Congratulations on your 500th post Zechman :D
Ongoing congratulations to you for not being a part of it this time, DD. :)

--Dwayne

Post #500! Woo Hoo!

And I am happy to report that Dale came through the surgery successfully with no complications at all. He'll be in the hospital for while, recovering, and prognosis is very good. (And I'm a whole lot less worried, now, too! :confused: )

Since I have a kind of tradition going of wishing someone "get well soon" with my centennial posts, I'm happy to be sending those wishes out now to drhollen. Get well soon, my friend. I'll see you again in a couple of days.*

--Dwayne

* Um, not that you're actually reading this in the ICU or anything.... :rolleyes:

Thanks for the kind words! I didn't have much time in the ICU to check for internet access, but for some reason, they wouldn't let me post to AVSforum from my regular hospital room, so I ditched that place and came home :rolleyes:. I was distracted by my freshly-ISF-calibrated-via-UMR SXRD, so it took me an extra day to post to AVSforum :D.
Dale

Ongoing congratulations to you for not being a part of it this time, DD. :)

--Dwayne


You have brought me much luck with your milestone posts and I know drhollen will do fine also. Thanks my friend ;)

Well today I took the plunge and bought the Qualia. I was able to get a free $700 surge protector/power cleaner and half off on the extended warrenty and stand. Should be here by Thursday (they had to order the stand).

Well today I took the plunge and bought the Qualia. I was able to get a free $700 surge protector/power cleaner and half off on the extended warrenty and stand. Should be here by Thursday (they had to order the stand).

Schooner diver,

Congrats my man! You are in for a treat for sure. Do yourself a favor - order the 1 free spare lamp right away, so you have it on-hand whenever it may be needed. That way, you make sure you get the freebie that you're entitled to, and are ready for that rainy day 18 months from now, when the bulb burns out :-)

Again, happy days...

Cheers!
-Brian

Well today I took the plunge and bought the Qualia. I was able to get a free $700 surge protector/power cleaner and half off on the extended warrenty and stand. Should be here by Thursday (they had to order the stand).
Nice to hear.
Enjoy. :)

Congrats my man! You are in for a treat for sure. Do yourself a favor - order the 1 free spare lamp right away, so you have it on-hand whenever it may be needed. That way, you make sure you get the freebie that you're entitled to, and are ready for that rainy day 18 months from now, when the bulb burns out :-)


Will do!

Man Thursday is a long ways off.

Any ideas on a decent stand? I dont want to spend a fortune. $300 ish would be nice. I need to be able to have quite a bit of stereo and video equipment under it like I am sure everyone else. I am open for suggestions, but think the sony one at $1500 is ridiculous. Thanks

Any ideas on a decent stand? I dont want to spend a fortune. $300 ish would be nice. I need to be able to have quite a bit of stereo and video equipment under it like I am sure everyone else. I am open for suggestions, but think the sony one at $1500 is ridiculous. Thanks
Here are a couple of sites; please note that the links will take you to pages with expensive products, but both sites have a full range of different stands in all price ranges...

Try THIS... (http://www.dtvcity.com/furniture/furniture_product.php?model=PP-59)

And THIS... (http://www.htmarket.com/65dvbr60.html)

Any ideas on a decent stand? I dont want to spend a fortune. $300 ish would be nice. I need to be able to have quite a bit of stereo and video equipment under it like I am sure everyone else. I am open for suggestions, but think the sony one at $1500 is ridiculous. Thanks
Also keep in mind that you're shopping for a stand for a 273lb TV. The vast majority of what's out there just isn't rated for something that heavy. I ended up getting the Sony stand because it was the least expensive one I could find that could hold the weight and met with the approval of Mrs. Zechman.

--Dwayne

The stand I went with is cheap ($400). It is a Tech Craft stand. But you get what you pay for. Not much in the way of storage or shelving. I will be upgrading in the future but this is a 'stop-gap'.

schoonerdriver,

Enjoy your 006 and as ManWithAPlan said get that spare bulb to have on hand. Kind of like having a spare tire, they sure come in handy in case of a blowout :D

What kind of a schooner do you drive?

schoonerdriver,

Enjoy your 006 and as ManWithAPlan said get that spare bulb to have on hand. Kind of like having a spare tire, they sure come in handy in case of a blowout :D

What kind of a schooner do you drive?


I plan to get that spare bulb as soon as I get the TV. Wasn't able to be at the house today but the TV 'should' be there tomorrow.

Don't drive a schooner, yet. But the more money I put into the HT I just may end up in one. I am an OU Sooner fan. Thats where the name comes from.

Ok PS3 owners.... What do you think of the upscaling capability? I have the PS3 and the HD-A1 and I haven't gotten to take indepth comparisons yet. I do like that the PS3 boots fast and has some additional noise reduction options (frame and block noise). I also have to like the fact that it can quickly navigate and does not seem to "stick" or get stuck as much. I am not so sure on the PQ yet though. Hopefully someone else is trying this comparison out.

I just downloaded the new firmware yesterday, but I have not yet had time to do a comparison with my existing DVD player (Panasonic DMR-E80H via component), which has always dominated the PS3's DVD playback quality. I'll report my findings soon...

Well, it'll be more definitive if we hear it from someone like UMR, but based on my playing around with Avia (now upscaled!) and the new RGB settings in the PS3's 1.8 software, it looks like the "Full" setting just crushes blacks on the Qualia, so we should stick with "Limited".

There's plenty more discussion on the subject over in the Playstation Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=142), but I wanted to pass the word along for the Q006 in particular.

--Dwayne

sorry, i'm new to this, but can anyone direct me to a thread on the samsung HLS-7178W? thanks much!

fyi for those with PS3s - it seems like a jungle on those threads. I am a bit shocked at how much different the opinions are (RGB Full vs Limited). Obviously what matters to us is the best 006 settings but so far the best quick advice seems to be:

Originally Posted by sspears
So I just tested RGB @ full and you want to leave it as limit, unless you like to increase banding.

RGB @ Limit - Levels stay where they are. Y 1, CbCr 128 will be RGB 1, 1, 1 when done.
RGB @ Full - Levels get compressed. Y 1, CbCr 128 will be RGB 16, 16, 16 when done. (Best guess based on looking at image)
Full is different than the usual expansion where Y 16, CbCr 128 becomes RGB 0, 0, 0.

The best video quality is:

Output - YCbCr
RGB - Limit
Super White - On

BTB is still passed when RGB is set to limit, just bring brightness up to see it. Then turn brightness back down where it belongs. When you set brightness based on RGB limit and then switch to RGB full, you will see the BTB stripe. This is because you just remapped Y 7, CbCr 128 (the BTB stripe) to a much higher value.

thesirjay,

I hope you are taking some time after you get the PS3 all set to watch the Pirates movies ;) I watched #1 last night and will be watching #2 tonight. Jack is back and even better on Blu-ray :D

Thanks for the reminder divedude - I have been neglecting my movie watching (it always seems to end up as baby friendly) but I will have to make the effort to watch pirates on bd. Btw it seems awhile since we have seen mini-dive (hint hint).

Mini Dive reminded me I should have said Captain Jack Sparrow :D

Mini Dive has been busy working on the new dive equipment for our upcoming dive trip. I think he about has the new housing ready, so we will take a picture tomorrow.

Here is Mini Dive standing by the new Gates HC7 HD housing. Quite a contraption for such a small camera. Weighs 20 lbs. in the air, slightly negative underwater.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Gates1.jpg

I sense a new Sunday evening series coming on...

"THE UNDERSEA WORLD OF MINI-DIVE COUSTEAU"...

This is the view thru the back of the housing of the 16x9 LCD screen on the camera. I took a couple of pictures to demo the capabilities of the super wide angle port from Fathom Images. 110 degrees in the air and 90 underwater with full zoom through. The first picture is full wide and the second is at full optical zoom. Mini Dive was 10" away from the lens. I really love this lens, and think it is well worth the $2,700 it cost. But then, maybe I've sucked in a little too much nitrogen over the years :D

http://www.gateshousings.com/docs/feature%20sheets/SWP25%20Feature%20Sheet.pdf

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Gates2.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Gates3.jpg

Is Qualia to TVs what Tron was to movies?

Is Qualia to TVs what Tron was to movies?


Howdy Artwood :)

From Wikipedia on Tron, "Tagline: A world inside the computer where man has never been. Never before now."

I sense a new Sunday evening series coming on...

"THE UNDERSEA WORLD OF MINI-DIVE COUSTEAU"...

brt3,

Maybe the first episode can be of Mini Dive attempting to track down the mysterious "jaguar shark" that ate Steve Zissou's partner.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0907_050907_glowingshark.html

Maybe the first episode can be of Mini Dive attempting to track down the mysterious "jaguar shark" that ate Steve Zissou's partner.
Just make sure Mini Dive doesn't get hydrogen psychosis, the crazy-eye!

Is Qualia to TVs what Tron was to movies?
I love that movie!!!

They are similar in that both were the first of their kind to use a new technique to create a picture on a screen, and neither were a significant commercial success in and of themselves.

Unlike TRON, the technique used in the Qualia (SXRD) was refined and used on subsequent TV's.
The technique used in TRON (frame-by-frame painting on a B/W master) was never used again--CGI can do it much better and cheaper now.

--Dwayne

P.S. If I didn't already have a real job, I would totally be writing video games . . .

. . . and they would worship me. :cool:

Just checked my bulb timer

4850 hours on the original bulb.

I am sure it is dimmer than when it was new but it is currently adequate for our viewing and we view it with reduced and controlled room lighting.

Just checked my bulb timer

4850 hours on the original bulb.

I am sure it is dimmer than when it was new but it is currently adequate for our viewing and we view it with reduced and controlled room lighting.
Long time no hear from, stewman. :)
When I see your name and brt’s on the same page, I think of one thing.......racin.

And when I think of racin today, I’m wondering what perks Dario Franchitti got last night.

Hi guys,I recently purchased a new 006 and was quoted $400 for ISF calibration by my local HIFI Buys.Is this a reasonable quote and is ISF calibration necessary?He also wanted $600 to ship and set it up,which seemed like too much to me.

Do you guys have any recommendations for a HDMI cable to go from my comcast set top box to the Q.Does a high end cable make a difference?Any special considerations to get the best comcast signal to the Q?

I must say this is an unbelievable thread and I'm slowly reading through it. (May take a month of my life to do it,lol)

Thanks for any help.

Long time no hear from, stewman. :)
When I see your name and brt’s on the same page, I think of one thing.......racin. And when I think of racin today, I’m wondering what perks Dario Franchitti got last night.It's not that often one gets to see Ashley Judd looking so thoroughly and smashingly soaked...

I had good outcomes on 2 of the 3 major races on the Single Biggest Racing Day of the Year. Franchitti is a great guy who's been through some tough times, and the two guys at McLaren are pretty decent human beings as well. Nice to see fellows who are supremely talented, without the churlishness and arrogance of the Schumachers and Stewarts of this world...

Hi guys,I recently purchased a new 006 and was quoted $400 for ISF calibration by my local HIFI Buys.Is this a reasonable quote and is ISF calibration necessary?

Do you guys have any recommendations for a HDMI cable to go from my comcast set top box to the Q.Does a high end cable make a difference?Any special considerations to get the best comcast signal to the Q?
I think that's too much for what sounds like a run-of-the-mill calibration. Jeff/UMR at Accucal can give you much better results for almost the same money, and he's probably done 10 or 20 Qualias.

Don't sweat it too much over the HDMI cables, just don't buy anything extra-cheap. I've had good luck with bettercables.com -- but I haven't bought anything there recently. Look at the ads at the top; there are usually a couple of cable companies that advertise there...

The biggest difference you can make in the quality of a Comcast feed -- IMHO -- is the addition of a TiVo Series 3 HD/DVR. Made a huge difference in my system...

Welcome; hope you enjoy your new set!

Can anybody help me. I bought a Qualia from Tweeter when the store was closing down. I didn't really get to look at it that much at the store and everything was in chaos. Anyway, the PQ is great!!! But, it seems like the tv should be brighter. I've got the picture brightness all the way up and... Can anyone help?

My wife and I just cobbled together a pretty nice stand using various pieces from Ikea. They have large boards in different sizes to be used as coffee tables and different sized chrome legs. I picked up a short set (3") for the bottom and longer ones (6") for the top shelves. With two shelves I can fit all my component and the tv sits comfortably with 2" fore and aft. I put six legs on each level. Total cost = ~100. I could have probably done it for less, but i was anxious to watch TV!!!! :)

Just make sure Mini Dive doesn't get hydrogen psychosis, the crazy-eye!
Oops... looks like I was too late...
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Gates3.jpg

Oops... looks like I was too late...



:eek: ROTFLMAO :D

Can anybody help me. I bought a Qualia from Tweeter when the store was closing down. I didn't really get to look at it that much at the store and everything was in chaos. Anyway, the PQ is great!!! But, it seems like the tv should be brighter. I've got the picture brightness all the way up and... Can anyone help?


Bob_Means,

Was this a floor / demo unit? If so, it could have thousands of hours on the bulb. If it is new, you may want to reset to factory specs and then look at the first post on this thread to see how some of the guys have set theirs up.

Congratulations on the new 006 :)

Hi guys,I recently purchased a new 006.
I must say this is an unbelievable thread and I'm slowly reading through it. (May take a month of my life to do it,lol)



hanig,

Congratulations on your new 006 :)

It's great to see more new Qualians joining this thread :cool:

hanig,

Congratulations on your new 006 :)

It's great to see more new Qualians joining this thread :cool:


Thanks DIVEDUDE, I first saw a Qualia 006 running a Bluray version of Spiderman in the Sonystyle store in Vegas.I was stunned by the picture quality and decided then and there that someday I would own one.I managed to find one" new in box "a few months ago and had the store hold it for me until my new home construction was finished.So hopefully I will have it delivered next week.I wish I could get Umr to calibrate it for me but I didn't see Nashville TN in his schedule any time soon.Local guy wants $400 for standard video calibration.

Good to see another diver here.Next month I dive the Red Sea and in Sept. we go to Fiji. Woohoo!

Long time no hear from, stewman. :)
When I see your name and brt’s on the same page, I think of one thing.......racin.

And when I think of racin today, I’m wondering what perks Dario Franchitti got last night.


PM

June 24th

See me at the Mario Andretti School of Racing
Chicagoland Speedway
trying to do my thing

A step in the right direction but I was hoping that it would be a blu-ray burner...those AVCHD camcorders just got a bit more tempting :)

http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/29/sonys-vrd-mc5-dvd-burner-one-touch-hd-copies-for-avchd-handyca/

Good to see another diver here.Next month I dive the Red Sea and in Sept. we go to Fiji. Woohoo!

hanig,

Those are both world class locations. Very cool :cool: Going on liveaboards or shore based? Are you a UW photographer?

Next month I will be back out to Cocos Island, CR, on the Sea Hunter for 12 days. A diver can never get enough hammerheads :D

hanig,

Those are both world class locations. Very cool :cool: Going on liveaboards or shore based? Are you a UW photographer?

Next month I will be back out to Cocos Island, CR, on the Sea Hunter for 12 days. A diver can never get enough hammerheads :D

I tried to do a Cocos trip last year,but my dive partner (wife) hates sharks(esp. Hammerheads ) so we ended up in the Caribbean .

This year we stay shore based from Marlin Bay Fiji and Sharm Al-Sheik Sinai Egypt.

Next year we go live aboard in the southern Red Sea and Raj Ampat Indonesia.

I have a Canon SD900 10 mega with housing,nothing fancy,mostly point and shoot.I do have a Canon Rebel XT SLR ,but need a housing for it.

Could someone (*cough* Dwayne *cough*) please post all of the PS3 video settings, as they relate to the Q? I've read the entire thread in the Blu-ray forum, but as we know our 006 is a little different than the rest of the displays out there. Thanks in advance.

Time for Dwayne to have a drink from the fire hose (yet again)... ;)

hello
I purchased my 006 in may 2005 and it looks like the bulb has gone south for the third time in 2 years. I'm waiting for the service guy to arrive to fix the problem, but this seems to be excessive to me. the first lamp blew at 1200 hrs, the second 400 hrs and the third has just gone very dark after one whole year, so I'm assuming that it is the problem. anybody else having these problems?
thanks Ross

hello
I purchased my 006 in may 2005 and it looks like the bulb has gone south for the third time in 2 years. I'm waiting for the service guy to arrive to fix the problem, but this seems to be excessive to me. the first lamp blew at 1200 hrs, the second 400 hrs and the third has just gone very dark after one whole year, so I'm assuming that it is the problem. anybody else having these problems?
thanks Ross


Purchased our Q in Sept. 2005. We use it almost everyday and replaced our first bulb this past Xmas. I believe the biggest liability to the bulbs are how many times they are cycled on and off. The time they are actually on is obviously a factor, but the on/off cycling (especially the quick on/off back on cycle) is what causes them to "go out" sooner. According to your message, the third one lasted a whole year. I would say that is pretty normal(?). Dwayne, PM, DD and other Q vets/historians would I'm sure, be able to shed some further light on this. (sorry) ;)

C-Dub006

C-Dub006,

I agree that powering the set on and off takes a toll on the bulb. I think it is important to have the 006 connected to a voltage regulated UPS to keep the power constant and keep it up during lightening storms and such.

Purchased our Q in Sept. 2005. We use it almost everyday and replaced our first bulb this past Xmas. I believe the biggest liability to the bulbs are how many times they are cycled on and off. The time they are actually on is obviously a factor, but the on/off cycling (especially the quick on/off back on cycle) is what causes them to "go out" sooner. According to your message, the third one lasted a whole year. I would say that is pretty normal(?). Dwayne, PM, DD and other Q vets/historians would I'm sure, be able to shed some further light on this. (sorry) ;)

C-Dub006
As you say, off-then-quickly-back-on is the worst thing you can do.
Mrs. Zechman has standing orders to just leave the TV on if there's any chance at all that she or I will be watching again in the next hour or so.

--Dwayne

Time for Dwayne to have a drink from the fire hose (yet again)... ;)
Hooray!!! I found the marble in the oatmeal!!! :D :D :D

--Dwayne

Could someone (*cough* Dwayne *cough*) please post all of the PS3 video settings, as they relate to the Q? I've read the entire thread in the Blu-ray forum, but as we know our 006 is a little different than the rest of the displays out there. Thanks in advance.
[Zechman's head pops up over the cubicle wall]

Huh?

No problem. There actually aren't all that many options. I just can't do it tonight.
It's late (I'm east coast) and some of us have jobs (*cough* Penton-Man *cough*) we have to go to in the morning.... :p

--Dwayne

We just got a year of HBO. I must say, after all this time with the 006, HD Movies sure are great! I wish the dvd format wars would stop!

Just want to say hello again to everyone, and the person looking for a nice stand can search for the one I got from Diamond Case Design. I have a pic I posted.

hi guys
the tech is coming today to address the lamp issue. I do not power it on and off so that should not be an issue. I spoke to Sony and they said that 3 lamps in 2 years is excessive and will track the problem. they suggested that a lamp generator might be at fault. we'll see
I will post the outcome
TY Ross

We just got a year of HBO. I must say, after all this time with the 006, HD Movies sure are great! I wish the dvd format wars would stop!

Just want to say hello again to everyone, and the person looking for a nice stand can search for the one I got from Diamond Case Design. I have a pic I posted.

Hi:
Which model did you purchase, and which options? How long before delivery?
Thanks,
Dave

hi guys
the tech is coming today to address the lamp issue. I do not power it on and off so that should not be an issue. I spoke to Sony and they said that 3 lamps in 2 years is excessive and will track the problem. they suggested that a lamp generator might be at fault. we'll see
I will post the outcome
TY Ross

From my previous post
Just checked my bulb timer


4850 hours on the original bulb.

I am sure it is dimmer than when it was new but it is currently adequate for our viewing and we view it with reduced and controlled room lighting.

We never cycle the set on and off and the bulb is on the reduced power setting.

My UPS came in handy last night. The lights dimmed for a couple of seconds and then came back up. A minute later the power went out for 10 minutes. My 006, TiVo, and receiver all stayed up and didn't miss a beat. :)

Wow, What is the rating on Your UPS 1500 ? What brand...

Wow, What is the rating on Your UPS 1500 ? What brand...


G.B.

I have two to equally divide the load and ensure longer backup times. They are connected to my 006, Elite 84, HD TiVo, Panny Blu-ray, A2 HD DVD, and dual powered subs. They are CyberPower and I am vary happy with them. I have a couple of 1500's from Belkin that do not run as long.

http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/CPS1500AVR.asp

I actually have a total of 7 UPS's connected to all my TV's and computers.

Should I connect my Comcast set top box Moto 3416 to the Qualia using the HDMI or component video route? Does it even make a difference?

Now that the Tivo Series3 is $399 (with rebate )I might go that route,anyone other than brt3 experience better picture quality with the Tivo ?Thanks guys

No wonder squirrels act so crazy :D (if you don't want to watch the entire video, start at 3:40)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8YZIhlWpS0

I would first like to use post #200 to thank everyone here for the years of Q-reading pleasure. (counting the old "Sony jumps" thread).

I followed the recommendations from the Tivo forum and purchased the Seagate DB35 hard drive (750G) and the Antec MX-1 enclosure. I followed the simple instructions and now my Tivo has one glorious terabyte of memory. My Tivo info screen says that my capacity has changed from 32 hrs of HD to 131!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/04/how-to-use-your-tivo-series3-esata-port-to-add-an-external-driv/

With all the HD kids movies I "have" to save, my Q can now rest easy that there will be plenty of extra room for daddy's stuff. ;)

Anyone going to buy one of those new Bravia tv's just announced for release late summer onward? They look sooo sweet!

Everyone stay well and enjoy the summer!!

Ron

Here is mine...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40261

It was in post 10339 and is the model Theater-Tech TT400. They even matched the stain for us from a sample we sent. We got the variable fan option but think that was all. Also, they made the center speaker shelf to match the Stand for us!

Delivery would depend on their finished stock. They then just need to stain it.

Sorry for delay...just got back from RV trip...married 40 years!

Hi:
Which model did you purchase, and which options? How long before delivery?
Thanks,
Dave

Grats mpsan - I think you just dated yourself :) but even if you married at 12 thats quite an accomplishment! And to think that even after 40 years you are still able to spend time together in an RV (always a test of personal space) seems to mean you have a chunk more years ahead.

Man over 13000 posts.... we certainly do talk a bit. I posted some PS3 recommended settings a few pages earlier but no chance to play with calibrations or really put it head to head against my HD-A1.

I would first like to use post #200 to thank everyone here for the years of Q-reading pleasure. (counting the old "Sony jumps" thread).

I followed the recommendations from the Tivo forum and purchased the Seagate DB35 hard drive (750G) and the Antec MX-1 enclosure. I followed the simple instructions and now my Tivo has one glorious terabyte of memory. My Tivo info screen says that my capacity has changed from 32 hrs of HD to 131!



Ron,

Congratulations on #200 :)

I wish I could use a TiVo Series 3 with DirecTV, I really like the upgrade you did with the additional memory. :cool:

Ron,

Congratulations on #200 :)

I wish I could use a TiVo Series 3 with DirecTV, I really like the upgrade you did with the additional memory. :cool:

DD,

I have Comcast and DirecTV. It's going to be tough this fall when D* adds those 75 or so HD channels (I wonder if most will be PPV HD). Though I've read some encouraging things about their newer receiver I am soooo used to Tivo. I will probably have to switch away from my HR10-250 in favor of the extra channels.

DD - I finally watched the Planet Earth showing of caves. Have you done any cave diving? It looks really cool.

Ron

Grats mpsan - I think you just dated yourself :) but even if you married at 12 thats quite an accomplishment! And to think that even after 40 years you are still able to spend time together in an RV (always a test of personal space) seems to mean you have a chunk more years ahead.

Man over 13000 posts.... we certainly do talk a bit. I posted some PS3 recommended settings a few pages earlier but no chance to play with calibrations or really put it head to head against my HD-A1.

Well, I did not get married at 12...:D.

Anyway, I guess I am retired now and do not know how I had time to work. I guess Computers have been very very good to me. :D

The only thing I need to do now in the RV is upgrade the stereo. It is almost unlistenable!

Does anyone know if the Sony SURS51U Stand will fit the qualia. It looks pretty dang nice and I really dont want to drop the $1000 or so on the SU-SX10 qualia stand.

Or does anyone know where I can get a smokin deal on the SU-SX10?

DD - I finally watched the Planet Earth showing of caves. Have you done any cave diving? It looks really cool.

Ron


Ron,

I have only been in caverns and cenotes. I have had training for caverns and the formations are cool, although being bumped in the head by a stalactite can hurt :o The thing about cave diving is that it requires a lot of redundancy and specialized training. And it is extremely dangerous if something goes wrong because a diver can't go directly up to air. I know cave divers and they really love it, kind of like I love diving very deep.

Both caves and caverns do have extremely clear water, but not much in the way of critters. I kind of like critters, especially sharks. :D

Sorry for delay...just got back from RV trip...married 40 years!

mpsan,

Mini Dive wanted to send this to you and your lovely bride:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Roses.jpg

Thank you BOTH so much! I will show it to her.

mpsan,

Mini Dive wanted to send this to you and your lovely bride:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Roses.jpg

Hello ALL:

I mentioned a few posts ago that we just got HBO. The picture on Comcast HBO-HD is great...I have not seen better, except for one thing.

I am using the Moto 3412 DVR. I seem to get moire patterns in a lot of scenes. Also, sometimes I can see flicker like in "old time" movies. This flicker is just on things like opening credits. Sometimes I see it with motion like a moderate camera pan. I do not think it is the Q as I never notice this with SD DVD's or other HD stations like Discovery HD. Anyone else notice this and I wonder what HBO or Comcast can be doing. As I said, other than this, I have not seen better quality on my Q!

mpsan,

I have not seen that on DirecTV HBO-HD. I have seen similar on one of the local non-HD channels coming over DirecTV. It was not doing it off the antenna. I ended up moving a few cables and it went away.

Well, I may try that. Do you remember which cables? I am connected via coax audio and component video. I can try HDMI as the 3412 may have that.

mpsan,

I have not seen that on DirecTV HBO-HD. I have seen similar on one of the local non-HD channels coming over DirecTV. It was not doing it off the antenna. I ended up moving a few cables and it went away.

The one that did it for me was the RG6 feeding the TiVo. It was running parallel to a power cable. I figure a little inductance.

Hello ALL:

I mentioned a few posts ago that we just got HBO. The picture on Comcast HBO-HD is great...I have not seen better, except for one thing.

I am using the Moto 3412 DVR. I seem to get moire patterns in a lot of scenes. Also, sometimes I can see flicker like in "old time" movies. This flicker is just on things like opening credits. Sometimes I see it with motion like a moderate camera pan. I do not think it is the Q as I never notice this with SD DVD's or other HD stations like Discovery HD. Anyone else notice this and I wonder what HBO or Comcast can be doing. As I said, other than this, I have not seen better quality on my Q!
Take two TiVo S3's and call me in the morning... ;)

Take two TiVo S3's and call me in the morning... ;)

...and I hear that the price is going way down! Didn't someone add a 750gb USB drive to make it a total of 1TB?

The one that did it for me was the RG6 feeding the TiVo. It was running parallel to a power cable. I figure a little inductance.
I will check mine out!

Didn't someone add a 750gb USB drive to make it a total of 1TB?

Yes indeed! I look forward to seeing my Tivo deleted folder packed with 50+HD movies/100+HD shows.

It was a breeze to set up and I have no skills.

I just returned from a trip to browse through my local high end electronics showplace ABT Electronics and thought I would relate what I saw and thought about what was on display.

The first item that was showcased was a the 70' Sony XBR LCD.
It was not that impressive and definitely not as detailed and with less contrast as the Qualia 006. And it was for sale at $32,998.00
I do admit it was displaying satellite tv which does not appear to have as good definition as cable.


Sony SRX-R105 SXRD Projector
This is a 4096 X 2160 SXRD projector.
They were displaying it on a huge 200" Stewart Waterfall screen.
Yes the screen is surrounded by a running waterfall. The waterfall does not improve the picture and detracts from the presentation as it adds to the background noise
The picture was detailed but in the room they were using with average lighting the picture was suffering from not having the lighting subdued or controlled.
The projector is huge, requires 200V and also has an exhaust chimney to remove the heat.
The 200" screen is impressive because of its size.
Cost of the Projector $96,000.00 . The Stewart screen s $12,000.00

Panasonic 103" 1080p plasma model TH-103PZ600
Amazing beautiful detailed picture with superb contrast.
Recommended viewing distance was 14 feet but the pixels were not troublesome from 10 feet.
Selling at $69,999.00

I could not find a HD-DvD or Blu-ray player at any location in the store set up to work with a display.
I even went to the in-house Sony Store and there were zero blu-ray players on display. There was a Playstation 3 setup with a Sony Ruby but the Sony rep said they had no Blu-Ray disks to use in it as it was only for playing sample games.

Is Blu-ray dead ?

Guess my Qualia still has a home.

Stew

Is Blu-ray dead ?

Stew


If you want to generate several hundred posts, go to both the Blu-ray and the HD-DVD threads and ask that question :eek: :D

Yes indeed! I look forward to seeing my Tivo deleted folder packed with 50+HD movies/100+HD shows.

It was a breeze to set up and I have no skills.

Well, that is good news. I assume that you got the 2 Cable cards as well. Now, where did I see the big price drop?!

If you want to generate several hundred posts, go to both the Blu-ray and the HD-DVD threads and ask that question :eek: :D

Funny...this Month in one of the PC rags, they said that no one cares who wins the HD war as most do not want to pay extra. Sure the picture is better in HD, but it is like those who love DCD-Audio and SACD. For the most part the average person will not bother with HD disks...SD is good enough!

I sure hope they are wrong, but after spending too much on audio over the decades, I must say that I never expected MP3 to be so popular!

...and I still have my Shefield direct to disc (as in record) recordings.

Hi Everyone,

I'm not sure if this post belongs here... I will also try posting in the main forum area.

My Qualia 006 70" is acting up. :(

I tried a search but couldn't find any related posts...

My set just shuts off randomly. I'm not sure if it's overheating or some other issue. But I will be watching a show and the video will just go completely black... I can still hear the audio. Then after 2-3 minutes or so, the video fades up and is viewable again. Then it will instantly go black for awhile.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

-John

Well, that is good news. I assume that you got the 2 Cable cards as well. Now, where did I see the big price drop?!

You can try weakness.com



I do have the 2 Cablecards. It's a shame that Comcast is hitting me for $2.75x3 per month. I have two T3 and the first of 4 cards is free.

Hi Everyone,

I'm not sure if this post belongs here... I will also try posting in the main forum area.

My Qualia 006 70" is acting up. :(

I tried a search but couldn't find any related posts...


-John


As a Qualia owner, you post is welcome, although I am sorry it is about a problem you are having. You should still be under warrenty, so my suggestion is to contact Sony. Good luck.

You can try weakness.com



I do have the 2 Cablecards. It's a shame that Comcast is hitting me for $2.75x3 per month. I have two T3 and the first of 4 cards is free.


That seems like a lot for the cards and paying for TiVo guide. Is it less money to just get several Comcast DVR's?

That seems like a lot for the cards and paying for TiVo guide. Is it less money to just get several Comcast DVR's?

The boxes are still more $$. I really like Tivo though and the Moto 6412 is sadly without. Plus the hard drive only holds around 15 hours I believe.

The boxes are still more $$. I really like Tivo though and the Moto 6412 is sadly without. Plus the hard drive only holds around 15 hours I believe.


Yes, 3412 is low on hd space. I can get the 3416, but that is not much better.

Well, I moved some wires and still get "blinking" sometimes when HBO-HD does a slow pan on an outdoor scene...like sharp, in focus trees. Then the rest of the movie is perfect. I wonder if it is just an HBO thing on my Comcast/MoTo 3412?

Hello ALL:

I mentioned a few posts ago that we just got HBO. The picture on Comcast HBO-HD is great...I have not seen better, except for one thing.

I am using the Moto 3412 DVR. I seem to get moire patterns in a lot of scenes. Also, sometimes I can see flicker like in "old time" movies. This flicker is just on things like opening credits. Sometimes I see it with motion like a moderate camera pan. I do not think it is the Q as I never notice this with SD DVD's or other HD stations like Discovery HD. Anyone else notice this and I wonder what HBO or Comcast can be doing. As I said, other than this, I have not seen better quality on my Q!

Off to video hammerheads with my new HD camera, see ya'll when I get back July 5 :D

Off to video hammerheads with my new HD camera, see ya'll when I get back July 5 :D

Just remember no head banging music :).

Off to video hammerheads with my new HD camera, see ya'll when I get back July 5 :D

We may just take the RV out again. Anyway, your trip will more exciting than ours. Be safe.

Dave

I just returned from a trip to browse through my local high end electronics showplace ABT Electronics and thought I would relate what I saw and thought about what was on display.

The first item that was showcased was a the 70' Sony XBR LCD.
It was not that impressive and definitely not as detailed and with less contrast as the Qualia 006. And it was for sale at $32,998.00
I do admit it was displaying satellite tv which does not appear to have as good definition as cable.


Sony SRX-R105 SXRD Projector
This is a 4096 X 2160 SXRD projector.
They were displaying it on a huge 200" Stewart Waterfall screen.
Yes the screen is surrounded by a running waterfall. The waterfall does not improve the picture and detracts from the presentation as it adds to the background noise
The picture was detailed but in the room they were using with average lighting the picture was suffering from not having the lighting subdued or controlled.
The projector is huge, requires 200V and also has an exhaust chimney to remove the heat.
The 200" screen is impressive because of its size.
Cost of the Projector $96,000.00 . The Stewart screen s $12,000.00.

(...)

I could not find a HD-DvD or Blu-ray player at any location in the store set up to work with a display.
I even went to the in-house Sony Store and there were zero blu-ray players on display. There was a Playstation 3 setup with a Sony Ruby but the Sony rep said they had no Blu-Ray disks to use in it as it was only for playing sample games.

Is Blu-ray dead ?

Guess my Qualia still has a home.

Stew

It simply amazes me that so many stores, particularly this one you mention, don't understand the need for HD disc sources to properly show off the full capability of their equipment.

I can tell you that a great HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc played back on my fully calibrated Sony SRX-R110 on a Stewart 18' wide Snowmatte screen is capable of picture fidelity which can easily exceed that of an IMAX, even with a brand new bulb, which is rare!

Then again, any installations I've seen featuring this ultra high-end 4k projector have been just abysmal.

It's no wonder people turn to DLP. even though the SXRD technology has the potential to look much, much better in most areas. :confused:

Anyone ever had an issue, where the brightness of the picture flickered faintly no matter what channel or input.

I meant to check the bulb, and low and behold, there was pollen/dust blocking say 15% of the screen. Took the screen off, blew out the screen with compressed air, and put everything back.

There was a little flicker in the first 2 minutes, and it stopped after that. I'm hoping that this was either that or power noise...

Hope that's it... :)

i picked up the new sony bdp-s300 last night; haven't had the chance to install it/try it out and unfortunately, haven't had much time to frequent avs to find out what others are saying...sooooo, since i trust my fellow qualia owners, has anyone here used the s300 that can offer some comments?

i'll likely leave the ps3 connected to the pio plasma and connect the s300 to the qualia...

oh yeah, i picked up the new zektor mas7.1 which i plan on using to switch my ever-growing multi-channel analog output devices so i'll be using that to switch the s300 to the qualia.

tia

I can't speak for the Sony, but I have one of the first Pioneer 94HD's to hit the planet, have had it for a couple weeks now. I can tell you that it is absolutely stunning the PQ thru the D2 and into the beloved Qualia. I am loving the Dolby TrueHD support, and have been enjoying the Legends of Jazz BluRay disc and Superman Returns with DolbyTrueHD (a brand new exclusive disc for 94HD owners). I will try Ghost Rider this weekend, also in Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.

I HIGHLY recommend the 94HD to anyone looking for a Gen 2 BluRay player. It is everything I hoped for and way more.

-Brian

I can't speak for the Sony, but I have one of the first Pioneer 94HD's to hit the planet, have had it for a couple weeks now. I can tell you that it is absolutely stunning the PQ thru the D2 and into the beloved Qualia. I am loving the Dolby TrueHD support, and have been enjoying the Legends of Jazz BluRay disc and Superman Returns with DolbyTrueHD (a brand new exclusive disc for 94HD owners). I will try Ghost Rider this weekend, also in Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.

I HIGHLY recommend the 94HD to anyone looking for a Gen 2 BluRay player. It is everything I hoped for and way more.

-Brian

what's the msrp on the pio?

what's the msrp on the pio?

1000 bucks....but it has the greatest networking thing that lets you display photos, video's, play music etc off a windows server in the house...the Home Networking Feature has been HUGELY improved in this one over the original Pio HD1.

It plays CD's as well, unlike the first one. Not that I use it for that.

Brian

this is somewhat funny

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/staircase_tv_install_opens_up_small_room/

I'm now in the market for an large screen HDTV, and I've seen some people in this thread who have found some good deals on the Qualia in stores that still have them. Does anyone here have any ideas where I might find one in the Denver area? If I can't find one, I may have to settle for an XBR2.

TIA,

Steve

If I can't find one, I may have to settle for an XBR2.

TIA,

Steve

Steve - I can't help you find an 006. Please keep in mind that IF you do not find one you might want to wait for the 70" XBR5 coming out this fall for about 6k retail.
http://www.i4u.com/article9395.html

Good luck - the 006 is pretty special.

Many thank yous to WaldorfSalad! I actually managed to find one in Colorado! :)

Now I need to make a decision:

The unit is a floor model that has been in near continuous use for about the last year and a half. They think they are on the original lamp, and there is a small scratch on the glass.

I'm not terribly worried about the scratch - it is pretty hard to see unless you get right up on the glass and look at it at just the right angle.

I'm also not too worried about the lamp, that's easy to replace.

What I am worried about is the wear and tear to other parts of the set. Who knows how many short power cycles it's had, and while I don't worry too much about electronic components, I don't know about some of the display components - and that's a very expensive thing to fail.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it really just the lamp that ages badly, or do I need to consider other parts? Do I still jump on this one, or wait for an XBR5?

Any input is appreciated,

Steve

Well, you folks can add another 006 owner to the roster. My baby arrives on Friday. :cool:

Where did You find one ?

Found a clearance unit here in Houston, TX. Just happened to walk in and there it was in all of its qualia-licious glory! Last one there I'm afraid.

Well, you folks can add another 006 owner to the roster. My baby arrives on Friday. :cool:


Congratulations you are in for a great ride :D

Congratulations you are in for a great ride :D

...and like a real baby, it will keep you up at night.

P.S. No comment from TriviaGuy, please! :D

I can't wait! :D Got notification from UPS last night that my package from amazon (Read: my PS3 and 5th element (remastered)) is supposed to arrive tomorrow (the 18th) and that I have to be there to sign for it. Nice to get that call at 6:30 pm; how exactly am I supposed to arrange to be there? Gaaaah! They've been delivering early lately, so there's an extremely good chance I'll miss it. Wife is going out to dinner with friends, so she won't be home to get it. I might be able to get it tonight at the distribution center, if it gets back there before they close. How annoying!

I got the stand set up for it, wasn't able to find the one that was built for it easily, so I got a Deploy Max instead:

http://hiptop.bedope.com/pics/11846420054730EC3-0.jpg

I like the extra storage I've got. It'll come in handy for holding the PS3, Wii and maybe even my aging dreamcast.

Well, you folks can add another 006 owner to the roster. My baby arrives on Friday. :cool:

Congrats sleebus!

I'll be a 006 owner on Saturday when mine arrives. I snagged the last unit Ultimate Electronics had at any store in any state.

Now I just have to wait for Saturday to arrive.

Steve

Congrats sleebus!

I'll be a 006 owner on Saturday when mine arrives. I snagged the last unit Ultimate Electronics had at any store in any state.

Now I just have to wait for Saturday to arrive.

Steve


The army of elitist continues to grow. Congratulations Steve :D


PS: elitist is a reference from way back early on in this monster of a thread.

sleebus.jones,

Looks like you are all ready for the 006. The Blu-ray is going to go nicely with it.

There was a time in the 60's & 70's when I could have put that lava lamp on the stand, cranked up the stereo and been perfectly happy ;)

Lava lamp? OH, the humanity!

P.S. When will we see PM typing again?

sleebus.jones,

Looks like you are all ready for the 006. The Blu-ray is going to go nicely with it.

There was a time in the 60's & 70's when I could have put that lava lamp on the stand, cranked up the stereo and been perfectly happy ;)

Could any of you fine gentlemen please provide a download link to the 006's service manual? It would be greatly appreciated. :)

Could any of you fine gentlemen please provide a download link to the 006's service manual? It would be greatly appreciated. :)

Go to Page one for almost everything there is to know about the 006

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=498008&page=1&pp=30

Thanks for the pointer Stewman.

As I told you on the phone if you have the same problem as jb007. I see no hope in fixing this with adjustments of the TV itself.

steve8300 and jb007: Just how bluish are your blacks? A deep, inky blue is commonly considered in-spec. I assume that your 0IRE (darkest black) must be rendered somewhere in the realm of navy-blue for the OB to be considered defective. I'm just curious as to what shade/luminosity of blue you are actually experiencing due the aged polarizing filters?

Welcome aboard. Good to see some new blood especially considering how long they have had the Q mothballed for. I still love mine and I try to keep a pretty close eye on this thread to see how everyone is doing and what the latest toys are. For now I am giving the PS3 a decent workout as it seems the best solution for upscaling, blu-ray, and even gasp... playing video games! Also its pretty useful that they give away so much in the playstation store I get to try out a new game pretty often for free. In fact the sudoku freebie works very well.

So I finally got a stand for mine. I got the SU-RS51U stand and simply put a large piece of particle board in the slot where the footing goes for the XBR. The Qualia conciere said it would hold 260lbs so I figured it would hold the 006 without the speakers. My dad and I stood on it as a test and at nearly 400lbs bouncing on it it didnt really budge. I would have went for the 006 stand but I couldnt find it.

I am sure this has been covered, but there is no real way to search this thread other than to read all 446 pages. I have DirectTV and the HD box. Still waiting to get an HD DVR from them. I really dont understand this stuff very well. All this upconverting and upscaling just has me plain confused as I dont have the time to read about it. I know the 006 has a very powerful chip behind it to do this but I am just trying to figure out the best way to feed it the info. I am sure this is a dumb question, but should I have the HD box outputing at 1080i all the time or should I have it set to native resolution in the setup and let the 006 do its magic or am I completely lost?

I have been using my Xbox 360 to watch DVD's but it keeps breaking and I think but do not know a dedicated player would be better. I have been kicking around getting the Xbox HD DVD player. Is this xbox HD DVD player any good? The reviews I read said it wasnt all that great. Then do you have it output at 1080i and not worry about any upscaling/upconverting and you have a great picture?

I am also looking at a Harman Kardon DVD 37 to play DVD's because it is an upconverting DVD player thru HDMI. I have quite a few standard DVD's and am not really hot to go out and buy a bunch of HD DVD's so this seems like my more likely purchase. Is there a much better fit for a DVD player for the 006 that isnt $500 or is this H/K DVD 37 good enough?

My final dumb question of the day has to do with the bulb. I bought mine as a floor model and so did my dad. I havent checked my timer, but his said 7xxx hours. They claimed to have just replaced the bulb on his but the timer still says 7xxx hrs. Is there a way to tell if your bulb is getting weak?

Thanks for the help.

My opinion is if you have an HD source feeding the 006, then feed the 006 1080i over component or HDMI.

If you are feeding it from an upscaling DVD player, you need to determine which does the better job of upscaling, the 006 or the player. This is accomplished by watching the same DVD scenes and doing an A / B / C test with the DVD player set at 480i, 480p and 1080i. You may want to try this on several DVD's to see what looks best to you.

There are both HD DVD and Blu-ray players that also do a great job of playing and upscaling standard DVD's as well as playing the high definition movies. I have the Panny BD10 and the Tosh A2 and am happy with both.

If the store didn't reset the timer for the bulb, there really isn't a way to tell how many hours it has on it. If you pull the bulb and it has dust on it, then it hasn't been changed for awhile.

If you pull the bulb and it has dust on it, then it hasn't been changed for awhile.

Look at the filament of the bulb. If it is tinted charcoal black and is deeply pitted, there aren't many more hours to go.

Mini Dive with his new pet :D

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/MiniDivestickbug.jpg

So I finally got a stand for mine. I got the SU-RS51U stand and simply put a large piece of particle board in the slot where the footing goes for the XBR. The Qualia conciere said it would hold 260lbs so I figured it would hold the 006 without the speakers. My dad and I stood on it as a test and at nearly 400lbs bouncing on it it didnt really budge. I would have went for the 006 stand but I couldnt find it.

I am sure this has been covered, but there is no real way to search this thread other than to read all 446 pages. I have DirectTV and the HD box. Still waiting to get an HD DVR from them. I really dont understand this stuff very well. All this upconverting and upscaling just has me plain confused as I dont have the time to read about it. I know the 006 has a very powerful chip behind it to do this but I am just trying to figure out the best way to feed it the info. I am sure this is a dumb question, but should I have the HD box outputing at 1080i all the time or should I have it set to native resolution in the setup and let the 006 do its magic or am I completely lost?

I have been using my Xbox 360 to watch DVD's but it keeps breaking and I think but do not know a dedicated player would be better. I have been kicking around getting the Xbox HD DVD player. Is this xbox HD DVD player any good? The reviews I read said it wasnt all that great. Then do you have it output at 1080i and not worry about any upscaling/upconverting and you have a great picture?

I am also looking at a Harman Kardon DVD 37 to play DVD's because it is an upconverting DVD player thru HDMI. I have quite a few standard DVD's and am not really hot to go out and buy a bunch of HD DVD's so this seems like my more likely purchase. Is there a much better fit for a DVD player for the 006 that isnt $500 or is this H/K DVD 37 good enough?

My final dumb question of the day has to do with the bulb. I bought mine as a floor model and so did my dad. I havent checked my timer, but his said 7xxx hours. They claimed to have just replaced the bulb on his but the timer still says 7xxx hrs. Is there a way to tell if your bulb is getting weak?

Thanks for the help.

I have the XBOX 360 HD-DVD add-on drive and I send 1080i directly to the Qualia from the XBOX. The picture is outstanding, hard to argue with it for the 200 dollar charge. I will say that my Pioneer 94HD BluRay bests it by quite a bit for PQ, but then, the Pio was considerably more expensive. I have no regrets at all about the XBOX HD DVD drive, it is the only one i will probably ever own. And it's priced to move!

Brian

something was terribly wrong happened to my Q last night
I was watching a movie and about 10 min or less the power of my whole system shut off,I thought may be due to the hot weather and everybody was using air conditioner
so I ck the rest of the house and the rest of the house was fine
ck the circuit breaker and found the circuit breaker has tripped
reset it and after about a few min and triped again
disconnected the Q from the Monster power center and just ran the dvd player and the amp alone and was fine and has no problems with the circuit breaker
connected the Q to the wall outlet alone in the same circuit breaker circuit and it triped again after a few min
so I thought there must be a short or the Q has draw too much amp from the outlet and triped the breaker
I was worried that the Q was having problem after 2 years and was so disappointed
one last tried before I was going to sleep,I connected the Q to the other outlet with difference breaker and was fine and no problem for another hour
I never have any problem with that circuit before
Is the circuit breaker getting old ?
I noticed on my power center the voltage at that time has droped down to 117v,would that make any difference?
hope someone and share so ideas

camchow,

Household circuit breakers loose their rated values over time.

Considering that the breaker on the other circuit didn't trip, then the original breaker probably needs replacing.

I noticed on my power center the voltage at that time has droped down to 117v,would that make any difference?
I'm no electrician (not a pro, anyway ;)), but I think that's also an indicator that you're drawing a significant amount of current on that circuit. Not "a lot", but a significant amount. Combine that with an older breaker and I'm not surprised at your results. But something else may be wrong, because the Qualia shouldn't draw so much power that you're in the danger zone.

On my "computer room" circuit, my UPS is reading 112V right now! But I have 5 computers, two large monitors and a laser printer hooked up to accomplish that. The Qualia isn't that big of a power hog that a DVD player and an amp (unless it's a BIG amp) are enough to push it over the edge. For comparison, my Qualia shares its standard 15A circuit with a 170Wx7 amp, two TiVos, three game systems, HD-DVD, DVHS, and a 1500VA UPS. Never a trip in over two years.

But there are plenty of other things that could cause this, so if replacing that breaker in your box doesn't fix it, talk to an electrician.

--Dwayne

thank you so much for the info
did al lots of thinking and decided to ck all the basic
located the circuit breaker and removed the panel,there was a buzzeing noise from the breaker as I was flipping it I saw spark from the connector
I used a screw deiver to ck if the connection was lose and it was
tighten the connection
rehook up everything and watched it for an hour and was fine
noticed that amp that draw from the whole was only 5 amp
so I hope that was the problem
will watch more blu-ray tonight

Finally got it upstairs!

http://hiptop.bedope.com/pics/118507815610EBA60B-0.jpg

Still doing some tweaks to it, and I'm contemplating reading this thread (!). Great looking set. Looks even bigger in the house, which is OK by me! :cool:

Sleeb

Looks like I will pick up a Toshiba HD A2 and forget about all the other nonsense. Amazon has got em for like $240 shipped right now. HD DVD here I come. Now I just have to get Netflix to start sending me HD DVD's instead of the standard ones.

I am sure this has been covered, but there is no real way to search this thread other than to read all 446 pages. I have DirectTV and the HD box. Still waiting to get an HD DVR from them. I really dont understand this stuff very well. All this upconverting and upscaling just has me plain confused as I dont have the time to read about it. I know the 006 has a very powerful chip behind it to do this but I am just trying to figure out the best way to feed it the info. I am sure this is a dumb question, but should I have the HD box outputing at 1080i all the time or should I have it set to native resolution in the setup and let the 006 do its magic or am I completely lost?

Simply use your eyes to guide you. The DirecTV box may or may not internally upscale 480i/p/720p to 1080i as well as the 006. Do a PQ comparison between setting the box to output native res vs fixed 1080i. The better option will be blatantly obvious in terms of PQ.

I have been using my Xbox 360 to watch DVD's but it keeps breaking and I think but do not know a dedicated player would be better. I have been kicking around getting the Xbox HD DVD player. Is this xbox HD DVD player any good? The reviews I read said it wasnt all that great. Then do you have it output at 1080i and not worry about any upscaling/upconverting and you have a great picture?

Why?! First off the 360 is an _abysmal_ SD DVD player. With the HD DVD add-on, you will get only mediocre HD PQ. Buy a dedicated player such as the A2 for a superior experience (I own the old XA1). All of the stand alone HD DVD decks upscale SD DVDs exceptionally well and happen to be spectacular CD players also.

So I finally broke down and went to BB today and got a Tosh A2. I had em match the CC price of $238 plus tax. As soon as I got home I came on here to check the latest chatter. Sure enough one of the places on here has it for $199 w/free HDMI cable and no shipping. So back to BB I go and I ordered a A2 online. Sure I will have to wait a week but I dont even have any HD DVD's yet from Netflix.

I will be hooking this up through a NAD T163 with optical and HDMI to the 006. I may step up to the T175 when it comes out. Now here is the question should I go big and order the HD A20 for the better scaling chip for my vast SD DVD collection? Or am I not going to notice a difference?

I would ask these questions in the other forum, but it seems like I get better responses over here since everyone is using the 006 and that makes quite a bit of difference. (At least I am under that impression, but hey what do I know)

I'm using a PS3 as a dvd and when I slap SD DVD in there, the combination of the scaler in the PS3 + the 006 gives me as good of a result as I could hope for. No jaggies, smooth edges, etc. However, IMHO (like any other scaler) can't create fine detail. Yes, it looks great...prolly the best SD DVD can look, but it doesn't hold a candle to HD (but we know this :) ). I'm not sure if the money spent would be worth the result. After all, you are still working with a SD source.

0 1 <--- my two bits

Now here is the question should I go big and order the HD A20 for the better scaling chip for my vast SD DVD collection? Or am I not going to notice a difference?

The only difference between the A2 and A20 is that the A20 can output a 1080p signal, while the A2 maxes out at 1080i. They have the same processors, only the A2 is HDMI 1.1 vs 1.2 for the A20.

The 006 cannot accept 1080p via HDMI, so your optimal choice is a no brainer.

I read in the HD DVD section and I quote someone else on this.

"The A2 de-interlaces using the NEC decoder and scales using a software-based algorithm.

The A20 de-interlaces using the NEC decoder and scales using the ABT1018 chip"

So to me that means the A20 uses hardware to scale which is usually much better and the A2 uses software.

Does anyone have either of these players hooked up to there 006?

Since I am asking alot of questions here now. Does anyone have a 006 hooked up to there HTPC for watching HD movies that way? I am wondering how well that setup will work. And what should I have the video card dump the signal out at?

I have a fairly robust PC that I can hook up to my 006. E6600 chip, EVGA 8600GTS card and 2 gb of ram.

Since I am asking alot of questions here now. Does anyone have a 006 hooked up to there HTPC for watching HD movies that way? I am wondering how well that setup will work. And what should I have the video card dump the signal out at?

I have a fairly robust PC that I can hook up to my 006. E6600 chip, EVGA 8600GTS card and 2 gb of ram.

Care to share where you made your purchase ?

Care to share where you made your purchase ?


If your talking about the HTPC I bought the parts off of Newegg and built it myself. Cost about $1000 with a new 320 gb HDD and a Liteon DVD Burner.

If you are talking about the Tosh HD A2 I got it at Value Electronics, but I have been considering getting a A20 also/or instead, but I am trying to get the low down on the upconversion of the A20.

If your talking about the HTPC I bought the parts off of Newegg and built it myself. Cost about $1000 with a new 320 gb HDD and a Liteon DVD Burner.

If you are talking about the Tosh HD A2 I got it at Value Electronics, but I have been considering getting a A20 also/or instead, but I am trying to get the low down on the upconversion of the A20.


Check this out

http://www.ultimateavmag.com/hddiscplayers/507tosha20/index1.html



Additional information here
http://www.hometheaterblog.com/hometheater/2007/01/toshiba_hda2_re.html
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/05/11/toshiba-hd-a20-review/

Good reads stewman. That is quite interesting as those articles say the A2 does a better job of upconverting and the hd playback is almost identical from what I saw.

So I wonder what they are talking about in this thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=876906

Everyone seems to say the A20 does a better job of upconverting and also will do 1080p at 24fps. Which I guess does nothing for us. I also saw someone mention Staples has the A20 for $299. Hmmm I already ordered a A2 which is on backorder, but I keep second guessing my choice.

Hammer Time . . .


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/HammerTime.jpg

Im new here. Theres a thread for the qualia at outlaw audio in the saloon. Seems they bought the inventory and are selling these at a low price. If you are in the market this might be the place to go.

Hammer Time . . .



very nice dd...was that from your recent excursion?

very nice dd...was that from your recent excursion?

Thanks Ben, yes it was out at Cocos. I got lots of video, now all I have to do is figure out which new PC or MAC to get to handle the HD editing.

Here's another of my friends:


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/HammerheadPB.jpg

I got lots of video, now all I have to do is figure out which new PC or MAC to get to handle the HD editing.
That's an easy one: MacPro 8-core! (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=80177546&node=home/desktop/mac_pro)

That's an easy one: MacPro 8-core! (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=80177546&node=home/desktop/mac_pro)


The divers on the boat all had Mac laptops, except for one guy with a new HP PC (10 Mac's to 1 PC), that should say something. The National Geographic guy had some fabulous videos on his Mac that had been created with Final Cut. I have really been leaning toward a Mac Pro quad or dual quad and Final Cut Studio 2. I want to make sure Leopard supports Blu-ray. The rumors say it will. I want to burn Blu-ray at some point.

On the PC side I have been looking at a quad or dual quad with an upgrade to Premier Pro CS3 Premium Production and the Matrox RTX2 editing card http://www.videoguys.com/rtx2.html

I have been using Premier Pro with the Matrox RTX100 making DVD's and have been very happy with it, but I am really impressed with the Mac's. One guy on the trip already sent me a 12 minute video he put together using iMovie HD from footage he shot with his HC3. It was in SD, but looked very good.

Decisions, decisions and then there are the $$$ ;)

closer to navy blue with pixelization. sony will not repair or replace; still says nothing is wrong. was particularly bad on the tnt show "closer" on monday night.

The divers on the boat all had Mac laptops, except for one guy with a new HP PC (10 Mac's to 1 PC), that should say something. The National Geographic guy had some fabulous videos on his Mac that had been created with Final Cut. I have really been leaning toward a Mac Pro quad or dual quad and Final Cut Studio 2. I want to make sure Leopard supports Blu-ray. The rumors say it will. I want to burn Blu-ray at some point.

On the PC side I have been looking at a quad or dual quad with an upgrade to Premier Pro CS3 Premium Production and the Matrox RTX2 editing card http://www.videoguys.com/rtx2.html

I have been using Premier Pro with the Matrox RTX100 making DVD's and have been very happy with it, but I am really impressed with the Mac's. One guy on the trip already sent me a 12 minute video he put together using iMovie HD from footage he shot with his HC3. It was in SD, but looked very good.

Decisions, decisions and then there are the $$$ ;)

Once Leopard comes out, I am pulling the trigger on the dual quad-core Mac Pro with 8GB RAM and 3TB harddrive...that should allow me to get rid of 3 other machines, consolidate, use Parallels, and run Mac OSx, Win2003 Server, Vista, and FreeBSD simultaneously....mwahhhhhahahahahahhaaa....I sure hope they support BluRay officially soon...

Can't wait...total anhilation awaits!!!!

-Brian

Once Leopard comes out, I am pulling the trigger on the dual quad-core Mac Pro with 8GB RAM and 3TB harddrive...that should allow me to get rid of 3 other machines, consolidate, use Parallels, and run Mac OSx, Win2003 Server, Vista, and FreeBSD simultaneously....mwahhhhhahahahahahhaaa....I sure hope they support BluRay officially soon...

Can't wait...total anhilation awaits!!!!

-Brian
Brian,

You are my kind of Evil Genius. I'd been holding off on upgrading until they came out with the dual-QuadCore MacPro. I currently have 2x750GB internal drives and will add two more in a month or two. We also have a networked Infrant ReadyNAS+ with 2x1TB drives, and will max that out to 4x1TB down the road. Was tempted by the Infrant Repertoire but couldn't find any French women to ask for directions...

;)

The MacPro is a great machine, but I was stunned to find out I couldn't order it with a Blu-Ray internal drive. You can get internal Blu-Ray drives and burn BR discs, but there is currently no support for Hollywood Blu-Ray playback...

Brian,

You are my kind of Evil Genius. I'd been holding off on upgrading until they came out with the dual-QuadCore MacPro. I currently have 2x750GB internal drives and will add two more in a month or two. We also have a networked Infrant ReadyNAS+ with 2x1TB drives, and will max that out to 4x1TB down the road. Was tempted by the Infrant Repertoire but couldn't find any French women to ask for directions...

;)

The MacPro is a great machine, but I was stunned to find out I couldn't order it with a Blu-Ray internal drive. You can get internal Blu-Ray drives and burn BR discs, but there is currently no support for Hollywood Blu-Ray playback...

Infrant huh? I'll have to check that out...the storage issue is still a big question mark in my mind...I will have about 1TB of music, and want at least 1-2TB of space for other stuff....just haven't decided the best way to slice that yet. But the MacPro dual quad is a definite...I can't wait...

Cheers!!!!
Brian

Now this offering from Hitachi looks to be interesting to me...

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/02/hitachis-dz-bd70-and-30gb-dz-bd7h-hybrid-blu-ray-camcorders/

any of our resident vid/pic experts care to speculate on the quality of a hitachi cam? i don't think i've ever owned a single hitachi product so i have no experience...

tia

I just had my Qualia serviced... The Optical Core (block) was bad. My picture started to loose color and had a green tint to it in the middle of the TV... The repair company told me if it wasn't under warranty the part alone would have cost $4,500. The good news is it was still under warranty... The concen I have is that it runs out in January. I wish I had bought and extended warranty after going through this... I am now a little gun shy. Does Sony offer an extended waranty after purchase? I dobut it but jut was curious... If goes out again in a couple years I am sure the cost would be to high to fix and it would be replacement time.

Once Leopard comes out, I am pulling the trigger on the dual quad-core Mac Pro with 8GB RAM and 3TB harddrive...that should allow me to get rid of 3 other machines, consolidate, use Parallels, and run Mac OSx, Win2003 Server, Vista, and FreeBSD simultaneously....mwahhhhhahahahahahhaaa....I sure hope they support BluRay officially soon...

Can't wait...total anhilation awaits!!!!

-Brian


Brian and brt3,

You guys are killing me ;) I can see Mac Pro's in my dreams. I am hoping for some upgrades to the Pro by the time Leopard comes out. I am going to need a lot of storage for my video editing and am looking at some of these:

http://www.g-technology.com/Products/G-SATA.cfm

I just had my Qualia serviced... The Optical Core (block) was bad. My picture started to loose color and had a green tint to it in the middle of the TV... The repair company told me if it wasn't under warranty the part alone would have cost $4,500. The good news is it was still under warranty... The concen I have is that it runs out in January. I wish I had bought and extended warranty after going through this... I am now a little gun shy. Does Sony offer an extended waranty after purchase? I dobut it but jut was curious... If goes out again in a couple years I am sure the cost would be to high to fix and it would be replacement time.


If you come across a aftermarket extended warranty for the 006, please let us know. It is getting that time.

I do wonder about the supposed "double warranties" that most platinum cards offer. I have never actually tried to get those honored although I was careful to make sure I put my TV on one of those cards. Just a thought - anyone actually tried to use that benefit?

I just had my Qualia serviced... The Optical Core (block) was bad. My picture started to loose color and had a green tint to it in the middle of the TV... The repair company told me if it wasn't under warranty the part alone would have cost $4,500. The good news is it was still under warranty... The concen I have is that it runs out in January. I wish I had bought and extended warranty after going through this... I am now a little gun shy. Does Sony offer an extended waranty after purchase? I dobut it but jut was curious... If goes out again in a couple years I am sure the cost would be to high to fix and it would be replacement time.

Can you eloborate more on this green tint. My set was a floor model I got from tweeter and I am not sure the hours on it, but when I have it hooked up to my HD DirectTV box the picture is awesome. I just bought a Tosh HD A2 which ended up being DOA. What a bummer. Anyway when fiddling with it for awhile and it just not doing anything I had it hooked up to input 6's HDMI slot. I noticed that most of the screen had this greenish tint to it except for the upper left few inches of the corner of the Input 6 symbol. I thought this was really odd so I switched to some of the other inputs and maybe I have the input #'s mixed up now, but input 7's HDMI and input 4's component and they seemed fine. I am not sure if that particular input could be bad or what, but I have am a little nervous about having issues with my new to me set. Lucky the full warranty is intact.

Maybe I should just call the Qualia customer service and have them send someone out to look at it.

If you come across a aftermarket extended warranty for the 006, please let us know. It is getting that time.

When I got my 006 I also got an aftermarket GE warranty for 5 years STARTING after the Sony 3 year. So, I am covered for 8 years and it includes Lamps! I may still have the details here that I had PM'ed to many who asked. I also believe that you can call and get this plan even now as the Sony 3 year plan is still covering your set.

When I got my 006 I also got an aftermarket GE warranty for 5 years STARTING after the Sony 3 year. So, I am covered for 8 years and it includes Lamps! I may still have the details here that I had PM'ed to many who asked. I also believe that you can call and get this plan even now as the Sony 3 year plan is still covering your set.


I remember that now, thanks, I will check it out.

Oh boy, it is time to u/g my main AVR

Yamaha RX-Z11 (http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/receivers/yamaha-rx-z11-first-look)

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/receivers/yamaha-rx-z11-first-look/dsp-z11.jpg

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/receivers/yamaha-rx-z11-first-look/RXZ11back.jpg

Ben,

Two comments:

1) 11.2, you'll go deaf.

2) What does this bad boy cost?

:D :D :D

I saw that sucker too. I was wondering the same thing about the price. I am not up on alot of this stuff, but can yamaha build something that is competitive with the high end companies?

Also it looks like it doesnt matter which input I am using. I have a green tint in the upper left corner of my screen. I am concerned I need to have it fixed. I checked the hours on my bulb at it is at 54xx hrs and I believe the original bulb. I guess I need to give the Qualia customer support a call. Unless someone has any idea what else could be the issue.

On another note my HD A2 should show up next week with a copy of DVE. I am excited to try it out and get this thing set up a little better. Although it seems that someone caliberated it before as the default settings for some of the adjusters have been moved.

Ben,

Two comments:

1) 11.2, you'll go deaf.

2) What does this bad boy cost?

:D :D :D


I've currently got 9.2, what's another two speakers, rear presence speakers at that :)

I believe I remember seeing somewhere around $5K, which is what the previous flagship receiver (Z9, my current AVR), MSRP. Similar to the high end Denon. I got mine much cheaper, around $3K...it is a very nice piece of equipment, IMO.

This bad boy brings the HDMI goodness and the onboard HD audio decoding...I'll definitely be in for an u/g...hopefully sooner rather than later...beauty of it is, done properly, my wife will never notice the change-out ;)

I've currently got 9.2, what's another two speakers, rear presence speakers at that :)

I believe I remember seeing somewhere around $5K, which is what the previous flagship receiver (Z9, my current AVR), MSRP. Similar to the high end Denon. I got mine much cheaper, around $3K...it is a very nice piece of equipment, IMO.

This bad boy brings the HDMI goodness and the onboard HD audio decoding...I'll definitely be in for an u/g...hopefully sooner rather than later...beauty of it is, done properly, my wife will never notice the change-out ;)

Thats dirty!!! But I love the way you think. I do the same, but its hard to hide the new speakers. They are so big and noticable. Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Thats dirty!!! But I love the way you think. I do the same, but its hard to hide the new speakers. They are so big and noticable. Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

"What, those old things...they've been lying in the [garage/attic/shed]. I had them since I was [in college/a bachelor/younger]. I've been meaning to get them all cleaned up and installed and I finally got around to it. What do you think? I saved us money by not having to go out and buy new ones even though these are bit old now..."

:)

OK, I don't think my wife is that dumb either...speakers you just have to let her know who wears the pants in the house...or take Penton Man's approach and simply buy her something twice as expensive! :eek:

I have a Logitech 890, and I was trying to determine how to optimally configure my Q within it.

I go between watching TV, DVD's, Blueray, games, etc a lot during one session, and I fear that having the TV constantly turn off and then back on again for each new activity might be bad for the bulb or TV. Pre-Harmony, I just turned the TV on once at the beginning, switched between sources via my receiver, and then turned it off again at the end of the session. With the Harmony, it appears that I have to turn the TV off after leaving each activity or keep it constantly on.

Has anyone come up with a Harmony config that is good for the Q? I searched this thread, but haven't come up with anything that can really help me yet.

This might be a Harmony thread question, but other TV owners might not be as worried about taking care of their bulbs as we are.

I use the Harmony 676 but I am sure they program the same. When I set mine up, I remember that it asked about inputs, etc. On mine, it is smart enough to know that when the Q is already on, it does NOT cycle power. Once the Q is on when I go from DVD to Watch TV, it stays on. I did set some stuff up, but it dealt with leaving the Comcast DVR always on. You are using the Activity buttons, correct?


I have a Logitech 890, and I was trying to determine how to optimally configure my Q within it.

I go between watching TV, DVD's, Blueray, games, etc a lot during one session, and I fear that having the TV constantly turn off and then back on again for each new activity might be bad for the bulb or TV. Pre-Harmony, I just turned the TV on once at the beginning, switched between sources via my receiver, and then turned it off again at the end of the session. With the Harmony, it appears that I have to turn the TV off after leaving each activity or keep it constantly on.

Has anyone come up with a Harmony config that is good for the Q? I searched this thread, but haven't come up with anything that can really help me yet.

This might be a Harmony thread question, but other TV owners might not be as worried about taking care of their bulbs as we are.

I use the Harmony 676 but I am sure they program the same. When I set mine up, I remember that it asked about inputs, etc. On mine, it is smart enough to know that when the Q is already on, it does NOT cycle power. Once the Q is on when I go from DVD to Watch TV, it stays on. I did set some stuff up, but it dealt with leaving the Comcast DVR always on. You are using the Activity buttons, correct?


same here...i have a few different models of harmony remotes and all behave the same when switching between activities since it is a "state-based" remote...that is its primary beauty and power IMO. so for most of my activities, the receiver and the TV stay one since only the inputs change on those two devices...same goes for switchers now that i think about it...

just set up your activities on the harmony website and the rest is taken care of by the remote's logic.

Thanks, I got it working now and feel secure that it's not going to fry my bulb. I still need to get it to properly recognize all of my Dish PVR commands,,, but that is for another board.

On another Qualia note, I began to experience the same yellow blotchiness that thesirjay experienced ( http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7294967&highlight=yellow#post7294967 ) when my last bulb started to die. When I swapped to a new bulb the problem remained, but jay's solution of turning off power save mode fixed it.


I have a pretty sweet 5 year service contract from the dealer (it cost 500 bucks and I have already received four new bulbs from them with 3 years left to go), so I'm wondering if this is just a problem that I need to work around or is something that could get fixed by a service professional.

Glad my suggestion helped. Mine is really quite minor but of course being a Qualian nothing is too minor :). But it only shows up for me when I have an entirely white non-moving background (ie webpages) up on my computer. I have not been able to spot it for any other scenario. If you do decide to take the plunge I certainly wouldn't mind hearing what you find but for me I have to say that since it hasn't really changed over time and it is only appearing on computer use white screen (other static images don't show any color shift I can detect) I have decided to live with it. Btw wow 4 bulbs replaced I am impressed. I am still on my 1 free replacement (and I could probably pop the original back in if I am in a squeeze).

How are the rest of you doing on bulb counts? I have never even checked my lamp hours (got paranoid about going into service menu and perhaps tapping the wrong thing). By the time I got my lamp replacement Sony could care less how many hours it had on it.

Glad my suggestion helped. Mine is really quite minor but of course being a Qualian nothing is too minor :). But it only shows up for me when I have an entirely white non-moving background (ie webpages) up on my computer. I have not been able to spot it for any other scenario. If you do decide to take the plunge I certainly wouldn't mind hearing what you find but for me I have to say that since it hasn't really changed over time and it is only appearing on computer use white screen (other static images don't show any color shift I can detect) I have decided to live with it. Btw wow 4 bulbs replaced I am impressed. I am still on my 1 free replacement (and I could probably pop the original back in if I am in a squeeze).

How are the rest of you doing on bulb counts? I have never even checked my lamp hours (got paranoid about going into service menu and perhaps tapping the wrong thing). By the time I got my lamp replacement Sony could care less how many hours it had on it.

Checking the number of hours is simple and foolproof. If you follow the instructions you don't have to worry about screwing anything up. I replace the bulb every 1500 to 1800 hours as I see a noticeable drop in brightness about that time. It's like getting a new set when you change the bulb.

Since Xbr2s are clearance now, if you had a choice between choosing two floor models

1) a Qualia 006 70" for $3k and
2) Xbr2 70" for $3.7K (Qualia having many more lamp hours on it obviously)

Which would you select at this point? My main use will be gaming and xbox media center.

G

take the qualia; higher quality build, superior picture.
good luck.
dave

Since Xbr2s are clearance now, if you had a choice between choosing two floor models

1) a Qualia 006 70" for $3k and
2) Xbr2 70" for $3.7K (Qualia having many more lamp hours on it obviously)

Which would you select at this point? My main use will be gaming and xbox media center.

G

The Qualia has a reflective screen. Something to consider.

@

Hi all, it's been a LONG time since I checked out this forum. I've been too busy watching my 006 for the last 2.5 years. I was one of the first buyers, and it's still burning the original bulb! I've got a spare just in case. I continue to be extremely pleased with my Qualia, and consider it to be worth every penny I paid for it.

However, the color temperature has never pleased me, and it's finally time to do something about it. Even with the "warm" setting, the image is cold and slightly blu-ish. So after 2.5 years, I'm finally thinking about an ISF calibration. Does anyone know a good ISF guy in the Los Angeles area who could bring out the best in my 006?

Would I be wise to change the bulb NOW and let it cook in for awhile before calibrating, even though the original bulb is still OK? I guess I could ask the ISF guy that question before engaging his services.

Any idea about the cost of an ISF calibration in the LA area?

Finally, is there a way I can get to the service menus on my own and play with the settings a bit before hiring an expert? I work in TV production and I'm fairly savvy, but I don't know the secrets to getting into the service menus.

Thanks!

I think I'm going with the Qualia due to the superior picture quality. The reflective screen doesn't bother me.

Although I did notice one defect on the model I am going to buy:
there is a small dirt/dust mark on the opposite of the glass which reflects on the screen. Is this possible for an authorized Qualia service repairman to fix or is this a very expensive and/or involved process to remedy? Obviously, it's only noticeable against plain color backgrounds but I can see it bugging the hell out of me. I'm willing to overlook it for $3k. The only other vendor for this set that I know of (OutlawAudio) is selling it for $6.6K.

G

WOW!! Hello again colortv! I think the first post here has some info on the service menu.

Now that you are back...I wonder if Pentonman will be back soon?



Hi all, it's been a LONG time since I checked out this forum. I've been too busy watching my 006 for the last 2.5 years. I was one of the first buyers, and it's still burning the original bulb! I've got a spare just in case. I continue to be extremely pleased with my Qualia, and consider it to be worth every penny I paid for it.

However, the color temperature has never pleased me, and it's finally time to do something about it. Even with the "warm" setting, the image is cold and slightly blu-ish. So after 2.5 years, I'm finally thinking about an ISF calibration. Does anyone know a good ISF guy in the Los Angeles area who could bring out the best in my 006?

Would I be wise to change the bulb NOW and let it cook in for awhile before calibrating, even though the original bulb is still OK? I guess I could ask the ISF guy that question before engaging his services.

Any idea about the cost of an ISF calibration in the LA area?

Finally, is there a way I can get to the service menus on my own and play with the settings a bit before hiring an expert? I work in TV production and I'm fairly savvy, but I don't know the secrets to getting into the service menus.

Thanks!

Hi all, it's been a LONG time since I checked out this forum. I've been too busy watching my 006 for the last 2.5 years. I was one of the first buyers, and it's still burning the original bulb! I've got a spare just in case. I continue to be extremely pleased with my Qualia, and consider it to be worth every penny I paid for it.

However, the color temperature has never pleased me, and it's finally time to do something about it. Even with the "warm" setting, the image is cold and slightly blu-ish. So after 2.5 years, I'm finally thinking about an ISF calibration. Does anyone know a good ISF guy in the Los Angeles area who could bring out the best in my 006?

Would I be wise to change the bulb NOW and let it cook in for awhile before calibrating, even though the original bulb is still OK? I guess I could ask the ISF guy that question before engaging his services.

Any idea about the cost of an ISF calibration in the LA area?

Finally, is there a way I can get to the service menus on my own and play with the settings a bit before hiring an expert? I work in TV production and I'm fairly savvy, but I don't know the secrets to getting into the service menus.

Thanks!

I'll jump in here as well to say hellooo colorTV. I hope you are well.

I, and many other Q006 owners, have been extremely pleased with the results obtained after an ISF calibration by umr. (He has posted many times in this thread).

A quick look at umr's website http://www.accucal.org indicates he will be in Los Angeles on a calibration tour in November. I would highly recommend umr. He is a professional and a perfectionist that knows the Q006 well. He will take the time to get it right and explain any and all facets you care to learn about. On top of everything else, he is a really nice guy.

Good luck and welcome back. I hope you stay around for awhile and please report back whatever you decide to do, along with the results.

Regards,

jb007

Would I be wise to change the bulb NOW and let it cook in for awhile before calibrating, even though the original bulb is still OK? I guess I could ask the ISF guy that question before engaging his services.


Hi colortv,

I would think it would be best to put in a new bulb and let it burn for a couple of weeks. They are very bright at first. But it would be best to check with UMR to see what his suggestion is.

Don't be a stranger.

I think I'm going with the Qualia due to the superior picture quality. The reflective screen doesn't bother me.

Although I did notice one defect on the model I am going to buy:
there is a small dirt/dust mark on the opposite of the glass which reflects on the screen. Is this possible for an authorized Qualia service repairman to fix or is this a very expensive and/or involved process to remedy? Obviously, it's only noticeable against plain color backgrounds but I can see it bugging the hell out of me. I'm willing to overlook it for $3k. The only other vendor for this set that I know of (OutlawAudio) is selling it for $6.6K.

G

GuileMD,

The 006 is a great decision. :) Many of us have had ours for 2 1/2 years and love this TV very much. I would check to see if the dirt mark would be covered by the warranty.

I'll jump in here as well to say hellooo colorTV. I hope you are well.

I, and many other Q006 owners, have been extremely pleased with the results obtained after an ISF calibration by umr... he will be in Los Angeles on a calibration tour in November. I would highly recommend umr. He is a professional and a perfectionist that knows the Q006 well. He will take the time to get it right and explain any and all facets you care to learn about. On top of everything else, he is a really nice guy.

Back in living color(TV)! I couldn't agree more about Jeff/UMR; he just came to tune my Qualia (he ISF'd it last year) and was going to do a full ISF on my Panny 65" plasma. Darned thing wouldn't let him do what he needed in the service menus; even though he spent two hours here he wouldn't charge me because he felt he wasn't able to provide anything close to what he normally does. There are few people as honest or as easy to work with.

BTW, I am still on Bulb One as well. I just think the set keeps looking great, which Jeff confirmed. We also have some heavy-duty air filtration (for the allergic members of our household) so maybe I have less grunge accumulation on the lamp housing...

brt3,

I breath in all my air grunge ;)

Anyone seen this new Sony SXRD set http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665156111

It looks promising and adds some interesting features.

One other interesting point; on this page http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=565 the category title is: Rear Projection 50" to 80". Probably meaningless, but an 80-inch SXRD set -- if done right -- is getting into true Home Theater proportions...

Thanks guys, it's nice to be back.

I sent a message to umr at http://www.accucal.org to make a November calibration reservation. I asked him about installing the new bulb now to let it cook before his arrival in November versus continuing with the original bulb which has 1235 hours as of today 8/21/07. Since I'm not running VIVID mode and I use a power conditioner which feeds clean, relaible ac to the set, maybe the original bulb has a lot of life left in it. I'll go with umr's recommendation since he's going to do the tweak (I hope, assuming I can fit into his schedule).

Many of my friends have opted for the newest Sony XBR LCD's in varying sizes, and I rather like the look of them myself. But when friends stop by my house, they invariably say the big Qualia is the king. And not just beacuse of its huge size. All the LCD guys are sports fans, and the LCD lag is annoying.

Too bad our 006's can't be retrofitted for the new HDMI spec/1080p input. Without going WAY back into this thread, can you refresh me on how the new 1080p high def DVD formats look on the 006? Any serious negatives about the Qualia's 1080i HDMI when viewing 1080p sources?

Finally, is there any point of buying an aftermarket extended warranty? I know this is an arguable topic, but I have no doubt that a serious problem with the 006 could be very costly to repair. I assume Sony does not offer an extended warranty on the Qualia line at this point? I've never had the slightest problem with my 006, and hopefully never will.

Thanks guys, it's nice to be back.

I sent a message to umr at http://www.accucal.org to make a November calibration reservation. I asked him about installing the new bulb now to let it cook before his arrival in November versus continuing with the original bulb which has 1235 hours as of today 8/21/07. Since I'm not running VIVID mode and I use a power conditioner which feeds clean, relaible ac to the set, maybe the original bulb has a lot of life left in it. I'll go with umr's recommendation since he's going to do the tweak (I hope, assuming I can fit into his schedule).

Many of my friends have opted for the newest Sony XBR LCD's in varying sizes, and I rather like the look of them myself. But when friends stop by my house, they invariably say the big Qualia is the king. And not just beacuse of its huge size. All the LCD guys are sports fans, and the LCD lag is annoying.

Too bad our 006's can't be retrofitted for the new HDMI spec/1080p input. Without going WAY back into this thread, can you refresh me on how the new 1080p high def DVD formats look on the 006? Any serious negatives about the Qualia's 1080i HDMI when viewing 1080p sources?

Finally, is there any point of buying an aftermarket extended warranty? I know this is an arguable topic, but I have no doubt that a serious problem with the 006 could be very costly to repair. I assume Sony does not offer an extended warranty on the Qualia line at this point? I've never had the slightest problem with my 006, and hopefully never will.

FWIW, I have the new Pioneer 94HD BluRay player, and it looks absolutely amazing with 1080i output to the Qualia. I highly recommend this pricey, but great player (great networking features on it as well!). I happen to use an Anthem D2 pre/pro with built in Gennum video scaler/deinterlacer, but have tried the Pioneer direct to the Qualia as well and its very very hard to tell the difference with 1080 content. My standard setup now is to send Source Direct (native rez) from the Pio to the D2, which processes the signal and outputs 1080i/60 to the Qualia. Oftentimes, the source direct is outputing 1080p to the D2, other times 1080i, depending on the source material. The D2 normalizes things, converts everything to 1080i output, and the results are outstanding. I highly recommend the Legends of Jazz BluRay disc (1080i video and Dolby TrueHD audio) or the new Chris Botti BluRay disc (1080i vid and Uncompressed 5.1 channel PCM), if you're into jazz or concert material in general. They showcase the Qualia quite nicely actually :-)

I also have the HD-DVD add-on for the XBOX 360, I still use it occasionally, but not often. It looks very very good as well, and is directly connected to the Component in's on the Qualia, no processing at all. The Mission Impossible series looks great on the Q!

Hope some of this helps!
-Brian

...I asked him about installing the new bulb now to let it cook before his arrival in November versus continuing with the original bulb which has 1235 hours as of today 8/21/07. Since I'm not running VIVID mode and I use a power conditioner which feeds clean, relaible ac to the set, maybe the original bulb has a lot of life left in it. I'll go with umr's recommendation...
Pardon me if this is obvious, but I think the keys to bulb longevity are:
1. solid, reliable, filtered AC power -- my unit gets pure 120VAC and is well-isolated from powerline gremlins.
2. calibration that uses power-saving mode and/or something substantially less than "torch mode" (unless, or course, your room gets bright sunlight).
3. no sudden "on/off" events; if I ever turn the set on (for example, to set the TiVo to record something) I activate the sleep timer so that the set runs for a minimum of 30 minutes. This, IMHO, is more thermally stable than a quick on/off cycle...

ColorTV...When I got my Q006, way back..., I got a GE after market plan. I can send you a PM of the data that many others have requested. It also did cover Lamps as well! I believe it was for 5 years AFTER the Sony 3 years.


Thanks guys, it's nice to be back.

I sent a message to umr at http://www.accucal.org to make a November calibration reservation. I asked him about installing the new bulb now to let it cook before his arrival in November versus continuing with the original bulb which has 1235 hours as of today 8/21/07. Since I'm not running VIVID mode and I use a power conditioner which feeds clean, relaible ac to the set, maybe the original bulb has a lot of life left in it. I'll go with umr's recommendation since he's going to do the tweak (I hope, assuming I can fit into his schedule).

Many of my friends have opted for the newest Sony XBR LCD's in varying sizes, and I rather like the look of them myself. But when friends stop by my house, they invariably say the big Qualia is the king. And not just beacuse of its huge size. All the LCD guys are sports fans, and the LCD lag is annoying.

Too bad our 006's can't be retrofitted for the new HDMI spec/1080p input. Without going WAY back into this thread, can you refresh me on how the new 1080p high def DVD formats look on the 006? Any serious negatives about the Qualia's 1080i HDMI when viewing 1080p sources?

Finally, is there any point of buying an aftermarket extended warranty? I know this is an arguable topic, but I have no doubt that a serious problem with the 006 could be very costly to repair. I assume Sony does not offer an extended warranty on the Qualia line at this point? I've never had the slightest problem with my 006, and hopefully never will.

Without going WAY back into this thread, can you refresh me on how the new 1080p high def DVD formats look on the 006? Any serious negatives about the Qualia's 1080i HDMI when viewing 1080p sources?


I have the Panny BD10 Blu-ray and the Toshiba A2 HD DVD players and love the georgous HD picture on the 006.

brt,

I think that what I have learned lately wrt bulbs of the type that are in the Q is that when you don't run them at full power you are actually DECREASING their life, as odd as it may seem!!

colortv, i would recommend changing the bulb...many here have had their bulbs expire, or at least get very dim (and maybe that is what you are seeing when you say your color temperature is off) at around 2000 hrs...i can't see having umr calibrate only to change the bulb soon thereafter. JMO

colortv,

To echo divedude, I have a Pioneer BDP-94HD and a Toshiba HD-XA2 and BOTH look excellent on my UMR calibrated Qualia!

C-Dub006

Will the Tech Craft stand ptv72

http://www.tvauthority.com/Home-Theater-Furniture/TechCraft-PTV72.asp

work for the 006?

It's weight capacity is listed at 250 lbs but do they underspec these capacities?

G

Howdy-ho ColorTV, and welcome back!

I'll second (wait . . . 1, 2, 3 ...) fourth the recommendation for UMR. You can read about my experience with him here. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7656621#post7656621) I had asked him the "new bulb versus old bulb" question before calibrating, too, and his response was to just keep the current bulb because a new bulb isn't going to be significantly different in it's color output--just overall brightness--and that doesn't change the calibration. (I am since on my second bulb.)
Too bad our 006's can't be retrofitted for the new HDMI spec/1080p input. Without going WAY back into this thread, can you refresh me on how the new 1080p high def DVD formats look on the 006? Any serious negatives about the Qualia's 1080i HDMI when viewing 1080p sources?
As I mention in the above post, there's really no issue at all with 1080i vs. 1080p on the Qualia, because the Q does inverse telecine processing on film-based 1080i sources.

Are you still working on "AtJ"?

--Dwayne

P.S. For those keeping score, your Humble Historian will note that it's been almost 2 years and 4 months between ColorTV's last post (4-25-2005) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5531649#post5531649) and his first post on the previous page. That's 8488 posts in between, which is just over 63% of the entire content of this thread. Impressive, for the 9th most prolific poster at the time of the two-year anniversary of this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9516785#post9516785).

P.P.S. In the recent AVS upgrade, it appears that the "download this thread" option has been removed. This prevents me from using my Official Historian Jedi Powers to check the current stats. :(

Dwayne...so now how are you going to collect stats...and where did PentonMan go?

Dwayne... where did PentonMan go?
France?

The elusive PentonMan - where he goes nobody knows... except his american express card(tm) lol. So many directions to ask so little time :).

Quick question. The Q does NOT pass hdmi audio back out from its optical connection correct? I would feel a little silly if it did as I have assumed all these years that I need to run separate cables from all of my equipment into my receiver rather than just a single optical out from the tv to the receiver.

Originally Posted by mpsan
Dwayne... where did PentonMan go?

France?

Do you think he needed more directions :D;)

Originally Posted by mpsan
Dwayne... where did PentonMan go?

Do you think he needed more directions :D;)

So, do you think Mrs. PentonMan has a quota on asking (or is that Axing) for directions?

The elusive PentonMan - where he goes nobody knows... except his american express card(tm) lol. So many directions to ask so little time :).

Quick question. The Q does NOT pass hdmi audio back out from its optical connection correct? I would feel a little silly if it did as I have assumed all these years that I need to run separate cables from all of my equipment into my receiver rather than just a single optical out from the tv to the receiver.
right, the optical out is only for the audio originating from the Q's tuner...there must be some restrictions on separating the audio from the hdmi and splitting it off to s/pdif out as i haven't been able to find a single device that does this although it would be most useful for me :(

PM was recently seen posting in the "insider's thread" ... i think he spends much time on a blu-ray forum these days...

Color,

I miss your two avatars! Great to see you back. Don't be a stranger please.

Oh Yeah - UMR did my Q about a year ago and he did a fantastic job and I will agree that he is one great fellow indeed! I can't wait until I get my new reciever in Novemberish (Denon 5308CI) so I can have him back.

right, the optical out is only for the audio originating from the Q's tuner...there must be some restrictions on separating the audio from the hdmi and splitting it off to s/pdif out as i haven't been able to find a single device that does this although it would be most useful for me :(

PM was recently seen posting in the "insider's thread" ... i think he spends much time on a blu-ray forum these days...

Actually on my SXRD XBR1, I could use the audio out from the set to my receiver and still route the audio from my dvr which was connected by hdmi to the tv. But I would only get stereo signal sent from the set when playing the dvr input. OTA HD would send 5.1 fine, but only 2.0 would be relayed from the dvr. the optical from the dvr to my receiver sends 5.1 fine.

Actually on my SXRD XBR1, I could use the audio out from the set to my receiver and still route the audio from my dvr which was connected by hdmi to the tv. But I would only get stereo signal sent from the set when playing the dvr input. OTA HD would send 5.1 fine, but only 2.0 would be relayed from the dvr. the optical from the dvr to my receiver sends 5.1 fine.
i was only talking about the Q itself...not sure as to what the follow-on XBR models can do although it is great if they added to the features that the original Q has...

umr got back to me, a bit discouraging. I mentioned that I was happy with my audio setup, and I would not require his work on my Yamaha/Bose setup. It's not a pricey/exotic sound system, but I'm happy enough with it. Jeff responded that he doesn't do video-only calibrations outside his local area, and suggested that I find someone else to do the calibration.

"Kris,

Thank you for the inquiry.

Your existing lamp should be fine. It is probably at about 50% of its life.

I am not interested in working with your system if it does not include
calibration of a surround system. I do not work on video alone outside of
the Houston area.

I would suggest you contact someone else.

W. Jeff Meier
AccuCal - Audio & Video Calibration and Consulting"

His response seemed a bit harsh, but maybe I am misreading his tone. There is a Los Angeles-area ISF guy I'm considering as an alternate. He came recommended by 2 others. But reading through some of the posts here, it seems Jeff/umr is a decent fellow, and worth the expense. If his audio calibration will improve what I'm already pleased with, perhaps I should respond back to him and ask him to do the job in November.

it seems Jeff/umr is a decent fellow, and worth the expense. If his audio calibration will improve what I'm already pleased with, perhaps I should respond back to him and ask him to do the job in November.

Color,

I would go for it. He is really nice and maybe you caught him at a bad time.

Even though you are happy with the sound I think it is worth having him give it a once over. Not only should you be pleased with the result but he gives great advise about all things audio (and video). He draws from a massive amount of experience and can give you very good ideas as to what you might consider doing in the future regarding equipment, tv's, cables... You might find yourself excited about future upgrades that could improve your day-today pleasure.

Just my $.02

Ron

Color,

I would go for it. He is really nice and maybe you caught him at a bad time.

Even though you are happy with the sound I think it is worth having him give it a once over. Not only should you be pleased with the result but he gives great advise about all things audio (and video). He draws from a massive amount of experience and can give you very good ideas as to what you might consider doing in the future regarding equipment, tv's, cables... You might find yourself excited about future upgrades that could improve your day-today pleasure.

Just my $.02

Ron

Ron,

I had no intention of being harsh. However, it is my current business model to only work with complete home theaters outside of the Houston market. My personal goal has always been to deliver the best home theater experience for my clients possible. I believe my combined audio and video services deliver the highest value to my clients based on hundreds of these interactions. I also currently have about 5 to 10 times more work requests than I can satisfy outside of Houston. I use this as one of several methods to select clients. I personally find nothing nice or not nice about this, but I do believe it is the best use of my skills. This is a business after all. If I did not do things like this I would waste more time answering the phone and emails. Fewer people will also end up with a lower quality home theater experience. My time in a day is one of my resource constraints.

I will continue to service previous clients like yourself with only video or audio calibration work to maintain your system at peak performance because I believe this is what many people are looking for. I also believe that this type of service cannot easily be found in any market and it is the primary reason I am in this business.

Jeff,

Understood. The only reason I mentioned leaving the audio calibration out of my request for an appointment was because I don't have a pricey high end audio system. My Yamaha surround receiver and Bose speakers satisfy my needs, so I assumed there was no need to bother you with the chore of calibrating the audio. Since you offer complete home theater calibration, I'll benefit from your audio calibration as well. Hence, I have sent you a follow up email requesting an appointment if you have availability while in Los Angeles.

Ron,

I had no intention of being harsh.
I will continue to service previous clients like yourself with only video or audio calibration work to maintain your system at peak performance because I believe this is what many people are looking for.

Jeff,

I know your are a class act. Now that you got my audio up to snuff I personally would only consider both. I will get back to you when my Denon is closer to launch.

If you have time, I know you will enjoy Colortv. His posts of a couple years back indicated to all here that he is a well-rounded and enjoyable person to converse/deal with.

Still love my Q.

Jeff,

... If you have time, I know you will enjoy Colortv. His posts of a couple years back indicated to all here that he is a well-rounded and enjoyable person to converse/deal with...

I have no doubt that Jeff/umr is talented and well regarded, but he declined my request to bring him in for the full HT calibration while in Los Angeles, as quoted below. Perhaps he was offended, but not sure why he would be. Both of my email communications with him were in a professional and respectful tone. People who know me well will vouch for my respect and admiration for talented people, having worked for many years with top pros in the TV production field. That's partly why I have been successful myself - I don't fawn over pros, but I do value their expertise and don't hesitate to sing their praises for achieving excellence. Too bad that Jeff passed, but I respect his choice.

I'll post my experiences when my HT has been calibrated by another ISF guy. No doubt there are other experts in the field equally talented and pleasant to work with.

"Kris,

Thank for the offer, but I will pass.

W. Jeff Meier
AccuCal - Audio & Video Calibration and Consulting
www.accucalhd.com"

Sounds interesting: 70" Sony Bravia LCD, 120 fps/Hz, 10-bit processing, LED backlighting, and RF remote. Looks like a fun bit of kit...
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20070830/138511/

GuileMD I went with the sony SX-RSU51 or something stand for the XBR2. I was told it was rated to 250#'s and then just cut out a piece of MDF to sit in the footprint where the XBR2 would sit. The 006 covered it entirely and looks great on it. My dad and I both stood on the stand ~400#'s and shook it and it didnt break so I figure the 006 would be safe on it. YMMV.


On another note I noticed after reading an earlier post some greenish tint in my 006. A few days later my bulb died. Got a new bulb and it still was greenish. So the repair guy came out and put in a new optical block. Ouch $900 part. Lucky it is still under warranty. Looks amazing now with a new bulb and the new optical block. Now I just have to do a little self caliberation with DVE on HD DVD and hopefully it will look even better. BTW HD DVD is awesome on the 006. Simply amazing. We watched Miami Vice and it was very impressive. I did notice in the darker scenes some grain in the dark areas. Is this the transfer to HD DVD or something to do with the caliberation?

On another note I noticed after reading an earlier post some greenish tint in my 006. A few days later my bulb died. Got a new bulb and it still was greenish. So the repair guy came out and put in a new optical block. Ouch $900 part. Lucky it is still under warranty. Looks amazing now with a new bulb and the new optical block. Now I just have to do a little self caliberation with DVE on HD DVD and hopefully it will look even better. BTW HD DVD is awesome on the 006. Simply amazing. We watched Miami Vice and it was very impressive. I did notice in the darker scenes some grain in the dark areas. Is this the transfer to HD DVD or something to do with the caliberation?

Glad to hear you got your 006 back on its feet again :)

This reviewer agrees on the look of the movie:

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/miamivice2006.html

"The problem is video noise -- it's rampant throughout, especially in any remotely dark scene with subdued lighting. Blacks can also look flat and washed out, while whites bloom and smear frequently. Colors are well saturated, especially the steel blues of nighttime Miami, and lush greens and oranges in the daylight. Fleshtones are fine all things considered, but Mann often favors a slightly dour, reddish tint that left me cold. Overall depth and detail are good, but again that's in comparison to other shot-on-video material -- whatever HD format Mann used for 'Miami Vice,' it certainly can't compare to the depth and cleanliness of 35mm film or even Super35. In short, visually 'Miami Vice' just isn't my cup of tea."

My 006 was calibrated to perfection today by Glen Carter. He's a respected ISF guy in Southern California, and judging by his entertainment industry clients, has earned his excellent reputation.

I had no idea that so much improvement was possible with a calibration. Glen estimated 6 hours, but spent nearly 7 hours fine tuning all inputs on my Qualia using a combination of service menu and user settings.

My original bulb has about 1250 hours on it, and had shifted minus red. I've noticed muted and cool color the last few months due to the minus red condition. Glen not only corrected that problem, his tweaks made my set look as good or better than new. He patiently answered my questions, and we had some interesting discussions. Glen is worth every penny of his $400 fee, so I can heartily recommend him to HT enthusiasts in Southern California.

Glen Carter
http://www.isfht.com

My 006 was calibrated to perfection today by Glen Carter. He's a respected ISF guy in Southern California, and judging by his entertainment industry clients, has earned his excellent reputation.

I had no idea that so much improvement was possible with a calibration. Glen estimated 6 hours, but spent nearly 7 hours fine tuning all inputs on my Qualia using a combination of service menu and user settings.

My original bulb has about 1250 hours on it, and had shifted minus red. I've noticed muted and cool color the last few months due to the minus red condition. Glen not only corrected that problem, his tweaks made my set look as good or better than new. He patiently answered my questions, and we had some interesting discussions. Glen is worth every penny of his $400 fee, so I can heartily recommend him to HT enthusiasts in Southern California.

Glen Carter
http://www.isfht.com
that's interesting...glad you finally got someone to service your set.

now that the minus red condition has been corrected for the aging bulb, what will happen when/if you put a new bulb in?

that's interesting...glad you finally got someone to service your set.

now that the minus red condition has been corrected for the aging bulb, what will happen when/if you put a new bulb in?Generally the bulb change will not have that big of a difference. The bulbs change color dramatically in the first 100 hours, from there they are usually stable in color, just loose luminance. Once he does decide the change the bulb, the TV will still (in most cases) look better than it did when new. Once the new bulb is properly aged, I make a return visit to tweak the settings (reduced fee) and the all is good for another 1000 hours or more.

colortv, I appreciate your comments, it was a pleasure to do your calibration. It is really nice to have a customer that knows what a good picture is and what it should look like. Wish I had more like you, thanks again.

Certainly has gotten quiet lately. Anyone up to anything interesting? Alas life has been pretty boring lately in terms of tales of travel. The baby is definitely taking up a ton of time but in a very pleasant way.

Perhaps we need a minidive photo or 2 to bring things back into focus :).

Certainly has gotten quiet lately. Anyone up to anything interesting? Alas life has been pretty boring lately in terms of tales of travel. The baby is definitely taking up a ton of time but in a very pleasant way.

Perhaps we need a minidive photo or 2 to bring things back into focus :).


Well, our Q is off and we are taking the RV out to Pendleton and Joseph Oregon next week. Not very far...it is not like I need to even ask for "directions". :D

Off to Boston this week. Doing a conference (and bringing the family). Programming talk all week fun fun.

Well, our Q is off and we are taking the RV out to Pendleton and Joseph Oregon next week. Not very far...it is not like I need to even ask for "directions". :D
Well, we're "grounded" for awhile. My daughter just started high school and we sold our RV. So, it's back to conventional transport until the kid graduates...

We did drive through Oregon on the last leg of our Lap O' America -- from Anacortes back to NorCal. Coburg was a hoot -- there are more RVs there than there are Priuses in Marin County*...

A quick Qualian warning: I needed a simple HDMI switch and tried the Radiient unit. DOA, so it's back to the Zektor for me. I've used one of their DVI switches for years (eez strongk, like booll) and will order the new HDMI version tomorrow...

*[Marin County, just north of San Francisco, is Ground Zero for Political Correctness]

UPDATE: In all fairness to Radiient, I just got a call from one of their techs. They were very concerned, are rushing me a replacement, and are one of the founders of the HDMI standard. So, I'll see if the new unit works before rendering a verdict...

The 3 kids are back to school and I am pounding the Q watching many NFL games. Not sure which of the new shows are worthy of Tivoing. I heard Pushing Daisys and Gossip Girl are good though I'm not sure if they are my cup of tea.

Anyone hear of must-see new shows? I'll watch almost any type of show if it is done well. I refuse to watch them all before deciding which to watch as the season rolls on.

The 3 kids are back to school and I am pounding the Q watching many NFL games. Not sure which of the new shows are worthy of Tivoing. I heard Pushing Daisys and Gossip Girl are good though I'm not sure if they are my cup of tea.

Anyone hear of must-see new shows? I'll watch almost any type of show if it is done well. I refuse to watch them all before deciding which to watch as the season rolls on.
if you have HBO, i'm told that "tell me you love me" is a very "interesting" show to watch, especially side-by-side with your significant other ;)

i was in oregon the second to last week of august...very beautiful state...

if you have HBO, i'm told that "tell me you love me" is a very "interesting" show to watch, especially side-by-side with your significant other ;)

I'll have to check that one out Ben - thanks man!

By the way, everyone should check out Californication on Showtime HD...great show, twisted and crude, great sights, good stuff indeed...David Duchovny is so great, it's must see TV for guys...

Hope everybody's doing well.

-Brian

I shudder to admit it but I tried a 29 dollar hdmi switch from buy.com - the maker was joytech. It can be powered by usb or standard power cord. It actually works pretty darn well - it even has a infrared extender so I can have the actual unit hiding behind my stereo. It came with a remote but of course I just programmed the ole Harmony to do that work. Now I can have three of my hdmi items on input 6 and just the computer on input 7 (that way it doesn't need to swap inputs as much my Q is always a bit cranky about that when starting up).

Always scary to try such a cheap solution but I still haven't fallen in love with a great receiver that actually handles HDMI audio and I don't want to wrap a chunk of cash up in a switch.

I'll have to check that one out Ben - thanks man!

By the way, everyone should check out Californication on Showtime HD...great show, twisted and crude, great sights, good stuff indeed...David Duchovny is so great, it's must see TV for guys...

Hope everybody's doing well.

-Brian


Rated XXX. It comes on early so be careful with youngsters around.

It's truly amazing how far, down into the sewer, that tv has gone :D

WOW, I miss a couple of days and all you guys come to life. I have been busy setting up a couple of new computers here at home. One MAC and one PC. So far they seem to be getting along :rolleyes:

I got a new iMac 24" 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme and added 4GB of memory. I ordered Final Cut Studio 2 and plan to use this machine for video and HD editing. The display looks beautiful and delivers 1920 by 1200 resolution. I will be adding a few TB of external hard drives for capturing.

I haven't had much time to play with the iMac since I had to replace the PC that runs my outdoor video security system (6 cameras). I got one of the new Dell Vostros (XP Pro) with dual core 2.3 and 2GB of memory. I added a SATA 500GB capture drive, so I can save several weeks of security video. This guy's other job is to convert the Russ Martin radio show for 4 hours every afternoon to MP3 and archive it. The little Dell does a great job doing both at ~15% CPU.

I still have a lot of work to do this weekend - get a new KVM for my 4 computers, add a third UPS, add a new monitor, hook up a new set of HK Soundsticks II's, route cables and hook up my new Canon MP960 scanner/printer.

Santa made an early delivery this year.

When I get everything together, I will post a picture of it with Mini Dive. He is very helpful with running cables :D

By the way, everyone should check out Californication on Showtime HD...great show, twisted and crude, great sights, good stuff indeed...David Duchovny is so great, it's must see TV for guys...

Californication gives new meaning to X-Files ;)

Californication gives new meaning to X-Files ;)

HA! Indeed! Watched the latest one tonight, great stuff!!!! Damn I wish I wrote this show, insanely dead-on...

but i digress...

WOW, I miss a couple of days and all you guys come to life. I have been busy setting up a couple of new computers here at home. One MAC and one PC. So far they seem to be getting along :rolleyes:

I got a new iMac 24" 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme and added 4GB of memory. I ordered Final Cut Studio 2 and plan to use this machine for video and HD editing. The display looks beautiful and delivers 1920 by 1200 resolution. I will be adding a few TB of external hard drives for capturing.

I haven't had much time to play with the iMac since I had to replace the PC that runs my outdoor video security system (6 cameras). I got one of the new Dell Vostros (XP Pro) with dual core 2.3 and 2GB of memory. I added a SATA 500GB capture drive, so I can save several weeks of security video. This guy's other job is to convert the Russ Martin radio show for 4 hours every afternoon to MP3 and archive it. The little Dell does a great job doing both at ~15% CPU.

I still have a lot of work to do this weekend - get a new KVM for my 4 computers, add a third UPS, add a new monitor, hook up a new set of HK Soundsticks II's, route cables and hook up my new Canon MP960 scanner/printer.

Santa made an early delivery this year.

When I get everything together, I will post a picture of it with Mini Dive. He is very helpful with running cables :D
wow, sounds like you have a "compound" set up over there...have JA locked up in the basement by any chance? ;)

WOW, I miss a couple of days and all you guys come to life. I have been busy setting up a couple of new computers here at home. One MAC and one PC. So far they seem to be getting along :rolleyes:

I got a new iMac 24" 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme and added 4GB of memory. I ordered Final Cut Studio 2 and plan to use this machine for video and HD editing. The display looks beautiful and delivers 1920 by 1200 resolution. I will be adding a few TB of external hard drives for capturing.

I haven't had much time to play with the iMac since I had to replace the PC that runs my outdoor video security system (6 cameras). I got one of the new Dell Vostros (XP Pro) with dual core 2.3 and 2GB of memory. I added a SATA 500GB capture drive, so I can save several weeks of security video. This guy's other job is to convert the Russ Martin radio show for 4 hours every afternoon to MP3 and archive it. The little Dell does a great job doing both at ~15% CPU.

I still have a lot of work to do this weekend - get a new KVM for my 4 computers, add a third UPS, add a new monitor, hook up a new set of HK Soundsticks II's, route cables and hook up my new Canon MP960 scanner/printer.

Santa made an early delivery this year.

When I get everything together, I will post a picture of it with Mini Dive. He is very helpful with running cables :D

DiveDude, there must be something going around with us Qualians then...its funny you mention that...I'm in the middle of re-designing my bunker...errrr, office...right now as well. I'm waiting for the new MacPro's to come out late October with Leopard Server, and will be using VMWare to run WinXP, FreeBSD, Win2K3 Server for a combination work/play device :-) I'm getting the Netgear ReadyNAS external NAS box, with 2TB of space. My "Plan" is to use Quick Time Streaming Server within OSX Server to deliver a live broadcast to my entire extended family every month, let everybody catch up together on everybody's lives...I know it sounds goofy, but our clan is so spread out and many are older and it seems like a nice way to stay in touch. Basically, each family will deliver content to me (photos, slides, music, home movies, etc.) and I will multicast stream it to everyone after some basic reformatting and editing, etc. This machine will have 16GB of RAM, and will need every ounce of it for the multi-OS's, etc. I am waiting for the new Penryn Intel chips to land in Apple's hands late October, and of course Leopard Server, with the new built in RAID card, etc. But the redesign is under way right now, my goal is to have everything in place and done, and be enjoying it all, before Thanksgiving.

That's my plan for this fall! Requires me to dismantle (finally) 8 different machines, put most out to pasture, recompile others, rewire, reconfig KVM, get new Dell monitors (3 of the 24 inchers, what a bargain they are!). I will have a pretty nice set up when all is said and done...

God it's great not having kids yet :-) I'm building a system that will last me 10 years. Before you all laugh hysterically at that, I'm one of these guys that eeks out every bit of longevity from a system I can. I am still running a G3 from about 98, and it's coming up on 10 years for that system! I will bronze it when I'm all done!

Hope everyone is well,
Brian

Well, we're "grounded" for awhile. My daughter just started high school and we sold our RV. So, it's back to conventional transport until the kid graduates...

We did drive through Oregon on the last leg of our Lap O' America -- from Anacortes back to NorCal. Coburg was a hoot -- there are more RVs there than there are Priuses in Marin County*...

A quick Qualian warning: I needed a simple HDMI switch and tried the Radiient unit. DOA, so it's back to the Zektor for me. I've used one of their DVI switches for years (eez strongk, like booll) and will order the new HDMI version tomorrow...

*[Marin County, just north of San Francisco, is Ground Zero for Political Correctness]


Sorry you sold the RV. Our B is easy to drive, but wish it was a little bigger. But, when in an RV park, people with A's ask to see ours as they are tired of driving their A. I want a B with a 100 gallon Fresh water tank and 50 gallon black and grey tanks! :D

i was in oregon the second to last week of august...very beautiful state...


Yes, we have made a few trips here in the State even though we live in the Portland West Hills. Hope you got to see a lot of places! Too bad you did not get a chance to let me know you were here!

DiveDude, there must be something going around with us Qualians then...
I guess it's an illness. I added up our storage -- most of it of the NAS variety -- and we are approaching 6TB...
:eek:

I guess it's an illness. I added up our storage -- most of it of the NAS variety -- and we are approaching 6TB...
:eek:

Right now I have 3.5 TB and it won't be long until I up that to 5.5. I can remember when that would have been a few major Data Centers. I wonder how much Zechman has :eek:

Right now I have 3.5 TB and it won't be long until I up that to 5.5. I can remember when that would have been a few major Data Centers. I wonder how much Zechman has :eek:
The mind boggles...

Yes, we have made a few trips here in the State even though we live in the Portland West Hills. Hope you got to see a lot of places! Too bad you did not get a chance to let me know you were here!
had no idea there were fellow qualia owners in the state of OR ... i was in the Tualatin area...

had no idea there were fellow qualia owners in the state of OR ... i was in the Tualatin area...

Very close to us...up 217 to 26, or even from 5. Sorry I missed you.

Very close to us...up 217 to 26, or even from 5. Sorry I missed you.
same there...there's a good chance that i would be in the area again some time this year so i'll definitely drop you a line next time in advance!

Guys,

I just gotta share my excitement tonight, and I know you're just about the only folks who won't think I'm crazy! I just added an external eSATA drive to the Series3 Tivo, to give me another 500GB of storage! I went the super easy route and just bought the Western Digital DVR Expander thing.

I am so psyched to have the extra space, 100 hours of HD now! Just in time for the new season - it's great because now I have baseball playoffs coming (GO SOX!), NFL games, all the new shows for me and the better half, HD movies up the yin yang, etc. etc. etc.

I'll let ya know when I run out of space (might be soon at this pace!)...

Aright guys, have a GREAT night! I hope everyone is well.

-Brian

same there...there's a good chance that i would be in the area again some time this year so i'll definitely drop you a line next time in advance!

Great, my wife and I will be looking forward to it!

Guys,

I just gotta share my excitement tonight, and I know you're just about the only folks who won't think I'm crazy! I just added an external eSATA drive to the Series3 Tivo, to give me another 500GB of storage! I went the super easy route and just bought the Western Digital DVR Expander thing.



Brian,

I totally understand. With all the new shows coming out, there's not enough time to watch them all. And I am getting concerned about being able to record 3 at a time ;)

I spent the day at the State Fair of Texas and the big auto show. The big eye catcher of the show is the Dodge Challenger (to be released in Feb. 2008 ??)

http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/challenger.html

Here are some pictures I took with my cell that don't do it justice. Us old guys that had muscle cars got to love this.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Challenger12.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Challenger22.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Challenger32.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Challenger42.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/divedude/Challenger62.jpg

I own a Qualia 006 and the configurations in the Service Menu came with wrong para-metres. I woul apreciatte if someone could give the right configurations, especialy the
Itens 1 and 2(D9809PIC)
Thanks

Right now I have 3.5 TB and it won't be long until I up that to 5.5. I can remember when that would have been a few major Data Centers. I wonder how much Zechman has :eek:
The mind boggles...
Zechman's OWN mind boggles at the thought of counting it. I've got "spare" 300G drives on the shelf that have been replaced because they were too small!

When you get into working with HD Video (I shot about 6 hours of footage on the Hawaii vacation last year), there's just . . . never . . . enough . . . space.

And if I weren't unsure about what's going on with DirecTV, TiVo, and the new satellites, I'd have one of those 750GB drives in my HR10-250 already.

--Dwayne

Dwayne - I still love my HR10-250. It's sad that D* did not renew with Tivo. I would love to have Tivo in their new receivers. I would pay a real premium.

I can't believe that the HR10-250 sells for more now than what I paid when they first came out.

If you admit to having more than 7TB or so I am calling the electronics police!

HR10-250's forever ! ! !

I have 2 and D* is going to have to pry them out of my cold dead hands ;)

I have a couple of HR10-250's, one with an upgraded HD (I believe 500 gb) that I am no longer using, since I went to cable and the TiVo S3. Both are in excellent condition and in their original boxes, with remotes. I've been meaning to eBay or Craig's List them, but if any of you are interested, please PM me.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the new TV season on their Q006 :)

Has anyone tried an external video processor with the Q?

What do you think? Worth the cost? Improves picture quality?

Has anyone tried an external video processor with the Q?

What do you think? Worth the cost? Improves picture quality?

BTW, the HR10-250 rocks, still have one with 750GB internal drive upgrade and networked so I can telnet, ftp to it, install things, etc. The only satellite watching I do is for my beloved Green Bay Packers with Sunday ticket, but it does give me an excuse to keep the HR10-250 around - got some great content still on there from the old satellite-only days :-) I'm mostly a Tivo Series 3 guy now with Comcast as my weapon of choice.

So, nhey, yes, I use an outboard video processor in my Anthem D2 preamp/processor. It uses the Gennum VXP chip, same one Marantz uses in their top line projector. The nice part about the Anthem's use of it is that it is fully integrated into the product. You get all the video adjustment capabilities that the chip provides. I am hearing that many other mfg'ers are not giving the flexibility with the chip that Anthem has. So, I am VERY happy with the results. Especially for 480i or 1080i sources (DVD's, cable, satellite, some video files, etc.). The Gennum's deinterlacing is top notch indeed. The way the Gennum works, every source that is brought in to the D2 is immediately deinterlaced and/or scaled to 1080p, regardless of the chosen output. Then, a separate interlacer is responsible for producing the 1080i signal that of course the Qualia 006 needs. Although it sounds backwards to be taking an interlaced source, deinterlacing it properly, then sending it out as an interlaced signal, only to be deinterlaced by the Qualia, the results are really excellent. I suspect that it is the combination of the fact that the Gennum performs per pixel deinterlacing beautifully, and that the Q can as well. So, nothing is lost in the translation, even though there are a couple more maneuvers necessary because the Q won't accept 1080p.

I am not left wishing for more at all, in fact, I wouldn't be without my beloved D2. The video settings can be tweaked so much, it's insane, and calibration is recommended by a professional if you can. I had UMR do mine, and the results were great. We didn't tweak the D2 settings much for video, mainly because when properly calibrated the Qualia itself does a great job. But that said, it's very very nice to have unique per-input video adjustment settings when you need it.

Hope this helps a bit,
Brian

That's my plan for this fall! Requires me to dismantle (finally) 8 different machines, put most out to pasture, recompile others, rewire, reconfig KVM, get new Dell monitors (3 of the 24 inchers, what a bargain they are!). I will have a pretty nice set up when all is said and done...



Brian,

Before you get the Dell 24" monitors take a look at this. Seems to be a problem. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news.htm#2407wfp-hc_ghosting

I was thinking about getting one, now I am thinking about the LG L246WP.