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Reference Panasonic TC-P58V10:I just bought a 42 LG lcd, and was faced with a similar situation...My DVD player is old and only ouputs Component 480i/480p...I was expecting the worst...At 480i the picture was exactly as Randy DeMarco described: very soft, with poor faded colors...At 480p, however, the picture was superb: crystal clear with vibrant colors...Problem solved...

Randy, if you just plopped the new TV into place without changing anything, I wouldn't be that surprised with your results. Are you sure you adjusted your source devices to display 1080p rather than 480p?

Randy, I would also recommend to make sure that you are using the THX picture setting. What picture setting did you use on your old set? If it was vivid or game, your eyes may be use to an ultra bright picture. I would make sure you are on the THX picture setting and give it a chance. After an hour or so of viewing you will love what you see! To get the most out of your plasma, viewing at night or in a darkened room with make the set come to life.

The Panasonics clearly have inferior processing. Too bad most reviewers gloss over this weakness with the Panasonics. I guess they assume that people do nothing but watch pristine 1080p Blu rays in darkened rooms 24/7/365, like in their reviews. They overlook the fact that many people spend a significant portion of their week watching SDTV/HDTV. I happen to have a Panny 58V10 (2/10 build) in my living room right now, next to my Pio KRP-500M. I have also recently had 2 Sammy B860s, and a Sammy B8500 LED in my living room. I use an HDMI splitter so I can watch content on both simultaneously. Samsung clearly has the best SD processing, surpassing the Kuro. The scaling on the Kuro is nice, but it has a real problem with separation error, and the Samsung is better at minimizing flickering/jaggies. The Panasonic is the real laggard of the bunch, trailing behind even 2008 Pioneer processing. A while back Sammy boasted of the billions of $ they spent on improving their processing. It shows.

While Panasonic hasn't been a leader with respect to its video processing, this should not be the source of your problems, particularly if you choose your upconversions wisely. And other options are usually available (performing the upconversion in an AV receiver or disc player, for example). In all other respects we have never tested a Panasonic plasma offering less than solid performance. Scott's comments about proper setup are well taken. Since we have no way of knowing what settings you are using, it's hard to make any sort of analysis. If the set is properly adjusted, and your sources are up to speed (even standard def DVDs) it's hard to imagine that the image could look "awful." Apart from dark scenes as viewed on some sets (NOT on newer Panasonics) , I would not use that word to describe any set we've tested in the past few years, and certainly not on Panasonics. If all else fails, the possibility remains of a defective set. In that case, an appointment with

(cont.)If all else fails, the possibility remains of a defective set. In that case, an appointment with your dealer should be your next step.There is another possibility as well. The bigger the image, the worse a DVD can look. You can expect a slightly softer-looking image from DVDs on a 58-inch set vs your prior 42-incher.But that doesn't answer the question of HD from your DirecTV box. Not being a DirecTV devotee (I'm fortunate in that my Charter cable provides a superb HD picture--though not enough HD channels!) I can't say for certain that DirecTV itself might be an issue. But be certain that your DirecTV box is set to output its highest available resolution (probably 1080i). Don't laugh. I once visited friends who were watching DirecTV on their new 720p set with the cable box set to output 480i! Your old plasma was an EDTV limited to 480p, so it's possible that your box may still he set to output either 480i or 480p, even on HD channels.

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