Good info appreciate all of your advice. Just as an FYI in case you havent already figured it out, you do not need to unplug the TV to get out of the service menu. If you hold down the Volume Down button on the TV and hit the info button 3 times again it takes you back to the home screen (same thing you do to get into the service screen). Loving the TV so far.
Oh wow, you learn something new everyday lol! You're the first person to tell me that so it's much appreciated. I'm glad that you're enjoying your set so far. Congrats and welcome to Club VT60! Merry Christmas my friend and thanks for the info :)
Xp corner and friends you guys are legends with all the help you offer. I am in Australia and was looking at an ST60 50 inch but now am considering a VT60 after hearing you guys talk about this machine 1. Superior brightness 2. Better picture 3 Better front facing speakers meaning I save needing to buy a sound bar 4 Less input lag and better smart TV functionality 5 Camera The issue here is the price is still quite high ST 50 INCH BEST PRICE 999AUD VT 55 IN THE BEST SIZE OPTION FOR ME BUT 2500AUD so I await price discounts Today I saw the VT65 for 2999AUD Hoping for a bargain to come my way so I can join the club
Thank you, we really appreciate the compliment! And yes, if you can hold out for the price drop of the VT60, then you definitely be very happy that you did. Everything that you mentioned is true about the tv. The speakers are great, picture quality is unmatched, and the camera is great for Skyping the whole family. Check Panasonic's website and see if their prices have discounts available in your area. Thanks again my Aussie friend and remember that we're always here to answer questions or feedback!
Hey buddy awesome vid, thanks for naming Eric and I as admins to XpCorner, its a great honor. Great putting the service menu in the video, I wasnt sure how to check that, Im sitting at 329 hours. Also our tvs are a bit different. You have a added picture preset in your menu, and some of the names of the functions are different. Wild how the sets vary so much. Ill have to do a comparison vid just to show the difference. GREAT VIDEO AS ALWAYS Z....
You're welcome my friend, just thought I'd take the time to answer the questions that people are really interested in. Glad it helped you all the way over in Scotland!
Just purchased the TC-P60VT60 and Sony HTST7 soundbar to go with it, I cannot wait to set this up and get it going.. I will use this vid as a guide to break in my TV! Thanks for the info and recommended settings!
Wow, you went all in when you got your tv lol! You'll definitely have a nice setup. Sony has always made great sounding system, even they're budget ones sound very good. You went out and bought a monster though lol. You should do a review on the soundbar because many viewers have asked what's my recommended soundbar of choice. Anyways, great to hear and let me know your thoughts on the set. Thanks for the feedback!
SoCalDude805 I purchased mine through greystoneappliance.com, they are legit and have great deals. I got my TV for $1829.00! Thanks, however, for the look out.
XpCorner PH Yes, I did spoil myself a bit on the sound system lol. I believe it will go perfect with the TV set especially because I was beginning to get sick of my surround sound and all the loose wires. I'll let you know how the two work together once I get them in!
Ok, I dont usually do reviews on long extinct technology, but this I had to do. I owned this set since late 2012. It has been faithful, but not without its hitch "burn in", and that has been it's ONLY weakness albiet not a worrying one. Its built like a tank, still looks brand new. The picture quality in THX mode is absolutely superb. It still seems just as bright today as it ever was and its now 2018, and trust me the set has been put through some hard use. It didn't matter what I watch, games, moves ect, its been a heck of a performance beast. No other set I have owned up to this time has came close to its excellent quality. LCD tech is stress free, but it has bad flashlighting and screen uniformity issues in every set I have owned, this plasma was the perfect set with practical careful usage as to not get burn in. I used mainly THX cinema for the last 3 years, the set did get very faint burn, but is invisible under normal viewing conditions. Even so, this tv has been the best of the best. My score on this set. GENERAL USAGE Gaming 9 out of 10. Prone to screen burn. Movies: 10 out of 10 PICTURE QUALITY AND FUNCTIONS Black level: 10 out of 10 Screen Uniformity: 10 out of 10 Motion handeling 10 out of 10 Picture brightness 8 out of 10, plasma in more for moderate to dark rooms, not as bright as led tv. Input lag for games: 10 out of 10, did not notice input lag at all. Durabilty 9 out of 10. Sturdy built heavy glass and metal set, but the remotes are a bit weak and break easy, shiny plastic fingerprint prone. Again must watch for IR/burn in, inherent to any current and past self emissive display technology. Tomorrow I will be retiring this set to be used in the game room as a backup monitor, moving to a oled, yet another self emissive display. You just can't beat the picture quality of perfect black and white, or well calibrated color that's also a staple of both plasma and Oled. The Panasonic VT60 55 has served me well. Anybody looking to buy these sets used are in for a treat providing the set has been cared for. Self emissive tech is the best, but it does require a little more tender care, but the benefits are far outweighing to any pitfalls. Yours truly RAGEOFTHORNGUITAR.
Awesome to hear my friend! You will absolutely be blown away by this tv. I'm excited for you and be sure to let me know your first impressions when you get the set. Thanks for sharing!
XpCorner PH It's on its way, should get it in a week or so. BTW, you mentioned that you don't have cable hooked up to it. Do you watch regular HD TV on it or exclusively use it for movies? I plan to watch TV using Dish, any problems with that? Thanks!
No cable for me, only Netflix and bluray movies. Cable can't justify all the advertisements when I'm already paying for the service so I don't have it anymore. You can definitely watch cable though, it is still a television after all. Just remember to avoid static images during the break in period. After that, you're golden. Great question and I'm here if you have more.
XpCorner PH While I'm waiting for the TV to show up (last I heard it was still in NY) I was wondering what are you using for a BluRay player. I am thinking of getting an Oppo BDP-103, it plays everything. Any thoughts?
Yes the Oppo is a phenomenal Blu-ray player! It does everything and then some lol. I don't currently own one because I use my PS3 and Sony NSZ-GT1 for my movies and streaming media. They work perfect for my needs but for those who demand more robust settings and control, then the Oppo is the creme dela creme. Great player and let me know when your set arrives!
Hello XpCorner PH! First off, thanks for your thorough explanation of everything. After months of anagizing over the many TV options out there I decided to go with the 65VT60. It just came this week and I have yet to even plug it in. Just took it out the box and set it on the stand last night. Typically I wouldn’t take that long, but after reading all the forums on this set I must admit that im a bit intimidated. With an investment like this, I want to make sure that I don’t mess anything up. FYI watching your videos and reading your tags helped push me over the top. I was originally going with the Samsung F8000 LED as I am moving up from a Samsung LN750 which has provided my family years of pleasure. But with Panasonic not producing plasmas after 2014 and all the buzz this set has gotten, I knew it was time to get in the game. So, all that to say, I am back and forth between using your setting and just playing movies as you suggested vs the D-Nice settings and slideshow method. I’ve even considered a hybrid of both. Doing his method and settings for the first 150-200hrs, then going with your settings and watching movies for the next 150-200hrs. How crazy is that … Again, I want to maximize the potential of the TV but im really torn with what makes the most sense. The DNice method means I won’t be watching anything other than a the slideshow for 150hrs. That sucks, but I’ll do it for the best picture quality in the long run. However, as it was your info that kinda pushed me over the top, I almost feel like I should just go with your method. At least we can watch some TV while breaking it in. Sorry for the ramble dude, im just at an impass right now… Thanks in advance.
Wow man that's amazing. Welcome to Club VT60! I know how feels getting a new tv, especially one as amazing as the VT60. It takes some time to take it all in and I was the exact same way. I even went as far as to take pictures of my box and the driver who delivered the set to my house lol! Anyways, I really appreciate the feedback. I was reading it at work and I grew about 10 feet tall so thanks so much, I'm glad the review was helpful. Regarding the slides, they're ok to do if you want to them. I personally haven't done them on my VT60 but you can If you would like to. Important to know though, you should use my method first, and I'm not just saying that because it's my method LOL! D-Nice's slides are actually used to prep your set for calibration and NOT meant for break-in. That's very important. You should run the slides after you've gone through the break-in period. So if you want to do the slides (which is perfectly ok) then use my method first (if you want to lol) then run his slides after you hit 200 hours. Sound good? After that, you'll be plowing in high cotton my friend. Let me know how you like the set and if you need any help or more questions. I'm always here and always happy to help!
XpCorner PH Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Im going to watch a movie with my wife tonight after i re-watch your video and get my settings hooked up and internet connected. The good thing for me is that im not going to do any real gaming on my set. Other than my daughters playing the Wii an hour or 2 a week,it will be mostly sports and movies. The sports are what scare me to be honest with the still score images and ESPN logos and what not, but im not giving up my sports for a TV, the tv just has to adjust! So i just have to protect it as best as possible to avoid any craziness. You seem pretty confident that this is doable so im not overly concerned. I will probably always change the channel every now and then out of pure paranoia, but so be it. Super pumped and really want this to go well. I'm sure ill have a couple questions along the way. Appreciate the help! Off to get Man of Steel to begin the break in process tonight!
Man I'm jealous! I have yet to see Man of Steel but everyone says that it's one of the best movies of the year. I'm sure that you'll be fine with your set. You have the right attitude coming in. You acknowledge that it's a plasma and that it does require a little extra attention. But the payoff is that the set will look so much better than any other tv.....period! My friend who owns a VT60 watches sports on his set and his set looks gorgeous (as do all VT60s), so as long as you do the break-in (and then the slides if you go that route) you'll be super ok. Don't compromise for the set, just respect it and it will respect you :) Enjoy your movie man and get ready to sit in pure ecstasy as you watch it. Merry Christmas!
XpCorner PH Probably a redundant thing, as i'm guessing you can always reset the standard mode to its original factory state, but in the video you set your screen to Standard and locked in the settings, however above you wrote Custom with the settings. Is there a difference. Im currently running content in standard but want to switch if there is a difference. Thanks
Sorry, I completely forgot to respond this post. I read it while I was shopping. Anyways my friend, I put custom in the about section of the video because in standard mode, sometimes pixel orbiter will be greyed out and it won't allow you to change the setting to On instead of Auto. The difference in picture quality of standard and custom is negligible, it's just the ability to toggle the pixel orbiter on and off is why I recommended custom. I hope that clarifies it a bit, sorry for the discrepancy in the video. Great eye though! Merry Christmas!
I went the other way - went back to LCD from plasma because the flickering on whites was giving me a headache:). And IR was terrible on mine (old V20). I've done calibrations on these VT60's and they do get to literal reference accuracy.
Thank you for posting this video, I wanted this TV but found the Samsung PN60F8500 for 1297.00 lol it comes close to this one but Panasonic is still the BEST!
Where on earth did you find the Samsung for that price!? That's crazy, I would've gotten the Samsung in a heartbeat too had I found it at that price lol. The Samsung is amazing but you're right the Panasonic is just awesomeness. You're still not missing much with your awesome set though. Thanks for the compliment and enjoy your tv! Merry Christmas :)
I have ST60 set, amazing TV so far.My TV is professional calibration, Klein K10 meter, JETI Specbos 121, AccuPel DVG-5000 and Calman 5 Ultimate.I play a lot of games on PS4, no burning at all.
Mic Rich Nice! You went all out and I bet that it looks astounding. I'm glad that you are having zero issues with burn-in. Do you mind sharing your settings, I would love to post them in my description for others to try.
I had a VT30 that burned in "Menu" just from the short time period of adjusting settings, they've come along ways in preventing IR and burn-in since then.
Wipe bar on my set is Scroll bar, and you have a home theatre preset in the video options not present in the AU model. theee seemed to be some other differences as well such as the C.A.T.S is called ambient sensor. Wild stuff.
Thank you for all your tips! Saw this great video of yours a few months ago, the TV is finally arriving today. I had saved your video so I could use your suggestions!
You are most welcome my friend, I'm glad that you found this video to be helpful. I'm always here if you have questions or feedback or advice :) Let me know what you think of the set!
XpCorner PH Sweet!! Got the P65ZT60. I knew it was going to be too tall for the opening in our TV cabinet, so I bought a 2012 P65VT50 replacement stand online and mounted the new TV on that 2012 model's stand. The 1 inch shorter height allows my TV to fit comfortably! Question about your break in settings: during your video, you had Vivid and Color Remaster settings "On", but in the video description you said to have those settings off. Should I keep them off? And is "Warm2" your personal preference, or recommended for break in? By the way, what is the benefit of using these custom settings for the break in period rather than the Factory Default "standard" picture settings? Haha and what settings should I use once the break in period is over? Is that what the "Pro Settings 2 at Night Mode" was for? Sorry for all the questions... I found your video to be the most helpful resource out there!
Cool beans that you were able to modify the stand so that it fits now, because I know the tv's mammoth size and weight can be difficult to pair with a good entertainment console. In the video I told you what to set the settings to but I didn't bother changing the settings while I was filming. I understand how that can be confusing so that's why I put the updated settings in the description. For future references use the picture settings in the description. In terms of the Warm 2, I do recommend it for the break-in because it further reduces the light output of the set, if only subtly; but I'm also biased so I prefer a warmer picture lol. As far as Panasonic's recommendation of using Standard mode for 100 hours, it just isn't as effective as my settings. I've owned several Panasonic plasmas (several plasmas in general) and their Standard mode was never very effective in deterring IR or burn-in. 100 hours is a good start for break-in hours but Standard mode doesn't age the phosphors as evenly as my break-in settings. My settings actually increase the resistance of IR and also prep your set for optimal picture quality. I know that it is fairly dim (at least at first), but the longer you use them the better the picture and brightness become. In terms of settings after the break-in, you can try pretty much anything. The best picture quality will come from an actual calibration, but the settings that I posted are all pretty good. Ultimately it comes down to your preference (some like it really sharp, some like it soft, some prefer inky blacks, some prefer a brighter picture, some like heavily saturated colors, etc.). I prefer the CNET settings the most though. I also posted a link to a website where you can rent the equipment to do an automated calibration. Anyways man, those were all great questions and if you have any more, then I'm here!
XpCorner PH Wow, awesome!!! Thanks so much for the detailed and super fast replies! Yeah the settings are a bit dim, but they're manageable for now. You've been a great help!
XpCorner PH whats up bro hope all is well. I just read in your reply to Arjun Mehta that the zt60 picture will become better and brighter. my zt60 has about 600 hrs or more. the picture is good but just wish it was bighter. so based on what you said, can i expect the the tvs brightness to improve? is so about how much?
Thank you my friend for the tip, but I've been made aware of the other method of how to get out of the service menu countless times lol (some weren't as nice about it as you though), but thanks for looking out. Also I really appreciate the sub! I'm always here if you have questions or feedback.
XPcorner, and eric thompson I just wanted to thank you both for the advice. I believe I will opt for the sony w900a, only because I like to game and leave my tv on for extended periods and I hear the input lag on it is second to none. That being said, I really do love this picture on the zt60 and will have to find a way to maybe grab a plasma for movie viewing in another room or something in the future. I've always loved plasma, but will admit to being uninformed and still believing old stigma's such as bad burn in, etc. I certainly would love a plasma, but for the extra cost of it vs the LED and the fact it's risky to game on it like I want... i'll have to sacrifice a bit of picture quality for better quality of life. Thank you again so much for helping me with this, my decision certainly would have been more difficult without your invaluable input. Thanks again you two, and have a good one!
Hey Perry, long time no speak, this is Rage. Rageofthornguitar. My set burned, I pampered it, was really careful, it still burned. Logos, game huds, you name it. The side panels have not aged evenly either. Looks like I watched 4:3 content on it for hours, never did once. Tv is a real mess. The ghost from my nightmare can just knock a hole in it for all I care.
Fan noise is only detectable as a very light hum, and you have to be up on the set to hear it, at normal veiwing distance, no problem. The avarage distance you should sit away from your set is the width of your set times 3 to 4.
Thanks for the overview. I have a th-46p85u and I think its time to upgrade, and since Panasonic is getting out of plasma i HAVE to pull the trigger soon. Its either this or the zt60, if i can get the credit together. Just wanted to comment say hi and thanks for the vids. Love my plasma, I'm a hardcore gamer and i broke my tv in for about 500 hours before gaming on it really hard, used an sd card with a cycle of full screen solid colored images and left it on for days, was very careful for the longest time, but after a while I just stopped worrying. I game for 8-12 hours no problem never had burn in, then again my set is 5 years old now. Keep adding vids, ill keep checking back with the chan.
Oh wow, are you a pro gamer! That's some intense gaming. I say go with the VT60 because the pq is identical in dark room but if you can't control the lighting in the room then the ZT60 is the best choice. And instead of 500 hours bump the break in to about 700 on the new plasmas. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll add new videos soon! Let me know what you go with and your thoughts on it.
At that point, you can tweak the set to your liking. I'm right at 200 hours now and I still use my break in settings; however when I pop in a bluray or something that I want to enjoy I use THX mode for the best pq. For gaming I'd still limit the number of hours of gameplay until I reached 300+. A properly calibrated set you don't want to have too bright or a high contrast anyway, but you'll still be fine at higher settings.
It helped so much :-) Very honest and fantastic advice and now ive had to order Star Wars on Blu Ray because it looks pretty damn stunning on your VT :-P
I just pulled the trigger on the VT60. Can't wait for it now. I was gonna wait another month or so but last night I checked on Amazon and noticed they only have reburbs and used units (blech. LOL). So I panicked and had to order it right away from Best Buy:) Anyway, I gotta say the comments section on here, with all of your advice to new owners of this TV, is all I need. You've covered everything! I planning on reading through all of this between now and when I get the TV. Thanks for all the helpful advice.
Oh, and I also got the 5-year Geek Squad warranty. They cover everything it seems, even surges. Part of the reason I am even getting this TV is because a surge wiped out my HDMI ports on my current 6 year old Panasonic Plasma, that I love. The TV still works great but the HDMI ports were both fried. I've been using component as much as possible but as you know, newer devices won't push HD through component. So my blu ray player is useless with my current TV. Luckily, I have an older PS3 to play blu rays on. But the new PS4 only has HDMI port. Anyway, the protection plan seemed like a good deal, especially considering the fact that Panasonic will only support these TVs for another 3 years. I plan on having it longer than that:)
Wow man, way to go!!! You made an awesome decision and you'll see just how awesome it is once you pop in a bluray and behold the beauty that is the VT60. I'm glad that this video (and the comments section lol) was helpful and also contributed to you purchasing the VT60. You'll see that this channel provides a ton of support for the VT60. I myself as well as others will do everything that we can to provide answers and assist you with getting the most of your tv. That Best Buy warranty that you bought is one of the best. My friend Eric bought one and he had an issue with his old VT50 and because it's no longer available BB went ahead and replaced it with a brand new Sony LED tv that is a stellar set. Anyways my friend, welcome to Club VT60 and I'm always here if you need help. Sorry for the delayed response, I'm at work and had meetings.
XpCorner PH Thanks for the reply! Also wanted to ask another question.When you mention that we shouldn't use THX Bright Room for gaming are you only talking about during the break-in period? Or even after that? Also, since many games nowadays don't have static stats or health bars (Last of Us, Arkham, Uncharted, Tomb Raider, etc) are you mainly referring to games like shooters and fighters that have static elements that stay on screen the entire time, when talking about IR and burn-in? Thanks again:)
I don't recommend using THX Bright Room for gaming at all. I say that because that is the main driver of burn-in on the VT60. Many that have commented said that they used THX Bright for gaming and they had IR that lasted for a couple of weeks and a few even say that they burnt their set. It's just too bright and high contrast of a setting to use for gaming which is why I don't recommend it. Of course, some say that it doesn't affect them at all and game on it all the time. I won't ever use it nor do I recommend it. If you do try it, just be sure to check for IR frequently. I was referring to any games that have static images on the screen. Even the most subtle static image can be retained if kept on screen long enough. I hope this was helpful!
Panasonic showed off a OLED this year at CES. It was stunning. The Verge has the article you are speaking of. Sad times, but if anyone can perfect OLED its Sony and Panasonic.
Thank you very much I'm glad that you found the video to be useful. I could have sworn that I replied to your comment but I guess that i didn't. Anyways, yes I do have suggested settings that I use for my VT60 but I only give them out if you have reached the minimum required hours for gaming. I'm only particular about this because I don't want you to burn your set. Anyways, yes I will definitely give you my settings just tell me how long you plan to game and how many hours are logged on your set. Sorry for the very late reply my friend, I really did think that I had already responded.
XpCorner PH I have about 450 hours. I play in the evening, with the PlayStation,for about 2/3 hours for session. Unfortunately, I noticed that my Pana GT60 is suffering of a permanent retention....Indeed I have played NFS Rivals for a lot of time: not more than 3 hours per session, but i think that playing the same game, repeatedly day by day, is worst. I have played it for 2 months, with the TV setted in THX Bright Room mode (I've been a stupid ignorant, i know...but it is my first experience with plasmas) and now i think i have a permanent retention. You can notice it only only in particular conditions: with white or light grey screens, i can see the game's HUD. But if you look at with black, mixed or dark coloured scenes, you can't see anything....so....i tend to think that mine is a hard retention, instead of a burning in. Am I right, man?
Lol normally I would apologize but trust me, you have just made one of the greatest investments in your life. The VT60 is a gem and you will have no regrets. The tv itself is a work of art and the pq that it produces is even better. Congratulations and welcome to Club VT60 LOL!
It depends. If you plan on putting this tv in a bright room where you can't control the light then yes, it's worth the extra money. If you plan to put this in a dark room or a place where you can control the lighting conditions then opt for the VT60. The pq of the VT and ZT are identical in dark rooms. As far as the fan hum, I sit about 10 ft. away from my set with a surround sound going so I don't hear it at all. Even when I play just the tv speakers I've never heard the fan. Hope this helped;)
I have 830 hours on my TV (60VT60). Mostly from family members watching full screen movies (I make them use zoom mode when there are letter box bars). However, after 4 hours of gaming on Command and Conquer Kanes Wrath or Battlefield 4 There is a ton of IR. I know this because when I go to my internet browser I see an imprint of my HUD on the white screen. However, after a month or so of regular viewing it is completely unnoticeable. After sessions lasting like 6-8 hours I still cannot see actual "burn in" given a couple weeks to a month of regular viewing. If you can handle the IR, because it is noticeable, this tv is amazing for gaming. The black levels and smooth motion make gaming on this a whole new and rewarding experience. For me, the IR is not noticeable enough to convince me to stop gaming on it. If your worried about breaking it, just keep in mind that IR can take days if not weeks to go away no matter how many hours you have on it. I have tortured this TV with ridiculous gaming sessions, and after careful examination using the screen wipe, I still cannot see any signs of burn in.
Thank you for sharing your experience, it will certainly put others minds at ease who are wary about gaming on this set. I totally agree, IR will always go away, but it's burn-in that sticks around to stay. I would also like to see the calibration settings that you use, can you post a link my friend? Thanks again for the very helpful information, it is most welcome. Feel free to comment anytime and I'm glad that you're enjoying your set. Cheers!
I just bought this TV today along with the Oppo-103 player. Looking forward to seeing what its capable of. One note, I really wish you would have shut the drapes etc. The glare from outside doesn't really do the TV justice.
Congratulations man on being an owner of one of the greatest sets to ever be created! The Oppo player is one serious piece of equipment when it comes to playing Bluray so you're going to have an awesome setup (you should do a review). And yeah, when you saw me walk in front of the camera, that was me closing the drapes lol. There were two reasons for all the light in the room. First was for video recording (quality degraded in a dark setting) and the second was because I wanted to show that even in a really bright room that the VT60 fared quite well. Let me know what you think about your set when you get it all configured! Thanks :)
They may produce more plasma tvs, but estimated to stop possible production in 2015 or so, from info posted on the web. Also, they have infact stated they are no longer doing research into new plasma panels. I would expect a new tv though using current panels, which is fine because in my eyes the VT, and ZT are the best panels ever made.
Hi XpCorner PH, Thanks for your videos, I've watched both this one as well as the review video you've posted, and I have a few comments: • You DO NOT need to unplug the TV once you're in the Service Menu and have checked the hours used. All you need to do is to hold the Exit-button for about three seconds, and the set will shut down and restart itself. • You don't even need to go into the Service Menu to see the hours used, all you need to do is simply open up the Main Menu on the TV, go to "Help" at the bottom, then choose "System Information", and once you have the System Information window up, you can see hours used next to the line that says "Status4". For example mine says "B0181-00000", which means that my set has been used for 181 hours. Thank you, have a good one!
I really appreciate the compliment and the info. I've actually had a couple of people explain to me a few different techniques to tell the number of hours viewed on the set as well as the way to exit the service menu. I chose the method that both showed viewers how to enter the service menu as well as check the number of hours. I also know that you can just repeat the steps that you used to enter the service menu to exit the service menu but I figured that unplugging the set would be the easiest method for viewers and would decrease the chances of them getting into a setting that they should not be in. I probably will post your method as to how to check the hours used in the about section of my video, but entering the service menu was a very common question for viewers so that's why I chose it. Thanks again for the feedback, I'm always happy to learn more and I'm always here if you have more comments, feedback, or questions my friend!
Hi there! Thx for this very clear video. Excellent for new Panasonic plasma owners!! I don't know if this thread is still active bur I also have some questions: I have the Panasonic ST60 since yesterday. (St60 is the entry level and compared to VT60 it has less settings like the THX and so). And what wonderful display compared to my four years old Sharp LED. Difference is really day and night! Wow!! I watched your movie and followed your "break in" settings as described and am now using your settings like sharpness 0 etc... Since I'm new to plasma and don't want any burn in and I was wondering if I can watch regular television (I have DVB-T antenna). On those channels there always is a static channel logo on the top of the screen and I'm worried it could cause burn in after watching it for a couple of hours.... I have the pixel orbiter set to "on". Also another question: since I just have the tv and am very enthousiast about it's quality of course I want to show it to some friends while watching a movie with the settings set to better quality than the break in settings you described. Would it hurt the tv if I watch an occasional movie with better settings than the break in settings? (Yesterday evening I watched Avatar with the normal settings plus a few enhancements. That was before I watched your review and to test the tv capabilities... Luckily no image retention was generated) Last question: why does the sharpness have to be zero while breaking in? Hope to get an answer from you guys. Thanks in advance! Greetings from a very happy consumer! :-)
Congrats my friend! I'm very excited for you and welcome to Club VT60 :) Let me know when your set arrives and if you need any help or just have questions. I can't wait til you get it!
XpCorner PH got him !!! Very Very nice ,iam in love . Now first 200 hours waiting ;) i did all the things you did in your movie. HD movies from youtube are insanely awesome
Cool beans man, glad that you're as excited I was when my set first came in. I ended up watching a movie with the people who brought it in. They helped me set it up and then I asked them to watch Prometheus in 3D and it was amazing! And yes, TH-cam (and all HD content) look stunning.
XpCorner PH iam almost there , now 160 hours sow next week i think the 200 hours. at what picture setting are your vt60 now ? so i no what to do at my 200 hours
Hey thanks for this video. Great information. I have a ST60 and have burn in from Dark Souls. I have the game mode on, low contrast and all the settings you have mentioned here. Total hours on the TV is 465. Longest game session would be 4 hours (after the set had done 200+ hours). I have run the white bar many times. Looks like Im stuck with it. Just wanted to say this so that people are still careful with plasmas. Thanks again.
You're very welcome for the video, glad that you enjoyed it. I'm sorry to hear about the gaming incident however. Are you certain that it's burned and IR. I have had several people think that their set was burned, but after two weeks it went completely away. What I recommend doing is using my break-in settings for about a week or two and quit gaming on the set totally. Focus on just full screen images and stay out of the menu screen as much as possible. Run the screen wipe for 15 minutes before you watch anything and 15 minutes before you turn the set off. Give that a try and see if the IR clears up any. Also thanks for the forewarning to the other plasma owners. Let me know how it turns out my friend!
Game mode wont reduce PQ at all even in game mode, I tested it with a blray and there was 0% degradation between game mode on, or off. Its the same. Game mode only deactivates some picture options that most people never would use anyway, smoothing ect. Its solid.
I got the panasonic TC-P65s60 plasma tv about one month ago and I'm loving it. Great for gaming and the best picture I have ever seen. I'm guessing the s60 has close to if not the same picture quality as this tv.
Congrats on your set! The S60 is a great set for movies and gaming and looks exceptionally well, especially for it's price. It does share some similarities of other Panasonic plasmas manufactured in 2013, but not enough to say that the picture quality is similar (and definitely not the same) as the VT60. I would say as a comparison that the S60 would be a Nissan Maxima and the VT60 would be an Infiniti Q60s. The blacks would be the biggest difference between the two, and then others would include motion and color accuracy and the details that are improved. As I said they're both great sets, just in different classes.
It definitely varies from person to person. My sister and brother prefer the look of my old Sony LCD while my mom likes the look of my ST50. The VT60 is really for people who are extremely picky about every detail of their set. If you've never noticed how black your letterbox is compared to your tv's bezel, then you probably wouldn't notice the difference between the two. Statistics and numbers won't mean anything to a person if they don't notice it. It's like a person who only checks their email shopping for a new laptop and a salesman trying to sale them a super fast gaming computer. The person won't notice a difference in speed because they're only using the computer to check their email, but a gamer would immediately notice how fast the computer is. I hope I'm not confusing you lol, but yeah it's something you just have to see and know what to look for. Thanks for the feedback my friend!
Yeah I mean my my s60 when I paused the DVR on a black screen the tv looked like it was off so the black levels are definitely good. I used CNET's recommended settings for the tv and the letter box blacks are as dark as the bezel not kidding. And your not confusing me at all. I can be very picky that's why I got a plasma. Compared to my parents Sharp LC65D64U the picture is a lot better. Not saying sharp is bad but The black levels on my tv are alot better. Theirs could probably be set up better because they are not picky at all.
Yeah, sharp does make some pretty good sets, particularly their Elite model. I know exactly how you feel with your parents tv. I went home and calibrated my parents Samsung tv and when I came back that had it set back to the same terrible default settings. Some people you just can't help lol.
Burn-in is very much a real issue on this TV. I own this set my self, always took precautions to avoid it. I did a break-in period of about 200 hours first. Everything was full screen during that period. No games. My father borrowed my set (after break-in) and passed out drunk with a computer desktop left on. Now I have a ghost image of that visible on my TV. It stayed on for 4 hours until the auto shut down turned it off. Might've happened several times without my knowledge. Have run "washing programs" (scrolling bars etc) for close to 40 hours and it still is visible. I would not recommend at all to use games or computers on this screen. Not even TV programs with static logos. The sad part is that they don't make plasma anymore, and LCD/LED doesn't have the picture quality I want... Still looking for a TV that can perform just as good as this plasma.
+togst I'm very sorry to hear that man. Yeah, 4 hours of a static image will likely cause burn-in especially if it's a computer screen that doesn't have a screen saver. For serious gaming I did update the hours and the set can definitely handle it, but it has to be very well broken in so that the phosphors are trained. My heart goes out to you though, this tv is phenomenal! My friend had some luck running my break-in settings watching full screen HD movies with no static logos for an additional 200 hours. It didn't fully remove the burn in but it made it nearly invisible unless you looked at it point blank. Be well and I wish you the best!
Michael Walsh Actually Michael, burn-in on OLED can be worse. That's been my biggest reason for not making the jump to OLED. The burn-in can be more visible and easier attained so you have to be careful.
Plasma tvs go through what's called a break in period where the phosphors have to be aged. When you first get the set, it will look amazing but the best pq won't be achieved until the tv has aged properly and warmed up. Think of the break in period as a practice before a game. You first need to get warmed up and in shape before you're ready to play on the field. The break in period helps to ward off image retention and burn-in. Every plasma, no matter the brand, needs to be broken in.
I'm very sorry to hear that. Are you certain that it's burn-in or image retention. Most people who get IR think that it's burned but after the set washes it will return to normal. Extreme IR can last for several days and even weeks. I don't recommend heavy gaming on the set until 400 hours especially if you're playing games with a static HUD. What picture setting did you use? I don't recommend using any default picture mode for gaming. Try my settings and see if the IR will fade.
I liked and subscribed .your very helpful .can you please share your calibration settings for us .and settings you recommend for gaming for the best experience .thanks .
Thanks so much, I really appreciate that. You can go and look in the about section of my other video of the VT60 and it has a couple of calibrated settings for great picture quality. I don't have a specific picture quality for gaming because I'm always changing them but I will work on developing a setting for gaming at 200 hours and then after 400 hours. Sorry for not posting my settings sooner but I'll put them on by no later than Sunday. Thanks for the reminder and I'm here if you have any questions or feedback!
Aaaaaw, man! :( I've been taking such good care of my VT60, babying if it you will. Been really careful, and even broke it in for about 450h. Now about 550 hours in, I noticed two days ago that I've gotten a bad case of IR or maybe burn in on my set! And I have NO idea from what! I've got two quite narrow red/pinkish fuzzy bars sitting on top of each other at the lower part of my screen (about where subtitles usually show, but too narrow to be subs I think), and can't image from what they're from... They don't match anything I've seen or played. I haven't paused anything, and I haven't played any games longer than max 1h straight. Been running screen washes and analogue snow noises for hours and hours, but it's still there. On bright scenes you can see those pinkish bars running across. I'm so crushed. :( I hope it's just temporary.
Oh wow man, that's terrible I'm sorry to hear that. That is very odd to say the least. What you're experiencing doesn't really sound like IR because IR rarely retains color. You may have a defect in your screen. Are you on Google +? Can you snap a picture of the set and send it to me via Google Hangouts. I'll message you there if you need help finding it. I want to see what it looks like so that we'll know what it is.
XpCorner PH Hi buddy, Didn't really manage to take any good pictures because of the flickering and rolling bars that occurred in my camera when I aimed it at the screen, so the pink lines weren't really visible in the camera I'm afraid. I searched for "pink image retention" and managed to find a picture that some guy posted in a thread I found about his Panny GT25, that looks pretty similar to my issue: img827.imageshack.us/img827/7894/ironwhite02sm.jpg Do you se the pinkish horizontal line that goes across his screen on the picture? Mine pretty much look like that and are pretty centered, (apart from the letterings and vertical lines on his picture, I don't have any of that). Also my lines/bars are a bit more faded I think. The good thing is that they're only visible in bright areas/scenes, but it's killing me anyways. :( Thank so very much for taking the time and trying to help it, I really appreciate it!
***** Hey my bad for the delayed response. I was away from my computer and I couldn't view the image very clearly from my phone so I had to wait until I could see the image better. Anyways, it looks as though that isn't actually IR or burn-in. I seriously doubt that you did that yourself. To me it looks like a defective set. I recommend that you call Panasonic and inform them of the issue because they may have to replace your set or repair it. Call Panasonic and see if they have an in-home technician in your area that can come and take a look at it. I would hate for you to have to ship it back, but I'd do whatever is necessary to get it fixed. Keep me informed on what you decide.
Tried using the Disney WOW pixel flipper for a very long extended amount of time and none of the areas have cleared. I used Vivid for some but tried the other options as well. Problem is all the other options are very dark and do not make viewing enjoyable. I should have stuck with my gut and chose LCD/LED seeing as it's a theater room used primarily for gaming. I was swayed by the masses saying that burn in was no longer an issue, sadly they were mistaken.
Yes crt was heavy, my RCA was extremely heavy. You could get real good sound out of them though. The PQ depended on the set. My RCA was a TruFlat, it wasn't a hd crt, but the picture was deep and the black level was incredable. The sad thing was that we lost wasn't PQ it was the response time that crt offered. LCD PQ is superior, but there was a few hd crt monitors that competed quite well.
Lol that may very well be true but I can attest that they give some of the most unbiased (and highly accurate) tech opinions that you can find on the web. They can even be too picky with some details but for the most part I agree with their reviews.
Thank you for your reply, I find it really helpful finding out what settings you prefer, I find THX is great for certain films and I think it depends allot, like you say, on what your watching 'TV or films' . I think THX has a kind cinema quality to it but I find normal mode (with contrast turned up to about 60) allot sharper, it seems to display more detail . it's strange because blacks on the cinema mode are not only darker but they are expanded which can' I think 'obscure detail and sharpness , for example I did a test with a blank screen and just black text (writing) , I switched between normal and THX cinema, and on THX cinema the black text (to my suprise) went allot bigger and more bold taking up more pixels that would otherwise be white in the normal mode. It's hard to explain what I'm saying so sorry for rambling on and making no sense lol. ,but in normal mode the black text appeared thin and narrow, visibly allot smaller . Anyway I just want say thanks again, I was interested in hearing what you prefer, but like you say I need to play about more and look at professional modes and my own settings . Thank you for your advice again, it's much appreciated. Take care dude.
I've also tried the screen wipe option for several hours as well with no luck. I currently have 908 hours on my set with watching movies and playing a variety of games. I broke the TV in by using the full screen color pallet pictures similar to what you showed in the beginning of the video. I think at this point I'm screwed. :(
I know it's tough so I'll tell you what I did. The room my tv is in has a bay window with a lot of light. I bought 100% block out curtains and blinds and went with the VT60 because it was cheaper and had the webcam. The pq is identical "IF" you can control the light in the room. I say go with the VT60 if you can figure out a way to dim the light but if you can't then the ZT60 is the best choice for you. Even in a bright room the VT60 fairs well, just not like the ZT60.
There's several articles released yesterday saying Panasonic is exiting Plasma production as of March 2014. So it looks like I'll have to quickly decide which 2013 model to get before they're gone forever. My room is very bright so like you said the ZT60 would be the one to get. The cons are the speakers face downward unlike the VT60; I'd really prefer forward facing speakers. Also the VT60 is $1000 less than the ZT60. Not sure what to do?
Thanks for the demonstration and info. However, I still have a few questions. First, when you show how to eliminate the black widescreen bars on the top/bottom of the image (around the 16 minute mark), you quickly switch over from original to aspect 2. How did you make that change? When I push the "format" key on my remote, the options I see are FULL, JUST, 4:3, etc. Aspect 1, Aspect 2, and Original do not appear. I have the 55" model. Second, you recommend breaking the panel in on standard picture mode. On another forum someone suggested using THX Cinema. What would be the advantage of one over the other? I think THX Cinema looks better, but the image is brighter, so does that mean that burn-in is more likely? Finally, what is the difference between FULL and JUST? Or put another way, which is more accurate/natural? The difference is minimal, but I guess I just want to see things as they were intended. Thanks again. Appreciate the input and feedback.
You are very welcome and I'm glad that you found the video to be helpful. To answer the first question, every option (Aspect 1, Aspect 2, etc.) will not be available on every source. It really depends on the material that you're watching and the input. Since I was watching from my USB, you noticed that I was missing a host of other options (Full, Just, Zoom, etc.). By the way, all VT60's have the same features despite their size, so it has nothing to do with you having a 55" lol. You have everything that I have :) Secondly, I do not recommend THX Cinema for breaking in. You can use it when you watch movies during the break in period, but I don't recommend that you leave the set on THX Cinema when you're not physically watching the tv. Yes, mainly because of the brightness and contrast (which are not terribly high), but I prefer that every pixel gets a uniform aging and my dark settings are best for the job. Mind you, those are my personal settings that I made up, they aren't professionally recommended but they are what I use for reducing the chance of burn in while also fortifying against IR. Even Panasonic recommends breaking in the tv on the Standard preset for 100 hours, not THX Cinema. THX also grays out the pixel orbiter option which should be set to On instead of Auto. Lastly in regards of what aspect settings to use, use Just. Just will be the more natural looking of the two. Full essentially zooms horizontally with no cropping, while Just is a variant of Full that applies greater expansion at the right and left sides and minimal or no expansion in the center. Just is generally more pleasant than Full for 4:3 source material, but it is nonetheless a distortion of the picture. So in summary, some aspects are not always available, use my break-in settings (or at least not THX Cinema) for break-in, and Just is the more natural of the aspects. I hope that I answered all of your questions but if you have more then I'm always here my friend! By the way, I always respond to comments so no worries how the comment section appears :)
XpCorner PH Awesome. Thanks for the help. 200 hours is a long time to break in the set, so maybe I'll just throw in some movies even when I'm not actually watching. Use it primarily for gaming and am concerned about burn-in/severe IR. Anyway, definitely appreciate the assistance.
200 hours is not that long if you just leave your set running for about 10 hours a day on full screen content. The beauty of breaking in the set is that you don't have to be in the room to watch it. Just put on some movies and let them play. If you plan on gaming then I highly recommend the 300-400 hours depending on how heavily you plan to game. You're welcome my friend and feel free to ask me anything, anytime!
Been running lots of movies on the set the past month. I'm probably up to 100 hours by now. Thing is, I played some video games over the weekend. There was a HUD, I played for maybe 2-3 hours, and that HUD is visibly stuck on the screen. I ran some other content for a couple of hours, ran the scrolling bars, and even ran the Disney WOW Pixel Flipper overnight, and still that HUD is visible. It may have faded slightly, but it's hard to tell. Any thoughts/advice? I'm on the Standard preset.
Well I'm very sorry to hear that. I don't know if you recall but the first 100 hours are when the tv is the most sensitive and prone to burn in. It's very important that you stop all gaming immediately. Here's what you need to do. Use my settings for break-in and only on full screen content that has no static images. Run the screen wipe when you first turn on the set for at least 15 minutes then run it for 15 minutes before you turn the set off. Avoid pulling up the menu at all (except for the screen wipe) and stay away from the lifestyle screen. Once you punch in my settings have the tv set so that it goes straight into full screen mode, not the home page with all the widgets and icons. Run full screen content on the set for at least 6-8 hours at a time with no breaks. Try this for a week or longer or until the IR is faded. I know that it seems tedious, but IR removal is a tedious process. Let me know if you need help with anything, thanks!
Wow! You're almost at the golden mark of 400 hrs. I just started trying to really break mine in after 100hrs so I'm jealous lol And of course I had to give a s/o to you and Eric. That is kinda strange how the sets have different menu names and that the AU version is lacking an option. I wonder if there are any other differences in these tvs? Anyways, thanks much Brad I appreciate the feedback and I'm also waiting for your reviews!!! Ur gonna make me fly to AU and take u hostage for a review LOL!
difficult to burn my butt... burned images in after 3-4 hours of gameplay over a few days. Really regret getting the VT60. be careful of static whites. This was with 150-200 hours of break in.
lol, exactly! CRT response time is 0ms, it's crazy how that technology is still the best for gaming considering how old it is. On a completely unrelated note, should I use $65 of my $404.00 in GameStop credit or should I pay outright to pick up beyond two souls?
That's a great idea, just be sure not to touch the panel with your fingers because you don't want to create a seal with oil from your hands under the protective shield. If possible just skip the shield and opt for the warranty from square-trade or the store that you buy your set from.
My tv finally reached 200 hours. It looks great. Just had a couple more questions for you. 1. What picture setting do you use the most? Are you still using the THX settings or do you have custom settings for after break-in? 2. The settings for 420 hours that you have listed in your notes--are those only usable by accessing the service menu? 3. Have you noticed that you have fewer screen options when watching Netflix? It doesn't allow you to zoom or do some of the others. I thought that was odd. Hope you are doing well.
Hey what's up man, I'm doing great thanks for that. Anyways, glad to know that you've got a nice number of hours accumulated on your set. The best picture (that I like) at 200 hours is CNET. They look great with inky blacks and really accurate colors that provide a true life cinema picture. I actually have my own settings that I use for my set when I watch tv. As far as the 420 hours, no you don't have to go into the Service Menu at all but you will need to enable Professional Mode (ISFCCC) from the Setup menu to get those two extra settings. Let me know if you need assistance with dialing in those numbers, it can be pretty tricky if you don't know what it means. It gave me a hard time the first time I tried plugging in values so let me know, I'm here to help. And yes, in regards to Netflix, the amount of customization is severely inhibited. I do however have EXCELLENT news. After you update your set (do it now if you haven't already) then you can now STREAM 3D MOVIES......FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE!!! I'm sorry but that is pretty amazing to me, no one else offers that except TH-cam. Anyways, I hope that I helped you my friend. By the way, if you're on Google+ try messaging me through Hangouts. It's a free and super fast messaging platform. Works on pc, iOS, and Android. You know where to find me if you need me!
XpCorner PH Thanks again. I'll try the CNET settings for sure. I like the THX Cinema setting overall but something feels off about it. Like the black is not quite as black as the TV can display. Definitely not as black as my calibrated older Panasonic plasma. The 3D streaming movies from Netflix is very cool. But now I need to up my speed on Roadrunner. I've always had the standard one and it's too slow for 3D. Works great for HD so I've never bothered to increase it. Might have to now. BTW, do you know much about the ARC feature? I have a Yamaha receiver that has ARC capabilities too so I enabled it on the receive in order to get 5.1 for Netflix and other apps without having to run another cable. It just seems to work occasionally and I have to sort "redo" it every time I turn on Netflix. Not sure if it's the TV or receiver. Have a good one. I'll look you up on Google+.
Yes, ARC is what's used to get the on-screen display that receivers use to display the menu on the tv. They can be fairly tricky at times to get the menu to appear, but not so much with the audio. Are you putting the HDMI cable into the ARC compatible HDMI on the tv? I had issues with my Onkyo receiver and my Sony tv. I ended up resetting both and they have worked flawlessly ever since. I know that isn't very helpful, but that's all that I did lol!
This set is actually targeted at videophiles who prefer plasma over other technology. Panasonic released it as the Kuro killer (the best plasma before the VT60). The set is great but Panasonic made the mistake of thinking that only veteran plasma owners would buy this tv. Default settings are used to show off the different color schemes of the set but not meant for breaking the tv in. Sadly no adequate break in settings are included which left the consumer to find break in settings on their own.
Great video. I was hoping maybe you could clarify something - so I saw in another post that you said D-Nice's slides were supposed to be used after breaking it in, but I thought you were supposed to use his color slides cycle right when you get the TV to break it in and let the slideshow go for a minimum of 100 hours, then watch full-screen content for another 100-200 hours.
NO.....absolutely not! (I'm not yelling lol), if you read the description in the link it let's you know that the slides are NOT intended for break-in, IR, or burn-in prevention. The set should be broken in first and then you can use the slides. Go back and fully read the description for the slides. If you click on the link in my about section it takes you directly to the site. Great question and remember to break the set in first (a minimum of 100 hours but I recommend at least 200) and then you can use the slides.
XpCorner PH Thanks for the info. The reason I was a bit confused was that when I read other posts, even though it says the slides are "not intended for break-in, IR, or burn-in prevention", I have read that was only written as a disclaimer so that there is no legal liability for D-nice, but in reality the slides really are intended for initial break-in.
That could be true, but I haven't heard of that. I do know of some who skipped the process of breaking it in and went straight to the slides but I'm old fashioned lol. Even Panasonic recommends 100 hours of full screen content on their standard preset. I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I will tell you that I recommend at least the bare minimum 100 hours. I think that you'll be ok either way, but to be safe I'm going to have to agree with his disclaimer.
Good solid advice. Now by standard preset, what exactly is that? I just got the TV a couple hours ago and am starting to watch full screen content. Should I set it to "Cinema", as I have seen others say to do, and leave everything else as it came from the factory?
flybriur Sorry, I thought that I responded to you. Anyways by Standard I mean the picture mode entitled Standard and Panasonic recommends leaving the settings to default. I also give you my recommended break in settings in the About section of this video. It's what I use to break in my VT60 and it reduces the risk of IR and burn-in.
They haven't yet, but the VT and ZT plasmas are flying off the shelf quickly and I believe that much sooner than later Panasonic is going to pull the plug on plasma production so I would snag one just to be safe. OLED is the next "big" thing in technology so Panasonic is trying to realign itself. I think that they're going to halt production without a warning. For all we know they may just be selling the remaining stock right now! I dunno but I wouldn't bank on a 70 series....sadly :(
I'm not so sure about the ZT70 actually going into production. Panasonic claims they won't be releasing any newer plasmas. They're going to start investing their resources into LED and OLED sets. It's a shame because their VT/ZT series are unrivaled. I hope that you're right though because I'd love to see a VT/ZT70 plasma! If I were you I'd snatch up a set soon, I have a feeling that this tv will be like the Pioneer Kuro, you won't be able to get one anywhere soon.
Thank you friend! And yes I'll put up a video using my DSLR camera that will show a more accurate representation of the pq of this set. I used a point and shoot Panasonic Lumix to make this video. My next video will be on my Canon t5i. It'll be a shorter video focusing strictly on pq and I'll be sure to run a bluray in game mode per your request. If you have more questions or comments I'm here!
I think as a overall , I have to still say the set has a unmatched PQ and build, and as a final opinion, I cant say I recommend the set for huge gaming sessions. If you play occasionally or plan to use the set for strictly movies, I think youll find the set unbeatable. Response times are superb, lots of features. The tv is a little costly, and does need tlc to get it aged. Its not a set for the fearful of IR, and defiantly not for the negligent prone. overall 9.5 out of 10. - 5 for IR.
I'm torn between this vt 60 65 inch or the Samsung pn64f8500. Currently I own a UN55D8000 Samsung LED. I was looking at the Samsung since it is brighter. My issue is, the family room is brightly lit with a pair of 8 foot fluorescent bulbs but the sun only hits the back of the tv. From what I've heard this Panasonic is a great value. My first big screen was a 46 inch Samsung 6 years ago and then the D8000 two years ago. This would be my first plasma so I am a bit nervous going this route. I saw the Demo units at Best Buy and almost wasn't impressed until the Magnolia Rep told me they use a crappy demo and then the Panasonic VIERA demo started playing on the Samsung, which made it shine. I know Samsung makes good products (4 Galaxy s 4s on my family plan) but I know Panasonic makes TV's built like tanks (our bedrooms still use the old school 20 inch CRT VCR Combos and the only thing that died was the VCR) and the have a strong background in plasma tvs. So in the end I'm not sure and would like some advice.
Well you definitely heard right, this set is incredible and you won't likely find a tv quite as perfect (at this price) in years to come. The only competing tvs will probably OLED but they're still a new technology and extremely expensive. To be honest, all of the televisions that you're thinking of buying are exception sets, with the VT60 topping the list. You should also consider the Panasonic ZT60 which maintains black level performance much better than the VT60. The trade-off is that it lacks the front-facing speakers (which won't matter if you're using a surround sound) and pop-up Skype camera. If you noticed in this video of the VT60, I left my all of my curtains open so that you will get an idea of how REALLY bright lighting affects the set. Keep in mind that I my tv sits in a bay window and I also had the lights on in the room. If you think that my setup was similar to yours, then watch the video again and check for glare. Ideally, you should be able to control some of the lighting. The F8500 is also a terrific set and will definitely get the job done if you really think the lighting conditions in your room won't be correctable. As you know by now (with all of your terrific Samsung devices), Samsung makes great visual masterpieces in the forms of televisions and phones. The F8500 is no different, plus it has extremely difficult to burn and IR has never been a problem on their sets. I really recommend that you check out the ZT60 before you make a final decision, but as I stated earlier you can't go wrong with any of your choices. Let me know what you come up with or if you have any more questions that need answering before you make a commitment. Thanks for commenting and I await your response. And sorry for taking so long to respond.
XpCorner PH Thanks for the info. I would without a doubt love the ZT60 but I definitely want to go up in size I can't really find the ZT 65 inch on Amazon (I have Prime and am looking for it to be sold by them) and BestBuy has the price really high up there (close to $4000) which is just out of my budget. I wouldn't mind dropping the $3100 on the Samsung but if I can save $800 (The VT60 65 inch is about $2300 on Amazon) then it would be great. So the only thing I am asking is that extra $800 going to give me something that will blow me away or would I be better off saving my money and being just as impressed with the Panasonic? I understand I will be impressed in general since I'm coming from an LED TV. I saw that your room was pretty bright, I don't have that many windows so I think I should be fine with external sunlight. As for the lighting in my room I have the two 8 footers in front of the TV but they aren't used too often. I more often use the pair of 4 footers on the far side of the room where it's less likely to affect the TV. One question in particular is the "micro-dimming" (I'm not sure if Plasma's have this functionality or not since I'm a newbie with them) will it adjust to changes in lighting? I.E. when I turn the 8 footers on, my LED cranks up in brightness, but it readjusts when I turn them off and just the 4 footers. Or would I just have to change the setting from Standard to THX Bright Room? I am assuming it is the latter... Ultimately I would prefer to save my money unless I'm going to miss out if I don't purchase the Samsung. It would also be more convenient to get the Panasonic because I currently have my Tivo under one side of the TV and my Xbox One Kinect sensor under the other side of the TV. If I did buy the Samsung I'd have to come up with some clever thinking to re-arrange my Tivo and Xbox because of the stand design (space is kinda cramped in my house). As for sound I wouldn't worry too much because I'm not a fan of speaker systems, I just use the regular TV audio. When I feel like it I just use my Corsair 2.1 gaming speaker set when I watch a movie or play games like Splinter Cell where I need to be aware of noises. So I am definitely leaning toward the VT60 but waiting to hear what you've got to say, your video is very helpful with this TV.
Well that info helps out a lot! I think that you can handle the VT60. My room was obnoxiously bright to prove a point. The point is that even in extreme bright situations, the tv is able to perform well. From the sound of it, you can control the light in your room fairly easily so the VT60 sounds like your optimal choice. You should check Panasonic's website for the VT60 and ZT60. They have huge sales going on and I even considered buying another set myself. I think the 65 inch ZT60 is about $3100 and the VT60 was about $2300 last time they emailed me. Regarding micro-dimming, that's a feature native to LED tvs not plasma. Fortunately, LED only uses micro-dimming only to replicate plasmas inky black levels. That technology is not needed on plasma since it already provides a broader range of contrast that's naturally more uniform. Plasma uses gas to produce its light and color and doesn't have cells (like LED tvs) containing light emitting diodes that have to be turned on/off in sections (which is why LED tvs suffer from blooming). The phosphors inside of the tv can be excited individually producing an extreme contrast differential. So in short, no micro-dimming is not present but that's a great question. As far as the tv automatically adjusting to the lighting in the room, that's called the Ambient Light Sensor. It's present on the VT60 and I'm sure that it works fine but I can't attest to it much as I've never really used it. I find it annoying to automatically change my settings but I can imagine that it would be useful in rooms with fluctuating lighting. It is definitely a feature on the VT60. You won't be missing out on anything if you buy the VT60, however the reverse is true if you buy the Samsung. I must admit that I do enjoy Samsung's interface slightly more, but in regards to the picture and styling of the VT60, it's hands-down the best set available. The VT60 is still my recommendation and the ZT60 if you can swing it (although it still isn't as inexpensive as it could be). The Samsung only if you think that your room lighting will be too bright (and I seriously doubt that it will). I hope this helped and didn't leave you only more confused LOL but you know where to find me if you have more questions or need some extra nudging!
the panasonics have better blacks, and shadow detail,but the f8500 almost looks like an oled, due to better prossesing, brightness, motion, and almost as good black levels
Great question and no I've never addressed it! You can watch 3D movies immediately, in fact the first movie that I watched on my set was Prometheus 3D and it was eye dazzling. 3D movies are full screen (at least the ones that I've seen are) so watching them won't hurt a bit.
Hey I have had the vt60 for about month now got about 125 hours on it. I have noticed sometimes I get blurry lines around objects sometimes. I have set at you break in settings. it doesn't happen all the time but only on certain movies on the tv.
Well first of all, welcome to Club VT60! Now when you say blurry lines, can you be a bit more descriptive. Are they large lines, small, in what area of the screen and what is the frequency of the issue? Also, do the lines appear only on certain backgrounds, like on dark or black backgrounds or only on green colors, etc.? Sometimes, if you sit to close to the set you may notice noise but that can be fixed sometimes by sitting further away or turning down the sharpness of the set. Let me know a little more info so that we can figure this out. Thanks my friend!
XpCorner PH It happens more in dark backgrounds, happened on watching chronicles of Riddick. lines are small seems wavy. I am only sitting about 7 ft. away from a 60 inch. I know im little close. lol
Randy Todd I forgot to respond to this post, so sorry. Anyways, yeah you're definitely a little close for a sixty inch set. I recommend a minimum of 8 ft. away. Any closer and you'll notice noise and other things that aren't typical when you sit the appropriate distance away. If you still notice an issue when you sit further away, you can always try to reset the tv or check for any updates that are available. Keep me informed on the situation.
XpCorner PH well I have noticed stiing father away. Its seems to happen when a dark colored object goes passed a lite colored one. not sure how you reset the tv
Randy Todd I'm sorry bud, I did it again. I did not respond sooner although I read the message. Charge it to my head and not my heart. To reset the tv, go to Menu>Setup>Factory Defaults and that will start you off fresh. Let me know if that helps. Also check for software updates but if you still notice noise and think that it's not normal then call Panasonic and have them send out a tech.
good video. question: how is the brightness of the zt/vt60 compared to the vt50 of 2012. ive heard that because of the new darker filters on the zt/vt60, brightness is dimmer than the vt50. Also in your video where you went into the service menu, is there a way to default the service menu if you changed something by mistake? thanks in advance..
The ZT60 has an improved filter so the ZT maintains much better picture quality under bright lighting. In comparison to the VT60 and VT50, the difference in brightness is neglible. Yes, the VT50 gets a smidge brighter than the VT60 but only after calibration. The VT60 can get much deeper blacks which makes for broader contrast that produces more pop. By default, however, the VT60 has a higher overall brightness. For the service menu reset, you can do a factory reset by going to Menu>Setup>System>Factory Defaults. That should reset it completely, but if not turn on the set and hold down the volume up button and the power button on the tv. Let me know if that helps. Thanks for the sub my friend and I'm here if you have more questions!
Just a random couple of questions here....what size USB "Glide stick", (or any other brand), should I get, to hold enough movie content for the break in? Also, if 200-400 hrs is the "break in" period, how many hrs can I expect over the life of this tv?! Thanks!
Great questions! I have a Cruzer Glide 32gb thumb drive, but a 16gb should work just fine. My movies don't even take up 12gb of space. Of course I copied the bluray mkv file then used Handbrake to compress the file into a smaller size. When done right, the quality still looks like a bluray 1080p movie. As far as panel life, the VT60 is rated at 100,000 hours so expect this set to be around for the long haul. Just be sure to keep your set well ventilated by occasionally clearing any dust that my accumulate in the vents. You're the first to ask that, but those were good questions and I'm here if you have more!
Hey man, great video. You have me sold on this tv now! I was going to get the st60 until I found out how bad the input lag is. What's the input lag on this set? I looked up the numbers and it looks pretty good but still not as low as some of the Sony lcds. Have you seen any noticeable lag? Thanks a lot.
Man that's awesome, great choice! The set has no noticeable lag. In fact it's very fast! I play on my ST50 and don't notice any lag either, but the VT60 is truly remarkable. The refresh rate is so smooth and buttery! I like to turn on Game mode and motion smoother for a really cool experience. The Sony W900A is reportedly super fast but you won't notice a significance. The VT60 is rated 47.9 and the Sony is in it's 20's. Congrats on your decision and let me know if you have more questions!
XpCorner PH Thanks for the reply. That's good to know. One more question:) I've heard a lot of people talk about using the "break in" discs which static screens of color to break in a plasma. What do you think of those? I have an older Panasonic Viera Plasma (bought 6 years ago) and to break in I just basically did what you are saying here and watch full screen content and didn't game on it for over 100 hours. never had any issues with it. In fact, if the HDMI ports didn't blow out I wouldn't even be looking at a new tv. The picture is amazing still. Thanks again.
MIke Murphy The break-in discs work. I know people who use them but personally I don't prefer them. I like to just watch television and let the set age naturally. I'm not saying that the discs don't produce great results, I'm just telling you my preference. I've seen sets that used the Wow discs and I didn't notice a difference in picture quality. The real ticker in great picture quality comes from hours logged and calibration. You are just fine aging the set naturally but you can use the discs as well, it's really up to you. Great question and I'm still here if you have more, hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
CRT was good for gaming but the pq on crt just wasn't up to par especially compared to lcd. They were flat and dull images while lcd could be much more vivid and sharp, plus the sets were huge and clunky. I have a crt flat screen and it still works but it's night and day comparison to my Sony lcd. I think that OLED is amazing technology. The blacks, the color, the brightness, everything. When they become realistically affordable and perfected I'm jumping ship LOL!
Yeah, that would be nice but highly unlikely. Some people don't care about breaking in their set (or don't know that they need to) while others prefer to break their set in their own way (custom slides and images). So while what you say makes perfectly good sense, it's not likely that Panasonic or any other plasma producer will do so. It would be a nice option at an additional fee for a company to do that though. That's a great recommendation for Panasonic!
Hey guys, thinking about buying the ST60. Will be watching movies and playing games with static images. IR is one thing that makes me very nervous. Your video has given me encouragement though, but I do have a few questions: 1) Why should I trust this break-in system when I've heard of people still having problems? 2) How confident are you about the results? So confident that you'd buy me a new tv if it had IR after following your steps (not that I would)? 3) After I break 400 hours, you say I can game all I want. Do I still need to maintain the set with the white wash demo from time to time? 4) after break in, am I allowed to calibrate the tv to professional settings? Thanks guys for the video and I hope you can help me out!
My gaming sessions last at the longest 3 hours, but that is on rare occasions. And I play FPS a lot. I don't have cable, And I'm very mindful about turning off the tv when not in use. Also, sorry if the first question came off rude. Just woke up, and my brain didn't know the best way to phrase the question. Hope this is a good tv choice for me
It's no problem man, I didn't see it as being rude. So let's address the most important questions first. I don't own an ST60, but I do own an ST50 and I've gamed for over 3 hours on it on Call of Duty MW3 survival mode. My ST50 (previous model before the ST60) looks amazing but I used slightly different break-in settings on that set. It DOES get IR (letterbox movies, tv menu, etc.), but a few washes with full screen content that has no static images clears that up almost immediately. Second, you always want to break-in a plasma! The reason why people get IR or burn-in is generally from not breaking in the set properly. It's EXTREMELY important to break it in and the first 100 hours are the most important. Brightness and contrast play a huge part in IR so you have to turn them down. Honestly, the ST50 looks horrible on standard content on my break-in settings but once you get past that phase then the set is absolutely stunning! I'm very confident about the results because I personally have gamed on my ST50 several times for extended sessions with no burn-in, of course I also have settings for gaming too. My ST50 has about 350 hours and I use it primarily for regular tv, bluray movies, and gaming from time to time. Now when I watch tv, I change channels on occasion to get away from the static logos on the bottom and it's not as bright of a picture as when I play bluray movies. Also to note, my ST50 is in a COMPLETELY BLACKED OUT room with absolutely no light. That makes quite a difference in my tv viewing experience. I live like a vampire lol. After break-in I definitely recommend that you calibrate for professional settings, but I calibrated ONLY my HDMI input that I used to watch bluray movies on. My standard tv input is a custom setting that it isn't really bright because I don't want channel logos to burn-in. Gaming has an entirely different input setting too. Game mode is turned on and brightness and contrast are adjusted so that I can still play comfortably without risking IR. Now with all that said, I hear (haven't actually played one in person) that the ST60 has horrible input lag. Input lag is rated 73.6 ms and that is HIGH. I had a Westinghouse lcd tv with input lag that made online gaming IMPOSSIBLE, so take that into consideration. Since you look to game I recommend the Sony W900a or the VT60, but the input lag is just too high for me to suggest the ST60 for gaming. Playing with that much input lag would be the equivalent on a laggy host. It's a tv primarily for home theater use, not gaming. I hope I addressed all of your questions, but if not you know where to find me and I'm sure that Eric will contact as well. Thanks my friend!
XpCorner PH Many thanks. I'm down grading from a projector with a 90ms lag, so sadly it will actually be better. I game around 1-2 hours a day sometimes. I'm not a pro gamer or anything, just a hobby of mine. I have heard that the S60 has a rather low input. Somewhere around 30. The W900a and VT60 are out of my price range. $1500 is my max. I really want plasma, cause I miss those blacks since I've been living with a projector for 2 years. I also like the look of them more than LCDs. My room would be your standard apartment living room with glass doors to the left of the screen. What would you suggest with those conditions? Please don't say LCD... haha.... seriously though...
Lowrey Brown Oh wow, well I'll be hard pressed to find you something that will be as big as you projector but I can make a few recommendations lol. So to get this straight you will be using this set in an environment where you can't control the lighting and it's fairly bright, or do you have curtains that can control the lighting? If so, then you can still stick with plasma, but if not I can recommend some LED tvs that will be in your price range.
I'm looking for a 60 inch tv. I will have curtains and be able to control the lighting to a certain extent. Not sure if they will be black out curtains. Have to get the wife approval. I'll be selling my projector and using the money to buy the tv. Hopefully it will cover the whole purchase. I had a penny plasma before this projector and would love to return to it. Love the blacks and the 600htz. I might could swing the vt60. But would rather not if I don't have to. I watch a lot of movies as well. All via ps3 or ps4. Toss me some leds if that's what is best. I might just have to grin and bare it.
I was also never aware about breaking in your tv. when I purchased I was told I have to wait 100 hours to calibrate it. I didn't know that you should probably wait 200 hours and your saying 400 hours for gaming. please help
Even with your break in contrast settings for gaming, is there some colors that are more prone to IR then others? Example, playing NHL 14 with a white playing surface vs. FIFA with a green surface. I also will be disabling the HUD display during the break in. Can't wait to pick this tv up. Also, if I wanted to game with the lower contrast settings during break in, should I run the wipe after a certain number of hours or just turn on full screen material for a few minutes between games?
Very good questions my friend! First to note, you DO NOT want to game during the first 200 hours of owning this set (the first 100 hrs are considered the most vulnerable). Gaming briefly to test the set is OK but nothing extensive at all! And yes, the white background will be slightly more susceptible but in general ANY prolonged color, pattern, or image can cause IR, even the menu on the set itself, so you must be careful. Hold off on gaming til you reach 300 hours if possible (it's not that long I promise lol). Lower contrast settings during gaming won't hurt but details will be lost in really dark scenes. If you have to game during break-in, take breaks every 15-20 minutes and check for IR. If you see any IR then immediately wash the set with some full screen content on my break in settings. Screen wipe is fine, but regular full screen content is best for IR. I hope I didn't talk too much but I just wanted to address all of your questions. I'm here if you have more and let me know what you think about your set when you get it. Thanks!
Thank you very much for that really cool informative and very helpful video. I just watched it as I needed some advice on how to set up my new plasma. I have just received my new Panasonic ZT60 , it's still in the box and I haven't even opened it yet as of this writing, but now I seen this video I'm ready to set it up. I've never even seen this plasma in action I just ordered it on recommendation (instead of falling for the led 4k hype) the ZT60 I am lucky enough to have was only one of the last of a very few left in the UK. Anyway I'm really excited after watching this great video, it's been really helpful so I just want to say thanks allot for making it, I really enjoyed it . Just one question will videos or blue ray looked stretched when watching it in the full screen mode for the first 100 hours, it's a bummer you gotta break it in.
You are very welcome my friend in the UK and congrats that you were one of the VERY few who was able to get not only one of the last plasmas made by Panasonic, and the very best model at that so kudos to you!!! You're going to love your ZT60, it is the true epitome of perfection. Anyways, yeah I know that you're excited to start watching your set but you definitely want to break it in before you do, especially since it's discontinued now. Bluray movies that need to be rescaled to fully fit the screen do not suffer from any type of resizing issues. The tv is very smart and knows very well how to make it full without sacrificing image quality If you want to watch bluray movies in their native format (letter bars) then that's fine as long as you go back to breaking in your set once you're finished. I watched bluray movies in their original format and once I finished I went back to using my break-in settings. Just be sure not to watch cable until it's fully broken in. Great question and I'm always here if you have more!
Thank you so much again for your helpful advice, I will follow your advice and make sure I break it in properly, this is something that I wouldn't of known about if I wouldn't of found your you tube channel. And thank you again regarding all your help and info about rescaling. I'll definitely break it in. I'm setting up tonight as soon as I get home from work, counting down the minutes, he he lol :-) thank you my friend,
Hi man how are you doing I hope your good. I know the VT and the ZT are virtually the same tv's, so I was wondering if you don't mind me asking you something; What preset picture mode do you prefer? I find the Normal setting with contrast turned up to around 60, or so, is about the best non professionally calibrated picture I can get right out of the box. I just find that the normal setting seems to show more resolution and detail than the THX cinema mode. The THX cinema mode is good but it seems a little fluffy or, dare I say, slightly blurry when looking at fine detail compared to the sharper picture and edges I am experiencing with the normal mode. The cinema THX just looks almost like it's a little blurry( but only when looking really close at blades of grass and rocks) and the picture just doesn't pop out with as much with fine detail and colour . I'm not sure why this is, What do you think ? , I'd really appreciate your thoughts, I'm a novice when it comes calibration. Normal mode also seems better than THX cinema when viewing a high definition source like 'the hobbit' on blu ray. normal mode seems to be sharper and colours pop more, but surely THX should look better, I wouldn't say it's necessarily brighter than THX Cinema mode in fact I'd say the THX cinema is slightly brighter with a factory preset of 70 contrast , but normal mode seems to looks better, do you have any recommendations for settings. I hope I'm not bothering you, take care, best regards Gawain,
Gawain Davies Hello! I really prefer THX Cinema when watching movies, but for regular tv I prefer Normal mode. I also use the Pro Settings 2 (which is listed in the about section) for certain films. It really varies with me. I think that the best all around is THX Cinema though. You should definitely try plugging those settings in when you get a chance (they can be a little exhaustive with entering all the information). Let me know what you think or if you have any other settings that you like to use I'd love to know them. Thanks and sorry about the slow response, been pretty busy the last few days but I'm still around ;)
Well technically they both are reference level. The VT60 was released first and gained reference tv status and then the ZT60 was released and also received reference tv status. Reference tvs are tested in a dark room and since the picture quality of the VT and ZT are identical in a dark room, both sets are reference tvs. Great comment! Thanks and let me know what you think about your VT60!
Hi Xp, got 2 question for u that i didn t found out in all the comments below : 1 Assuming that at 100% i ll not ve static images on screen, using for example blu ray in 1.78:1 or tv channels (like discovery) zoomed in to make their logos disappear, can i skip to going into standard n lowering brightness, color ecc as u did but instead just run those 100% static free things directly in thx mode (for example) for 400hrs ?? i mean, where s the point of lowering brightness ecc if i m 100% i ll view static free contents ? 2 With 100% static free contens (same as above) can i let on the tv for 24/7, this way reducing the break in period to just 2 weeks or something like that can cause other issues like deteriorating or overheating or overuse ecc ? Thanx as Always, u r DA MAN !!
Hello my friend! Sorry for the delayed response, I was busy all day today but to answer your question, no I don't recommend skipping the break-in period. The best method to prevent burn-in and IR is to properly break in the set. Even if you plan on using non-static images the best way to get the most uniform and IR resistant set is to break in on certain settings. This helps to keep the pixels trained to stay at a non-excited state thus making them more resistant to IR and burn-in. I can explain in greater detail if you would like but to answer your question, yes, use the break in settings with no static images. In regards to leaving the tv on 24/7, I don't recommend it. I have heard of people having issues with the fan (mainly just a noise) but overheating could happen as a result. Keep in mind that this tv is essentially a computer with a beautiful display slapped on it. It's not likely, but the set could freeze during playback so I recommend limiting the set to 10 hours of straight playback and monitoring it closely to make sure that nothing happens. Also, buy a professional home theater power surge protector like the Monster HTS 1000. I hope that answered your questions my friend!
Oh wow! That's a ton of hours. Ok, well I have a few questions. Do you have an extended warranty that covers burn-in and do you know how to check your TH-cam inbox? I can offer you some advice that might get you some help from Panasonic if you don't have an extended warranty.
What's considered extensive? I don't game more then two hours at a time and never every night? I'm just stuck because once the tv is set up, I have no other gaming option then that TV. I don't want to damage it for the long term. Would turning the contrast down even lower help?
Great video, i was sure to favorite it for use next week with a new tv. Now, i have a few questions when you have a free moment. I'm someone who likes to game and watch tv fairly regularly, and often work from home so I can spend quite a few hours with my TV on. I'm willing to break in the set for as long as needed and maintain discipline with it, but as someone who can game for very long periods of time, or fall asleep on the couch watching sportscenter or something... should I go plasma vt60/zt60? I've always wanted a plasma, and now is the time for a panasonic quality picture if i want one, but I fear getting a plasma and burning it in with heavy gaming or falling asleep watching sportscenter or other programs with the bottom bars of logo's (Fox/comedycentral, FX, etc). I want the picture quality of a vt/zt60 for the ps4/xbox one, but i'm worried that with my heavy hours spent watching TV with it on or watching netflix/gaming, if i should go with a technology other than plasma and sacrifice abit of picture quality such as a Sony KDL-55W900A? or will I be fine with leaving it on/gaming for heavy periods after a sufficient (400-500) hour break in period? Speaking of, is there anywhere to get the perfect picture rotation or optimal video for breaking it in perfectly? I hear a proper break in period for plasma's can mean the final 5-10% in picture quality over the course of it's lifetime, but I admit to being woefully ignorant on the technology. Thanks for the answers, loved the video, and sorry again for the long post!
You're fine, you just want to get a good understanding and that's perfectly ok. So here's the deal, if you want to do things like HEAVY gaming and sportscenter, then I recommend a 700 hour break in period. In other words, all full screen content with the least amount of static images up until 700 hours of play on the set. I have a friend who bought this set per my recommendation, and he's just like you. He loves watching sports (football nonstop) and he games a ton(NCAA 2014, NFL 2K14, Gran Turismo, etc.). Thing is, he also did the break in technique for 700 hours. I personally don't game on my VT60 (at least not often, only sometimes to show off the beauty of the graphics), but if you do just be careful and be sure to get an extended warranty that covers burn in. Even though this set is the number tv, it is still a tv after all lol. So you can expect to do everything on it that you would a regular tv, just be mindful of IR. You don't need to fall asleep and leave this tv on, so I recommend setting a sleep timer on the set to auto-power it off around the time that you normally fall asleep (and if you're still awake you can always press any button to cancel the sleep timer). I do this on my set because when my brother visits he also falls asleep while watching tv. In regards to getting the optimal break in settings, mine will work just fine, but there's also some slides that you can download. They come with specific settings too and I hear that people have had great success using them. Honestly, any settings that aren't bright and use full screen content will work for break-in. And you'll watch the tv as you would regularly and can even set it to run while you're asleep, but you don't want to leave it on for 500 hours straight LOL! If you're nervous about plasma, you may want to consider LED (or OLED), or you can always opt for the Samsung PNF8500 which is also a plasma but handles IR and burn-in MUCH better than Panasonic and is a close second in terms of picture quality to the VT60. I owned a Samsung plasma and NEVER had any IR whatsoever, and I abused that set tremendously. In conclusion, I think that if you know what to do ahead of time and prepare yourself mentally for being careful and properly break in your VT60, then you'll be absolutely perfectly fine. However, if you have any reservations (or gut feelings) about IR or burn-in then opt for a different set. Let me know if what other tvs you're considering and I can help recommend some tvs that I also considered purchasing. Sorry it's so long, but I had to address all of your questions LOL! Thanks my friend and I'm here if you need me!
XpCorner PH Thank you so much for the answers! Don't be sorry about TLDR, truthfully I appreciate a long answer that thoroughly addresses my concerns. It isn't uncommon for my TV to stay on for days at a time whether I'm gaming, at work, someone else is watching it, watching tv/netflix, etc... is leaving Plasma on for long periods (even if it isn't at a static screen) bad for plasma? The model LED is was considering was Sony's KDL-55W900A, which i hear is outstanding for gaming in terms of input lag. I'd prefer the superior picture quality of plasma, but I have limited knowledge of it's cons as I haven't owned a plasma. If my tv set were to be left on and used for very extensive periods, would you recommend the Sony W900A and sacrifice the darks and slightly better picture quality for the brighter colors and safety of no burn in and no break in period? Both the Zt60 and W900 seem like fantastic TV's, both with pro's and con's, but for a TV enthusiast who isn't an electronic expert who just wants to plug/play ASAP for as long as possible, would LED be the better choice or would the VT60/ZT60 be the better choice for the mancave? Is there any glaring negatives of the Sony W900 that you know of and would warn me of vs the vt/zt60 series? Thanks again
datruthhammer Well that bit of info helps me tremendously. So you definitely want to opt for the Sony lol. It's the best choice for you since you leave the set on constantly. You won't have that luxury with plasma, especially not in the critical 100 hour break in period. It's just to much money to risk with this set. It's not the period of leaving the tv on for so long (in fact that can actually help), but you need to monitor what's on the set to make sure that no static logos are being retained. I can't recommend leaving it on things like sports or the news because they will cook your sets the fastest. I know for a fact because I ruined my first plasma with news tickers ( at that time I knew nothing of IR or burn-in). The W900 is the best LED for you, since you like gaming and want excellent picture quality. The only drawbacks to the W900 are uniformity issues, which is common for most edge-lit LED tvs. The blacks won't be as true black as plasma, and the video processing won't be as smooth (which I don't expect any technology to beat plasma in those two categories except OLED), but the set will still look stellar, no doubt. Where this tv will shine is in it's color. I have an older Sony LCD and another Sony LED set, and while they don't look as good as my Panasonic plasmas, I still love gaming on them and movies too. Bright, colorful scenes make this set look great and the black performance of the W900 is the best of 2013! I watched Oz the Great and Powerful on my Sony LCD and the color was just remarkable so you can imagine how amazing it will be on the W900. So my verdict is go with the Sony W900 and play your PS4/Xbox One until you pass out and then leave the set on, because it won't hurt it lol. Yes the VT60 is a better all around set, but it has a waiting period before you can truly enjoy all of it's features, and even then you'll still need to be mindful of IR. Plus the Sony comes with 4 pairs of active 3D glasses instead of the 2 included with the Panasonic. So there you have it, go with the Sony W900 and make a review of it so I can comment and ask you tips on it LOL!
definitely an honor and privilege to be channel administrators. Big shout out to Perry Hayes, thanks bro! It's great to get insight from you and brad.
Good info appreciate all of your advice. Just as an FYI in case you havent already figured it out, you do not need to unplug the TV to get out of the service menu. If you hold down the Volume Down button on the TV and hit the info button 3 times again it takes you back to the home screen (same thing you do to get into the service screen). Loving the TV so far.
Oh wow, you learn something new everyday lol! You're the first person to tell me that so it's much appreciated. I'm glad that you're enjoying your set so far. Congrats and welcome to Club VT60! Merry Christmas my friend and thanks for the info :)
Xp corner and friends you guys are legends with all the help you offer.
I am in Australia and was looking at an ST60 50 inch but now am considering a VT60 after hearing you guys talk about this machine
1. Superior brightness 2. Better picture 3 Better front facing speakers meaning I save needing to buy a sound bar 4 Less input lag and better smart TV functionality 5 Camera
The issue here is the price is still quite high
ST 50 INCH BEST PRICE 999AUD
VT 55 IN THE BEST SIZE OPTION FOR ME BUT 2500AUD so I await price discounts Today I saw the VT65 for 2999AUD
Hoping for a bargain to come my way so I can join the club
Thank you, we really appreciate the compliment! And yes, if you can hold out for the price drop of the VT60, then you definitely be very happy that you did. Everything that you mentioned is true about the tv. The speakers are great, picture quality is unmatched, and the camera is great for Skyping the whole family.
Check Panasonic's website and see if their prices have discounts available in your area. Thanks again my Aussie friend and remember that we're always here to answer questions or feedback!
Hey buddy awesome vid, thanks for naming Eric and I as admins to XpCorner, its a great honor. Great putting the service menu in the video, I wasnt sure how to check that, Im sitting at 329 hours. Also our tvs are a bit different. You have a added picture preset in your menu, and some of the names of the functions are different. Wild how the sets vary so much. Ill have to do a comparison vid just to show the difference. GREAT VIDEO AS ALWAYS Z....
You're welcome my friend, just thought I'd take the time to answer the questions that people are really interested in. Glad it helped you all the way over in Scotland!
Just purchased the TC-P60VT60 and Sony HTST7 soundbar to go with it, I cannot wait to set this up and get it going.. I will use this vid as a guide to break in my TV! Thanks for the info and recommended settings!
Best Buy has the 65" VT60 for $1999 right now, just thought I'd let you know, hopefully you can see this comment in time.
Wow, you went all in when you got your tv lol! You'll definitely have a nice setup. Sony has always made great sounding system, even they're budget ones sound very good. You went out and bought a monster though lol. You should do a review on the soundbar because many viewers have asked what's my recommended soundbar of choice. Anyways, great to hear and let me know your thoughts on the set. Thanks for the feedback!
SoCalDude805 I purchased mine through greystoneappliance.com, they are legit and have great deals. I got my TV for $1829.00! Thanks, however, for the look out.
XpCorner PH Yes, I did spoil myself a bit on the sound system lol. I believe it will go perfect with the TV set especially because I was beginning to get sick of my surround sound and all the loose wires. I'll let you know how the two work together once I get them in!
Ok, I dont usually do reviews on long extinct technology, but this I had to do. I owned this set since late 2012. It has been faithful, but not without its hitch "burn in", and that has been it's ONLY weakness albiet not a worrying one. Its built like a tank, still looks brand new. The picture quality in THX mode is absolutely superb. It still seems just as bright today as it ever was and its now 2018, and trust me the set has been put through some hard use. It didn't matter what I watch, games, moves ect, its been a heck of a performance beast. No other set I have owned up to this time has came close to its excellent quality. LCD tech is stress free, but it has bad flashlighting and screen uniformity issues in every set I have owned, this plasma was the perfect set with practical careful usage as to not get burn in. I used mainly THX cinema for the last 3 years, the set did get very faint burn, but is invisible under normal viewing conditions. Even so, this tv has been the best of the best.
My score on this set.
GENERAL USAGE
Gaming 9 out of 10. Prone to screen burn.
Movies: 10 out of 10
PICTURE QUALITY AND FUNCTIONS
Black level: 10 out of 10
Screen Uniformity: 10 out of 10
Motion handeling 10 out of 10
Picture brightness 8 out of 10, plasma in more for moderate to dark rooms, not as bright as led tv.
Input lag for games: 10 out of 10, did not notice input lag at all.
Durabilty 9 out of 10. Sturdy built heavy glass and metal set, but the remotes are a bit weak and break easy, shiny plastic fingerprint prone. Again must watch for IR/burn in, inherent to any current and past self emissive display technology.
Tomorrow I will be retiring this set to be used in the game room as a backup monitor, moving to a oled, yet another self emissive display. You just can't beat the picture quality of perfect black and white, or well calibrated color that's also a staple of both plasma and Oled. The Panasonic VT60 55 has served me well. Anybody looking to buy these sets used are in for a treat providing the set has been cared for. Self emissive tech is the best, but it does require a little more tender care, but the benefits are far outweighing to any pitfalls.
Yours truly RAGEOFTHORNGUITAR.
I have just ordered the VT-60", glad I watched the video in how to break-in properly. Good job!
Awesome to hear my friend! You will absolutely be blown away by this tv. I'm excited for you and be sure to let me know your first impressions when you get the set. Thanks for sharing!
XpCorner PH
It's on its way, should get it in a week or so. BTW, you mentioned that you don't have cable hooked up to it. Do you watch regular HD TV on it or exclusively use it for movies? I plan to watch TV using Dish, any problems with that? Thanks!
No cable for me, only Netflix and bluray movies. Cable can't justify all the advertisements when I'm already paying for the service so I don't have it anymore.
You can definitely watch cable though, it is still a television after all. Just remember to avoid static images during the break in period. After that, you're golden. Great question and I'm here if you have more.
XpCorner PH
While I'm waiting for the TV to show up (last I heard it was still in NY) I was wondering what are you using for a BluRay player. I am thinking of getting an Oppo BDP-103, it plays everything. Any thoughts?
Yes the Oppo is a phenomenal Blu-ray player! It does everything and then some lol. I don't currently own one because I use my PS3 and Sony NSZ-GT1 for my movies and streaming media. They work perfect for my needs but for those who demand more robust settings and control, then the Oppo is the creme dela creme. Great player and let me know when your set arrives!
Hello XpCorner PH! First off, thanks for your thorough explanation of everything. After months of anagizing over the many TV options out there I decided to go with the 65VT60. It just came this week and I have yet to even plug it in. Just took it out the box and set it on the stand last night. Typically I wouldn’t take that long, but after reading all the forums on this set I must admit that im a bit intimidated. With an investment like this, I want to make sure that I don’t mess anything up. FYI watching your videos and reading your tags helped push me over the top. I was originally going with the Samsung F8000 LED as I am moving up from a Samsung LN750 which has provided my family years of pleasure. But with Panasonic not producing plasmas after 2014 and all the buzz this set has gotten, I knew it was time to get in the game. So, all that to say, I am back and forth between using your setting and just playing movies as you suggested vs the D-Nice settings and slideshow method. I’ve even considered a hybrid of both. Doing his method and settings for the first 150-200hrs, then going with your settings and watching movies for the next 150-200hrs. How crazy is that … Again, I want to maximize the potential of the TV but im really torn with what makes the most sense. The DNice method means I won’t be watching anything other than a the slideshow for 150hrs. That sucks, but I’ll do it for the best picture quality in the long run. However, as it was your info that kinda pushed me over the top, I almost feel like I should just go with your method. At least we can watch some TV while breaking it in. Sorry for the ramble dude, im just at an impass right now… Thanks in advance.
Wow man that's amazing. Welcome to Club VT60! I know how feels getting a new tv, especially one as amazing as the VT60. It takes some time to take it all in and I was the exact same way. I even went as far as to take pictures of my box and the driver who delivered the set to my house lol!
Anyways, I really appreciate the feedback. I was reading it at work and I grew about 10 feet tall so thanks so much, I'm glad the review was helpful.
Regarding the slides, they're ok to do if you want to them. I personally haven't done them on my VT60 but you can If you would like to. Important to know though, you should use my method first, and I'm not just saying that because it's my method LOL! D-Nice's slides are actually used to prep your set for calibration and NOT meant for break-in. That's very important. You should run the slides after you've gone through the break-in period.
So if you want to do the slides (which is perfectly ok) then use my method first (if you want to lol) then run his slides after you hit 200 hours. Sound good?
After that, you'll be plowing in high cotton my friend. Let me know how you like the set and if you need any help or more questions. I'm always here and always happy to help!
XpCorner PH Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Im going to watch a movie with my wife tonight after i re-watch your video and get my settings hooked up and internet connected. The good thing for me is that im not going to do any real gaming on my set. Other than my daughters playing the Wii an hour or 2 a week,it will be mostly sports and movies. The sports are what scare me to be honest with the still score images and ESPN logos and what not, but im not giving up my sports for a TV, the tv just has to adjust! So i just have to protect it as best as possible to avoid any craziness. You seem pretty confident that this is doable so im not overly concerned. I will probably always change the channel every now and then out of pure paranoia, but so be it. Super pumped and really want this to go well. I'm sure ill have a couple questions along the way. Appreciate the help! Off to get Man of Steel to begin the break in process tonight!
Man I'm jealous! I have yet to see Man of Steel but everyone says that it's one of the best movies of the year.
I'm sure that you'll be fine with your set. You have the right attitude coming in. You acknowledge that it's a plasma and that it does require a little extra attention. But the payoff is that the set will look so much better than any other tv.....period!
My friend who owns a VT60 watches sports on his set and his set looks gorgeous (as do all VT60s), so as long as you do the break-in (and then the slides if you go that route) you'll be super ok.
Don't compromise for the set, just respect it and it will respect you :) Enjoy your movie man and get ready to sit in pure ecstasy as you watch it. Merry Christmas!
XpCorner PH Probably a redundant thing, as i'm guessing you can always reset the standard mode to its original factory state, but in the video you set your screen to Standard and locked in the settings, however above you wrote Custom with the settings. Is there a difference. Im currently running content in standard but want to switch if there is a difference.
Thanks
Sorry, I completely forgot to respond this post. I read it while I was shopping. Anyways my friend, I put custom in the about section of the video because in standard mode, sometimes pixel orbiter will be greyed out and it won't allow you to change the setting to On instead of Auto. The difference in picture quality of standard and custom is negligible, it's just the ability to toggle the pixel orbiter on and off is why I recommended custom.
I hope that clarifies it a bit, sorry for the discrepancy in the video. Great eye though! Merry Christmas!
I went the other way - went back to LCD from plasma because the flickering on whites was giving me a headache:). And IR was terrible on mine (old V20).
I've done calibrations on these VT60's and they do get to literal reference accuracy.
Fantasic video mate :-) thank you for taking the time to make it. Respect from Scotland :-)
Thank you for posting this video, I wanted this TV but found the Samsung PN60F8500 for 1297.00 lol it comes close to this one but Panasonic is still the BEST!
Where on earth did you find the Samsung for that price!? That's crazy, I would've gotten the Samsung in a heartbeat too had I found it at that price lol. The Samsung is amazing but you're right the Panasonic is just awesomeness. You're still not missing much with your awesome set though. Thanks for the compliment and enjoy your tv!
Merry Christmas :)
I have ST60 set, amazing TV so far.My TV is professional calibration, Klein K10 meter, JETI Specbos 121, AccuPel DVG-5000 and Calman 5 Ultimate.I play a lot of games on PS4, no burning at all.
Mic Rich Nice! You went all out and I bet that it looks astounding. I'm glad that you are having zero issues with burn-in. Do you mind sharing your settings, I would love to post them in my description for others to try.
I had a VT30 that burned in "Menu" just from the short time period of adjusting settings, they've come along ways in preventing IR and burn-in since then.
Wipe bar on my set is Scroll bar, and you have a home theatre preset in the video options not present in the AU model. theee seemed to be some other differences as well such as the C.A.T.S is called ambient sensor. Wild stuff.
Thank you for all your tips! Saw this great video of yours a few months ago, the TV is finally arriving today. I had saved your video so I could use your suggestions!
You are most welcome my friend, I'm glad that you found this video to be helpful. I'm always here if you have questions or feedback or advice :) Let me know what you think of the set!
XpCorner PH Sweet!! Got the P65ZT60. I knew it was going to be too tall for the opening in our TV cabinet, so I bought a 2012 P65VT50 replacement stand online and mounted the new TV on that 2012 model's stand. The 1 inch shorter height allows my TV to fit comfortably!
Question about your break in settings: during your video, you had Vivid and Color Remaster settings "On", but in the video description you said to have those settings off. Should I keep them off?
And is "Warm2" your personal preference, or recommended for break in?
By the way, what is the benefit of using these custom settings for the break in period rather than the Factory Default "standard" picture settings?
Haha and what settings should I use once the break in period is over? Is that what the "Pro Settings 2 at Night Mode" was for?
Sorry for all the questions... I found your video to be the most helpful resource out there!
Cool beans that you were able to modify the stand so that it fits now, because I know the tv's mammoth size and weight can be difficult to pair with a good entertainment console.
In the video I told you what to set the settings to but I didn't bother changing the settings while I was filming. I understand how that can be confusing so that's why I put the updated settings in the description. For future references use the picture settings in the description.
In terms of the Warm 2, I do recommend it for the break-in because it further reduces the light output of the set, if only subtly; but I'm also biased so I prefer a warmer picture lol.
As far as Panasonic's recommendation of using Standard mode for 100 hours, it just isn't as effective as my settings. I've owned several Panasonic plasmas (several plasmas in general) and their Standard mode was never very effective in deterring IR or burn-in.
100 hours is a good start for break-in hours but Standard mode doesn't age the phosphors as evenly as my break-in settings. My settings actually increase the resistance of IR and also prep your set for optimal picture quality. I know that it is fairly dim (at least at first), but the longer you use them the better the picture and brightness become.
In terms of settings after the break-in, you can try pretty much anything. The best picture quality will come from an actual calibration, but the settings that I posted are all pretty good. Ultimately it comes down to your preference (some like it really sharp, some like it soft, some prefer inky blacks, some prefer a brighter picture, some like heavily saturated colors, etc.). I prefer the CNET settings the most though.
I also posted a link to a website where you can rent the equipment to do an automated calibration. Anyways man, those were all great questions and if you have any more, then I'm here!
XpCorner PH
Wow, awesome!!! Thanks so much for the detailed and super fast replies!
Yeah the settings are a bit dim, but they're manageable for now.
You've been a great help!
XpCorner PH whats up bro hope all is well. I just read in your reply to Arjun Mehta that the zt60 picture will become better and brighter. my zt60 has about 600 hrs or more. the picture is good but just wish it was bighter. so based on what you said, can i expect the the tvs brightness to improve? is so about how much?
You can press and hold exit button on the remote to exit from service menu. Thanks for the great video dude.
Thank you my friend for the tip, but I've been made aware of the other method of how to get out of the service menu countless times lol (some weren't as nice about it as you though), but thanks for looking out. Also I really appreciate the sub! I'm always here if you have questions or feedback.
Finally someone who appreciates Plasmas...
Absolutely my friend! I have the utmost respect for this great technology known as plasma lol! Merry Christmas!
I picked up a Square Trade warranty. I bought it early July from Amazon. I can access my inbox, thanks for the help!
XPcorner, and eric thompson I just wanted to thank you both for the advice. I believe I will opt for the sony w900a, only because I like to game and leave my tv on for extended periods and I hear the input lag on it is second to none.
That being said, I really do love this picture on the zt60 and will have to find a way to maybe grab a plasma for movie viewing in another room or something in the future. I've always loved plasma, but will admit to being uninformed and still believing old stigma's such as bad burn in, etc. I certainly would love a plasma, but for the extra cost of it vs the LED and the fact it's risky to game on it like I want... i'll have to sacrifice a bit of picture quality for better quality of life.
Thank you again so much for helping me with this, my decision certainly would have been more difficult without your invaluable input. Thanks again you two, and have a good one!
Hey Perry, long time no speak, this is Rage. Rageofthornguitar.
My set burned, I pampered it, was really careful, it still burned. Logos, game huds, you name it. The side panels have not aged evenly either. Looks like I watched 4:3 content on it for hours, never did once. Tv is a real mess.
The ghost from my nightmare can just knock a hole in it for all I care.
Fan noise is only detectable as a very light hum, and you have to be up on the set to hear it, at normal veiwing distance, no problem. The avarage distance you should sit away from your set is the width of your set times 3 to 4.
excellent brother perry, as always very informative.
Thanks for the overview. I have a th-46p85u and I think its time to upgrade, and since Panasonic is getting out of plasma i HAVE to pull the trigger soon. Its either this or the zt60, if i can get the credit together. Just wanted to comment say hi and thanks for the vids. Love my plasma, I'm a hardcore gamer and i broke my tv in for about 500 hours before gaming on it really hard, used an sd card with a cycle of full screen solid colored images and left it on for days, was very careful for the longest time, but after a while I just stopped worrying. I game for 8-12 hours no problem never had burn in, then again my set is 5 years old now. Keep adding vids, ill keep checking back with the chan.
Oh wow, are you a pro gamer! That's some intense gaming. I say go with the VT60 because the pq is identical in dark room but if you can't control the lighting in the room then the ZT60 is the best choice. And instead of 500 hours bump the break in to about 700 on the new plasmas. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll add new videos soon! Let me know what you go with and your thoughts on it.
At that point, you can tweak the set to your liking. I'm right at 200 hours now and I still use my break in settings; however when I pop in a bluray or something that I want to enjoy I use THX mode for the best pq. For gaming I'd still limit the number of hours of gameplay until I reached 300+. A properly calibrated set you don't want to have too bright or a high contrast anyway, but you'll still be fine at higher settings.
It helped so much :-) Very honest and fantastic advice and now ive had to order Star Wars on Blu Ray because it looks pretty damn stunning on your VT :-P
I just pulled the trigger on the VT60. Can't wait for it now. I was gonna wait another month or so but last night I checked on Amazon and noticed they only have reburbs and used units (blech. LOL). So I panicked and had to order it right away from Best Buy:) Anyway, I gotta say the comments section on here, with all of your advice to new owners of this TV, is all I need. You've covered everything! I planning on reading through all of this between now and when I get the TV. Thanks for all the helpful advice.
Oh, and I also got the 5-year Geek Squad warranty. They cover everything it seems, even surges. Part of the reason I am even getting this TV is because a surge wiped out my HDMI ports on my current 6 year old Panasonic Plasma, that I love. The TV still works great but the HDMI ports were both fried. I've been using component as much as possible but as you know, newer devices won't push HD through component. So my blu ray player is useless with my current TV. Luckily, I have an older PS3 to play blu rays on. But the new PS4 only has HDMI port. Anyway, the protection plan seemed like a good deal, especially considering the fact that Panasonic will only support these TVs for another 3 years. I plan on having it longer than that:)
Wow man, way to go!!! You made an awesome decision and you'll see just how awesome it is once you pop in a bluray and behold the beauty that is the VT60.
I'm glad that this video (and the comments section lol) was helpful and also contributed to you purchasing the VT60. You'll see that this channel provides a ton of support for the VT60. I myself as well as others will do everything that we can to provide answers and assist you with getting the most of your tv.
That Best Buy warranty that you bought is one of the best. My friend Eric bought one and he had an issue with his old VT50 and because it's no longer available BB went ahead and replaced it with a brand new Sony LED tv that is a stellar set.
Anyways my friend, welcome to Club VT60 and I'm always here if you need help. Sorry for the delayed response, I'm at work and had meetings.
XpCorner PH Thanks for the reply! Also wanted to ask another question.When you mention that we shouldn't use THX Bright Room for gaming are you only talking about during the break-in period? Or even after that? Also, since many games nowadays don't have static stats or health bars (Last of Us, Arkham, Uncharted, Tomb Raider, etc) are you mainly referring to games like shooters and fighters that have static elements that stay on screen the entire time, when talking about IR and burn-in? Thanks again:)
I don't recommend using THX Bright Room for gaming at all. I say that because that is the main driver of burn-in on the VT60. Many that have commented said that they used THX Bright for gaming and they had IR that lasted for a couple of weeks and a few even say that they burnt their set.
It's just too bright and high contrast of a setting to use for gaming which is why I don't recommend it. Of course, some say that it doesn't affect them at all and game on it all the time. I won't ever use it nor do I recommend it. If you do try it, just be sure to check for IR frequently.
I was referring to any games that have static images on the screen. Even the most subtle static image can be retained if kept on screen long enough. I hope this was helpful!
XpCorner PH Ok, great. Thanks. But just to be clear--if a game has NO static images at all, it should be ok to use Bright Room, correct? Thanks!
Panasonic showed off a OLED this year at CES. It was stunning. The Verge has the article you are speaking of. Sad times, but if anyone can perfect OLED its Sony and Panasonic.
Thank you very much for such a useful video!!
Can you please post your suggested settings for Gaming?
Thank you very much I'm glad that you found the video to be useful. I could have sworn that I replied to your comment but I guess that i didn't. Anyways, yes I do have suggested settings that I use for my VT60 but I only give them out if you have reached the minimum required hours for gaming. I'm only particular about this because I don't want you to burn your set.
Anyways, yes I will definitely give you my settings just tell me how long you plan to game and how many hours are logged on your set. Sorry for the very late reply my friend, I really did think that I had already responded.
XpCorner PH
I have about 450 hours. I play in the evening, with the PlayStation,for about 2/3 hours for session.
Unfortunately, I noticed that my Pana GT60 is suffering of a permanent retention....Indeed I have played NFS Rivals for a lot of time: not more than 3 hours per session, but i think that playing the same game, repeatedly day by day, is worst.
I have played it for 2 months, with the TV setted in THX Bright Room mode (I've been a stupid ignorant, i know...but it is my first experience with plasmas) and now i think i have a permanent retention.
You can notice it only only in particular conditions: with white or light grey screens, i can see the game's HUD. But if you look at with black, mixed or dark coloured scenes, you can't see anything....so....i tend to think that mine is a hard retention, instead of a burning in. Am I right, man?
I been playing it coop with my wife, its more movie than game. I still love it
Lol normally I would apologize but trust me, you have just made one of the greatest investments in your life. The VT60 is a gem and you will have no regrets. The tv itself is a work of art and the pq that it produces is even better. Congratulations and welcome to Club VT60 LOL!
I'm sorry I did not see that your answer included more then I initially saw. Looks like you answered my question.
No problem!
It depends. If you plan on putting this tv in a bright room where you can't control the light then yes, it's worth the extra money. If you plan to put this in a dark room or a place where you can control the lighting conditions then opt for the VT60. The pq of the VT and ZT are identical in dark rooms. As far as the fan hum, I sit about 10 ft. away from my set with a surround sound going so I don't hear it at all. Even when I play just the tv speakers I've never heard the fan. Hope this helped;)
I have 830 hours on my TV (60VT60). Mostly from family members watching full screen movies (I make them use zoom mode when there are letter box bars). However, after 4 hours of gaming on Command and Conquer Kanes Wrath or Battlefield 4 There is a ton of IR. I know this because when I go to my internet browser I see an imprint of my HUD on the white screen.
However, after a month or so of regular viewing it is completely unnoticeable. After sessions lasting like 6-8 hours I still cannot see actual "burn in" given a couple weeks to a month of regular viewing.
If you can handle the IR, because it is noticeable, this tv is amazing for gaming. The black levels and smooth motion make gaming on this a whole new and rewarding experience. For me, the IR is not noticeable enough to convince me to stop gaming on it. If your worried about breaking it, just keep in mind that IR can take days if not weeks to go away no matter how many hours you have on it. I have tortured this TV with ridiculous gaming sessions, and after careful examination using the screen wipe, I still cannot see any signs of burn in.
I use the calibration settings that were given in sound and vision's review of this TV.
Thank you for sharing your experience, it will certainly put others minds at ease who are wary about gaming on this set. I totally agree, IR will always go away, but it's burn-in that sticks around to stay. I would also like to see the calibration settings that you use, can you post a link my friend?
Thanks again for the very helpful information, it is most welcome. Feel free to comment anytime and I'm glad that you're enjoying your set. Cheers!
I just bought this TV today along with the Oppo-103 player. Looking forward to seeing what its capable of.
One note, I really wish you would have shut the drapes etc. The glare from outside doesn't really do the TV justice.
Congratulations man on being an owner of one of the greatest sets to ever be created! The Oppo player is one serious piece of equipment when it comes to playing Bluray so you're going to have an awesome setup (you should do a review). And yeah, when you saw me walk in front of the camera, that was me closing the drapes lol.
There were two reasons for all the light in the room. First was for video recording (quality degraded in a dark setting) and the second was because I wanted to show that even in a really bright room that the VT60 fared quite well. Let me know what you think about your set when you get it all configured! Thanks :)
They may produce more plasma tvs, but estimated to stop possible production in 2015 or so, from info posted on the web. Also, they have infact stated they are no longer doing research into new plasma panels. I would expect a new tv though using current panels, which is fine because in my eyes the VT, and ZT are the best panels ever made.
Hi XpCorner PH,
Thanks for your videos, I've watched both this one as well as the review video you've posted, and I have a few comments:
• You DO NOT need to unplug the TV once you're in the Service Menu and have checked the hours used. All you need to do is to hold the Exit-button for about three seconds, and the set will shut down and restart itself.
• You don't even need to go into the Service Menu to see the hours used, all you need to do is simply open up the Main Menu on the TV, go to "Help" at the bottom, then choose "System Information", and once you have the System Information window up, you can see hours used next to the line that says "Status4". For example mine says "B0181-00000", which means that my set has been used for 181 hours.
Thank you, have a good one!
I really appreciate the compliment and the info. I've actually had a couple of people explain to me a few different techniques to tell the number of hours viewed on the set as well as the way to exit the service menu. I chose the method that both showed viewers how to enter the service menu as well as check the number of hours.
I also know that you can just repeat the steps that you used to enter the service menu to exit the service menu but I figured that unplugging the set would be the easiest method for viewers and would decrease the chances of them getting into a setting that they should not be in.
I probably will post your method as to how to check the hours used in the about section of my video, but entering the service menu was a very common question for viewers so that's why I chose it.
Thanks again for the feedback, I'm always happy to learn more and I'm always here if you have more comments, feedback, or questions my friend!
Still using a P50VT. It's wonderful.
Hi there!
Thx for this very clear video. Excellent for new Panasonic plasma owners!!
I don't know if this thread is still active bur I also have some questions:
I have the Panasonic ST60 since yesterday. (St60 is the entry level and compared to VT60 it has less settings like the THX and so). And what wonderful display compared to my four years old Sharp LED. Difference is really day and night! Wow!!
I watched your movie and followed your "break in" settings as described and am now using your settings like sharpness 0 etc...
Since I'm new to plasma and don't want any burn in and I was wondering if I can watch regular television (I have DVB-T antenna). On those channels there always is a static channel logo on the top of the screen and I'm worried it could cause burn in after watching it for a couple of hours.... I have the pixel orbiter set to "on".
Also another question: since I just have the tv and am very enthousiast about it's quality of course I want to show it to some friends while watching a movie with the settings set to better quality than the break in settings you described. Would it hurt the tv if I watch an occasional movie with better settings than the break in settings?
(Yesterday evening I watched Avatar with the normal settings plus a few enhancements. That was before I watched your review and to test the tv capabilities... Luckily no image retention was generated)
Last question: why does the sharpness have to be zero while breaking in?
Hope to get an answer from you guys.
Thanks in advance!
Greetings from a very happy consumer! :-)
Nice video .today i order a 55 inch vt60e . cant wait .
Congrats my friend! I'm very excited for you and welcome to Club VT60 :) Let me know when your set arrives and if you need any help or just have questions. I can't wait til you get it!
XpCorner PH got him !!! Very Very nice ,iam in love . Now first 200 hours waiting ;) i did all the things you did in your movie. HD movies from youtube are insanely awesome
Cool beans man, glad that you're as excited I was when my set first came in. I ended up watching a movie with the people who brought it in. They helped me set it up and then I asked them to watch Prometheus in 3D and it was amazing! And yes, TH-cam (and all HD content) look stunning.
XpCorner PH iam almost there , now 160 hours sow next week i think the 200 hours. at what picture setting are your vt60 now ? so i no what to do at my 200 hours
Hey thanks for this video. Great information. I have a ST60 and have burn in from Dark Souls. I have the game mode on, low contrast and all the settings you have mentioned here. Total hours on the TV is 465. Longest game session would be 4 hours (after the set had done 200+ hours). I have run the white bar many times. Looks like Im stuck with it. Just wanted to say this so that people are still careful with plasmas. Thanks again.
You're very welcome for the video, glad that you enjoyed it. I'm sorry to hear about the gaming incident however. Are you certain that it's burned and IR. I have had several people think that their set was burned, but after two weeks it went completely away.
What I recommend doing is using my break-in settings for about a week or two and quit gaming on the set totally. Focus on just full screen images and stay out of the menu screen as much as possible. Run the screen wipe for 15 minutes before you watch anything and 15 minutes before you turn the set off.
Give that a try and see if the IR clears up any. Also thanks for the forewarning to the other plasma owners. Let me know how it turns out my friend!
XpCorner PH Cool. I'll give it a try. I'll report back in a few weeks. Thanks again.
Cool beans I look forward to hearing from you! I'm sure that you'll have good news to share :)
Game mode wont reduce PQ at all even in game mode, I tested it with a blray and there was 0% degradation between game mode on, or off. Its the same. Game mode only deactivates some picture options that most people never would use anyway, smoothing ect. Its solid.
last thing I heard, Panasonic hasn't stopped production on the new line of plasmas, perry.
I got the panasonic TC-P65s60 plasma tv about one month ago and I'm loving it. Great for gaming and the best picture I have ever seen. I'm guessing the s60 has close to if not the same picture quality as this tv.
Congrats on your set! The S60 is a great set for movies and gaming and looks exceptionally well, especially for it's price. It does share some similarities of other Panasonic plasmas manufactured in 2013, but not enough to say that the picture quality is similar (and definitely not the same) as the VT60. I would say as a comparison that the S60 would be a Nissan Maxima and the VT60 would be an Infiniti Q60s.
The blacks would be the biggest difference between the two, and then others would include motion and color accuracy and the details that are improved. As I said they're both great sets, just in different classes.
Ah I guess I would have to see for my self.
It definitely varies from person to person. My sister and brother prefer the look of my old Sony LCD while my mom likes the look of my ST50. The VT60 is really for people who are extremely picky about every detail of their set. If you've never noticed how black your letterbox is compared to your tv's bezel, then you probably wouldn't notice the difference between the two.
Statistics and numbers won't mean anything to a person if they don't notice it. It's like a person who only checks their email shopping for a new laptop and a salesman trying to sale them a super fast gaming computer. The person won't notice a difference in speed because they're only using the computer to check their email, but a gamer would immediately notice how fast the computer is.
I hope I'm not confusing you lol, but yeah it's something you just have to see and know what to look for. Thanks for the feedback my friend!
Yeah I mean my my s60 when I paused the DVR on a black screen the tv looked like it was off so the black levels are definitely good. I used CNET's recommended settings for the tv and the letter box blacks are as dark as the bezel not kidding. And your not confusing me at all. I can be very picky that's why I got a plasma. Compared to my parents Sharp LC65D64U the picture is a lot better. Not saying sharp is bad but The black levels on my tv are alot better. Theirs could probably be set up better because they are not picky at all.
Yeah, sharp does make some pretty good sets, particularly their Elite model. I know exactly how you feel with your parents tv. I went home and calibrated my parents Samsung tv and when I came back that had it set back to the same terrible default settings. Some people you just can't help lol.
Burn-in is very much a real issue on this TV. I own this set my self, always took precautions to avoid it. I did a break-in period of about 200 hours first. Everything was full screen during that period. No games. My father borrowed my set (after break-in) and passed out drunk with a computer desktop left on. Now I have a ghost image of that visible on my TV. It stayed on for 4 hours until the auto shut down turned it off. Might've happened several times without my knowledge. Have run "washing programs" (scrolling bars etc) for close to 40 hours and it still is visible. I would not recommend at all to use games or computers on this screen. Not even TV programs with static logos. The sad part is that they don't make plasma anymore, and LCD/LED doesn't have the picture quality I want... Still looking for a TV that can perform just as good as this plasma.
+togst I'm very sorry to hear that man. Yeah, 4 hours of a static image will likely cause burn-in especially if it's a computer screen that doesn't have a screen saver. For serious gaming I did update the hours and the set can definitely handle it, but it has to be very well broken in so that the phosphors are trained. My heart goes out to you though, this tv is phenomenal! My friend had some luck running my break-in settings watching full screen HD movies with no static logos for an additional 200 hours. It didn't fully remove the burn in but it made it nearly invisible unless you looked at it point blank.
Be well and I wish you the best!
OLED
Michael Walsh
Those can get burn-in too. Read an article a while ago where a guy got a TV logo burnt in on his LG OLED TV.
togst
It's harder to burn-in OLED than plasma.
Michael Walsh Actually Michael, burn-in on OLED can be worse. That's been my biggest reason for not making the jump to OLED. The burn-in can be more visible and easier attained so you have to be careful.
Plasma tvs go through what's called a break in period where the phosphors have to be aged. When you first get the set, it will look amazing but the best pq won't be achieved until the tv has aged properly and warmed up. Think of the break in period as a practice before a game. You first need to get warmed up and in shape before you're ready to play on the field. The break in period helps to ward off image retention and burn-in. Every plasma, no matter the brand, needs to be broken in.
I'm very sorry to hear that. Are you certain that it's burn-in or image retention. Most people who get IR think that it's burned but after the set washes it will return to normal. Extreme IR can last for several days and even weeks. I don't recommend heavy gaming on the set until 400 hours especially if you're playing games with a static HUD. What picture setting did you use? I don't recommend using any default picture mode for gaming. Try my settings and see if the IR will fade.
I liked and subscribed .your very helpful .can you please share your calibration settings for us .and settings you recommend for gaming for the best experience .thanks .
Thanks so much, I really appreciate that. You can go and look in the about section of my other video of the VT60 and it has a couple of calibrated settings for great picture quality. I don't have a specific picture quality for gaming because I'm always changing them but I will work on developing a setting for gaming at 200 hours and then after 400 hours.
Sorry for not posting my settings sooner but I'll put them on by no later than Sunday. Thanks for the reminder and I'm here if you have any questions or feedback!
Aaaaaw, man! :( I've been taking such good care of my VT60, babying if it you will. Been really careful, and even broke it in for about 450h. Now about 550 hours in, I noticed two days ago that I've gotten a bad case of IR or maybe burn in on my set! And I have NO idea from what! I've got two quite narrow red/pinkish fuzzy bars sitting on top of each other at the lower part of my screen (about where subtitles usually show, but too narrow to be subs I think), and can't image from what they're from... They don't match anything I've seen or played. I haven't paused anything, and I haven't played any games longer than max 1h straight. Been running screen washes and analogue snow noises for hours and hours, but it's still there. On bright scenes you can see those pinkish bars running across. I'm so crushed. :( I hope it's just temporary.
Oh wow man, that's terrible I'm sorry to hear that. That is very odd to say the least. What you're experiencing doesn't really sound like IR because IR rarely retains color. You may have a defect in your screen.
Are you on Google +? Can you snap a picture of the set and send it to me via Google Hangouts. I'll message you there if you need help finding it. I want to see what it looks like so that we'll know what it is.
XpCorner PH
Hi buddy,
Didn't really manage to take any good pictures because of the flickering and rolling bars that occurred in my camera when I aimed it at the screen, so the pink lines weren't really visible in the camera I'm afraid.
I searched for "pink image retention" and managed to find a picture that some guy posted in a thread I found about his Panny GT25, that looks pretty similar to my issue:
img827.imageshack.us/img827/7894/ironwhite02sm.jpg
Do you se the pinkish horizontal line that goes across his screen on the picture? Mine pretty much look like that and are pretty centered, (apart from the letterings and vertical lines on his picture, I don't have any of that). Also my lines/bars are a bit more faded I think. The good thing is that they're only visible in bright areas/scenes, but it's killing me anyways. :(
Thank so very much for taking the time and trying to help it, I really appreciate it!
***** Hey my bad for the delayed response. I was away from my computer and I couldn't view the image very clearly from my phone so I had to wait until I could see the image better.
Anyways, it looks as though that isn't actually IR or burn-in. I seriously doubt that you did that yourself. To me it looks like a defective set. I recommend that you call Panasonic and inform them of the issue because they may have to replace your set or repair it.
Call Panasonic and see if they have an in-home technician in your area that can come and take a look at it. I would hate for you to have to ship it back, but I'd do whatever is necessary to get it fixed. Keep me informed on what you decide.
Tried using the Disney WOW pixel flipper for a very long extended amount of time and none of the areas have cleared. I used Vivid for some but tried the other options as well. Problem is all the other options are very dark and do not make viewing enjoyable. I should have stuck with my gut and chose LCD/LED seeing as it's a theater room used primarily for gaming. I was swayed by the masses saying that burn in was no longer an issue, sadly they were mistaken.
Yes crt was heavy, my RCA was extremely heavy. You could get real good sound out of them though. The PQ depended on the set. My RCA was a TruFlat, it wasn't a hd crt, but the picture was deep and the black level was incredable. The sad thing was that we lost wasn't PQ it was the response time that crt offered. LCD PQ is superior, but there was a few hd crt monitors that competed quite well.
awesome. thanks for your knowledge. it makes a-lot of sense now it only happens when I turn on the set
Good to know my friend!
Lol that may very well be true but I can attest that they give some of the most unbiased (and highly accurate) tech opinions that you can find on the web. They can even be too picky with some details but for the most part I agree with their reviews.
Thank you for your reply, I find it really helpful finding out what settings you prefer, I find THX is great for certain films and I think it depends allot, like you say, on what your watching 'TV or films' . I think THX has a kind cinema quality to it but I find normal mode (with contrast turned up to about 60) allot sharper, it seems to display more detail . it's strange because blacks on the cinema mode are not only darker but they are expanded which can' I think 'obscure detail and sharpness , for example I did a test with a blank screen and just black text (writing) , I switched between normal and THX cinema, and on THX cinema the black text (to my suprise) went allot bigger and more bold taking up more pixels that would otherwise be white in the normal mode. It's hard to explain what I'm saying so sorry for rambling on and making no sense lol. ,but in normal mode the black text appeared thin and narrow, visibly allot smaller . Anyway I just want say thanks again, I was interested in hearing what you prefer, but like you say I need to play about more and look at professional modes and my own settings . Thank you for your advice again, it's much appreciated. Take care dude.
Thank you, now all we need is a video from YOU and BRAD!!!! lol
thanks bro! So far I'm liking it.
I've also tried the screen wipe option for several hours as well with no luck. I currently have 908 hours on my set with watching movies and playing a variety of games. I broke the TV in by using the full screen color pallet pictures similar to what you showed in the beginning of the video. I think at this point I'm screwed. :(
Thanks for the vid. Great picture qualiTy.
You're very welcome. This tv was just too amazing for me not to make a video. Glad that you enjoyed it!
I know it's tough so I'll tell you what I did. The room my tv is in has a bay window with a lot of light. I bought 100% block out curtains and blinds and went with the VT60 because it was cheaper and had the webcam. The pq is identical "IF" you can control the light in the room. I say go with the VT60 if you can figure out a way to dim the light but if you can't then the ZT60 is the best choice for you. Even in a bright room the VT60 fairs well, just not like the ZT60.
the legendary Kuro tv was oddly enough the only plasma that I knew of that was very hard to burn.
There's several articles released yesterday saying Panasonic is exiting Plasma production as of March 2014.
So it looks like I'll have to quickly decide which 2013 model to get before they're gone forever. My room is very bright so like you said the ZT60 would be the one to get. The cons are the speakers face downward unlike the VT60; I'd really prefer forward facing speakers. Also the VT60 is $1000 less than the ZT60. Not sure what to do?
Thanks for the demonstration and info. However, I still have a few questions. First, when you show how to eliminate the black widescreen bars on the top/bottom of the image (around the 16 minute mark), you quickly switch over from original to aspect 2. How did you make that change? When I push the "format" key on my remote, the options I see are FULL, JUST, 4:3, etc. Aspect 1, Aspect 2, and Original do not appear. I have the 55" model.
Second, you recommend breaking the panel in on standard picture mode. On another forum someone suggested using THX Cinema. What would be the advantage of one over the other? I think THX Cinema looks better, but the image is brighter, so does that mean that burn-in is more likely?
Finally, what is the difference between FULL and JUST? Or put another way, which is more accurate/natural? The difference is minimal, but I guess I just want to see things as they were intended.
Thanks again. Appreciate the input and feedback.
You are very welcome and I'm glad that you found the video to be helpful. To answer the first question, every option (Aspect 1, Aspect 2, etc.) will not be available on every source. It really depends on the material that you're watching and the input. Since I was watching from my USB, you noticed that I was missing a host of other options (Full, Just, Zoom, etc.). By the way, all VT60's have the same features despite their size, so it has nothing to do with you having a 55" lol. You have everything that I have :)
Secondly, I do not recommend THX Cinema for breaking in. You can use it when you watch movies during the break in period, but I don't recommend that you leave the set on THX Cinema when you're not physically watching the tv. Yes, mainly because of the brightness and contrast (which are not terribly high), but I prefer that every pixel gets a uniform aging and my dark settings are best for the job. Mind you, those are my personal settings that I made up, they aren't professionally recommended but they are what I use for reducing the chance of burn in while also fortifying against IR. Even Panasonic recommends breaking in the tv on the Standard preset for 100 hours, not THX Cinema. THX also grays out the pixel orbiter option which should be set to On instead of Auto.
Lastly in regards of what aspect settings to use, use Just. Just will be the more natural looking of the two. Full essentially zooms horizontally with no cropping, while Just is a variant of Full that applies greater expansion at the right and left sides and minimal or no expansion in the center. Just is generally more pleasant than Full for 4:3 source material, but it is nonetheless a distortion of the picture.
So in summary, some aspects are not always available, use my break-in settings (or at least not THX Cinema) for break-in, and Just is the more natural of the aspects. I hope that I answered all of your questions but if you have more then I'm always here my friend! By the way, I always respond to comments so no worries how the comment section appears :)
XpCorner PH Awesome. Thanks for the help. 200 hours is a long time to break in the set, so maybe I'll just throw in some movies even when I'm not actually watching. Use it primarily for gaming and am concerned about burn-in/severe IR. Anyway, definitely appreciate the assistance.
200 hours is not that long if you just leave your set running for about 10 hours a day on full screen content. The beauty of breaking in the set is that you don't have to be in the room to watch it. Just put on some movies and let them play. If you plan on gaming then I highly recommend the 300-400 hours depending on how heavily you plan to game.
You're welcome my friend and feel free to ask me anything, anytime!
Been running lots of movies on the set the past month. I'm probably up to 100 hours by now. Thing is, I played some video games over the weekend. There was a HUD, I played for maybe 2-3 hours, and that HUD is visibly stuck on the screen. I ran some other content for a couple of hours, ran the scrolling bars, and even ran the Disney WOW Pixel Flipper overnight, and still that HUD is visible. It may have faded slightly, but it's hard to tell. Any thoughts/advice? I'm on the Standard preset.
Well I'm very sorry to hear that. I don't know if you recall but the first 100 hours are when the tv is the most sensitive and prone to burn in. It's very important that you stop all gaming immediately. Here's what you need to do.
Use my settings for break-in and only on full screen content that has no static images. Run the screen wipe when you first turn on the set for at least 15 minutes then run it for 15 minutes before you turn the set off. Avoid pulling up the menu at all (except for the screen wipe) and stay away from the lifestyle screen.
Once you punch in my settings have the tv set so that it goes straight into full screen mode, not the home page with all the widgets and icons. Run full screen content on the set for at least 6-8 hours at a time with no breaks.
Try this for a week or longer or until the IR is faded. I know that it seems tedious, but IR removal is a tedious process. Let me know if you need help with anything, thanks!
Everyone and XpCorner PH, if you havn't already check this you tube video out just search"2013 HDTV Shootout - 2013 Models vs. Pioneer KRP-500M".
I called Panasonic to verify, and they said that it was a rumor and they would continue the lineup through 2014.
Wow! You're almost at the golden mark of 400 hrs. I just started trying to really break mine in after 100hrs so I'm jealous lol And of course I had to give a s/o to you and Eric. That is kinda strange how the sets have different menu names and that the AU version is lacking an option. I wonder if there are any other differences in these tvs? Anyways, thanks much Brad I appreciate the feedback and I'm also waiting for your reviews!!! Ur gonna make me fly to AU and take u hostage for a review LOL!
difficult to burn my butt... burned images in after 3-4 hours of gameplay over a few days. Really regret getting the VT60. be careful of static whites. This was with 150-200 hours of break in.
lol, exactly! CRT response time is 0ms, it's crazy how that technology is still the best for gaming considering how old it is. On a completely unrelated note, should I use $65 of my $404.00 in GameStop credit or should I pay outright to pick up beyond two souls?
But it still also amazing. ...im getting a protective shield for the tv glass from scratches and possible accidents. .
That's a great idea, just be sure not to touch the panel with your fingers because you don't want to create a seal with oil from your hands under the protective shield. If possible just skip the shield and opt for the warranty from square-trade or the store that you buy your set from.
My tv finally reached 200 hours. It looks great. Just had a couple more questions for you.
1. What picture setting do you use the most? Are you still using the THX settings or do you have custom settings for after break-in?
2. The settings for 420 hours that you have listed in your notes--are those only usable by accessing the service menu?
3. Have you noticed that you have fewer screen options when watching Netflix? It doesn't allow you to zoom or do some of the others. I thought that was odd.
Hope you are doing well.
Hey what's up man, I'm doing great thanks for that. Anyways, glad to know that you've got a nice number of hours accumulated on your set. The best picture (that I like) at 200 hours is CNET. They look great with inky blacks and really accurate colors that provide a true life cinema picture.
I actually have my own settings that I use for my set when I watch tv. As far as the 420 hours, no you don't have to go into the Service Menu at all but you will need to enable Professional Mode (ISFCCC) from the Setup menu to get those two extra settings. Let me know if you need assistance with dialing in those numbers, it can be pretty tricky if you don't know what it means. It gave me a hard time the first time I tried plugging in values so let me know, I'm here to help.
And yes, in regards to Netflix, the amount of customization is severely inhibited. I do however have EXCELLENT news. After you update your set (do it now if you haven't already) then you can now STREAM 3D MOVIES......FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE!!! I'm sorry but that is pretty amazing to me, no one else offers that except TH-cam.
Anyways, I hope that I helped you my friend. By the way, if you're on Google+ try messaging me through Hangouts. It's a free and super fast messaging platform. Works on pc, iOS, and Android. You know where to find me if you need me!
XpCorner PH Thanks again. I'll try the CNET settings for sure. I like the THX Cinema setting overall but something feels off about it. Like the black is not quite as black as the TV can display. Definitely not as black as my calibrated older Panasonic plasma.
The 3D streaming movies from Netflix is very cool. But now I need to up my speed on Roadrunner. I've always had the standard one and it's too slow for 3D. Works great for HD so I've never bothered to increase it. Might have to now.
BTW, do you know much about the ARC feature? I have a Yamaha receiver that has ARC capabilities too so I enabled it on the receive in order to get 5.1 for Netflix and other apps without having to run another cable. It just seems to work occasionally and I have to sort "redo" it every time I turn on Netflix. Not sure if it's the TV or receiver.
Have a good one. I'll look you up on Google+.
Yes, ARC is what's used to get the on-screen display that receivers use to display the menu on the tv. They can be fairly tricky at times to get the menu to appear, but not so much with the audio. Are you putting the HDMI cable into the ARC compatible HDMI on the tv?
I had issues with my Onkyo receiver and my Sony tv. I ended up resetting both and they have worked flawlessly ever since. I know that isn't very helpful, but that's all that I did lol!
This set is actually targeted at videophiles who prefer plasma over other technology. Panasonic released it as the Kuro killer (the best plasma before the VT60). The set is great but Panasonic made the mistake of thinking that only veteran plasma owners would buy this tv. Default settings are used to show off the different color schemes of the set but not meant for breaking the tv in. Sadly no adequate break in settings are included which left the consumer to find break in settings on their own.
Great video. I was hoping maybe you could clarify something - so I saw in another post that you said D-Nice's slides were supposed to be used after breaking it in, but I thought you were supposed to use his color slides cycle right when you get the TV to break it in and let the slideshow go for a minimum of 100 hours, then watch full-screen content for another 100-200 hours.
NO.....absolutely not! (I'm not yelling lol), if you read the description in the link it let's you know that the slides are NOT intended for break-in, IR, or burn-in prevention. The set should be broken in first and then you can use the slides. Go back and fully read the description for the slides. If you click on the link in my about section it takes you directly to the site. Great question and remember to break the set in first (a minimum of 100 hours but I recommend at least 200) and then you can use the slides.
XpCorner PH Thanks for the info. The reason I was a bit confused was that when I read other posts, even though it says the slides are "not intended for break-in, IR, or burn-in prevention", I have read that was only written as a disclaimer so that there is no legal liability for D-nice, but in reality the slides really are intended for initial break-in.
That could be true, but I haven't heard of that. I do know of some who skipped the process of breaking it in and went straight to the slides but I'm old fashioned lol. Even Panasonic recommends 100 hours of full screen content on their standard preset.
I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I will tell you that I recommend at least the bare minimum 100 hours. I think that you'll be ok either way, but to be safe I'm going to have to agree with his disclaimer.
Good solid advice. Now by standard preset, what exactly is that? I just got the TV a couple hours ago and am starting to watch full screen content. Should I set it to "Cinema", as I have seen others say to do, and leave everything else as it came from the factory?
flybriur Sorry, I thought that I responded to you. Anyways by Standard I mean the picture mode entitled Standard and Panasonic recommends leaving the settings to default. I also give you my recommended break in settings in the About section of this video. It's what I use to break in my VT60 and it reduces the risk of IR and burn-in.
They haven't yet, but the VT and ZT plasmas are flying off the shelf quickly and I believe that much sooner than later Panasonic is going to pull the plug on plasma production so I would snag one just to be safe. OLED is the next "big" thing in technology so Panasonic is trying to realign itself. I think that they're going to halt production without a warning. For all we know they may just be selling the remaining stock right now! I dunno but I wouldn't bank on a 70 series....sadly :(
I'm not so sure about the ZT70 actually going into production. Panasonic claims they won't be releasing any newer plasmas. They're going to start investing their resources into LED and OLED sets. It's a shame because their VT/ZT series are unrivaled. I hope that you're right though because I'd love to see a VT/ZT70 plasma! If I were you I'd snatch up a set soon, I have a feeling that this tv will be like the Pioneer Kuro, you won't be able to get one anywhere soon.
Thank you friend! And yes I'll put up a video using my DSLR camera that will show a more accurate representation of the pq of this set. I used a point and shoot Panasonic Lumix to make this video. My next video will be on my Canon t5i. It'll be a shorter video focusing strictly on pq and I'll be sure to run a bluray in game mode per your request. If you have more questions or comments I'm here!
So do you plan on a professional/custom calibration in the future, or is thx mode good enough for you?
I got me a 65" vt60 , 65" of pure awesomeness
Congratulations man and welcome to Club VT60!!!
Hello my friend . I got Panasonic Viera TX-P50V10E but i can't found Viera Connect market ! Can you help me ? What i can do ?
I think as a overall , I have to still say the set has a unmatched PQ and build, and as a final opinion, I cant say I recommend the set for huge gaming sessions. If you play occasionally or plan to use the set for strictly movies, I think youll find the set unbeatable. Response times are superb, lots of features. The tv is a little costly, and does need tlc to get it aged. Its not a set for the fearful of IR, and defiantly not for the negligent prone. overall 9.5 out of 10. - 5 for IR.
I'm torn between this vt 60 65 inch or the Samsung pn64f8500. Currently I own a UN55D8000 Samsung LED. I was looking at the Samsung since it is brighter. My issue is, the family room is brightly lit with a pair of 8 foot fluorescent bulbs but the sun only hits the back of the tv. From what I've heard this Panasonic is a great value. My first big screen was a 46 inch Samsung 6 years ago and then the D8000 two years ago. This would be my first plasma so I am a bit nervous going this route. I saw the Demo units at Best Buy and almost wasn't impressed until the Magnolia Rep told me they use a crappy demo and then the Panasonic VIERA demo started playing on the Samsung, which made it shine. I know Samsung makes good products (4 Galaxy s 4s on my family plan) but I know Panasonic makes TV's built like tanks (our bedrooms still use the old school 20 inch CRT VCR Combos and the only thing that died was the VCR) and the have a strong background in plasma tvs. So in the end I'm not sure and would like some advice.
Well you definitely heard right, this set is incredible and you won't likely find a tv quite as perfect (at this price) in years to come. The only competing tvs will probably OLED but they're still a new technology and extremely expensive.
To be honest, all of the televisions that you're thinking of buying are exception sets, with the VT60 topping the list. You should also consider the Panasonic ZT60 which maintains black level performance much better than the VT60. The trade-off is that it lacks the front-facing speakers (which won't matter if you're using a surround sound) and pop-up Skype camera.
If you noticed in this video of the VT60, I left my all of my curtains open so that you will get an idea of how REALLY bright lighting affects the set. Keep in mind that I my tv sits in a bay window and I also had the lights on in the room. If you think that my setup was similar to yours, then watch the video again and check for glare. Ideally, you should be able to control some of the lighting.
The F8500 is also a terrific set and will definitely get the job done if you really think the lighting conditions in your room won't be correctable. As you know by now (with all of your terrific Samsung devices), Samsung makes great visual masterpieces in the forms of televisions and phones. The F8500 is no different, plus it has extremely difficult to burn and IR has never been a problem on their sets.
I really recommend that you check out the ZT60 before you make a final decision, but as I stated earlier you can't go wrong with any of your choices. Let me know what you come up with or if you have any more questions that need answering before you make a commitment. Thanks for commenting and I await your response. And sorry for taking so long to respond.
XpCorner PH Thanks for the info. I would without a doubt love the ZT60 but I definitely want to go up in size I can't really find the ZT 65 inch on Amazon (I have Prime and am looking for it to be sold by them) and BestBuy has the price really high up there (close to $4000) which is just out of my budget.
I wouldn't mind dropping the $3100 on the Samsung but if I can save $800 (The VT60 65 inch is about $2300 on Amazon) then it would be great. So the only thing I am asking is that extra $800 going to give me something that will blow me away or would I be better off saving my money and being just as impressed with the Panasonic? I understand I will be impressed in general since I'm coming from an LED TV.
I saw that your room was pretty bright, I don't have that many windows so I think I should be fine with external sunlight. As for the lighting in my room I have the two 8 footers in front of the TV but they aren't used too often. I more often use the pair of 4 footers on the far side of the room where it's less likely to affect the TV. One question in particular is the "micro-dimming" (I'm not sure if Plasma's have this functionality or not since I'm a newbie with them) will it adjust to changes in lighting? I.E. when I turn the 8 footers on, my LED cranks up in brightness, but it readjusts when I turn them off and just the 4 footers. Or would I just have to change the setting from Standard to THX Bright Room? I am assuming it is the latter...
Ultimately I would prefer to save my money unless I'm going to miss out if I don't purchase the Samsung. It would also be more convenient to get the Panasonic because I currently have my Tivo under one side of the TV and my Xbox One Kinect sensor under the other side of the TV. If I did buy the Samsung I'd have to come up with some clever thinking to re-arrange my Tivo and Xbox because of the stand design (space is kinda cramped in my house). As for sound I wouldn't worry too much because I'm not a fan of speaker systems, I just use the regular TV audio. When I feel like it I just use my Corsair 2.1 gaming speaker set when I watch a movie or play games like Splinter Cell where I need to be aware of noises. So I am definitely leaning toward the VT60 but waiting to hear what you've got to say, your video is very helpful with this TV.
Well that info helps out a lot! I think that you can handle the VT60. My room was obnoxiously bright to prove a point. The point is that even in extreme bright situations, the tv is able to perform well. From the sound of it, you can control the light in your room fairly easily so the VT60 sounds like your optimal choice. You should check Panasonic's website for the VT60 and ZT60. They have huge sales going on and I even considered buying another set myself. I think the 65 inch ZT60 is about $3100 and the VT60 was about $2300 last time they emailed me.
Regarding micro-dimming, that's a feature native to LED tvs not plasma. Fortunately, LED only uses micro-dimming only to replicate plasmas inky black levels. That technology is not needed on plasma since it already provides a broader range of contrast that's naturally more uniform. Plasma uses gas to produce its light and color and doesn't have cells (like LED tvs) containing light emitting diodes that have to be turned on/off in sections (which is why LED tvs suffer from blooming). The phosphors inside of the tv can be excited individually producing an extreme contrast differential. So in short, no micro-dimming is not present but that's a great question.
As far as the tv automatically adjusting to the lighting in the room, that's called the Ambient Light Sensor. It's present on the VT60 and I'm sure that it works fine but I can't attest to it much as I've never really used it. I find it annoying to automatically change my settings but I can imagine that it would be useful in rooms with fluctuating lighting. It is definitely a feature on the VT60.
You won't be missing out on anything if you buy the VT60, however the reverse is true if you buy the Samsung. I must admit that I do enjoy Samsung's interface slightly more, but in regards to the picture and styling of the VT60, it's hands-down the best set available.
The VT60 is still my recommendation and the ZT60 if you can swing it (although it still isn't as inexpensive as it could be). The Samsung only if you think that your room lighting will be too bright (and I seriously doubt that it will).
I hope this helped and didn't leave you only more confused LOL but you know where to find me if you have more questions or need some extra nudging!
the panasonics have better blacks, and shadow detail,but the f8500 almost looks like an oled, due to better prossesing, brightness, motion, and almost as good black levels
Sorry if this has already been addressed... how long do you recommend waiting before watching 3D movies? Great video, Thanks!!
Great question and no I've never addressed it! You can watch 3D movies immediately, in fact the first movie that I watched on my set was Prometheus 3D and it was eye dazzling. 3D movies are full screen (at least the ones that I've seen are) so watching them won't hurt a bit.
XpCorner PH Great! Thanks again, really enjoying your videos
mrbourne2 No problem always happy to help and I'm here if you have more questions!
Hey I have had the vt60 for about month now got about 125 hours on it. I have noticed sometimes I get blurry lines around objects sometimes. I have set at you break in settings. it doesn't happen all the time but only on certain movies on the tv.
Well first of all, welcome to Club VT60! Now when you say blurry lines, can you be a bit more descriptive. Are they large lines, small, in what area of the screen and what is the frequency of the issue?
Also, do the lines appear only on certain backgrounds, like on dark or black backgrounds or only on green colors, etc.?
Sometimes, if you sit to close to the set you may notice noise but that can be fixed sometimes by sitting further away or turning down the sharpness of the set.
Let me know a little more info so that we can figure this out. Thanks my friend!
XpCorner PH It happens more in dark backgrounds, happened on watching chronicles of Riddick. lines are small seems wavy. I am only sitting about 7 ft. away from a 60 inch. I know im little close. lol
Randy Todd I forgot to respond to this post, so sorry. Anyways, yeah you're definitely a little close for a sixty inch set. I recommend a minimum of 8 ft. away. Any closer and you'll notice noise and other things that aren't typical when you sit the appropriate distance away.
If you still notice an issue when you sit further away, you can always try to reset the tv or check for any updates that are available. Keep me informed on the situation.
XpCorner PH well I have noticed stiing father away. Its seems to happen when a dark colored object goes passed a lite colored one. not sure how you reset the tv
Randy Todd I'm sorry bud, I did it again. I did not respond sooner although I read the message. Charge it to my head and not my heart. To reset the tv, go to Menu>Setup>Factory Defaults and that will start you off fresh. Let me know if that helps. Also check for software updates but if you still notice noise and think that it's not normal then call Panasonic and have them send out a tech.
good video. question: how is the brightness of the zt/vt60 compared to the vt50 of 2012. ive heard that because of the new darker filters on the zt/vt60, brightness is dimmer than the vt50. Also in your video where you went into the service menu, is there a way to default the service menu if you changed something by mistake? thanks in advance..
The ZT60 has an improved filter so the ZT maintains much better picture quality under bright lighting. In comparison to the VT60 and VT50, the difference in brightness is neglible. Yes, the VT50 gets a smidge brighter than the VT60 but only after calibration. The VT60 can get much deeper blacks which makes for broader contrast that produces more pop. By default, however, the VT60 has a higher overall brightness.
For the service menu reset, you can do a factory reset by going to Menu>Setup>System>Factory Defaults. That should reset it completely, but if not turn on the set and hold down the volume up button and the power button on the tv.
Let me know if that helps. Thanks for the sub my friend and I'm here if you have more questions!
Is the screen filter of the ZT60 worth the extra cost over the VT60? Is the fan noise noticeable?
Just a random couple of questions here....what size USB "Glide stick", (or any other brand), should I get, to hold enough movie content for the break in? Also, if 200-400 hrs is the "break in" period, how many hrs can I expect over the life of this tv?! Thanks!
Great questions! I have a Cruzer Glide 32gb thumb drive, but a 16gb should work just fine. My movies don't even take up 12gb of space. Of course I copied the bluray mkv file then used Handbrake to compress the file into a smaller size. When done right, the quality still looks like a bluray 1080p movie.
As far as panel life, the VT60 is rated at 100,000 hours so expect this set to be around for the long haul. Just be sure to keep your set well ventilated by occasionally clearing any dust that my accumulate in the vents. You're the first to ask that, but those were good questions and I'm here if you have more!
Hey man, great video. You have me sold on this tv now! I was going to get the st60 until I found out how bad the input lag is. What's the input lag on this set? I looked up the numbers and it looks pretty good but still not as low as some of the Sony lcds. Have you seen any noticeable lag? Thanks a lot.
Man that's awesome, great choice! The set has no noticeable lag. In fact it's very fast! I play on my ST50 and don't notice any lag either, but the VT60 is truly remarkable. The refresh rate is so smooth and buttery! I like to turn on Game mode and motion smoother for a really cool experience. The Sony W900A is reportedly super fast but you won't notice a significance. The VT60 is rated 47.9 and the Sony is in it's 20's. Congrats on your decision and let me know if you have more questions!
XpCorner PH Thanks for the reply. That's good to know. One more question:) I've heard a lot of people talk about using the "break in" discs which static screens of color to break in a plasma. What do you think of those? I have an older Panasonic Viera Plasma (bought 6 years ago) and to break in I just basically did what you are saying here and watch full screen content and didn't game on it for over 100 hours. never had any issues with it. In fact, if the HDMI ports didn't blow out I wouldn't even be looking at a new tv. The picture is amazing still. Thanks again.
MIke Murphy The break-in discs work. I know people who use them but personally I don't prefer them. I like to just watch television and let the set age naturally. I'm not saying that the discs don't produce great results, I'm just telling you my preference. I've seen sets that used the Wow discs and I didn't notice a difference in picture quality. The real ticker in great picture quality comes from hours logged and calibration. You are just fine aging the set naturally but you can use the discs as well, it's really up to you. Great question and I'm still here if you have more, hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
Yes, but if you plan on gaming on the Sammy be prepared for horrid input lag.
CRT was good for gaming but the pq on crt just wasn't up to par especially compared to lcd. They were flat and dull images while lcd could be much more vivid and sharp, plus the sets were huge and clunky. I have a crt flat screen and it still works but it's night and day comparison to my Sony lcd. I think that OLED is amazing technology. The blacks, the color, the brightness, everything. When they become realistically affordable and perfected I'm jumping ship LOL!
Yeah, that would be nice but highly unlikely. Some people don't care about breaking in their set (or don't know that they need to) while others prefer to break their set in their own way (custom slides and images). So while what you say makes perfectly good sense, it's not likely that Panasonic or any other plasma producer will do so. It would be a nice option at an additional fee for a company to do that though. That's a great recommendation for Panasonic!
Hey guys, thinking about buying the ST60. Will be watching movies and playing games with static images. IR is one thing that makes me very nervous. Your video has given me encouragement though, but I do have a few questions: 1) Why should I trust this break-in system when I've heard of people still having problems? 2) How confident are you about the results? So confident that you'd buy me a new tv if it had IR after following your steps (not that I would)? 3) After I break 400 hours, you say I can game all I want. Do I still need to maintain the set with the white wash demo from time to time? 4) after break in, am I allowed to calibrate the tv to professional settings? Thanks guys for the video and I hope you can help me out!
My gaming sessions last at the longest 3 hours, but that is on rare occasions. And I play FPS a lot. I don't have cable, And I'm very mindful about turning off the tv when not in use. Also, sorry if the first question came off rude. Just woke up, and my brain didn't know the best way to phrase the question. Hope this is a good tv choice for me
It's no problem man, I didn't see it as being rude. So let's address the most important questions first. I don't own an ST60, but I do own an ST50 and I've gamed for over 3 hours on it on Call of Duty MW3 survival mode. My ST50 (previous model before the ST60) looks amazing but I used slightly different break-in settings on that set. It DOES get IR (letterbox movies, tv menu, etc.), but a few washes with full screen content that has no static images clears that up almost immediately.
Second, you always want to break-in a plasma! The reason why people get IR or burn-in is generally from not breaking in the set properly. It's EXTREMELY important to break it in and the first 100 hours are the most important. Brightness and contrast play a huge part in IR so you have to turn them down. Honestly, the ST50 looks horrible on standard content on my break-in settings but once you get past that phase then the set is absolutely stunning!
I'm very confident about the results because I personally have gamed on my ST50 several times for extended sessions with no burn-in, of course I also have settings for gaming too. My ST50 has about 350 hours and I use it primarily for regular tv, bluray movies, and gaming from time to time. Now when I watch tv, I change channels on occasion to get away from the static logos on the bottom and it's not as bright of a picture as when I play bluray movies.
Also to note, my ST50 is in a COMPLETELY BLACKED OUT room with absolutely no light. That makes quite a difference in my tv viewing experience. I live like a vampire lol.
After break-in I definitely recommend that you calibrate for professional settings, but I calibrated ONLY my HDMI input that I used to watch bluray movies on. My standard tv input is a custom setting that it isn't really bright because I don't want channel logos to burn-in. Gaming has an entirely different input setting too. Game mode is turned on and brightness and contrast are adjusted so that I can still play comfortably without risking IR.
Now with all that said, I hear (haven't actually played one in person) that the ST60 has horrible input lag. Input lag is rated 73.6 ms and that is HIGH. I had a Westinghouse lcd tv with input lag that made online gaming IMPOSSIBLE, so take that into consideration. Since you look to game I recommend the Sony W900a or the VT60, but the input lag is just too high for me to suggest the ST60 for gaming. Playing with that much input lag would be the equivalent on a laggy host. It's a tv primarily for home theater use, not gaming.
I hope I addressed all of your questions, but if not you know where to find me and I'm sure that Eric will contact as well. Thanks my friend!
XpCorner PH Many thanks. I'm down grading from a projector with a 90ms lag, so sadly it will actually be better. I game around 1-2 hours a day sometimes. I'm not a pro gamer or anything, just a hobby of mine. I have heard that the S60 has a rather low input. Somewhere around 30. The W900a and VT60 are out of my price range. $1500 is my max. I really want plasma, cause I miss those blacks since I've been living with a projector for 2 years. I also like the look of them more than LCDs. My room would be your standard apartment living room with glass doors to the left of the screen. What would you suggest with those conditions? Please don't say LCD... haha.... seriously though...
Lowrey Brown Oh wow, well I'll be hard pressed to find you something that will be as big as you projector but I can make a few recommendations lol. So to get this straight you will be using this set in an environment where you can't control the lighting and it's fairly bright, or do you have curtains that can control the lighting? If so, then you can still stick with plasma, but if not I can recommend some LED tvs that will be in your price range.
I'm looking for a 60 inch tv. I will have curtains and be able to control the lighting to a certain extent. Not sure if they will be black out curtains. Have to get the wife approval. I'll be selling my projector and using the money to buy the tv. Hopefully it will cover the whole purchase. I had a penny plasma before this projector and would love to return to it. Love the blacks and the 600htz. I might could swing the vt60. But would rather not if I don't have to. I watch a lot of movies as well. All via ps3 or ps4. Toss me some leds if that's what is best. I might just have to grin and bare it.
I was also never aware about breaking in your tv. when I purchased I was told I have to wait 100 hours to calibrate it. I didn't know that you should probably wait 200 hours and your saying 400 hours for gaming. please help
Even with your break in contrast settings for gaming, is there some colors that are more prone to IR then others? Example, playing NHL 14 with a white playing surface vs. FIFA with a green surface. I also will be disabling the HUD display during the break in. Can't wait to pick this tv up. Also, if I wanted to game with the lower contrast settings during break in, should I run the wipe after a certain number of hours or just turn on full screen material for a few minutes between games?
Very good questions my friend! First to note, you DO NOT want to game during the first 200 hours of owning this set (the first 100 hrs are considered the most vulnerable). Gaming briefly to test the set is OK but nothing extensive at all! And yes, the white background will be slightly more susceptible but in general ANY prolonged color, pattern, or image can cause IR, even the menu on the set itself, so you must be careful. Hold off on gaming til you reach 300 hours if possible (it's not that long I promise lol). Lower contrast settings during gaming won't hurt but details will be lost in really dark scenes. If you have to game during break-in, take breaks every 15-20 minutes and check for IR. If you see any IR then immediately wash the set with some full screen content on my break in settings. Screen wipe is fine, but regular full screen content is best for IR. I hope I didn't talk too much but I just wanted to address all of your questions. I'm here if you have more and let me know what you think about your set when you get it. Thanks!
Thank you very much for that really cool informative and very helpful video. I just watched it as I needed some advice on how to set up my new plasma. I have just received my new Panasonic ZT60 , it's still in the box and I haven't even opened it yet as of this writing, but now I seen this video I'm ready to set it up. I've never even seen this plasma in action I just ordered it on recommendation (instead of falling for the led 4k hype) the ZT60 I am lucky enough to have was only one of the last of a very few left in the UK. Anyway I'm really excited after watching this great video, it's been really helpful so I just want to say thanks allot for making it, I really enjoyed it .
Just one question will videos or blue ray looked stretched when watching it in the full screen mode for the first 100 hours, it's a bummer you gotta break it in.
You are very welcome my friend in the UK and congrats that you were one of the VERY few who was able to get not only one of the last plasmas made by Panasonic, and the very best model at that so kudos to you!!!
You're going to love your ZT60, it is the true epitome of perfection. Anyways, yeah I know that you're excited to start watching your set but you definitely want to break it in before you do, especially since it's discontinued now. Bluray movies that need to be rescaled to fully fit the screen do not suffer from any type of resizing issues. The tv is very smart and knows very well how to make it full without sacrificing image quality
If you want to watch bluray movies in their native format (letter bars) then that's fine as long as you go back to breaking in your set once you're finished. I watched bluray movies in their original format and once I finished I went back to using my break-in settings. Just be sure not to watch cable until it's fully broken in.
Great question and I'm always here if you have more!
Thank you so much again for your helpful advice, I will follow your advice and make sure I break it in properly, this is something that I wouldn't of known about if I wouldn't of found your you tube channel. And thank you again regarding all your help and info about rescaling. I'll definitely break it in. I'm setting up tonight as soon as I get home from work, counting down the minutes, he he lol :-) thank you my friend,
Hi man how are you doing I hope your good. I know the VT and the ZT are virtually the same tv's, so I was wondering if you don't mind me asking you something; What preset picture mode do you prefer? I find the Normal setting with contrast turned up to around 60, or so, is about the best non professionally calibrated picture I can get right out of the box. I just find that the normal setting seems to show more resolution and detail than the THX cinema mode. The THX cinema mode is good but it seems a little fluffy or, dare I say, slightly blurry when looking at fine detail compared to the sharper picture and edges I am experiencing with the normal mode. The cinema THX just looks almost like it's a little blurry( but only when looking really close at blades of grass and rocks) and the picture just doesn't pop out with as much with fine detail and colour . I'm not sure why this is, What do you think ? , I'd really appreciate your thoughts, I'm a novice when it comes calibration. Normal mode also seems better than THX cinema when viewing a high definition source like 'the hobbit' on blu ray. normal mode seems to be sharper and colours pop more, but surely THX should look better, I wouldn't say it's necessarily brighter than THX Cinema mode in fact I'd say the THX cinema is slightly brighter with a factory preset of 70 contrast , but normal mode seems to looks better, do you have any recommendations for settings. I hope I'm not bothering you, take care, best regards
Gawain,
Gawain Davies Hello! I really prefer THX Cinema when watching movies, but for regular tv I prefer Normal mode. I also use the Pro Settings 2 (which is listed in the about section) for certain films. It really varies with me. I think that the best all around is THX Cinema though. You should definitely try plugging those settings in when you get a chance (they can be a little exhaustive with entering all the information). Let me know what you think or if you have any other settings that you like to use I'd love to know them.
Thanks and sorry about the slow response, been pretty busy the last few days but I'm still around ;)
The ZT60 is the reference TV not the VT60.... but again its a great tv i am upgrading from a VT50 to VT60 Soon.
Well technically they both are reference level. The VT60 was released first and gained reference tv status and then the ZT60 was released and also received reference tv status. Reference tvs are tested in a dark room and since the picture quality of the VT and ZT are identical in a dark room, both sets are reference tvs. Great comment! Thanks and let me know what you think about your VT60!
Hi Xp, got 2 question for u that i didn t found out in all the comments below :
1 Assuming that at 100% i ll not ve static images on screen, using for example blu ray in 1.78:1 or tv channels (like discovery) zoomed in to make their logos disappear, can i skip to going into standard n lowering brightness, color ecc as u did but instead just run those 100% static free things directly in thx mode (for example) for 400hrs ?? i mean, where s the point of lowering brightness ecc if i m 100% i ll view static free contents ?
2 With 100% static free contens (same as above) can i let on the tv for 24/7, this way reducing the break in period to just 2 weeks or something like that can cause other issues like deteriorating or overheating or overuse ecc ?
Thanx as Always, u r DA MAN !!
Hello my friend! Sorry for the delayed response, I was busy all day today but to answer your question, no I don't recommend skipping the break-in period. The best method to prevent burn-in and IR is to properly break in the set. Even if you plan on using non-static images the best way to get the most uniform and IR resistant set is to break in on certain settings.
This helps to keep the pixels trained to stay at a non-excited state thus making them more resistant to IR and burn-in. I can explain in greater detail if you would like but to answer your question, yes, use the break in settings with no static images. In regards to leaving the tv on 24/7, I don't recommend it. I have heard of people having issues with the fan (mainly just a noise) but overheating could happen as a result.
Keep in mind that this tv is essentially a computer with a beautiful display slapped on it. It's not likely, but the set could freeze during playback so I recommend limiting the set to 10 hours of straight playback and monitoring it closely to make sure that nothing happens. Also, buy a professional home theater power surge protector like the Monster HTS 1000. I hope that answered your questions my friend!
Also, after breaking in for over 200 hours, how high can you go no the settings? How high can you put the contrast, brightness, etc ?
Oh wow! That's a ton of hours. Ok, well I have a few questions. Do you have an extended warranty that covers burn-in and do you know how to check your TH-cam inbox? I can offer you some advice that might get you some help from Panasonic if you don't have an extended warranty.
What's considered extensive? I don't game more then two hours at a time and never every night? I'm just stuck because once the tv is set up, I have no other gaming option then that TV. I don't want to damage it for the long term. Would turning the contrast down even lower help?
Great video, i was sure to favorite it for use next week with a new tv. Now, i have a few questions when you have a free moment. I'm someone who likes to game and watch tv fairly regularly, and often work from home so I can spend quite a few hours with my TV on.
I'm willing to break in the set for as long as needed and maintain discipline with it, but as someone who can game for very long periods of time, or fall asleep on the couch watching sportscenter or something... should I go plasma vt60/zt60?
I've always wanted a plasma, and now is the time for a panasonic quality picture if i want one, but I fear getting a plasma and burning it in with heavy gaming or falling asleep watching sportscenter or other programs with the bottom bars of logo's (Fox/comedycentral, FX, etc).
I want the picture quality of a vt/zt60 for the ps4/xbox one, but i'm worried that with my heavy hours spent watching TV with it on or watching netflix/gaming, if i should go with a technology other than plasma and sacrifice abit of picture quality such as a Sony KDL-55W900A? or will I be fine with leaving it on/gaming for heavy periods after a sufficient (400-500) hour break in period? Speaking of, is there anywhere to get the perfect picture rotation or optimal video for breaking it in perfectly? I hear a proper break in period for plasma's can mean the final 5-10% in picture quality over the course of it's lifetime, but I admit to being woefully ignorant on the technology. Thanks for the answers, loved the video, and sorry again for the long post!
also, for the break in period... do you recommend doing it 8-10 hours at a time or is it recommended to do the full amount at once?
You're fine, you just want to get a good understanding and that's perfectly ok. So here's the deal, if you want to do things like HEAVY gaming and sportscenter, then I recommend a 700 hour break in period. In other words, all full screen content with the least amount of static images up until 700 hours of play on the set.
I have a friend who bought this set per my recommendation, and he's just like you. He loves watching sports (football nonstop) and he games a ton(NCAA 2014, NFL 2K14, Gran Turismo, etc.). Thing is, he also did the break in technique for 700 hours. I personally don't game on my VT60 (at least not often, only sometimes to show off the beauty of the graphics), but if you do just be careful and be sure to get an extended warranty that covers burn in.
Even though this set is the number tv, it is still a tv after all lol. So you can expect to do everything on it that you would a regular tv, just be mindful of IR. You don't need to fall asleep and leave this tv on, so I recommend setting a sleep timer on the set to auto-power it off around the time that you normally fall asleep (and if you're still awake you can always press any button to cancel the sleep timer). I do this on my set because when my brother visits he also falls asleep while watching tv.
In regards to getting the optimal break in settings, mine will work just fine, but there's also some slides that you can download. They come with specific settings too and I hear that people have had great success using them. Honestly, any settings that aren't bright and use full screen content will work for break-in. And you'll watch the tv as you would regularly and can even set it to run while you're asleep, but you don't want to leave it on for 500 hours straight LOL!
If you're nervous about plasma, you may want to consider LED (or OLED), or you can always opt for the Samsung PNF8500 which is also a plasma but handles IR and burn-in MUCH better than Panasonic and is a close second in terms of picture quality to the VT60. I owned a Samsung plasma and NEVER had any IR whatsoever, and I abused that set tremendously.
In conclusion, I think that if you know what to do ahead of time and prepare yourself mentally for being careful and properly break in your VT60, then you'll be absolutely perfectly fine. However, if you have any reservations (or gut feelings) about IR or burn-in then opt for a different set.
Let me know if what other tvs you're considering and I can help recommend some tvs that I also considered purchasing.
Sorry it's so long, but I had to address all of your questions LOL! Thanks my friend and I'm here if you need me!
XpCorner PH Thank you so much for the answers! Don't be sorry about TLDR, truthfully I appreciate a long answer that thoroughly addresses my concerns. It isn't uncommon for my TV to stay on for days at a time whether I'm gaming, at work, someone else is watching it, watching tv/netflix, etc... is leaving Plasma on for long periods (even if it isn't at a static screen) bad for plasma?
The model LED is was considering was Sony's KDL-55W900A, which i hear is outstanding for gaming in terms of input lag. I'd prefer the superior picture quality of plasma, but I have limited knowledge of it's cons as I haven't owned a plasma. If my tv set were to be left on and used for very extensive periods, would you recommend the Sony W900A and sacrifice the darks and slightly better picture quality for the brighter colors and safety of no burn in and no break in period?
Both the Zt60 and W900 seem like fantastic TV's, both with pro's and con's, but for a TV enthusiast who isn't an electronic expert who just wants to plug/play ASAP for as long as possible, would LED be the better choice or would the VT60/ZT60 be the better choice for the mancave? Is there any glaring negatives of the Sony W900 that you know of and would warn me of vs the vt/zt60 series? Thanks again
datruthhammer Well that bit of info helps me tremendously. So you definitely want to opt for the Sony lol. It's the best choice for you since you leave the set on constantly. You won't have that luxury with plasma, especially not in the critical 100 hour break in period. It's just to much money to risk with this set.
It's not the period of leaving the tv on for so long (in fact that can actually help), but you need to monitor what's on the set to make sure that no static logos are being retained. I can't recommend leaving it on things like sports or the news because they will cook your sets the fastest. I know for a fact because I ruined my first plasma with news tickers ( at that time I knew nothing of IR or burn-in).
The W900 is the best LED for you, since you like gaming and want excellent picture quality. The only drawbacks to the W900 are uniformity issues, which is common for most edge-lit LED tvs. The blacks won't be as true black as plasma, and the video processing won't be as smooth (which I don't expect any technology to beat plasma in those two categories except OLED), but the set will still look stellar, no doubt.
Where this tv will shine is in it's color. I have an older Sony LCD and another Sony LED set, and while they don't look as good as my Panasonic plasmas, I still love gaming on them and movies too. Bright, colorful scenes make this set look great and the black performance of the W900 is the best of 2013! I watched Oz the Great and Powerful on my Sony LCD and the color was just remarkable so you can imagine how amazing it will be on the W900.
So my verdict is go with the Sony W900 and play your PS4/Xbox One until you pass out and then leave the set on, because it won't hurt it lol. Yes the VT60 is a better all around set, but it has a waiting period before you can truly enjoy all of it's features, and even then you'll still need to be mindful of IR.
Plus the Sony comes with 4 pairs of active 3D glasses instead of the 2 included with the Panasonic. So there you have it, go with the Sony W900 and make a review of it so I can comment and ask you tips on it LOL!
Uh n i forgot... lol... 3d, (in movies, gaming ecc) is allowed or not during the break in period ?