Problems calibrating my Panasonic TV, esp. contrast/colour (1 Viewer)

[Jake C]

I am in Australia. I bought a Panasonic TAU GIGA widescreen TV several weeks ago, and today I got a copy of "Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up". When I tried to set the contrast on the TV using the video test from the DVD, the picture wouldn't adjust as was shown on the demo i.e. instead of the top white square blending in with the square beneath, on my TV, none of the squares did not change at all, but rather the picture got ligher and darker. Also, using the colour test with the blue film, I could not get the Saturation squares to blend in with the background at all. Now, being a relative newbie, I really don't know if all this is because something's wrong with the TV, or if the problem can simply be fixed by having someone tweak something in the service menu. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. What can I do? Is there any way for me to find out what the problem is? I'd like to know what the problem is before I inevitably have to bring it back to the store, because I don't want some clueless salesperson telling me to check my settings Cheers!

 

[Chad B]

Jake,

It's been a while since I've used the S&V DVD (I lost mine), but I'll try to help you out. On the contrast pattern, start out with the contrast set quite low on the tv. Get up close to the screen and see if you can discern any scan lines in the brightest white box. They should be visible when you get up close. Once you make them out, turn your contrast up. Do the scan lines dissapear or blend together? If so, back off the contrast to just before the scan lines blend together. This is the maximum you should ever set your contrast to. If the scan lines never blend together even at the highest contrast setting, your set is quite roboust and you can use any setting safely. Either way, you will probably find that a lower-than-maximum setting will look best and reduce eyestrain, especially if there is no ambient light in your room.
As for color, how close are you able too get the proper squares to match, and where is the color set when you get it as close as you can?

Chad B

 

[Jake C]

G'day Chad,

Thanks for your help. When I tried to adjust the contrast, I went all the way to both extremes of the scale, but that didn't affect the squares at all. At no point did any of them blend or fade into one another. With the colour setting, the squares stood out quite distinctly from the background, and I went to both extremes of that setting as well. I'm not happy at all with the TV. It's supposed to be a HDTV but even sitting at a reasonable distance away, it's still not as clear as any of my other smaller, standard TVs. It also blurs at fast-moving action, and there's slight ghosting when watching DVDs. Do these problems I'm having sound like they could be fixed by having someone adjust the service menu, or is my TV a dud, do you think? Cheers.

Jake

 

[Chad B]

Jake,

I don't know for sure, but you might be reading the color pattern wrong. The goal is not to blend the squares into the background- rather, you should try to match certain suares with other squares. I could be misunderstanding what you mean, but maybe you should review the instructions for the color pattern one more time. Out of 30 or 40 tv's I've calibrated, I've never seen a tv that couldn't be adjusted for proper color.
As for the contrast, it sounds like your set is just very strong and resistant to blooming, in which case you could just pick a contrast setting that is bright and punchy but doesn't strain your eyes when you're watching a movie in the dark. But without seeing exactly what it is doing, I can't say for sure. Generally, though, you usually want to set the contrast less than half way up.
Your other picture quality issues might be due to poor convergence (most likely) or focus, both of which could be improved with an ISF calibration.

Chad

 

[Chad B]

By the way, that ghosting on DVD images might be a way too strong SVM or "detail enhancemant" circuit. I haven't checked your TV's service menu, but most of the time these circuits can be defeated in the service menu.