I do have one more question What is a good HDMI cable to use with this TV AND my soon to be arriving Directv HD DVR. Nothing too expensive.

Check out monoprice.com. They have AMAZING deals on cables.

When I watch widescreen DVDs on my XBOX, there are bars on the top and bottom (the image is squashed...it's like double widescreen). I have set the XBOX to WIDESCREEN, and the plasma is set to 16:9. Is this just an XBOX issue or a plasma issue?

All 16:9's are widescreen, yet not all widescreen formatting is 16:9.

There are MANY different aspect ratios used by movie studios and television programming. Not sure the history behind it, but TV's were decided to be made in 16:9. This means if the aspect ratio is greater, you will have black bars beneath and above your picture, if it is less, you will have black bars on left and right.

I do have one more question What is a good HDMI cable to use with this TV AND my soon to be arriving Directv HD DVR. Nothing too expensive.

shootsnscores - I would not worry about using a HDMI cable with the D* 10-250..... as I mentioned a few posts ago, there is a HUGE problem with this connection not working on with these receivers. You can read more about this on the Tivo Community Forums Only about 10% of the people using it have no touble at all.... with odds like that, I would try the stock HDMI cable that comes with the 10-250 receiver first.... If that works and stays working for a while then you can invest in a better cable, otherwise save your money. :D

Hope this helps!!!

Follow-up to my post. First, as to HDMI to DVI, as noted above, check out monoprices. Just received my cable today (Monday) and ordered it on Friday. Very fast shipping using the cheapest method (USPS). Cost and item: #1916 Certified HDMI DVI Cable 28AWG - 6ft (Gold Plated) $6.44. Shipping was $2.85 I think. Cable works great so far.

As to sound issue, I figured that out. Had to go deep into menus on STB, but got it working. Sound is not that great out of the speakers, FYI.

And after hooking up HDMI, green tint issue is better, but not completely gone yet. Still will do some tinkering on settings.

Would definitely buy again!!!

Whoops!! Forgot to mention buzz noise from set. Measured at the back of the set, where the sound is located (if looking at the back of the set, it is the upper left). Put my sound meter about 1/2 inch from set closest to buzz source. Measured 51db. Moved sound meter to front of set, about 1" away. Could not detect buzz. Same result 1 foot away. When I have set off, in a church quiet house, about 1 foot away in front, I can't hear it at all. In fact, in quiet house standing 1 foot away from set, you can't hear it period. So, although I mentioned it, it is a non-issue because at least on my set. you will never hear it unless you are closer than one foot watching the back of the set (isn't the picture on the front of the set anyway?) :)) FYI.

I took the lunge and bought it from my local Costco.

I have a standard SD reciever so I lke to watch 4:3.
Each time I power cycle the monitor
the aspect ratio reverts back to 16:9. Is there a way to fix that..???

It is kind of irritating. Since I am new to this forum/thread/HD, I would
appreciate if somebody could point me to what is the "AVIA"
and how long does the burn-in period last..?
What are the optimum settings during this burn-in period..??

What's the max brightness & contrast I should be setting this set on to prevent burnin? I still want good picture. I currently have it at 70 contrast and 55 brightness, is this below danger levels?

I took the lunge and bought it from my local Costco.

I have a standard SD reciever so I lke to watch 4:3.
Each time I power cycle the monitor
the aspect ratio reverts back to 16:9. Is there a way to fix that..???

This may be a bug. My HD receiver takes care of the stretching/pillarboxing so I haven't tried the SD inputs, but others have mentioned how it reverts to 16:9.

I would
appreciate if somebody could point me to what is the "AVIA"

It's a DVD used to calibrate your TV set.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/630551982X/102-7751052-3458505?v=glance

and how long does the burn-in period last..?

most recommend about 100 hours

what are the optimum settings during this burn-in period..??

keep the brightness and contrast down, use image shift, and be careful with static images on the screen, pillarboxing/letterboxing, and gaming.

What's the max brightness & contrast I should be setting this set on to prevent burnin? I still want good picture. I currently have it at 70 contrast and 55 brightness, is this below danger levels?

Those are about the settings I got after calibrating, but I turned them down to be on the safe side (contrast to 50 and brightness to 45)

everytime I push the display button, it says 1080i, even if it is a sd channel. I guess its just looking at the input (component) and seeing 1080i. Its not telling me what the actual signal coming through is. Am I doing something wrong?

I'm on Cablevision in NJ. Analog channels suck, digital channels are very good, and hd channels are out of this world!

goMO-your box from Cablevision, probably the SA4200HD, was set by your installer to put out a 1080i signal for every channel. Your box is upconverting the SD channels. You have to reset the box to something like "pas through." You can do that on your remote (if the box is the sa4200) by hitting the "settings" button once or twice and scrolling to the appropriate setting. You can also do it via the box.

ok, thanks! but I think my box is the 8300. but I'll try it anyway.

when I hit "settings" twice, I do get another menu. One of the options is "picture format mode" and the options are 1) fixed (this was the default setting), 2) Pass-Through 3) Upconvert-1, and 4) Upconvert-2.

so what does each mean, and what should I have it set at? there doesn't seem to be any explainations...

thanks!!

when I hit "settings" twice, I do get another menu. One of the options is "picture format mode" and the options are 1) fixed (this was the default setting), 2) Pass-Through 3) Upconvert-1, and 4) Upconvert-2.

For me, the best picture came through with I set the cable box to Pass-Through. I'm sure there is a more technical explanation, but it seemed that the box was processing/converting the signal and then passing it on to the TV, which was also processing/converting the signal. It just seemed to 'make sense' that one or the other side handles the processing/conversion, but not both.

I saw the greatest improvement on the SD channels, when I switched to Pass-Through on the cable box.

when I hit "settings" twice, I do get another menu. One of the options is "picture format mode" and the options are 1) fixed (this was the default setting), 2) Pass-Through 3) Upconvert-1, and 4) Upconvert-2.

so what does each mean, and what should I have it set at? there doesn't seem to be any explainations...

thanks!!

goMO, you need to re-setup the 8300 to enable all the resolutions or the passthrough won't work.
Turn the TV off and go to box and press "info" and "guide" at the same time. Turn the TV on and do the advanced setup and enable all resolutions (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, etc). Then the settings menu options will work correctly. See the Cablevision group (http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/cablevision_digital/) group for more info. Lots of people there using that specific box.

As far as what looks better, that's a matter of personal preference. Some people let it convert everything to 1080i, some leave it at 720p, and some pass everything through and let the TV do the upconverting.

Excellent!!! I was able to program my Scientific Atlanta Cable Box remote using one of the three Sampo codes listed in their remote manual.

I didn't try anything other than power and volume, but that's all I pretty much need. If I want to do anything else, I'll just grab the original remote from out of the drawer!

Thanks Shiba1!! :)

Darn, that didn't work for me.
In any case my cable co., Champion, is coming out tomorrow with my HD-DVR box, hopefully that will have a smarter remote!

All 16:9's are widescreen, yet not all widescreen formatting is 16:9.
There are MANY different aspect ratios used by movie studios and television programming. Not sure the history behind it, but TV's were decided to be made in 16:9. This means if the aspect ratio is greater, you will have black bars beneath and above your picture, if it is less, you will have black bars on left and right.

My question is, why didn't they offer Panorama, Zoom 1, and Zoom 2 for digital source pictures as well? Those modes are the most natural but are not available for HDMI or component input.

Interesting. I thought the coupon stated that it was limited to supply on hand.

Actually, it says, and I quote, "A raincheck may be issued if the promotional item is out of stock during the term of the promotion."

Anyway, it's too late now, the promotional term is over. But it's good to know the rules of the Passport coupons. :D

thanks for the info, Chris!! I'll take a look at that later when I get home.

Sorry to take the thread off-topic...


and yes, it makes no sense for the tv not to have the different modes available. I'm using component now, and will be switching to HDMI as soon as the cable arrives (hopefully today). Is there a service menu or something that this can be changed in? Has anyone talked to Maxent about this?

It really bothers me to watch something in a "stretch" mode. My wife and kids have no problem with it, and prefer it, but I can't stand it. I wouldn't mind zooming, so at least the aspect ratio stays right...

Ive been asking for a few days which dvd player would compliment this set. Well today I bought El CHeapo TOSHIBA SDK750 progressive Scan @ Costco. Hooked it Up using #year old component. Looks Good in 480i but when I switch the DVD player to 480 P. The TV SAYS ITS RECIEVING 480p but it the picture keeps flickering and wont handle it. Is it my cheap $50 Dvd player or the cables Or the Tv. Its kinda got me worried I hope its not an issue with TV for OTA 720p In Football games. What should I do. Ill try the other DVD player @ costco which is some sony brand progessive scan and pick up component cables.

Shootsnscores-

I did the same as you, bought the Maxent 42 and the cheep Toshiba at Costco. Couldn't tell you why you are having your problems, but I was able to switch to 480p and didn't have a problem. Maybe it was just a bad DVD player.

I bought one of these this past weekend.. Got the last one! Woohoo!

It's fantastic! I had recorded Harry Potter and the Prosoner of Azkaban in HD on my Comcast DVR last month when it was being shown on HBO. I finally got to watch it in all it's glory when I hooked up the Maxent.. Unbelievable! There is so much detail in all those dark scenes.. detail lost on my LCD in the bedroom.

I'm not sure what everybody's gripe is with stretching SD. I have my Comcast box (Moto 6412) set to keep SD sources at 4:3 and the picture is really great. I measured the 4:3 picture and it's 35 inches diagonal! How much bigger do you want it? And at 4:3 I much prefer the proper aspect ratio. Oh well.. to each his/her own, I guess.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the speakers. (I don't use my surround system when watching regular TV.) They seem ok, but a bit bassy sometimes.. hard to understand speach sometimes. I gotta play with the settings some more.

Overall, I am completely satisfied with my purchase.. and when I took the wife in to look at it, she compared the picture (and the price) to the Pioneer and others right next to it and she said : "Buy it!" Who am I to argue, huh? :D

Jerry

speaking of speakers ;) I really wish these were detachable. I'm using a a/v receiver and have 5.1 setup in the room. I don't even know if the speakers work!!

as for the stretched sd content, like i said, my family loves it. i hate it. but they think they're getting gipped if they don't get a whole screenfull of image! They really dislike the grey sidebars (and I'm not a big fan of them either, wish they could be black)

oh well, it is still a great deal and a great picture! and that is the most important thing...

Yes, same feeling here.
The 16:9 SD stretched mode looks weird, all the people look like they've lost height and put on 30 pounds. My favorite is the Panorama, but as I said before, for some reason they left it out if you're using HDMI or component. Most of the time you're watching the center of the screen anyway and won't notice the distortion.

My cable HD DVR is getting installed today and hopefully it will have the software to do this.

speaking of speakers ;) I really wish these were detachable. I'm using a a/v receiver and have 5.1 setup in the room. I don't even know if the speakers work!!

as for the stretched sd content, like i said, my family loves it. i hate it. but they think they're getting gipped if they don't get a whole screenfull of image! They really dislike the grey sidebars (and I'm not a big fan of them either, wish they could be black)

oh well, it is still a great deal and a great picture! and that is the most important thing...

My favorite is the Panorama

Do I have a bad set? I've seen this comment a few times, and the stretching on mine is comparable to a fun house mirror. It's really distracting if anyone moves at all. Although, it does add quite a bit of amusement to scenes where people walk across a room.

Detachable speakers would be sweet. But then so would a black housing. But at the price, I can deal.

No, you have a standard set.

Yes, it's like a fun house mirror. The thing I noticed is that we're usually focused on the middle 70% of the screen, so the sides are barely noticeable. Granted if you follow the person across the screen it's pretty weird, but most of the time the cameraman trains it on the subject and follows them around.

The creepy crawler texts are a little weird to get used to, almost like the text crawlers you see in Time Square cuz of the distortion. :p

Do I have a bad set? I've seen this comment a few times, and the stretching on mine is comparable to a fun house mirror. It's really distracting if anyone moves at all. Although, it does add quite a bit of amusement to scenes where people walk across a room.

Detachable speakers would be sweet. But then so would a black housing. But at the price, I can deal.

Do I have a bad set? I've seen this comment a few times, and the stretching on mine is comparable to a fun house mirror. It's really distracting if anyone moves at all. Although, it does add quite a bit of amusement to scenes where people walk across a room.

Detachable speakers would be sweet. But then so would a black housing. But at the price, I can deal.

Yea the panorama is very distracting to me also. My HD receiver has a zoom function where it only slightly stretches wide, and then crops a little off the top and bottom. That is pleasing to the eye and most people don't realize the top and bottom is clipped a little.

They really dislike the grey sidebars (and I'm not a big fan of them either, wish they could be black)

The grey bars are actually good for your plasma. If you watch a pillarboxed image all the time with black bars on the sides, you can wear out the middle of your screen more than the sides. The grey bars help to wear everything equally.

Does anyone know if this unit is HDCP compliant? Didn't see it in the manual.

Does anyone know if this unit is HDCP compliant? Didn't see it in the manual.

Yes it is.

http://www.maxentusa.com/_coreModules/eShopping/productDetail.aspx?productMasterID=21

Whoops!! Forgot to mention buzz noise from set. Measured at the back of the set, where the sound is located (if looking at the back of the set, it is the upper left). Put my sound meter about 1/2 inch from set closest to buzz source. Measured 51db. Moved sound meter to front of set, about 1" away. Could not detect buzz. Same result 1 foot away. When I have set off, in a church quiet house, about 1 foot away in front, I can't hear it at all. In fact, in quiet house standing 1 foot away from set, you can't hear it period. So, although I mentioned it, it is a non-issue because at least on my set. you will never hear it unless you are closer than one foot watching the back of the set (isn't the picture on the front of the set anyway?) :)) FYI.


I think my buzzing noise is more pronounced because my TV is set up near the wall in an area where echos are produced. I read in a Maxent FAQ that the electrical buzzing noise is normal and can be expected to be louder if near a wall.

Does anyone play video games on this screen? Any issues with refresh rate or loss of detail in high activity scenes?

Ok I actually just tried moving my TV away from the wall and into the center of the room to see if it reduced the buzzing but it didn't. So I may still have a defective set. Nothing is wrong with the TV picture or sound. I just have that annoying buzzing.

Whoops!! Forgot to mention buzz noise from set. Measured at the back of the set, where the sound is located (if looking at the back of the set, it is the upper left). Put my sound meter about 1/2 inch from set closest to buzz source. Measured 51db. Moved sound meter to front of set, about 1" away. Could not detect buzz. Same result 1 foot away. When I have set off, in a church quiet house, about 1 foot away in front, I can't hear it at all. In fact, in quiet house standing 1 foot away from set, you can't hear it period. So, although I mentioned it, it is a non-issue because at least on my set. you will never hear it unless you are closer than one foot watching the back of the set (isn't the picture on the front of the set anyway?) :)) FYI.


Why would you hear it with the set off? I only hear the buzzing when my set is on.

Ok I actually just tried moving my TV away from the wall and into the center of the room to see if it reduced the buzzing but it didn't. So I may still have a defective set. Nothing is wrong with the TV picture or sound. I just have that annoying buzzing.

Yea, time to drive back to Costco :(

The grey bars are actually good for your plasma. If you watch a pillarboxed image all the time with black bars on the sides, you can wear out the middle of your screen more than the sides. The grey bars help to wear everything equally.

OK, Champion Broadband brought out a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR box. It solves several problems:
1. Remote now works after I used the Sampo code! Yippie!
2. SDTV looks much better through the DVR, it upconverts to 1080i and most of the ditherization went away. Pictures are much sharper than S-Video.
3. Can record using the DVR functions now.

Downsides:
1. Limited zoom now (they connected through the component cables). I asked Champion why not HDMI, they said the cable's too expensive, I'm welcome to buy it myself if I wanted... So you get Normal, Stretch, Zoom 1, and Zoom 2. Stretch is like the Maxent native 16:9, Zoom 1 cuts off the top and bottom and fills the screen (you lose most of text crawlers, top line, logos get cut off), Zoom 2 is just Zoom 1 except higher magnification.
2. No way to skip commercials, what's up with that? Un-Tivo-esque.

Anyone with more experience on the 8300HD care to teach me the tricks? Thanks. :)

Has anyone figured out the remote code for the Maxent MX-42X3? I would like to program my Dish remote to manage the monitor.

Does anyone play video games on this screen? Any issues with refresh rate or loss of detail in high activity scenes?

I have my XBOX hooked up and it looks SPECTACULAR, especially 720p games like AMPED 2 (which I only play for eye candy). No issues with refresh or loss of detail at all. I wasn't even aware that plasmas had those issues, I always thought that was an LCD thing.

fyi, on the maxent website, it says that the various zoom modes are available on 480i (sd) content through component cables.

Has anyone verified this?

fyi, on the maxent website, it says that the various zoom modes are available on 480i (sd) content through component cables.

Has anyone verified this?

None of the zoom modes work through the components.

I really think that this is probably going to be an easy service mode hack, once we figure it out.

fyi, on the maxent website, it says that the various zoom modes are available on 480i (sd) content through component cables.

Has anyone verified this?

Doesn't work.
Only through the analog video jack or S-Video.

The only SD zoom mode available through the component cable is 16:9 (stretch). The other mode is Standard. This is a major deficiency I think.

Has anyone figured out the remote code for the Maxent MX-42X3? I would like to program my Dish remote to manage the monitor.

Don't know about the Dish, but for the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD it is the last code listed for Sampo TV, "1191." Works for power on and volume, but a weird result on the Input (only changes to S-Video but not back to component). Maxent/Regent is the US affiliate of Sampo, a Taiwanese company. Look in your Dish manual to find the appropriate code.

maybe the zoom modes are available through component if you let the box pass-through the native resolution, as opposed to upscaling everything to 1080i. Right now, my SA8300HD box outputs everything at 1080i, so the zoom features would not be available. But if I reprogram the box to let everything pass-through its native resolution, maybe then it will work???

On a related note, seneschal wrote above that his sd picture looks better through the 8300 upconverting rather than using S-video. I wonder if the upconverting by the 8300 is better than passing through native resolution and having the tv upconvert. Any opinions??

one more issue (unless its been raised already) - it looks like this thing will NOT pass 5.1 audio out. It only has a hdmi input, no digital audio inputs (the rca or the toslink).

I was going to try to get by using cabelvision's dvr remote, but my sound goes straight to the receiver, not through the tv. if i wanted to go through the tv to use its volume control on the remote, i'd lose the 5.1 digital back to the receiver. that's not great...

I'm very happy with the Maxent. I was using the standard settings out of the box until I read about burn-in. I used Avia (first time) and my settings were high. Being concerned about burn-in, I used settings offered up in this forum. Since then, I haven't been able to get a good picture. I'm just curious what settings everyone in using to accomplish both a) limiting exposure to burn-in and b)getting an awesome picture.

I'm using D* HD box (soon to be replaced with 10-250), Zenith 318 and xBox.

The only thing that would make me happier would be more inputs. 1 HDMI and 2 Component is not enough. Right now, I'm swapping cables between the DVD and the D* receiver -- since the xBox is taking up the other component input.

Is it possible to use DVI-HDMI and send the sound from my D* box through RCA cables to the Maxent? This point will probably be moot once I switch to D* 10-250

Thanks for your insight.

uh, its "moot", not "mute". no biggie.



(yes i get a little a-retentive with that word - don't know why, but I can't afford therapy to figure it out:)

Thank you. I found the Sampo codes (11 of them). I will attempt to program the remote when I get home tonight; I'm still at work...

sampco codes didn't work on my cablevision remote :(

Comcast "on demand" remote with PVR controls.. (damn ugly beast btw)

Sampo codes did work just fine for on/off input and volume...

I have a UFA 9960 on the way to solve the remote issues in a more digified manner.

Diane

Has anyone figured out the remote code for the Maxent MX-42X3? I would like to program my Dish remote to manage the monitor.



I have the old 3100 dish reciever. The dish network website
mentions the sampo codes as 506, 509, 698.

Will try these when I get home tonight.

Does anyone play video games on this screen? Any issues with refresh rate or loss of detail in high activity scenes?

I play video games on this. Works fine, 720p games look great.

one more question - is there a 50" equilalent to this set?

Anyone know how to make my Norcent DP-220 player stretch the picture vertically to fill in the black bars on the top and bottom of some dvds? Seems I can't get the Maxent to stretch with component's and the DVD player just has a 4:3, 4:3PS, and 16:9 setting. I've got the dvd player conected with component cables.

If worse comes to worse and I have to buy another progressive scan player that will stretch the image, any recommendations on an inexpensive one.

Thanks

one more question - is there a 50" equilalent to this set?
I believe this is what you're looking for mx 50x2 (http://www.maxentusa.com/_coreModules/eShopping/productDetail.aspx?productMasterID=18)

For those of you complaining of buzzing... make sure you turn your volume on the unit down. I had mine cranked up to about 75% and then was using the volume control on my Comcast DVR box. My wife who has much better hearing than I noticed buzzing from the upper left.. it was one of the speakers! I turned down the volume to about 50% and it went away.

I know it's an obvious thing.. but just thought I'd mention it.. it might be something you'd overlook if you are bypassing the Maxent's speakers entirely.

Jerry

Buzzing in plasmas is more noticeable at higher altitudes . I'm in Denver at a mile high and my Maxent does buzz considerably . However I don't hear it when programming is on ,only when I hit the mute button . As of now it's not a distraction .

Buzzing hasn't been an issue for me.

Finding a good setting that I can ride for the first 100 hours has
been my challenge.

-Chris

For those of you complaining of buzzing... make sure you turn your volume on the unit down. I had mine cranked up to about 75% and then was using the volume control on my Comcast DVR box. My wife who has much better hearing than I noticed buzzing from the upper left.. it was one of the speakers! I turned down the volume to about 50% and it went away.

I know it's an obvious thing.. but just thought I'd mention it.. it might be something you'd overlook if you are bypassing the Maxent's speakers entirely.

Jerry


The Volume control on my Comcast Digi Box won't allow me to control sound. I have to use the TV volume control. However, when I do turn down the volume of the set, the buzzing is still apparent.


In terms of altitude, I am located in Maryland so we are pretty much at sea level (compared to Denver).

I think I may have been the first person to post that had a buzzing issue, but I didn't think it would become such an issue!! :)) Really, my buzzing is so minimal that I cannot hear it from the front of the set no matter how close I get. I can only hear it from the back of the set at the upper left corner (looking at the back of the set). It would not stop me from buying this set because I cannot hear it unless I stick my ear right up to the back. Can't hear it from the side or front. And I can't hear it through the speakers either. My altitude is about 600 feet above sea level.

So, for those out there considering buying this set, I say do it!! Picture is great and the buzz issue (at least for me) is a non-issue because it just can't be heard unless described as above. And I have very sensitive ears!! I often use the set to listen to digital music (on Charter cable). I listen to "soundscapes" (it's a "spa" type of music for lack of a better description) very low while reading about 6 feet from set and I can't hear any buzz. Maybe it's different for each person, but my set has no buzz issue.

Now if I could just get my settings right so that the colors appear natural! I can't the colors set right. Either it's too red, too green, or yellow looks fluorescent. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but I'm using Avia. I just wish we could set individual values for R,G, and B like the Vizio I turned in. But this Maxent does have a much better picture!!!

The Volume control on my Comcast Digi Box won't allow me to control sound. I have to use the TV volume control. However, when I do turn down the volume of the set, the buzzing is still apparent.
In terms of altitude, I am located in Maryland so we are pretty much at sea level (compared to Denver).

I'm in Los Angeles so about sea level. I noticed there is a little buzzing this morning when I first turn on the TV and muted the sound, particularly when it's displaying bright white. It explains this in the manual as since the plasma has to work harder to keep the gases excited.
But I don't feel the noise is above that of any other TV, actually I noticed my two old Sony Trinitrons did a fair amount of buzzing too now that you mentioned it (vintage 1984 and 1995). I noticed buzzing with other plasmas as well when bright whites are shown, so I don't think it's specific to this TV.

I'm in Los Angeles so about sea level. I noticed there is a little buzzing this morning when I first turn on the TV and muted the sound, particularly when it's displaying bright white. It explains this in the manual as since the plasma has to work harder to keep the gases excited.
But I don't feel the noise is above that of any other TV, actually I noticed my two old Sony Trinitrons did a fair amount of buzzing too now that you mentioned it (vintage 1984 and 1995). I noticed buzzing with other plasmas as well when bright whites are shown, so I don't think it's specific to this TV.


It's just odd to me that some people have absolutely no buzzing. Mine seems to be on the extreme side of buzzing. I don't really notice it when I'm watching TV unless I try to listen for the buzz. Then I can't get it out of my mind.

Exchange it. I have no buzzing. It's in my bedroom - I'd know if it were buzzing.

Exchange it. I have no buzzing. It's in my bedroom - I'd know if it were buzzing.

I will tomorrow. I hope Costco still has some!

It's just odd to me that some people have absolutely no buzzing. Mine seems to be on the extreme side of buzzing. I don't really notice it when I'm watching TV unless I try to listen for the buzz. Then I can't get it out of my mind.

In this case, Costco may not be able to help you. You may want to see a psychiatrist. :rolleyes:

In this case, Costco may not be able to help you. You may want to see a psychiatrist. :rolleyes:


Funny that you say that. I am a psychiatrist.

Anyone found the remote code to operate the television with the Comcast 3 in 1 Universal Remote. Was told to try Gateway codes....only problen is they have no Gateway codes listed with the remote destructions.

Funny that you say that. I am a psychiatrist.

That explains everything! Overanalysis.
:p

costco is same as sam's right?

costco is same as sam's right?

No, Sam's is owned by Wal Mart.

They're similar in concept, but different companies usually carrying different products.

Anyone found the remote code to operate the television with the Comcast 3 in 1 Universal Remote.

You mean the 3-in-1 Comcast remote with DVR controls?

It uses the Sampo codes I referenced in my previous post.
for those not willing to look it up.. on the Comcast 3-in1 Sampo codes are 0030 and 1755

Diane

You mean the 3-in-1 Comcast remote with DVR controls?

It uses the Sampo codes I referenced in my previous post.

Diane

Can you post the code please?

I bought the Maxent Plasma last Friday and have now been watching for a few days. I'm in Colorado at about 6000 feet and do have a slight buzz, but only after a few beers....
Ok, really, I do hear the buzz out to about 4 feet from the TV, after that it isn't noticable.
This set has great PQ! I have a 53inch Panny rear projection with Comcast HD and this Maxent has a better picture on SD, digital and HD.
As with the last post, I would appreciate any suggestions on codes to try with Comcast motorola STB remote.

I've got the 26" LCD Syntax, and what I did for the Comcast remote was just use the Code Search function. Got the code in about 2-3 minutes.

No, Sam's is owned by Wal Mart.
They're similar in concept, but different companies usually carrying different products.

The demographics they cater to are pretty different. I read somewhere that the average Costco member's household income was about 50% higher than Sam's member, although that is changing.

Costco usually stock more higher-end type products ("luxury" items) vs. Sam's Clubs. Although this was changing under the (now previous) CEO of Sam's, who defected to Microsoft as the COO recently. Sam's was trying to narrow the income gap between their shoppers by changing their merchandise mix, and they were doing a good job too. We'll see if they can catch up now the main guy is gone.

I don't think that 50" is the same as the 42". Much lower brightness/contrast, etc. If a 50" similar to the 42x3 came out (with detachable speakers), I'd be all over it!!


What is the native resolution of this set? If I'm using hdmi from the SA8300HD box, should I let it pass through 720p (ie. ESPNHD), or should I have the box send it out 1080i?

Can the Maxent display both 720p and 1080i, or does it upconvert all hd to 1080i?

Thanks!!

Funny that you say that. I am a psychiatrist.

Physician heal thyself? :D

Here is my information and my wish.:

I have a the following HT equipment:
Maxent M42X3 HDTV Monitor
Dish Network HD 811
Denon AVR 2802
Denon DVD 2200
Monster HTS2600

Here are the planned interconnections:
From the 811 box is a DVI / DishDVI cable with a HDMI adaptor plugged into the monitor
From the 811 box (Audio 1) is an audio cable plugged into the monitor’s DVI Audio inputs (DVI does not manage audio)
From the AVR is a component cable to the monitor’s Component Video 1 inputs
From the AVR is a audio optical fiber cable IN (Opt1) to the DVD optical digital output
From the AVR is a audio optical fiber cable IN (Opt2) to the 811 box (Audio Digital output)
From the AVR is a component cable to the DVD’s Component Video outputs

Here is what I wish to accomplish:
Use the monitor to watch regular (non HD programming without Dolby)
Use the monitor to watch HD programming with Dolby using the AVR
Use the monitor to watch DVD movies with Dolby (DTS, etc,)
Use features of the AVR and DVD on-screen “set-up” menus through the monitor

Has anyone encountered similar set-ups?

I need all the help I can get.

I bought the Maxent at Costco last weekend, was gone all week on business, and just fine-tuned everything. First, I changed the Comcast DVR output to 1080i. I'm using the cables Comcast provided y-pbr-pbg, and the picture is magnificent.

I had to use the "find a working code" feature for the remote, where you scan repeatedly until you find a code that works, and after a few minutes I found a code that will turn the TV on and off. I am using a separate surround system, so the TV speakers are not in use (and cannot be removed).

I bought a HDMI cable at Radio Shack, but the Maxent needs a DVI connection, so I'm going to try to find an adapter. I can't imagine the picture looking any better, but it's worth a try, right?

The Comcast DVR is not as user-friendly as Tivo, but it can record two programs simultaneously, and I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Thanks to all of you for your posts, this is a beautiful unit and I'm glad I picked it up. Rob

Funny that you say that. I am a psychiatrist.

I thought you guys were all replaced by Personnel Managers dispensing Prozac, and Swat Teams mopping up the mess. ;)

the maxent DOES take hdmi, not dvi. you should double check before you buy the wrong cable.

Just curious, but does anyone know for sure what panel this has and the deinterlacer (if that's what it is called)? There is speculation on this forum that it is either Sampo or Samsong. And the deinterlacer? Not that it matters, I was just curious. I get a great picture out of my set so I assume both things are pretty good, even on SD viewing.

also, it looks like the native resolution on this set is around 720p (it says 1024 x 768). Does that mean it takes a 1080i feed and converts it to 720p?

First, I changed the Comcast DVR output to 1080i. I'm using the cables Comcast provided y-pbr-pbg, and the picture is magnificent.


I found with a Motorola 6200 series without DVR using the component cables the HD channels looked poor at 1080i and look much nicer with fewer edging artifacts at 720p

A followup.. with a DVI to HDMI cable the set looks great with the Motorola set to 1920x1080i but not that much better then 720p content.. whereas with the box set to 1080i and usiing component cables looks poor. I'm holding the HDMI port open for my Samsung HD-941 DVD player at the moment since it looks best there

Diane

also, it looks like the native resolution on this set is around 720p (it says 1024 x 768). Does that mean it takes a 1080i feed and converts it to 720p?

That's exactly what it means.

with the cablevision SA8300HD box, I believe that if you use hdmi cable to the tv, it will automatically send the native resolution to the tv. I wonder if it would be good to try to set the output res. of the 8300 to 720p...

I found with a Motorola 6200 series without DVR using the component cables the HD channels looked poor at 1080i and look much nicer with fewer edging artifacts at 720p

Diane

I've had a different experience. I've tried 1080i and 720p through a DirecTV reveiver (using both component & DVI>HDMI)...channels broadcasting in 1080i (CBS, NBC, HDNet, etc) look better in 1080i than 720P, downconverting them to 720P adds a noticeable softness. On 720P content (ABC, FOX, ESPN-HD, etc), it didn't matter whether I passed it through to the TV at 720P or used the receiver to upconvert to 1080i, both looked similar.

Using a PC with DVI>HDMI cable, 1080i definitely scales better than 720P. Currently I'm experimenting with 1368 X 768. It scales pretty clean as well, but I'm not sure whether it's cleaner than 1080i. Both look very good.

with the cablevision SA8300HD box, I believe that if you use hdmi cable to the tv, it will automatically send the native resolution to the tv. I wonder if it would be good to try to set the output res. of the 8300 to 720p...

It doesn't do that, it will either scale everything to 1080i or 720P, or it will pass through the native resolution of the broadcast.

Chris - Not sure I understand your comment. I belive that the upconvert 2 setting is 720p. At least it seems that way to me.

Chris - Not sure I understand your comment. I belive that the upconvert 2 setting is 720p. At least it seems that way to me.

The native resolution of this set is 1024 X 768. Your cable box won't send that resolution. You can set the 8300 to convert everything to 1080i, or 720P, or you can have it pass-through whatever the broadcast resolution is, but it won't send the native resolution of 1024X768.

Costco was all sold out when I went back to look for another. :(

Costco was all sold out when I went back to look for another. :(

My local store, Clearwater FL, was also sold out following the sale. I wonder if it was only a temporary item (i.e. selling out Maxent's old stock).

They don't even carry the Vizio 42 anymore!

My local store, Clearwater FL, was also sold out following the sale. I wonder if it was only a temporary item (i.e. selling out Maxent's old stock).

They don't even carry the Vizio 42 anymore!

The general rule of Costco is to buy it when you see it...MOST of their deals are fleeting.

And no, these weren't "selling out old stock". This is Maxent's most recent model.

interesting. I thought the native resolutions of hdtv's usually mirrored resolutions coming in hd, like 1080i or 720p.

either way, I've decided that I set the cable box to only output 1080i or 720p. That way, all the hd stuff doesn't get touched by the box, and the maxent does all the scaling. All the sd stuff in 480i I'm letting the 8300 scale it up. When I let the 480i signal go direct to the tv, the pq was much worse.

I guess the 8300 does a better job at scaling than the maxent.

Had the Maxent MX-42M11 for about two weeks now and couldn't be happier! Picked it up from BB and set-up was a snap. Was scared about the heat it put out from the top, but the info I gathered here has calmed me--it seems that this is common to this brand. Anyway, I tried to use the DVI input from the set to my Time Warner HDTV/DVR box (Explorer 8000) also with DVI, and cannot get a signal. The owner's manual said to adjust the timing to match that of the box, but that is a little beyond my skills. Time Warner's customer service promised a call back, but no luck so far. Can anyone help?

Had the Maxent MX-42M11 for about two weeks now and couldn't be happier! Picked it up from BB and set-up was a snap. Was scared about the heat it put out from the top, but the info I gathered here has calmed me--it seems that this is common to this brand. Anyway, I tried to use the DVI input from the set to my Time Warner HDTV/DVR box (Explorer 8000) also with DVI, and cannot get a signal. The owner's manual said to adjust the timing to match that of the box, but that is a little beyond my skills. Time Warner's customer service promised a call back, but no luck so far. Can anyone help?

You have a different monitor than this thread is about. this is about the Costco model.

You have a different monitor than this thread is about. this is about the Costco model.

Yes, the MX-42X3 is the newest model and sold in Costco. It is known to have a new panel, different from the previous models sold in BB.

I'm surprised there's not more discussion of this set, especially given all the buzz of the Vizio 50"er.

FWIW, here's my review.

I'm not a vidiophile, so if you know your stuff, or pretend to, this review may not be helpful to you. However if you're a well-read n00b coming from an old CRT, here's an opinion from someone just like you :).

We'd been following this and the Vizio 50" thread for weeks, and had actually decided on the Vizio, but rethought it once we looked at our room size, the Maxent PQ, and cost. In the end it fit better in our little Bungalow's living room (12x14), and the $900 difference between this and the Vizio just wasn't worth it.

We picked one up last week with a raincheck and still had to go to 3 CostCos to find one. The store had a Pio 50", the Vizio 50, and the Maxent all on display pretty close together, so we got a good look at all 3.

There was a bit of a difference between the Pio and Vizio, pretty easy to spot, but not a $2500 difference. Basically the colors looked better on the Pioneer, but still good. The Maxent and Pioneer looked extremely similar, except for the size (and huge price difference). We had already decided on the Maxent from past showings, but in the end this sealed it.

In the house, it looks ridiculously good. Waited for Cable for a few days, so had regular cable thorugh composite and a $70 Panasonic DVD player to go off of. The cable looked "meh," and was more of a hold-over, so I won't talk about that anymore.

Finding Nemo and LOTR looked amazing. Colors in Finding Nemo were pure eye candy, and I noticed so many details in LOTR I hadn't seen before, it was like watching a new movie.

I'm not too sure about the black levels. They weren't inky, in that you could see some light coming from the moniter with a full-black screen. So I suppose it was a tad gray, but being a n00b I'm not sure how black Plasmas really get. I will say this: in Costco (albeit under the bright lights) the blacks looked as black as the Pioneer, and at home I can't imagine any detail being lost -- you could see everything in the dark fight scenes, and again I'm noticing details I never saw on our 27" CRT. It was pretty amazing being able to see what's going on in the background of those giant scenes.

On Saturday we got a Motorola 62-something DVR with HD, and vegged out until we fell asleep in front of the couch :D. The Little League World Series was on, and I don't even like baseball but found myself watching it, checking out people's faces in the crowd, blades of grass, etc. I can't wait for College Football season on this thing.

SD on the new box looks pretty good. I just watch it stretched to 16:9 and it's not too annoying. 4:3 looks even better. The panorama mode is nauseating with any type of moving picture, and seems like it's only good for a joke. Doesn't work on Composite anyhow, so I won't be using it.

I haven't seen any hints of image retention or burn-in, and to be honest, I'm not really worried about it. I've got brightness, color, contrast, etc. all turned down to around 30, but am thinking about bagging it and just using Cinema and Standard mode.

All-in-all, we're very happy.

One thing I can't figure out is sharpness. It does seem to make text sharper, but I can't tell much of a difference on faces, scenery, etc. At least nothing I notice when watching the whole screen. What are people doing with this? Right now we've got it set at 10 or 20 I think.


J-

Just curious, but does anyone know for sure what panel this has and the deinterlacer (if that's what it is called)? There is speculation on this forum that it is either Sampo or Samsong. And the deinterlacer? Not that it matters, I was just curious. I get a great picture out of my set so I assume both things are pretty good, even on SD viewing.
This is for sure: Maxent is a Sampo sister company under Regent-usa. FWIW.

FYI - Maxent Review from S&V (not sure if same model for this thread but a Maxent review none the less)

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=862&page_number=4

FYI - Maxent Review from S&V (not sure if same model for this thread but a Maxent review none the less)

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=862&page_number=4

It's not.
It's for the set that is sold at Best Buy, MX-42XM11 which has a completely different panel (some say with inferior picture). When I saw it at BB a while ago they had it tuned to horrible settings so it was hard to gauge how good the picture is. I think BB is a master at the bait-and-switch routine on plasmas, from what other people have been posting. They're gonna push that $5,000 Pioneer over the Maxents in order to win the sales spiff.

One thing I can't figure out is sharpness. It does seem to make text sharper, but I can't tell much of a difference on faces, scenery, etc. At least nothing I notice when watching the whole screen. What are people doing with this? Right now we've got it set at 10 or 20 I think.

J-

It does make a difference. When you look at the sharpness control test patterns in Avia or DVE, turning the sharpness above 10 or 20 begins to add a white outline around black lines. It's probably not very noticeable while watching a movie, but in the test pattern it definitely was.

It does make a difference. When you look at the sharpness control test patterns in Avia or DVE, turning the sharpness above 10 or 20 begins to add a white outline around black lines. It's probably not very noticeable while watching a movie, but in the test pattern it definitely was.

Yeah, I noticed that, too, with the test patterns on Finding Nemo (hey, I'm a n00b).

What I didn't notice much of was a real-life scenario. I mucked with a lot of the settings on Sunrise Earth or whatever it's called, which is a pretty interesting show.

It was the "Ranch" episode, where there was a meadow in the foreground and mountains in the background. It was spring, so lots of flowers and greenery in the foretground, but still some snow in chutes in the mountains.

Adjusting sharpness made the snow in the chutes stand out more by making it brighter. I liked it more turned down, as the snow was in shadow it was more natural-looking with lower sharpness.

J-

It's not.
It's for the set that is sold at Best Buy, MX-42XM11 which has a completely different panel (some say with inferior picture).

The confusion has come up many times in this thread already, so I just PM'd the mods asking to add the model number (MX-42X3) to the thread title.

thread title edited to add model # MX-42X3

thread title edited to add model # MX-42X3

Thanks!

If you don't have AVIA or DVE, a good test pattern for shapness is the HD sidebars on ESPN-HD when showing SD programming. They have several small vertical lines that will noticably change when adjusting shapness. The less the lines blend together, the better.

Chris are you worried about burn-in with such a high contrast setting?

I have the same Maxent... I am keeping my contrast/brightness low low low for the first 200 hours (as I saw recomended somewhere, seems logical). I only turn it up (to what Maxent calls "Standard" in the menu, when viewing a movie like Sin City with lots of greys.

A question for those using this monitor with component inputs and also some third party research on the MX-42X3.

Now for the question: On the same site, it was mentioned several times that the Maxent will not allow the use of the screen stretch modes like panorama unless fed through the SVIDEO or HDMI ports (i.e. won't work using composite). Can anyone confirm or deny this report?

Yes... the screen modes worked for me when I tried composite AND component.

Ive been asking for a few days which dvd player would compliment this set. Well today I bought El CHeapo TOSHIBA SDK750 progressive Scan @ Costco. Hooked it Up using #year old component. Looks Good in 480i but when I switch the DVD player to 480 P. The TV SAYS ITS RECIEVING 480p but it the picture keeps flickering and wont handle it. Is it my cheap $50 Dvd player or the cables Or the Tv. Its kinda got me worried I hope its not an issue with TV for OTA 720p In Football games. What should I do. Ill try the other DVD player @ costco which is some sony brand progessive scan and pick up component cables.


Dude... I had the same problem with the same DVD player... it is NOT the Maxent... it is the Toshiba DVD. Get a different DVD player... Costco has a nice Sony on sale this week for $70.

FYI - Maxent Review from S&V (not sure if same model for this thread but a Maxent review none the less)

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=862&page_number=4

Unfortunately I think that is the Best Buy model. I think the Costco one is too new to have had a proper review.

After several weeks of sitting in the garage I finally set mine up this afternoon. I will post my impressions later on.

Can I just say, those of you who got this deal at Costco with the coupon are lucky bastards. I went to Costco to look again and this TV was definitely one of the best and at that price it was a steal.

Quick question. When I watch movies with darker images, such as LOTR, some of the darker scenes seem to make "blocky clouds" out of the dark areas. In other words instead of showing any detail it just seems to make everything roughly the same dark shade of color. Could the problem be my settings? Cables? Box?

Setup

Motorola HDDVR 64xx with component cables (provided by comcast)
HD broadcast in 1080i (720p) seems to do the same thing

Bright scenes are gorgeous. Others with this same setup seem to thing the picture is awesome.

Thanks,

DocTDC

Doc,

We watched LOTR on a cheap Panny DVD player we just bought ($70), with the signal in 480i (I think, that's what the TV said it was getting) and there was tons of detail in the dark scenes. I nor my wife, who's more sensitive to video than me, noticed any problems.

I think we may have had the superbit version or whatever, the movie is on 2 discs.

I have the Maxent 42X3 connected to my Samsung HD-850 via HDMI. I know the native horizontal resolution on the plasma is 768 and the Samsung is technically capable of outputting 768p according to the manual. However no matter how I adjust the settings I cannot get the 768p to work. I can get 480p, 720p, and 1080i.

I would assume using 768 from the DVD to the monitor would be the ideal setup.

Anyone with ideas?

I have the Maxent 42X3 connected to my Samsung HD-850 via HDMI. I know the native horizontal resolution on the plasma is 768 and the Samsung is technically capable of outputting 768p according to the manual. However no matter how I adjust the settings I cannot get the 768p to work. I can get 480p, 720p, and 1080i.

I would assume using 768 from the DVD to the monitor would be the ideal setup.

Anyone with ideas?


768 would be a pal resolution. So if you flash the firmware with either a hacked version or a Euro version, you should be able to get that setting.

I don't have a Maxent (so I can't confirm) but I do have a Sammy 850 connected to a Vizio 42 via HDMI->DVI. I'm looking at a Maxent manual.

You should have a "wide" button in your remote. If you are in "HDMI" mode, you should cycle it to "Native(1:1)" . This should set the plasma to 768 resolution, same as your 850.

Manual:
http://www.maxentusa.com/uploads/files/185.pdf

You might also be interested in this re. Sammy 850 DVI/black issues:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5788936&&#post5788936



I have the Maxent 42X3 connected to my Samsung HD-850 via HDMI. I know the native horizontal resolution on the plasma is 768 and the Samsung is technically capable of outputting 768p according to the manual. However no matter how I adjust the settings I cannot get the 768p to work. I can get 480p, 720p, and 1080i.

I would assume using 768 from the DVD to the monitor would be the ideal setup.

Anyone with ideas?

Doc,

We watched LOTR on a cheap Panny DVD player we just bought ($70), with the signal in 480i (I think, that's what the TV said it was getting) and there was tons of detail in the dark scenes. I nor my wife, who's more sensitive to video than me, noticed any problems.

I think we may have had the superbit version or whatever, the movie is on 2 discs.

jayfrizzo,

Do you know what your settings are? What type of cables? Contrast, brightness etc??? I'm hoping the problem is just my setup.

Thanks!

DocTDC

Quick question. When I watch movies with darker images, such as LOTR, some of the darker scenes seem to make "blocky clouds" out of the dark areas. In other words instead of showing any detail it just seems to make everything roughly the same dark shade of color. Could the problem be my settings? Cables? Box?
This is this set's biggest weakness and maybe its only one PQ-wise. I find that you can somewhat minimize the appearance of this with the right settings (contrast of around 50, brightness of around 56-58 works OK) but not completely get rid of it. For now I've got mine with lower settings during the break-in period but if I still have my set after then (since I'm still torn on possibly returning it for the 50" Vizio which appears to have a very clean image but has a noisy fan issue :p) I'll likely go with these settings since the contouring / banding is reduced with them. :)

jayfrizzo,

Do you know what your settings are? What type of cables? Contrast, brightness etc??? I'm hoping the problem is just my setup.

I futzed with it and turned everything down for the 100 hour warmup, but the picture didn't look that great, so if we're watching a movie that's pretty dark I kick it up to Standard or Cinema (usually Cinema). I think you can still adjust the Color and sharpness, I've got color at 32 and sharpness at 20 or so.

We're using some cheap component cables I got at CC ($30).

One thing I noticed was that my settings on the DVD player were kinda crappy. It was set to 4:3, regular TV, and I forget the picture mode, but I switched it to 16:9 Plasma and Normal picture mode and it looks better, so maybe try futzing with your DVD player.

Does this answer your question?

I'll have my wife check out LOTR tonight or tomorrow to see if we can see what you're seeing. Again she's way more sensitive to that stuff than me, I'm just stoked to see all the fighting :).

What scenes were you seeing problems with?

J-

I've bought Samsung 850 because it has "zoom to fit function", HDMI output and upconvert + progressive. Price was right and HDMI cable is included.
Connected to TV via HDMI and got ready to be blown away by PQ.
Sorry to say that did not happened. PQ was the SAME as from my 5years old Pana/component. I 've got two DVDs "Kung Fu hustle", so I could compare side by side on frozen frame. Picture from Pana was more sharp, colors were the same.
I've tryed Samsung at 480P, 720P, 1080I nope, no difference except for Pana DVD player shows a bit contouring.
Now I am confused. I don't see any diff between progressive /interlaced... upcoverted/480I
A friend of mine once showed me the difference between P and I on his Panasonic industrial and it was so obvious.
Anyway, Sammy went back to store.
I am going to try Panasonic S77 maybe, but it doesn't have zoom to fit function (I hate black bars on top and bottom).

I've bought Samsung 850 because it has "zoom to fit function", HDMI output and upconvert + progressive. Price was right and HDMI cable is included.
Connected to TV via HDMI and got ready to be blown away by PQ.
Sorry to say that did not happened. PQ was the SAME as from my 5years old Pana/component. I 've got two DVDs "Kung Fu hustle", so I could compare side by side on frozen frame. Picture from Pana was more sharp, colors were the same.
I've tryed Samsung at 480P, 720P, 1080I nope, no difference except for Pana DVD player shows a bit contouring.
Now I am confused. I don't see any diff between progressive /interlaced... upcoverted/480I
A friend of mine once showed me the difference between P and I on his Panasonic industrial and it was so obvious.
Anyway, Sammy went back to store.
I am going to try Panasonic S77 maybe, but it doesn't have zoom to fit function (I hate black bars on top and bottom).

You should stop "trying" DVD players and just get the Oppo Digital. It's all you'll ever need.

I am not sure but that is what I found:
SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Trident Technologies Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trident Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRID), a world-wide leader in developing advanced digital TV technology for the consumer digital video marketplace, today announced that Sampo Corporation, one of Taiwan's leading consumer electronics manufacturers, is using Trident's SVP EX ten-bit video processor featuring the Digital Cinema Reality Engine (DCRe™) to power its latest family of plasma TVs for world-wide markets. The new models are now shipping under the Sampo brand and with leading consumer electronics brands in North America and Asia and will soon be available in Europe.

You should stop "trying" DVD players and just get the Oppo Digital. It's all you'll ever need.
Do you own it?
Please tell me more about it.

Do you own it?
Please tell me more about it.
What is the model number of the 'oppo digital?

So has anyone conclusively confirmed who manufactured the screen panel? I cannot tell from the monitor itself.
Is it part of the JV with Samsung or the JV with Panasonic?

Do you own it?
Please tell me more about it.

I do. Just check out the almost 200 pg. thread about it here at AVS.

How does one remove the base? I'm about to put this thing up on a wall mount tomorrow once my friend comes over to help me lift it, but how does the base come off. Is it just "latched" on, or do I need to remove some screws to get it to come off?

How does one remove the base? I'm about to put this thing up on a wall mount tomorrow once my friend comes over to help me lift it, but how does the base come off. Is it just "latched" on, or do I need to remove some screws to get it to come off?

There are 4 screws that holds the base to the display. Remove them and just lift the monitor off of the base. I went ahead and attached the mounting hardware while the base was still attached and then lifted if off the base (with a friend) and hung it right on the wall.

I have the Maxent 42X3 connected to my Samsung HD-850 via HDMI. I know the native horizontal resolution on the plasma is 768 and the Samsung is technically capable of outputting 768p according to the manual. However no matter how I adjust the settings I cannot get the 768p to work. I can get 480p, 720p, and 1080i.

I would assume using 768 from the DVD to the monitor would be the ideal setup.

Anyone with ideas?

I beg your pardon, but the 850 manual specifically states that it won't work properly at 768 via HDMI. I also have an 850 and tried to adjust the output at 850, but no go. I have the country and component hacks and do get an acceptable output at 768 via component. Take a look at the boxed text on the page describing the HDMI settings.

I have an 850 and I use 768p over HDMI->DVI to a Vizio 42 with good results.

Samsung 850 manual:
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/200505/20050506090731953_AK68-00627A-00_Eng0113.pdf

Page 16:

HDMI VIDEO Specifications
When you press the HDMI SEL. button, 480p, 720p, 768p, 1080i are selected in order.
The first press of the HDMI SEL. button, brings up the current resolution.
The second press allows you to change the HDMI output resolution.

Page 52:

HDMI
This setting is used when the unit is
connected by HDMI or DVI with Display
devices (TV, projector, etc).
- Resolution
- 480p/576p : 720 x 480, 720 x 576
- 720p : 1280 x 720
- 768p : 1024 x 768
- 1080i : 1920 x 1080


I beg your pardon, but the 850 manual specifically states that it won't work properly at 768 via HDMI. I also have an 850 and tried to adjust the output at 850, but no go. I have the country and component hacks and do get an acceptable output at 768 via component. Take a look at the boxed text on the page describing the HDMI settings.

Finally got mine wall mounted and started playing with it. First impression HD looks very nice, comparable to my 50" Samsung DLP. SD looks HIDEOUS when I passed straight 480i from the cable box to the tv over HDMI. When I had the cable box do the conversion from 480i->480p SD was noticably better, definitely watchable. The deinterlacer in this thing must be awful. Didn't get much chance to look at the deinterlacing abilities going from 1080i yet, but I will do that tonight.

How does one remove the base? I'm about to put this thing up on a wall mount tomorrow once my friend comes over to help me lift it, but how does the base come off. Is it just "latched" on, or do I need to remove some screws to get it to come off?

From Maxent's website FAQ:
Q: How do I remove the table stand from my LCD/Plasma?
A: To remove the desktop stand, please do the following steps:
(I) Place the LCD/Plasma face down on a soft flat surface allowing the table-stand to protrude over the edge of the surface.
(II) Looking at the lower back of the monitor you will note a silver bar across the bottom of the monitor. The color of this bar will be the same as the table stand.
(III) At either end of this bar, you will note that there are 2 indented screws on the back of the monitor.
(IV) Remove the 4 indented screws (2 on each side) from the back of the monitor.
(V) Once the above screws are removed, the entire stand assembly slides out from the LCD/Plasma.

Anyone know how to use the Serial interface of this TV. Can we use it to control the TV from PC? If so, how and what program do I need?

OK. I have had this 42" Maxent for two weeks. Hooked it up to LG-3150A (tuner/upconvert DVD player combo). The OTA HD channels look absolutely stunning. Then I started viewing DVDs via the component inputs. Again, picture looks great. Then I decided to take advantage of the DVI output and the upconversion capabilities of the LG. I was soooo prepared to get knocked out by the PQ ... Much to my dismay, the PQ looks like crap. It was much darker and less detailed than the signals coming from the component outputs.

After two more DVD players, I ended up settling down with the the Samsung HD850 and concluded that the MX-42X3 has a pretty crappy input circuitry (at least) for the HDMI portion of the unit (low gain). I short, I had to change both Contrast and Brightness to about 65 (out of 100), to match PQ coming from component inputs with settings at about 40-45. Note I have not mentioned anything about the difference between 480p with the component inputs vs 720p/1080i with the HDMI. That's right, the resolution won't be a factor if you can't get good brightness and contrast.

Do I have a defective unit? I don't think so. However, it makes me think that I might because no one else in this thread complains about poor PQ with HDMI !!!?


Here are the good's:

1. Excellent PQ via component inputs
2. Surprisingly good SD picture from analog (yes analog!) cable signal. I refuse to pay what Cox is asking for their digital signals
3. Decent sound
4. Did I say it's got a pretty darn good PQ for analog SD signal? If you still watch a lot of SD, this is the TV to get.

... and the bad's:

1. HDMI inputs require higher Brightness and Contrast to get good pics.
2. Poor remote and menu
3. No tuner

Yeah yeah ... i know the manual said to have different settings for different inputs. However, I did not expect to make that much of a jump between component and HDMI. If anything, I'd expect to tone down the settings when switching over to HDMI from components. But having to turn UP the setting to get good pics from HDMI is kind of backward.

Anyone care to comment/explain? This is my first plasma so I could be doing something wrong.

PS. I even tried $20 HDMI cable and $100 HDMI cable. You guessed it. $100 cable is the biggest scam in modern time.

PS. I even tried $20 HDMI cable and $100 HDMI cable. You guessed it. $100 cable is the biggest scam in modern time.


I read somewhere that with digital cables(HDMI/DVI), there's no difference between higher price cables and lower ones in terms of picture quality. With a digital signal, its all or nothing. As opposed to analog, where it is suseptable to electrical and magnetic interference.

Be aware that the picture controls are independent for each input. I had a nice setup with component too, then switched to HDMI and at first I thought it was worse. But then I had to redo the picture adjustments (color, brightness, etc) and I got a matching picture. I see no noticable difference between component and HDMI input from my Mot cable box.


OK. I have had this 42" Maxent for two weeks. Hooked it up to LG-3150A (tuner/upconvert DVD player combo). The OTA HD channels look absolutely stunning. Then I started viewing DVDs via the component inputs. Again, picture looks great. Then I decided to take advantage of the DVI output and the upconversion capabilities of the LG. I was soooo prepared to get knocked out by the PQ ... Much to my dismay, the PQ looks like crap. It was much darker and less detailed than the signals coming from the component outputs.

After two more DVD players, I ended up settling down with the the Samsung HD850 and concluded that the MX-42X3 has a pretty crappy input circuitry (at least) for the HDMI portion of the unit (low gain). I short, I had to change both Contrast and Brightness to about 65 (out of 100), to match PQ coming from component inputs with settings at about 40-45. Note I have not mentioned anything about the difference between 480p with the component inputs vs 720p/1080i with the HDMI. That's right, the resolution won't be a factor if you can't get good brightness and contrast.

Do I have a defective unit? I don't think so. However, it makes me think that I might because no one else in this thread complains about poor PQ with HDMI !!!?


Here are the good's:

1. Excellent PQ via component inputs
2. Surprisingly good SD picture from analog (yes analog!) cable signal. I refuse to pay what Cox is asking for their digital signals
3. Decent sound
4. Did I say it's got a pretty darn good PQ for analog SD signal? If you still watch a lot of SD, this is the TV to get.

... and the bad's:

1. HDMI inputs require higher Brightness and Contrast to get good pics.
2. Poor remote and menu
3. No tuner

Yeah yeah ... i know the manual said to have different settings for different inputs. However, I did not expect to make that much of a jump between component and HDMI. If anything, I'd expect to tone down the settings when switching over to HDMI from components. But having to turn UP the setting to get good pics from HDMI is kind of backward.

Anyone care to comment/explain? This is my first plasma so I could be doing something wrong.

PS. I even tried $20 HDMI cable and $100 HDMI cable. You guessed it. $100 cable is the biggest scam in modern time.

I think my hdmi input looks great. I did up my contrast just a touch, and I'm still fiddling with the tint (faces are a little to reddish), but I think the hdmi looks just a tad better than component.

Thought I'd chime in with my thoughts after 2 weeks of living with the MX-42X3. Was very close to going for the costco 37" sceptre LCD deal this week, but opted for this set instead. Overall I'm quite pleased at the price/performance of this plasma.

Pros:
1. Bright
2. Better contrast than LCD panels...especially better blacks
3. Bigger than comparable LCD's for same $.
4. Great price. Great price. Great price.
5. Decent job with 480i SD source over S-video, component. SD 480i channels form directv look quite good.
6. No problems to date with image retention
7. No motion blur with fast moving objects like LCD
8. HDTV looks great.

Cons:
1. MotionDSC deinterlacer nowhere near as good as Faroudja DCDi. Lots of jaggies around lines and contrast edges. Overall does a good to very good job with most 480i sources.

2. 8bit processing causing occasional false contouring (blockiness in areas that should have nice color gradation) Seems most noticeable with large areas of red, green or black. Was worse with VGA input. Slightly less noticeable with component and HDMI inputs.

3. Some jitter noticed in 720p mode with certain programs from HD Tivo...1080i better in this respect but sometimes after I turn the plasma off and back on, HDMI input will have pink tint. If go to another input and back to hdmi, problem solved. This doesnt happen when using 720p. This could all be the HD Tivo given its HDMI history.

4. Poor IR receiver on TV. Responsiveness of TV much improved when using Harmony 676 remote which has 2 IR transmitters. Included remote has to be pointed right at the tv IR receiver to get good response. Also added IR repeater and this dramatically improved accrurate response from TV.

5. Imprefect greyscale. Would love a servive menu code to see if this could be tweeked. I've fiddled with the color and tint and it's pretty good but not great.

6. only 1024 x 768 resolution...just like all other current 42" plasmas


So...I hope this set continues to perform this well over the next 2-5 years. For those contemplating a purchase. Just remember that all budget plasmas/LCD TV's are not perfect. When mated with high quality sources (DVD, HDTV) over HDMI and component, the picture is very good to excellent. Low res sources such as cable tv will look good to poor. Directv will look better than digital cable because cable tv has so much inherent noise/interference in the analog channels and in general, cable uses more mpeg compression, resulting in more on screen artifacts.

In the end, DVD/HDTV look terrific. Too bad we don't have more Hi Def programming.

2. 8bit processing causing occasional false contouring (blockiness in areas that should have nice color gradation) Seems most noticeable with large areas of red, green or black. Was worse with VGA input. Slightly less noticeable with component and HDMI inputs.

.

Anything we can do about this? Any adjustments to contrast or sharpness that will help? It's driving me nuts!

DocTDC

BTY Everything else about this monitor is great. Most HD is just awesome. Baseball and football are absolutely incredible.

I think my hdmi input looks great. I did up my contrast just a touch, and I'm still fiddling with the tint (faces are a little to reddish), but I think the hdmi looks just a tad better than component.

Using an HPTC, I got much smoother gradients using the HDMI input at 1080i, rather than using the component inputs. With component inputs I noticed a larger amount of color banding. For those that don't know what that is, when you have an image of a sunset for example, the sky should grade smoothly from light to dark. When you have color banding, you can see bands of different shades of color instead of it grading smoothly. I actually notice this on all inputs, even a little bit with my Directv receiver, but least with HDMI. I don't know whether this is an issue with the TV, or just a result of the compression of HD channels.

Regarding the red tint on HDMI, I have that also. After calibrating the HDMI input for color & tint (which was way off compared to the other inputs) there is a red push of about 20-30%. Only way around this without a service menu adjustment is to turn color saturation down even more.

Anyone know how to use the Serial interface of this TV. Can we use it to control the TV from PC? If so, how and what program do I need?

The serial connection works very simply with a straight (not null modem) RS-232c cable. Use the Hyperterminal app in windows with the settings shown in the manual.
When connected you will see a prompt >. The "REA:xxx" command plus one of the Data commands will read back that particular setting eg: >REA:PWR, the Maxent answers >ON. I would suggest using the REA comand to copy all the existing settings for the RGB gain and bias before tweaking :) Controling a TV in this manner is certainly an interesting experience. I wonder if there are any hidden commands?

BTW, Love this panel. Feeding it 720p thru HDMI from MCE2005. I believe the low light banding that some are seeing is because of improper calibration. Check over in the HTPC forum for some informative threads on the subject.

Anyone know how to use the Serial interface of this TV. Can we use it to control the TV from PC? If so, how and what program do I need?
You need to use Hyper Terminal.
How to access: Programs--Accessories--Communications--Hyper Terminal.
Then configure COM1 properties as described in the manual.
I haven't tried that myself with MX3, but I used Hiper Terminal at work.
BTW, there is R, B, G gain adjustment, which effects grey scale smoothness.
I notice that my unit has green cast at certain grey level. Check this out - slide "color" to the minimum level, picture should be black and white. If not, RBG gains are not equal.

Good luck.

so there's no info on service menu options?

BTW, Love this panel. Feeding it 720p thru HDMI from MCE2005.

Phil- Can you tell me what video card (and timings) you are using for 720P? I'm using a 6600GT with DVI>HDMI cable, and whenever I try 720P I get a band of horizontal lines about 1/2" wide on the right edge of the screen. I'm wondering if my timings are a little off, or if it's a problem with my set.

1080i works nicely, but I was getting a slight bit of stuttering on certain hi-def programs viewed through the HDTV wonder. I was thinking maybe the video card/cpu was maxed out and 720P might yield better results.

Lazy question (actually, I've been reading for days, variables though man, lots of variables).

Is the picture quality with an upconverting DVD player worth it with this plasma? I'm thinking about snagging an Oppo, but not sure if I'll really see a difference. Currently have a Panny F87 that I'm reasonably happy with, but it was bought with the plan to be a CD changer after working for awhile as a temp DVD player.

Thoughts, feelings, reccomendations?

Is the general consenus that this display is a good buy?

Is the picture quality with an upconverting DVD player worth it with this plasma?
Thoughts, feelings, reccomendations?

It is definitely worth it to get an upconverting DVD player to use with this plasma. Look at the sub-title text. In 480p the letters have a certain "halo" around them. With 720p, what you'll se is a smooth line of text vividly in contrast with the background, but not overly sharpen as in 480p.

Hope this help.

Is the general consenus that this display is a good buy?

With the promotional price from Costco, a resounding yes ! But the promotion had ended a couple of weeks back. At regular price, it might be argued that it is still a good buy based on resolution and PQ - depending on how opinionated one is. :D

Phil- Can you tell me what video card (and timings) you are using for 720P? I'm using a 6600GT with DVI>HDMI cable, and whenever I try 720P I get a band of horizontal lines about 1/2" wide on the right edge of the screen. I'm wondering if my timings are a little off, or if it's a problem with my set.

1080i works nicely, but I was getting a slight bit of stuttering on certain hi-def programs viewed through the HDTV wonder. I was thinking maybe the video card/cpu was maxed out and 720P might yield better results.

I'm using a 9800pro DVI>HDMI cable in a Dell 400sc P4 2.8 1GB/500gb MCE2005, 2 A180 HD cards and a 500mce. I played with powerstrip a bit and was able to get decent timings at 1280x768 and 1280x720 but then I installed the latest Radeon drivers (5.8) and found they did a better job. You can do custom resolutions very easily. You pick the resolution you want (1280x720) and then adjust the screen size to fit your panel. I believe Nvidia has a similar ability. I found that 1280x720 looks the best all around for text and slideshow pictures in My Pictures. Actually 1024x768 (native res) was a little better but the My Pictures slideshows were squashed. The video quality looked the same at either resolution and the zoom feature in MCE fixed the aspect ratio (squashed @ 1024x768) issue. The zoom feature however, is not available in My Pictures so rather than living with squashed family photos, I'm running a custom resolution of 1280x688 created with the Radeon control panel. There was too much vertical overscan with the stock 1280x720 (720p) setting.
I briefly tried 1080i but the desktop was a fuzzy mess. Now that I'm statisfied with the resolution settings I'm on to screen calibration.

We just put up our Maxent 42X3 we got with a rain check from Costco. We like it fine so far, but we've noticed a bizzare problem.

When there is a bright flash on the screen, the component input from out HD DirectTivo loses signal for a second. The plasma displays the Component input label on the screen, then the pic kicks back in. For some reason, it seems to happen mostly on CSI: Las Vegas reruns on Spike, when they show a flash back to a crime scene. These scenes always begin with a bright flash. The funny thing is that if we pause and rerun the scene on the Tivo, everything is OK. I think the same thing may have happened with some music videos.

We are hesitant to take the screen back if this is a known problem with all the sets. Any ideas? Thanks!

We just put up our Maxent 42X3 we got with a rain check from Costco. We like it fine so far, but we've noticed a bizzare problem.

When there is a bright flash on the screen, the component input from out HD DirectTivo loses signal for a second. The plasma displays the Component input label on the screen, then the pic kicks back in. For some reason, it seems to happen mostly on CSI: Las Vegas reruns on Spike, when they show a flash back to a crime scene. These scenes always begin with a bright flash. The funny thing is that if we pause and rerun the scene on the Tivo, everything is OK. I think the same thing may have happened with some music videos.

We are hesitant to take the screen back if this is a known problem with all the sets. Any ideas? Thanks!


Strange. I've got a DirecTV HD receiver (not the Tivo though) hooked to the component inputs. I've watched CSI, both in HD and SD and haven't had that happen. I have also used all kinds of test screens through the HTPC that flash between all white/blue/red etc without a problem. Can you try hooking it up another way, like through HDMI? Also, is your HD Tivo outputting 1080i, 720p, or pass-through? Does it only happen at a certain resolution?

After going through a variety of different configurations I have settled on this setup for my Maxent 42X3 and Samsung HD850 after several passes with Video Essentials test patterns:

Component @ 720P resolution (see my earlier post, I still cannot get 768p on my HD850 despite the HDCP modification)
Contrast: 70
Brightness: 36
Color: 54
Tint: -4
Sharpness: 40
Noise Reduction: off
Color Temp: natural
Format: 16x9
V Pos: 27
V size: 50
H Pos: 38
H size: 50
Clock Phase: 50
Img Shift: 10

I had less satisfying results using the HDMI input on the Maxent regardless of RGB narrow/wide, 4:4:4, or 4:2:2 settings. There seemed to be much more color banding/blocking and an overall softer image via HDMI as compared to Component.

Also I noticed that cables DO make a difference on the Component inputs. Using a set of brand new cheap-o RCAs the Component video was horrible with color aberrations and noise. It was impossible to properly calibrate the TV using Video Essentials when the low quality cables were in the system (color set at 100 did not provide adequate calibration of SMPTE via the blue filter). However when I swapped them out for the better cables the colors and noise were corrected and the SMPTE calibration yielded a color setting of 54.

As an aside I was surprised to find that a Laserdisc movie through my old Pioneer Elite LD player via S-video that looked quite decent on the Maxent even at a paltry 480i.

Next up for me is connecting my HTPC and watching some Windows Media HD DVDs.

Strange. I've got a DirecTV HD receiver (not the Tivo though) hooked to the component inputs. I've watched CSI, both in HD and SD and haven't had that happen. I have also used all kinds of test screens through the HTPC that flash between all white/blue/red etc without a problem. Can you try hooking it up another way, like through HDMI? Also, is your HD Tivo outputting 1080i, 720p, or pass-through? Does it only happen at a certain resolution?

I've not tried the HDMI input bescause of the known problem with the HD Direct Tivo. I also have not tried switching resolutions. It seems to get the best overall pic using 1080i. I calibrated the screen using Avia and the problem hasn't come back yet. I'll keep an eye open for it though. Thanks!

I've not tried the HDMI input bescause of the known problem with the HD Direct Tivo. I also have not tried switching resolutions. It seems to get the best overall pic using 1080i. I calibrated the screen using Avia and the problem hasn't come back yet. I'll keep an eye open for it though. Thanks!

You really aren't getting the best picture with 1080i. This display is downscaling the resolution. however, if you feed it 720p, it will simply display it without scaling it at all. the internal scaler is for poop, if you ask me.

Also, I agree, I'm not that pleased with the HDMI input.

How does SD look from a VCR Tuner on this display? What is better S-vid or RCA, any difference?

How does SD look from a VCR Tuner on this display? What is better S-vid or RCA, any difference?

Why are you spending $2000 on a TV to watch SD?

Who said I was? I have HD OTA and DVD 480P.....they all do a good job here accoding to the posts I've read here. But I also watch discovery, history, comedy blah blah SD channels too. I want to make sure they are watchable.

How does SD look from a VCR Tuner on this display? What is better S-vid or RCA, any difference?

In comparing a Hitachi VCR with composite video output to a JVC S-VHS VCR with S-video output both connected to my Maxent 42X3 I find that the SD image quality is noticeably better with the S-video connection. Of course it may be the quality of the tuners in the VCRs (although the Hitachi VCR is newer).

You really aren't getting the best picture with 1080i. This display is downscaling the resolution. however, if you feed it 720p, it will simply display it without scaling it at all. the internal scaler is for poop, if you ask me.

Also, I agree, I'm not that pleased with the HDMI input.

Has anyone tried the SA 8300HD cable box with this? Which mode works the best? The only two modes that work well for me are 1080i and 720p, but I have it locked to 1080i FIXED (instead of pass-through) because I didn't want the slow re-sync each time I flip between Fox and ABC HD (takes a good second or two). Also, I really don't notice the difference in quality.
Also, anyone tried the 8300HD HDMI to this set? I'm wondering whether to try it for $20, given the reviews seem to blast the resulting PQ.

You really aren't getting the best picture with 1080i. This display is downscaling the resolution. however, if you feed it 720p, it will simply display it without scaling it at all. the internal scaler is for poop, if you ask me.

Also, I agree, I'm not that pleased with the HDMI input.


That is not true.
The native resolution of this TV is 1024X768, so it is scaling whether you are viewing 720P content or 1080i content. The only way it is *not* scaling is if you feed it 1024X768 from an HTPC or other device.

That is not true.
The native resolution of this TV is 1024X768, so it is scaling whether you are viewing 720P content or 1080i content. The only way it is *not* scaling is if you feed it 1024X768 from an HTPC or other device.

No, you aren't correct, and there's a very strong chance that neither of us are.

When dealing with plasmas, you are talking about rectangular pixels. Resolutions assume SQUARE pixels. So 1280 x 768 square pixels could very well equal 1024 rectangular ones.

In any event, a digital display is naturally progressive, so at the very least, feeding it a progressive signal from the source will prevent the display from using it own's interlacer.

Is the maxent MX42VM10 model better or worse then the mx42x3?

No, you aren't correct, and there's a very strong chance that neither of us are.

When dealing with plasmas, you are talking about rectangular pixels. Resolutions assume SQUARE pixels. So 1280 x 768 square pixels could very well equal 1024 rectangular ones.

In any event, a digital display is naturally progressive, so at the very least, feeding it a progressive signal from the source will prevent the display from using it own's interlacer.

Yes I know all about rectangular pixels. Resolutions only assume SQUARE pixels in the PC realm, in the video world, horizontal resolutions can be all over the place. You can send the TV 1024X768, but your desktop will be stretched. That's why people try to get 1366X768 for HTPCs on 42" HD plasmas. It's the correct 16:9 ratio for 768 vert - but 1366 is not evenly divisible by 8, which causes problems, but there are already plenty of threads on that.

But none of that has to do what I was originally correcting you on. Again, the resolution of this TV is 1024 X 768. 720P content has a vertical resolution of.....720 lines! This TV has a resolution of.....768 lines! To fill your screen the TV scales it to it's NATIVE resolution of 768.

In any event, a digital display is naturally progressive, so at the very least, feeding it a progressive signal from the source will prevent the display from using it own's interlacer.

You mean de-interlacer. But that is different than resizing, which is what we are talking about. Whether you send it 720P from your cable box or 768 (60hz) from your HTPC you are sending it a progressive signal.

Just a response to earlier suggestions.
I tried the codes in the manual for the Dish Player 501/510 - 506,509, 698. none of them worked. :(

So any other suggestions ?
My only other route is the Harmony Remote Controls.

Also thought i might get feedback on Set up:-
Dish Player 501 (awaiting a dish 921 hd PVR) - Connected via S-Video
Sony HCD-FC8 - DVD - Component 1 using 480p (needed to change 2 settings - 16:9 display and progressive (Switch on rear too))

Settings - Used THX to set component
Contrast - Comp= 51, AV2 = 70 (changed from 80)
Brightness 57, 50
Color 47, 50
Tint 0, 0
Sharpness 40, 50

Today I draggeed my wife to Circuit City to see the Sony 42a10 they had on sale. She was not impressed at all with what they were showing. We had them switch to regular programming and I was not impressed. We kept being drawn to the plasma even on regular programming. I did not want to make a decision until I saw the Sony, although it looked fantastic on hd it sucked on sd. So I went and picked up my Maxent rain check from Costco and set it up temporarily. I don't know if it is setup right but the picture has been very good on regular digital cable so far. I think for the money this should be a great choice. Can't wait to see hd. Can someone tell me what cables I need to set this up for hd. I am going to have my wife swing by comcast and try to pick up a hd cable box. What if the cable box does not have hdmi? I am also interested in what people have bought for a stand.

Today I draggeed my wife to Circuit City to see the Sony 42a10 they had on sale. She was not impressed at all with what they were showing. We had them switch to regular programming and I was not impressed. We kept being drawn to the plasma even on regular programming. I did not want to make a decision until I saw the Sony, although it looked fantastic on hd it sucked on sd. So I went and picked up my Maxent rain check from Costco and set it up temporarily. I don't know if it is setup right but the picture has been very good on regular digital cable so far. I think for the money this should be a great choice. Can't wait to see hd. Can someone tell me what cables I need to set this up for hd. I am going to have my wife swing by comcast and try to pick up a hd cable box. What if the cable box does not have hdmi? I am also interested in what people have bought for a stand.

I agree SD looks pretty good out of a digital box. I just use the component cables. I tried using a DVI to HDMI adapter but my Scientific Atlanta box doesn't send a signal. YMMV. If there is a DVI output then you have to have some other way of feeding audio, like a home theater audio setup. In many cases I doubt that there is a bug difference in picture quality between HDMI and component. My component looks really good with HD programming.

We just put up our Maxent 42X3 we got with a rain check from Costco. We like it fine so far, but we've noticed a bizzare problem.

When there is a bright flash on the screen, the component input from out HD DirectTivo loses signal for a second. The plasma displays the Component input label on the screen, then the pic kicks back in. For some reason, it seems to happen mostly on CSI: Las Vegas reruns on Spike, when they show a flash back to a crime scene. These scenes always begin with a bright flash. The funny thing is that if we pause and rerun the scene on the Tivo, everything is OK. I think the same thing may have happened with some music videos.

We are hesitant to take the screen back if this is a known problem with all the sets. Any ideas? Thanks!

I am also having a simular problem. My TV will go black for a period of 2-3 seconds while watching tv. Sometime, I will have to even turn the TV on and off several times before the picture comes back. At first I thought it was my DTV HDTivo box (using HDMI which is known to be a little buggy), however it has also started happening watching DVDs (480p) component in. If this doesn't stop soon, I am going to be take the set back to COSTCO and buy myself a panny 8uk.

Hope this helps.

I don't have that problem...


I do have a SA8300HD box, and I'm using the HDMI output to the tv (with audio going digitally to my a/v receiver). PQ is excellent. The only small problem I'm having is skin tones. They seem a bit reddish (or purplish), and changing the tint doesn't really help...

other than that, the hdmi works fine.

I don't have that problem...


I do have a SA8300HD box, and I'm using the HDMI output to the tv (with audio going digitally to my a/v receiver). PQ is excellent. The only small problem I'm having is skin tones. They seem a bit reddish (or purplish), and changing the tint doesn't really help...

other than that, the hdmi works fine.

There is clearly a red-push over HDMI. I'm hoping one day there will be a service menu hack to turn this down.

There is clearly a red-push over HDMI. I'm hoping one day there will be a service menu hack to turn this down.

You can make those adjustments over the rs232 connection outlined in the manual. Since I'm using an HTPC, I compensated for a slight green push in my panel by adjusting the video card in the PC. I don't want to mess the panel settings before I'm sure that I need to. According to the manual you can adjust RGB gain and bias individually. Let us know how you make out :)
-Phil

My Parents just bought one a few days ago & love it.

You can make those adjustments over the rs232 connection outlined in the manual. Since I'm using an HTPC, I compensated for a slight green push in my panel by adjusting the video card in the PC. I don't want to mess the panel settings before I'm sure that I need to. According to the manual you can adjust RGB gain and bias individually. Let us know how you make out :)
-Phil

Excellent info Phil. Now all I need is a serial connector card. Damn modern techonology :cool:

It is a pretty nifty feature. Potentially you could write hyperterminal scripts to change multiple settings in one shot. You could create different settings for games, DVD, etc... Not sure if it's really necessary but it does seem cool. I wonder if other panels have this same ability?
-Phil

you guys are talking about pc inputs, right?!?

I have a OneForAll 6131 remote, and it doesn't recognize this tv. I tried the codes for the other related tv's, but nothing works. Anyone have any ideas?

you guys are talking about pc inputs, right?!?

The RS232c port on the panel via Hyperterminal gives you access to the following controls:

Command and Data Tables:
Description Command Data Options:
Read Data REA VOL, PWR, BRT, CON, CLR, TNT, SHP, INP, VSZ, VPS, HSZ, HPS, RCL, SAV, MUT, LNG,
TMP,BAS, TRB, BAL, CCD, ZOM, PIP, POP PIS,POF, SIN, SWP, RGN, GGN, BGN, RBS,
GBS, BBS
Volume VOL 001…100
Power On/Off PWR PON=Power On, OFF=Power off
Brightness BRT 001…100
Contrast CON 001…100
Color CLR 001…100
Tint TNT 001…100
Sharpness SHP 001…100
Input Select INP AV1=AV Input 1, AV2=AV Input 2, CP1=Component Input 1,
CP2=Component Input 2, RG1=RGB, HDM=HDMI
V-Size VSZ 001…100
V-Position VPS 001…100
H-Size HSZ 001…100
H-Position HPS 001…100
Recall RCL 000
Save SAV 000
Mute MUT MON=On, OFF=Off
Language LNG ENG=English, SPA=Spanish, FFR=French, TCH=Tranditional Chinese
Color Temp TMP MID=Natural, HIG=Cool, 65D=Warm
Bass BAS 001…100
Treble TRB 001…100
Balance BAL 001…100
Surround Sound SRS OFF=Off, STR=Stereo, MON=Mono
Closed Captioning CCD OFF, CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4, TX1, TX2, TX3, TX4
Zoom ZOM WID=16:9, PAN=Panorama Stretch, NOR=4:3 with black bars, ZO1=Zoom1,
ZO2=Zoom2
PIP PIP PON=PIP On, OFF=PIP Off
PIP Position PIS PS1=Position 1, PS2=Position 2, PS3=Position 3, PS4=Position 4
Sub-Source SIN AV1=AV Input 1, AV2=AV Input 2,
CP1=Component Input 1, CP2=Component Input 2, RG1=RGB1
HDM=HDMI
R-Gain RGN 000…551
G-Gain GGN 000…551
B-Gain BGN 000…551
R-Bias RBS 000…999
G-Bias GBS 000…999
B-Bias BBS 000…999
Clear Buffer Escape Key Simply press the ESC key on the keyboard will send command to clear command buffer

I like connecting the HTPC to the 42X3 via a DVI/HDMI cable. The picture seems to look slightly better than component. However,everytime I reboot the HTPC the display resets to 800x600 and I manually have to set it back to 1280x692 (custom res). Does anyone else have this problem?

I went back and forth last night from component to HDMI and decided HDMI had a little less "noise" in the picture. So I stuck with it, even though it does have the "red push".

Service menu info would really be helpful!!!

I am currently connecting from PC via VGA (RGB), would switching to DVI give me much better pictures? Thanks

Is anyone having a problem using the HDMI input at 720P?
Using an HTPC (w/GeForce 6600GT) and connecting a DVI>HDMI cable, whenever I use a setting other than 1080i I get a row of 1/2" wide horizontal lines at the right edge of the screen (see attachment). I've tried so many different timings and resolutions, I'm at my wits end. 1080i works fine, but anything else produces this artifact. Is anybody else seeing this? I can't figure out if it's a problem with the display or my setup, but because of Costco's return policy I may just swap it for another one.

Chris - no problems with 720p. I have 1080i, 720p, and 480p as outputs from my SA8300 box, and it does a passthrough of either of those resolutions. pq is fine on all.

Has anyone been able to tweak any of the settings via RS-232? I've tried to connect with my laptop and haven't been able to get anywhere. If anyone has done this can you post your Hyperterminal settings. Is there maybe a command to initiate the connection? This is my first crack at serial connections.

One question for those who have exchanged their sets at Costco (not that I need to at this time. Knock on wood.):

My local Costco tends to want to do a full return on an item even if you just want to exchange. Therefore they will give your money back first and tell you to re-buy the replacement (it happened to me when I went to get a different size pants). However if that is the case will you only get back the after-rebate price on the Maxent and now have to pay full price for the set since the deal is over?
That would be a problem...

I would think as long as they have the item in stock, they would just exchange it. I've exchanged defective DVD's before and did not have to go through the refund/purchase process.

Has anyone been able to tweak any of the settings via RS-232? I've tried to connect with my laptop and haven't been able to get anywhere. If anyone has done this can you post your Hyperterminal settings. Is there maybe a command to initiate the connection? This is my first crack at serial connections.


Yes it works. When setting up Hyperterminal select com1, then change bits per second to 9600. In the properties page click on ASCII settings and then click echo commands locally (this will let you see what you type). You will see a prompt > when connected. If this doesn't work then you will need to try a different cable. You need a straight cable, it can't be a null modem or crossover cable. The cables that I had all turned out to be crossover, so I cut one end off and put my own connecter on. Pin 1 to Pin 1 ,Pin 2 to Pin 2 etc...

-Phil

The code number i found eventually on my new HD PVR remote is 746 The Last SAMPO TV code in the book.

Heres a couple of links to some photos I took of my Maxent MX-42X3:

w/ DVD video from a Samsung DVD-HD850 @1080p via component input
click here for the photos (http://24.96.59.129:8080/random/HomeTheater/DVD/index.htm)

w/ standard definition cable video from a JVC HR-S6800U VCR via S-video input:
click here for the photos (http://24.96.59.129:8080/random/HomeTheater/SDvideo/index.htm)

Enjoy!

P.S. The photos above are not retouched or modified in any way except for size reduction. They were taken by either my Canon digital Elph or Fuji S7000. Room lighting was off for most of them with only the late afternoon sun showing through the blinds on a few of the photos.

Heres a couple of links to some photos I took of my Maxent MX-42X3:

w/ DVD video from a Samsung DVD-HD850 @1080p via component input
click here for the photos (http://24.96.59.129:8080/random/HomeTheater/DVD/index.htm)

w/ standard definition cable video from a JVC HR-S6800U VCR via S-video input:
click here for the photos (http://24.96.59.129:8080/random/HomeTheater/SDvideo/index.htm)

Enjoy!

This proves to me that there is definitely something wrong with the HDMI input on these units. My DVD player (OPPO) through HDMI looks like poo compared to this. HDTV looks great through component.

This proves to me that there is definitely something wrong with the HDMI input on these units. My DVD player (OPPO) through HDMI looks like poo compared to this. HDTV looks great through component.

Yeah, tell me about it! I kept trying to tweak and adjust the picture when I had the Sammy 850 connected through HDMI. I never was able to get it to look like I thought it should. So I threw in the towel and decided to try connecting it via component input. Voila! The picture is so much better now in my opinion.

Now last evening I connected my iBook laptop using the VGA input at 1024x768 native resolution on the Maxent. Watching a digital photo album slideshow at full native resolution (unscaled) was amazing! An entirely new level of clarity! I have a extra long SVGA cable on its way from monoprice to be able to connect my HTPC (in the study) to the Maxent (in the theater).

Maybe I got lucky but the DVI to HDMI out of my motorola box on Comcast looks better with SD and HD than the component. I have the output on the box for SD set at 480p and HD at 720p.
My panny DVD-R doesn't have DVI or HDMI but I'm very happy with the componant picture from the DVD anyway.
For those of you looking for a remote code. Use the search function. It took me 5 minutes on the Comcast remote and it works great.

I’ve been unhappy with the darker/redder picture that I was getting via HDMI from my cable box (Pace 550 connected via DVI-HDMI cable) I finally got RS-232 working this weekend which allowed me to get more information about the individual color settings. I’m new to all of this so I’m hoping that someone with more experience (and/or the ability to calibrate their HDMI input) can give some more information/interpretation.

My initial settings came after a calibration with DVE over a component connection:

Contrast:36
Brightness:34
Color:34
Tint: +4
Sharpness: 50
V-pos:46
H-pos:45

When I looked at the RGB Gain/Bias over RS-232 I got the following information for my component input:

R-Gain:278
G-Gain:307
B-Gain:294
R-Bias:508
G-Bias:501
B-Bias:516

Compare that with my HDMI values (with the same settings in the OSD menu):

R-Gain:213
G-Gain:218
B-Gain:212
R-Bias:455
G-Bias:472
B-Bias:466

I can confirm that this plasma will allow you to adjust and save the RGB Gain/Bias and save those settings via the RS-232. I set my HDMI port to use the same RGB settings as my component ans the picture is significantly improved (it is a little washed out).

Hopefully this information will be useful to someone else. I'd be interested to hear what others think about this.

I’ve been unhappy with the darker/redder picture that I was getting via HDMI from my cable box (Pace 550 connected via DVI-HDMI cable) I finally got RS-232 working this weekend which allowed me to get more information about the individual color settings. I’m new to all of this so I’m hoping that someone with more experience (and/or the ability to calibrate their HDMI input) can give some more information/interpretation.

My initial settings came after a calibration with DVE over a component connection:

Contrast:36
Brightness:34
Color:34
Tint: +4
Sharpness: 50
V-pos:46
H-pos:45

When I looked at the RGB Gain/Bias over RS-232 I got the following information for my component input:

R-Gain:278
G-Gain:307
B-Gain:294
R-Bias:508
G-Bias:501
B-Bias:516

Compare that with my HDMI values (with the same settings in the OSD menu):

R-Gain:213
G-Gain:218
B-Gain:212
R-Bias:455
G-Bias:472
B-Bias:466

I can confirm that this plasma will allow you to adjust and save the RGB Gain/Bias and save those settings via the RS-232. I set my HDMI port to use the same RGB settings as my component ans the picture is significantly improved (it is a little washed out).

Hopefully this information will be useful to someone else. I'd be interested to hear what others think about this.

Thanks for the info. Also, can you tell confirm that your RBG gain and bias settings are exactly the same for the HDMI and component inputs? Your post isn't quite clear.

Also, any tips for getting Hyper Terminal to work?

Josh,

Hyperterminal: Make sure you have a "straight" Rs-232 cable. I work in IT and I had to go through 6-7 old 9 pin cables to find one. Once I had the right cable the > prompt showed up after I pressed enter.

My Settings: I set the On Screen Display settings were for both HDMI and Component to be the same before I started. After that I connected via Hyperterminal to the display with the Component input selected and used the REA command to get the RGB Bias and Gain settings for that input. After that I switched to HDMI and repeated the process. The results of those querys are in my original post. Once I could see how far off the individual color settings were I decided to change my HDMI Bias/Gain settings to match my component inputs (since those are the best numbers I have). I'm hoping that a VGA to DVI adapter will let me run DVE through HDMI using my laptop so I can get good numbers for the HDMI port. If I am able to get the adapter then I will post that information as well.

Josh,

Hyperterminal: Make sure you have a "straight" Rs-232 cable. I work in IT and I had to go through 6-7 old 9 pin cables to find one. Once I had the right cable the > prompt showed up after I pressed enter.

My Settings: I set the On Screen Display settings were for both HDMI and Component to be the same before I started. After that I connected via Hyperterminal to the display with the Component input selected and used the REA command to get the RGB Bias and Gain settings for that input. After that I switched to HDMI and repeated the process. The results of those querys are in my original post. Once I could see how far off the individual color settings were I decided to change my HDMI Bias/Gain settings to match my component inputs (since those are the best numbers I have). I'm hoping that a VGA to DVI adapter will let me run DVE through HDMI using my laptop so I can get good numbers for the HDMI port. If I am able to get the adapter then I will post that information as well.

Thanks for the info. I bought this, do you think this will work?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10311&cs_id=1031101&p_id=2276&seq=1&format=2&style=

You will need a gender changer for that cable. The connection on the plasma is male.

You will need a gender changer for that cable. The connection on the plasma is male.

Like this one? So then this cable will work fine?

I just spent a few hours trying to get the colors right on the HDMI input. First, it does look like "red push", because flesh tones look overly red. But I have used both Avia and Digital Video Essentials through the HTPC and they both indicate green push. This baffles me. Using the color bar patterns on both DVD's, I get the color saturation and tint set just about perfect looking through the blue filter. Then when you go to the color decoder checks and view through the green and red filters, all signs point to green push!

Then I found an extra serial cable so I hooked up a laptop and started messing around with the RGB gain & bias levels using the RS-232 port. I wrote down all the initial values, then decreased the red GAIN & BIAS. It really didn't do much to eliminate the red hue in flesh tones, it just threw everything else a little out of whack. So then I figured maybe I should be lowering the green. I set red back to where it was, then turned down the green. I just couldn't get it to even out, but I didn't really know what I should be doing either (should I just lower the gain, or just the bias, or both, or neither??)

I decided to set the RGB values back to what they were initially, use the "color decoder check" test pattern and lower the color setting on the TV until the green level was no longer elevated. This lowered the red & blue levels also of course, but skin tones look better now.

Anyone have ideas why this is happening, or know what values we should be changing? (green? red? bias? gain?)

EDIT:

FWIW here are the initial RGB values I had for the HDMI input (on "Natural" color setting)

R-Gain=282
G-Gain=293
B-Gain=282
R-Bias=437
G-Bias=442
B-Bias=447

Chris (and the rest of us messing around with Hyper Terminal) -

I think we might be going about this the wrong way. I'm thinking we should set all initial settings to 50 on the user menu, and then 250/500 on the bias / gain. THEN we should set with AVIA / DVE. Only what we can't dial out with the user settings should we adjust with the bias / gain. I'm curious what would happen with these settings.

BTW - here's something funny. My VGA port was set OPPOSITE (gains in the 400, bais in the 200s). I adjusted, and man what a difference!!

I'm definitely getting a green push. Not really interested in using the 232 port since I won't know what I'm doing.
Anyone find a way to get rid of the green tint on anything light colored?

I'm definitely getting a green push. Not really interested in using the 232 port since I won't know what I'm doing.
Anyone find a way to get rid of the green tint on anything light colored?

If you aren't willing to change teh gain / bias, your only other option is tint.

Is anyone using this with an HD-Tivo? I tried the Sampo code, but it didn't work.

TIA
Chris

So .. you guys who have bought the Maxent 42X3 in the past couple of months have you been happy with it ... and would you buy it again ... keep in mind the spectacular sale has ended but do you fell that it is still a good value at current prices?

So .. you guys who have bought the Maxent 42X3 in the past couple of months have you been happy with it ... and would you buy it again ... keep in mind the spectacular sale has ended but do you fell that it is still a good value at current prices?

Initially after buying this plasma on an impulse I was not sure if I did the right thing so I left it sitting in the box in my garage for 2 weeks. I do not have HD cable and watch DVDs frequently so I really was not sure if I needed an HDTV. For the longest time I really was looking forward to a DLP or LCD projection microdisplay and did not really consider plasma as an option. It was only after reading this forum and the talk of this Maxent coupon deal that caught my attention. It did help that Costco has a generous return policy so I felt I could return it if I didn't like it.

Eventually I built up the nerve to open it up (and I had to get someone to help me lug it into my TV room) and I've been extremely happy ever since.

Here's a photo of the setup:
http://24.96.59.129:8080/random/HomeTheater/HomeTheater-04.jpg

SD perfomance is MUCH better than I expected and I'm VERY pleased with the picture quality after calibrating it using DVE. After tinkering I find that upconverted DVDs look fabulous through the component inputs and I'm now starting to tinker with 1024x768 input via VGA from my laptop and my HTPC to be able to watch 1080p WindowsMedia HD DVDs!

One flaw that I still notice is the occasional color banding that I can see when certain smooth color gradients are shown in DVD videos. Do other Maxent owners see this as well or is it a particular problem with my set?

So after all is said and done would I buy one again? Most certainly YES! And even with the regular non-coupon price? Still Yes!

One flaw that I still notice is the occasional color banding that I can see when certain smooth color gradients are shown in DVD videos. Do other Maxent owners see this as well or is it a particular problem with my set?

So after all is said and done would I buy one again? Most certainly YES! And even with the regular non-coupon price? Still Yes!


Regarding color banding, I did notice a bit when using the HTPC through component inputs. It mostly went away with the HDMI input, but there is still a little on certain DVD's. The encoding quality and decoding process can have an effect on that also, so I doubt it has much to do with the display.

Regarding whether it is still worth it...even without the coupon price it is still a very good price for an HD plasma, considering the decent picture quality. But the way plasmas prices are dropping, if you can wait a couple months you may see many name brand HD plasmas in this price range.

I'm having a really hard time trying to adjust the HDMI input using the rs-232 port.

Whenever I set new values for R-Gain, G-Gain, etc, as soon as I click the menu button and go to the PICTURE menu, all the settings I just entered get reverted back to ther default values!!! This is driving me crazy! Is this happening to anyone else, or can someone try this to see if it happens?

Also - one more thing which I'm not sure is a problem for just me. Can anyone switch to the HDMI input using the rs-232 port?

For example, if you are on component1 input, you can type the command:

INP:CP2

and it should switch the input (INP) to component 2 (CP2). This works fine.

BUT...if I type INP:HDM it should switch to the HDMI input. But it does not, I just receive a fail message. If I manually switch to the HDMI input and type REA:INP (which means "read input"), it should reply with "HDM". But I just get a blank line. It's almost like the TV does not recognize it has an HDMI input.

So for those of you that have connected with a serial cable, does this happen to you also? If it does not, I'm taking this thing back tomorrow.

Thanks.

I'm having a really hard time trying to adjust the HDMI input using the rs-232 port.

Whenever I set new values for R-Gain, G-Gain, etc, as soon as I click the menu button and go to the PICTURE menu, all the settings I just entered get reverted back to ther default values!!! This is driving me crazy! Is this happening to anyone else, or can someone try this to see if it happens?

Also - one more thing which I'm not sure is a problem for just me. Can anyone switch to the HDMI input using the rs-232 port?

For example, if you are on component1 input, you can type the command:

INP:CP2

and it should switch the input (INP) to component 2 (CP2). This works fine.

BUT...if I type INP:HDM it should switch to the HDMI input. But it does not, I just receive a fail message. If I manually switch to the HDMI input and type REA:INP (which means "read input"), it should reply with "HDM". But I just get a blank line. It's almost like the TV does not recognize it has an HDMI input.

So for those of you that have connected with a serial cable, does this happen to you also? If it does not, I'm taking this thing back tomorrow.

Thanks.

Chris, the above is exactly what's happening to me. So it's probably the display.

Also, the settings need to be saved. There is the SAV command, but I'm not sure how to use it yet. I think it's probably SAV:RGN or whatever you are trying. I'm going to keep messing with it.

BTW, the sample settings on page 15 were a great baseline for adjusting the picture. Still handles dark scenes not great, but I think with some adjustment it will get there.

Use SAV:000 to save the changes to your settings. The syntax of the commands requires that a value be there and apparently Maxent chose 000. Make your changes then send SAV:000. Your settings will hold then. Not sure about the HDMI input switching though. I don't have an HTPC so I haven't tried that.

Use SAV:000 to save the changes to your settings. The syntax of the commands requires that a value be there and apparently Maxent chose 000. Make your changes then send SAV:000. Your settings will hold then. Not sure about the HDMI input switching though. I don't have an HTPC so I haven't tried that.

Thanks again for the excellent info.

Glad I could help. I spent a little while fighting that one myself.

Glad I could help. I spent a little while fighting that one myself.

While we've got you, are you having the same issue with the HDMI over HT that Chris and I are? Will it display? Ours says:

INP

CFM

But HDM isn't displayed.

Josh,

I'll try it when I get home. I don't think I even tried the command to switch over to the HDMI. While I'm connected I'll try and get the baseline settings for Gain/Bias with the settings at 50 for HDMI.

Josh,

I'll try it when I get home. I don't think I even tried the command to switch over to the HDMI. While I'm connected I'll try and get the baseline settings for Gain/Bias with the settings at 50 for HDMI.

Sounds good to me, thanks for the extra effort.

BTW - we should try and get the black level enhancer enabled for this display.

I agree that something is wrong with how the firmware/RS-232 sees the HDMI port. I can't switch to it with the INP:HDM command and when I do a REA:INP while on HDMI I get the following:

>RCV:
>
>CFM

Someone want to call Maxent and see what they say? Since I don't have an HTPC it isn't really a big deal to me...

Black Level Enhancer:
First a dumb question: What is this supposed to do?

I'd be happy to investigate the Black Level Enhancer if someone can point me in the right direction (and tell me what it should do). I have no idea where to start though.

I agree that something is wrong with how the firmware/RS-232 sees the HDMI port. I can't switch to it with the INP:HDM command and when I do a REA:INP while on HDMI I get the following:

>RCV:
>
>CFM

Someone want to call Maxent and see what they say? Since I don't have an HTPC it isn't really a big deal to me...

Black Level Enhancer:
First a dumb question: What is this supposed to do?

I'd be happy to investigate the Black Level Enhancer if someone can point me in the right direction (and tell me what it should do). I have no idea where to start though.

The Black Level Extention is a menu option that is frozen. The manual says that "this feature is not available for this model". But the fact that it's in the menu leads me to believe it's still there.

But if you want a *real* project, we should figure out how to enable the zoom modes (esp. panoramic) for HD material.

Interesting comparison of maxent models. Our isn't listed:

http://www.maxentusa.com/uploads/files/164.pdf

I have some questions and I'm sure many people on this site will have answers.
Before I got my comcast hd box I was able to access a zoom function on the Maxent remote that allowed me to expand a 4.3 broadcast to full screen. After installing the hd box I only have 16.9 and 4.3. What happened to the other options?
I am also getting less quality picture using hdmi than with component, the colors and brightness seem to be way off. No matter how I adjust settings they still seem to be less quality than component. I thought hdmi would give the best picture. The cable was $50, should I return it? I do have DVE on the way and hope that will help.
Does anybody else have the Comcast DTC-6200 box? Is there anything I should know on either of these?
Thanks in advance for any responses.

I have some questions and I'm sure many people on this site will have answers.
Before I got my comcast hd box I was able to access a zoom function on the Maxent remote that allowed me to expand a 4.3 broadcast to full screen. After installing the hd box I only have 16.9 and 4.3. What happened to the other options?
I am also getting less quality picture using hdmi than with component, the colors and brightness seem to be way off. No matter how I adjust settings they still seem to be less quality than component. I thought hdmi would give the best picture. The cable was $50, should I return it? I do have DVE on the way and hope that will help.
Thanks in advance for any responses.

In regard to the first question, with the HDMI input (and component) you do not have access to the various zoom functions. These functions only work with the S-video and composite inputs. Does your Comcast box have any aspect ratio controls?

As for the second question I posted about this same issue earlier in this thread based on my experiences with my Samsung DVD player. I can only start to think that the HDMI input on this set is not the greatest.

In regard to the first question, with the HDMI input (and component) you do not have access to the various zoom functions. These functions only work with the S-video and composite inputs. Does your Comcast box have any aspect ratio controls?

As for the second question I posted about this same issue earlier in this thread based on my experiences with my Samsung DVD player. I can only start to think that the HDMI input on this set is not the greatest.

I agree with that last part. I would be willing to bet that if I had a service tech come out here, he would tell me something was up with the HDMI input.

Here's my newest issue - for some reason, video based DVDs (like LOST) look fantastic, but film based, only look okay. I wonder if this display is not doing that great of a job on film based DVDs.

I am also getting less quality picture using hdmi than with component, the colors and brightness seem to be way off. No matter how I adjust settings they still seem to be less quality than component.

You get get the brightness & contrast set properly when you get DVE. But the colors seem to be impossible to get right on the HDMI input. I've been trying for a while, using all sorts of test patterns, and can't get them right.

I thought hdmi would give the best picture. The cable was $50, should I return it?

Whether you end up using HDMI or not, $50 is WAY too much to spend on an HDMI cable. Try http://www.monoprice.com

Here's my newest issue - for some reason, video based DVDs (like LOST) look fantastic, but film based, only look okay. I wonder if this display is not doing that great of a job on film based DVDs.

What type of DVD player (progressive scan?), and what input are you using with it? Film based DVD's are 24fps and video is 29.97fps, so maybe something is up with the 3:2 pulldown mechanism? Come to think of it, shows like LOST are shot in film anyway, so maybe that's not it.

I haven't noticed this problem, but I'm playing DVD's through an HTPC so I may be bypassing whatever is causing the problem.

What type of DVD player (progressive scan?), and what input are you using with it? Film based DVD's are 24fps and video is 29.97fps, so maybe something is up with the 3:2 pulldown mechanism? Come to think of it, shows like LOST are shot in film anyway, so maybe that's not it.

I haven't noticed this problem, but I'm playing DVD's through an HTPC so I may be bypassing whatever is causing the problem.

I have an Oppo and an S77 (both top of the line units).

Does anybody know what code to use for the remote to shut off Maxent?
My cable box is the motorola 6200 I don't know which remote it uses.

on my Comcast 3in1 remote with a moto box it liked one of the Sampo codes 0030 or 1755

on my Comcast 3in1 remote with a moto box it liked one of the Sampo codes 0030 or 1755

Neither of those codes worked.
Thanks for the suggestion.

I've got a question for those of you using the Maxent with XP Media Center PCs. I've been working with my HTPC running XPMC 2004 w/ Radeon X300 connected to the Maxent via SVGA cabling. I've been playing Windows Media HD discs with this combo at 1280x768 resolution @ 60Hz with mediocre/poor results. I've tried adjusting to 32 bit versus 16 bit color without any improvement. There is a significant amount of color banding/false contouring and diffuse picture noise throughout. Honestly the standard DVD versions of these same movies look much better upscaled through my Samsung DVD player rather than from the WMHD at 720p or 1080i! On my computer monitor it all looks great without any of the above problems! Are there certain settings that I need to adjust on my PC to get a better picture?

When I played video through the SVGA from my Apple iBook it looked much better than the video from the HTPC. This cant possibly be right as the onboard graphics chip on the iBook is very outdated.

I've got a question for those of you using the Maxent with XP Media Center PCs. I've been working with my HTPC running XPMC 2004 w/ Radeon X300 connected to the Maxent via SVGA cabling. I've been playing Windows Media HD discs with this combo at 1280x768 resolution @ 60Hz with mediocre/poor results. I've tried adjusting to 32 bit versus 16 bit color without any improvement. There is a significant amount of color banding/false contouring and diffuse picture noise throughout. Honestly the standard DVD versions of these same movies look much better upscaled through my Samsung DVD player rather than from the WMHD at 720p or 1080i! On my computer monitor it all looks great without any of the above problems! Are there certain settings that I need to adjust on my PC to get a better picture?

When I played video through the SVGA from my Apple iBook it looked much better than the video from the HTPC. This cant possibly be right as the onboard graphics chip on the iBook is very outdated.

If you are burning this content to disc, you are downscaling it to 480i. That's what video is encoded on DVD at.

You should try and make a direct conection into the VGA and play the videos from your HD at native resolution.

If you are burning this content to disc, you are downscaling it to 480i. That's what video is encoded on DVD at.

You should try and make a direct conection into the VGA and play the videos from your HD at native resolution.

Actually I might not have been clear with my explanation. I'm trying to play the commercially pressed High Definition DVDs by Image Entertainment encoded in WMV-HD from my HTPC through SVGA/RGB to my Maxent. I'm not playing back personal "burned" DVD content.

These DVDs (IMAX films like the Coral Reef Adventure and The Magic of Flight) are packaged as a second disc alongside the standard definition DVD. WMV-HD is capable of 1080p playback through the PC. However due to the problems I'm having with the SVGA as I mentioned earlier (noise, color banding, contouring) the playback on the Maxent's screen is not as outstanding as I had hoped (it looks good on my 19" computer CRT). The standard resolution DVD plays back much better on the Maxent through my Sammy player than the high-def disc through the HTPC. This just doesn't make sense.

So what exact settings are people running with their HTPCs and their Maxents? Are you connecting via SVGA/RGB or DVI/HDMI? What output resolutions/depth/frequencies are you using on your PC? 1024x768 or 1280x768? 16 bit or 32 bit? 60 Hz or 70Hz?

More importantly has anyone played back any of these WMV HD DVDs through their HTPC on their Maxents and if so how did it look? I want to know if something is defective on my end.

Thanks in advance.

Have seen this model at TigerDirect for well below two thousand with their current mail in rebate - can anyone comment on how this model may compare with the X3? Tough buying a set sight unseen...

Have seen this model at TigerDirect for well below two thousand with their current mail in rebate - can anyone comment on how this model may compare with the X3? Tough buying a set sight unseen...

The contrast and brightness stats listed on TigerDirects site for the 42XP10 are the SAME as those of the 42XM11 (AKA the Maxent sold at BE5TBUY). This would lead you to believe that they are using the same plasma panel in a different style casing.

The stats of the 42XM11 and 42XP10 panels are DIFFERENT from those of the Maxent 42X3 sold at CO5TCO (the main subject of this entire thread). The CO5TCO 42X3 has both increased brightness and contrast range and probably represents a newer/different plasma panel.

The BB set has been noted by several in this thread to exhibit some lackluster picture characteristics including a "green push". I would think that the magazine review link for the 42XM11 posted earlier in this thread would be a more accurate representation of the 42XP10's performance...

So what exact settings are people running with their HTPCs and their Maxents? Are you connecting via SVGA/RGB or DVI/HDMI? What output resolutions/depth/frequencies are you using on your PC? 1024x768 or 1280x768? 16 bit or 32 bit? 60 Hz or 70Hz?

More importantly has anyone played back any of these WMV HD DVDs through their HTPC on their Maxents and if so how did it look? I want to know if something is defective on my end.

Thanks in advance.

I was getting color banding using the component output adapter on my 6600GT, got much better results using the DVI output (using DVI>HDMI cable) but now I have the problem off the messed up colors on the HDMI input.

I'm using 1080i (30hz), not getting any color banding now and the 1080i wmv HD clips I downloaded from Microsoft look great. On some videos, like the Stormchasers one, I can notice some slight color banding in the sky on some scenes, but it is slight and I think a result of the video compression.

FYI- Use 60 hz (or 59.94) for progressive resolutions, and 30hz (or 29.97) for 1080i. I wouldn't use 70.

FYI- Use 60 hz (or 59.94) for progressive resolutions, and 30hz (or 29.97) for 1080i. I wouldn't use 70.

Thanks for the reply. What output resolution have you chosen? 1024x768? Also what color depth (32 bit vs 16 bit)?

Thanks for the reply. What output resolution have you chosen? 1024x768? Also what color depth (32 bit vs 16 bit)?

Choose 32 bit color. Get the latest ATI drivers (5.8) they let you make custom resolutions for component and dvi. I created a custom resolution of 1280x692. The adjustments available in the ATI control Center depend on the connection you are using. I don't know if your x300 has dvi but in IMHO using a dvi/hdmi cable gives the best result with an HTPC. I have a 9800pro, 2.8 Ghz P4, 1G ram, power dvd 6, mce 2005. 2x a180s, and 500mce. Everything works as it should.

-Phil

Jcampy:
Use the search function for the Motorola remote, it took about 5 minutes of pressing buttons to find the code and it works great. Go to comcast web site for an explaination on how to use the search function. Also, I agree with Chris, $50 is way too much for that cable. I got one from www.monoprice.com for about 8 bucks, thanks to the members of this board! I set the output on the motorola box for 720p on the HD content and 480p on the SD content and both look fantastic using the DVI/HDMI cable.

Jcampy:
Use the search function for the Motorola remote, it took about 5 minutes of pressing buttons to find the code and it works great. Go to comcast web site for an explaination on how to use the search function. Also, I agree with Chris, $50 is way too much for that cable. I got one from www.monoprice.com for about 8 bucks, thanks to the members of this board! I set the output on the motorola box for 720p on the HD content and 480p on the SD content and both look fantastic using the DVI/HDMI cable.

Here's my new thoughts on scaling - go with 1080i (and 480i for SD).

Gasp! What am I saying? :). Well here's the thoughts:

Our panel is naturally progressive and has as built-in scaler, which, unless you are using 1:1 pixel mapping from a HTPC, our plasma WILL be using.

Now, why use an interlaced resolution? Here's why. Let's say you ouput 720p to the display. In order to display the image at the displays resolution, it will interlace the image, rescale it, then deinterlace it. That's alot of steps. But if you provide it with an interlaced image in the first place, then it will take out one of those steps. This may also help with those having some audio sync issues.

I personally have found that 1080i and 480i yeild a better image. These are my thuoghts on the subject.

Feeding the set 480i looks like absolute garbage on my set over HDMI, 480p looks MUCH better. I feed 720p channels to the tv as 720p, and 1080i channels are fed to the tv as 1080i, so nothing goes through two conversions.

Try watching a channel with a news ticker on the bottom(for example foxnews) while feeding 480i to the tv, and then try feeding that same channel at 480p. For me 480p is hands down the winner here.

Here's my new thoughts on scaling - go with 1080i (and 480i for SD).

Gasp! What am I saying? :). Well here's the thoughts:

Our panel is naturally progressive and has as built-in scaler, which, unless you are using 1:1 pixel mapping from a HTPC, our plasma WILL be using.

Now, why use an interlaced resolution? Here's why. Let's say you ouput 720p to the display. In order to display the image at the displays resolution, it will interlace the image, rescale it, then deinterlace it. That's alot of steps. But if you provide it with an interlaced image in the first place, then it will take out one of those steps. This may also help with those having some audio sync issues.

I personally have found that 1080i and 480i yeild a better image. These are my thuoghts on the subject.

Feeding the set 480i looks like absolute garbage on my set over HDMI, 480p looks MUCH better. I feed 720p channels to the tv as 720p, and 1080i channels are fed to the tv as 1080i, so nothing goes through two conversions.



Sorry, that's not correct. Even 720p is out of the range of the monitor's native display resolution, so it WILL be downscaled (and must be re-interlaced in order to do so).

Gotta agree with Tjtv, I see a noticable difference in the PQ using 480p instead of 480i. I can't tell much difference between 720p and 1080i on the HD content. My motorola comcast box allows for setting the display but no "pass through" so it would be a hassle to go in and change between 720p and 1080i for each program or network based upon the broadcast..

Sorry, that's not correct. Even 720p is out of the range of the monitor's native display resolution, so it WILL be downscaled (and must be re-interlaced in order to do so).


What do you mean 720p must be "re-interlaced"? The tv is a 1024x768 fixed pixel device. If you feed it 1280x720p, the THE ONLY THING that the tv needs to do is SCALE from 1280x720 to 1024x768. This is a very easy thing to accomplish.

Horizontal scaling: 1280 -> 1024. 1024 is 80% of 1280. The tv looks at a group of 5 pixels and determines how those 5 pixes can best be displayed in 4 pixels. There are many ways to do this, all of them are pretty simple, the easiest way would be to just throw away 1 out of every 5 pixels.

Vertical scaling: 720 -> 768. In the vertical direction the tv actually needs to UPSCALE the picture. Again there are many ways to do this, but its a little more complicated than the downscaling case. It's always easier to combine lots of information into a smaller size(i.e. 1280->1024) than it is to guess the information that you are missing(i.e. 720->768). Regardless, the tv has some algorithm that it uses, and it gets the job done.

Why do you think that the tv would need to "re-interlace" a 720p signal first?

Displaying a 1080i signal is a completely other ballgame, the tv must de-interlace the signal first, then scale it. There are even more ways to accomplish this, and unfortunately we don't know what method the tv is using.

I was just saying that I prefer to pass HD stations in their native format so that the tv will be the only thing doing the deinterlacing/scaling, rather than having the cable box do one half of the job and the tv finishing the task.

Regardless, you must agree that the tv does a HORRIBLE job at displaying 480i content, right? 480p looks much better.

just purchased maxent plasma monitor Maxent 42" HDTV MX-42X3, I have a comcast digital cable box with a left and right audio and video composite on the rear of the box and also RF out cable which I cannot connect to the monitor, my question is how do I convert the RF out cable in order to use the HDMI input, the RGB input and the component video input. on the monitor. I was told by comcast help desk to get a modulator. I need help.

just purchased maxent plasma monitor Maxent 42" HDTV MX-42X3, I have a comcast digital cable box with a left and right audio and video composite on the rear of the box and also RF out cable which I cannot connect to the monitor, my question is how do I convert the RF out cable in order to use the HDMI input, the RGB input and the component video input. on the monitor. I was told by comcast help desk to get a modulator. I need help.

Welcome to the forum. You do not need a modulator, you need a new cable box. If you subcribe to HDTV service you'll get a box with HD (component or HDMI) outputs. You can connect your existing box via composite, but the quality will be lousy. Depending on your location, you might be able to get OTA stations with an external tuner box.

-Phil

Mac4Big2 -
To elaborate on what Phil said... You really want to contact Comcast and get the HD cable box. It will cost you an extra $10 per month more, but you are not going to get a good picture with your current digital box.

I have the Comcast HD/DVR box and the picture is stunning! The HD channels alone are worth the $10 but even if you don't watch them the DVR is great! it digitally records 2 channels at a time for you.. I haven't used my VCR since I got it.

Comcast will provide you with component cables (which they recommend). The picture quality is excellent.

Jerry

Mac4Big2:
If you upgrade to Comcast HD, they will bring you a new box. I'm in the Denver market and it cost me $5 more a month but I don't have DVR. Comcast will provide you with componant cables but I found the HDMI calbe that I got from monoprice.com provided a better picture. Get a cable that goes DVI to HDMI since the comcast box will have DVI output. IMHO it makes no sense to have a plasma TV without subscribing to HD. The picture is simply stunning!

Thanks fellows, on your recommendation I did call Comcast and had my box upgraded to HD. Lucky I was able to take the old box back to the office and change it. They also gave me the component video and audio cable. I also bought a DVI DMI cable so that I could have 2 options when viewing. The image is very good, nice colors, my only complain is the size of the image, with most of the channels I get a 31 1/2" diagonal box which is supposed to be 16.9. On some channels I do get a full screen but very few, My question is. is there a way to override this. I have no control except for the 4.3 and 16.9, and according to the manual only in the AV mode I'm able to zoom 1 and 2, Panorama, 4.3 and 16.9, I haven't tried it yet. Seems like 31 1/2" diagonal image is not very large, is this normal?

hello everyone
first off, I'm a newbie and this forum is great, I took everyone's advice and purchased the maxent along with a copy of DVE.

the question I had was regarding the settings for screen size. I set the size using DVE (my dvd player outputs 480p). What I noticed is that the TV retains size settings by resolution not input. This makes sense...i think but how would you go about setting the size for 480i, 720p and 1080i if DVE only displays 480p? Can you just apply the same size settings for all the resolutions?

Update on my new plasma. about my image, 31", well all of my HD channels do give a full screen and as I said before the others, regular images, 6.19 is about 31".

Thanks fellows, on your recommendation I did call Comcast and had my box upgraded to HD. Lucky I was able to take the old box back to the office and change it. They also gave me the component video and audio cable. I also bought a DVI DMI cable so that I could have 2 options when viewing. The image is very good, nice colors, my only complain is the size of the image, with most of the channels I get a 31 1/2" diagonal box which is supposed to be 16.9. On some channels I do get a full screen but very few, My question is. is there a way to override this. I have no control except for the 4.3 and 16.9, and according to the manual only in the AV mode I'm able to zoom 1 and 2, Panorama, 4.3 and 16.9, I haven't tried it yet. Seems like 31 1/2" diagonal image is not very large, is this normal?

Mac,
The settings are not on your TV.. they are on the Moto DVR..

download this manual for your DVR if you don;t have one:

http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/dct6412/downloads/DCT6412_User_Guide.pdf

go to page 10:

Turn your DVR off. Make sure your plasma remains powered on.

Press the menu key on your moto/comcast remote.

We are concerned with the first 3 items here..


here's what they should read to get full screen on standard cable:

TV Type 16:9
DVI/YPbPr OUTPUT 1080I
4:3 OVERRIDE STRETCH

It's the last one that's the most important here... When set like this, the DVR will sense when a standard 4:3 station is on and stretch the picture for you plasma.

It does a pretty good job and things in the center of the picture hardly look stretched at all.

good luck!

Jerry

Jerry, I did like you said, changed setting on cable box to 4:3 strech and it work. I have another question. Yesterday while watching on demand channel after a while I notice a lot of fine vertical lines about 2 to 3 inches apart from top to bottom, these changed color as the images past by. I went to other channels but the lines remained. after that I turned the tv off and back on again and they were gone, has not returned since, is it something I should worry about?

I have the moto dct-6200 cable box and want to know how to hook up sound for dvi and component at same time. I can't seem to get sound from both. I also tried to hook up PIP by way of a splitter and some of my channels come thru with a lot of snow. Do I have a weak signal?

Jerry, I did like you said, changed setting on cable box to 4:3 strech and it work. I have another question. Yesterday while watching on demand channel after a while I notice a lot of fine vertical lines about 2 to 3 inches apart from top to bottom, these changed color as the images past by. I went to other channels but the lines remained. after that I turned the tv off and back on again and they were gone, has not returned since, is it something I should worry about?


I had some weird problems with "on demand" this past week.. it was formatting stuff really weird. I would say just keep an eye on it.. it's probably the comcast box and not your Maxent.

Jerry

Hello fellow maxent owners. I've noticed that during intense action scenes (while watching batman and robin on HBO-HD at 720P) there is a good amount of pixelation. Is there a way to fix this or is it a limitation of the Maxent (or maybe comcast?).

Thanks!

Hello fellow maxent owners. I've noticed that during intense action scenes (while watching batman and robin on HBO-HD at 720P) there is a good amount of pixelation. Is there a way to fix this or is it a limitation of the Maxent (or maybe comcast?).

Thanks!

Motion artifacts are a problem with any fixed pixel display.