# Panasonic TH-42PX600U



## quizzer

I got the Panasonic TH-42PX600U last week. I have some questions here and will be greatful if some experts advise me on this:

What should be the settings for the initial burn-in period (100 hours):

Should the picture mode be left in VIVID default or changed to STANDARD mode?

Also I dont have HD feed from satellite. i have the normal SD feed.

What do i do for some channels which does not fit the screen (black bars in the top and bottom of the screen)?

Pls advise.

Thanks


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## Radio Enginerd

quizzer said:


> I got the Panasonic TH-42PX600U last week. I have some questions here and will be greatful if some experts advise me on this:
> 
> What should be the settings for the initial burn-in period (100 hours):
> 
> Should the picture mode be left in VIVID default or changed to STANDARD mode?
> 
> Also I dont have HD feed from satellite. i have the normal SD feed.
> 
> What do i do for some channels which does not fit the screen (black bars in the top and bottom of the screen)?
> 
> Pls advise.
> 
> Thanks


Congrats on the 600U. I almost got that unit myself... First and foremost, take it out of Vivid and put it in standard, It won't look as good but will help during the initial burn-in period which I believe is the first 200 hour.

I'm not totally familiar with the 600U but I think I can answer most of these without knowledge of your particular TV.



> What do i do for some channels which does not fit the screen (black bars in the top and bottom of the screen)?


Most programing isn't going to fill the screen so I highly suggest that you run your TV in FULL or WIDE display mode to fill the entire screen. Most plasma enthusiasts will tell you to do that for the life of your screen and limit the amount of top or bottom black bars.

Hope this helps. How do you like it so far?


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## quizzer

Thank you sir. 

I will change to STANDARD mode with FULL screen as you suggest.

I will update tomorrow after making the change.


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## Cholly

I agree with R.E. about changing form Viivid to Standard (Actually, I prefer Standard). As to format, since you aren't subscribing to HD, I'd be inclined to suggest Normal format rather than full or zoom and deal with gray bars on the side. That way, you won't lose any picture info that most certainly would be lost with zoom or full. But then that's just me.


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## BubblePuppy

quizzer said:


> I got the Panasonic TH-42PX600U last week. I have some questions here and will be greatful if some experts advise me on this:
> 
> What should be the settings for the initial burn-in period (100 hours):
> 
> Should the picture mode be left in VIVID default or changed to STANDARD mode?
> 
> Also I dont have HD feed from satellite. i have the normal SD feed.
> 
> What do i do for some channels which does not fit the screen (black bars in the top and bottom of the screen)?
> 
> Pls advise.
> 
> Thanks


I have the same tv that you have and I found these threads to be of big help. There are 158 pages in the first one so just settle in......tons of good info and burn-in settings. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=652809

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=657575
Enjoy your Panny, I love mine.


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## Radio Enginerd

quizzer said:


> Thank you sir.
> 
> I will change to STANDARD mode with FULL screen as you suggest.
> 
> I will update tomorrow after making the change.


No problem. I did a ton of research when I got my Pioneer Elite "over priced" Plasma. I was VERY close to buying the 600U so I think you made a good choice. 

Once you're past those first 200 hours of operation you can be more liberal about your settings and even use pillar box 4:3 mode (black or grey bars on the right and left) if you don't wish to have your standard definition programing stretched out. Some purists will tell you to ALWAYS fill the screen with a plasma.

If you choose to watch programing with bars up, consider using grey instead of black.


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## quizzer

Radio Enginerd said:


> No problem. I did a ton of research when I got my Pioneer Elite "over priced" Plasma. I was VERY close to buying the 600U so I think you made a good choice.
> 
> Once you're past those first 200 hours of operation you can be more liberal about your settings and even use pillar box 4:3 mode (black or grey bars on the right and left) if you don't wish to have your standard definition programing stretched out. Some purists will tell you to ALWAYS fill the screen with a plasma.
> 
> If you choose to watch programing with bars up, consider using grey instead of black.


This is what I have set for the burn-in period (first 100 hours):

Picture Mode Standard 
Picture 0 
Brightness +8 
Color -1 
Tint -4 
Sharpness -14 
Color Temperature Warm 
Enhanced Black Level Off

Also Iam changing the Aspect mode from the default JUST to FULL/ZOOM as needed so that the picture is there on the complete screen with no bars whatsoever.

Let me know if am doing right?

P.S:
How to change the bars from black to grey?

Thanks


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## BubblePuppy

quizzer said:


> This is what I have set for the burn-in period (first 100 hours):
> 
> Picture Mode Standard
> Picture 0
> Brightness +8
> Color -1
> Tint -4
> Sharpness -14
> Color Temperature Warm
> Enhanced Black Level Off
> 
> Also Iam changing the Aspect mode from the default JUST to FULL/ZOOM as needed so that the picture is there on the complete screen with no bars whatsoever.
> 
> Let me know if am doing right?
> 
> P.S:
> How to change the bars from black to grey?
> 
> Thanks


I set my brightness to a minus and color temp to normal during the break in period. I didn't worry so much about the bars because I change channels enough and most of the HD channels filled the screen anyway.

The new plasmas aren't as sensitive as the older ones.....just set your settings below 0 for the first 100-200 hours and just enjoy the tv......

And check out the links I posted above.


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## jimbojive

there is info on this in the FAQ at Panasonic.


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## n3ntj

Since brightness fades gradually over time with plasma units, I would refrain from having this set to the high end. Being a little conservative on brightness may help prolong your TV's life.

I also have the 42" Panny plasma. Nice set!


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## quizzer

n3ntj said:


> Since brightness fades gradually over time with plasma units, I would refrain from having this set to the high end. Being a little conservative on brightness may help prolong your TV's life.
> 
> I also have the 42" Panny plasma. Nice set!


Thank you for the response.

I have reduced the brightness to 0 now.

What should be the ideal setting for Color Temperature during burn period?


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## tyrap

Panasonic TH-42PX600U Optimal Picture Settings 
Picture Mode Standard 
Picture +22 
Brightness +8 
Color -1 
Tint -4 
Sharpness -14 
Color Temperature Warm 
Enhanced Black Level Off 

Experts say this should be your settings-you be the final judge


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## quizzer

tyrap said:


> Panasonic TH-42PX600U Optimal Picture Settings
> Picture Mode Standard
> Picture +22
> Brightness +8
> Color -1
> Tint -4
> Sharpness -14
> Color Temperature Warm
> Enhanced Black Level Off
> 
> Experts say this should be your settings-you be the final judge


My guess is this setiing is for after burn period.

correct me if am wrong.


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## Jim5506

tyrap said:


> Panasonic TH-42PX600U Optimal Picture Settings
> Picture Mode Standard
> Picture +22
> Brightness +8
> Color -1
> Tint -4
> Sharpness -14
> Color Temperature Warm
> Enhanced Black Level Off
> 
> Experts say this should be your settings-you be the final judge


These settings are asking for burn-in. Brightenss and picture should be at or below 0 and kept there. These settings are for bright fluorescent lighting in the store not dim home setting.


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## mridan

Jim5506 said:


> These settings are asking for burn-in. Brightenss and picture should be at or below 0 and kept there. These settings are for bright fluorescent lighting in the store not dim home setting.


Wrong,these settings are calibration settings for this plasma,they are based on ISF standards using a Sencore High Definition Signal Generator Color Meter and a specialized software suite to get a optimal color temperature of D6500K set up by the ISF(Imaging Science Foundation). I have these exact settings on my plasma,and have no burnin.Go to plasmatvbuyingguide.com ,and check out there reviews ,there you will find your calabration settings and you wont have to pay somebody 300.00 to set up your plasma.You can keep picture level(contrast) at 0 for first 100 hours ,I didn't and have no burnin.


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## n3ntj

I don't know why anyone would pay someone $300 to set up their TV. This Firedog thing is nuts.


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## mridan

n3ntj said:


> I don't know why anyone would pay someone $300 to set up their TV. This Firedog thing is nuts.


Thats what I've been told,I would never pay someone to adjust my picture settings.I did a google search for calibration settings and found them.


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## man00

mridan said:


> Thats what I've been told,I would never pay someone to adjust my picture settings.I did a google search for calibration settings and found them.


You have the link for the Google results?


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## mridan

man00 said:


> You have the link for the Google results?


plasmatvbuyingguide.com
Look under reviews of different models,there you will find calibration settings


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## man00

mridan said:


> plasmatvbuyingguide.com
> Look under reviews of different models,there you will find calibration settings


thanks


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## stblake10

I agree that the price for the calibration is expensive. I will say this that on the surface everyone can change the settings, what you don't have access to is the under the hood sort of speaking menus that the companys don't want consumers playing around with. If you don't know what you're doing you could destroy the TV. Yes, you can go on the web and find the codes for individual televisions but be carefull. I have spoken to a Best Buy calibration technician, and he had said that by doing a calibration will improve the life and picture quality of the tv. Think for a moment. If you sit in your home with the tv remote and change the video specs to your liking will you have the same results as someone coming in to your house with $10k+ worth of equipment to do the same thing. Probably not.


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## mridan

expen


stlake10 said:


> I agree that the price for the calibration is expensive. I will say this that on the surface everyone can change the settings, what you don't have access to is the under the hood sort of speaking menus that the companys don't want consumers playing around with. If you don't know what you're doing you could destroy the TV. Yes, you can go on the web and find the codes for individual televisions but be carefull. I have spoken to a Best Buy calibration technician, and he had said that by doing a calibration will improve the life and picture quality of the tv. Think for a moment. If you sit in your home with the tv remote and change the video specs to your liking will you have the same results as someone coming in to your house with $10k+ worth of equipment to do the same thing. Probably not.


The settings that I have are from expensive equipment that I did'nt have to buy.Check out this link and you will see the equipment they used to come up with the settings I inputed into my plasma saving me thousands of dollars in expensive testing equipment.
www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/panasonic-th50px60u-review.html


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