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New member Username: David_nguyenBoston, MA USA Post Number: 10 Registered: Apr-05 | Hey ecoustics community, I have two questions I'm hoping to get thoughts on: 1) I'm 99% made a decision to purchase the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY plasma monitor. Any owners out there that can share good/bad/neutral experiences? 2) I'm most likely going to order from www.dtvcity.com since they are an authorized Panasonic dealer, and are offering an additional year warranty (2 years total) for free. Anyone had any good/bad/neutral experiences purchasing from these folks? Thanks, David |
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Jeffrey_R Unregistered guest | David, I bought the same model last week from Best Buy Plasma for $3649. I love the television; HD programming is stunning. My one complaint is that it only has one Component Input, for which I have my Hi-Def cable hooked up. Unfortunately, my Comcast DCT5100 cable box only has one component output so I'm left sending the DVD video output through a regular, yellow composite/rca line to the Panasoinc television. The DVD quality becomes very mediocre at that point. The DVD/Sound System which I also purchased at the same time was the Sony Dream System, DAV-9, which, although has a Component Output, has no where to plug in, in either the cable box or on the Panasonic TV. Any suggestions on how I improve the DVD image quality? Should I purchase a Monster Composite cable as opposed to the generic cable given by Sony? Or should I put a new component terminal board in Slot One of the Panasonic? I would appreciate anyone's advice. Good luck David with your purchase. |
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Silver Member Username: JonmoonPost Number: 203 Registered: Dec-03 | I bought the Panasonic TH-42PWD7UY and added a DVI blade. It was easy to install. That way you can use the component from your DVD and use the receiver's output (DVI or HDMI) for the TV which should maximize the picture. I may reverse the order as I bought an upconverting DVD player which only works through DVI. Oh, bother. |
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Bronze Member Username: David_nguyenBoston, MA USA Post Number: 11 Registered: Apr-05 | Jeffrey, I'm glad you're enjoying your TV, I can't wait to order and receive mine. As for your question, I'm no expert, but I don't think changing the cables will make any difference. You could use the S-video connection which I believe the TV has built in. For an even better connection, purchase and install another component video board and use that to attach to your DVD player. How was your experience with Best Buy Plasma? |
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Jeffrey_R Unregistered guest | David, Thanks for the tip. I'm thinking about purchasing another component video board and installing that into Slot One - I'm not sure what is involved in the installation - hopefully it is not too difficult. You get what you pay for with Best Buy Plasma. Great price but poor service. Fortunately the TV came in 8 days (I live in LA, formerly lived in Boston!) but every other aspect of service was poor, including emailing, communications, they misrepresented the type of delivery, delayed a refund, etc. Good luck. |
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Bronze Member Username: David_nguyenBoston, MA USA Post Number: 12 Registered: Apr-05 | Jeffrey, What part of Boston did you live? I grew up and still live here; formerly Newton, now West Roxbury. I will most likely purchase from www.dtvcity.com since they are an authorized Panasonic dealer. A bit more expensive, but they do include a free additional year warranty. Was the TV easy to set up? Did you attach the speakers, or hook it up to a receiver? I'm planning on buying the attachable speakers so, if I just want to flick it on to get the news, I don't need to fire up the whole system. Eventually I'll be hooking up the new Denon AVR-4806 (should be released soon), with B&W FPM5 speakers. As far as the installation of the board, I believe it's just plug n'play, but then again, I have been known to be wrong - just ask my wife.... |
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New member Username: BruzziPost Number: 7 Registered: Nov-04 | Jeffrey_R , The VGA input can be also used as Component. No Transcoder is required. All you need is a Component/VGA cable like this one from Ram Electronics: http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/hdtv-cables.html#hd15rgb |
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Unregistered guest | I bought the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY back in late February and the television is simply awesome! I got it for $4125 from Visual Apex (www.visualapex.com) and got excellent service. (I think they dropped the price which kills me, but whatever). Super fast service and knowledgeable people there who follow up. I'd highly recommend them. But enough of the plug for Visual Apex. The Panasonic is simply the best television I've ever had. For DVD and HDTV sources, it doesn't require a lot of tweaking to get the picture right. I used the Video Essentials disc to calibrate it and had little to do except for the more advanced settings. After tweaking, the picture beats just anything out there except for quality 1080i native resolution televisions. A friend of mine came over to watch Star Wars and ran out and bought the 42 inch model two days later. 'Nuff said. Although there are only basic inputs in the back, you can buy input boards for between $110-$150. They're plug and play. The only complaint I've ever had about this TV is that Panasonic screwed the original boards in so tight that I stripped the screws trying to get them out. Component input boards are plentiful online, but I just found out the hard way that the HDMI input board is pretty scarce. In any event, I would go ahead and invest in the input boards you want to get the best picture possible since they aren't all that expensive given what you're paying for the television as a whole. |
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Bronze Member Username: David_nguyenBoston, MA USA Post Number: 20 Registered: Apr-05 | Thanks RCHowared. That's pretty much convinced me to buy. I'll also probably go with your advice and buy at least one HDMI board to hook up the DVD player. What kind of system do you have attached to it? |
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smogdog Unregistered guest | The TH50phd7uy has component on input board 3 and "S" video on board 2. I installed the DVI-HDCP board in the # 1 position. The DVI board will not allow you to adjust color and tint, so I put my Directv box into the component (#3) input and my Denon DVD2200 into the "S"(#2) input and all is well. It seems strange that a major manufacturer would limit these adjustments, as this seems to be the way to go right now until HDMI is more accepted |
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New member Username: 95bcwhPost Number: 4 Registered: May-05 | All, I also just bought a Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY and I'm still clueless of what to with the connection. I currently have a standard cable package (analogue signal fed via a coaxial cable), I bought this big Panny thinking that I will upgrade to HD later. But haveing read some of the post here, I am getting a bit confused. I called Time Warner and ask about the upgrade, they told me they will give me a cable box to connect to the coaxial socket. But I was thinking, the original feed is a coaxial cable, even with they give me a box, the signal is already bad. Can anyone here tell me is it worth going for the upgrade with Time Warner? Or I should go for Satellite? Thanks |
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Bronze Member Username: David_nguyenBoston, MA USA Post Number: 24 Registered: Apr-05 | Barry, I'm not sure about the Time Warner service, but if you're upgrading to the cable HD service, the connection they provide you is usually with a component video connection. The HD box that comes with my service (Comcast) also has DVI connection that can connect to the TV. In any case, regarding satellite, I've heard many good things about it. I'm thinking of switching to DirectTV. - dave |
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smogdog Unregistered guest | Dave, I think barry was refering to the coax signal coming from the pole to the cable box. If this is the case, coaxial cable has tremendous bandwidth and is capable of near perfect HD. Most of the cable now used is RG6 grade so you should be ok. I have Directv and am happy with the HD on thier system, my problem is lack of programming on the system. I got my TH50phd7uy from Beatbuy Plasma ($3650) and had no problems at all. Came to SF bay area in 6 working days. It is excellent once you make many picture adjustments |
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h-town Unregistered guest | HOw do non-HDTV signals look on the TH50PHD7UY? I have read that EDTV does a better job of up converting--espicially the 42 inch PANNY 42PWD7uy. Please advise. I'm trying to fiugre which model to go for. The TV will be 10-12 feet from viewing spot. 42 or 50 Inch? And the non-HDTV signal clarity does have some weight in my decision. ANy thoughts? |
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New member Username: BrewdawgRamona, CA United States Post Number: 1 Registered: May-05 | **ALERT: NEWBY QUESTION*** Since my 19 year old Sony just died and after a month or research, I JUST bought the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY. I have DirecTV (and basic Cox cable backup) and a Panasonic DMR-E95H (DVR). I can't get the DirecTV to work. I ran the coaxials from the satellite and cable through the DVR and all I get is cable. So I tried to run the signal from the DTV receiver straight into the TV and I get a "No Signal" message on the screen. Also, my house has the Bose Lifestyle 5.1 surround system. Where are the audio output jacks on the TV? This is frustrating especially since I'M the guy everyone calls to set up their AV systems. What am I doing wrong?? I did a search for this info on the forum (and I'm no stranger to forums, especially the ImpalaSSforum.com) and I could not find trhe answers to my questions. Thanks, Mike |
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New member Username: BrewdawgRamona, CA United States Post Number: 2 Registered: May-05 | Ok, I figured out the video issues (i.e. I have cable and DTV now) but how do I output the audio to my Bose 5.1 system? What do I need? Thanks, Mike |
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erikgbx Unregistered guest | If you figure out the audio problem be sure to post the solution- I am going to be in the same boat shortly (7UY + Bose Lifestyle system). I have a Lifestyle 12, which does not have enough inputs to accomodate all of my components. My current plan is to buy a component switch box, where everything can share one audio source (at least that is my understanding). |
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New member Username: BrewdawgRamona, CA United States Post Number: 3 Registered: May-05 | I have the Lifestyle 12 also. What I did was run all the audio from my DVR and satellite receiver outputs into the audio inputs on the Bose. I ran the satellite through the DVR but I also ran it into the "tape" input on the Bose. That way, I can record the satellite if I want to but if I just want to watch satellite, I can switch to Input 2 on the monitor (the DVR is Input 2 because I use the BNC jacks) and I don't need to turn on the DVR. If anyone has a better idea, send it my way. Thanks, Mike |
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New member Username: DanboySt. Joe Beach, FL Post Number: 1 Registered: Jun-05 | Greetings all. I am about to buy the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY and am curious what I need to hook up my DVD player, audio system and digital comcast cable. What exactly are the standard hookups that come with the TV? Do I have enough boards in back for component DVD hookup and digital cable hook up? Do you use the same 3 cables for digital cable hook up as you do for component DVD hook up? Any help is great, thanks. |
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smogdog Unregistered guest | Hi, D.J.L. I purchased the TH-50PHD7UY about a month ago. I am using the component inputs from my Directv box and will need to buy BNC/RCA connectors (about $6 each,three needed, at Radio Shack)I bought the DVI board to use with the box but it limits the "picture" adjustments in the #1 input and I found the DVI to be not as clear. My Denon DVD2200 does not have DVI/HDMI outputs so I tried the included "S" input for now (quite good), but I will probably buy another component board. The "S" allows all the "picture" adjustments. Hi-Def is great on the Panny but I find the picture on "standard" tv to just be OK. Over all this is a great buy. I got mine at Best Buy Plasma for $3400 + shipping. Hope this helps |