CES Part 5 Panasonic 2007 Plasma TVs 

I have a TH-50PX75U Panasonic 50″ plasma tv with SD slot card. I purchase a new camera with a compatible SD card(2MB). After formating in camera and taking pictures. I inserted it into the tv slot and turned to memory card under MENU, it says it cannot read. It is the correct card. What is wrong?

tony g

I have a Hisense TL2020 and is locked up…the original remote stopped working so I bought a “learning” RCA remote, can’t tell you how, but my daughter must have hit a combination of buttons and the TV is locked up. I’ve sent e-mails to Hisense support and no response for more than a moth. I’ve tried all the other remotes I have in the house and nothing works. Any Ideas on how I can get it unlocked?

If someone waited a year from now to buy either a 50″ flat panel LCD or plasma, which format would likely perform better overall? What significant improvements, if any, would a critical viewer see develop from top rated products that are currently available?

hello! I just read JP’s comments on the new panny th50pz750 plasma thats supposed to be replacing the 50px600. was in best buy this weekend looking for a good deal on a 06.The magnolia mgr. mentioned the same unit,they were out of 600’s.I called panny, they confirmed the model #, but no price. Both sources did confirm it is 1080P and will be in stores and for sale in early march.Info seems a little schetchy. Have you heard anything on it.I can’t find anything else anywhere. best site, great info, keep it up.bobby

First of all I want to thank you for running such an outstanding site. Every article is clear, concise and gets right to the point making it an invaluable source for information with all of today’s confusion regarding HDTV’s. That being said I was hoping to get your advice on HDTV’s with the HDMI 1.3 standard. I’m a hardcore gamer and was looking to purchase a new television this weekend (Panny TH-65PX600U) but the sales rep was unable to tell me if it had the new HDMI 1.3 connection (for ps3) (the panasonic web site also doesnt provide enough info). My question… Is HDMI 1.3 really worth the premium it and if so what HDTV’s ( 58″+) currently have (or will have) them. How can you tell? As far as I know the Sony KDL-70XBR3 has it but at a MSRP $33,000 its a bit steep. So, what in your opinion is the best HDTV for a $10,000 – $13,000 budget? Or can you at least point me in the right direction. I see alot of info on lower end TV’s but not enough is out there on models within this price range. Please help me out if you can. Thanks in advance.

HDMI 1.3 allows for a few new features and a higher bit rate. The PS 3 has 1.3  . If a video game or high defintion disc is encoded with deep color, it will have more levels of color than other non “deep color” HDTV sources. T

There is also XvyCC. Silicon Image is the maker of HDMI chips. They state “this new standard can support 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals. xvYCC lets HDTVs display colors more accurately, enabling displays with more natural, vivid colors .” 

In order to see this wider color gamut you will need to have a player (PS3 may have this feature though I have not seen it stated specifially anywhere)  and a video game with XvyCC  (none are out yet) and an HDTV that is capable of displaying it (they are coming out as 2007 models that will begin to arrive around March and beyond).

Note: only LCD flat panels with LED backlights and micro display rear projectors have been demonstrated to display XvyCC technology. Phospher driven technologies such as plasma and direct view CRT can’t reproduce a wider color gamut due to limitations of current phosphors.

Personally I do not believe this is a major consideration when choosing a display. The HD Guru feels there are many other criteria that need to be right to get the best image. The image blur produced by 60HZ flat panel LCDs is a poor choice when viewing high speed video game images,  plasma or microdisplay rear projectors do a better job with high speed motion.

1.3 displays are coming in 2007, but you will have to wait till March and beyond for them to  all appear .

The HD Guru   

Hello, great place for info. I do have a question about a hisense lcd 15″ tv. It was given to me, no manual and not remote, so I have a universal remote. Everything was working fine, when all of a sudden we turned it on, went to adjust the volume and then came the word lock and could not get anything to work after that. I was wondering if there was any way to unlock it. The company tells me the only way to do this is to buy an original remote, but I can’t help thinking that there should be some sort of over ride, what with universal remotes and all. the model I have#lcd1504us. They wanted me to send 25 dollars to california I dont know. Help, if you can.

Sorry I am not familier with the set. However I would be concerned as to why the set locked up in the first place. Ask Hisense why (could if have been a code within your universal remote) and will it happen again?

The HD Guru 

you wrote: “At eight feet you would see an advantage with 1080i and 1080p source material with a 1080p display over a 768p display such as the TH-50PX600”

according to the Distance chart, optimum viewing distance at 1080i/p for a 50 inch set is 78.43 inches or 6.58 feet. Therefore wouldn’t he not see any difference at 8 feet?

As you move further from the optimal distance the difference in sharpness diminishies but it is still thee, at the point where you reach 768 resolution, (about 10 ft.)  the apparent sharpness is near even 

The HD Guru 

I was thinking about buying a Panasonic 50px600U. I will be sitting about 8 feet from the tv. The 2 concerns I have are should I wait for 1080p and HDMI1.3 ? I also am waiting on your DLP reviews.

thanks

At eight feet you would see an advantage with 1080i and 1080p source material with a 1080p display over a 768p display such as the TH-50PX600. You will have to wait a few months (my guess April-May) for the 2007 full 1080p 50″ sets to appear and pay a fairly steep price premium.  The Panasonic TH-PX600 is one of my top rated sets and would  provide you with a fine image. Up to you!

As far as 1.3 is concerned, the big deal for displays is the potential for a larger color space (which will first appear in PS3 games). This can’t not be done with phosphor based products like CRTs and Plasmas. You will only see it on LED or Laser lit products such as microdisplay rear projection and LED backlit LCDs when they arrive later in 2007.

 The HD Guru

Have you rated any of the plasmas from HP? How do they stack up against Panasonic? I’m trying to decide between the TH-50PX60U and the PL5060N-HP. About a $500 difference, (HP is the cheaper) Thanks.

I have not reviewed the HP but I have done some tests on the plasma in store and made observations. The Panasonic plasmas have superior black levels and better contrast ratios. IMHO they are worth the premium, especially when you consider  the price difference is spread out over the long life time of a TV.

The HD Guru 

 

What I want to know is Panasonic paying people to hype up their products? I’ve looked at their plasma tv’s, and the pictures on them are very grainy. what the deal?

Sounds like a poor signal at the store you made your observations. Try to find another retailer.

The HD Guru 

I bought a Panasonic tx-50px600u mainly because of the cable card. It’s been about 8 months and no one can make the cable card work. We’ve changed cable companies,(Time Warner and Grande), had the firmware update,squabbled back and forth with Panasonic , who finally says that they just don’t work. So..What’s the problem? Panasonic and Time Warner are both blaming each other leaving us in the middle and without the cablecard some of the extra funtions of the t.v. won’t work. Also, do you know if the new 2 way cablecards will fit/work in our old 1 way t.v.? Some say the reason these don’t work is because there is no financial incentive for the cable company with the 1 way card. Thanks, Paul

May I suggest you try the executive offices of Time Warner Cable (TWC) to speak to a management person regarding your cablecard problem.  As I have stated in other responses, the CableCARDs and HDTVs have been tested and certified by the cable industry’s own test lab (Cablelabs) to function properly. TWC is required by Federal regulations to make sure they function as intended. If the management will not solve your problem (I predict they will) Go to the FCC.gov website and file a formal complaint with the commission (the link is on the fcc.gov site) regarding your cablecard situation.

I have been assured by FCC upper management that they will respond to all cablecard complaints within 60 days (or less) and the FCC will assist you to assure their regulations are met.

Two way cable card will not be backwards compatible to one way cablecard HDTVs.

BTW all new cableboxes are required to have Cablecards attached as of 7/1/07 so TWC has to make it work or they not be able to add any new boxes or new subscribers.

The HD Guru    

can you recommend viewing distance suggestions for a 42″ vs a 50″ tv? thanks, Don