I received my Panasonic TC-P65VT30 from amazon today. The set was a september build date which was a plus (Pre-august build dates were known to have a fluctuating brightness problem which Panasonic will come out and fix for free). That was the only good thing though. Amazon shipped through CEVA. CEVA showed up at my house with a 65" TV that weighs 167 pounds in the box with only one delivery guy. I proceeded to watch the delivery guy try and muscle the 170 pound box out of a box truck that was 3.5 feet off the ground. He proceeded to put one corner of the box onto the pavement, then "walk" the other side off of the back of the truck. I had to help him carry the box into my house. He proceeded to drag the box across my carpet into the room of my choice which left lovely black skid marks all across my carpet. He tried to get me to sign for the TV but I wouldn't have any part of it until he powered the TV on for me per the "white glove" service description. He opened the carton but refused to help me lift it onto the base so we were left trying to lift the TV from one end while powering it on with the remote. Just a red blinking light at the bottom, no picture. He just stood and scratched his head. I grabbed a flashlight and examined the screen, only to find several cracks in the glass. I refused shipment obviously and he proceeded to pack up the box. I carried the box out of my house with him and set it on the front porch. He said "I guess I can get it back into the truck by myself". I told him they should have sent him with 2 people and shut the door. I called Amazon and told them about the ordeal. They are sending me another TV of course and apologized about the carpet. They said I would have to take it up with the carrier if I wanted to have a refund for carpet cleaning. I refused to deal with the carrier and stated that the TV purchase was from Amazon and they are responsible for the shipping companies idiocy. They transferred me to a team leader who said the same thing but after refusing to be transfered to CEVA they agreed to credit me for $120.99 (which was the amount they paid for the shipping).
What a joke! Hopefully I have a better experience with my next set!
That sucks David.
I guess for items like that I like to deal with Costco, you get 2 yrs warranty up front, then another year if you use your Costco American Express. I get to be the delivery truck, but at least it gets there in one piece...
buzzkill.
Sounds like you really handled it very well, though. I am not always as calm/kind in those circumstances as I would like to be.
I kind of regret not helping the guy load the TV back into the truck but then again, if he got it out he can get it in!
Randy, The only local store that is selling the TV here that I know of is Best Buy (with Magnolia home theater). The TV is $3500 there (plus 9.5% local sales tax). I got the TV for $2899 shipped with no tax from amazon. I think the $1000 diference (after tax) is worth the wait
Wow, that is some major Green.
but then again I shelled out 4 grand for a new snow plow.
Yeah, but no room for a projector, screen, or anamorphic lense here!
Too bad and you have to wait again, should be worth 10% off the purchase price
Wow, that is some major Green.
but then again I shelled out 4 grand for a new snow plow.
Is it at least HD?
Good for you on not signing. When my 55VT30 was shipped, I had my Macbook ready w/ cables to test the DVI input and turn it on. I made sure there weren't any stuck pixels or cracks.
Let me know when you get the EEPROM fix handled. I have to have them come out for that as well and I'm curious how to go about it.
Great TV, love mine. Now I wish I had gone w/ the 65".
Now with my $120 credit plus my $30 cash back from my credit card, I'm getting it for $2750. That doesn't sound so bad...
The EEPROM should be updated in august or later build dates. It's easy to check the EEPROM version from the service menu with the appropriate commands. Some earlier sets are reportedly fixed as well so can't really go completely from build date. I'm hoping my next set is an August or later build date too so I don't have to mess with the fix..
Mine was delivered in July so I know it doesn't have the update.
Some July TV's were getting the update, but if you received it in July I bet you are right. Have you noticed any fluctuating brightness? .
Does your TV have any pink or green tints to it? That was another complaint from some people.
I haven't noticed either of those. I'm also considering paying for a calibrator to adjust it. I tired to do it myself and ended up using some suggested settings.
http://www.highdefjunkies.com/showthread...ll=1#post241967
Well new TV should be here wednesday... now I wait... again.
He proceeded to drag the box across my carpet into the room of my choice which left lovely black skid marks all across my carpet.
Remember, David, I told you not to get your hopes set too high on that "white glove" thing. Call me. After we fix your damaged speaker cabinet, I have a great method for getting skid marks out of everything.
Hope the next one goes swimmingly for you.
Got another $100 credit by taking advantage of amazons low price guarantee. They dropped their price to $2799
New TV was supposed to be delivered today but never showed up. The driver from the shipper finally called and said that he could still come out but it would be about 10:45 pm before he could show up. I told him I will reschedule for tomorrow. Here's to hoping that the new TV will be delivered tomorrow and be in good working order.
David, you promised me pictures....
Ok, now that i got that out of my system.
I buy a lot of stuff off of amazon, and have only had 1 problem. UPS delivered some dog toys i ordered to the wrong address... i called UPS, they told me i had to call Amazon, at first i was pretty hot.. But then the customer service person was more helpful than i could have ever imagined. She sent me a new order next day no questions asked ( it wasn't a large order 9 bucks or so) the money wasn't an issue, i was quite happy to have a positive experience... Ever since then i try to order anything i can off of amazon....
Sorry to hear about the TV getting broken. A good friend of mine ordered a 55" panasonic plasma from amazon, with no issues at all.
[quite=terzaghi]
"I wouldn't have any part of it until he powered the TV on for me per the "white glove" service description"[/quote]
Where is this, i can you post a link to this if you don't mind.
David, I have my fingers crossed for you, hope it arrives in perfect working order.
Fingers crossed here too. I've been ordering a lot of stuff off Amazon the past couple of months and have been extremely happy with all of it, including a return.
Never ordered a bigazz TV, though.
As long as thie price is in the ballpark, I will always order from Amazon. Never had a problem with them in any way. Just had a return (the only one I've ever had, I believe) and it went smooth and fast.
We orderd a 46" plasma from amazon with absolutely no issues.
I'll update after teh TV arrives. Let's see if the shippers can get it right this time.
Dakkon, I can't find the link on amazon now (actually the link appears to be invalid) so I am not sure if amazon took it down. The shippers stated that they turn the TV on no problem. However, With the current TV arriving today they said that they won't do this. They said that it is too cold outside and the plasma needs to warm up to room temperature before I turn it on. I actually called panasonic to verify and they suggested I wait 24 hours. I think it has something to do with developing condensation inside after being moved into a warm environment and then being powered on and shorted out but I'm not enitrely sure.
I told amazon I would only be checking the TV for physical damage upon delivery and won't have the ability to turn it on until after I have signed for shipment. They had no problems with that and notee it on my account.
did you happen to ask panasonic if you could turn the TV on outside?
if you turn it on outside, then there would not be an ambient temperature difference...
Just a though, since you seem to not be having the best of luck with your newest TV purchase.
Hope everything turns out well.
Good point Dakkon, I didn't think about that. Unfortunately the operating range for the TV is 32-104 degrees F. We have been under 32 for most of the day.
UPS dropped off the wall mount for my new TV (still waiting on TV). I wanted a full motion sturdy mount. Unfortunately for the size and weight of the TV my options were pretty limited. Monoprice didn't have anything that would work, which was a bummer as I like my tilting monoprice wall mount in the bedroom.
I ended up going with the omnimount Low profile Extra large cantilever wall mount (ULPC-X). This thing is a beast! It supports up to 250 pounds and a 75" TV.
photo below:
Oh, HECK yeah! That looks awesome.
I'm surprised you couldn't find anything suitable at Monoprice.
Supports 250 lb you say. Hmmm... Bet you could ceiling mount that sucker.
TV arrived. They delivery guy called me and said that I would have to wait until tomorrow unless I wanted to help him unload it off the truck since they only had one person tonight. I told him to come out and I would help him. It turned out to be the same guy that tried to unload it by himself last week. TV looks to be in great condition (no cracks this time) and is a November build date. The TV was very cold to the touch so I decided not to power it on. Hopefully this guy will power on just fine tomorrow.
Partial unboxing:
Gotta post pictures for dakkon
Thats right brotha!!!.... you KNOW im gona be checkin in on this... :~)
That thing looks Freaking thin..... i really look forward to hearing how you like it when you get it up and running... My mom has a 2002 60" mitsubishi HD DLP, when this thing dies.
Did the delivery guy have a good attitude when he was calling to tell you he needed help unloading, if he was going to bring it today?
Man, my S1 looks so THICK compared to the new plasma's. I am Looking forwad to your comments/review of the TV.
Yeah, delivery guy was pretty cool. I'm pretty sure this is panasonics thinnest plasma. It's much thinner than my 46X3 that I bought this year as well. It kind of reminds me of a giant iPhone 4 with the thin chrome edge
Looks awesome, David! I'm waiting for further reports...like, how it can be had for $500 ?)
I need to get another pair of 3D glasses (panasonic only ships it with one pair. I also May spring for a bluray player that has two HDMI outs so I can still get surround sound while watching 3D since my receiver doesn't support it.
I haven't really been too excited about 3D but now that my TV is capable I am ready to give it a try. MY wife is looking forward to it as well.
Mark, didn't you say that you enjoyed the 3D experience on your new TV?
Good God, is it REALLY that thin all the way through?!?! Or is there a fat part in the middle that doesn't show in that picture.
Wow.
It's a bit thicker at the very bottom where the speakers are.
Speaker depth: 2.4"; Panel depth: 1.6"
Tom needs a new TV.
Yeah, I thought my LG's 3D would make for occasional fun...especially when my niece and nephew are here.
It's a passive system, though, so the glasses are cheap and lightweight.
Oh cool, I would like cheap glasses. The ones that go with my TV didn't feel too heavy but they are fairly expensive.
Good God, is it REALLY that thin all the way through?!?! Or is there a fat part in the middle that doesn't show in that picture.
Wow.
For a second there I was wondering whose wife you just received a picture of.
I've tried the 2D -> 3D conversion and the 3D mode on Batman Arkham City. Honestly, I'm not impressed. I haven't watched a 3D bluray but even at the theatres I hate 3D. It's cool but it makes me dizzy. Even 3D on my Nintendo 3DS makes me dizzy after a certain amount of time.
That being said, I bought a 2nd pair of 3D glasses so someone could watch/play w/ me as the need arises. I bought the XPand 103 from Amazon, much cheaper than Panasonic. They work fine.
I think I've seen that movie. Looking good. I can't wait to get a bigger tv.
this one makes me green with envy, but i can't afford it;
so it makes me red in the face, all over...
The whole thing makes ME blue, though there's no evidence of it.
is the slide show on a sd card?
Just...awesome.
The overall size and elegance of that set really makes me doubt the previously unquestioned axiom that a projector is the ultimate solution for me.
After you get it on that mount, I will be interested to hear how easy (or not) it is to adjust the angle of the TV.
So cool.
Indeed. Some of these sets are getting quite large now.
Buy one Tom, you know you want one!
My primary concern would be amount of power consumption as opposed to a projector. And size, not quite 9 or 10 foot wide.
Yeah, I know I do. THAT one. Or maybe the 103" for $39k. Tough choice.
I'm having trouble convincing myself that I'd enjoy this set twice as much as the TC-P60S30. I've been pretty much skimming that part of David's story so that I DON'T convince myself.
slideshow is on a usb drive, but an sd card works as well.
Tom, you'd probably be happy with the S30. We like our X3 in the bedroom a lot. I think the S30 has more glare than the ST30 though, at least from what I have read.
Yeah, I have no idea how easy it will be to adjust the TV once it is on the mount but I guess I Will find out!
I was researching the S30's yesterday and they have 900 lines of resolution instead of 1080. I thought that was weird.
Currently trying to find where I saw this to support what I said.
Ok.
here it is. Go about half of the way down the page where the chart is called "Panasonic 2011 Plasma HDTV Comparison". Look at the row called "Motion Picture Resolution".
GT30 = 1080 lines.
ST30 = 1080 lines.
S30 = 900 lines.
X3 = 720 lines.
Too late. I went back and re-read your posts about the VT v. ST comparison and now I'm screwed. It's probably best. This way, I'll wait and buy "the good one" rather than impulsively buying the one I want to afford.
Although, there do seem to be some decent deals on the 70" Sharp LCD's...
this is a bit of a guess, but i've read that those numbers are for moving images: when things move very rapidly on some scenes, some tv's give very low resolution during those moments; and some other tv's give almost the full static resolution.
static resolution is 1920 x 1080, except for the 720p tv's which have lower resolution to begin with.
I've seen much lower numbers for moving images on some makes, these here look very good.
of course, that does not apply to cable or sat reception (compared to antennas), because they compress the signal and when there are fast moving scenes, the images show a nice array of large pixels on the screen. of course (again) those cable or sat companies say they never compress signals, but we all know what that means.
Tom, hold out till you can get the 80" Sharp, it is awesome to look at.
Amazon just credited me another $212 after I found the tv for sale at one of their price match guaruntee eligible websites for $2497+$90 shipping. They said they usually don't price match twice but made an exception because of my troubles. Awesome!
Amazon just credited me another $212 after I found the tv for sale at one of their price match guaruntee eligible websites for $2497+$90 shipping. They said they usually don't price match twice but made an exception because of my troubles. Awesome!
Dude, at this rate, they will wind up paying YOU for the plasma....
Yeah, I'm not complaining!
Nice Wall mount. You are getting that TV for a steal now.
Got my neighbor to help me lift my tv on the wall. I'm going to ditch the tv stand and use the axiom stand to bring the vp180 up a bit more. Did a quick run through on a few blurays and am very impressed.
Looks great and the M80s look to be enjoying the new space
Yes, the M80s do look happy. Perhaps I read just a slight bit of concern but that is only because they don't understand Dave Matthews' monologues between songs either.
That looks really good. I bet it sounds and looks better in person, though.
hard to tell from those 2 photos, but does the room have any treatment for first reflection points?
J.B., no it doesn't. I would have a hrd time on selling the wife on any kind of acoustic treatments as it is our main living area. The m80's really come to life in this larger space, I do think they are quite happy. I couldn't get a good photo to show the PQ of the VT30 last night, I think my iphone sucks for taking pictures of motion. If I pause the screen it may do better. Coraline looked absolutely BEAUTFIUL. Black levels are outstanding.
Now I need to invite my neighbor over for a movie or concert DVD.
some acoustic panels can look very nice, they're made specially for decoration; sure they cost more, but you don't really need very many, and they make all the difference in the world for SQ.
Also, 1 in. thick panels are sufficient, no need to go all out with 4 in. thick ones.
in fact, i think that room treatment is at least as important as the speakers and their placement in a room.
David if you don't have an iphone 4 or 4s, trying to get a decent picture is a waist of time.
I was at Frys today and they had a 55" VT30 on display.. it did look quite good.
Room looks great! Big TV + Big Speakers = win
I do have an iphone 4 but it doesn't do well with motion and I didn't pause the screen. my wife has the 4s but didn't try that. I could have just paused the screen....
3rd party tech installed a new motherboard in my VT30, just so I could have new f/w. Seems like the most inefficient method. They could've just let me download the code and flash it myself.
I asked the tech and he's done about 20 of the board changes.
I haven't noticed any specific FBr issues but I wanted to have the fix regardless while I still had concierge service on my 1 yr warranty. The only negative is that all my settings/channels/etc are gone. I have to reconfigure it all, but that's OK.
My understanding is that the fix requires a new "A" Board and that firmware install doesn't resolve it completely.
Glad you got it fixed.
As soon as I order the axiom center channel stand I am going to do some wire control. I need a longer HDMI cable and longer sub cable, then work on hiding things a little better.
