My previous tv (which I sold off already, regrettably) was a Panasonic th-42pz80u. This was my first step into the wonderful world of plasma tv's & I have nothing but praise for it. I recently decided that I wanted to squeeze the largest tv I could fit into my entertainment armoire & considering how much I loved my old tv I figured it was a safe bet to stick with the Panasonic brand.
Immediately after turning the st30 on & popping in Planet Earth on Blu Ray for a test run I was extremely happy with both the new size of screen in front of me & the fantastic picture quality. I played around some more, tweaking the picture & features on my new set & decided to start watching some of my select Blu Rays that don't have letterboxing. I read somewhere that it's best to watch movies that take up the whole screen for the first 100 hours or so of a new plasma. I'm no tech head so I just do what I'm told. :p
Not long into watching "Starship Troopers" I noticed my first flicker, or fluctuation. Every time the film made a cut there was an adjustment in brightness that came a half second later. I began rewinding it over & over & couldn't believe my eyes. After the awful flickering in the beginning I continued to watch & noticed it happening throughout, though not as bad as the start of the film. I've watched a few movies since then, such as - Sin City (noticeable but not terrible), LotR Fellowship of the Ring (noticeable but not terrible), & OH MY GOD Final Fantasy: Advent Children. Final Fantasy was just unwatchable with flickering all over the place. For those who don't know, Final Fantasy is entirely computer animated which might have something to do with it being so noticeable. I would expect the Pixar films to behave just as poorly but I can't say for certain.
I started researching & discovered that the fluctuating brightness (or "FBr") is not an unusual phenomenon. Just google "panasonic fluctuating brightness" & read up on it. The forum "high def junkies" is a good place to start as they have been discussing it in depth for a while.
I haven't lost all hope yet! There has been talk of Panasonic sending out a firmware upgrade to their Spanish customers on a case-by-case basis that actually FIXES this problem! Or at least adjusts it so the fluctuation isn't visible to the naked eye. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this firmware makes it stateside so I can begin enjoying my tv. If that happens I will definitely change my rating of 1 to a 5 star. I'll be keeping my eye on that 30-day return date in the meantime, however.
********EDIT**************
After emailing Panasonic & starting a case with them I waited patiently for an email or a phone call, but after a month none came. I kept up with the community on high def junkies & eventually discovered that Panasonic had started sending local repair guys out with a new A-Board, or if you're one of the lucky few a much simpler fix was available if a Panasonic employee could come to your house. I called Panasonic to see what the status on my case was, only to find out they had closed my case without any kind of notification. Jerks. The person I spoke with on the phone was apologetic & knew exactly what I was talking about when I brought up fluctuating brightness. I was FINALLY getting somewhere. Within a week of that phone call they sent the replacement A-Board to my local repair shop & I had an "FBr" free tv!
For those curious, they did have to take apart my tv. After watching that terrifying ordeal it was just a simple unplug-this plug-in-that & they were done. VERY happy overall.
After the fix this is easily a 5-star tv in my book. I'm a little conflicted on showering it with nothing but praise, however. I didn't exactly buy this tv day-1 of it's release & it took them this long to even acknowledge there was a terrible defect in a large number of their sets.
For those few who complain about picture quality I will agree that right out of the box the picture quality doesn't really jump out at you, but after buying a calibration disc & tweaking the custom settings it really looks amazing. Easily the best in its price range.
In short - if you're on the fence about this set, don't be. If you're unlucky & get one that was built before they had this fix installed, Panasonic will handle it! Panasonic VIERA TC-P46ST30 46-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV
The Panasonic ST series sits at the perfect price point for those who are looking for a high quality television without breaking the bank. The ST series loses the THX designation and some of the advanced adjustment features of the Panasonic GT and VT series, but it allows you to get a very good television under the 50in. minimum of the higher-end series.
My experience with the television over the last few weeks has been positive. Setting up the unit is straightforward and the guide appears to be written by someone who speaks English (Spanish and French are also available). There are an ample number of connections for digital and analog services. For grins, I plugged in my cable connection directly from the wall (bypassing the cable box) and the TV pulled down 80 analog channels and 40 digital channels with excellent clarity. Initial setup takes you through everything that you will need your TV to due from labeling inputs, setting up a wireless internet connection to your home/office network, adjusting the clock, etc.
A 802.11b/g/n wireless adapter comes included with the television and can either be plugged directly into one of two USB ports or attached using the included USB extension dongle. Using the USB extender provides a clean look with no visible wires or attachments. The adapter sticks out from the edge of the television about an inch if you opt to plug it in directly. Since a final 802.11n standard has yet to be established, the adapter may have issues with your wireless network. I use a Netgear router without any issues. If you have troubles, I would recommend using a wireless bridge rather trying to find a suitable adapter, especially if you are using the TV with a Blu-ray player, game console, or any other devices that require an internet connection.
The Viera Cast service turns the television to the internet with built in apps for most of the major streaming content providers (Netflix, Amazon Video, Alphaline, You Tube, etc.) in addition to a host of apps for games, sports, weather, news, and social networking. Each time you access Viera Cast it will check for updates that must be completed prior to proceeding. Usually this takes just a couple minutes if an update is required, but can be irritating when you want to do/view something.
The image quality on this television is excellent out of the box with very black blacks and true colors. The anti-glare screen works well in most situations. I have noticed that at some, usually extreme, angles there is a good deal of reflection, but when viewed from a typical angle the result is very good. 2-D SD and HD are both excellent with no noticeable artifacts or ghosting. I have not had a chance to test the 3-D viewability since the glasses (sold separately) are prohibitively expensive and there is not enough content out to justify the price at this time. This should not dissuade a purchase, since it is now almost impossible to find a television with great 2-D viewability without 3-D capabilities.
Overall, this is an excellent television and disputably the best under 50 inches. The videophile will miss the advance color tuning options and THX capabilites, but those features simply don't exist in the current model year sub-50in televisions. - Panasonic - Plasma - 46-inch - Hdtv'
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