Hi Again, we were watching a recoding of Containmnet the other night and the actions scenes were a bit hazy, I take it the set being a 100mm bigger than my last Panasonic will highlight the SD short comings, I may have to mount it on the wall but would only gain at best about 75mm on viewing distance but would be able to get the set at a better angle as it does lean back a bit and is about 1m off the ground on a sideboard and we are on quite low chairs, maybe it's a settings thing, haven't ventured into that yet though.
New TV and can't get it to work properly
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Its a bit dangerous to start picking holes in the picture performance of a TV based on one programme. There are too many other factors at play beyond the scope of the TVs own processing or adjustments such as the production quality of the programme and how much compression is being applied to that channel at broadcast. You've also said yourself that the TV hasn't had any settings adjusted, so it may well be that if it is still on default settings so there's possibly too much processing being applied; this is particularly the case if the set is in some variant of Dynamic mode.
I'm not quite sure what it is that governs the mentality, but it is so often the case in forums that a TV buyer spends hours reading reviews and seeking advice about the best set to buy, and then trawls the web to screw down the absolute lowest possible price to the point where it almost becomes an obsession. Yet when it comes to the all-important part of setting the new TV up properly so that they're then getting the best performance from it they'll do everything possible to avoid spending a tiny fraction of the money saved on a proper set-up disc to help them get the most from their new purchase.
It usually follows the same well worn path: The buyer asks "What settings are recommended?", and when they finally understand that plugging in someone else's settings simply introduces more random errors so can be just as wrong as not setting the TV up at all, then the next question inevitably is "Where can I find a free test pattern?"
Test patterns do exist on the web of course, but they're only part of what's required to complete the job. There are also optical colour filters that need to be used and these are something physical.
Make a relatively small investment in a set-up disc such as Disney WOW, DVE HD Essentials or Spears & Munsil. Each of the discs includes the tutorials to show you how to make the necessary adjustments and what to look for. The discs can be used to set up other TVs in the house and future TV purchases too. The other benefit is that once you've seen the difference it makes in setting up just the basic user controls then you'll become a far better informed and much more discerning buyer next time you're looking for a new TV.
I'm not quite sure what it is that governs the mentality, but it is so often the case in forums that a TV buyer spends hours reading reviews and seeking advice about the best set to buy, and then trawls the web to screw down the absolute lowest possible price to the point where it almost becomes an obsession. Yet when it comes to the all-important part of setting the new TV up properly so that they're then getting the best performance from it they'll do everything possible to avoid spending a tiny fraction of the money saved on a proper set-up disc to help them get the most from their new purchase.
It usually follows the same well worn path: The buyer asks "What settings are recommended?", and when they finally understand that plugging in someone else's settings simply introduces more random errors so can be just as wrong as not setting the TV up at all, then the next question inevitably is "Where can I find a free test pattern?"
Test patterns do exist on the web of course, but they're only part of what's required to complete the job. There are also optical colour filters that need to be used and these are something physical.
Make a relatively small investment in a set-up disc such as Disney WOW, DVE HD Essentials or Spears & Munsil. Each of the discs includes the tutorials to show you how to make the necessary adjustments and what to look for. The discs can be used to set up other TVs in the house and future TV purchases too. The other benefit is that once you've seen the difference it makes in setting up just the basic user controls then you'll become a far better informed and much more discerning buyer next time you're looking for a new TV.
Originally Posted by innes_calan:
“Hi there, new TV out of the box and up and running in 10mins! handy advice about switching the bravia Sync off first and no problems after that, it's on a sideboard and just noticed it has a slight lean backwards probably to help the balance, settings look a bit bright and vivid but will leave it for a week or so then play around with the sttings.
Thanks again for all the advice.”
“Hi there, new TV out of the box and up and running in 10mins! handy advice about switching the bravia Sync off first and no problems after that, it's on a sideboard and just noticed it has a slight lean backwards probably to help the balance, settings look a bit bright and vivid but will leave it for a week or so then play around with the sttings.
Thanks again for all the advice.”
Nearly all sets I have bought and installed come with settings set on 'Vivid' or similar (Shop settings!), depending on manufacturer. I always put it straight to 'normal' or 'standard' and then go from there, tweaking it a bit here and there over the coming weeks.
Some Disney DVDs and possibly Blu-rays, have a set of THX video set up test patterns in the menu. Pirates of the Caribbean is one of these, you should easily be able to get a cheap copy from a charity shop. There are audio tests as well.
By WD 75 do you mean 75 series or 75 inch and how far are you sitting from it?
By WD 75 do you mean 75 series or 75 inch and how far are you sitting from it?
Originally Posted by AlanO:
“For clarity, my reference to PLTs was because they are another of your hobby horses - something else you bang on about yet cannot back up your claim they cause widespread disruption with any facts - and the fact the authorities have pursued barely a dozen complaints about them tells you that, when there are 000s in circulation.
So which of Panasonic's specific issues did you fall foul of? I'm not sure you've ever confirmed, beyond the persistent whinging about long passed problems or problems which aren't relevant to about 99.5% of UK buyers.”
“For clarity, my reference to PLTs was because they are another of your hobby horses - something else you bang on about yet cannot back up your claim they cause widespread disruption with any facts - and the fact the authorities have pursued barely a dozen complaints about them tells you that, when there are 000s in circulation.
So which of Panasonic's specific issues did you fall foul of? I'm not sure you've ever confirmed, beyond the persistent whinging about long passed problems or problems which aren't relevant to about 99.5% of UK buyers.”
The problems with PLT are well documented. If you want to stick your head in the sand and not believe it that is up to you.
Don't think Panasonic's problems are long past. There is a long current thread on the ITV HD issue. I don't know what % of UK buyers bought Panasonic Freesat HD sets but the long threads on this and other forums suggest it is higher than 0.5%. As I said it is not the fact that Panasonic has issues, it is the fact that they try to blame anyone but their own designers. We wait with baited breath as to what and when will be their next design error.
Originally Posted by anthony david:
“Some Disney DVDs and possibly Blu-rays, have a set of THX video set up test patterns in the menu. Pirates of the Caribbean is one of these, you should easily be able to get a cheap copy from a charity shop. There are audio tests as well.
By WD 75 do you mean 75 series or 75 inch and how far are you sitting from it?”
“Some Disney DVDs and possibly Blu-rays, have a set of THX video set up test patterns in the menu. Pirates of the Caribbean is one of these, you should easily be able to get a cheap copy from a charity shop. There are audio tests as well.
By WD 75 do you mean 75 series or 75 inch and how far are you sitting from it?”
Be careful with the THX discs. There is good evidence that some are set up to make contrast and brightness correctly only for that particular film rather than to broadcast standard. The result is the picture might look okay for the film but not other DVDs/Blu-rays and not for broadcast TV when you carry over those settings to your TV's other inputs. You'll also miss out on the motion processing test patterns which is where you can see how well (or not) your TV's picture processing is working.
Originally Posted by HHGTTG:
“Nearly all sets I have bought and installed come with settings set on 'Vivid' or similar (Shop settings!).”
“Nearly all sets I have bought and installed come with settings set on 'Vivid' or similar (Shop settings!).”
I don't know why you imagine this is so - I've installed thousands of sets, anything remotely 'modern' (not CRT) asks you during initial setup if you want customer mode or shop demo mode. If your sets are in demo mode, you are presumably selecting it during setup?.
There was a period during the later CRT years, in the pre-digital age, where many sets DID come preset to demo mode, this was because there wasn't any automated setup procedure, and presumably the manufacturers thought shop staff were too thick to set demo mode themselves.
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“I don't know why you imagine this is so - I've installed thousands of sets, anything remotely 'modern' (not CRT) asks you during initial setup if you want customer mode or shop demo mode. If your sets are in demo mode, you are presumably selecting it during setup?.
There was a period during the later CRT years, in the pre-digital age, where many sets DID come preset to demo mode, this was because there wasn't any automated setup procedure, and presumably the manufacturers thought shop staff were too thick to set demo mode themselves.”
“I don't know why you imagine this is so - I've installed thousands of sets, anything remotely 'modern' (not CRT) asks you during initial setup if you want customer mode or shop demo mode. If your sets are in demo mode, you are presumably selecting it during setup?.
There was a period during the later CRT years, in the pre-digital age, where many sets DID come preset to demo mode, this was because there wasn't any automated setup procedure, and presumably the manufacturers thought shop staff were too thick to set demo mode themselves.”
We'll I was replying to innes-calun as they seem to be in a bit of a pickle but yes of course you're are correct as ever.
Originally Posted by Chris Frost:
“Be careful with the THX discs. There is good evidence that some are set up to make contrast and brightness correctly only for that particular film rather than to broadcast standard. The result is the picture might look okay for the film but not other DVDs/Blu-rays and not for broadcast TV when you carry over those settings to your TV's other inputs. You'll also miss out on the motion processing test patterns which is where you can see how well (or not) your TV's picture processing is working.”
“Be careful with the THX discs. There is good evidence that some are set up to make contrast and brightness correctly only for that particular film rather than to broadcast standard. The result is the picture might look okay for the film but not other DVDs/Blu-rays and not for broadcast TV when you carry over those settings to your TV's other inputs. You'll also miss out on the motion processing test patterns which is where you can see how well (or not) your TV's picture processing is working.”
Possibly although that one, the only one I have, seems accurate enough for domestic use and I suspect the o/p isn't interested in anything more sophisticated. If he uses the "Standard" setting on his Sony TV it will be, in my experience of Sonys, a good starting point.
We still don't know the screen size or viewing distance which may be relevant to his query. We also don't know what channel he recorded Containment from. In fact we know very little as is so common with posts these days.
Originally Posted by anthony david:
“Possibly although that one, the only one I have, seems accurate enough for domestic use and I suspect the o/p isn't interested in anything more sophisticated.”
“Possibly although that one, the only one I have, seems accurate enough for domestic use and I suspect the o/p isn't interested in anything more sophisticated.”
BIB - he's already said that some parts of a programme he watched were 'a bit hazy'. Granted there's limited info in the post, but if one of the main requirements is to sort out 'a bit hazy' then some moving test patterns that allows the viewer to test and see the effects of the various motion processing settings on the telly is a must, wouldn't you agree? The THX Optimode doesn't have that. The best it has is a static pattern which is okay for sharpness but no good for setting up MotionFlow (if that's what they still call motion processing on Sony TVs).
In fact when you look at what's actually usable from the Optimode test patterns all you really have is brightness, contrast and static sharpness. The rest (colour & tint, convergence errors, 4:3/16:9 aspect ratio check) either require extra equipment such as the blue filter glasses for colour & tint, or they're of limited relevance to modern displays (convergence errors) or not usable except with a DVD player. I have to wonder then just how useful THX Optimode really is.
I think we should hang fire until we know more about his set up (screen size/viewing distance) and the quality of the material he is watching before going any further. He could just be sitting too close to a screen showing indifferent material, no amount of tweaking will fix that.
Originally Posted by anthony david:
“Some Disney DVDs and possibly Blu-rays, have a set of THX video set up test patterns in the menu. Pirates of the Caribbean is one of these, you should easily be able to get a cheap copy from a charity shop. There are audio tests as well.
By WD 75 do you mean 75 series or 75 inch and how far are you sitting from it?”
“Some Disney DVDs and possibly Blu-rays, have a set of THX video set up test patterns in the menu. Pirates of the Caribbean is one of these, you should easily be able to get a cheap copy from a charity shop. There are audio tests as well.
By WD 75 do you mean 75 series or 75 inch and how far are you sitting from it?”
Hi there, it's a 43inch and we are sitting about 2.1m away from the set, distance is from screen to eye.
Originally Posted by anthony david:
“Possibly although that one, the only one I have, seems accurate enough for domestic use and I suspect the o/p isn't interested in anything more sophisticated. If he uses the "Standard" setting on his Sony TV it will be, in my experience of Sonys, a good starting point.
We still don't know the screen size or viewing distance which may be relevant to his query. We also don't know what channel he recorded Containment from. In fact we know very little as is so common with posts these days.”
“Possibly although that one, the only one I have, seems accurate enough for domestic use and I suspect the o/p isn't interested in anything more sophisticated. If he uses the "Standard" setting on his Sony TV it will be, in my experience of Sonys, a good starting point.
We still don't know the screen size or viewing distance which may be relevant to his query. We also don't know what channel he recorded Containment from. In fact we know very little as is so common with posts these days.”
Hi there, Containment was recorded from E4.
Originally Posted by anthony david:
“I think we should hang fire until we know more about his set up (screen size/viewing distance) and the quality of the material he is watching before going any further. He could just be sitting too close to a screen showing indifferent material, no amount of tweaking will fix that.”
“I think we should hang fire until we know more about his set up (screen size/viewing distance) and the quality of the material he is watching before going any further. He could just be sitting too close to a screen showing indifferent material, no amount of tweaking will fix that.”
just what i was thinking but i can't sit any further away from the set but I could mount it on the wal which would give me anothe 100mm making it 2,2mm.
2m is too close to view SD Freeview on a 43 inch screen without seeing defects, fine for HD though.
Not sure if E4 is a low bitrate or low resolution channel, someone on here will know, as that would make things worse.
Not sure if E4 is a low bitrate or low resolution channel, someone on here will know, as that would make things worse.
Originally Posted by anthony david:
“2m is too close to view SD Freeview on a 43 inch screen without seeing defects, fine for HD though.
Not sure if E4 is a low bitrate or low resolution channel, someone on here will know, as that would make things worse.”
“2m is too close to view SD Freeview on a 43 inch screen without seeing defects, fine for HD though.
Not sure if E4 is a low bitrate or low resolution channel, someone on here will know, as that would make things worse.”
Found this in another site as a guide for 1080p, I take its for HD, so if I can manage 2.2m about or over 7ft and tweak the settings I might inprove it! The set is set for |Home viewing but not sure if its set for Dynamic, will need to explore the settings. The scene in Containment that should up the 'Gosting' was in dark almost shadow conditions if that helps.
42-inch 11' 8' 5.5'
Originally Posted by anthony david:
“2m is too close to view SD Freeview on a 43 inch screen without seeing defects, fine for HD though.
Not sure if E4 is a low bitrate or low resolution channel, someone on here will know, as that would make things worse.”
“2m is too close to view SD Freeview on a 43 inch screen without seeing defects, fine for HD though.
Not sure if E4 is a low bitrate or low resolution channel, someone on here will know, as that would make things worse.”
E4 on Freeview is a low bitrate, lower than E4+1 bizarrely!
Originally Posted by anthony david:
“2m is too close to view SD Freeview on a 43 inch screen without seeing defects, fine for HD though.
Not sure if E4 is a low bitrate or low resolution channel, someone on here will know, as that would make things worse.”
“2m is too close to view SD Freeview on a 43 inch screen without seeing defects, fine for HD though.
Not sure if E4 is a low bitrate or low resolution channel, someone on here will know, as that would make things worse.”
Thanks for the info from you all, I take it E4 low bit rate would be for freesat?
From "options" select "picture" then "standard" which may produce pictures to your liking. Either adjust those setting and use reset is you make a mess of them or write them down and enter them in "custom" where you can play with them and see what they do. I set "reality creation" to "auto" and the two enhancers at the end of the advanced picture setting menu to medium but that is just my personal choice, several other settings are on low, others are off. It's a personal matter, no point in asking other peoples opinions on settings. Full instruction are available via the white iManual button on your remote. Suggest you stop posting and start playing, there is a reset mode so you can't break it. Dynamic is what Sony call Vivid, best avoided in my opinion. No idea about freesat, you never mentioned that before, keep to Freeview until you find a suitable set of settings so as not to introduce any red herrings.
Make your adjustments only on main stream channels showing good quality material and accept that some programme/channels are technically just dross.
Make your adjustments only on main stream channels showing good quality material and accept that some programme/channels are technically just dross.
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