I second davetroup's recommendation of the Logitech Harmony. I personally use the 880 (colour screen :) ) but they are all fantastic and extremely wife-friendly. I actually think that there's a new one out or about to come out at the $100 price point. They all work basically the same way and use web-based configuration.

I just bought a Humax dvd recorder with tivo for my maxent, and I'm trying to control the tv with the remote control of the humax, unfortunately maxent is not listed in their system, so I had to use the search for a code to operate the mute, turn on and off and the volume. That did not work. I need to know if any one out there has purchased a Humax recorder and if so, have they being able to use the remote on the tv, then I need the code number or the tv brand found in Humax system that will enable me to use the remote control on Maxent by entering the codes that apply to that brand.

mac4big2, if price is an issue, you can also go with the URC-9910 or other OFA learning remotes. I have the 9910 and just taught it the Maxent codes.

Fellows, thanks for your help, I will go to Circuit City tomorrow and take a look at the Logitech Harmony and the URC-9910.

Fellows, thanks for your help, I will go to Circuit City tomorrow and take a look at the Logitech Harmony and the URC-9910.

When I was shopping for my Harmony a few months ago (after purchasing the Maxent to keep this on-topic), I found that Circuit City and similar stores typically sell the harmony line at or near MSRP. Harmony remotes can be found much cheaper online. Check out a few of the places recommended in the remotes forum, or just use something like Froogle.

I went with the 676, and couldn't be happier (even the mother-in-law can use it). Be wary of the new model in the ~$100 MSRP range (forget the model number), as it has less memory than the other models and may not be able to handle all of your components if you have many.

I am hoping someone can assist with a problem I am having. I just got the Maxent a couple weeks ago and have dialed down the contrast and brightness for the first 100 hours. However, when I turn these settings up, dark images don't look very good. I can see gradations instead of a smooth transition from black to say, grey. I can also see this on skin tones. I have not calibrated the monitor and am not well versed in this type of stuff, but I was wondering if what I am seeing can be fixed by calibration or it is something more serious. Thanks in advance.

I can see gradations instead of a smooth transition from black to say, grey. I can also see this on skin tones. I have not calibrated the monitor and am not well versed in this type of stuff, but I was wondering if what I am seeing can be fixed by calibration or it is something more serious. Thanks in advance.

I have observed the same thing. Any gradients suffer from banding. I contacted Maxent support but have not heard back. I calibrated using AVIA.
Long story short - I am probably going to return this display. I spent all of last night with both the Maxent and the Pioneer 4304 (both from Costco) side by side. The banding exhibited by the Maxent is much more pronounced than on the Pioneer (i.e. the banding really jumps out at me).
Perhaps my display has a problem or perhaps it is just more accurate than the Pioneer, but it detracts from my viewing enjoyment. Skin tones look better on the Pioneer but I'm not completely happy with those either yet.

The tinkering continues - until my family gets back in a week's time :)

Motegi ,

I just bought the toshiba DVD WR that up convert all input signal and really make a big difference , PQ improve a lot . Only problem it is that on 16:9 view the PQ is streach and make every one to look fat . Any suggestion how I can correct that ?

thanks

Since this monitor is essentially a Panny glass (?), would it be possible to swap the image board (if feasible and available as a service part) from the Panny (4250XU or 42500XU) that produces excellent black levels. Just wondering.....

Since this monitor is essentially a Panny glass (?), would it be possible to swap the image board (if feasible and available as a service part) from the Panny (4250XU or 42500XU) that produces excellent black levels. Just wondering.....

go for it and let us know how it turns out :-)

Motegi ,

I just bought the toshiba DVD WR that up convert all input signal and really make a big difference , PQ improve a lot . Only problem it is that on 16:9 view the PQ is streach and make every one to look fat . Any suggestion how I can correct that ?

thanks

I just got the upconverting costco toshiba DVD player for the set and have not seen any difference in the PQ with the upconversion. I am wondering if its even the extra money from a regular progressive scan unit.

I am also experienceing the banding problem, especially with SD content. HD has been pretty good thus far and I have not calibrated as of yet. I'm hoping the banding subsides to a tolerable level once I calibrate, otherwise I'm not sure what I'll do.

OK, so after trying to wrangle up my friends one weekend to help me move this thing, it turns out that NO Costcos in my area have this in stock. About 4 of them were sold within 3 days. I'm really sad that I can't cash in on this deal and now I am stuck still with no TV. Anyone have any other recommendations for a TV in this price range? The 50" is just too much money for me. My mind was set on this TV, and now I'm so sad that I am forced to buy something of likely inferior quality. Sigh.

Stopped by Costco and found this unit was out of stock, only one left was floor demo. Yup, took home the demo unit. There were actually advantages to taking the floor unit. I could see any dead/stuck pixels before I took it home - provided, of course, they weren't stuck blue. I could also fit it in my Honda so much easier than in the box. Had a moving blanket in the car, so that made it easier, lugged the 85lb beast myself up three flights.

I've been "thinking about" plasmas for the last two years, and when prices dropped on the Pannies, I thought I'd get a 50" commercial or consumer unit for the living room. I probably will still do so, but now I can wait a year or so and enjoy this 42" in the meantime. It replaces a great old 27" Sony, but it's a lot more fun to watch. When I get the 50" for the living room, I'll move this Maxent to the bedroom.

I'll get and place the wall mount so that I can use it for the 50", so I just do it once and do it right.

I figured if there were any burn-in issues, I'd be able to bring the unit back. Since the default seems to be brightness & contrast at 50 (they were all set on user1) and the remote didn't have batteries, this may have been the setting all along.

Set looks great, and now I'm looking for some more component cables to feed to my Lexicon processor. And a good dvd player... oh joy, more goodies to buy...

On the zoom/just discussion, I found an answer in the docs and my experiments (and eyes) seem to verify it. The zoom1 & zoom2 modes do not do what "just" does on the Panasonics. However, "panaramoic" mode does.

I find the 16:9 mode to be the most pleasing, not sure if it's clipping or not, but it makes most SD look pretty damn good.

Finally pulled my Maxent out of the box and have it ready to go. I have read over this thread and found much talk about cautions for the first 100 hours of use to avoid damaging the screen.

I found nothing in the instruction manual regarding this issue.

Can someone please direct me to a link for information about this?

What settings are reccomended?

Please forgive me if I overlooked a previous post which provides this info.

Yeah, I think I'm going to be forced to buy a floor model or drive 100+ miles to get a NIB set. Dansevush, have you noticed any problems with the floor model set at all? No burn-in or anything? Also, was it any cheaper than a NIB version? I went out last night looking for another model, but nothing really caught my eye. I think this is the universe's way of telling me I need to spend less/no money. :rolleyes:

Finally pulled my Maxent out of the box and have it ready to go. I have read over this thread and found much talk about cautions for the first 100 hours of use to avoid damaging the screen.

I found nothing in the instruction manual regarding this issue.

Can someone please direct me to a link for information about this?

What settings are reccomended?

Please forgive me if I overlooked a previous post which provides this info.

You bought your TV to enjoy pleasureable experiences not to invite more anxiety into your life!!!!!!!


Just enjoy the TV. There are those who claim a TV needs 100-1000 hours of "break in." Those same people tenf to be more obsessive compulsive about these things. I have had mine now a week and am using it normally, playing Vgames (Madden) watching TV and movies.
Buying at Costco, especially, you don't have to worry . Npthing in the manual ablout break in. There is a blurb about static images but those blubs are even in some LCD manuals and have been in TV manuals for years. Just use common sense and enjoy you TV.

Stopped by Costco and found this unit was out of stock, only one left was floor demo. Yup, took home the demo unit. There were actually advantages to taking the floor unit. I could see any dead/stuck pixels before I took it home - provided, of course, they weren't stuck blue. I could also fit it in my Honda so much easier than in the box. Had a moving blanket in the car, so that made it easier, lugged the 85lb beast myself up three flights.

I've been "thinking about" plasmas for the last two years, and when prices dropped on the Pannies, I thought I'd get a 50" commercial or consumer unit for the living room. I probably will still do so, but now I can wait a year or so and enjoy this 42" in the meantime. It replaces a great old 27" Sony, but it's a lot more fun to watch. When I get the 50" for the living room, I'll move this Maxent to the bedroom.

I'll get and place the wall mount so that I can use it for the 50", so I just do it once and do it right.

I figured if there were any burn-in issues, I'd be able to bring the unit back. Since the default seems to be brightness & contrast at 50 (they were all set on user1) and the remote didn't have batteries, this may have been the setting all along.

Set looks great, and now I'm looking for some more component cables to feed to my Lexicon processor. And a good dvd player... oh joy, more goodies to buy...


My logic exactly. For a low entry price I can enjoy great PQ and have a nice TV for the bedroom when the prices drop and i can get a 55" or bigger something (plasma,SED, whatever) as a replacement.

Yeah, I think I'm going to be forced to buy a floor model or drive 100+ miles to get a NIB set. Dansevush, have you noticed any problems with the floor model set at all? No burn-in or anything? Also, was it any cheaper than a NIB version? I went out last night looking for another model, but nothing really caught my eye. I think this is the universe's way of telling me I need to spend less/no money. :rolleyes:

Not a problem I could spot w/the unit. Part of it could be that Costco tends to have a lot of people simply eyeballing the sets while an AV store would have more hands on demos and trials.

Yeah, I think I'm going to be forced to buy a floor model or drive 100+ miles to get a NIB set. Dansevush, have you noticed any problems with the floor model set at all? No burn-in or anything? Also, was it any cheaper than a NIB version? I went out last night looking for another model, but nothing really caught my eye. I think this is the universe's way of telling me I need to spend less/no money. :rolleyes:

While unfortunately the Maxent 42X3 is now very hard to come by there are many other great options cropping up...

My local Costco now has a Philips 42" HD plasma which includes an OTA ATSC tuner as well as 2 HDMI inputs for the same price that the Maxent 42X3 was initially sold at Costco (pre-coupon).

Also Sears is having a sale on the brand new Hitachi 42" HD plasma this evening only at a fantastic price. I won't post prices as the moderators here frown upon that but it's worth a look.

Looks like the 2005-06 holiday season plasma display price war has begun!!!

My local Costco now has a Philips 42" HD plasma which includes an OTA ATSC tuner as well as 2 HDMI inputs for the same price that the Maxent 42X3 was initially sold at Costco (pre-coupon).

I have heard nothing but negative comments about the PQ of Philips plasmas. I still think the Maxent was a real bargain in terms of price/performance.

I have heard nothing but negative comments about the PQ of Philips plasmas. I still think the Maxent was a real bargain in terms of price/performance.

Ditto. I'll keep the Maxent. I do not see any difference between HDMI and component inputs anyway. That extra input would be wasted as well as the tuner.

In fact the settings I have :
Contrast 39
Brightness 41
Color 36

Leaves me plenty of room to turn up the heat as the plasma ages.
I like a more filmlike look as in more muted colors and reduced brightness. I do not like the neon look as displayed in stores

Have not seen any TV shows on it though as I do not have an STB. Waiting for my house to be done before calling TW for that. So it's just DVDs and Xbox for now.

a few newbie q's:

1.) Did anyone manage to use the Motorola MOXI remote (Adelphia) to operate the Maxent? I tried all the codes listed in this thread (i think) and the search, but i didn't get any of them to work.

2.) I have my upconvert DVD player connected via HDMI and my HD DVR via Component. The DVR has additional DVI out, should i use that instead of the component?

Is there any difference in audio quality between an HDMI connection and the composite audio cables used with component connections? I don't have a surround sound system connected so I am worried I will degrade my audio further if I switch from HDMI. Any thoughts on this?

2.) I have my upconvert DVD player connected via HDMI and my HD DVR via Component. The DVR has additional DVI out, should i use that instead of the component?

No. Unless you need the component input for something else you will not see a performance increase going to DVI from component.

Is there any difference in audio quality between an HDMI connection and the composite audio cables used with component connections? I don't have a surround sound system connected so I am worried I will degrade my audio further if I switch from HDMI. Any thoughts on this?

Going from HDMI to composite for audio will indeed lower the sound quality. Now, whether it will be noticeable or annoying to you is something only you can answer by trying.

And will I lose PQ by switching from HDMI to component? I am asking because I would like to try an upconversion DVD player but only have the one HDMI port obviously, and might decide to instead get a player that does the upconversion thru the component connection after the hack on the HD-850 from Costco. Is that the only DVD player I can hack for component upconversion?

And will I lose PQ by switching from HDMI to component? I am asking because I would like to try an upconversion DVD player but only have the one HDMI port obviously, and might decide to instead get a player that does the upconversion thru the component connection after the hack on the HD-850 from Costco. Is that the only DVD player I can hack for component upconversion?

Nope. Shouldn't notice a difference in PQ going from HDMI to component. I use the 850 as well, it's not the only one that I'm aware of but it is the cheapest that performs well and can be hacked to upconvert over component.

Check the DVD player section in this forum and do some searching for more information in DVD players. Let's keep this thread on topic. Some people can get fussy about this kind of OT discussion.

So I purchased the Maxent 42X3 last weekend and couldn't be happier. I really love this set! The picture quality on this is absolutely astounding and compares extremely well to the top brands available. Had to drive to 4 local area Costcos, but in the end was able to find a few at the last one I visited. How can anyone not be happy with this TV (unless its defective)? Watching HD sports on this has completely changed my viewing experice for the better, and I was already watching HD on a 32" Hi-Scan Wega that was 5 years old. I use a DirecTV HR10-250 and am so glad there was an option for somone like me who was on a budget and didn't need to pay extra for a tuner I would not use. Thanks to all who have contributed information about this set, its one of the best purchases I have made. My wall mount is being delivered tomorrow, so I'm sure I won't be going anywhere since I am bound to have some questions. I hope all of you who want to buy one of these can still find one (3 left in the Nesconset, NY store) because its really a beautiful set!

RusterK,

I repeated the test last night and got some different results. Were you able to test your set?

I measured the same logo on my 4:3 direct view CRT and found the aspect ratio geometry to be quite close to the 4:3 mode on the Maxent.

However, when I tried measuring the same logo in Zoom 2, I was not able to replicate the results of the other day. Sure enough, as you described initially, the logo measured out to be "stretched" horizontally and the on-screen video appeared to be "fattened". Now comes the surprising discovery, in my experience when flipping channels on my SVHS deck tuner to the point where they roll over from 100 to 02 the zoomed area noticeably shifts upwards and the picture geometry seems to "correct". Measurements bear this out to be true. This is reproductible for me time and time again. Very strange.

So I do agree with you on the "widening" in Zoom mode on initial change. However, Maxent 4:3 measures very close to direct view CRT 4:3. And the "rolled over" (for lack of a better description) Zoom modes on the Maxent seem to correct the geometric disturbance.

Motegi:

I did get around to the ruler test over the weekend. Measuring a rectangular logo on a paused TiVo image, here's what I found:

In "4:3" mode:
Height = 48mm, Width = 92mm

In "Zoom1" mode:
Height = 57mm, Width = 124mm

That results in a disproportionate ratio of H:W between the two modes. The height increases in size by 19%, while the width increases by 35%. That's quite a difference. Does anyone else notice this issue?

As to my theory about "4:3" mode possibly not being truly 1.33:1 in width-to-height ratio on this TV, it appeared to be bourne out somewhat, when I measured the full extent of the "4:3" image. I didn't record the measurements that I made, but I did plug them into my calculator at the time, and they came out as 1.30:1, meaning that the image is 2% to 3 % narrower than it should be.

On another note: I ran a DVD on the Panasonic TH-37PX50U from the Xbox through the component input, and noticed that the image seemed taller than it should, and that it had its share of splotchy artifacts, even after my putting both it and the Maxent through DVE calibration. (Side note: Man that DVE is some boring, pedantic stuff. Just tell me how to use the test screens please, stop spending 45 minutes explaining the clipping circuits and looping the same cheesy graphics!!!). In this instance, the size and position adjustments were actually useful on the Maxent, as I was able to line up one of the test screens on DVE to an approximate 5% overscan of 1.78:1. That was nice (And something that the Panny can't do).

I have yet to feed a progressive scan image over the Maxent's component inputs. Was going to wait for Xbox 360 to play DVDs in 720p, but it may be a while before I get my hands on one of those...

Nope. Shouldn't notice a difference in PQ going from HDMI to component. I use the 850 as well, it's not the only one that I'm aware of but it is the cheapest that performs well and can be hacked to upconvert over component.

Check the DVD player section in this forum and do some searching for more information in DVD players. Let's keep this thread on topic. Some people can get fussy about this kind of OT discussion.

HDMI will be better, and will ALWAYS be better. Component is an analog connection, where is HDMI is digital. Now you may not NOTICE a difference, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one. HDMI will provide a higher quality picture, with sharper lines and more accurate color reproduction. There are other technical specs in which HDMI outperforms component, which should you decide to research the subject further, you can also determine.

But to say component is as high of quality as HDMI is incorrect, to say the least.

HDMI will be better, and will ALWAYS be better. Component is an analog connection, where is HDMI is digital. Now you may not NOTICE a difference, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one. HDMI will provide a higher quality picture, with sharper lines and more accurate color reproduction. There are other technical specs in which HDMI outperforms component, which should you decide to research the subject further, you can also determine.

But to say component is as high of quality as HDMI is incorrect, to say the least.

Stop trying to stir the pot and reread what I originally posted. I said he shouldn't notice a difference and this doesn't mean I am stating HDMI no better than component.

HDMI will be better, and will ALWAYS be better. Component is an analog connection, where is HDMI is digital. Now you may not NOTICE a difference, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one. HDMI will provide a higher quality picture, with sharper lines and more accurate color reproduction. There are other technical specs in which HDMI outperforms component, which should you decide to research the subject further, you can also determine.

But to say component is as high of quality as HDMI is incorrect, to say the least.

Theoretically HDMI should be better but biologically, to many it is not. I cannot notice the difference at all switching back and forth, In fact the red push over HDMI is pretty slight as well. But that is noticable.

Theoretically $13000 speakers should sound better then $5500 ones. But only those who paid $13000 can "hear" the difference. Go Figure.

MP3 @ 320VBR sounds as good as CD but theoretically is missing a lot of information.

Stop trying to stir the pot and reread what I originally posted. I said he shouldn't notice a difference and this doesn't mean I am stating HDMI no better than component.

I *knew* after reading your post that you would make a pissy, childish response to anyone who would *dare* challenge your thinking.

You're wrong. Deal with it, be a man, and either engage in an intellectual discourse about it or take your toys and go home.

Theoretically HDMI should be better but biologically, to many it is not. I cannot notice the difference at all switching back and forth, In fact the red push over HDMI is pretty slight as well. But that is noticable.

Theoretically $13000 speakers should sound better then $5500 ones. But only those who paid $13000 can "hear" the difference. Go Figure.

MP3 @ 320VBR sounds as good as CD but theoretically is missing a lot of information.

Maybe I'm not the best person to make this distinction, since I have a fixed image board (and thus have no red push). But I can definitely tell a difference between the two. Component is VERY NICE, but HDMI is better, not to mention I can get audio through it.

HDMI has an available 5 Gbps bandwidth. Component isn't even close to that.

I agree with your point on speakers!! But hey, those are pretty nice speakers at those price points :)

I *knew* after reading your post that you would make a pissy, childish response to anyone who would *dare* challenge your thinking.

You're wrong. Deal with it, be a man, and either engage in an intellectual discourse about it or take your toys and go home.

I'm wrong? Did you even reread my post? You said EXACTLY what I said and then said I'm wrong? How is that? I never once said Component and HDMI were the same... I said

"Shouldn't notice a difference in PQ going from HDMI to component."

That's ALL that I said about HDMI vs. Component. Did I ever ONCE say that HDMI wasn't better than component? Nope.

Tell me how I'm wrong and I will admit I'm wrong....

You guys are both right and made your points. Now let's move on. This has been a great informative thread and I don't want to get it locked.

Thanks.

You guys are both right and made your points. Now let's move on. This has been a great informative thread and I don't want to get it locked.

Thanks.

Cool by me Chris.

Watched the game last night in HD. Reminds me why I love this set so much :D

The way this set displays sports in HD (especially ESPN imho) is amazing!!!

On more than one occasion, I've had the Maxent "blank out" on me. Using a component feed, it's as if the set went into "sleep" mode. If I switched the video input on my receiver (using the same component input), the set would "wake up" again.

It's pretty weird, since the "sleep" option is off and it's only supposed to kick in on the RGB input.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

1.) Did anyone manage to use the Motorola MOXI remote (Adelphia) to operate the Maxent? I tried all the codes listed in this thread (i think) and the search, but i didn't get any of them to work.


anyone??

Has anybody else noticed instances of colour banding, specifically in dark or shaded scenes? There will be very noticeable gradations of shade. It is very noticeable during Rome on HBO-HD.

Has anybody else noticed instances of colour banding, specifically in dark or shaded scenes? There will be very noticeable gradations of shade. It is very noticeable during Rome on HBO-HD.

Yes and this has been addressed ealier in this thread. It can be seen on many of the other plasma sets on the market right now as well. It seems to be the nature of the technology.

That being said the best way to minimize this (but not eliminate) is to properly calibrate the set using DVE, Avia, or even the THX Optimizer (found on most Pixar movies and other THX features).

Good luck!

I have this unit, thanks largely to the advice in this forum, and for the most part I'm thrilled with it. One issue has come up though. I have the comcast/moto stb and when i set it to 480i I get a pronounced blue tint to the picture. This doesn't happen when the STB is set to 480p, stretch, or off. It wasn't always like this and since I prefer to watch SD with 480i this is a bit of an issue. Has anyone else had this come up? Any idea if it's the maxent or the STB? Thanks.

I have this unit, thanks largely to the advice in this forum, and for the most part I'm thrilled with it. One issue has come up though. I have the comcast/moto stb and when i set it to 480i I get a pronounced blue tint to the picture. This doesn't happen when the STB is set to 480p, stretch, or off. It wasn't always like this and since I prefer to watch SD with 480i this is a bit of an issue. Has anyone else had this come up? Any idea if it's the maxent or the STB? Thanks.

I presume you're talking about the alternate setting, not the primary. I set mine to 480p and use the S-video output on the cable box in addition to the component cables. I often find that SD looks "softer" on the s-video input, and if I need them, I have more zoom options on that input.

my local COSTCO has a display unit MAXENT MX42X3... to get rid of it, and the picture looks very good on it.....I've read most of the posts on this maodel, and am impressed enuf, but thew fact that it is a display unit...God knows how long it has been "on" in the store (this is worrisome, given the "half-life" of plasma) ..I would be wise I am sure to get the extended warranty with it, but..should I buy it at that price??

please edit your post so the price is not displayed...

..sorry about the price mentioning snafu..I don't know how to edit it tho, now that it is out there..

..just figured it out....

With thier retun policy I would snap it up. You can retun the TV in 5 years if it craps out. If not tell me where it is. I'll buy it if its withn 100 miles.

Definitely - you should take it and RUN! You have no risk, if anything happens to the TV in a couple years just take it back for the full refund (per Costco's amazing return policy). There is no need for an extended warranty with that obviously.

Well I just finished the firmware/image board upgrade process. TOTAL NIGHTMARE.
This is a long read, but maybe some of you will get a kick out of it.

After a few phone calls to Regent-USA support, along with a couple faxes to them with receipts and written documentation of the problem (by their request), they dispatched support to one of their "repair centers". This turned out to be some kind of a computer repair place one town over. The guy called the next day and let me know the status of the repair which was nice, he said he was waiting for parts to be sent to him.

About a week later I received a box in the mail from Regent-USA. The box contained a tiny chip (about 2cm X 2cm) along with a packing slip that said "Miscellaneous Parts", with my address and the Computer Shop's name. I waited about two days thinking I would get a call or something, but nothing happened. So then I called Regent-USA again. After being transferred to one or two people it was realized that the chip was the only part needed for the upgrade, and it was for the repairman.

So then I call the repairman. He said, "I was wondering what was taking it so long to get here. What parts did they send?" I told him it was only a little chip, that didn't have any solder leads and looked like it just fit into a socket. He said "Can you read me the part # on the invoice?" When he heard it said "miscellaneous parts" I guess he was as confused as I was. Anyway he could get the info from Regent so we set up an appointment to install it during my lunch hour.

The guy showed up on time and was friendly enough. It wasn't his fault, but he didn't really have any idea what the problem was and what the repair was supposed to fix. I told him about the HDMI issue, the PC resolution problem, etc. I don't think he really cared. He took the back cover off (the part that protrudes out about 1" from the back). He somehow was able to figure out which chip was to be replaced. He tried for a few minutes to get it out with a pocket knife but to no avail. Then a call was placed to someone from Regent (I guess he had a contact in tech support) who gave him some suggestions. He then tried with a paperclip. A few minutes later he was able to get it out, and put the new one in.

The cover goes on, we get it back on the wall mount, and get the cables connected. I knew something was wrong right away when I didn't hear the usual click when the power is connected. The power was connected, but the standby light didn't come on, and the power wouldn't turn on. I check the rocker switch underneath. I check the power cables with a multimeter, I check everything. He first said it has nothing to do with what he did (OK sure).

Another call goes out to Regent support. They say that if the image chip is bad, that would be the symptom, and to put the old one back in to see if it works again. So we get it disconnected, off the wall, the cover off, the old chip back in, and back on the wall connected again. STILL no power. Wonderful. Another call goes out to Regent. When he hangs up, he informs me that Regent will allow me to ship it back to them, and they will repair it or send me a new one. That sounds like another nightmare waiting to happen, so I immediately call the Costco near me to see if they have any in stock. Luckily they still have a few left. I tell the guy I'm going to try to return it to Costco first, so he leaves and apologizes for the inconvenience.

I left work early, went home and packed the Maxent all up (glad I kept the box & packing material), and headed over to Costco. I told them how it died and won't turn on (left out the whole part about the chip, didn't think it was really necessary to go into that much detail). A guy from electronics came over and checked out the box. I forgot the remote & power cable! No worries, I told him he could have the ones from my replacement. They don't do exchanges, so within a few minutes I had the money credited to my amex. Went to get the new one. There were three boxes out on the floor, two had a manufacture date of August 2005, one was July 2005. I grabbed one of the August ones drove it home without issue.

I got it hooked up last night and calibrated one of the component inputs so I could watch Lost. Haven't tried HDMI yet, but everything looks OK so far.

Hi Chris,

I do not believe it!!!

Almost exactly the same thing happened to me. My guy just left a couple of hours ago. Same EFROM chip with a notch at one corner. No power. Reinstalled the old chip, power ON again.

HDMI cannot process digital or analog signal (720X40i).

Thanks for posting. I did not believe that it happened to me since I called again to check that they sent the right part.

No image board version .3 either.

At this point I am at a loss about what to do.

;)

Here are some more photos of my 42X3.

click this link for the photos (http://24.96.59.129:8080/random/HomeTheater/1080DVD/index.htm)

The photos of Madagascar DVD are via a Samsung HD850 @ 1080i via HDMI

The photos of Fighter Pilot are via a HTPC playing a WMV-HD DVD via RGB/PC at 1368x768 resolution.

There are some diffuse vertical lines seen in the photos which are not seen on the television and are to my best knowledge caused by the discrepancy between the digital camera and the plasma resolutions.

Hi Chris,

I do not believe it!!!

Almost exactly the same thing happened to me. My guy just left a couple of hours ago. Same EFROM chip with a notch at one corner. No power. Reinstalled the old chip, power ON again.

HDMI cannot process digital or analog signal (720X40i).

Thanks for posting. I did not believe that it happened to me since I called again to check that they sent the right part.

No image board version .3 either.

At this point I am at a loss about what to do.

;)

I think i will live with the old FW and adjust the color myself. Sounds like the same old tech rep issues. One of the many reasons I don't buy EWs. You neber know who or how it will ever get fixed and more often then not an untrained rep will make it orse then claim he did nothing.

Without Costco I would still be watching my RPCRT or buying a new one. LOL

Hi Chris,

I do not believe it!!!

Almost exactly the same thing happened to me.


Wow isn't this great? They send someone out to bust your tv, then shrug their shoulders, walk away and say "Sorry".

Obviously some bonehead at Regent USA has no clue what is being sent out. Did they even bother to test this? It isn't fixing the problem, it's causing DAMAGE. The only success I have heard here is when the whole board is replaced, not just this little chip.

The replacement I picked up from Costco was manufactured in August 2005 and has firmware 050615. So I still don't have the newer firmware, but the HDMI is definitely better that what I had before (with 050608). But there is still a green push compared to the component input. You shouldn't have a problem returning it if you go that route, or you can send it to Maxent and make them pay shipping both ways, but then you'll be out a TV for a little while. The drawback with returning it to Costco is that you may not get the newest firmware.

Here's two pics of the chip. If a repairman tries to put this in your TV, you have been warned!

Chip one is the new one. Notice that it has a notch on the upper left side. It must be put in in a certain way i.e. like a CPU in a motherboard socket and aligned properly.

I hope your tech did insert the chip properly.

Chip 2 is not the same as the original chip in my set (August 2005, 050615 firmware). That chip has MX-42X3 on it.

I am really impressed with your taking pictures and notes.

My tech did not know where the chip was and proceeded to take all the screws off the back and then did not know how to take the back off. He finally called in and was told that it was the small back cover and not the big back cover .

Frankly the sight of the big cordless drill used as screwdriver turned me off completely. It's something like like the tire shop with their air compressor nut driver. They screw the nuts in so tight that if you ever have a flat you will not be able to get them off. So no picture taking for me.

I am really apprehensive about the damage to the circuit board and other components using the wrong EFROM chip.

I did not have time to do any more testing to see what other effects if any was done to my machine.

Buying the unit at Costco was the the smart move for me.

My tech told me he will let me know if Maxent will send him a new part. At this point I am not sure that I really care.

;)

Chip 2 is not the same as the original chip in my set (August 2005, 050615 firmware). That chip has MX-42X3 on it.


"Chip2" is actually the same chip, I just flipped it over and snapped a picture of the backside.

The guy used a huge cordless drill on my set also, and I thought the exact same thing. Not only that, but I was in the next room over on the phone and I heard him screw them in so hard that it began to strip the head (the usual sound you hear like when shooting drywall screws). I ran into the room and gave a dirty look, but it didn't matter. :(

I just discovered this forum since I am looking to by a new EDTV or HDTV. This is my first post.

I have seen both of these sets at COSTCO. They only show the HD signal as displayed (They both look very good on HD). I would like to compare them on SD since I know that I will be doing a lot of SD viewing. Short of bringing them both home and comparing (which is a large pain) I was wondering if others on this forum can give some feedback on this issue ie which set is better on SD? I will be using a cable connection from Time Warner here on Staten Island, N.Y.

Another question I have is whether the side bands when viewing 3:4 will cause burn-in marks on the screen?

Wow isn't this great? They send someone out to bust your tv, then shrug their shoulders, walk away and say "Sorry".

Obviously some bonehead at Regent USA has no clue what is being sent out. Did they even bother to test this? It isn't fixing the problem, it's causing DAMAGE. The only success I have heard here is when the whole board is replaced, not just this little chip.

The replacement I picked up from Costco was manufactured in August 2005 and has firmware 050615. So I still don't have the newer firmware, but the HDMI is definitely better that what I had before (with 050608). But there is still a green push compared to the component input. You shouldn't have a problem returning it if you go that route, or you can send it to Maxent and make them pay shipping both ways, but then you'll be out a TV for a little while. The drawback with returning it to Costco is that you may not get the newest firmware.

Here's two pics of the chip. If a repairman tries to put this in your TV, you have been warned!

Are you guys being a little too picky about this green push on the 615 firmware w/ the August 05 manuf. date? I have that set and there is no green push that I can see and it seems like no one else is having these issues except you two. Maybe I just don't have the trained eye, but I say just adjust the color and enjoy the set! You don't need to put yourself thru all this misery...

Hi again folks. You people and this thread are great!

I'm the guy who was taking issue with the distorted zoom modes in the past week or two. Well, here's a general update, and a question.

I am just about used to the SDTV image, and the horizontal stretching in zoom modes isn't really bugging me.

I have made a couple of perfunctory passes at calibration with DVE on component video, and the improvement in picture quality made the set on par with a 37" Panny PX50 set, running the same source over component, after a similar quick calibration effort.

This week I picked up the cheapo Toshiba K850 upscaling DVD player from Costco (has a Zoran chip, from what I hear), and am very satisfied with the images that I'm getting over HDMI. No distortion... whoopee!!! Albeit I notice little difference in image quality between 480p/720p/1080i modes. Maybe a slightly perceptible increase in perceived color depth.

There is also definite red and/or green push over all inputs, but I hope to correct once I get the serial hookup going.

One slightly disturbing issue that I've found. Sometimes there is no audio when I switch to HDMI from another input source, or when I power up the set and it's already on HDMI input. Also, a couple of times the set has sort of "freaked out" when switching to HDMI or when turning on the DVD player while the set's in blue screen (i.e. going from no HDMI signal to having a signal after the set's already powered up).

Also, RGB input from my laptop at 1024x768 shows sort of ghosty/blurry text. I can't output a 1366X768 mode from my current computer, but am looking into possibly going the HTPC route in the next year or two, and I just want to rule out if my Maxent is having RBG issues that others have had.

BTW my firmware is ver 15, and my manufacture date is July or Aug (I will take a look later and clarify if this will help).

Anybody have any suggestions, feed back.

Sculptor999,

The SD and digital and analog channels are best with the S-video connection. The PQ is very watchable depending on your source of course.

rusterk,

You can use different stretch mode, panorama, zoom1 and 2, 4X3 and 16x9 with the S-video.

The HDMI and RGB problem you encountered were some of the problems the new firmware was supposed to fix. Yes I have seen them before and then some.

Midgets,

There are issues with the HDMI, RGB inputs with version 050615 already acknowledged by Maxent technicians. May be you do not have any problem in that case you are lucky.

My reason for posting is to help avoid another disaster for other owners of Maxent who were sent the same EFROM chip. I was shocked I was not the only one who get a bad firmware upgrade or incidental error.

May be Maxent will fix this and will send out a fix.

;)

Dear Chanc or Whoever cares to comment,

1) Has anyone been able to see a non-HD digital signal (ie SD) on both of these sets? If so which one is the better for SD viewing? I will be on a cable connection from Time Warner.

2) Also what about the side bars? Do they cause burn-in?

I am trying to make the best choice but COSTCO only has HD signal on it's display models. Both looked very good showing HD.

Thanks for your comments.

Dear Chanc or Whoever cares to comment,

1) Has anyone been able to see a non-HD digital signal (ie SD) on both of these sets? If so which one is the better for SD viewing? I will be on a cable connection from Time Warner.

2) Also what about the side bars? Do they cause burn-in?

I am trying to make the best choice but COSTCO only has HD signal on it's display models. Both looked very good showing HD.

Thanks for your comments.

1) Someone a few pages back on this thread reviewed SD on both and made the conclusion that the scaling on the Maxent was better. I've heard someone else say the Panny was sharper. I would skim over those reviews. The SD looks fine to me, but realize it won't look great on any large digital flat panel. When taking a low resolution image and blowing it up to fill a high resolution display, you can really see the artifacts.

2) Do the side bars cause burn in? Well, first of all, burn in is largely a myth with recent plasma displays. Please read the burn-in sticky at the top of this message board. Second, if you are worried about it, you have many options:
-You can make the bars grey instead of black using the options on your cable/satellite box. This will help them to wear more evenly.
-You can stretch the image to fill the screen
-You can use a non-linear stretch (panaroma) which just stretches the sides
-You can zoom the image
-You can use a zoom & stretch mode (if available)
etc,etc

Are you guys being a little too picky about this green push on the 615 firmware w/ the August 05 manuf. date? I have that set and there is no green push that I can see and it seems like no one else is having these issues except you two. Maybe I just don't have the trained eye, but I say just adjust the color and enjoy the set! You don't need to put yourself thru all this misery...

Are you using HDMI? The component inputs are fine, the HDMI is where the problem is. I have the 615 firmware now, but before I had 608. Trust me...608 was BAD. If I adjusted the color & tint so they were correct according color bars, the colors were way off. Skin tones made everybody look like they had a serious sunburn. It was very noticeable. I had to turn the color saturation way down to compensate, which made everything else look dull. With 615 it is much better, but still exists. I can live with it but do notice a difference between component & HDMI. Last night after calibrating I was switching back & forth between component & HDMI while watching Conan and you could really tell the difference in his hair color, skin tone, & background. Again...not a huge deal now, but I just want it to be right. When watching football, I like having the grass look right, the uniforms the correct color, etc.

Are you guys being a little too picky about this green push on the 615 firmware w/ the August 05 manuf. date? I have that set and there is no green push that I can see and it seems like no one else is having these issues except you two. Maybe I just don't have the trained eye, but I say just adjust the color and enjoy the set! You don't need to put yourself thru all this misery...

I have V. 615 firmware (Aug. Manu. 05) and after adjusitng the color i have not noticed any major issues over HDMI. I really can't imagine the set pq looking any better with the newer firmware. I was actually thinking of getting the upgrade just to have the latest and greatest but my set really does look good. FWIW I tried calibrating over component through my DVD player using the filters and discs and although it looked great after adjusting, the settings just don't translate over to HDMI and my motorola 8300 HD DVR. If I lefted the setting that I have on component, I would get the sunburned skin tones but alls I did was adjust from there and my HD content looks great. Even SD for that matter looks respectable.

AS far as the RGB for computers, I dunno cause I don't use the panel for that.

Edit: Justed looked at the box. It has a Sept. 05 Manu but its the V. 615

I am using an HDMI connection and used Avia to calibrate my set. I hear you on the football Chris...having the colors presented as realistic as possible is my #1 priority too. And to be honest, when I watch the ND games, ESPNHD (which I think is the best signal out there) and the NFL games the set blows me away and I feel like I am there. I hope you are able to find the PQ you are looking for and that you don't have to endure anymore repair hassels.

I have V. 615 firmware (Aug. Manu. 05) and after adjusitng the color i have not noticed any major issues over HDMI. I really can't imagine the set pq looking any better with the newer firmware. I was actually thinking of getting the upgrade just to have the latest and greatest but my set really does look good. FWIW I tried calibrating over component through my DVD player using the filters and discs and although it looked great after adjusting, the settings just don't translate over to HDMI and my motorola 8300 HD DVR. If I lefted the setting that I have on component, I would get the sunburned skin tones but alls I did was adjust from there and my HD content looks great. Even SD for that matter looks respectable.

AS far as the RGB for computers, I dunno cause I don't use the panel for that.

Edit: Justed looked at the box. It has a Sept. 05 Manu but its the V. 615

I also have an Aug build of the 615 FW and yes I did notice a red push on HDMI but nothng I could not tame and adjust to my satisfaction.I do not want any "techs" messing with this TV , return policy or not.

If it works and you are happy don't mess with it. kinda lke the bios UGs in Pcs . People upgrade not knowing why and then something else gets screwed up...but hey they have the latest! LOL In ths case people know why but it can be adjusted to correction and seperate inouts hold seperate adjustments.

I have a question and a noob to this. If I want to use my pc's video card to display on my 42x3, can I get a regular vga cable to plug into the rgb input on the back of this maxent. The manual says "connect to RGB output of computer or set-top box" for the rgb input description. Is VGA going to work on this RGB connection? Thanks!

I have a question and a noob to this. If I want to use my pc's video card to display on my 42x3, can I get a regular vga cable to plug into the rgb input on the back of this maxent. The manual says "connect to RGB output of computer or set-top box" for the rgb input description. Is VGA going to work on this RGB connection? Thanks!


RGB is the correct name for that type of connection. VGA is an old resolution standard (640X480) but over the years the three letter acronym has become synonymous with any type of monitor cable. It's the same thing. Just hook it up to your PC, and set your PC to one of the resolutions specified in the manual. It should work.

Had my MX42X-3 for about two weeks now and really like it.

I seem to have found a couple of problems with the HDMI input that haven't been mentioned previously on this forum-

1. I'm driving the HDMI input from the DVI output on my Motorola 6412 DVR. Anytime the "DVI/YPbPr Output" on the DVR is set to 480i the image on the Maxent gets folded (horizontally) back on itself, creating a sort of double image. This doesn't happen with any of the other output settings or when I use the component inputs.

2. Every so often when I change from "component" to "HDMI" the screen will just display a b&w noise pattern until I change channels.

3. I have been unable to find the "Native Mode" selection (mentioned in the manual) which should be available for HDMI inputs using the "Wide" button.

I've not yet tried to use the RGB input. My set was built in July and is running with 050615 F/W.

Has anyone else experienced these problems? Should I try to get a firmware (and image board?) upgrade from Maxent?

RGB is the correct name for that type of connection. VGA is an old resolution standard (640X480) but over the years the three letter acronym has become synonymous with any type of monitor cable. It's the same thing. Just hook it up to your PC, and set your PC to one of the resolutions specified in the manual. It should work.

So, if my ATI x700pro video card and maxent can do 1920x1080 as the highest matched up resolution, it should output at that level right. The video card has dvi-i and component but I've already maxed out the two component and hdmi on my maxent leaving me just this "RGB" connection. Will the 15pin vgb/rgb cable option be HD quality since it is not component or dvi ouput?

OK, noob question about tweaking the monitor for the better dark scenes...

The banding and posterization in dark scenes on this set is driving me crazy. Well lit scenes are fine, HD sports are awesome, but the banding and posterization is really bothersome. Its especially noticable on HD shows like Rome and Lost and in dark scenes in DVDs. So a couple questions...

Is this common to all the plasma technology? If I took this back to Costco and waited for some holiday sale on another "name" brand is this still going to be an issue? Are some PDPs better than others in processing the picture to minimize the banding?

What is the best way to tweak the settings to minimize the effect. Its been over 100 hours, so I turned up the brightness and the contrast (past the levels set with THX) and it looks a little better, but still significantly banded. I am thinking I should get the AVIA or DVE and dial this thing in, but how significant of a difference is the proper calibration going to really make?

Any suggestions. I love the monitor and don't want to take it back, but honestly it's driving me crazy.

I have had the Tv for a couple weeks now I only saw that issue on a single scene on a DVD once.I attributed it to a Cyber H0me DVD player since returned for a Toshiba. (since the Toshiba was the same prce and cold be purchased at Costco)


I have not viewed any HD broadcasts on it but I would think Banding artifacts would be more noticable on DVDs. I would return it if it is that bad. No sense on paying nearly $2000 for a TV you are not satisfied with.

So, if my ATI x700pro video card and maxent can do 1920x1080 as the highest matched up resolution, it should output at that level right.

Yes, but it's 1080i so you need to set your video to interlaced (30hz) if you want to use that resolution. The supported resolutions stated in the manual are what you need to set the PC at. You are basically using the plasma as your PC monitor, but the plasma is picky about what resolutions it will accept.

The video card has dvi-i and component but I've already maxed out the two component and hdmi on my maxent leaving me just this "RGB" connection. Will the 15pin vgb/rgb cable option be HD quality since it is not component or dvi ouput?

RGB is actually a higher quality connection than component.
DVI/HDMI > RGB > Component > S-video > Composite > RF

Yes, but it's 1080i so you need to set your video to interlaced (30hz) if you want to use that resolution. The supported resolutions stated in the manual are what you need to set the PC at. You are basically using the plasma as your PC monitor, but the plasma is picky about what resolutions it will accept.


RGB is actually a higher quality connection than component.
DVI/HDMI > RGB > Component > S-video > Composite > RF

THANKS again! I will now have to froogle for a long 15 pin vga/rgb extension cable since my pc is about 17 ft away from the plasma as I didn't want to bring the pc into the living room with the fan noise.

OK, noob question about tweaking the monitor for the better dark scenes...

The banding and posterization in dark scenes on this set is driving me crazy. Well lit scenes are fine, HD sports are awesome, but the banding and posterization is really bothersome. Its especially noticable on HD shows like Rome and Lost and in dark scenes in DVDs. So a couple questions...



Rome is especially bad, Anastasis. The clay face and banding in dark scenes (which is like 50% of each episode) are terrible. I get my HBO HD from Comcast. Do you also? This could be just an artifact of the way HBO or Comcast compresses their signal. The funny thing is, I have not seen this problem on dark scenes on the INHD channels, so it very well may be the source material.

I watched "Poseidon Adventure" on NBC HD last night (it was in wide screen!) and did not see any of these problems.

I calibrated mine with THX also, but opted for higher settings as the ones recommended seemed somewhat too dark too me.

Perhaps asking for feedback in the "HDTV Programming" forum would help us determine whether this is peculiar to our sets or attributable to the source.

Jerry

ChiTown_Jerry, I also have comcast digital and see all kinds of artifacts like you described, not only on HBO-HD, but many channels. And the funny thing is that I am talking about a 32' analog TV! So chances are it is the signal. I never noticed anything until I switched to digital cable...

THANKS again! I will now have to froogle for a long 15 pin vga/rgb extension cable since my pc is about 17 ft away from the plasma as I didn't want to bring the pc into the living room with the fan noise.

Try monoprice.com or pccables.com for it. Never had a problem with either of them. 25ft should be around $10, where CompUSSR or WorstBuy would be around $50+.

EDIT: Make sure you order it with the correct ends (male, female, etc)

There's been a lot of talk about which interface standards are superior, and I've found it all very interesting (and have learned a few things along the way.) But I'm still not sure if I know the answer to the question I've been asking myself. I have the Maxent plasma and my main input source is my DirecTiVo HD DVR (HR10-250.) I've got it connected with component video cables. Would I notice a perceptible difference in picture quality if I switched to HDMI? I'd consider my perception of differences in quality to be average, meaning that if the difference between component and HDMI is so small that only 5% of people could even see it, I'm probably not in that 5%. If there is a difference, would it be different for HD programming than for SD?

If it matters, I've found that HD programs look best in 1080i mode, but SD programs look best in 480p (at least to my untrained eyes.)

Just wondering if it's worth buying another cable and making the switch to HDMI.

Just wondering if it's worth buying another cable and making the switch to HDMI.

If it looks good to you now, it probably won't make too much of a difference. If you have old firmware, you're probably better off using component. On the other hand, HDMI cables are less than $10 online, so it might be worth giving it a shot. If it doesn't make any difference or looks worse, worst case scenario you have a spare HDMI cable lying around.

Try monoprice.com or pccables.com for it. Never had a problem with either of them. 25ft should be around $10, where CompUSSR or WorstBuy would be around $50+.

EDIT: Make sure you order it with the correct ends (male, female, etc)

I'll check them out for that price. thx..

Just wondering if it's worth buying another cable and making the switch to HDMI.

HDMI also let's you use the bare bones "PIP" this set has. It isn't much, but it does let you monitor two inputs a once.

I just bought this model. The one thing I'm not happy with is the amount of reflection witha background light on at night. Is this common with this Maxent model or are all plasmas' glass like this?.....thanks

That's all plasmas buddy!

tenmidgets,
thanks........well this one is headed for the master bedroom sooner than I thought.

Great TV though napa...its my primary set and I am loving it. If the glare bothers you, just pull a shade or blinds over the window. Getting another plasma won't really help with the lighting issue.

I've got another HDTV (non-plasma) I'll swap it out with. The Maxent will head for a more dimly lit room. The problem is, the kitchen undercabinet flourescents are right at the perfect angle to be seen about 3 inches from the top of the screen. We usually have those lights on more often than not at night.

I got a call from a local repair rep today to set a time to install the new firmware on the plasma. He confirmed with me that he just had the chip - not an entire board. Has anyone had a successful firmware upgrade that just involved the chip? I'm worried about potentially killing the set before the holidays. So far from what I've read the successful upgrades have involved replacement of more than just the ROM chip. I'm hoping others can shed some light on this before I make the decision.

I recently had a tech upgrade my firmware. He simply changed out the chip and all is well. I had rev 08 now upgraded to 22. Reds are now toned down, overall the picture looks great. Looks like 08 definitely had issues. Note that you only have to remove the smaller rear cover (the one that sticks out some) instead of the entire back cover. Also, I did not lose my settings even though I need to run DVE again...

Can anyone comfirm who had fw 615 and upgraded to 622 whether all you needed was a software upgrade (no Chip involved)? I just had them send out a CD with the firmware upgrade and they said no chip replacement is necessary.

Could you explain how you were able to obtain the firmware? The chip that is being replaced is a 4mb flash ROM similar to the kind used for motherboard BIOS. It makes sense that it can be simply flashed with a new firmware. Did they explain the procedure to you?

-Phil

So how do you flash the Maxent from the CD they're sending to you? Do you do something through the RS232 port?

yeah, they said that you can upgrade it from your laptop through rs232. It may be only for those with 615 moving to 622. I asked him twice and he said all I need is to flash it with this CD they're sending me. I'll let you know how it goes.....won't get to it until next week.

My unit has the 0608 firmware. What will I gain from the upgrade? Also, since I am currently not having a major problem with the set, how should I broach this with Maxent tech support? Thanks.

yeah, they said that you can upgrade it from your laptop through rs232. It may be only for those with 615 moving to 622. I asked him twice and he said all I need is to flash it with this CD they're sending me. I'll let you know how it goes.....won't get to it until next week.

napa_newbie, check your private messages.

My unit has the 0608 firmware. What will I gain from the upgrade? Also, since I am currently not having a major problem with the set, how should I broach this with Maxent tech support? Thanks.



Why would you consider upgrading a TV that is having no problems? I view thi lke BIOs Upgrades on PCs. Don't do them unless you have an issue that REQUIRES it.

I have a slight same HDMI red push as other have and can adjust it out. I don't consider it broke and caetainly do not want some "tech" messing around with the TV.

A am currently using the HDMI input on my Maxent and find it has slightly better PQ than the component input.

However if my Motorola 6412 DVR is set up to output 480i for the "4:3 override" setting, it results in a scrambled image that is folded back on itself in the horizontal direction.

Has anyone else tried 480i for the 4:3 override setting?

Does it produce a useable picture?

I'm running with ver. 615 f/w.

Can anyone comfirm who had fw 615 and upgraded to 622 whether all you needed was a software upgrade (no Chip involved)? I just had them send out a CD with the firmware upgrade and they said no chip replacement is necessary.

Maxent told me the same thing when I called them about the red push via hdmi last week. I also have FW 615 so they said I don't need a tech out to my house. They wanted to send me a new firmware to update via rs232 connection. I told them that I would wait to hear results from others first before attempting such a thing. They said they'll have step by step instructions except I need to go to radio shack to buy a rs232 cable.

A am currently using the HDMI input on my Maxent and find it has slightly better PQ than the component input.

However if my Motorola 6412 DVR is set up to output 480i for the "4:3 override" setting, it results in a scrambled image that is folded back on itself in the horizontal direction.

Has anyone else tried 480i for the 4:3 override setting?

Does it produce a useable picture?

I'm running with ver. 615 f/w.

I had the same thing happen to me with a moto 6200 hd set top box if set to 480i in the 4:3 override setting. I messed around with it and gave up and have set it to 480p for about a week ago.

Rome is especially bad, Anastasis. The clay face and banding in dark scenes (which is like 50% of each episode) are terrible. I get my HBO HD from Comcast. Do you also? This could be just an artifact of the way HBO or Comcast compresses their signal. The funny thing is, I have not seen this problem on dark scenes on the INHD channels, so it very well may be the source material.

I agreed with this the first time I read it, but I watched Miller's Crossing on INHD last night (great flick, btw) and the banding and posterization were really bad. I can't tell if this is a source issue or a Maxent issue. I played around with the video settings, but wasn't really able to get a better result. Assuming this was a Maxent issue, which may not be the case, does anyone have any tips for reducing these effects for dark sources?
Off the top of my head my settings I think are contrast = 60, brightness = 40, color = 33, tint =0, noise reduction off, and color temperature = warm.
Thanks.

just wanted to thank everyone on this thread for all the great info. I bought the 42x3 about 3 weeks ago but didn't set it up until yesterday after we moved into our home. Man, this is my first HDTV and I'm still awestruck by the amount of detail, richness, colors, and depth in full widescreen HD!

My jaw dropped repeatedly last night while watching Lost on ABC. What a perfect weekend to get a new house and TV to play with! Checked Costco yesterday and they do appear to no longer be selling this model anymore. I feel good to have gotten it when I could.

Yeah they still have it but many stores are out of stock. its available online. It has been a good seller. the Phillips will give it a run though at the same price.

I looked at em all. Bought it!............................Now what?
I have a Sony HT-CT800DP HT system w/ component ouput. So I gues that will go component. I am getting Comcast HD STB next week. How should I hook up the cable to get maximum flexibilty with all the PQ, stretch and zoom and whatever with my SD and HD choices?? I have read this whole thing a dozen times and hope I can just get a good answer from one of you helpful people who have been through this.

Thanks for all the advice, couldn't have done it without the members here.

Thanks, Paul

how do i make PS2, full screen on componenet inputs? maxtent says ist on 16:9 buts its a few inches short on the left and right side createing bars. PS2 i format for widescreen so i'm like WTF? i hope i don't have this problem with xbox once i crack it open.

As i recall, i can't strech componenet inputs (for that fact anything)

I don't have an issue with the Xbox games. Everything I have thrown at it has been in wide screen, Perhaps the games are not programmed in widescreen?

if i'm not playing long..they should be no harm done, correct (referring to the bars on left and right side)

and another question?

how come widescreen dvd's still have bars on top and bottom?

(don't mind me, i'm still a noob)

I agreed with this the first time I read it, but I watched Miller's Crossing on INHD last night (great flick, btw) and the banding and posterization were really bad. I can't tell if this is a source issue or a Maxent issue. I played around with the video settings, but wasn't really able to get a better result. Assuming this was a Maxent issue, which may not be the case, does anyone have any tips for reducing these effects for dark sources?
Off the top of my head my settings I think are contrast = 60, brightness = 40, color = 33, tint =0, noise reduction off, and color temperature = warm.
Thanks.

What's banding exactly?
i get some small discolored vertical bars in the middle of the screen when watching TV (Adelphia) via Component. I don't see any issues with HDMI.

if i'm not playing long..they should be no harm done, correct (referring to the bars on left and right side)

and another question?

how come widescreen dvd's still have bars on top and bottom?

(don't mind me, i'm still a noob)

TVs screens are made for TELVISION HD broadcasts. The filmed content Hollywood puts out is a different ratio. It is even wider. A zoom function Q1 should just get rid of those bars. BTW. My Tv has seen about 25 hours of vgames so far and no issues. Just watch some wide screen stuff once in awhile.

I checked for this tv at my local costco (san francisco) and they told me that costco wouldn't be stocking this tv anymore. They didn't have it in the warehouse and weren't planning to get any new inventory. Any idea who else stocks this tv.

Thats the rub with Costco. You have to strike when you see something. They carry limited runs. You ma be able to get the TV at Best Buy but Im not sure i would buy it or any TV without a generous return policy. Especially a non name branded TV due to future parts issues. I just grabbed their online special Scepter 27" LCD. If its bad I'll bring it back to my local Costco. If it's good. i will have scored a great 27" HD LCD for a two hundred less then I have seen any 27" LCD advertised for.

What's banding exactly?
i get some small discolored vertical bars in the middle of the screen when watching TV (Adelphia) via Component. I don't see any issues with HDMI.
I was referring to to the uneven blending of colors. I've seen some particular problems with dark sources. The transitions from shades of black can be abrupt and very noticable. Some of this is definitely source related--several people have noted problems with HBOHD, particularly with Rome. I've been noticing it on other channels and on DVDs so I was just wondering if anyone had luck with other settings getting rid of this or at least minimizing it through tweaking the Maxent's settings.

Has anyone compared the Maxent 42" to the Philips 42" which is now at Costco for around the same price the Maxent was? The Philips has an HD tuner I think, which might be an advantage for some, but I've heard bad things about the PQ on Philips plasmas. But given that it's a "name brand" I'm wondering if there's any reason to consider returning the Maxent and buying the Philips. I'm basically happy with the Maxent so it would have to be noticably better to motivate me to return it.

Maxent 42" HDTV in the Best Buy flyer this morning.

I noticed most of the plasmas in the flyer are 1024 x 768. Can they truely advertise these as HDTV/s?

Maxent 42" HDTV in the Best Buy flyer this morning.

I noticed most of the plasmas in the flyer are 1024 x 768. Can they truely advertise these as HDTV/s?

That is the MX-42XM11 at Best Buy. It's a totally different TV with a totally different panel and not recommended.

Every 42" plasma has 1024X768 resolution. It is enough resolution to be considered HD. Lots of discussion on that topic in this forum. A search should bring up a lot of threads.

Every 42" plasma has 1024X768 resolution. It is enough resolution to be considered HD. Lots of discussion on that topic in this forum. A search should bring up a lot of threads.

Well, not EVERY 42"... The plasmas using Hitachi's ALiS panels have a stated resolution of 1024x1024 using an alternate line illumination system.

Well I have decided today to WHITE BURN the Maxent for the hell of it and see what happens.

My theory is instead of lowering everything why not just white burn the display and get it over with? You can do it on RGB mode.(Apparently Maxent feels computer users rightfully are going to keep plenty of static images on the screen.)

Has anyone compared the Maxent 42" to the Philips 42" which is now at Costco for around the same price the Maxent was? The Philips has an HD tuner I think, which might be an advantage for some, but I've heard bad things about the PQ on Philips plasmas. But given that it's a "name brand" I'm wondering if there's any reason to consider returning the Maxent and buying the Philips. I'm basically happy with the Maxent so it would have to be noticably better to motivate me to return it.


Saw the ad for this Phillips Panel as well. It has a stated contrast ratio of 10k to 1. I was wondering myself how good it is.

Okay,guys. I've got a new question. Last night I was futzing around with the RS232 connection, tryiing out some of the settings that I'd seen posted on the thread.I entered a few new gain and bias settings and saved them with the SAV:000 command. Well, now, what should I do if I want to recall the settings to what the panel shipped with. Am I #%$ out of luck here, done in by my own stupidity?

In my limited research on the Pioneer you guys are talking about at Costco (PDP-4214), I do not believe there is an external media receiver, which is a huge issue for me since I will be mounting mine on the wall.

In my limited research on the Pioneer you guys are talking about at Costco (PDP-4214), I do not believe there is an external media receiver, which is a huge issue for me since I will be mounting mine on the wall.

I too thought this was a huge issue until I realized the money I was gonna use to buy a receiver to do 5.1 sound could be put towards a slightly more expensive receiver which also had two component and two HDMI inputs as well as a single output of each. This will act just like a media receiver but allow you MUCH more flexibility in which monitors you can purchase. I went with a JVC in silver that I got off eBay for ~$300 brand new. This allows you to buy whichever TV you wish and connect everything to your receiver and then run a single HDMI cable or Component/optical cable to the monitor. Simple as that but something I didn't think of right away.

Okay,guys. I've got a new question. Last night I was futzing around with the RS232 connection, tryiing out some of the settings that I'd seen posted on the thread.I entered a few new gain and bias settings and saved them with the SAV:000 command. Well, now, what should I do if I want to recall the settings to what the panel shipped with. Am I #%$ out of luck here, done in by my own stupidity?

Unfortunately I think that is correct. I may have the initial settings around here somewhere for mine but I don't know if the settings would be the same across the board or not. If I find them I'll be happy to post them.

Okay,guys. I've got a new question. Last night I was futzing around with the RS232 connection, tryiing out some of the settings that I'd seen posted on the thread.I entered a few new gain and bias settings and saved them with the SAV:000 command. Well, now, what should I do if I want to recall the settings to what the panel shipped with. Am I #%$ out of luck here, done in by my own stupidity?

Yikes! what was wrong with your TV that you decided to mess around with those fine settings?

Saw the ad for this Phillips Panel as well. It has a stated contrast ratio of 10k to 1. I was wondering myself how good it is.

Read CNETs review on both. Its eye opening> I was looking at the Phillips as well but did not like the all silver bezel and the Panasonic parts in the Maxent given the popularity of that brand around here amongst those who know such things was a huge factor as well.

That said I tried to burn am image on the Maxent yesterday after running a white screen for 6 hours. I put the DVD static DVD screen up contrast at 80 for 4 hours.
No burn in. I am satisfied under my use there will never be any burn in to worry bout on this TV.

Okay,guys. I've got a new question. Last night I was futzing around with the RS232 connection, tryiing out some of the settings that I'd seen posted on the thread.I entered a few new gain and bias settings and saved them with the SAV:000 command. Well, now, what should I do if I want to recall the settings to what the panel shipped with. Am I #%$ out of luck here, done in by my own stupidity?

Oops. You probably should have copied down the initial settings before messing around with them. I believe the initial settings are based on calibration tests at the factory and vary somewhat from panel to panel/ set to set. Hopefully you were able to get a satisfactory picture with your new settings. Otherwise I would try using someone else's default numbers as a baseline and fine tune from there.

Well, I just got off the phone with their tech support, and yes, indeed I've gone and permanently changed my TV's settings. Oops, indeed. I guess that I somehow thought those numbers were in ROM somewhere. Wrong. :(

He did say however that the gain/bias settings are different for each of the color temp presets, so I wouldn't have messed them up for all color temp presets. I told him that I was changing gain/bias for the "warm" color temp setting only. He recommended that I generally use the "natural" (9300K) setting, as that's what most of the people who work there use. I thought that was interesting, given the preference around here for 6500K, and the DVE recommendations to use 6500K.

He did give me some reference numbers that they use for calibrating from their factory service mode menus, but those numbers appeared to be in hex format, and translated out to decimal values near 1000 for the bias settings, which doesn't match the valid range printed in our user manual. The gain numbers that he gave me did appear to translate from hex back to decimal values that are very close to the values in the range around 300 that I was reading (and tweaking), and that have been posted on this thread. So there may be some hope for me to restore my settings. I'll be sure to write down what I have before I go and screw anything up more!

Definitely, if any of you guys have unaltered numbers for the warm temp setting for a version 615 set, I'd appreciate your offer to post 'em for my reference.

Also, I am a good candidate for the 622 FW upgrade, because of the issues with my HDMI port not always getting audio when I power up the set with the input set to HDMI, as well as it occasionally feaking out when I switch from another input over to HDMI. I have to fax a copy of my receipt and a summary of my problems to them, and they'll send me a disk and the instructions.

I just came back from Costco to look at the Phillips 42" and compare it to the Maxent 42". Based on picture quality alone, the Maxent definately looked better. Neither of them were in stock, but the worker told me the Phillips should be coming in but they are no longer carrying the Maxent.

I wouldn't normally buy a floor model for such a pricey item, but with costco's return policy, I figured it would be fine. Plus all the floor models on display are out of reach from the consumers.

Read CNETs review on both. Its eye opening> I was looking at the Phillips as well but did not like the all silver bezel and the Panasonic parts in the Maxent given the popularity of that brand around here amongst those who know such things was a huge factor as well.

That said I tried to burn am image on the Maxent yesterday after running a white screen for 6 hours. I put the DVD static DVD screen up contrast at 80 for 4 hours.
No burn in. I am satisfied under my use there will never be any burn in to worry bout on this TV.

Thanks, that is nice to know this set will last.

What excalty does the white screen do for the tv?

Okay,guys. I've got a new question. Last night I was futzing around with the RS232 connection, tryiing out some of the settings that I'd seen posted on the thread.I entered a few new gain and bias settings and saved them with the SAV:000 command. Well, now, what should I do if I want to recall the settings to what the panel shipped with. Am I #%$ out of luck here, done in by my own stupidity?

After much (too much) experimenting I came up with these numbers which I believe are dead on balls accurate :)

HDMI
Temp Warm
Cont 65
BRT 45
CLR 21
Tint 0
Shrp 30
Noise off
RGN 220
GGN 222
BGN 185
RBS 455
GBS 467
BBS 474

Of course each panel will be slightly different, but it might get you in the ballpark.

-Phil

I failed to pull the trigger, and now it's too late. No Costcos in my area have this set, and they show it as a deleted item. It's apparently still available from the website, but I have to pay $200 shipping. Not sure if it's worth the money at that point.

Can anyone suggest a comparable set in the same range? Would current MX-42X3 owners have paid $200 more for the television? Thanks in advance for suggestions.

I failed to pull the trigger, and now it's too late. No Costcos in my area have this set, and they show it as a deleted item. It's apparently still available from the website, but I have to pay $200 shipping. Not sure if it's worth the money at that point.

Can anyone suggest a comparable set in the same range? Would current MX-42X3 owners have paid $200 more for the television? Thanks in advance for suggestions.

Check the 50x3 thread. It's more expensive but Best Buy does 36mo 0% interest financing so that should help.

I failed to pull the trigger, and now it's too late. No Costcos in my area have this set, and they show it as a deleted item. It's apparently still available from the website, but I have to pay $200 shipping. Not sure if it's worth the money at that point.

Can anyone suggest a comparable set in the same range? Would current MX-42X3 owners have paid $200 more for the television? Thanks in advance for suggestions.

Ya know what? After owning this set for a month I can say that to me it would be worth dropping an extra $200 for it based on the tremendous performance. And when you factor in the amazing return policy its a no brainer. Do you have to pay tax if you buy online (maybe it depends on where you have it shipped)? If not, you are basically only paying en extra $50 or so and they bring it to your door. So if that's the case I would take the plunge before its really too late!

Maxent 42" HDTV in the Best Buy flyer this morning.

I noticed most of the plasmas in the flyer are 1024 x 768. Can they truely advertise these as HDTV/s?

It has at least 720 vertical lines, doesn't it? That's HD my friend.

I failed to pull the trigger, and now it's too late. No Costcos in my area have this set, and they show it as a deleted item. It's apparently still available from the website, but I have to pay $200 shipping. Not sure if it's worth the money at that point.

Can anyone suggest a comparable set in the same range? Would current MX-42X3 owners have paid $200 more for the television? Thanks in advance for suggestions.

I haven't seen anything of equivalent quality for anywhere near the price, even if you had to pay $200 to ship it. So, knowing what I know now (having bought one at my local Costco last month) I would do it again, including paying shipping, if I had to.

If you don't like it, you can return it to your local Costco store and get a full refund, INCLUDING the shipping costs. So you can't lose...

I don't think you'll be able to escape sales tax, though... companies have to collect sales tax on shipment to any state in which they have a physical presence (i.e. store location.) I don't think there are many states left which don't have at least one Costco.

I failed to pull the trigger, and now it's too late. No Costcos in my area have this set, and they show it as a deleted item. It's apparently still available from the website, but I have to pay $200 shipping. Not sure if it's worth the money at that point.

Can anyone suggest a comparable set in the same range? Would current MX-42X3 owners have paid $200 more for the television? Thanks in advance for suggestions.

I'm in the same boat. After a month of reaserch I finally got the wife's OK yesterday. Going to my local Costco (they had a bunch last week) proved that they were out of stock. The nice lady told me that the closest store that had them was Brooklyn, NY. Too bad that's a couple of hundred miles for me. I could get the bigger one at CC, but then I'd also have to get the EW and now we're talking a lot more money. I'm still debating over getting one shipped, or waiting to see if prices on the 50" come down for the holidays.

It would be nice to see someone with more knowlage do a roundup on value Plasma's. Hint, hint ;)

Does the 42" get warm in the back at the top 6 inches? I have the 50" and it heats my family room!! ;)

There must be something wrong with my eyes. I've been looking at the Maxent at Cosco side by side with the ED Panasonic at about a 10' viewing distance. I swear the Panny looks better.

Would this be the case in a home enviroment that doesn't have the harsh store lighting? The Panny actually seems to have a sharper more color balanced picture than the Maxent. I've gone to 4 Costcos and looked. It seems the same to me on all of them.

I watch a lot of HDTV on an RCA F38310 wich was their 38" HDTV. I love this set but it takes up a lot of room. I guess my question is would the Panny or Maxcent be a step down in PQ?

Thanks.

Looks like Costco, at least around Chicago, is selling out its stock of the Maxent 42" plasmas and do not plan on getting any more.

There must be something wrong with my eyes. I've been looking at the Maxent at Cosco side by side with the ED Panasonic at about a 10' viewing distance. I swear the Panny looks better.

Would this be the case in a home enviroment that doesn't have the harsh store lighting? The Panny actually seems to have a sharper more color balanced picture than the Maxent. I've gone to 4 Costcos and looked. It seems the same to me on all of them.

I watch a lot of HDTV on an RCA F38310 wich was their 38" HDTV. I love this set but it takes up a lot of room. I guess my question is would the Panny or Maxcent be a step down in PQ?

Thanks.

If you can swing it, buy both, try them out at your house and return the one you don't like. Store setup conditions are so out of whack from what you see at home that its really hard to trust or even use the in store picture as any kind of indicator of what the PQ will be in your home environment. I ended up trusting the reviews and discussion more than what I saw in the store.

just a thought, I am not familiar with the RCA model you speak of so I can't compare the PQ of that vs the Max or Panny.

There must be something wrong with my eyes. I've been looking at the Maxent at Cosco side by side with the ED Panasonic at about a 10' viewing distance. I swear the Panny looks better.

Would this be the case in a home enviroment that doesn't have the harsh store lighting? The Panny actually seems to have a sharper more color balanced picture than the Maxent. I've gone to 4 Costcos and looked. It seems the same to me on all of them.

I watch a lot of HDTV on an RCA F38310 wich was their 38" HDTV. I love this set but it takes up a lot of room. I guess my question is would the Panny or Maxcent be a step down in PQ?

Thanks.

You're not seeing things. The Panasonic ED is all thoe things. It is brighter and the "sharpness" is ore contrast. If I understood this fro reading here, this is due to larger round pixels eitting more light. Before I bought my TV I did and informal tesr as asked everyone who passed by both TVs which they liked better. They aLL chose the panasonic ED.

I ended up making he choice and bought the Maxent for cosmetic reasons. i disliked the Panasonic all silver and preferred the wider speaker on the side look of the Maxent. The Maxent also has the RGB input. The Maxent is HD and has Panasonic glass. I really would not buy an all silver Plasma. Its both a tV and a piece of furniture in my house. Im not a PQ fanatic. It looks great to me.

Anyone updates with the new firmware upgrade to 622 from 615 with CD via rs232 port?

On more than one occasion, I've had the Maxent "blank out" on me. Using a component feed, it's as if the set went into "sleep" mode. If I switched the video input on my receiver (using the same component input), the set would "wake up" again.

It's pretty weird, since the "sleep" option is off and it's only supposed to kick in on the RGB input.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

i have the same exact problem. The Maxent just "blanks out" using the component 1 input. Anyone have any ideas?

You're not seeing things. The Panasonic ED is all thoe things. It is brighter and the "sharpness" is ore contrast. If I understood this fro reading here, this is due to larger round pixels eitting more light. Before I bought my TV I did and informal tesr as asked everyone who passed by both TVs which they liked better. They aLL chose the panasonic ED.

I ended up making he choice and bought the Maxent for cosmetic reasons. i disliked the Panasonic all silver and preferred the wider speaker on the side look of the Maxent. The Maxent also has the RGB input. The Maxent is HD and has Panasonic glass. I really would not buy an all silver Plasma. Its both a tV and a piece of furniture in my house. Im not a PQ fanatic. It looks great to me.


Its true that you aren't seeing things...the Panny is brighter and may even be sharper. But speaking from my experience owning the Maxent, the picture was completely different when I got it home and set it up with my DirecTV hi def signal than what I saw in the store. PQ was vibrant, settings were mine to choose from and I thought it actually performed much better than what I'd seen in the store. I feel the biggest reason for this is because it is an HD set and not ED (I just do not feel comfortable losing resolution). Now maybe the Panny looks better on a home signal as well, I did not buy both to compare. But to me, having more resolution on your set is a no brainer.

ps: I wow'ed everyone in my house at Thanksgiving....they couldn't believe the picture quality on the Maxent. And I must admit, I am still amazed myself! Good luck w/ the decision and let us know which way you decide to go.

does anybody else see postarized artifacts? Especially the darker reds/blacks/greys? Seems like a cartoon sometimes? Any advice? Would the firmware upgrade solve this? Both my sets have this and are build August 2005

does anybody else see postarized artifacts? Especially the darker reds/blacks/greys? Seems like a cartoon sometimes? Any advice? Would the firmware upgrade solve this? Both my sets have this and are build August 2005

Yes indeed I have, on all inputs, from all sources, in dark (or partially dark) images. The only solution for this problem has been for me to turn the contrast / brightness settings back to the 40 - 60 range. When calibrating with DVE pluge and gray ramp screens, I found that I had to put brightness at about 65 to 70 and contrast below 50 (as low as 24 with an Xbox over component). This resulted in an almost unbearable amount of false contouring / posterization.

I'm curious what settings have worked for you guys who are claiming flawless pictures, 'cause I sure haven't found them yet!

After much (too much) experimenting I came up with these numbers which I believe are dead on balls accurate :)

HDMI
Temp Warm
Cont 65
BRT 45
CLR 21
Tint 0
Shrp 30
Noise off
RGN 220
GGN 222
BGN 185
RBS 455
GBS 467
BBS 474


Of course each panel will be slightly different, but it might get you in the ballpark.

-Phil


Rusterk, I put this up for you yesterday, I guess you missed it.

Rusterk, I put this up for you yesterday, I guess you missed it.

do you have these for the Component inputs as well?

No I stopped tweaking the component input when it became obvious to me that the HDMI input was superior. I use a Media Center PC so I only need to use one input. It doesn't hurt to
change these settings and experiment as long as you write down your numbers before beginning. I saw red push in my panel and I was able to dial it out with the settings I posted above.

The tech was here this morning with the new chip and swapped it out in about 20 minutes. The red push is gone on HDMI and the firmware is now 050822 :D

I figured I'd add a good firmware upgrade story for folks who were as nervous as I was about the upgrade.

and what fw version did you upgrade from again?

Rusterk, I put this up for you yesterday, I guess you missed it.
Thanks, Phil.

I actually used an approximation method, plus some guesswork from the hexadecimal level numbers (I think) that the tech support guy gave me the other day, to try to restore my settings for the warm color temp back to what they shipped as. I think I'm pretty close, but I'll never know for sure. :confused:

I may try your tweaks for HDMI while I'm waiting for my firmware upgrade CD to arrive. I definitely agree that the all-digital input makes for a much cleaner picture than component. However, the colors always seem to be oversaturated, unless I reduce the color level; then they're under saturated. I just can't find the sweet spot on HDMI with the user menu controls. In general, there just isn't enough color depth on HDMI to satisfy me. I'm really hoping that the firmware upgrade will improve this.

Also, there is vertical overscan on the HDMI input, which results in a little bit of vertical stretching. I confirmed this with a geometry test screen from the DVE disk. Unfortunately, I can't correct for overscan in the user menus on HDMI, and haven't tried it on RS-232 (I don't even know if that's available). According to the tech support guy I spoke to the other day, there is a service menu that they use internally. Maybe I can try to find out how to get in there... the again, maybe I should quit while I’m ahead! :rolleyes:

I know what you mean about the slight overscan (stretching). I believe all displays do this. Both Nvidia and ATI drivers have adjustments to overcome the problem. I'm still anxious to hear about the do it yourself firmware flash (anyone do this yet?) and BTW, You would be the man if you found the service menu access.

I know what you mean about the slight overscan (stretching). I believe all displays do this. Both Nvidia and ATI drivers have adjustments to overcome the problem. I'm still anxious to hear about the do it yourself firmware flash (anyone do this yet?) and BTW, You would be the man if you found the service menu access.

Service menu's a pipe dream for now... I tried your settings on HDMI, and it does look improved. Thanks again.

I can't seem to find one from good online store... Is it sold out everywhere?
Thanks.

I can't seem to find one from good online store... Is it sold out everywhere?
Thanks.

As of today, Costco is no longer listing the MX-42X3 on their web site. Therefore, I think the "ship has sailed"... if you didn't get one while they were available, you're out of luck. I'm not aware that this particular model was available anyplace besides Costco, though perhaps someone else knows of another source and will fill you in.

Still glad I took the plunge, I love my Maxent!

I take back my previous posting -- or at least part of it -- I just found the 42X3 available mailorder from this web site:[EDIT]

The price is quite reasonable considering that they will ship it FREE. I can't post the price here, but you can go and look for yourself. According to Cnet, this mail order company has a good reputation (5 out of 5 stars.)

EDIT>>

mod note: no retail links. Thanks.

My last posted experience with the Maxent MX-42X3 was not a happy one. I was bothered the excessive greenish tint in my pictures, HDMI does not work with 480i, and lack of details in dark scenes, all in my opinion of course. I knew that others are perfectly happy with their set and may be I am overly critical.

So I initiated a request for hardware and software update. In came the tech Maxent sent. You know the rest, tech did not know the 42X3 and proceeded to use his power drill to unscrew all the screws in the back, then he had trouble to remove the back and thought may be he should call for help. Maxent told him that it was the SMALL back cover and not the whole back. Anyway, the chip was put in its proper place, screws back on and Maxent was power up. Except NO POWER.

I was shocked to find another member Chris, had a very similar or almost exact experience. Except, that Chris's Maxent did not power up even when the old chip was put back on. I should feel lucky to escape disaster, but I was still not happy. I am still within my 30 day return warranty and do have options. The thought of buying a better abeit more expensive set crossed my mind, after all who in the hell needs this.

Then last week I got a call from Jay @ Maxent. Jay told me that he is sending me a firmware he thinks will fix my problem. I told him I am thinking of returning the set since it is within my 30 day warranty. He said, try this and then return the unit if I still want to do it.

When, yesterday, Thrusday, no firmware no email nothing from Maxent, so I took a trip to my favorite warehouse. And there is the Philips 42PF7220A, with tuners, cable card and looking good. But I did not have my SUV and my sedan was too small. So I guess I will make it in one trip to swap tomorrow.

I came home and guess what, the Fedex guy showed up and here is the firmware that Jay promised.

I installed the firmware . It is version 050822 (YYMMDD). and the Maxent looked the best I have ever seen it, it is as good as anything I have seen. It is not Panasonic or Pioneer but damned good.

I played with it a couple hours last night and for the first time since I bought this set I was completely satisfied. Well there are a few nags which still bother me like S-video settings does not keep its aspect ratio and so on but I can live with this set now.

Firmware upgrade is not without its perils even in experienced hands. TV is rather new to this kind of upgrade compared to computer. Not every laptop has RS 232 port ususally called serial port. My Acer Centrino almost 2 years old does not have it. The instructions from Maxent is excellent and is enclosed for your information.

Good luck,

:)

P.S. The Panasonic plasma glass is really in its splendor now. Thanks Motegi. Chris, would you want to try again? I know you have the the August 05 built with the 050615 firmware. That's what I had. Kingfrog and Ten Midgets if you are happy with your sets that's what is important and thanks again for your many postings. Beware of rabid upgraders!!

;)

Switching between inputs on this set is a pain.

Switching between inputs on this set is a pain.

I feel your pain. I need to set up a Harmony in my bedroom for that reason.

The instructions from Maxent is excellent and is enclosed for your information.


I can't download the instructions or maybe it's just me..

i had to right click it and do save target as. Couldn't navigate directly.

i had to right click it and do save target as. Couldn't navigate directly.

Thanks, I got it now.

My last posted experience with the Maxent MX-42X3 was not a happy one. I was bothered the excessive greenish tint in my pictures, HDMI does not work with 480i, and lack of details in dark scenes, all in my opinion of course. I knew that others are perfectly happy with their set and may be I am overly critical.

So I initiated a request for hardware and software update. In came the tech Maxent sent. You know the rest, tech did not know the 42X3 and proceeded to use his power drill to unscrew all the screws in the back, then he had trouble to remove the back and thought may be he should call for help. Maxent told him that it was the SMALL back cover and not the whole back. Anyway, the chip was put in its proper place, screws back on and Maxent was power up. Except NO POWER.

I was shocked to find another member Chris, had a very similar or almost exact experience. Except, that Chris's Maxent did not power up even when the old chip was put back on. I should feel lucky to escape disaster, but I was still not happy. I am still within my 30 day return warranty and do have options. The thought of buying a better abeit more expensive set crossed my mind, after all who in the hell needs this.

Then last week I got a call from Jay @ Maxent. Jay told me that he is sending me a firmware he thinks will fix my problem. I told him I am thinking of returning the set since it is within my 30 day warranty. He said, try this and then return the unit if I still want to do it.

When, yesterday, Thrusday, no firmware no email nothing from Maxent, so I took a trip to my favorite warehouse. And there is the Philips 42PF7220A, with tuners, cable card and looking good. But I did not have my SUV and my sedan was too small. So I guess I will make it in one trip to swap tomorrow.

I came home and guess what, the Fedex guy showed up and here is the firmware that Jay promised.

I installed the firmware . It is version 050822 (YYMMDD). and the Maxent looked the best I have ever seen it, it is as good as anything I have seen. It is not Panasonic or Pioneer but damned good.

I played with it a couple hours last night and for the first time since I bought this set I was completely satisfied. Well there are a few nags which still bother me like S-video settings does not keep its aspect ratio and so on but I can live with this set now.

Firmware upgrade is not without its perils even in experienced hands. TV is rather new to this kind of upgrade compared to computer. Not every laptop has RS 232 port ususally called serial port. My Acer Centrino almost 2 years old does not have it. The instructions from Maxent is excellent and is enclosed for your information.

Good luck,

:)

P.S. The Panasonic plasma glass is really in its splendor now. Thanks Motegi. Chris, would you want to try again? I know you have the the August 05 built with the 050615 firmware. That's what I had. Kingfrog and Ten Midgets if you are happy with your sets that's what is important and thanks again for your many postings. Beware of rabid upgraders!!

;)


Great post Chanc. Was the FW upgrade easy to do? I read the directions and it didn't seem that bad, kind of like just downloading a file like you would from the web. If that's the case maybe I will give it a go too...I have no complaints about my set but maybe I am not realizing it because I have no comparisons I can make? If I call Maxents support will they just send the CD if I request it, or will I have to send all kinds of documentation etc.?

P.S. The Panasonic plasma glass is really in its splendor now. Thanks Motegi. Chris, would you want to try again? I know you have the the August 05 built with the 050615 firmware. That's what I had. Kingfrog and Ten Midgets if you are happy with your sets that's what is important and thanks again for your many postings. Beware of rabid upgraders!!

;)

Glad to hear you have been turned around by the "revised" PQ. In fact your turn around has me curious about the FW uprade...The SW version. I do NOT want a tech coming to meess with theTV. Thats why I bought at Costco. If it fails BAck it goes. But If I can get the CD of the FW upgrade I may give it a go rather then mess around with ias settings etc to solve the red push issue.

I'll give Maxent a call.

Let us know how that goes kingfrog!

i have the same exact problem. The Maxent just "blanks out" using the component 1 input. Anyone have any ideas?
Have not had it happen since then. Weird.

Kingfrog,

You might not know it. But when you convinced the canadian lady to go with plasma instead of the DPL Samsung RPTV she was having trouble with, you convinced me also.

Ten Midgets,

The CD has all the files you would need to upgrade. I completely agree with Kingfrog on this, I DO NOT WANT any tech messing with my plasma particularly someone with a penchant for cordless power drill using as a screwdriver. Frankly, I know that at least 4 of my screws threads were damaged because of the power drill overturning them. You would want to be careful and follow the directions to the letter. You might want to test your connection and port before proceeding.


I did not talk much about the PQ improvement, but they are VERY substantial. I already reported that the green-yellowish tint has disappeared or a lot weaker. The increase in the gray gradations make viewing much more pleasurable, the red is redder, blue is bluer and green is greener. The focus is much sharper too, I set the sharpness at 20.

I tested the SD and digital channels using the S-Video and they are really good, the Maxent does a real good job of visualization processing.

It's almost like the new firmware allows the Panasonic glass to perform to its potential. The original firmware might have been intended for the LG glass used in the Maxent MX- M11 (?) at Best Buy. The last PC magazine reviews the Best Buy Maxent and reported the same kind of green tint I reported earlier.

For me to make a 180 degree turn, the change has to be substantial and it was.

Best of luck,

;)

Chanc, Are the firmware files small enough to zip and email?

-Phil

What's the procedure for updating the firmware? Do they provide an application that does everything for you once you connect via the RS-232 port?

If someone could post the firmware update and instructions, it would help us all and save Maxent lots of tech support (at least hopefully!)

Ten Midgets,

The CD has all the files you would need to upgrade. I completely agree with Kingfrog on this, I DO NOT WANT any tech messing with my plasma particularly someone with a penchant for cordless power drill using as a screwdriver. Frankly, I know that at least 4 of my screws threads were damaged because of the power drill overturning them. You would want to be careful and follow the directions to the letter. You might want to test your connection and port before proceeding.

Very interesting Chanc. But after reading your instructions provided about the FW update (see the word doc above davetroup) it states that the RS-232 cable must be female to female. For my computer I need a male, would that still work? I don't see how a female/female plug would work anyway?

The loader is 4.6 Mb, the data file (code) is 1.3 Mb. Someone posted the word file included on the disk earlier in this thread. I love the last words of encouragement - "good luck!"

I got my CD by calling Jay at Regent and then sending him proof of purchase - copy of receipt, scanned and sent by email.

Unless Regent/Maxent explicitly gives permission, we have no right to distribute copies of the firmware code and the loader.

The loader is 4.6 Mb, the data file (code) is 1.3 Mb. Someone posted the word file included on the disk earlier in this thread. I love the last words of encouragement - "good luck!"

I got my CD by calling Jay at Regent and then sending him proof of purchase - copy of receipt, scanned and sent by email.

Unless Regent/Maxent explicitly gives permission, we have no right to distribute copies of the firmware code and the loader.


Does Jay have a direct line? What do I need to say to get the CD? green push issues?

Davetroup :
Can you tell us the store name? (i think that's allowed, right?)
Thank you.



I take back my previous posting -- or at least part of it -- I just found the 42X3 available mailorder from this web site:[EDIT]

The price is quite reasonable considering that they will ship it FREE. I can't post the price here, but you can go and look for yourself. According to Cnet, this mail order company has a good reputation (5 out of 5 stars.)

EDIT>>

mod note: no retail links. Thanks.

I can't see why Maxent would mind letting the firmware get passed around. It would save them a lot of postage.

Very interesting Chanc. But after reading your instructions provided about the FW update (see the word doc above davetroup) it states that the RS-232 cable must be female to female. For my computer I need a male, would that still work? I don't see how a female/female plug would work anyway?

are you sure you need male? those female connectors on the back might be the video output. RS232 is usually male when coming out of a laptop/computer.

I used the phone number in the manual, then there was an extension. I didn't talk about any problem besides the display blanking unexpectedly.

has anyone found the remote control codes for this unit? I'm using the Adelphia (motorola) dvr cable box.

I saw the 42XM11 at costco yesterday. seems they're restocking the old maxents.

That is the MX-42XM11 at Best Buy. It's a totally different TV with a totally different panel and not recommended.

Every 42" plasma has 1024X768 resolution. It is enough resolution to be considered HD. Lots of discussion on that topic in this forum. A search should bring up a lot of threads.

First of all, I apologize for posting a retail link... I knew you couldn't post prices (and didn't) but I didn't realize that retail links were also verboten (though it makes sense, I guess.) I won't do that again.

For those that were wondering where you could still get the MX-42X3, here's how I found one seemingly reliable source. Go to Cnet shopper, a comparison site (search for it if you don't know the address.) From their site, search for "42X3" and that will take you to a list of sites offering this model (there's only one listed.)

The store is called Bright and Sleek, I won't give their address to avoid running afoul of the moderator again, but you can find it by following the directions above.

I also went and searched at the web sites of the companies who are advertising here on avsforum, since it would be nice to support them... but I didn't find that any of them carry the Maxent.

Hope that helps!

davetroup,

You did great.:)

The fact that you made such an effort stay within the rules in your last post makes the link you posted earlier no big deal at all. You have no idea how much it helps.

Thanks for your support and enjoy the thread.:)

I saw the 42XM11 at costco yesterday. seems they're restocking the old maxents.

Hello
Please correct me if I am wrong but I believe that is the new model not the old one with the Panasonic parts? I don't think the new model has HDMI only DVI
The 42XM11 may still be a killer deal for a 42" HDTV Plasma If its not like the models at BB
Cheers Ray

I just upgraded my firmware to ...822. Now using HDMI and everything looks fantastic. I'm really happy with this purchase now. Absolutely great plasma.

Hello
Please correct me if I am wrong but I believe that is the new model not the old one with the Panasonic parts? I don't think the new model has HDMI only DVI
The 42XM11 may still be a killer deal for a 42" HDTV Plasma If its not like the models at BB
Cheers Ray

The 42X3 "panny" Maxent is the newer of the two models. The 42XM11 is the same set originally sold at BestBuy and is the "older" model. It boggles the mind why Costco would "downgrade" to an older model set after having great success selling the 42X3. Perhaps they got a better deal on these older units from Maxent or maybe they are buying out old BB stock. Who knows... I think it is a bad decision on their part because I have a distinct feeling that they will see a very high return rate with the 42XM11 based on its problematic history.

Anyway the 42XM11 uses an LG-made HD plasma panel and is in a different case than the 42X3. The 42XM11 series is noted to have a spotty reliability record with many of them having a defect whereby the picture develops a green cast. Not just a push, mind you, but an actual green coloration throughout with loss of reds. I personally wouldn't choose this set regardless of Costco's excellent return policy.

Someone needs to start a letter writing campaign to the powers that be at Costco to get the Maxent 42X3 back on their list instead of the 42XM11.

If you look at the Costco site, they are advertising the LCD 42 in Maxent, which looks like a brand new model. I highly doubt they have stocked an old Maxent plasma.

If you look at the Costco site, they are advertising the LCD 42 in Maxent, which looks like a brand new model. I highly doubt they have stocked an old Maxent plasma.

According to the Costco website, it is a 42" LCD TV, Model MX-42XL11. It is not the BB 42XM11 - it isn't even a Plasma!

I've sent an email from their webpage and left a voicemail for Jay but no reply for two days. Does someone have a direct email for Jay? I bet they are getting a lot of requests.

He'll call or have someone else call you back, they are very good. Just be patient. It's worth the wait.

According to the Costco website, it is a 42" LCD TV, Model MX-42XL11. It is not the BB 42XM11 - it isn't even a Plasma!

The ones at the B&M are infact the 42XM11 As posted above buyer beware
Cheers

If you look at the Costco site, they are advertising the LCD 42 in Maxent, which looks like a brand new model. I highly doubt they have stocked an old Maxent plasma.

No. I was just at my local Costco last evening and the current Maxent plasma in-store is definitely the 42XM11 and NOT an LCD model. They had quite a few of them on the floor as well as on the upper rack.

I have a BAD feeling that the hype generated in this thread about the "Costco Maxent" will lead a few less careful buyers into buying what is really the "BestBuy Maxent" now at Costco.

Its NOT the same set people! Ask your local Costco managers to bring back the Maxent 42X3 specifically!

No. I was just at my local Costco last evening and the current Maxent plasma in-store is definitely the 42XM11 and NOT an LCD model. They had quite a few of them on the floor as well as on the upper rack.

I have a BAD feeling that the hype generated in this thread about the "Costco Maxent" will lead a few less careful buyers into buying what is really the "BestBuy Maxent" now at Costco.

Its NOT the same set people! Ask your local Costco managers to bring back the Maxent 42X3 specifically!
Ditto!

I just got back from out local Costco and in fact it is the 42MX11 plasma set.

that's a shame because the MX3 is a great set. I almost didn't pick it up 2 weeks ago, but sure glad I did now.

I just went to our local costco, and they didn't have any maxents in the 42" flavor. They have the Phillips but it's more expensive than the MX3.

that's a shame because the MX3 is a great set. I almost didn't pick it up 2 weeks ago, but sure glad I did now.

I just went to our local costco, and they didn't have any maxents in the 42" flavor. They have the Phillips but it's more expensive than the MX3.

The MX-42X3 with the new firmware 050822 is comparable to the Panasonic or Pioneer in PICTURE QUALITY. The Philips 42PF7220A at your favorite warehouse is last year model although it has cable card and tuners.

;)

Maxent has the 42" LCD, napa referred to

costco.com

I did not see the best buy maxent 42xm11 at costco, milford, ct yesterday. But it's a shame it was not the mx-42X3.

;)

Switching between inputs on this set is a pain.

I can't believe how hard it is to lower a little door on the remote and push the exact input button you need

I can't believe how hard it is to lower a little door on the remote and push the exact input button you need

Hard enough that I pulled the little door right off (in a non-destructive manner) and have it stored in my box of "might need sometime in the future" various bits and pieces! :D

The new Maxent model at Costco is actually 42mx11c (with a "C" at the end). The Best Buy model doesn't have the "C". Does anyone know what difference this makes? I went to 3 Costco's and they have all started carrying this one.

The new Maxent model at Costco is actually 42mx11c (with a "C" at the end). The Best Buy model doesn't have the "C". Does anyone know what difference this makes? I went to 3 Costco's and they have all started carrying this one.
I wonder if the "C" is for Costco so BB doesn't have to price match?

I wonder if the "C" is for Costco so BB doesn't have to price match?

I believe that is correct. If you look around, Costco carries a few Rear Projection DLPs and LCDs with a "C" at the end as well.

Too bad about the 42MX11s in the B&M stores. Now I am stuck between trying to find a Costco with a remaining 42x3 now, or waiting (and hoping) for the 50x3 to show up at Costco after BB's exclusive deal runs out after XMAS.

I wonder how the 42"Maxent LCD on their website is?

I was one of the earlier followers of this thread and very happy Maxent owner. It's become our favorite set between a 60 SONY GWIII and a 32" Sharp LCD. I have two questions for the group:
1. Does any fellow Maxent 42" owner, also own the 50" Costco Vizio and how does the quality compare?
2. Has Maxent released a larger version, 50" or greater and do we expect Costco to carry it?

Thanks to all.

The ones at the B&M are infact the 42XM11 As posted above buyer beware
Cheers

The XM11 at CostCo did not look that bad when I was looking at it. The one at CostCo they had on display was manfactured in October 2005 and had a different firmware version than the ones at Best Buy. I did not notice the overly "green" image like the ones at Best Buy. It looked 10 times better than the ones at Best Buy, I would still consider it a deal.

And there are differences between the two as well. The connections on back are arranged differently between the BB and CostCo sets. The CostCo set actually has a master power on/off switch next to the power cord, the BB does not. The CC one has a completely different controller.

The screen I did see LG on the back. I am wondering if there are any more differences between the two.

2. Has Maxent released a larger version, 50" or greater and do we expect Costco to carry it?

Thanks to all.

Yes, the MX-50X3 and to date, only available at Best Buy.

My Maxent has a build date of June 2005 and version 08. I called Maxent last week about my red push issues and am justing waiting a call back. I'm curious about the upgrade. Do I need someone to come out to the house to install a chip as most have had done, or do I just need them to send me that upgrade CD? I don't have a laptop computer so it may be difficult for me to upgrade with the CD. Or am I confusing this and the chip upgrade is different from the CD upgrade? Do I need both? And if a tech comes out to the house, can he do both? Thanks for helping the noob! :) Advice?

This is a bit strange. I just got off of the phone with Maxent, spoke with someone whom is in sales/PR. I asked them if they were going to replace the 42X3 with a X4 or some newer model since I noticed the CC doesn't sell it anymore. He said the X3 has been discontinued and the one to replace this is the 42XM11. He said that the new XM11 is a revised version of the original unit with internal changes, different remote, and some other things.

I am thinking that the one at CC that I saw may be the new revised version since I did notice these differences compared to the one at BB. As I stated earlier it was manufactured in Oct. 2005.

Now I did notice that the contrast ratio is listed at 1000:1. I wonder if this is standard CR or dynamic CR?

Strange... The 42X3 is now back up on the CostCo website as of today.

Here's my story, so far, on the 615 to 822 firmware "home upgrade" (via CD).

I called tech support seven days ago. They had me fax them a proof of purchase (CC receipt) and a description of my symptoms. Today, I received the CD.

I rushed home and installed the software from the CD, connected my laptop to the TV with the RS-232 cable, turned the rear power switch off on the TV (as per the instructions), launched the updater, clicked the "connect" button...

... and my computer blue-screened....

... lather, rinse, repeat...

... five times....

... So I've called tech support again, and we'll see how things turn out...

I didn't experience any problems to upgrade the firmware, take about 5-6 minutes and the instructions are clear .Check the cable, may be a wrong cable.
Good luck

... So I've called tech support again, and we'll see how things turn out...

Did you try talking to the Maxent from your computer via the rs232 connection before attempting the update?

I don't have the CD yet, but I checked out the rs232 connection this afternoon, and read out my current gain and bias settings.

All the commands seem to work fine except the "HDM" read and input selection.

Has anyone else been able to select the HDMI input from rs232 running with 615 firmware?

Did you try talking to the Maxent from your computer via the rs232 connection before attempting the update?

I don't have the CD yet, but I checked out the rs232 connection this afternoon, and read out my current gain and bias settings.

All the commands seem to work fine except the "HDM" read and input selection.

Has anyone else been able to select the HDMI input from rs232 running with 615 firmware?

I too have been testing my rs232 connection over the weekend and noticed that the "HDM" commands don't work. I have the 615 FW also but think someone mentioned this behavior before.

Costco will have their Maxent 42" hdtv (1024x768) on sale next week at a very low price.

Has anyone bought this? reviews / opinions please..

If they do all of us who bought them will be tempted to get a check for any difference but be warned you will have to return the "Panasonic" and get the "new/old "LG" Costco will not cut a check for less the 30 days. After 30 days you have to return and rebuy .

I don't think its worth it. i have to believe Panasonic cannot supply OEM parts to Maxent as tey cannot even make enough PANASONIC TVS to go around right now. So Maxent has gone back to LG for their glass and circuitry. Although this "new" version should be btter then the version sold a few months ago, I still will hold on to the Panasonic OEM Maxent.

Here's my story, so far, on the 615 to 822 firmware "home upgrade" (via CD).

I called tech support seven days ago. They had me fax them a proof of purchase (CC receipt) and a description of my symptoms. Today, I received the CD.

I rushed home and installed the software from the CD, connected my laptop to the TV with the RS-232 cable, turned the rear power switch off on the TV (as per the instructions), launched the updater, clicked the "connect" button...

... and my computer blue-screened....

... lather, rinse, repeat...

... five times....

... So I've called tech support again, and we'll see how things turn out...

Thats strange. I did the update as well with no issues. Took about 5 minutes. Could be a problem with your CD or maybe a setting on your laptop.

This forum, and especially this thread, is awesome! I post a hissy fit, and within hours a bunch of folks reply with helpful suggestions. Thanks, everyone.


Did you try talking to the Maxent from your computer via the rs232 connection before attempting the update?

Yes, indeed. I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now. Earlier in this thread there are posts about my misadventures with changing the gain and bias settings without writing them down first... :o

My laptop has no hardware RS-232 port, but I got a USB-Serial Port adapter dongle from Monoprice, and it works fine.


I didn't experience any problems to upgrade the firmware, take about 5-6 minutes and the instructions are clear .Check the cable, may be a wrong cable.
Good luck
See above. The cable connects fine, It's just when I click the "Connect" button in the "Port Setup" area that the computer goes blue-screen. It's a two-year-old Sharp Actius laptop, running Windows XP Pro.


Thats strange. I did the update as well with no issues. Took about 5 minutes. Could be a problem with your CD or maybe a setting on your laptop.
I guess there's always a chance that they sent me a faulty version of the "ISP" updater software. It claims to be version "2.0". The created date on the "IspLoader.exe" file is "Tuesday, May 24, 2005, 3:25:04 PM". Same for you guys?

There's always the very possible chance that the updater just isn't getting along with the USB-Serial port adapter. It may well be the driver that the USB dongle installed, although it's not been showing any instabilities otherwise. Maybe the ISP updater just needs to be talking to a COM port at a lower level of the OS.

I doubt that the CD itself is flawed. Corrupted media usually just craps out altogether when you try to read it.




My solution will be to hope that they give me a call back from Maxent, and if they can't help me, then I'll lug the behemoth towards my desktop computer and try to connect to its hardware serial port.

I have one question for you folks who've succeeded with this: Is it true that you were able to connect with the set even while the rear power switch was off? That seems unlikely to me.

"There's always the very possible chance that the updater just isn't getting along with the USB-Serial port adapter. It may well be the driver that the USB dongle installed, although it's not been showing any instabilities otherwise. Maybe the ISP updater just needs to be talking to a COM port at a lower level of the OS."

RusterK, this is your problem. My laptop does not have the serial port RS232 so I used a USB - serial port adapter. NO GO!!!

My desktop DOES have a RS232 port. No problem. It's easier to bring the PC to the Maxent than the other way around.

The loader checks for the serial COM1 when it does not see it it stops. NO USB - R232 driver alternative.

The power switch is OFF during connection only, you need to turn it on during upgrade.

;)

If they do all of us who bought them will be tempted to get a check for any difference but be warned you will have to return the "Panasonic" and get the "new/old "LG" Costco will not cut a check for less the 30 days. After 30 days you have to return and rebuy .

I don't think its worth it. i have to believe Panasonic cannot supply OEM parts to Maxent as tey cannot even make enough PANASONIC TVS to go around right now. So Maxent has gone back to LG for their glass and circuitry. Although this "new" version should be btter then the version sold a few months ago, I still will hold on to the Panasonic OEM Maxent.

Well said!!! With the 050822 firmware the Panasonic glass and electronics are really good!!!

;)

My Maxent has a build date of June 2005 and version 08. I called Maxent last week about my red push issues and am justing waiting a call back. I'm curious about the upgrade. Do I need someone to come out to the house to install a chip as most have had done, or do I just need them to send me that upgrade CD? I don't have a laptop computer so it may be difficult for me to upgrade with the CD. Or am I confusing this and the chip upgrade is different from the CD upgrade? Do I need both? And if a tech comes out to the house, can he do both? Thanks for helping the noob! :) Advice?

First the good news. Your firmware version 050608 is a few versions older than the current version 050822 which will substantially improve and enhance your Maxent performance and PQ.

But there is work to do. If you are not computer comfortable then may be a Maxent tech is your best bet.

It's chip OR CD software upgrade NOT both. Either can be done in less than 20 minutes.

If you have a desktop with a COM1 port (RS232 - 9 pin ) then you can do it yourself if you feel comfortable with following the instructions and your PC is in good working condition.

Good luck!!

;)

"I guess there's always a chance that they sent me a faulty version if the "ISP" updater software. It claims to be version "2.0". The created date on the "IspLoader.exe" file is "Tuesday, May 24, 2005, 3:25:04 PM". Same for you guys?"

RusterK,

My loader2.1_setup.exe was created November 20, 2005. Maybe a new loader would help.

;)

I already convinced myself to get 42" Panny PHD8UK since I couldn't find 42x3 anywhere at costco price. Now it's back in stock.. : ) Anyone see this 42X3 in local Costco? Mine doesn't have it in stock yet. Is this online only? Just want to save some shipping.

Thanks

Strange... The 42X3 is now back up on the CostCo website as of today.

I just called today and the woman said in my area (DFW) it was still pending delete and they were not expecting anymore in. So for now it looks like an internet only thing. I hope they get them in the stores because my X3 died and I replaced it with the older 42XM11 that they just got in. Im crossing my fingers so I can get a X3 again.

I guess we will wait and see.

After much (too much) experimenting I came up with these numbers which I believe are dead on balls accurate :)

HDMI
Temp Warm
Cont 65
BRT 45
CLR 21
Tint 0
Shrp 30
Noise off
RGN 220
GGN 222
BGN 185
RBS 455
GBS 467
BBS 474

Of course each panel will be slightly different, but it might get you in the ballpark.

-Phil

How did you go about these calibrations such as the RGN, GGN, BGN, etc. How did you go about calibrating these to what looked right? I havent tried connecting using the RS232 but I am planning on doing this this weekend.

Thanks.

Does anyone know if this maxent has pixel-orbitor feature to reduce the burn-in chance? I know that the new 8th generation panny has this feature, but I am not sure about the 7th generation one.

Thanks.

By the way, Vasichko: How long have you had the X3?


I just called today and the woman said in my area (DFW) it was still pending delete and they were not expecting anymore in. So for now it looks like an internet only thing. I hope they get them in the stores because my X3 died and I replaced it with the older 42XM11 that they just got in. Im crossing my fingers so I can get a X3 again.

I guess we will wait and see.

Does anyone know if this maxent has pixel-orbitor feature to reduce the burn-in chance? I know that the new 8th generation panny has this feature, but I am not sure about the 7th generation one.

Thanks.

By the way, Vasichko: How long have you had the X3?

I had it for a week.

RusterK, this is your problem. My laptop does not have the serial port RS232 so I used a USB - serial port adapter. NO GO!!!

My desktop DOES have a RS232 port. No problem. It's easier to bring the PC to the Maxent than the other way around.

The loader checks for the serial COM1 when it does not see it it stops. NO USB - R232 driver alternative.

The power switch is OFF during connection only, you need to turn it on during upgrade.

;)


Thanks, chanc! I will try the desktop PC tonight. Take heed, everyone else who wants to do the FW upgrade via RS-232: You need a computer with a "real" RS-232 port to do the firmware upgrade!


"I guess there's always a chance that they sent me a faulty version if the "ISP" updater software. It claims to be version "2.0". The created date on the "IspLoader.exe" file is "Tuesday, May 24, 2005, 3:25:04 PM". Same for you guys?"

RusterK,

My loader2.1_setup.exe was created November 20, 2005. Maybe a new loader would help.

;)

Edit - I just checked and yes, I have the same version of the "loader2.1_setup.exe" file (the windows installer). The actual "IspLoader.exe" program that was installed is only v 2.0, according to its "About..." menu. I'll keep my fingers crossed, and thanks again!

All the RS232 commands seem to work fine except the "HDM" read and input selection.

Has anyone else been able to select the HDMI input from rs232 running with 615 firmware?
Received an email response today from Jay -

He says to use DV1 to select the HDMI input.

My set accepts this command, switches to "DVI" but displays a black screen until another input is selected. :mad:

Will the f/w upgrade correct this?

Note to Moderator: When I write INP(colon symbol)DVI the system converts the (colon symbol)D to a "Big Grin" - is there a way around this?

Since it seems each panel is "fine tuned" at the factory with its own gain and bias settings, is the f/w loader program smart enough to read the current gain/bias settings and modify the new settings accordingly?

If this is the case, I suppose it would be best to ensure that the factory settings are intact prior to performing the upgrade.

Any thoughts about this?

Note to Moderator: When I write INP(colon symbol)DVI the system converts the (colon symbol)D to a "Big Grin" - is there a way around this?
You'll need to use a small case "d", rather than the large case, "D".

: + D= :D

: + d= :d

Since it seems each panel is "fine tuned" at the factory with its own gain and bias settings, is the f/w loader program smart enough to read the current gain/bias settings and modify the new settings accordingly?

If this is the case, I suppose it would be best to ensure that the factory settings are intact prior to performing the upgrade.

Any thoughts about this?

Factory settings and your settings are maintained during and after the upgrade.

;)

Factory settings and your settings are maintained during and after the upgrade.

;)

Just to clarify. The RGB settings for the various inputs are not modified by the new firmware?

Factory settings and your settings are maintained during and after the upgrade.

;)

If that is correct, what magic do they use to correct the color variations between the inputs? Seems like I've seem some "before" and "after" gain and bias posts.

In my local Costco, the one in stock was an MX-42XM11 plasma. It was the same price as the 42X3 used to be, but that's no bargain given its mediocre reviews and lack of Panasonic componentry.

Looks like the ride is over. Too bad. Glad I got mine! :)

My wife was near the local Costco today, so I asked her to run in and write down the model numbers of the 42" plasmas. So when I got home she shows me the notes that she took and guess what...

They had 3 MX-42X3's there. Now I just hope there still there Monday when I can pick it up. I may ask them to put one on hold (it can't hurt to ask).

My wife was near the local Costco today, so I asked her to run in and write down the model numbers of the 42" plasmas. So when I got home she shows me the notes that she took and guess what...

They had 3 MX-42X3's there. Now I just hope there still there Monday when I can pick it up. I may ask them to put one on hold (it can't hurt to ask).

Where are you located at???

My wife was near the local Costco today, so I asked her to run in and write down the model numbers of the 42" plasmas. So when I got home she shows me the notes that she took and guess what...

They had 3 MX-42X3's there. Now I just hope there still there Monday when I can pick it up. I may ask them to put one on hold (it can't hurt to ask).
I just purchased one at the Overland Park, Kansas store. They had three left.

I bought the floor model at my local Costco and have just noticed that the color of the glass is discolored where the sticker was placed (the triangular plastic manufacturers sticker placed at the top right hand corner of the unit). The unit was displayed near the door where the sunlight was. Is there a way to fix this? I just tried water and soap...doesnt work.

Where are you located at???

South Eastern PA. It looks like they are restocking them. They didn't have any for the past couple of weeks (like everywhere else), and now their shelves are full.

I bought the floor model at my local Costco and have just noticed that the color of the glass is discolored where the sticker was placed (the triangular plastic manufacturers sticker placed at the top right hand corner of the unit). The unit was displayed near the door where the sunlight was. Is there a way to fix this? I just tried water and soap...doesnt work.

I think earlier in this thread people talked about leaving the TV on for an hour or more so it heats up. Then attempt to wipe it off (the heat makes the adhesive easier to remove). Search backwards if you want more info.

I think earlier in this thread people talked about leaving the TV on for an hour or more so it heats up. Then attempt to wipe it off (the heat makes the adhesive easier to remove). Search backwards if you want more info.
wow...thought it was just me. thanks for the info....i should have read through the whole thread first :(

South Eastern PA. It looks like they are restocking them. They didn't have any for the past couple of weeks (like everywhere else), and now their shelves are full.

How long were they sold out in your area???

I think earlier in this thread people talked about leaving the TV on for an hour or more so it heats up. Then attempt to wipe it off (the heat makes the adhesive easier to remove). Search backwards if you want more info.

When I had my 42X3, before it died. I let it heat up. Then I used some plasma/lcd screen cleaner I bought at my local Apple store with a very very soft cloth and it came right up no troubles. Try this out and let me know if it worked for you as well.

Thanks, chanc! I will try the desktop PC tonight. Take heed, everyone else who wants to do the FW upgrade via RS-232: You need a computer with a "real" RS-232 port to do the firmware upgrade!

With the 50X3 I used a USB to KeySpan converter with female to female Rat Shack RS-232 cable. I got gibberish with HyperTerminal until I changed "autodetect" to "ANSI". For some reason, the autodetect seems to work fine with laptops with actual serial ports and not for USB to serial converters.

How long were they sold out in your area???

When I went to get one the Tuesday after Thanksgiving they had been deleted from the system. It could have been sooner than that, but not much because they had them a week before that.

With the 50X3 I used a USB to KeySpan converter with female to female Rat Shack RS-232 cable. I got gibberish with HyperTerminal until I changed "autodetect" to "ANSI". For some reason, the autodetect seems to work fine with laptops with actual serial ports and not for USB converters.

My problem wasn't with Hyperterminal. That worked fine. It was with Maxent's firmware upgrade software.

And for the curious...

I performed the upgrade from 615 to 822 the other night by connecting via the RS-232 port on my desktop PC. The upgrade went smoothly. No dramatic improvement in picture quality, though I should recalibrate with DVE before making a final judgement. However, the HDMI audio problem is gone. I have yet to look at RGB to see if there's an improvement in that PQ.

kinda off topic but costco i went to today had MX-26X3....im guessing that also uses panny parts?

kinda off topic but costco i went to today had MX-26X3....im guessing that also uses panny parts?
I noticed that today as well as I was returning a 26" Mintek. What did you think of the 26x3? They also had the new 42" Maxent Plasma - wasn't bad.

My problem wasn't with Hyperterminal. That worked fine. It was with Maxent's firmware upgrade software.

And for the curious...

I performed the upgrade from 615 to 822 the other night by connecting via the RS-232 port on my desktop PC. The upgrade went smoothly. No dramatic improvement in picture quality, though I should recalibrate with DVE before making a final judgement. However, the HDMI audio problem is gone. I have yet to look at RGB to see if there's an improvement in that PQ.

I had the same experience. Firmware upgrade went smooth ( used my desktop as well) but there was no dramatic improvment from my 615 to the new 822. Then again i wasn't having any problems with the 615, it looked great.

I noticed that today as well as I was returning a 26" Mintek. What did you think of the 26x3? They also had the new 42" Maxent Plasma - wasn't bad.

well i was comparing the maxent to the sony bravia they had...to my untrained eye, it seemed the pq was sharper and brighter on the sony...maybe they jacked up the settings?...i really didnt fiddle with it much as i was in a rush


they did have the xm11 maxent and i was comparing this side to side with the philips....again, im not an expert, but i couldnt really tell any differences in the PQ...maybe someone ougtha go there and do a thorough comaprison and post :)

When I went to get one the Tuesday after Thanksgiving they had been deleted from the system. It could have been sooner than that, but not much because they had them a week before that.

Well I guess I need to wait a little bit then. I went up there about 1/2 and hour ago and didn't see them, but they did have a new Philips unit there.

I tried calling and they said they aren't expecting any in at my warehouse. I wonder if their inventory lists aren't updated???

Wow it looks like everybody is now getting the firmware upgrade CD from Maxent. Was it a pain in the neck to get it? I went through hoops to get the "chip" upgrade done, which left my set DEAD. So after returning it to Costco and getting a new one, I haven't dealt with support again. Did you need to fax them all the forms and receipts? or does anybody want to burn me a copy (or upload to my FTP server)? :cool:

Does anyone know if any of the Costco stores in Massachusetts or the one in Nashua, New Hamsphire have the MX-42X3 in stock again? I am in Rhode Island and I am thinking about taking the 30 minute ride, or the one hour ride to NH where there is no sales tax. :D

RI Sales Tax = 7%
MA Sales Tax = 5%
NH Sales Tax = None (I think)

Does anyone know if any of the Costco stores in Massachusetts or the one in Nashua, New Hamsphire have the MX-42X3 in stock again? I am in Rhode Island and I am thinking about taking the 30 minute ride, or the one hour ride to NH where there is no sales tax. :D

RI Sales Tax = 7%
MA Sales Tax = 5%
NH Sales Tax = None (I think)

from what i read, the x3 are pretty much all gone and the x11 are there now...maybe u should try calling?

Perhaps someone should upload the firmware via CD for those who want to take a stab at upgrading their firmware.

Does anyone know if any of the Costco stores in Massachusetts or the one in Nashua, New Hamsphire have the MX-42X3 in stock again? I am in Rhode Island and I am thinking about taking the 30 minute ride, or the one hour ride to NH where there is no sales tax. :D

RI Sales Tax = 7%
MA Sales Tax = 5%
NH Sales Tax = None (I think)

I was at the Stoughton or is it Avon Mass store tuesday and I saw one 42X3 on the floor. The display was not MX-42X3

Maybe they are getting more in since it is back up on the website.

I was at the Stoughton or is it Avon Mass store tuesday and I saw one 42X3 on the floor. The display was not MX-42X3

Does Costco hold merchandise for customers who call? If so I'd call right now and pick it up tomorrow if they still have it. i'm not even sure if they check product availability over the phone.