recstar24

Kuro...drool...

Went ahead with the 83 from agon. Was able to get seller down to 385 with shipping and pay pal, I'm happy. Looking forward to checking out on the g25.

Thanks steve, just what I wanted to know.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I am in the market for a bluray player that upscaled standard DVD well, and by all accounts the oppo 83 is the best (apparently even better than the 93 in regards to DVD upscaling). I was set on going with a panny bd85 which is supposed to be very good for bluray playback and DVD, but all the network features i already have with my panny g25 viera cast, and oppo is apparently extremely high quality as a bluray and DVD player. Also, being a universal player and upgradeability to the se version may allow me to combine my video and audio rig with the oppo as my source. My question is how much is a reasonable price for a used oppo 83? Audiogon sells them very quick, but the ones remaining are around 400. The panny bd85 can be had for less than $200, and though its video playback is considered to be very good, its not an oppo, and I am trying to determine if its worth it to go for the oppo vs. the panny.

It's no longer a custom

Don't forget while putting ear right next to screen to listen for buzzing as well.

Magnifying lens with flashlight plus special DVD or signal generator with a colorimeter of some sort duh

Yes. One guy I read went ballistic because one pixel seemed slightly dimmer than the other 2 1/2 million pixels. Or my favorite "help! I went into the service menu even though I have no idea what I am doing and started modifying random things and now my color is all screwed up" The break in questions are funny and remind me of old school headfi.

Ye I probably wouldn't bother with a sound bar, it is convenient and mine came with a wireless sub and was free and part of the special package amazon had going.

I believe there are some nice led LCD options but they will be at least twice as much as the g25, and the g25 will still be better regarding color and motion, viewing angles, and not have any of the issues that led LCD brings.

My panasonic came free with the plasma, it's better than the internal speaker that's for sure. Works well for standard viewing.

I feel it performs very well, or at least the experts say it does better than other plasmas in that regard. My room is a sub basement level with minimal lighting from outside so i agree a dim room works well, but you can say the same about any HDTV j think.

First off, I absolutely love thx mode. Right of the bat without doing anything I love the color presentation, very natural and easy on the eyes but still plenty of pop. Standard is too dim and vivid is too cartoony. You can go the custom route but why bother when thx is so right on. Contrast is set at 60 stock, I've played around with 57-68, settling on 64 as a nice point. Brightness I play with very close to stock thx, unlike 56-59 but keep it on the low end. Color is nice at 50, and I would reduce sharpness as low as possible to where you are comfortable with, I have mine around 35 but others apparently go as low as 10. Color temp is the big one. Warm2 is technically the closest to the D65 standard, but it definitely is a bit over done in the red and seems to lack blue. Clicking on color management helps get the blue back, but then the green becomes just a bit oversaturated. Warm1 is nicer in that regard but takes it a bit cooler, you'll have to play it by eye to see which one you prefer. Normal and cool is way too cool for my eyes. Now the d65 standard is somewhere between warm1 and warm2, so what they recommend is going with warm2, and modifying the grayscale by going into the service menu and adjusting the white balance to get it closer to where it should be. Service menu is easy but you do have to be careful as you can't reset those values. Play around with the above and if you feel you need more adjustment pm me or check out the thread at aveforum for g25 settings.

Random question - anyone have a professional calibration done? Curious if you have and what your impressions are. There is a huge dedicated thread on avsforum on the g25. I have been reading up on it, tons of great info, once you sift through all the newbs asking about settings. There is a guy who i guess worked for pioneer and is one of the more well known calibrators, who has panasonic connections, and he posted some settings under thx mode as well as modifying the grayscale in the service menu which gets you about 90% of what an official ISF calibration would get you. Ive done it and it is really a nice accurate picture, and apparently the color is as accurate if not more than some of the famous pioneer plasmas. Oh, and reading through those threads,the whole videophile world is pretty intense. On one hand, it's cool that their are some industry international standards for color accuracy, grayscale, etc. which allows users to zero in on an accurate picture, whereas the audiophiles world is very far from having those kind of objective standards or measurements. O the other side, the newbs are some oF the stupidest people I read comments from. For example, so many users just blindly go into the service menu and starting modifying their white balance without understanding what the heck they are doing, thereby really messing up their picture. And every page there is someone asking what offsets are or how to get into their service menu or if they really need to break in their tv or if they really need to get their tv calibrated, etc.

No noise from mine, but I have read that on really bright white or contrasty images it is normal for a plasma to exhibit some noise. I think if I put my ear almost right up to the plasma, I hear a tint of flicker, but for the most part it is nonexistent.

Panny plasma. G25 or the vt25 for 3d and even better black levels. Great viewing angles, no glare in well lit room, with plenty of light output. The best is the thx mode, it truly gets you about as close to a really nice calibrated picture without actually having to pay for a professional calibration. The vier a connectivity options are a bonus. Edit: those Sony CRTs truly are beasts of burden, but I have always loved the picture of my 27" kv 310. I remember when I used to work at best buy in high school and college the Sony xbr's and kd's were always sweet looking. Sony CRTs definitely have a nice picture but a well calibrated plasma or LCD should be a significant step up.

Madden iPad. Thank you.

Just have to add that we are definitely enjoying our g25. The black levels are freaking insane. The THX mode renders the colors incredibly accurate and lifelike, and is still user adjustable if needed. I know when I bought the tv, the THX mode certification was somewhat part of the decision, but I didn't realize how well it would actually render the overall picture, it is near perfect regarding contrast, color, balance, and overall uniformity. I am a video newb so take with a grain of salt but for the price compared to some of the LEDs or pioneers I couldn't be happier. The vivid mode is freaking cartoonish and gave us a bit of a headache after the wow factor went away, and standard is a bit off in how the colors are portrayed, but the THX certification mode is the real deal.

G25 in the house, very excellent. Have it currently hooked up with component from my com cast box. It also has a DVI out, is it better to hook it up with a DVI to hdmi cable versus component?

Pc compatible? I thought it was just MAC

Is anyone having issues with iPad printing? My ipad doesnt recognize my wireless network printer. Edit: never mind, just saw my HP printer isn't one of the AirPrint compatible printers.

Sorry guys, won't be able to make it. Variety show, three of my groups are performing. Have fun!

Nice review man. Should post it on HF so the reviewers can see how it should be done. Very clear and concise, I really got a nice idea of how it sounds sans not actually listening to the thing. Would love to check it out sometime, though I bet my ears are so used to the hp1000's it probably won't be my cup of tea.

Panny Plasma is the new FOTM