Panasonic Pz700 1080p Owners Thread.

[BigBad64]

Yes you can sort them however you want and don't need to start from scratch. Simply access the favourites menu and then highlight the channel in the relevant favourites list. The Green function button should now enable you to move that channel either up or down your list of favourites, thereby changing the order in which it will appear when you scroll through the channels.

All this is very well explained in the manual. I managed after sitting down and having a good read of it.

The Panasonic manual is written in proper English and is easy to follow. (Not "pigeon" English like those PVR manuals that are directly translated from Korean without a proof read)

[diesel]

All this is very well explained in the manual. I managed after sitting down and having a good read of it.

The Panasonic manual is written in proper English and is easy to follow. (Not "pigeon" English like those PVR manuals that are directly translated from Korean without a proof read)

I found the Panasonic GUI very easy to use and so didn't look this up in the manual. The same can be said for my "Korean" PVR which has been a breeze to setup and use. I think I have referred to the manual once and that was in as gooda engrish as I could right

[skooter]

So if I plugged my Wii (which is only L/R audio anyway) into, say AV2 on the TV (red/white audio plugs), will the TV pass that audio out through its optical output?

Anyone got an answer to this?

[PurpleIce]

So if I plugged my Wii (which is only L/R audio anyway) into, say AV2 on the TV (red/white audio plugs), will the TV pass that audio out through its optical output?

YES, it does

[cfbj13]

Got a dilemna with my panny 700.

Bought it last year, its been working great until tonight.

Problem is, when I turn on the tv it works for about 4 sec then turns off. The standby light flashes a few times then it shuts off all together. It won't restart via the remote so I have to go up, press the switch to turn it off, then press the switch to start it again. It starts up fine then shuts offs again. I am in TVL and was wondering if its the humidity or a problem with the TV.

Has this happened anyone else.

Any replies would be appreciated..

Cheers.

[diesel]

Got a dilemna with my panny 700.

Problem is, when I turn on the tv it works for about 4 sec then turns off. The standby light flashes a few times then it shuts off all together.

I'd be ringing Panasonic Customer Service line and getting it fixed under warranty.

[steph0802]

Got a dilemna with my panny 700.

Bought it last year, its been working great until tonight.

Problem is, when I turn on the tv it works for about 4 sec then turns off. The standby light flashes a few times then it shuts off all together. It won't restart via the remote so I have to go up, press the switch to turn it off, then press the switch to start it again. It starts up fine then shuts offs again. I am in TVL and was wondering if its the humidity or a problem with the TV.

Has this happened anyone else.

Any replies would be appreciated..

Cheers.

Most modern AV gear has "protection" circuitry that can get triggered when a power spike is detected. The troubleshooting guides at the end of your manual are your friend. Try powereing off at the wall socket for a few minutes. This may rectify the fault.

..

[f_vos]

Whats the timing of the pwr led i.e how many flashes etc, the power LED blinking chart in my service manual (th-42pz700a) will tell you which board to check.

Regards

Fred

[cfbj13]

Whats the timing of the pwr led i.e how many flashes etc, the power LED blinking chart in my service manual (th-42pz700a) will tell you which board to check.

Regards

Fred

Fred,

Not sure, about 5 at a guess. I don't anything like that in my manual. All it states is if the tv goes into stanby it is because the 'Off Timer' is activated of the 'tv goes into stanby mode about 30 mins after broadcasting ends'. I have another TV setup using a set top box and it is fine.

What has dumbfounded me is that when it turns off, if you hit the remote buttons, the LED flashed green but nothing happens. If I turn the master switch off and on again it goes through the same process. I rang Panasonic and they told me to get an approved technician to look at it.

[fredofrog]

Anyone have a recommendation for the extended warranty (to 5 years) for the 42pz700a

So far I've had no issues (2 months) and this thread has hightlighted some minor issues

Thanks in advance

[diesel]

Anyone have a recommendation for the extended warranty (to 5 years) for the 42pz700a

My suggestion would be to call your retailer you bought the TV from and see what they can do. If you try Panasonic it will be very pricey. I'm not sure how they deal with EW sales two months after the purchase.

[dleeee]

supposedly the anti-glare screen that we have(doesnt help much) darkens the actual picture a little.. i ahve the 58 700a so i've got 10000 contrast ratio but the picture is still very dark at times.

Edited April 2, 2008 by dleeee

[dleeee]

Hi folks,

My TV is hopefully not too long away, so I've sat down and worked out what cables I need to buy to connect my system up.

The outcome is this: http://img254.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cablesjm3.gif

The components are:

- Austar Flinders box

- Wii

- Pioneer DV-400

- Panasonic HT-65 theatre-in-a-box

- Panasonic 50" PZ700

I'm pretty sure I've got most inputs/outputs listed, and the ones I've omitted aren't needed.

Can someone please run their eyes over the diagram and confirm that it'll all work as intended?

The one main question I have, is if I have the Wii's audio connected into the AV2 of the tv, will the TV pass that audio through its stereo RCA audio out plugs so I can plug it into the theatre system somewhere?

you might wanna get a wii component cable... i jsut bought one and the graphics is alot better... but still very crap.. worth it tho

[RoyF]

Hi

Sorry about the change in topic.

I have just got a PS3 to go with my 50pz700a. I have updated the PS3 firmware to the latest version and set the output to 24fps. The result on the panasonic is awful. Reading the forum it appears that the tv doesn't support 1080/24.

My question is does anyone know if there is a firmware update planned to address this?

Before anyone starts - I know I should have read the forum first but I thought the panasonic webpage made it pretty clear:

"1080p Digital Processing Chip-Set - Inputting and outputting 1080p video signals without altering their natural specifications. (Image is displayed on Full-HD Panel with 1920 x 1080 resolution).

The 1080p signal format used by Blu-ray Discs offers the highest image quality among high-definition video sources. The VIERA processor receives 1080p video signals in their original format. It applies optimum signal processing to output the same high signal quality."

The format on blueray discs is after all 1080/24. At best this is disingenious and I think closer to misleading.

Any insight would be appreciated.

[diesel]

The new '08 models I believe will support 1080p/24. My experience with Panasonic and FW is that they will not be releasing any FW upgrade for older models. I have a PX600 which supports PiP on all inputs except HDMI. The current 7XX series screens do support PiP on HDMI input. When I asked Panasonic if this could be made available for the PX600 screens as a FW upgrade the short answer was "No"

As for the disingenuous claims, I reckon Panasonic would argue that they only refer to the pixel count (1080p) and not the frame rate 24htz. For your sake I hope you can get somewhere with this, otherwise, can the PS3 output 1080p/50?

[dleeee]

Have a search through these threads - plenty of mentions about Panasonic and the bulge. I have a PX600 which has the bulge, but no worries using a generic universal mount. Certainly looks better wall mounted I reckon

Wall Mounts

yo... i mounted the 58 on the wall about 2 months ago... hasn't fallen off yet

i just bought one off selby.. they have 20% off to those who visit here... ummm i think it costed me about 50$... quite cheap.. and holds on well...

[diesel]

And it makes the TV look even better hanging from the wall

[Wokafella]

Hi all,

Just Bought a Panasonic VIERA TH-50PZ700A and have been trolling through the forums to find a display settings guide so i can tweak my display settings. After trolling for the last hour i have given up and was wondering if one exists at the moment or not. If so could someone please link me the post.

Thanks

[Juicester]

howdy all. I am new to the forums (1st post) and new to the world of HD Tv's as well - so please be patient.

First of all - is there any reason why newbies can't make new topics? I can only reply to threads already started. I don't want to highjack other people's threads if i don't have too - but if i can't post a new topic, it may end up coming to that.

Ok, secondly, I purchased a beautiful TH42PZ700A Panasonic Plasma recently and I am hoping for some extra help/info regarding a few questions.

First of all, does anyone know where I can download the service manual for this TV? I have recently purchased the DVE DVD - but all of the reference materials on it are useless if I can't access the service menu (as you other owners would know, the options are extremely limited in the TV menu). I have done the basic calibration on the Disc, but that is all. I'm not too sure if what I've done is any good either.

I contacted Aaron from Alvical (or whatever the company is called) who does Plasma calibrations, and was quoted $360 for his services, not including gst - so $396 in total. Is it really worth getting him to do it? Or should I just muck about in the service menu myself? The only issue I have with professional calibration, is that I'm sure it depends heavily on the room and the lighting conditions in the room. If i move houses in 12 months time (which is likely) I am guessing that I will have wasted my $396 right? Since the TV would have been calibrated for a different environment?! I also wasn't sure if a bunch of people had it done and made a group booking if we could get it cheaper than that.

Also if anyone knows how to access the service menu, it would be appreciated -save me mucking about trying to figure out which buttons to press at the same time. Lastly, I can confirm that the remote for this TV is indeed useless. You have to be an expert marksman to use it (pointing exactly at the receiver.)

Current Set-up

TV set to Normal Mode & Warm mode - I've read this is the best setting to get near the 6500k mark

Noise Reduction Off

Color Management On

Connected via HDMI to PS3

Viewing distance is about 2 - 2.5 metres.

Cheers for any help you can offer me!

[Guest cemalley]

Hi

Sorry about the change in topic.

I have just got a PS3 to go with my 50pz700a. I have updated the PS3 firmware to the latest version and set the output to 24fps. The result on the panasonic is awful. Reading the forum it appears that the tv doesn't support 1080/24.

My question is does anyone know if there is a firmware update planned to address this?

Before anyone starts - I know I should have read the forum first but I thought the panasonic webpage made it pretty clear:

"1080p Digital Processing Chip-Set - Inputting and outputting 1080p video signals without altering their natural specifications. (Image is displayed on Full-HD Panel with 1920 x 1080 resolution).

The 1080p signal format used by Blu-ray Discs offers the highest image quality among high-definition video sources. The VIERA processor receives 1080p video signals in their original format. It applies optimum signal processing to output the same high signal quality."

The format on blueray discs is after all 1080/24. At best this is disingenious and I think closer to misleading.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Just leave the PS3 setting on Auto and the PS3 will work fine with the TH-50PZ700A for both BD and DVD.

I believe it outputs at 60Hz for BD discs and the Panasonic does a pretty good job of displaying this smoothly.

The manual does state that only 50Hz and 60Hz are supported.

[Juicester]

hey can we use this thread, or should we start another, for posting pics of peoples set-ups? I'm interested to see how all the Panny owners have got their setups looking...

[diesel]

hey can we use this thread, or should we start another, for posting pics of peoples set-ups? I'm interested to see how all the Panny owners have got their setups looking...

Do a search, there's quite a few threads of punters setups posted already

EDIT: found the two below threads after a quick search, but maybe in keeping with the title of the thread (ie PZ700) you could posts your pics here

Panasonic Th50pz700a Photos & Settings

Panasonic Group Buy, Owners Showoff Thread., Place your pix here!

[Munki]

Hi everyone, this is my first post and my first foray into HDTV so please excuse the noobishness (if thats a word)

I am currently looking to upgrade my Samsung 43" CRT rear projection unit to the Panasonic TH50PZ700A and would love some advice please.

My viewing distance varies due to the layout of my room and L-shaped sofa so it measures between 2.5m at a 25 degree angle to 3.5m dead straight in front of the screen, and my room is pretty dimly lit at night which is when i watch tv. I've read on here that at that distance 1080P maybe isn't worth it and i should perhaps look at something bigger with a lower resolution - is this true? The only problem is i can't go much larger than a 50 as there simply isn't enough wall space! And if i did buy a lesser TV how would Blu-ray look on it? Will the plasma look better in a dark room too?

Secondly I want to run a PS3 through it for gaming and Blu-ray, but I also own a 1 year old Samsung DVD recorder/VCR combo (don't know the model number but i'd imagine its not too flash) so my next question is would it be better to view DVDs through the PS3 or the DVDr in terms of PQ? The DVDr has no HDMI port, just composite. Those of you with a PS3 how well does it play DVDs through this TV?

And how does Foxtel look on it? I'm guessing crap by what i've read.....

And finally, picture size apart, do you think the plasma will produce a better picture quality than CRT rear proj? I picked the CRT for the better PQ compared to the other rear projector technologies at the time but now the prices of plasmas have dropped i'm very tempted to upgrade, especially for the size improvements. I will say though that after countless hours standing in shops trying to find a decent picture on LCDs and plasmas that don't look either too high contrast or have crappy black rendering (like the Samsung LCDs) i am getting pretty fed up of it all. I spotted the Pioneers which looked the best of the bunch but the prices put me off, so even though the Panasonic picture looked a bit dull by comparison i have been told (and read a lot) that they are the next best thing to the Pioneers, so if i bought one it would be solely on recommendation.

Please help before i go nuts!

Cheers

John

Edited April 18, 2008 by Munki

[diesel]

John

If you are as fussy with the decision to buy your previous screen, then consider the Pioneer 508XDA (~$2700). It's a 768p panel, not 1080p like the Panasonic, but produces a much better picture. I would even buy a PX70 before the PZ700, resolution isn't everything...the antiglare coating and low contrast put me off the 50PZ700. If you wait another month or two, the new Panasonic models are due out and the 50" 1080p has better contrast and a few other features that in my opinion, if you must have a 1080p, would be worth the wait. Plasma's look better than LCDs in dimly lit rooms IMO, because they don't have a backlight making their blacks look greyer that a plama.

The PS3 upscales DVDs, but I would hook up the DVD Combo anyway and try it out. See which looks best in your eyes. I would be suprised though if the Samsung only has composite connections. I would imagine it would also have component which would be a much better connection.

[Munki]

Hi Mick, thanks for your reply. Yes the Samsung DVDr does have component connections. Sorry i was a bit tired when i wrote that after trawling the forums for so long!

I've been everywhere but i have yet to see a 768 50 inch Panasonic in Perth. I'm wondering if they have been discontinued?

I think i will try and travel a little wider and see what i can find. Cheers

Edited April 19, 2008 by Munki