Panasonic 4K TV (NL SALE) backlight quality

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Brandonrnz

365 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 233404 14-Apr-2018 21:14

Hi guys.

Just wondering what your experiences with the newer Panasonic 4K TV's have been like?

I first purchased a TH-49EX640Z from Noel Leeming last weekend... I have now had two of them and both had horrendous backlight clouding in patches (No consistency like other LCDs in my household)... Also had a lot of dark patches in bright images that were pretty noticeable in gaming.

Upgraded to a TH-50EX730Z. Looked great in the shop, has no sign of the dark blotches in light scenes, but the clouding on black screens is still there. Not as bad but still noticeable, also has a few bright pixels...

Pretty fed up at this point. I like Panasonic, and the TV's have fantastic motion for gaming and movies, but this is unacceptable in my opinion. I am used to seeing a consistent backlight across my other TV's in black scenes, but these are appalling.

TH-49EX640Z:

TH-50EX730Z:

cokeman2

762 posts

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# 1996251 15-Apr-2018 05:43

tried software upgrade ?

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Dial111

687 posts

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# 1996252 15-Apr-2018 06:00

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Backlight bleed is very common and unavoidable in LCD/LED screens unfortunately and photos emphasise the bleed more so then irl I have found. I have had a 4k Sony and a 4k Samsung both replaced due to backlight bleed and both replacements have the same problem.

Found that the only real fix was getting an OLED, but you could try turning down the backlight.

Ask around, backlight bleed is more common then most realise unfortunately,

Brandonrnz

365 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1996280 15-Apr-2018 09:13

Dial111: Backlight bleed is very common and unavoidable in LCD/LED screens unfortunately and photos emphasise the bleed more so then irl I have found. I have had a 4k Sony and a 4k Samsung both replaced due to backlight bleed and both replacements have the same problem.

Found that the only real fix was getting an OLED, but you could try turning down the backlight.

Ask around, backlight bleed is more common then most realise unfortunately,

What I find silly is how 3 TV's have the same cloudy look in the corners... Its not remotely uniform.

My 1yr old Samsung 4k and a 4yr old cheap Panasonic have very uniform backlights...

The photos of the second tv show it off a little more, but the first set replacement really was that bad at night.

sbiddle

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# 1996329 15-Apr-2018 09:55

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In all seriousness this is pretty normal for a cheap TV with an edge lit panel. Every TV that has is edge lit will suffer this to some degree, and the effect will just depend on the quality of the panel. The problem is once you see it, you can never unsee it.

If you don't like it you have two options - get an LED that's full array backlit or has direct lit, or get an OLED.

My recommendation for one of the best TV's around at present if you don't want an OLED is the Sony X9000E range which is direct lit. While it does lack a few features it's probably the best picture on the market for the price and you won't get much better unless you step up to an OLED.

cokeman2

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# 1996340 15-Apr-2018 10:11

I just brought runout model ex780 "75 even thou a bit costly but it's there top of the range model found it to have excellent features compared to the sony "75 which was higher in the price range

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dafman

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# 1996348 15-Apr-2018 10:32

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I purchased a 55" Sony (KD55x8500d) about 18 months ago and the backlight bleed is very noticeable.

I've since purchased a 65" Panny OLED which is outstanding. Problem is that it has made the Sony seem even worse.

Some people are completely oblivious to backlight feed, or it doesn't bother them. However, if you are someone who notices it, I can't strongly enough recommend an OLED. Yes, they are more expensive, but if you consider that you will own a TV for probably 5+ years, the extra is well worth it.

Brandonrnz

365 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1996349 15-Apr-2018 10:33

sbiddle:
The problem is once you see it, you can never unsee it.

This! Hard to unsee sadly... Had no idea a couple years back how hard finding a decent lcd after my plasma died would be.

I originally rang Panasonic customer care before going back to NL and he reckoned it wasnt normal... But everyone has a different usage scenario so I tend to notice it more.

I have emailed Panasonic and will see what they can do. I do really like the TV other than the issue mentioned in my post.

Will put up with a low adaptive backlight setting in the meantime.

Thanks for your input!

sbiddle

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# 1996368 15-Apr-2018 11:08

The Sony 55X8500E is only $1850 at present and you should have no trouble knocking something off that instore. If you can return the TV and can afford the extra price difference you will get a vastly superior TV.

razor2000nz

112 posts

Master Geek

# 2001550 24-Apr-2018 12:28

like others have said, you need to go FALD (not as common these days due to production cost) or OLED, i purchased the Panasonic dx902/900 a year or so ago which is FALD and has 512 zones, so has no backlight bleed

fearandloathing

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# 2017704 17-May-2018 15:12

@Brandonrnz how are you finding the the TH-50EX730Z a month later. I'm looking at one at the moment. I'm coming from a 10 year old 32 inch sony, so i'm sure it will be an improvement. Hows the screen for reflections during the day?

Thanks

dafman

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# 2017708 17-May-2018 15:18

sbiddle:

The Sony 55X8500E is only $1850 at present and you should have no trouble knocking something off that instore. If you can return the TV and can afford the extra price difference you will get a vastly superior TV.

I've got the 55X8500D and the backlighting is not great (see my earlier post), so not sure how much of an improvement over the Panasonic?

The only real solution is full array LCD or, better still, OLED.

Brandonrnz

365 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 2017710 17-May-2018 15:20

fearandloathing:
@Brandonrnz how are you finding the the TH-50EX730Z a month later. I'm looking at one at the moment. I'm coming from a 10 year old 32 inch sony, so i'm sure it will be an improvement. Hows the screen for reflections during the day?

Thanks

Hi, besides the clouding (which I have adjusted somewhat to) its a great tv. Nice colour, has the usual smart apps, low input lag/decent motion for gaming and looks beaut on the tv stand.

It is fairly reflective, but in my case it's fine...