Panasonic TH-50PF10UK Plasma Monitor !
by Michael Pierre
on
May 21, 2008 at 7:22:01 pm
I saw some HD footage on this 50" plasma monitor and was totally blown away.
Black was Black and it seemed to have quite a good contrast ratio (certainly better than my 26" Panasonic BT-LH2600W).
The post house in Los Angeles (fairly well known) that owns it says that they sometimes use it for color grading which I was surprised to hear.
I wondered if this was the same plasma monitor that people were referring to in the "studio daily NAB podcast" ? (of course I can't find the link)... but there were a group of post professionals that were discussing the current monitoring situation. They talked about how even the newest Sony BVM LCD (and many other models) weren't really up to par with CRT's. They were however all surprised by a very high quality plasma monitor which they just referred to as "that panasonic plasma". They want on about how it was the only one to display black properly and that it's contrast ratio was impressive.
My questions are (if you've seen this podcast or have any knowledge of it):
1. Is the Panasonic TH-50PF10UK monitor "the" plasma they were referring too ?
2. Does anybody have any experience or opinions of the Panasonic TH-50PF10UK as a color grading monitor or at least a very high quality "wow client monitor".
Re: Panasonic TH-50PF10UK Plasma Monitor ! by Bob Zelin on May 22, 2008 at 1:07:07 am
I use the following monitor at almost every client -
Panasonic TH-50PH10UKA.
This monitor is on the www.panasonic.com/business site under their professional video products. It is used by countless broadcast clients. The price at B+H Photo is $1229 !!!!! The picture quality is beyond belief. This is a 50" monitor.
With NO OPTION CARDS, you can take the Y Pb Pr output of any AJA, Blackmagic or AVID HD product, and display FULL HD to this monitor. Everyone I know is blown away by this monitor. There is no question that this is a "best value" product.
Is this a "critical monitor" - absolutely not - but it makes real pretty pictures that makes everyone go "wow".
Re: Panasonic TH-50PF10UK Plasma Monitor ! by Michael Pierre on May 22, 2008 at 1:21:25 am
if you had to chose between doing a "down and dirty" color grade on this monitor or on the Panasonic BT-LH2600W which one would you go with?
I know that neither are can be calibrated and shouldn't be used as master reference color grading monitors... but I can't afford to go beyond $3,500 and am not really all that happy with the panasonic. black isn't really black on the panasonic.
Re: Panasonic TH-50PF10UK Plasma Monitor ! by Bob Zelin on May 22, 2008 at 1:41:25 am
The worst "professional" HD monitor on the market (in my opinion) is the Sony LMD-2030, which is about $1300. This is a 20" 16x9 LCD monitor - it is the bottom of the line, lowest cost HD LCD that Sony has in their professional line. It is a piece of crap compared to the JVC or Panasonic LCD HD monitors (which of course cost more money).
I mention this, becuase it is astounding to me that the 50" Panasonic Plasma that I mentioned costs LESS MONEY than the horrible LMD-2030 LCD monitor.
Re: Panasonic TH-50PF10UK Plasma Monitor ! by Michael Pierre on May 22, 2008 at 1:51:10 am
So would it be fair to say that if you had to chose between the Panasonic 26" LCD (which I currently own) and the Panasonic Plasma (which I may buy) that you would go with the plasma???
Once again for an inexpensive "down and dirty" color grading monitor.
I'm not a colorist, I'm a dp, but I often find myself in situations where I need to show a "ballpark" idea of what the final color will look like to potential clients.
Re: Panasonic TH-50PF10UK Plasma Monitor ! by Bob Zelin on May 22, 2008 at 1:55:47 am
I am not a colorist either. Most pro houses that I deal with bite the bullet and buy the BTLH2600W or the JVC D24 LCD monitors. Many have the 50" to wow the client, but day to day editing happens on these monitors. With that said, I have clients that use only a Dell 2407 as their only HD monitor.
Re: Panasonic TH-50PF10UK Plasma Monitor ! by Bob Zelin on Jun 16, 2008 at 12:08:24 am
boy, this is a question from a long time ago !
TV Logic monitors are amazing. So are CineTal monitors. But they are twice the price of Sony/Panasonic/JVC, so my market will never pay for these.
I can only say this - at NAB, I casually glanced at the Sony hi end LCD BVM monitors, and there is no question in my mind that just from casual observation, both TV Logic and CineTal are DRAMATICALLY better than the best Sony LCD monitors. With that said, all of my clients use either Panasonic or JVC LCD's - based strickly on bang for the buck.
