Well today was finally the day for me...after almost 2 years of waiting and waiting to buy a TV, I finally pulled the trigger on a Pioneer 5020.
I'm upgrading from a 21" Samsung CRT...so it's a slight change for me to say the least.

First I'd like to thank Alex @ Invision for incredible customer service and just a wonderful buying experience. He was very helpful and prompt even when I made an error giving him my information. Couldn't ask for more really. I would very highly recommend him for your buying needs even if you are on the East coast/Midwest as distance is apparently a non-issue for them.
I ordered the panel last Monday and it was in Columbus by Thursday midday. Sadly because of the July 4th weekend, I had to wait until today for delivery, but regardless it was just amazingly fast service.

The TV arrived in perfect condition, no cracks or any sort of damage to the packaging nor the TV. I was worried that my luck would be terrible and my panel would have a massive crack down the front or something, but lo and behold it was in superb condition.

As for the TV itself, I can't say all that much as I will be breaking it in.
But, there were ZERO stuck pixels and buzzing is not an issue for me whatsoever. You can hear a tiny tiny amount from the back of the panel with your ear right up to the back and an even smaller level from the front with your ear less than 2" from the front.
Anything farther away from a foot and I couldn't hear any audible buzzing from anywhere in the room, so I'm extremely happy about that and the perfect pixel count.

As for the performance, I cannot say. SD cable doesn't look all that good at all, but I have not calibrated it at all. I got antsy and loaded up a bit of Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 on out of box settings and they look good, I'm sure with some tweaking it will be perfect. I will be posting those pictures in the Kuro Pic thread when they come.

Anyways, onto the pics I promised in title...

Box it came in
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/6267/boxsh7.th.jpg (http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=boxsh7.jpg)

Box and TV all setup
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/8236/boxntvfl0.th.jpg (http://img512.imageshack.us/my.php?image=boxntvfl0.jpg)

TV from seating postion
http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/589/tv5vq7.th.jpg (http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tv5vq7.jpg)

The upgrade...
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7013/comparedyk5.th.jpg (http://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=comparedyk5.jpg)

ok

Sorry for sharing?? Thanks for your wonderful contribution.

Congrats on your purchase.

Thats awesome man. Congrats! Enjoy the heck out of it!

Nice TV.

One problem; it looks a little lonely sitting there without a Reciever and Speakers to match its picture performance.

Looks like its time to start saving for a surround system!

Thanks guys.
D-Nice, you are probably the primary reason I own this thing, thanks for all your advice and insight over the past couple years. I learned an astounding amount from you. So thanks again, and I'm definitely looking forward to some settings :)

Matt, isn't that the truth. It's all coming soon I suppose, I never really had the need for any of that for my tiny TV, but I guess I will be getting all that in the near future.

thats a nice upgrade my friend !!!!!!!!!!!! have to agree with Matt though, time to pair it up with a nice receiver and speakers

stradaone8,

Congratulations on your new Set. I have a 5080 from last year and have been very happy with the TV. Here are some reference settings from D-Nice's Official Pioneer 9G Non-Elite thread.

Pioneer 5020FD/6020FD Reference Settings

Picture:
AV Selection: Movie
Contrast: 38
Brightness: -1
Color: -5
Tint: 0
Sharpness: -15

Pure Cinema

Film Mode: Advance
Text Optimization: Off



Power Save Mode: Off

Orbiter: Mode 1 (All screen size modes except Dot-by-Dot)
Mode 2 (Dot-by-Dot screen size mode ONLY)

^ yea, I'm using that for Movie and TV viewing right now, but I don't find them particularly appealing for gaming. It lacks a bit of brightness, punch, and sharpness that I like in games. I'm working on finding a good setting. Optimum mode works well but I wont like to use it until it's good and broken in. Which BTW I am using a USB key with pure color inputs at various luminance levels and a greyscale to just slideshow and break in with the break-in settings...
Works like a charm and no need to use a DVD player or anything.

Congrats on your purchase.Congrats on your 8,000th post :D

Sorry for sharing?? Thanks for your wonderful contribution.
Well, there *is* a sticky set up for just these sorts of posts. Congrats, BTW.

Congrats on your 8,000th post :DThanks. I didn't even notice :)

What camera did you use. Did you use a tripod, or does your camera just have the best optical image stabilization ever. From the photos it seems like it must have been a good one like a Canon G9, Nikon D80, Canon XSI, Canon 40D, etc.
BTW, you should put that sucker on a tripod and do a long exposure time test of your Kuro, the CRT, and maybe your laptop to do a black level showdown.

Hey, i luv that coffe table. What's the make & model please??

What camera did you use. Did you use a tripod, or does your camera just have the best optical image stabilization ever. From the photos it seems like it must have been a good one like a Canon G9, Nikon D80, Canon XSI, Canon 40D, etc.
BTW, you should put that sucker on a tripod and do a long exposure time test of your Kuro, the CRT, and maybe your laptop to do a black level showdown.

Imageshack says Nikon D50 (look just below the photos).

^^^^^ that would explain the quality of the picture...

congrats welcome to the kuro family.... should post this in the kuro thread :D

btw i love that stand what kind is it????

What camera did you use. Did you use a tripod, or does your camera just have the best optical image stabilization ever. From the photos it seems like it must have been a good one like a Canon G9, Nikon D80, Canon XSI, Canon 40D, etc.
BTW, you should put that sucker on a tripod and do a long exposure time test of your Kuro, the CRT, and maybe your laptop to do a black level showdown.

Imageshack says Nikon D50 (look just below the photos).

Bingo...Nikon D50, says right under the pictures :)
It's my daily driver of DSLRs...good pictures, but a little soft.
All the pictures were run through a quick Photoshop touch up.

Download Opanda iEXIF viewer (http://www.opanda.com/en/iexif/), when you right click on pictures (internet, computer, anywhere) and select Opanda, it will tell you everything about the picture (camera, settings, even GPS location if it's encoded). I love it to figure out what people did to take pictures if they left the EXIF data intact.

I'd love to do a black level comparison test, but sadly all I have is my Lenovo laptop which wouldn't be much of a fight for my Kuro...I'll see what I can scrounge up.


Hey, i luv that coffe table. What's the make & model please??

It's an Omni Coffee Table (http://www.vcf.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?partNumber=1075225&Nao=28&numberOfResultsPerPage=12&referrer=shelfPage&storeId=10001&catalogId=10153&N=4294967247%204294967163&categoryId=4294967256) from Value City.
I absolutely love it. The legs are covered in black leather as well as the suspended undertray. The glass is the strongest piece of tempered glass I have ever come across.
During assembly of my TV stand, I accidentally dropped the large front metal rail onto the table from about 3ft up and it actually dented the metal...
I can literally punch the top and it doesn't even feel like glass. I highly recommend it. I get quite a few compliments on it and it's not all that much of a bank buster.

^^^^^ that would explain the quality of the picture...

congrats welcome to the kuro family.... should post this in the kuro thread :D

btw i love that stand what kind is it????

Thanks Gus, I will be posting more pictures in the Kuro thread.
The TV stand is a Bush Universal (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7705628&type=product&id=1138085296252) one, holds a hefty 165lbs. The glass is coated on the underside with black so its a very interesting look. I got it on sale for around 225...right now it's back up at 300. It's a solid but simple stand, you can hide the wiring down the back struts which is nifty. The shelves are not too tall so you can't fit anything vertically really, but aside from that a good stand.

I'm thinking about getting the same tv stand but i think it will be to tall height wise for my 6020. I want to try and keep the middle of the TV eye level

The stand is exactly 22" tall to the top shelf. For my 5020 is works out about right where the TV is just about at eye level, maybe an inch too tall...I would guess it would put the midpoint of a 6020 a bit higher, but I don't think you'd have to crane your neck by any means.

ok

When I purchase my 6020...I may start a thread about it just to piss you off.

If you don't like threads started by someone celebrating their new purchase (which you obviously don't)...then why do you even respond?

Congrats strada....

Chris

Thanks Chris. This thread was resurrected from 3 weeks ago although...come tomorrow it will be exactly 21 days since I got it.

Thanks Chris. This thread was resurrected from 3 weeks ago although...come tomorrow it will be exactly 21 days since I got it.

What will you be watching on your 5020 on your three week anniversary with it.:)

Well now that mr2828 has helped me fix the input lag on my 360, I might spend some quality time playing Halo. I also have finally figured out how to stream all my shows/movies through TVersity so I just watched the newest episode of Top Gear, always a fun time.

Ironically, I find it doesn't matter what I watch because half the time I get distracted by how good it looks instead of what's actually going on...

Well now that mr2828 has helped me fix the input lag on my 360, I might spend some quality time playing Halo. I also have finally figured out how to stream all my shows/movies through TVersity so I just watched the newest episode of Top Gear, always a fun time.

Ironically, I find it doesn't matter what I watch because half the time I get distracted by how good it looks instead of what's actually going on...

There is nothing wrong with that. Keep on enjoying it.

can you comment on the input lag?

Well now that mr2828 has helped me fix the input lag on my 360, I might spend some quality time playing Halo. I also have finally figured out how to stream all my shows/movies through TVersity so I just watched the newest episode of Top Gear, always a fun time.

Ironically, I find it doesn't matter what I watch because half the time I get distracted by how good it looks instead of what's actually going on...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14381508#post14381508

This is the post that started it and the following discussion ensued.

hmm so by putting game mode on basicly you have almost 0 lag? as in unoticeable ms response?

since you are coming from a 21" im assuming this is a CRT since lcd sucks in motion blurr and motion resolution

but in general these 9g pioneers non elite or elite how do they work with gaming?

i'v come around CRT (see sig) to the panasonic 42" TH-42px75u and its not an issue to me,

so i want to find out if its me that im used to or its the 9g in a issue? because i dont hear /knew complaints on the 8g pioneers....

also by turning on game mode what do we loose? i mean if its a better benefit for faster response why not leave that on for everything ?


im running in hdmi i'v tried 720p to 1080p and i'v also used componet so it cant be cables
any comment?

Well now that mr2828 has helped me fix the input lag on my 360, I might spend some quality time playing Halo. I also have finally figured out how to stream all my shows/movies through TVersity so I just watched the newest episode of Top Gear, always a fun time.

Ironically, I find it doesn't matter what I watch because half the time I get distracted by how good it looks instead of what's actually going on...
Man I thought I was the only one that watches those 3 crazy Brits on Top Gear. I love that show

hmm so by putting game mode on basicly you have almost 0 lag? as in unoticeable ms response?

since you are coming from a 21" im assuming this is a CRT since lcd sucks in motion blurr and motion resolution

but in general these 9g pioneers non elite or elite how do they work with gaming?

i'v come around CRT (see sig) to the panasonic 42" TH-42px75u and its not an issue to me,

so i want to find out if its me that im used to or its the 9g in a issue? because i dont hear /knew complaints on the 8g pioneers....

also by turning on game mode what do we loose? i mean if its a better benefit for faster response why not leave that on for everything ?


im running in hdmi i'v tried 720p to 1080p and i'v also used componet so it cant be cables
any comment?

My old CRT had no 'lag' on component whatsoever, but I never measured it.

As I said in the other thread, the 9G doesn't exhibit any visually noticeable lag. It's not as if I'm pushing my controller and then there is a tangible delay before I see anything on screen. Rather its in the microsecond time frame where I cannot see it but I can essentially "feel" it, but only in certain games.
Case in point, Halo 3. I have played this game since it came out in October and I am very decent at it, ie I don't miss most shots and I have no trouble aiming no matter what my target it doing. Since I got my 5020, I notice my aiming went to hell. I kept overshooting targets and then spazzing out all over the screen trying to correct...it's been miserable. I attributed it to the change in screen size and thought my brain was having issues with the extra visual real estate so to speak, but it still isn't any better even after 3 weeks.
I never thought about lag because games like Forza (racing) are all gradual input and so you'd need an even larger lag time to notice it. Halo however is faced paced and you constantly need to change your movement and aiming at all times so it messed with my brain.

mr2828 mentioned the input lag that exists in every mode. We don't care in most modes because it doesn't matter if the TV is on a 50 msec delay watching a movie or cable because everything is delayed and thus relatively on time...games are a different story due to interactivity.

When in Game Mode for AV Selection, the Game Control option opens up for ON/OFF. When it's ON, it essentially removes that tiny almost imperceptible delay. Literally the instant I turned it ON, my aiming in Halo was perfect again. Because my ability to play Halo is so hardwired into my brain, I was trying to play based on what I was seeing, but due to the minute amount of lag, I was responding late to what was actually going on. Thus when I meant to stop my gun aiming to the left, the delay made it seem like I should have kept going more to left when in reality I should have stopped, but the visual input was a tiny bit late so I overshot...and keep overcorrecting...

The jury is still out on whether this is just because we are running component or whether there is delay on HDMI and whether or not the ON setting has any detrimental effect on visual quality. I for one haven't noticed anything, and I'd gladly take a small hit in quality for no lag.

That was a mouthful, hope I explained it well enough.

Man I thought I was the only one that watches those 3 crazy Brits on Top Gear. I love that show

Heck no, I'm a blown motorhead, Top Gear is a weekly essential for me. My cable company stopped carrying the BBC for some odd reason, so I just torrent the episode in near HD and stream it through my Xbox to the panel. Quality is very good and just a joy to watch.
You have to love the trio...just pure comedy and chemistry. The US is trying to replicate with Adam Corolla, Tanner Faust and some other guy, but you can't do what Clarkson, Hammy, and May do week after week...they don't even need awesome cars anymore to make an episode worth watching. That is good TV.

hmm well do you have guitar hero? or any of those games where you can measure it? like the ms or something? like i said i never noticed any lag on gaming of course i dont have a 9g yet as im saying this im using a TH-42px75u

is their other members that own a 9g pioneer that notice this too? is it only non elite or elite members too?

also i never caught this in the 8g owners so if we can eliminate by finding other members with the same issue as yours then the elite members then we will know if its a 9g issue ?

its not a deal breaker as i think its one of those things where you try to compare 720p vs 1080p

can it be a plabo effect? (sorry i think i got the word wrong) but its the same word they say where people think a monster hdmi cable is better then a normal generic cable.

hmm well do you have guitar hero? or any of those games where you can measure it? like the ms or something? like i said i never noticed any lag on gaming of course i dont have a 9g yet as im saying this im using a TH-42px75u

is their other members that own a 9g pioneer that notice this too? is it only non elite or elite members too?

also i never caught this in the 8g owners so if we can eliminate by finding other members with the same issue as yours then the elite members then we will know if its a 9g issue ?

its not a deal breaker as i think its one of those things where you try to compare 720p vs 1080p

can it be a plabo effect? (sorry i think i got the word wrong) but its the same word they say where people think a monster hdmi cable is better then a normal generic cable.


I don't have GH, I'm terrible at that game, but can actually play the guitar...figure that out. But the lag shouldn't matter based on game, just on type of input if it does vary at all.

As for measuring it, check the 5020/6020 settings thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1045175) started by the Hun.
mr2828 measured the lag on the 9G and it indeed exists in all AV modes except for game w/ the control turned to ON. Someone else is checking HDMI. I suppose we could do a round-up lag experiment with all inputs and resolutions. But it's real and largely not a problem unless you have a game that is faced paced and very interactive. Check out the thread.