the panny V series rocks . never thought any TV could be this good , exception , pioneer kuro of course

the reflection and the glare especially, is minimal = less eye strain. LCD and those with LED backlights for me is totally out . way too much glare . wanna save my eyes to see more beautiful things and objects

even without THX mode and PRO version panel , it has wonderful PQ with high contrast , means i could set it at lower brightness and contrast which translate into saving power consumption and better black levels too and probably made up for the slight irritation that the THX mode and PRO panel was not made available here

watching this V with dim environment really brought the beast out of this beautiful animal.

even under daytime natural light , it suffer very little color wash-out .

this model have turn me from a sammy fan boy into  a panny lover

for the price offered by panny , best deal i ever had

you want cheap stuffs , other qualities will have to be compromised . do some research and buy what you think is suitable for you and what you could afford . the range available will cater for everybody and anybody

just my RM 0.02 cts

Can i know which model u bought? i'm impressed by ur testimonial...choosing between sony and panny now...

during break-in , preferably , set everything at low . i don't think the IR thingy will appear as long as you rotate your contents , 2.35 :1 , 4:3 and full screen . sammy plasma models , which many claims have issues with IR , didn't happen to my sammy set as i vary my viewing contents

i thought you should set your brightness to -10 and color to 40 . could it be your typo

unless one  have well trained eyes , it's hard to compare plasma with LCD at showroom demos as the advantage will be with LCD due to bright environment . bring it home and place it away from direct sunlight contact or extremely bright conditions , the plasma is an entirely different babe

but for this V and due to panny latest neoplasma technology which come with much higher native contrast than previous models , it is still bearable to watch under bright conditions

i have seen this V babe side by side with panny last year Z1 models , except for better black levels and smoother picture screen rendering for the Zee , this V color reproduction and contrast kick the ass of the Z . too me , color reproduction and high contrast matters

but don't scold me , if you happen to bought this V and later dislike it

You will see the difference if you know what to expect from the two different tv. If your eyes are not able to pick the difference, then it is better to buy the X20 series since the V20 cost double the price.
Moreover, when you are watching the tv at home, there is no other tv to compare. You won't know when there is a slight drop in quality.

I had some time to calibrate my friends 50U20 today.

Some observations.

This years models definitely go brighter than last years models. I could easily hit 40ft/L without clipping. However, the gamma was a poor 1.9. Black levels were disappointing at only 0.03ft/L. This was very consistent and the set was only 300hrs. Seems to be the entry level sets actually took a backward steps. The dynamic range is improved compared to last year.

Greyscale post calibration is better than last years sets. There is no green tint in the dark areas as last year. Its better behaved. However, u need to fix the greyscale in the service menu as last years sets. Gamut slightly better than last years sets, all delta Es below 5, most below 3.

Shadow detail is good due to the low gamma (too much shadow detail).

To get close without calibration, follow these settings for HD (Astro b.yond as well)

Mode : Cinema
Contrast : 67
Brightness : -2
Tint : 0
Colour : 43
Vivid Colour : Off
Colour Temperature : Warm
PNR: Off for HD
Sharpness : 35

These settings are just something that gets u ok, to improve u need to go into the service menu and adjust the RGB. These settings will bring ur set close to 30+ft/L.

The only negative I see is the black levels. So, just need to understand if it is just one off or its real. I will get a chance to play with the X28 soon, I will update once I know.

considering the price difference of more than RM1k, you're one lucky guy

These are controls for greyscale. Not much u can do without a meter to adjust this. I would suggest to leave it at defaults as adjusting it the wrong way is more detrimental to the picture.

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Added on July 22, 2010, 2:48 pm

On the input taht u have beyond, make sure that under options in the tv menu u select 100Hz. That shd reduce the judder if not eliminate it. 50Hz shd not judder unless .. (see below)

There is some talk in the UK that the Pannys actually refresh 50Hz material at 60Hz. This will definately cause judder. The info was provided by Panny CS in the UK. There are various discussions abt this now in the US.

If in actual it is being refreshed at 100Hz, and the panel is doing it correctly, there shd be no judder, I can only confirm when I get the chance to play with one.

vwgti,

I looked at the manual as well in depth and could not find the 100Hz setting. So did u find it? If displaying a 50Hz signal, is there an option to set to 100Hz? If its not there, I hope its auto 100Hz refresh for 50Hz signal. I am sure that on the older X10 and the U20 there is a setting for 100Hz in the options portion.

Contact me for calibration when u r ready if that is what you r looking for.