So i just had a birthday and bought myself a Panasonic 50" display (1080i). This was one of the commercial series monitors - no tuner, no speakers, no stand, etc. I had to spend some extra $ for a HDMI and DVI card/blade, but this was easier to swallow given that i was saving money by not buying those other things i would never use. Had a buddy help me wall mount it last week. I ran my cables in the walls about a year ago when the basement was being finished - also went kind of nuts on the blocking behind the drywall, but it sure made things easy when it came time to hang it. Got to use the 990's DVI switching for the first time as a result. I have my HTPC and Oppo 981 attached to the 990 via DVI - works great! First night i demo'd the new display with the wife we watched Planet Earth in HD - simply stunning experience. The Outlaw gear as usual adding to the fine experience...
Pics here if interested:
http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb4/zorlac_photo/?action=view¤t=April_2007025.jpg
http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb4/zorlac_photo/?action=view¤t=April_2007026.jpg

Zorlac,

What a sweet setup! Your Panasonic and Oppo are on my short list to replace a 4+ year-old Hitachi and Pioneer DVD player so I'm anxious to hear more about how they are working for you.

Just a couple of questions to start: I understand the Panasonic will do 1:1 pixel mapping via DVI. Have you had the opportunity try out that feature with the Oppo? Have you adjusted any of the Panasonic's picture settings?

And...more pictures!

i got the same tv but i never did quite understand what 1:1 pixel mapping is and how to utilize it. i bought my panny with an hdmi board so i take it i can not use it, but if i bought a dvi board and hooked up everthing through that dvi and let my outlaw do the switching then would my cable tv and blu ray be utilizing the 1:1 pixel mapping? i take it i would get improved image quality through the pixel mapping. is that correct?

I think it all depends on whether the Oppo, BluRay, cable or any other source component can output a 768p signal to match the Panasonic's native resolution. I think 1:1 pixel mapping is a feature those folks with stand alone video processors that can scale to 768p would appreciate. As I understand it the 1:1 pixel mapping avoids any scaling in the TV where it may be less effective than in a video processor or in a DVD player. I guess if you used 1:1 pixel mapping and fed a 720p signal from the Oppo you'd have small black bars at the top and bottom of your screen.

I wonder if someone has done a comparison of the Panasonics internal scaler versus the one in an outboard processor.

avfan, if the cable box outputs 720p and the tv is 720p then i guess the 1:1 pixel mapping would be in effect. right?

also does the 1:1 pixel mapping made a big difference anyway?

and why does it only work with the dvi input on the panny and not the hdmi input?

AVFAN - i read the same thing about 1:1 pixel mapping only via DVI while researching this display, i just havent had time to play with it yet (10 month old twin girls at home!). if i get some time this weekend i will try to experiment using both the HDMI and DVI inputs and report back. I purchased this display for $1689 from VisualApex.com - they are located in the Seattle area so i was able to pick it up and save the shipping. The HDMI/DVI cards and a wall mount cost another $400 total, but i feel like for $2100 this is a fantastic value.

goomz,

I need to reread the Panasonic manual to get a better feel of when 1:1 pixel mapping is active. I'm not sure setting the monitor at 720p and feeding it a 720p signal turns on the 1:1 pixel mapping. I'm curious if the Panasonic monitor still does (or trys to do) any processing in the 720p/720p situation you describe. Also, like you I'd like to know if the minor scaling done by the monitor to take an input from 720p to 768p makes any difference in what you see? As far as why 1:1 pixel mapping is only available using the DVI connection and not HDMI, I suspect its because DVI orginated in the computer world where HDMI is a relatively new standard aimed at home theater. Gonk's page on HDMI may shed some light on that issue.

Zorlac,

Since you have both DVI and HDMI cards you are in a great position to test some of the 1:1 pixel mapping alternatives and whether all the fuss is worth the effort. Your time permitting (Wow, twins!) I look forward to the hearing about the results of your experiments.

One question for both of you...Does the Panasonic make any noise? If so, when and what do you hear? Is it fan noise or does the entire monitor hum? Thanks!