Opinion needed on the Panasonic 65" VT30 series

Ok, I just ordered one of these sets and the outlay is considerable. I looked at the 58" version of this set and I thought the picture quality looked pretty good,especially in THX mode, but after reading the Panasonic thread on AVS, I'm beginning to have second thoughts. It seems a few calibrators have a low opinion of Panasonic's picture quality, so now I'm beginning to have second thoughts about this series of sets. After reading that thread I started thinking that I might not know what I'm looking at as quite a few guys seem to be lambasting Panasonic for the PQ on this series of set. So which is it? Are the guys over there so anal that nothing less than "Kuro quality" can satisfy them or am I just being a "Joe Six-Pack" in thinking that the PQ on that series of set looked better than good. In fact, outside of any improvement by a professional calibration, I thought the picture quality was excellent; however, now I'm wondering if I should cancel the order and wait to see what kind of reviews the 2012 series garners.

Thanks for the responses. I just wanted to let you guys know that I didn't just start a thread and forget about it. I did read your posts, regarding this set. I ordered the set and had to pay up front, so I think I might be committed to the purchase. If I cancel, I might have to pay a restocking or cancellation fee. I always tell myself to never spend big bucks on TV sets, but always manage to ignore my own advice. The picture quality that I saw on the smaller VT set looked pretty good to me. I never noticed any green tinging or artifacts and I doubt I'm going to spend a lot of time watching 20% grey patterns, although the thread that dpippel posted the link does cause me some concern. Guess I'll have to hope that the build date on the set I've ordered is late in the year and hope that Panasonic has fixed most or all of the reported problems.

Those OLED sets that Sam Posten posted about in his CES thread do look good in the pictures, but 55" is too small and I'm pretty sure the price is going to be even higher than what I'm paying for the Panny. Oh well, another 10 years or so and it will be time to buy the holographic set with smellovision. The other problem with the OLED set is that it's a Samsung. That is another company that I won't buy another piece of equipment from. Their support service is the shits. If this Panny turns out to be a dog, I going run out of companies to buy TV sets from.

Out of curiousity, on average, how long do you guys hang on to a set before upgrading?

Thanks. I'll just have to wait and see. I called the store today and talked to a rep. I brought up my concerns regarding the 2011 models and, like any rep would, he said he hasn't seen the issue on any of the sets he has sold; however, he has read about it on the AVS forums. Normally, I don't buy extended warranties but I did on this set. According to the warranty terms if the set has problems and can't be repaired then it is replaced with an equivalent level set. The warranty is good for 5 years. The TV hadn't come in when I called, but shortly after I got a message that it had arrived. Unfortunately, I'm still out of town on a job and it is going to be close to a week before I can pick it up and set it up at home. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be a dog. I really hate dealing with the customer service departments of companies, because it always turns out to be a painful exercise in shitty Q music, endless phone menus and customer service people who just hope you will give up and go away.

I should have mentioned that he is going to provide a break in disc. I'll use it, even though I tend to think that these new plasma models really don't need the kind of break in that older sets may have required. After it is broken in, I'll watch Casablanca and see if anybody has gone Irish with the wearin' O the green.

We Canadians sure get price gouged. I've been looking at the prices for this particular set. Right now, this set is selling for around 2600 US from some American online retailers. The Canadian dollar is near par, but this set is selling in Canada for 3999.00 and that's on sale!!

I took possession of the set the day before yesterday, but wasn't able to set it up until yesterday. I ran a couple of movies in THX mode and the image quality looked pretty good out of the box. In fact, I think it would require a calibration with proper gear to get any more improvement in picture quality. I'm not sure playing around with the basic controls would result in any real improvement. I didn't notice any greenish cast in whites, but I would have to watch some B&W material or use a pattern to really test for "splotching", but at present everything appears to be good.

I was a bit concerned about the complaints of low light output and a "dingy" picture, but I tend to prefer a less "bright" image and almost all of my watching is at night with the lights out. In those conditions, the light output seems better than adequate. I thought the 3D on my Samsung set was good, but I think the implementation on the Panasonic is quite a bit better, although the Panasonic glasses are not quite as comfortable as the Samsung glasses were and do not fit as well over glasses. Also, I thought it was rather cheap of them to include only one pair on a set as expensive as this one is.

So far, I'm generally satisfied with everything except for the price I paid, especially since I'm sure I'll be looking at another set 5 or 6 years down the road if OLED succeeds in taking hold. One thing I wanted to ask is whether you guys still use burn in discs on these sets or whether you prefer to just immediately watch content? If you do use a burn in disc, any recommendations on a good one?

Just an update. The set has been pretty good so far, but I have run into a problem. I updated the firmwares on the TV set and my PS3. The IR 3D glasses, prior to the updates, worked properly past 7 feet. Now, I have to be sitting 7 feet or closer to the set in order for the glasses to sync. If I sit more than 7 feet from the set, the glasses lose sync. At 7 feet, they randomly lose sync. Not sure if the reduced range is a firmware problem or if IR just sucks for range. I'm starting to think I should have waited for the 2012 models with bluetooth connection for the glasses.

It may be the batteries; however, if that is the case then I won't be too happy because the glasses aren't even five months old. It isn't saying much very good If the batteries are shot after only four months of very limited use. I looked in the manual to see if there was any information regarding the range of the glasses. I didn't find much other than a recommendation to sit 7 feet or further back when watching 3D content. I did find out that the batteries do not appear to be replaceable in the glasses. They are hardwired into the unit and the only information is on how to dispose of the glasses. In that section they describe cutting the battery connection wires with a pair of scissors, so it looks like they used soldered battery connections. Maybe I'll try calling Panasonic's customer service department after the Easter holiday, but I won't be too happy about that either. I mean, not even five months and I have to start calling customer service. I just hope their CS is better than Samsung's or I'll really be ticked off.

Honestly, I would recommend going with a 2012 set just for the BT connected glasses alone. The BT connection for the glasses on the Samsung I had before this set was a lot more reliable than IR connection on the much more expensive Panasonic set. I never once lost sync on the Samsung glasses, no matter how far I sat from the set. I certainly did not have to sit six feet from the set to get reliable syncing like I am with the VT65. Also the glasses for the new VT series look like they have thinner frames around the lenses and the lenses look like they have quite a bit less tint than the 2011 model glasses. I can't say too much about differences in PQ, since I have not seen the new 2012 sets yet; however, I'm beginning to think that my eyes are getting too old to see some of the differences in black levels between these sets. To me, the PQ on the 2011 VT65 looks pretty good. So far my biggest bitch with the VT65 is the 3D glasses.

One point that I would disagree with in the review you linked to is where the reviewer states that the 3D quality of the sets is as good as the "average" theatre. Frankly, so far I would say that the 3D quality on both 3D sets that I have owned is better than anything I have seen at my local theatre and that is about as average a theatre as you could get. The 3D trailer for "John Carter looked better on the PoTC: On Stranger Tides BD than the entire movie did at the theatre. That is saying something, because I thought that the 3D on John Carter was one of those instances where it might as well not have been used at all.

Edit: Also you might want to look at the latest Samsung plasmas. The ES8000?? The Samsung sets apparently were voted "best in show" for plasmas at the last CES.