post. Having said that, it's still a great plasma sans those features.

I should point out that the V20 series differs from country to country. For e.g., the UK version V20 comes with Infinite Black Pro panel and THX-mode.

Even within Asia, the V20 series feature-set differs country to country. So it is not always apple-to-apple when comparing price. Take for e.g. my Hong Kong V20 plasma. The V20 in HK comes with 5-years full warranty as standard, a HD digital tuner built-in (to take advantage of OTA HD channels e.g. TVB HD) and also allows for USB hard disk recording of TV shows. Although I won't make much use of these features, I am paying for something I dont need. I just want a plasma as a display device.

Just sharing info.

This post has been edited by terranova: Oct 11 2010, 04:16 PM

Just bought it. About HK$14,500 (about RM5,750 at today's rate) for the 46".

Hi all. Quick question if anyone can help.

Just tried plugging in my SD-card and USB thumb drive into the Viera Plasma. When I go to the Media Player (via the "SD Card" button on the remote or via Viera Tools button on remote), it says no device attached or no device recognised or some error message like that. Both my SD card and thumb drive are formatted as FAT 16 and FAT 32 per the User Manual.

What am I doing wrong? Appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance.

I was trying to slideshow some photos to break-in my plasma. I still can't get it to work even now. Manual says thumb drive should be in FAT16/32 - check. file format recognised - jpeg - check.

Is there a specific file structure that should be on the usb flash thumb drive for the telly to be able to recognise it? Something like how the PS3 only recognises files if they appear in certain directory.

edit - ok it just suddenly worked!! i removed some other media files that were on the thumb drive and just copied the slideshow photos. now it's showing up on the Viera Media Player. so it's all good now.

This post has been edited by terranova: Oct 14 2010, 01:03 AM

Anyone knows how to access the service menu on the V20 series?

I tried the steps found on avforum (UK models) but doesnt seem to work on my unit:



Basically, I want to access the service menu to see how many hours have been clocked on my unit.

THanks for sharing if anyone knows.

Oooooo sifu ...... thank u thank u.

will give it a try tonite. don't remember seeing a "recall" button on the remote though ... just checked my manual, there's no "recall" button.

Sheer genius. Yep INFO button it is. Brilliant! Thanks sifu.

Clocked in 51 hrs so far .... another 49hrs to break in.

This is the "official" list:
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/tv/c...sb/option6.html

However, i dont think they ever update this and any brand SHOULD work. However, I myself use a wired connection to my Netgear router, so I can't confirm for sure.

follow my earlier instruction carefully. it works on my v20.

after u get to the "service page" (by pressing "V-" + "info" button), press "OK" on the remote and it will bring u to a new page. use the direction button on the remote and navigate to the bottom right cell (not the last row, but the second last row). Then hold "MUTE" on the remote for a couple of seconds and the hours clocked will appear on this cell.

G20 models uses the Infinite Black panels, which isn't the same panels used on the Malaysian U20 series plasma. This makes the G20 closer to the V20 series in Malaysia which uses the same Infinite Black panel. "G13" simply means the 13th Generation panel.

The U20 series panels have a contrast ratio of 2m:1 vs the Infinite Black's 5m:1.

So it would not be meaningful to read the reviews and forum posts on G20 and assume it applies equally to the U20 series. G20 is generally regarded as a value-for-money model offering deep blacks and great PQ at a reasonable price. Too bad these are not offered to the Malaysian market.

Paskal's recommendation of the Samsung C6500 is a good alternative. I know it's blasphemy to say this on this Pana thread, so let's leave it at that.

I noticed u mentioned the plasma will be used with a htpc. I hope you are aware of the issues related to using a plasma as a "pc monitor". Just my 2 cents.

This post has been edited by terranova: Oct 18 2010, 03:54 PM

Just to share my own experience, I don't get the 50Hz issue that has been so widely reported in the UK as well as astro b.yond users in MY.

In HK, most local OTA transmissions as well as my cable tv transmit in 50Hz, even football games in HD. I dont see the juddering/tearing that has been widely reported. *touch wood*

Just sharing.

I've now broken in about 170 hours. I plan to do my calibration at about 200 hrs, probably this weekend. I've only calibrated the contrast and brightness when I first got it. At 200 hrs, I'm going to re-do the contrast and brightness along with the other basic settings. Not comfortable playing with the advanced settings yet (white balance, greyscale). Will use the S&M blu-ray calibration disc.

Anyway, with plasmas, I think calibration is an ongoing exercise at various intervals of the plasmas life. So you cant really set it and leave it like lcds. that's what i think anway.

Duly noted, kind sir. I stand corrected.

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Added on October 21, 2010, 4:27 pmBUt if i remember correctly, what the CNET long-term test result does conclude is that even after the Panny loses its initial blackness after prolonged use, its black levels are still better than other brands (even after their "improvement" over age).

This post has been edited by terranova: Oct 21 2010, 04:27 PM

it is determined by the firmware at pre-determined intervals based on the number of hours clocked. therefore, the contrast/brightness level you set during its lifespan has no bearing.

My V20 is one month old todate and i've clocked in about 308 hrs, so we're about the same. i don't hear any hissing sound from my unit. from your description above, it does not sound normal to me. maybe u can ask anfieldude for his view on this.

i recall reading in avs forums some time back that some V20 owners complained about buzzing/humming sound (like the kind of low buzz u hear from a transformer) but not "hissing" sound you described. sorry, i cant be of any further help.