question about panasonic industrial plasmas (1 Viewer)

[ArnabC]

hello all,

i am considering purchasing either the ed or hd version of the 42 inch panasonic industrial plasma but am a little nervous about the inputs etc. i have a denon avr-3300 receiver and a digital cable box (which doesn't have an s-video or component outs). my understanding is that the industrials come with only one s-video port and one bnc-component port installed (plus a composite, i think). i'm not entirely sure what bnc is anyway. i guess what i am wondering is what the best way would be to connect the cable to the display. i suppose/hope that if i upgrade to comcast's hd service that the new cable box will have component outs. would the best setup be to have both the cable and the dvd connect to the receiver via component inputs and then do a component connection to the display? or will it be best to buy another component card for the display and connect the dvd's video out directly to the display?

also, for wall mounts: do you have to get a specific mount for specific tv's or are there one size fits all mounts out there that you would recommend (ideally somewhere in the $100-120 region).

thanks in advance,

arnab

 

[Leo Kerr]

The Panasonic industrials are pretty nice plasmas. And yes, generally, they come with one composite, 1 s-video, and 1-RGBHV/YUV port, although they sometimes have another one disguised as a VGA port (HD-15 connector.)

A BNC connector is a twist-locking coax connection, often used for video, RF, or in the old days of "thin-net" ethernetworking, that, too. It's a nice, solid connection, but in a pinch, it's easy to get an RCA->BNC adapter

Generally, the wall-mounts are semi-specific to the size of the screen, as well as the features you're looking for. Premiere, Peerless, and numerous other people make mounts, and they should be in the

 

[ArnabC]

just a basic mount. doesn't need to rotate, tilt or slide. there are mounts listed from $99 onwards on tiger direct etc. there's one that says it fits the previous generation of the panasonic commercial plasmas but i can't find one that specifically says it fits the TH-42PWD8UK. i don't want to assume that the ones that fit the previous gen will fit this one.

in general would you recommend going directly from the dvd player to the display? how much of a drop-off would you say there is from component to s-video for dvd or hd/sd digital cable? if i had to connect one to the component and one to the s-video port which should go where?

 

[DougR]

As for BNC Adapters............try Radio Shack
http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/produ...266834w345.jpg

It depends on who you purchase your Commercial set from, sometimes they'll throw in the adapters free !

 

[Dave H]

Just curious....are the industrial models that much better than regular consumer models?

 

[ArnabC]

as per cnet's reviews they are. apparently, better blacks and better performance straight out of the box. i already have a receiver and a 5.1 speaker set up, as well as a digital cable box, so saving the money i would pay for those things in the consumer model and spending it instead on wall-mounting makes more sense to me, even if the image quality is only marginally better. plus i like the all-black look of the unit better than the silver of the consumer version. goes better with all my components.

 

[Gregg Loewen]

hi
the industrials have gamma and black enhancement adjustments. This definitely helps. It also has color isolation and some color decoding parameters (in the service menu).
Regards
Gregg

 

[Allan Jayne]

You would want to make sure the remote has separate selections for composite and S-video, otherwise you might find you have to unplug one before you can use the other.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[LarryBI]

I have two panny displays; 426uy and 508uk and they are both awesome. One on a stand and one with a peerless wall mount that allows slight vertical and horizontal adjustments. If you can, avoid the s-video connection and use the component connections. The PC serial connection can also be used for component so you could have two component connections out of the box.

Have you figured out where to buy. I've had excellent experience buying both online and saved a lot of money in the process.

 

[ArnabC]

hello larry,

i'm thinking of buying from tigerdirect, who seem to have the best total price, including shipping.

can you expand on how to use two component set ups? i assume one is via adapters to the bnc port. can you also get a component to pc serial port adapter? i don't have an xbox 360.

is your wallmount for the uk? is it a generic or specific to that model?

 

[LarryBI]

Take a look at Visual Apex and they sell mounts, cables as well. Visit from the avsforums. That's were I got mine and I think the price is pretty good. I bought both of my plasmas from them and couldn't be happier. Mine is for the UK and it fits a variety of sizes.

To watch via the serial port on the plasma, you need VGA connect on one side and component if that's what you're using on the other.

Good luck!

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Yes and no. Both models use the same glass and most of the same electronics, but you have more control over the picture on a pro model. For example, you can set overscan using the remote on a pro model, but even if it's possible with a consumer model (it changes every generation it seems), you have to go into the service menu. The consumer models give you more choices for inputs, but you have more customizability with the pro models. I also like the fact that you have direct access to inputs with the pro remote (no cycling through them), and the pro models memorize the settings by input. The consumer models memorize the settings by picture mode, which is next to useless I think, because there are settings in the different modes that we don't have access to.

I have had a 37pwd8uk with an HDMI input card for about 4 months now. I have to tell you, it's one of the more satisfying purchases I've made over the past serveral years.

Oh, one more. All pro models are made in Japan. For consumer models, it's Japan or Mexico.

Lots more over on AVS.

 

[MikeHerbst]

This is the first I've looked at the industrial plasmas. I have to say, I really like the idea of the interchangeable input boards. Want to upgrade to HDMI? No problem.

Spiffy.

Just had a thought: Could you replace one of the existing input boards with a SECOND HDMI or component interface? Just curious.

 

[Leo Kerr]

With most of the modular units that I've worked with, there was nothing against having all the card bays filled with the same card.

 

[BruZZi]

The HDMI, DVI and S-Video/Composite Boards can be installed in the Slot 1 or Slot 2 only.

NOTE: The Panasonic 42", 50" & 65" Commercial Displays have three slots. The 37" Models only two.

.

 

[Mark Guidry]

If you put a HDMI card into one of those sets, what version will it be 1.2 or 1.3 or does it matter on the HDMI card you install?

 

[Ken Seeber]

You also typically get a 5-year warranty with the professional Panasonic plasmas, versus 1 year for the consumer models.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

You'd have to check the documentation for the card. Probably not 1.3, as that is relatively new. And 1.2 doesn't matter, because only SACD was added. So it's probably going to be 1.1.

It actually doesn't matter much anyway, because even though 1.3 has some new video stuff (deep color or something), I know there aren't any movies that take advantage of this yet, and I don't believe any players (or set top boxes) do yet either.

But since the commercial models follow the consumer models, it'd probably be fall of 2008 for 1.3.

 

[Mark Guidry]

the deep color thing is what I was most interested (dont use SACD) I am revamping the whole HT system that is about 7 yrs old...I just want to get the newest stuff so it will last a little while lol.

Thaks!