coolgc , the screen should be changing colors. Some of the shades of grey in the beginning may be barely indistinguishable but it should cycle to reds\greens and blues. It each shade should alst 30 seconds and at the 45 minute mark it should restart. This should go on for about 24 hours on this disc. It may not be playing the slideshow right on your dd player. What happens when you play it on your pc?
-Evangelo2

Has anyone used a Mac to burn the DVD? Are there any tricks or is it even possible? If it is, do I burn both files (.ISO and .MDS) to the DVD or just the .ISO file? Thanks.

I use the DVD and it works great. I use it here and there when I'm not watching something.

I have one question. It may be just me or a kind of optical illusion but, I see kind of a slightly darker horizontal "line" directly in the center of my TH-58PX600U. I'm about 10FT away and I only see it on the lighter colored screens of the break-in DVD. Particualrly on the white screens.

It really isn't that noticeable and not really a "line" just slightly darker in the center across the horizontal than anywhere else. My set is brand new and I wanted to see if anyone else sees this using this DVD.

I thought it might be my picture settings. I'm using Cinema and have all settings at -7 or below. Would someone mind taking a look and possibly tweaking their setting to match mine and let me know if you can make it out.

Like I said it's more like an optical illusion but, I'm pretty sure it's there. I've been using the DVD for about 2 weeks now (off and on). Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed this until today.

Regards.

I'm seeing this too - anyone else seeing it? I've got a Panny TH-50PX6U and I'm worried about using the DVD any longer if that discoloration is gonna stick. I'm also using a Sony DVP-NS75H to play the DVD on, and tried it all all resolutions, still seeing the "bar" across the middle.

wait, is this break in procedure for 100 hours or 1000 hours? and does this mean i cannot use the Plasma for anything untill i hit 100 hours? :confused:

100-200 hours, and go ahead and enjoy watching your plasma. They say it's the 1st 100hrs that is most critical. Just play the disk in between viewing to speed up the break-in.

I'm having a little trouble getting this disc to burn properly.

I've tried to burn the DVD on my PowerMac using both the .ISO file and the .NRG file. Neither DVD would play in my player (Denon DVD-1600).

Then, I tried to burn the SVCD on my PC. It won't play, either.

Do I have to use Nero to burn this? My PC doesn't have a DVD burner, which is why I was using the Mac.

Any suggestions?? Thanks.

Does anyone know if this disc loops? Most DVD's will stop when movie is finished or goes to the menu screen. Does this disc stop or does it loop back?

Sorry guys, misunderstood Evangelo2's post about the 24 hour mark.

Does anyone know if this disc loops? Most DVD's will stop when movie is finished or goes to the menu screen. Does this disc stop or does it loop back?


yah i wanna know too.

ithink someone mentioned it loops for 16 hours? i'm not sure though.....someone verify that? thanks!

The DVD version loops for 24hrs just like skosila posted. The SVCD goes for 16.

awesome news. i'll burn it on DVD as soon as i get back home....my Panasonic Plasma is brand new, never been turned on.

marwan,
It's important to properly break in your plasma but still enjoy it. Net weekend the Lord of The Ring movies will be on in HD on TNT so that should be a treat if you get the channel :) Make sure that your DVD player can smoothly play from the 44 minute mark past the 45 minute mark. This transition gives some DVD players trouble since it is actually skipping to a new slideshow at that point. Also turn down your brightness and contrast settings while running the rbeak in DVD to be extra safe (turn them real low to be extra safe, that's what I did).
-Evangelo2

should the contrast and brightness be turned down to zero? and will the DVD version run the slides for 24 hours without any modification....or should i do some kind of setting to my DVD player?

I wouldn't turn it down to 0. I turned mine down to 1/5th of the total birghtness and contrast while running the disc.
The DVD version should run the slides for 24 hours without any modifications but some DVD players do not play it correctly. Just giving some tips so you can make sure your DVD player does :)
-Evangelo2

I'm having a little trouble getting this disc to burn properly.

I've tried to burn the DVD on my PowerMac using both the .ISO file and the .NRG file. Neither DVD would play in my player (Denon DVD-1600).

Then, I tried to burn the SVCD on my PC. It won't play, either.

Do I have to use Nero to burn this? My PC doesn't have a DVD burner, which is why I was using the Mac.

Any suggestions?? Thanks.

Can anyone else comment on this?
I tried to burn the video last week as well and was having the exact same problems.
I have a program that will burn .iso's no problem and it didn't work with this file. Additionally, I downloaded the Video-TS file and converted that to an .iso using another program I had. Ripped that to CD and still wouldn't play.

The only thing I can think is that it is a S-VCD problem. It's just odd as my dvd player plays everything I throw at it... so I would be surprised it wouldn't play this.
I'll try burning it again and running it through the PS3 and see if that can do it.

If not, does anyone have a version you could share that could be run through a standard dvd player? Even if I have to restart it each time it finished (I believe that is the benefit of S-VCD - longer running time).

Thanks!

There should be no benefit with SVCD. The DVD has only the benefit of playing for longer periods of time.

The disc was created with Nero. This can be very player sensitive since players handle picture slideshows different ways. I posted above about the key moments to look for after you get a succesfull burn. You may want to try and use DVD ecrypter to burn the iso on the site since I used that program to create it. That or use the .nrg file with Nero (I posted my Nero version somewhere in there).

-Evangelo2

Is it acceptable to break-in a plasma without using this DVD? Would, for example, leaving the set on HD Discovery most of the time do the same thing? My Discover HD over here doesn't use a logo of any kind, which is pretty cool.

Is it acceptable to break-in a plasma without using this DVD? Would, for example, leaving the set on HD Discovery most of the time do the same thing? My Discover HD over here doesn't use a logo of any kind, which is pretty cool.

Should be ok as well. The disc does provide a uniform picture which may have very slight advantages. Key is you want no logos or bars on the screen. No static images either and to date Discovery HD has been decent about this.
-Evangelo2

Thanks, Evangelo. Good to know. Gonna be picking up my Pioneer 5070/1 later this week and am not sure if I will have success burning the DVD with my G5. Just want to have an alternative in my back pocket.

There should be no benefit with SVCD. The DVD has only the benefit of playing for longer periods of time.

The disc was created with Nero. This can be very player sensitive since players handle picture slideshows different ways. I posted above about the key moments to look for after you get a succesfull burn. You may want to try and use DVD ecrypter to burn the iso on the site since I used that program to create it. That or use the .nrg file with Nero (I posted my Nero version somewhere in there).

-Evangelo2

Right on. I'll just try it again tonight. I realized that I was trying to burn the DVD file not the S-VCD file, so I should have had any problems. Additionally, I was actually using DVD decryptor, so I am really surprised I was having problems.
I'll try again and report back tomorrow.

Thanks-

instantpop, never tried it on a Mac. I can try it on my iMac running OSX Tiger one of these days and see if I can get it to work.
-Evangelo2

That be awesome, Evangelo. If you get a chance, let me know how it goes!

Evangelo,

I also see a faint bar in the middle of the screen (no straight edges on it, it just fades in and out into a "light saber" like bar) with some of the colors in your break in dvd.

I burned the SVCD version and can see the bar more easily in darker grays and pinks. I noticed that I could see the bar as IR for a few minutes with an input screen with no signal after breaking in the set for 100 hours already with your disc.. It went away with about an hour of viewing Discovery HD. Now I'm afraid to keep going to the 200 mark with it, however I don't see it made any permanent damage to my tv so Im not worried about it.

The TV i have is a panasonic 50px60u and Im playing it with a Sony 85h dvd player. Unfortunately I don't have any other dvd player to try and see if that is the culprit. I also tested some color patterns from my cable box screen saver and I dont see a faint bar on that input, so it could very well be the dvd players.

Any ideas? Try looking a the faint pink slides from your DVD, do you see anything like what we're talking about on it?

hidefLoans,
Just to be safe I would not go to the 200 hour mark with it. Not sure why you see any bar at all. The images are just one color throughout made with photoshop so no color bars should be visible at all. It may be a good idea to try popping a DVD into your DVD player that has bright solid colors on the screen. Pause and look for a similliar bar. It may be your player or possibly something with the panny plasma that is not a problem (not sure since I do not ahve experience with Panny's).
-Evangelo2

Hi,

I have just purchased a new Panny 42PX60 and am in the break in period. I am having trouble finding the definitive answer on how I should set the contrast/brightness/color while I run the break in DVD overnight.

Should they be turned all the way down? In the middle? Up a little higher? I think most of the settings go from -30 to 0 to +30. If anyone could help me out on the best settings while running the DVD I would appreciate it. I want to treat this new addition to my home like a fine automobile! :)

thanks!

Got this from the The OFFICIAL Panasonic 9UK Owner's Thread:

For break in:

Press Picture control on remote

Change to Cinema,

reduce picture to negative (contrast)

reduce brightness to negative...

Set to warm

Go to screen saver menu, turn on wobbling in screen saver menu, number 2 setting. (this is a pixel shift)

The idea is you don’t want to blast it with light. I used like -10 Picture setting and -5 Brightness for the first 50 hours, then gradually moved it up to about -1 or so.

Evangelo2, I just got my 42PH9UK today and am running your DVD from my PS2 via component and Progressive scan ON. So far I'm rocking a cool 3 hours... haha long way to go ;-) but it works flawlessly! Thanks much!

WOW! That is sweet that panny outlines this for users :) I dont have a panny so I usually tell people my pio settings for beak in (Energy Saver On, birghtness = -8, contrast = 10). These are the settings I used while running the DVD.
I eventually ramped up to Contrast = 20, Brightness = 0.

Now when I watch tv I use Contrast = 32 and Brightness = 8 based on the HD Net Test Patterns.

-Evangelo2

Hey Evangelo,

Any luck burning that DVD with your Mac? I downloaded the Video_TS version of it and am not sure what I am supposed to do next!

Thanks!

Any chance of getting that reverse burn-in DVD image?

If time is a factor, I'd be willing to try if you tell me how you made the current DVD. I've got Photoshop and Nero

WOW! That is sweet that panny outlines this for users :) I dont have a panny so I usually tell people my pio settings for beak in (Energy Saver On, birghtness = -8, contrast = 10). These are the settings I used while running the DVD.
I eventually ramped up to Contrast = 20, Brightness = 0.

Now when I watch tv I use Contrast = 32 and Brightness = 8 based on the HD Net Test Patterns.

-Evangelo2

Hey, this was posted by a user Evangelo2 ;-) so we should thank the user (and all others providing sound advice)

15 hours, yay! =p 85 more to go to finish 100 hour mark...

Thank's Evangelo2.

Here's what I did

I downloaded your
Breakin_DVD_R_NRG.zip (12549kb) on 2006/8/4
from
http://www.eaprogramming.com/downloads/downloads.htm
I unzipped it to
C:\temp\Home Theatre\Nero_BreakInDVD\NRG\Breakin DVD-R.nrg
(441921 kb, 2006/5/2)

I'm using Windows XP Professional 2002 SP2.

I went to http://www.nero.com/enu/Downloads.html
and downloaded "Nero 7 Ultra Edition Enhanced Trial Version"
and got a
Nero-7.5.9.0A_eng.exe (154,581kb) 2006/12/7

Installed Nero-7.5.9.0A_eng.exe.
Without the ASK TOOLBAR browser add in. I used the custom settings to install -- but left them all unchanged. I didn't allow it to use Nero for anything (images, video, audio, icons) -- no file types, no desktop icons, etc -- I selected 'remove all' on each/all the tabs. Said it was installing over a gigabyte of files.
It installed Microsoft DirectX9c, forcing a reboot of my WindowsXP.

After the reboot It had put something on my task bar -- which I removed after unselecting a bunch of indexing options.
It also added an entry to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Run
which I also removed.

I
Start > Programs > Nero 7 Demo > Data > Nero Burning ROM
On the Nero toolbar, near the right, I clicked on "Choose a recorder", and selected my SONY DVD RW DRU-720A IDE drive.
I inserted a blank SONY DVD-R 4.7GB 1x-8x disk. [When WindowsXP asked me what to do with it, I pushed CANCEL, because I wanted Nero to deal with it instead]
On the Nero toolbar, near the left, I clicked on "New". From the top left drop down it was set to "CD", so I selected "DVD".
I then clicked on the "OPEN" button near the bottom, and opened
C:\temp\Home Theatre\Nero_BreakInDVD\NRG\Breakin DVD-R.nrg
This opened up the BURN tab, and I left "Write" checked, and under Write Speed I reduced it from 8x to 6x(8310 kb/s) because sometimes disks won't write at top speed.
I pushed the BURN button.
After it started burning, I clicked on the "Verify" checkbox on the bottom left. After about 10 minutes it was done, including verification. No errors, and it auto-ejected the DVD.

I then put it into my Toshiba HD-XA1, and hit play.
A white screen appeared on my tv.
I tried fast forward on the remote, but that was refused.
After about 30 seconds I noticed that the chapter number went up. So I tried next chapter button on the remote, and clicked through about 65 chapters.
There are various flavours of white, that slowly become RED.
Then there are more whites, that slowly become BLUE.
Then there are more whites, that slowly become GREEN.

Seems to work fine.

BasementBob,
Sounds like you did it right :) Make sure there are no black bars on the screen when you are playing the disc. Every pixel should be lit.


I should also have a disc to "reverse" burn in 4:3 static bars for those who have suffered from that type of image problem. I can't do much testing since I do not have this problem but I can make the pattern correctly :)

-Evangelo2

Evangelo2:

Part of the reason I posted above was I went looking through the master burn in thread and this one looking for some instructions, and didn't find any.


but I can make the pattern correctly
I don't suppose you could tell me how (or if you're feeling the Spirit of Christmas :) to put together a .nrg file!) to make a disk with

- 100 IRE (white)
- 0 IRE (black, blacker than black)
- all BLUE
- all RED
- all GREEN

that I can pause on each of these five.

This is for looking for stuck pixels (stuck on, stuck off). It doesn't need to run for 24 hours. But the pause button on the remote should work. Alternatively 5 minutes for each frame/colour, and the next chapter button, would be fine.

I have AVIA (http://www.amazon.com/dp/630551982X) and DVE (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005PJ70), but getting to their test patterns is a whole bunch of clicks. On one I can find RED, GREEN, BLUE, but not a 0 IRE black nor 100 IRE white. I haven't looked at the other yet.

Obviously I've never used Nero before -- well a little bit yesterday but that doesn't count. :)

No problem Bob,
I used photoshop to make the original disc. All images are native 720p resolution (which I know gets changed when put into DVD or SVCD format.
All Blue\Red\Green\White is very easy with photoshop (or MS Paint probably :). Just create a file of the correct resolution and filll the whole image with the solid color.
Not sure about different IRE levels (if you jsut want pure black and pure white this is easy for a PS point of view but i know different players have different IRE settings for white\black).
To put it all together I used Nero and made a photo slide DVD. I set each picture to stay ons creen for 30 seconds and recopied my slideshow about 30 times on the disc.
-Evangelo2

Evangelo2:

It works. I have a DVD with white/black/red/green/blue.

That was pretty easy. I created five .bmp files of 1280x720 pixels. I used Paint -- and verified that each was the pure RGB colour.
I think I ran
- Start > Programs > Nero 7 demo > Photo and Video > Nero Vision
then
- Make A Slide Show > DVD Video
Loaded in the images. Used properties to set each to 10 minutes. Clicked on every option I could find (e.g. 16:9) before hitting Next each time, and eventually I had a DVD.

BasementBob,
Sounds like you did it right :) Make sure there are no black bars on the screen when you are playing the disc. Every pixel should be lit.


I should also have a disc to "reverse" burn in 4:3 static bars for those who have suffered from that type of image problem. I can't do much testing since I do not have this problem but I can make the pattern correctly :)

-Evangelo2

Cool. Please let us know when you have the pattern. I'll be the beta tester ;-)

So I understand: the .bmp solid color files for the basic burn in CD would be 1280X720p. How big is the 4:3 zone in the center in pixels? Just make that zone solid black on top of the basic color slides and then burn a new slide show.

That be awesome, Evangelo. If you get a chance, let me know how it goes!


InstantPop,

Use the Disk Utility application that is in your \Applications\Utilities folder on your hdd.

There is a menu choice for 'Images', 'Burn...'

It will then ask you to select which image. Point it at the unzipped ISO file, and shove the appropriate media into the drive.

Voila. (no fancy software needed on a Mac. =D Although if you really want to use something fancy, Roxio Toast software does a bang up job at burning also)

E.

hi, sorry if i asked this question before. but im breaking in a 50" panasonic plasma, and i want to know how low should i set the contrast/ratio? should i set it to zero? 1? 10? 15?

please lemme know a.s.a.p since i have just started running the break-in DVD.

thanks.

I kept mine at 10-15% of the total values (e.g. if it goes from -50 to +50 I set it to -35). This was just while running the break in DVD.
When watching regular programs I used Avia calibrated settings and HD Net Test Pattern settings.

-Evangelo2

You're good leaving everything at zeros. That's what most have done with this set.

sticky

another quick question. i'm so far 16 hours into the break in, can i watch TV for a bit? cuz the wife is hassling me and she wants to watch cable TV and cannot stand waiting for another 3-4 days till the break in is complete.

can we? or should we just wait till it breaks in at 100 hours?

thanks!

Go ahead and enjoy it! The disk will help speed up the break-in.

sweet, thanks. it's been on now for a continuous 36 hours none stop. i'll just keep it going unless we get desperate to watch TV :)

sweet, thanks. it's been on now for a continuous 36 hours none stop. i'll just keep it going unless we get desperate to watch TV :)

Ys, zoom in. There should be no unlit pixels.

thanks again. 1 more day and i complete the continuously 100 hour break in :) thanks to you Evangelo2.

once the 100 are complete, should i watch TV regularly(in widescreen of course) as in increase the contrast and brightness? since both are set to zero at the moment(it's a panasonic 50" Viera....still very bright even at zero brightness/contrast)

Ys, zoom in. There should be no unlit pixels.
actually, i just realized right after i posted my question that that black border i was seeing wasn't actually part of the viewing screen, it was just a border.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j130/buiyahkah/IMG_0364.jpg

thanks again. 1 more day and i complete the continuously 100 hour break in :) thanks to you Evangelo2.

once the 100 are complete, should i watch TV regularly(in widescreen of course) as in increase the contrast and brightness? since both are set to zero at the moment(it's a panasonic 50" Viera....still very bright even at zero brightness/contrast)

Marwan, after 100 hours I used AVIA calibrated values and just varied my viewing. I also had the side pillar bars (for 4:3) material) set to gray. I pretty much watched whatever I wanted after 100 hours. I didnt game on it until after 200 hours.
-Evangelo2

Evangelo2 -

can you use the DVD image on any DVD player? I have an older Panasonic XP30 which can output 480p or 480i over component.

I am expecting to get a Pio 6070HD soon - would the scaler in the Pio upscale the 480i or p as necessary?

Am I ok as long as i Zoom?

Thx.

V.

I see on the download page evangelo is running this disk until he hits 1,000 hours. The download page says 100-200 hours. I also see this post was started back in 05. Is this still recommended on today’s plasmas? I have not yet picked mine up yet is why I ask. Are you still watching the TV during the break in period running this disk through the evening hours?

Evangelo2 -

can you use the DVD image on any DVD player? I have an older Panasonic XP30 which can output 480p or 480i over component.

I am expecting to get a Pio 6070HD soon - would the scaler in the Pio upscale the 480i or p as necessary?

Am I ok as long as i Zoom?

Thx.

V.
You should be able to use the DVD on any player, providing you burn it to media that your player will accept. The pioneer will upscale as needed. Zoom or Wide would be a good setting to fill the screen. I prefer Wide if I want to fill the screen.

I see on the download page evangelo is running this disk until he hits 1,000 hours. The download page says 100-200 hours. I also see this post was started back in 05. Is this still recommended on today’s plasmas? I have not yet picked mine up yet is why I ask. Are you still watching the TV during the break in period running this disk through the evening hours? Any articles/links you can pass along to me about this subject please.
Yes, it is still recommended to break-in the set for 100-200hrs with a lower contrast and brightness setting. You can still watch tv during the break-in period, this disk helps to speed up the process by running it when you are not watching. This whole thread is filled with information concerning this subject.

vsapra, you should be able to use on any dvd player that can play DVD-R disc. Some players may be sensitive to slideshows so you should try it first. The critical point comes at the 45 minute mark. If it goes to the next slideshow then youa re ok.

rsander, I muust have a type on the download page. I used it for the first 200 hours and have not fired it up since. I will when I get my Pio FHD-1 some day :)

-Evangelo2

Marwan, after 100 hours I used AVIA calibrated values and just varied my viewing. I also had the side pillar bars (for 4:3) material) set to gray. I pretty much watched whatever I wanted after 100 hours. I didnt game on it until after 200 hours.
-Evangelo2


why 4:3 with sides set to gray? cant i just watch everything in widescreen as long as it fills the screen, using the zoom function?

wouldnt 4:3 cause some kind of burn-in since the grey bars are always there? :confused:

thanks!

I have a new Panasonic TH-50PX600U. The brightness and picture (contrast) are at -20. I started to use the Breakin DVD on a SONY DVP-NS315 progressive scan player with the TV aspect at ZOOM. I have not watched anything else on the plasma yet. Ran the DVD overnight for 9 hours. On the second night of breakin, I noticed the faint horizontal line in the middle of the picture plane on some of the lighter screens. I did not notice this on the first night of breakin. I then tried the DVD in a SONY DVP-NC85H upconverting player with the TV aspect at FULL. I got the same results; The faint, darker-than-background, horizontal line in the middle of the picture plane on the lighter screens. I toggled the picture setting to VIVID (higher brightness and contrast) and the horizontal line was not noticable. None-the-less, I have stopped using the breakin DVD.

For those who have seen the screen line that I am talking about, were the TV's brightness and contrast set as low as mine? Has anyone been able to get to the bottom of this? Is this a plasma glass issue? Anyone call Panasonic about this yet?

Thanks.

--
ewokultra

why 4:3 with sides set to gray? cant i just watch everything in widescreen as long as it fills the screen, using the zoom function?

wouldnt 4:3 cause some kind of burn-in since the grey bars are always there? :confused:

thanks!
Many of us prefer to watch SD content in 4:3 instead of distorting the image by stretching it out losing some of the picture by zooming it in. If that doesn't bother you, you can stretch or zoom your picture. The grey bars can be used instead of black which may help reduce the risk of BI or IR since grey is less of a contrast to the picture than black. As long as you switch up programming from 4:3 to 16:9 BI and IR shouldn't be an issue.

I have a new Panasonic TH-50PX600U. The brightness and picture (contrast) are at -20. I started to use the Breakin DVD on a SONY DVP-NS315 progressive scan player with the TV aspect at ZOOM. I have not watched anything else on the plasma yet. Ran the DVD overnight for 9 hours. On the second night of breakin, I noticed the faint horizontal line in the middle of the picture plane on some of the lighter screens. I did not notice this on the first night of breakin. I then tried the DVD in a SONY DVP-NC85H upconverting player with the TV aspect at FULL. I got the same results; The faint, darker-than-background, horizontal line in the middle of the picture plane on the lighter screens. I toggled the picture setting to VIVID (higher brightness and contrast) and the horizontal line was not noticable. None-the-less, I have stopped using the breakin DVD.

For those who have seen the screen line that I am talking about, were the TV's brightness and contrast set as low as mine? Has anyone been able to get to the bottom of this? Is this a plasma glass issue? Anyone call Panasonic about this yet?

Thanks,

John


I just turned my picture and brightness down to -20 and notice the faint line as well, more obvious to me on the gray screens. Totally unnoticeable at regular viewing levels though. I've had my Panisonic 50ph9uk for a couple weeks now and have around 150 hrs of TV viewing. I've been using a VP30 to just zoom/pan network logos off of the screen, but I did run a few 8hr sessions with the break in DVD on an Oppo 970. I'm going to try panning the screen down and skipping through the DVD tracks to see if I see anything. I would image I'll see a similar line off center on one of the color frames if there's a problem w/ the break in disk.

UPDATE: I put a piece of tape on the edge of the display where I see the faint line, then put up the Oppo logo to see where the line would fall on the logo. I moved the logo half way up and moved the tape to where the line would move in relation to the logo. I went through all the tracks and didn't see any line, of course it could be just a slight difference on a saturated color screen which would make it very difficult to see. I think more feedback from users is needed on different panels w/ the brightness and picture settings dialed down 2/3 to 3/4 to see if it's something specific w/ the panny panels or not. I never noticed it before until I dialed my settings to these unusually low values.

Hey antand,
I don't think it would be an issue ith the break in disc since all the images consist of 1 solid color with all colors being chosen in Photoshop (so I could get pure RED/Green/Blue and White). A good test would be to see if you can see this line at regular brightness/contrast settings on your Panny. This may be something inherent in the panny screens at very low contrast/brightness levels. On my Pio I do notr see any lines at all when playing the disc. I also do not notice them when playing through PowerDVD on my Desktop PC.

Happy New Year Everyone!
-Evangelo2

BasementBob,
Sounds like you did it right :) Make sure there are no black bars on the screen when you are playing the disc. Every pixel should be lit.


I should also have a disc to "reverse" burn in 4:3 static bars for those who have suffered from that type of image problem. I can't do much testing since I do not have this problem but I can make the pattern correctly :)

-Evangelo2

My fellow greek, I have this problem. I need a reverse burn in, because the outsides of the borders are pure white, and the insides have a slight pinkish tint. I had no idea the black bars could do that much damage in a two-month period.

Hey antand,
I don't think it would be an issue ith the break in disc since all the images consist of 1 solid color with all colors being chosen in Photoshop (so I could get pure RED/Green/Blue and White). A good test would be to see if you can see this line at regular brightness/contrast settings on your Panny. This may be something inherent in the panny screens at very low contrast/brightness levels. On my Pio I do notr see any lines at all when playing the disc. I also do not notice them when playing through PowerDVD on my Desktop PC.

Happy New Year Everyone!
-Evangelo2


I agree, I think it's something w/ the Panny glass. As I stated previously, I would have never seen it had I not dialed everything down to almost absolute minimum settings like "ewokultra" stated. I will be continuing to use the break in disk.

A good test would be to see if you can see this line at regular brightness/contrast settings on your Panny. This may be something inherent in the panny screens at very low contrast/brightness levels. On my Pio I do notr see any lines at all when playing the disc. I also do not notice them when playing through PowerDVD on my Desktop PC.
-Evangelo2

ok - I have adjusted the brightness/contast to -10/-10. This, at least, seems to make the faint horizontal line disappear. Since I am doing nothing with this TV but break-in (I have another TV that I am watching now), would it matter if the brightness/contrast are low (-10/-10)? Is there an advantage to setting them higher (0/0) during break-in, since this is all I am doing right now?

hi Evangelo2,

thank you again for the great work in the Burn-in DVD, I just got my TH-50PX60u setup last night and have been following the burn-in insturctions as discussed here as well as running the Burn-In Dvd for a few hours last night. I just want to ask a newbie question if you don't mind.

While running the Burn-In DVD, my wife commented that if a continously "changing" gradient color would be even better than the "static 30sec" of images that is on the burn-in DVD. I didn't know what to say since I really don't know what the optimal interval of images shoudl be for burn in and also I thought a gradient of continous colours might actually be harmful? I just wonder what your thoghts are.

On another note, like ewokultra, I have also started the Burn-In Disc on my 60U at a lower picture/brightness setting.. (-30/-30), I have already posted the question on the master thread (sorry for bringing it up again) but is that actually not as good then burning it at 0/0 like ewokultra had asked?

Thanks again, keep up the good work!

I bought a new TV and have already used it to watch about 30 hrs on it until I saw this thread. Question:

1. While I shall be playing the burn-in DVD overnight for the next little while to complete almost close to 500 hrs. I would like to know if it is okay to watch normal TV channels during evenings or should I just run the DVD all throughout the break-in period and avoid watching regular TV altogether?

I bought a new TV and have already used it to watch about 30 hrs on it until I saw this thread. Question:

1. While I shall be playing the burn-in DVD overnight for the next little while to complete almost close to 500 hrs. I would like to know if it is okay to watch normal TV channels during evenings or should I just run the DVD all throughout the break-in period and avoid watching regular TV altogether?Parry,
Please read before posting. You can find your answer even as close as the first post on this page. This question has been answered throughout this whole thread.

Parry,
Please read before posting. You can find your answer even as close as the first post on this page. This question has been answered throughout this whole thread.

Would have been easier to get a plain simple answer. I read most of the thread but it does not say if the best practice it is to let the TV break-in or you are okay to watch regular TV in between the break-in period. I'm not lazy in reading but couldn't find that info yet

Would have been easier to get a plain simple answer. I read most of the thread but it does not say if the best practice it is to let the TV break-in or you are okay to watch regular TV in between the break-in period. I'm not lazy in reading but couldn't find that info yet


Parry,

What I gathered from this thread is that the break-in disk is a tool to speed up the break in period.

Watch tv when you want to, just avoid static images such as logos and scrolling update bars and make sure the picture covers the entire screen (stretch 4:3 images). When you are not watching TV you can play this disk as a safe way to get through the 100-200 hour break in period without sitting in front of the TV to be sure no static images, dvd menus, etc... are on the screen.

Make sense?

Parry,
Granger summed it up perfectly. Follow what he saysa nd you will be fine. The only thing I will add is calibrate your settings for brightness and contrast as this is important durring break in. Also, I would use lower than calibrated elvels while running the disc.
-Evangelo2

Would have been easier to get a plain simple answer. I read most of the thread but it does not say if the best practice it is to let the TV break-in or you are okay to watch regular TV in between the break-in period. I'm not lazy in reading but couldn't find that info yetYeah, would be easier for you not to read like the rest of us, huh? We have to read your post, but you don't have to read ours?? You did get a plain simple answer......scroll up on this very page....it has been answered over and over. If you had "read most of the thread" you would know this.

go ahead and piss in his cornflakes, kr8z1 :)

you guys are great! i just ordered my th42px60u yesterday, and will be downloading the breakin tool this weekend. thanks much, evangelo!!!!

rap

go ahead and piss in his cornflakes, kr8z1 :) You can see from my initial reply to Parry that I tried to help the guy help himself. Instead he wanted to strike back at me for not copying the SAME answer I gave just 11 posts before his and posting the reply to him too. We can't just all run around asking the same questions over and over - we've got to read at some point. No big deal, just don't like someone who asks for help then spits on ya for showing them where the answer is.

BTW, congrats on your purchase. That's a great set!

"we've got to read at some point"

read? where we're going, we don't need to read :D
and to ask the same question in another thread...sheesh!

thanks! lots of researching and reading this forum, not to mention the great price after CC gave me the 125% price match to the CompUSA sale. now I just have to wait for 15 more sets to come in to the store till I get mine!!!

Raprider

Guys:

I have purchased my first plasma and am therefore not sure of the settings for TV while running the burn-in dvd. Could someone please guide me what settings to use for the Panasonic 50px6u TV. Thanks

Hoo boy. I got my 50PH9UK on the 29th of December. I have 16 power ons and not quite 20 hours on it. LOL

Like some people in this thread, I'm using the break-in DVD and I'm seeing the darker ~1cm thick (hard to tell... staring at pixels isn't good for your eyes) horizontal line across the center of the screen. Brightness/Picture at -20 and all other settings on that menu at 0. I've adjusted v-pos to max either way and it stayed right in the middle of the screen, which means it's definitely not the DVD. If it is something in the Panasonic glass, any ideas what it could be? Some kind of wrinkle or something similar to the tension wires in the old Sony Trinitron tubes? I'm going to try to call/email Panasonic tomorrow and ask if they know something about it.

i finally completed 200 hours with the break-in DVD. can i now use full contrast to watch TV? or should i lower it? during break in, my contrast was 15 out of 100 on a panasonic plasma viera.

I downloaded and burned from the file on the first post.

When I play it I had black bars until I streched it.

I assume that is ok and normal?

It's ok to zoom it in but it should fill up the whole screen if your DVD player is 480p Widescreen compliant. If not, zooming is fine as long as all pixels are covered with the zoomed image.
-Evangelo2

thanks again Evan. so when can i play/watch DVDs in their native aspect ration? like DVD movies with 2.40:1 ratio? zoom would totally mess the picture up. would the top and bottom black bars cause any kind of a burn in problem after my 200 hour break in?

After 100 hours I think its safe to watch a 2.4:1 movie on it as long as you dont do nothing but watch 2.4:1 movies. Vary your viewing and try to zoom when possible.
After 200 hours I watched whatever I wanted and just enjoyed the set.
-Evangelo2

As soon as it arrived, I tried a normal signal on each input (cable tv, hddvd, dvd).
Then I tried the 5 colour screens (all white, all black, all red, all blue, all green).
Total time thus far: 15 minutes.

Then I set d-nice's break-in settings, started Evangelo2's break in dvd, and took a nap.
It ran for 8 hours.

I had set asside some 16:9 HD-DVDs, so I watched two of them -- dot-by-dot, with d-nice's break-in settings except I used a lower contrast setting than suggested.

I started Evangelo2's break in dvd again, still with the lower than d-nice's settings, and it ran for another 16 hours.
Over the next four days, I watched cable (streched to fill the screen) and 16:9 HD-DVDs for about 3 hours a day, with Evangelo2's break in dvd running the remaining 21 hours each day. The set was not turned off for the first five days after it was installed.

Now reasonably past 100 hours, I switched to d-nice's 'night' settings, and started using the television normally. All cable shows were stretched to fill the screen, but I started watching 2.35:1 dvd and hd-dvd movies.
I never paused anything -- well, actually I paused dvd and cable a lot, but each time I turned the plasma off.
If I'm not sitting in front of the plasma, it's off. Partially for energy conservation, but mostly because who knows what signal is going to show up on it and better safe than sorry.

Now reasonably past 200 hours, I switched to d-nice's 'day' settings. All cable shows are still stretched to fill the screen, but I started watching 2.35:1 dvd and hd-dvd movies and doing some fiddling with the contrast and other settings to find a more pleasing image.

I received my 9UK yesterday and am now doing the break-in procedure using Evangelo2's Break-in DVD. My primary DVD player recently broke so I'm using my PS2. I set up the PS2 to component (yes I am using component cables) and 16:9 in the settings, however the 9UK will not fill the screen with aspect ratio set to Full. There are ~2.5 inch black horizontal bars on the top and bottom. Only when I use Zoom is the screen filled. I then tried the Prison Break DVD, which is in 16:9 widescreen format, and the same thing happens - the screen is not filled using Full only Zoom. Is this an issue with the PS2? Am I overlooking something?

Another thing I noticed is when my screen is filled completely with a white image the far left vertical row of pixels is neon lavender and the far right vertical row of pixels is neon green. Is this normal or common? Thanks.

Still hoping you get time to put together a 4:3 reverse burn in image some time :-)

subscribing

I dont understand why all these stations insist on putting their static logo on each HD show. Dont they know about RI?

what's RI?

marwan, RI is Rhode Island.

I think intowin meant IR (Image Retention) :)

Yep fast typo mistake. : )

I just noticed also the one I downloaded doesn't have a black screen.

It just alternates between a grey red blue and green.

Do I need black in there? What about other colors of the rainbow?

No black. An all black screen does not break in the plasma since the pixels arent lit. RGB is good because those are the basic colors of the cell structures on a plasma (or so I read a long time ago). Also, primary colors so i figures, why not :)
-Evaneglo2

So while I'm waiting for my Panny 42" to come in (Circuit City is backordered, no expected date yet), I checked and found that my dvd player does NOT handle SVCD. Nor do I have a dvd burner. Anybody able to help a guy out by burning a dvd and snailing it to me? I'll reimburse costs.

Raprider (@ yahoo.com)

For those people with the xbox 360, you can just make some jpeg images of the colors, burn it to a normal writable cd and set the 360 to do a slideshow on repeat.

I don't have my tv yet(so I am seeing it on a normal 4:3 tv), and the only thing I see that might be a problem is that the slideshow has pans and zooms and pull backs. I can't seem to get rid of it with replay on. I also don't have the remote though.

Maybe this can be worked around by zooming in on your tv? Or something.

Just throwing that idea out there.

Has anyone been able to get this to work with a Mac?

I've got a G5 Quad, with Final Cut Pro Studio, iDVD, Toast, Handbrake, and half-a-dozen other video editing/composing pieces of software, and all I've done is burn coaster after coaster after coaster.

I've got 2 Samsung DVD players and an Oppo971; none will play any of the DVDs I burn. Used DVD Pro, iDVD, Toast, etc., all without any luck.

Talk about frustration... 10 DVDs later and still no luck.

I *assume* you're supposed to unzip the DVD_R_Video_TS file and then burn the contents of the VIDEO_TS file at the "root" level of the DVD, including the folder, right? That's what I've been doing (or trying to do), but DVD Pro says the file type is unsupported an unrecognizeable, as does iDVD. Toast will burn it, but it never plays in any of my 6 DVD players (the 3 listed above plus 3 computers (2 Macs and a PC)).

I *assume* you're supposed to unzip the DVD_R_Video_TS file and then burn the contents of the VIDEO_TS file at the "root" level of the DVD, including the folder, right? That's what I've been doing (or trying to do), but DVD Pro says the file type is unsupported an unrecognizeable, as does iDVD. Toast will burn it, but it never plays in any of my 6 DVD players (the 3 listed above plus 3 computers (2 Macs and a PC)).DVD Pro should be able to burn .iso, right? If so, download the "ISO Download" and burn the iso image to the disc. You can not just copy the iso file over, you have to select burn iso image. Let us know if this works or not.

PS. The .iso image will be named "EA_BREAKIN_DVD"

One of the stations I like to watch on my sattelite is a radio station that leaves an all black screen.

The sound comes into the tv then out to my home stereo speakers.

Will an all black picture be bad? Or like the above comment (#336); be ok because the pixels are off?

intowin - an all black picture should be fine. It's images that create a high contrast, i.e. station logos, and are stationary that are an issue.

I *assume* you're supposed to unzip the DVD_R_Video_TS file and then burn the contents of the VIDEO_TS file at the "root" level of the DVD, including the folder, right? That's what I've been doing (or trying to do), but DVD Pro says the file type is unsupported an unrecognizeable, as does iDVD. Toast will burn it, but it never plays in any of my 6 DVD players (the 3 listed above plus 3 computers (2 Macs and a PC)).

Steve,
You are not suppose to burn the contents of the VIDEO_TS file to the root of the DVD. You need to put the entire VIDEO_TS folder on the disc. DVD Players look for a VIDEO_TS folder.
-Evan

For those people with the xbox 360, you can just make some jpeg images of the colors, burn it to a normal writable cd and set the 360 to do a slideshow on repeat.

I don't have my tv yet(so I am seeing it on a normal 4:3 tv), and the only thing I see that might be a problem is that the slideshow has pans and zooms and pull backs. I can't seem to get rid of it with replay on. I also don't have the remote though.

Maybe this can be worked around by zooming in on your tv? Or something.

Just throwing that idea out there.


losgar,
This should work fine as well but I am on my third 360 right now. That thing is just not dependable to be playing images unattended for a long time right now IMO.
-Evangelo2

Well, got my tv today and tried it out. The jpegs work real well.

But like you said, the 360's seem to be prone to wear and tear and overheating. Guess I won't leave it on over night.

Maybe get a decent dvd player tomorrow and have a friend burn your download for me.

And, Evangelo2, thanks for all your efforts here on AVS forums.

I've read through this entire thread (really), but don't recall if watching regular SD TV (with the screen stretched/zoomed of course) if ok during the breakin period or if the picture has to be HD to utilize all the pixels?

I am using the break-in dvd (thank you!) during the night, but I'm still waiting for my HD PVR to be delivered so right now the only digital cable box I have is standard definition.

Thanks for any responses. Cheers.

Kr8z1 - nope, no luck. DVD Studio Pro says that the .ISO (EA_BREAKIN_DVD.ISO) is an icompatible file format whenever I try to import it as an asset for a DVD project. Tried it in iDVD as well, and no luck.

Evangelo - Yep, that's what I'm doing. Dragging the VIDEO_TS folder (itself) to the root of my DVD and burning it. DVD Studio Pro and iDVD say the folder is not compatible; Toast will burn the folder to the DVD, but nothing will play it. Finder will burn it as well, but again, nothing will play it.

Oh well - I've had the TV running for 28 hours now, playing channels without the "watermarks" at reduced contrast/color/etc. I'll just keep doing this until Monday. Thanks anyway.

Update: I tried one of the DVDs that I burned with "Finder" on my friend's Oppo971, and it plays it fine... so... how I can have 5 "bad" DVD players is beyond me, but apparently the DVD does work if you burn it in Finder. Just drag-and-drop the entire VIDEO_TS folder to your Untitled DVD and press the burn button. Everything works fine (just not on my DVD players). :D

I'm borrowing my friend's Oppo until the break-in is complete. The odd thing is that everything else works great with my Oppo, just not my burned DVD. Hmm. Oh well, stranger things have happened.

I just unzipped the file from Evanangelo2's (thanks) site and double clicked it. Nero did the rest.

Of course, i couldn't run it on my POS dvd player. runs fine on my dvd on my PC. will try my portable dvd player tomorrow

How long do i have to play this dvd or svcd on my plaz? or can i just play it a couple of times a day and still be able to watch it?

Still hoping you get time to put together a 4:3 reverse burn in image some time :-)

OK, since our benefactor has been busy with real life, I created three simple bitmap files that work for my TV (HP PL4260N) to correct 4:3 burn in.

These are 1024X768 bitmaps with black in the 4:3 letterbox and colored bars in the remaining 16:9 area. One each red, green, blue.

I loaded them as a slide show screen saver on my laptop and connected it to the PC port on the TV. I massaged them until the colored bars align perfectly with the black bars that are displayed when 4:3 content is shown on my TV. Yours may vary slightly.

Running the laptop screen saver over night for a few nights has aged the non-4:3 phosphors up to the point that they match the rest of the screen.

Red (http://mail.k1200lt.net/~bmwhd/images/Garmin_Files/TV_Pic_Reverse_Red_Final.JPG)

Green (http://mail.k1200lt.net/~bmwhd/images/Garmin_Files/TV_Pic_Reverse_Green_Final.JPG)

Blue (http://mail.k1200lt.net/~bmwhd/images/Garmin_Files/TV_Pic_Reverse_Blue_Final.JPG)

It would be great to get these into a DVD slideshow that loops so you don't need the PC input but I was not able to make that work. Nero wants to resize the files for some reason and they don't look right when I burn them to DVD. Oh well, it was worth the price of a VGA cable to be able to connect the laptop to the TV anyway.

So while I'm waiting for my Panny 42" to come in (Circuit City is backordered, no expected date yet), I checked and found that my dvd player does NOT handle SVCD. Nor do I have a dvd burner. Anybody able to help a guy out by burning a dvd and snailing it to me? I'll reimburse costs.

Raprider (@ yahoo.com)
Mee too please Pm me if you can help me out Thanks :D

Kr8z1 - nope, no luck. DVD Studio Pro says that the .ISO (EA_BREAKIN_DVD.ISO) is an icompatible file format whenever I try to import it as an asset for a DVD project. Tried it in iDVD as well, and no luck.

Evangelo - Yep, that's what I'm doing. Dragging the VIDEO_TS folder (itself) to the root of my DVD and burning it. DVD Studio Pro and iDVD say the folder is not compatible; Toast will burn the folder to the DVD, but nothing will play it. Finder will burn it as well, but again, nothing will play it.

It sounds like you are trying to use either iMovie or iDVD to burn this disk. You don't want to do that with an ISO. An ISO is ready to burn. Just launch Disk Utility, drag your .iso file from the Finder window to the Disk Utility Window select the .iso file if it isn't already selected and click Burn. That should work for you.

I'd like to refer people using this break-in DVD to a post 751 in this Pioneer plasma discussion:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=731242

Basically the guy has break-in advice from an engineer at Pioneer to *not* turn down contrast/brightness during break-in. Apparently, at Pioneer they even run the panels for 50 hrs before shipping with slightly *higher* settings.

A very interesting discussion follows that post.

subscribe

Thanks to everyone on the tread, it works like advertised

I downloaded the file on my wife’s mac and used Apple’s disk utility to burn the iso to a dvd-r and it plays like a charm. My wife thinks I’m a bit of a nut after explaining why I was watching colors change on my new plasma. She did bring up a good point ; she wondered if I really thought the average plasma owner would spend time finding this forum, this thread and go through the process of burning a disk and running it in their dvd player for 200 hours. I agreed with her, I don’t think the average guy who buys a plasma TV would do this but we’re all above average, right? Or maybe just geeks, I don’t know.

I do know that a lot of BB sales people will tell the customer what they want to hear in order to close the sale. When I was shopping for my plasma I went to BB because they are close buy, have a good selection and will price match (%110) anyone in the area. I never let on to the extent of my (HDTV) knowledge when a sales associate tries to help me because it could change the dynamic and it’s more fun if you don’t. For example, I asked about burn-in and the associate told me not to worry about it but I should absolutely get the extended warrantee because it covers burn-in. Just to be fair, I have also overheard and talked to some well informed BB associates as well.


Regards,

I just ordered a Pio Elite 1140. I plan to order an Oppo 970 once they are available again. In the meantime, I have my cheap old Pio HT in a box. Can anyone direct me to which version of the Plasma Break-in DVD file I should use? BTW, I have an SA 8300 DVR from Cablevision that I will be turning in for the HD DVR box.

Thanks so much!

I plan to order an Oppo 970 once they are available again.

They appear to be available again, as of this afternoon.

Can anyone direct me to which version of the Plasma Break-in DVD file I should use?

I believe there is only one Break-In Video, available in either DVD or SVCD formats at this site: http://www.eaprogramming.com/downloads/downloads.htm

The format you choose is based on what is easier for you to burn.

John

So while I'm waiting for my Samsung HP-S4253 to come in (Best Buy is backordered, will pick up the TV friday), I checked and found that my dvd player does NOT handle SVCD. Nor do I have a dvd burner. Anybody able to help a guy out by burning a dvd and snailing it to me? I'll reimburse costs.

Please PM me. I would greatly appreciate this!

How low do people go with their settings on the break in disc? I have the Samsung 5053 at: contrast 35/brightness 37/sharpness 48/color 32. sense i am not watching anything other than color, should i really crank these lower or am i in the right ballpark.

So while I'm waiting for my Samsung HP-S4253 to come in (Best Buy is backordered, will pick up the TV friday), I checked and found that my dvd player does NOT handle SVCD. Nor do I have a dvd burner. Anybody able to help a guy out by burning a dvd and snailing it to me? I'll reimburse costs.

Please PM me. I would greatly appreciate this!
I would also appreciate this as well. I dont have a DVD burner :(

How low do people go with their settings on the break in disc? I have the Samsung 5053 at: contrast 35/brightness 37/sharpness 48/color 32. sense i am not watching anything other than color, should i really crank these lower or am i in the right ballpark.

Current theory is that if you are running the break-in disc, you don't need or want to turn your settings down at all. If anything, turn them up a little to speed up break-in time. Since your screen is solidly and evenly filled, all turning down settings will do is slow down the even aging of the phosphors. The contrast, brightness, etc. should only be turned down to a reasonable level overall (not Dynamic Torch Mode), and turned down lower if you are watching "dangerous" content with black bars or static images.

I used Toast 6- picked Video tab - thru the TS folder in and burned 2 perfect disks - I'm on a G4

Don't give up.

Hey, glad it worked out for you wojtek.

I got some image retention for the first time the other day after hooking up my new HR10-250 DirecTiVo to the Pio 5050HD. The bright yellow "Now Playing" words on the top of the now playing list were visible on a screen with no input signal. That went away by the time I got done with Batman Begins (which was excellent).

I ran the break in DVD the next day for 13 hours, just in case :) I think that's it for me, I am over 500 hours and it is time for me to retire the breakin DVD for future plasmas :)

-Evangelo2

Hey Evangelo,

Since your not using it anymore could you mail it to me?? :cool:

I would also appreciate this as well. I dont have a DVD burner :(

ME TOO!!! I'll even pay cold hard $$$!!! :D

dhark, HP666, Send me a PM.

I was able to burn the DVD-R, and it seems to run on my DVD player. However, for some reason, the pictures do not display at equal time intervals. One will play for 15 seconds, the next for 45.

Kinda strange problem. I'll try another burn, but is anyone else having this issue?


Thanks!

I downloaded an unzipped the video_ts folder. do i just burn that to a dvd-r?

Baller,
You need to burn the contents of the zip file. The actual VIDEO_TS folder needs to be there. Do not just burn the contents of that folder. Kepe the file structure intact when burning it.
-Evangelo2

Baller,
You need to burn the contents of the zip file. The actual VIDEO_TS folder needs to be there. Do not just burn the contents of that folder. Kepe the file structure intact when burning it.
-Evangelo2


I unzipped the .rar file i downloaded. now i just have the video_ts folder sitting on my desktop. so all i do is drag it to the blank dvd-r correct?

Hi,

I just downloaded the SVCD version of the break-in video, I burnt it to a CD using Nero, when I put it on my DVD player all I get is a blank (i.e white( screen) but it is not changing at all. I waited at least 2 min.


I know my DVD players plays SVCD as I have other SVCD disk that I can play with no problem. I also burned it twice as I thought first CD may be defective and I used a different brand of CD!!


EDIT: I just burned the DVD version and it works great. Thanks so much for this great tool. When I'm done with the burning period I will be more than happy to ship the DVD to whoever that may need it!

Thanks to let me know
Cheers
HDTV-Newbie

[QUOTE=hdtv-newbie]Hi,

I just downloaded the SVCD version of the break-in video, I burnt it to a CD using Nero, when I put it on my DVD player all I get is a blank (i.e white( screen) but it is not changing at all. I waited at least 2 min.
/QUOTE]

A solid white screen is not a bad thing to use to break-in, but I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't wait quite long enough. Especially in the beginning it's hard to notice that anything's happening. Wait like ten minutes and see if there's a difference. Also, check to just make sure that the track number is changing -- it changes once every 30 seconds.

Thanks to everyone on the tread, it works like advertised

I downloaded the file on my wife’s mac and used Apple’s disk utility to burn the iso to a dvd-r and it plays like a charm. My wife thinks I’m a bit of a nut after explaining why I was watching colors change on my new plasma. She did bring up a good point ; she wondered if I really thought the average plasma owner would spend time finding this forum, this thread and go through the process of burning a disk and running it in their dvd player for 200 hours. I agreed with her, I don’t think the average guy who buys a plasma TV would do this but we’re all above average, right? Or maybe just geeks, I don’t know.

Regards,

Certainly does make me wonder...How many folks buying a new plasma in the past 3 months have the slightest idea about 'care and feeding'? Or are we just being obsessive about it? Better safe than sorry???

I agree Raprider. Sometimes I think we are a litle mroe picky of a group here. I jsut figured better safe than sorry. I also wanted to get through this period quickly so that I could watch whatever I wanted with peace of mind (bars, overlays and all).
-Evangelo2

I just wanted to add my thanks for this DVD.

I've been watching it for a few hours now, and I think I'm finally starting to follow the plot. It reminds me of the early works by Kurosawa Akira. The use of repeating themes and stark backgrounds is a vivid contrast to the fast paced lives of most owners of Plasma Displays. The slow, evenly paced chase scenes are a cinematic masterpiece. Red following Green, Green following Blue, and Blue chasing Red, only to be obliterated by the overpowering blinding light of White.

Again, a masterpiece from an up and coming independent director. Two Thumbs Up.

I just wanted to add my thanks for this DVD.

I've been watching it for a few hours now, and I think I'm finally starting to follow the plot. It reminds me of the early works by Kurosawa Akira. The use of repeating themes and stark backgrounds is a vivid contrast to the fast paced lives of most owners of Plasma Displays. The slow, evenly paced chase scenes are a cinematic masterpiece. Red following Green, Green following Blue, and Blue chasing Red, only to be obliterated by the overpowering blinding light of White.

Again, a masterpiece from an up and coming independent director. Two Thumbs Up. :D :D That's freakin hilarious! I just got back from the Sundance Film Festival and that sounds just like the way they would have introduced the revolutionary "Break In DVD (SVCD)". Thanks for the laugh! :D :D

Well, I tried a different DVD player, and all seems well. Thanks for putting this disc together!

Thanks so much, John. After much trial and error, I was able to download the file correctly and it works perfectly when I zoom it. I'm hoping it's ok to zoom it.

Thanks again.

They appear to be available again, as of this afternoon.



I believe there is only one Break-In Video, available in either DVD or SVCD formats at this site: http://www.eaprogramming.com/downloads/downloads.htm

The format you choose is based on what is easier for you to burn.

John

dhark, HP666, Send me a PM.
PM's sent LMK Thanks

Hi folks!

I'm soon to be a proud first time plasma owner! The Panny 42ph9uk... she's so beautiful...

Oh... sorry... daydreaming...

So, can anyone elaborate on what the difference is between burning and playing this dvd versus running the screensaver on the commercial panasonics? I understand that fundamentally there are more colors on the dvd (vs. the white scrolling bar of the screensaver) but do they both attain the same goal?

The only other thing I can think of is that I may save some electricity by not running the dvd player for 4 days straight.

Also, to calibrate (AVIA) prior to or post break-in???

Thank, and I apologize if this was answered in a prior post. I did a lot of reading, and searched for screensaver, but nothing came up.

Thanks again!

I'd like to add my thanks. been using it a lot the first week. almost to 100 hrs.

are different colors required to age different phosphors?

why no yellow?

I'd like to add my thanks. been using it a lot the first week. almost to 100 hrs.

are different colors required to age different phosphors?

why no yellow?

If I'm not wrong there are only three colors of phophors Blue,Green,Red

I just wanted to add my thanks for this DVD.

I've been watching it for a few hours now, and I think I'm finally starting to follow the plot. It reminds me of the early works by Kurosawa Akira. The use of repeating themes and stark backgrounds is a vivid contrast to the fast paced lives of most owners of Plasma Displays. The slow, evenly paced chase scenes are a cinematic masterpiece. Red following Green, Green following Blue, and Blue chasing Red, only to be obliterated by the overpowering blinding light of White.

Again, a masterpiece from an up and coming independent director. Two Thumbs Up.

Not a foreign film fan. All the colors and flashing on the screen will drive the dog crazy. Can't I just play the DVD for 4-5 days and leave the TV off?

Adult Beverage,
I think you're joking, but if not, no, you can't leave the TV off :) hahaha
-Evangelo2

Yes I'm joking. Sorry I didn't add a smiley face. Going to download the DVD so I'll be ready when I get new TV. Playing the waiting game for 42" Panny. Clearance price vs. availability.

I burned it on a DVD. When I played it on the dvd, the first color white/gray stayed on for a long time. it won't changed colors unless if forward it at 6x. what am i doing wrong?

Thanks.

God I hate being technologicaly retarded. So I went and unzipped the breakin svcd, and it says that windows can't open the file??? WTF is that about? Do I even need to open it? Computers suck.

God I hate being technologicaly retarded. So I went and unzipped the breakin svcd, and it says that windows can't open the file??? WTF is that about? Do I even need to open it? Computers suck.The file is a .nrg which is a Nero image. You either need to use Nero to burn the image to a disk or another program which will burn .nrg files.

I burned it on a DVD. When I played it on the dvd, the first color white/gray stayed on for a long time. it won't changed colors unless if forward it at 6x. what am i doing wrong?

Thanks.It takes a while to get through all the gradients. Let it run for a while and see if it changes as listed below.

Quoted from Evangleo2:
"The colors go from a white to a dark grey in 5 gradients, white to blue in 5 gradients, white to green in 5 gradients and white to red in five gradients. The images change every 30 seconds and the disc goes for approximately 16 hours"

Guys:

I just bought the Panny 6U and would like to do the 'break-in'. Made the SVCD for it. Now what settings should the TV be set at for the purpose? I plan to watch TV during the day and do the 'break-in' hours at night. Thats ok, right?

I would also appreciate this as well. I dont have a DVD burner :(

Guys: You dont need a DVD burner for this thing. A regular CD burner is fine to burn SVCD. Unlesss for some reason, its better to use the DVD version.

Current theory is that if you are running the break-in disc, you don't need or want to turn your settings down at all. If anything, turn them up a little to speed up break-in time. Since your screen is solidly and evenly filled, all turning down settings will do is slow down the even aging of the phosphors. The contrast, brightness, etc. should only be turned down to a reasonable level overall (not Dynamic Torch Mode), and turned down lower if you are watching "dangerous" content with black bars or static images.

Sure about this? I thought one had to turn down the settings. Can anyone else please confirm that they have done the same? Thanks

But I thougth the images were supposed to change ever 30 seconds...it's going for 5 + minutes,at which point I stopped the dvd, for fear of messing up my investment :)

Got it, thanks for the help fellas.

I just wanted to add my thanks for this DVD.

I've been watching it for a few hours now, and I think I'm finally starting to follow the plot. It reminds me of the early works by Kurosawa Akira. The use of repeating themes and stark backgrounds is a vivid contrast to the fast paced lives of most owners of Plasma Displays. The slow, evenly paced chase scenes are a cinematic masterpiece. Red following Green, Green following Blue, and Blue chasing Red, only to be obliterated by the overpowering blinding light of White.

Again, a masterpiece from an up and coming independent director. Two Thumbs Up.


And a little Phillip Glass on 5.1 completes the scene...

Rap

Sure about this? I thought one had to turn down the settings. Can anyone else please confirm that they have done the same? Thanks

I'd definitely suggest adjusting to, at minimum, the settings given in the Panny forum. This set delivers with everything jacked.
As suggested previously, watch whatever you want, cautiously, for a while.
Use the dvd (much thanx, albanyhdtv!).

'Nuff said.

Rap

And a little Phillip Glass on 5.1 completes the scene...

Rap

Yes! A nice, royalty free instrumental soundtrack would be a great addition!

Sure about this? I thought one had to turn down the settings. Can anyone else please confirm that they have done the same? Thanks

See this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=731242&page=26&pp=30

Thanks to everyone on the tread, it works like advertised

My wife thinks I’m a bit of a nut after explaining why I was watching colors change on my new plasma. She did bring up a good point ; she wondered if I really thought the average plasma owner would spend time finding this forum, this thread and go through the process of burning a disk and running it in their dvd player for 200 hours. I agreed with her, I don’t think the average guy who buys a plasma TV would do this but we’re all above average, right? Or maybe just geeks, I don’t know.


Regards,

Part II

I visited my brother in-law this weekend; he picked up a 50" plasma a few months ago so I brought my avia disk to dial it in. Guess what I found when I walked in the house? Yup, the factory settings still in place with contrast at 100 and black bars on the SD program he was watching. Then as I was calibrating the TV my father said I should go to his house and do the same thing because he never changed the setting on his 55" plasma since the day it was delivered. I was was about to explain about burn in, the break in disk and calibrating but remembered what my wife said and kept my mouth closed. The majority don't care, they just want plug and play.

Thank you for this thread and for the burn-in disc. Played it all night long for a few nights. Can only wonder what any neighbors thought with red light showing through my blinds at 4am!

Anyone else have problems trying this with a Toshiba A2? Mine will fast forward quickly then jump ahead thirty seconds. Picture is fine and seems to just go from one color to the next but time code on A2 does all sorts of crazy stuff. Tried both ISO and Video_TS files.

For reference, A2 to Denon 3806 to Pio 5071 all via HDMI.

svsneo,
I never tried it on a A2 but when my XA2 comes in 2 weeks Ill give it a shot.
-Evangelo2

Evangelo2, thanks for this. I'm currently using it for my 5071.

ANother big thumbs up Evangelo2! After an afternoon downloading authoring software, I have jury-rigged my new LG to my DVD player on the floor in my living room, on repeat until I get my install done.

I've been watching this thread for a while now and have been using the break-in DVD. Thanks for all the info in here. My questioin, and I'm sure it's been covered somewhere- I just can't find it, how do I know how many hours I've been watching my TV? It's the 42" Panny TH42PX60U.

Which file is the DVD-R version?

I Dl'd the iso from :

http://www.eaprogramming.com/


I extract and get a video_ts folder. Now what?

thx

bob

Fantastic tool - thank you soooo much! Broke my new LG 50' in perfectly. Had difficulty trying to watch this dvd via HTPC - seemed to get stuck on the first white image. No problems via a dvd player though.

Great job!

I just downloaded and ripped the break-in DVD in Nero 6 and tested it out. Works great, full picture, no bars, passed smoothly from title 1 to 2 to 3 and so on.

Just waiting for my PDP-5070 to get here next Friday. Coming from a Sony KV34HS420 it's going to be nice to have some more acerage.

Thanks Evangelo2, you play GOW on 360? Maybe I'll see you online.

I just got my Panasonic 42PX600U and first thing I did was try out Xbox 360, I noticed that there was some retention with Fight Night Round 3 game, so I stopped playing.

The retention has gone but I want to limit any further mishaps.

I calibrated using the guide on ******************* - but it seems like ppl are running this DVD during the break in period of 100 hours. After reading multiple threads and somewhat confused if brightness and contrast should be kept low or high during this period. I had it high for 1 hour but changed it to the following:

Picture Mode Standard
Picture -10
Brightness -10
Color -1
Tint -4
Sharpness -14
Color Temperature Warm


Anyone have any recommendations on if i should change this setting. Right now, its 2am EST, so i will let it run till the morning, and also while i go to work. If anyone can provide input if my settings should be changed during this 100 hour, please let me know.

Thanks!

FYI - the aspect I have is the default that came configured.

Keep Contrast and Brightness low.

-Evangelo2

Thanks - but im giving up on this since I think I am getting more paranoid through this process than i should. Now, I am started to think this dvd caused some sort of like horizontal line on the bottom of the screen after i let it run for about 18 hours straight. My wife thinks I am crazy and seeing things that are not there.

Thus, I've decided to give up on the dvd and just enjoy the set with low picture/brightness until 100 hours, at which time I will go by the settings recommended by plasma@@buyinguide.

Thanks - but im giving up on this since I think I am getting more paranoid through this process than i should. Now, I am started to think this dvd caused some sort of like horizontal line on the bottom of the screen after i let it run for about 18 hours straight. My wife thinks I am crazy and seeing things that are not there.

Thus, I've decided to give up on the dvd and just enjoy the set with low picture/brightness until 100 hours, at which time I will go by the settings recommended by plasma@@buyinguide.What seems Kr8z is you posted a copy of this post in at least 3 different threads. :confused:

I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, but my copy of the BI DVD has double the amount of white as the colors... Every pass is White, Blue, Red, Green, and White. Then it starts with White again. Is this right? Thanks

White is a mix of all 3 phosphors (blue, green, and red) at maximum intensity, there's nothing uneven about that. You are all set.

White is a mix of all 3 phosphors (blue, green, and red) at maximum intensity, there's nothing uneven about that. You are all set.

Thanks for explaining Lodrin. I was getting nervous that I was going to cause uneven wear in the phosphors. Plus the way the DVD was described sounded different than what I'm seeing. But now it makes sense. Thanks again.

thanks for this, it is a big help!

just got it today. lowered the c & b & color to 45. my computer is down so i have to use my sons laptop. what do i need to download and burn to dvd-r? and when done, so whats the consensus? breakin with low settings or full + settings? i want to breakin in quickly!!!

what do i need to download and burn to dvd-r? and when done, so whats the consensus? breakin with low settings or full + settings? i want to breakin in quickly!!!What do you mean? Are you asking WHAT to download, or HOW to download, or HOW to burn to DVD?

Well, as far as Contras and Brightness is concerned, I would say use very low settings. You should especially do this if you will not be keeping a close eye on your plasma while the disc is running. This is just to prevent any errors that may come up in your dvd player (I've never had this happen before and enver heard of anyone else having it happen but it can be a possibility).
As far as burning it, use the burning program of your choice and either download the iso or nrg file (deoends what program you are using - nrg is a Nero file).

-Evangelo2

as the dvd player once i burn the dvd? i meant what to download and how to burn. i saw the file was pretty old and thought there might be a new version or something. thanks for your help all!

as the dvd player once i burn the dvd? i meant what to download and how to burn. i saw the file was pretty old and thought there might be a new version or something. thanks for your help all!

Not sure about the XBox360. Test it and report back after you burn the disc. The files are the correct ones on the site. Just download the disc image in the format you wantand burn the disc image. Read through this entire thread or google on how to burn a disc from a disc image.
-Evangelo2

I used my X360 to play the disk and it worked fine.

downloaded and burned and didn't work on xbox 360. just made noise in the 360. i'm going to try again burning a different image with a different program.

mine worked fine on my 360. i'm playing it now on my roommates playstation 3 and it is working fine. I just set my 42 in panasonic up tuesday. This is the first day I've actually run the burn-in disc. Before, I have had it mostly on the discovery channel.

I downloaded the .nrg version and it's running fine on the xbox 360. I burned it onto DVD-R using Nero 7.

Im going to run this on my laptop, since i dont trust my 360 being on for a 8 full days lol. Anyways, few Qs

1) Since I plan on running this disc for 200hrs, do you recommend me play the disc for 200hrs straight (without turning anything off), so that would be 8 days. Wont the tv possibly overheat bein that long? Or should I do it in spurts? If I have to do it in spurts that would suck since I dont want to display anything on it other than the break in dvd, until after the 200hrs is up.

2) I dont have Nero, do I NEED it? Also, what file should I download, the ISO? I have a DVD burner in my laptop, so it should auto load when I reboot the PC?

3) Is there certain bright/cont levels you suggest while running this dvd? Is 30/30 fine?

thanks

If you scan through this thread, all these answers are here.

1 - You can leave it on forever if you'd like, it won't hurt the tv
2 - You don't need Nero unless you want, and if you do you need to use the .nrg version. Use the .iso version for other apps that will burn an image - don't just copy the file, but instead burn the image. Like I said, you'll need a DVD burning application that will burn .iso images. More questions on this, read through this thread - it is in here - or google it.
3 - Go to the thread that deals with your specific tv for this. For the Pio's the recommendation is to run the tv at normal viewing settings or just a bit higher while using the dvd.

Good luck.

man just downloaded the video ts file for the dvdr..i love it thanks..

Hopefully somebody can clarify this for me. I have gone blind reading as much as I can I while I am using the disc overnight I haven't reached the 16 hour disc time that has been stated.

So, does the disc end at 16 hours? Reason I ask is that is runs for 45 minutes (90 chapters at 30 seconds each) and then repeats at chapter 1 again. If this is the case wouldn't it be running indefinitely? Just want to clarify since I thought about running it for the weekend while I was out of town.

good question 996911, my thoughts exactly. I set my dvd player to "Repeat Title" before i left for work today, but i had a good feeling it was repeating on its own.

please someone explain why Evangelos says it runs for 24 hours, when this is observed.

Will the DVD left alone keep repeating it indefinatly or at least 24 hours?

When you set it to repeat title did you hang out for a bit to see if the counter was actually moving through the progression of time (ie, it didn't go back to ZERO but still counted as normal) as well as move through the chapters for the different colors?

If that is the case, I guess the only way to really know what the run time on this DVD is would be to run it and then come back 16 hours later to see if it is still going and if so, check at 24 hours as well. I do know for a fact that it runs for 45 minutes but then repeats back to the beginning of the disc and starts at ZERO once again. I just don't know how many times or if indefinintely it repeats.

Hopefully somebody will chime in.

These are some quotes I found when running a Search this Thread for "24 hours" with the quotes. Looks like it should go 24hrs, but some dvd players may not. Best to keep an eye on it....The DVD version should run the slides for 24 hours without any modifications but some DVD players do not play it correctly. Just giving some tips so you can make sure your DVD player does :)
-Evangelo2jkscherk,
Each slideshow is 45 minutes in length. At the 45 minute mark it should roll over to the next slide show and start another 45 minute stretch. This should go on for ~24 hours on the DVD Version.

-Evangelo2Thanks Evangelo.

Apologise for the delayed response.
Ran the disc inthe Oppo and it worked like a charm. My calculations as wellas in relaity showed that the disc actaully run for 24 hours....

Hey Guys,
The DVD version will run for approximately 24 hours if all works right with your DVD player and the burned disc. The reason why you see your DVD player appear to restart at the beginning after 45 minutes is because it is going to the next Title. Each Title is a slideshow that shold last about 45 minutes. the total of the slideshows should be about 24 hours.
-Evangelo2

Awesome! Thanks for the clarification Evan (and Kr8z)

Cheers,

I burned the DVD an noticed that it comes letterboxed with bars on the top and bottom. Is this how the disc is supposed to be? I went ahead and set the TV to the "zoom" aspect so the colors take up the whole screen. Is what I did correct?

I burned the DVD an noticed that it comes letterboxed with bars on the top and bottom. Is this how the disc is supposed to be? I went ahead and set the TV to the "zoom" aspect so the colors take up the whole screen. Is what I did correct?
It is authored in 16x9 so you should not have to zoom your tv. Check to make sure your TV is set to "full" not "zoom" and make sure your DVD player is set to "tv screen type" of 16x9. Your DVD player's menus may not state this exactly but look through them as they are there but maybe in different wording.

This of course assumes your tv is 16x9 and not 4x3.

Is it possible to burn this SVCD in a regular 700MB disk?, I couldn't do it yesterday, Nero requested a DVD-R disc :confused:

It is possible to burn to a 700MB disc. Make sure you download the right file. You probably downloaded the DVD version and not the SVCD version.
-Evangelo2

**Note: THe SVCD Version does not run for 24 hours, it is much less (16 hours).

thanks evangelo, it seems that I downloaded the DVD version, the file was 12MB instead of the 2MB people was talking about

Sorry guys if this were asked before. I did a search but couldn’t find any information. My laptop only allows me to burn CD+R and DVD+R. Did someone else encounter this problem?

Thanks all!!!

Sorry guys if this were asked before. I did a search but couldn’t find any information. My laptop only allows me to burn CD+R and DVD+R. Did someone else encounter this problem?

Thanks all!!!How is that a problem? You should be able to burn a SVCD or a DVD, right?

How is that a problem? You should be able to burn a SVCD or a DVD, right?

Yes, but not a CD-R or DVD-R as stated in the instruccions. Is there a problem if a burn it in a +R?

That should not be a problem providing your dvd player will play +R

Downloaded the DVD ISO file....used NERO to burn to a DVD+R....works GREAT !
In FULL mode on my Panny 58" it uses every pixel in both vertical and both horizontal planes...every pixel getting the exact same signal..awesome.

Thank you for providing this great tool.... :)

Thanks!!! Burned the .ISO file into a DVD+R and it worked. It's been running for 10 hours by now. Thanks again.

Ditto here, burned the DVD ISO file to a -R disk. Eclipsed 24hours at noon today EST.

The neighbors have always suspected I was a nut - now they know. The new 50PX77U is burning in nicely in the front living room...

Can't wait to hang it on the wall next week.

I'm 2 for 2 with incorrectly burned discs...both times the .ISO version produced a strobing effect of W_R_G_B_W The colros appear for less than a second each..clearly not as it was intended..and this appeared on 2 different Toshiba DVD players.

Anyone done with their break in disc that I can buy, rent or borrow for a few weeks?

Do you have Nero? If so, burning the .nrg file is super easy. Just download and double click on it, and put in a blank DVD.

I just wanted to add my thanks for this DVD.

I've been watching it for a few hours now, and I think I'm finally starting to follow the plot. It reminds me of the early works by Kurosawa Akira. The use of repeating themes and stark backgrounds is a vivid contrast to the fast paced lives of most owners of Plasma Displays. The slow, evenly paced chase scenes are a cinematic masterpiece. Red following Green, Green following Blue, and Blue chasing Red, only to be obliterated by the overpowering blinding light of White.

Again, a masterpiece from an up and coming independent director. Two Thumbs Up.

This is classic !

I'm awaiting delivery of my first plasma, just found this site. I'm so grateful for a group of people to bounce ideas and information.

Look forward to using the DVD. My plasma delivery countdown is now at 2 days 19 hours .

I tried to download the CDR version, but I get "page not found" when I click on this link:
http://www.eaprogramming.com/downloads/files/_EA-BreakinDVD.zip

Is the link dead for others, too, or is it just me?

I tried to download the CDR version, but I get "page not found" when I click on this link:


Is the link dead for others, too, or is it just me?

Take the underscore out of the file name.

Yup. Thanks. Just figured it out.

Not working for me either. Looks like Evangelo2 has been doing some work on his site, maybe it will be back up later.

nevermind

Any chance that someone could put this in a QuickTime/.mp4 format so that I could put this on my Apple TV?

Thanks,

can't the apple tv play a dvd?

You have to rip & then transcode a DVD then stream or sync it to the Apple TV. Stuff that is all new to me...

Video formats supported:
H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps)

MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps)

Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps); protected AAC (from iTunes Store); MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps); MP3 VBR; Apple Lossless; AIFF; WAV

TV compatibility
Enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen TVs capable of 1080i 60/50Hz, 720p 60/50Hz, 576p 50Hz (PAL format), or 480p 60Hz

since red/green/blue combined make for a white screen...would it be safe to display a pure white screen during times when the TV isnt being watched to safely "age" the screen?

It should be safe.
The only possible drawback is that a pure white screen pulls the most power and pushes the plasma hardest (same with CRTs). The changing colors can be a little easier on the power supply and some other parts of the plasma.
-Evangelo2

It should be safe.
The only possible drawback is that a pure white screen pulls the most power and pushes the plasma hardest (same with CRTs). The changing colors can be a little easier on the power supply and some other parts of the plasma.
-Evangelo2


Thanks E

Once your dsic gets here I'll start running in during "off hours" via the HD-A1 that arrived witht he 4270HD!

Dave

***Update...DVD arrived and works perfectly. Many Thanks Evangelo!

SO i play the break in dvd every night after i use the scrolling white screen option for at least two hours a night until i reach 250 hours of 'breaking in' Then i change my settings to what? Am i close here im getting my 5054 monday morning!

so i just got samsung 50" plasma (5054). I should just download this dvd and play it for 100 hours continously before I start watching tv? Or does the total number of hours = 100, with time for tv? Is it ok just to watch non-hd tv for a hundred hours? thanks.

so i just got samsung 50" plasma (5054). I should just download this dvd and play it for 100 hours continously before I start watching tv? Or does the total number of hours = 100, with time for tv? Is it ok just to watch non-hd tv for a hundred hours? thanks.

Hi jn2006,
It is fine to just watch sd-tv stretched or zoomed or regular HD TV for 100 hours. Just try and not watch things that have black bars or fixed high contrast station logos. Also turn down your contrast and brightness settings.
This disc is made to supplement that normal watching time to get you to 100 hours faster that way you can really start enjoying your plasma the way you want to watch it (I know I am lucky if I get 60 hours of use on my plasma a month). With the disc I went to 200 hours of total viewing in about 1 and a half weeks.
-Evangelo2

I apologize if I'm an idiot, but new to all of this and really don't want to screw anything up.

I'm getting a Panasanoic 77U later this week...can you give me a "breaking in for dummies" version for this specific set?

From what I gather..

If I don't have a break in DVD:
- Watch non HD shows for 100 hours
- Don't watch anything with black bars or fixed logos
- Turn down contrast and brightness settings.

After 100 hours of this I'm safe to turn all levels to desired and watch whatever programming I want for however long I want?

offdee:

If I don't have a break in DVD:
- Watch non HD shows for 100 hours
Actually watching HD shows is fine. For example Discovery HD.

- Don't watch anything with black bars or fixed logos
- Turn down contrast and brightness settings.Yes. Yes.

You can also watch, at low contrast, any true 16:9 DVDs that you have. (no 2.35:1 stuff). If you're watching 4:3 cable television, use the screen's stretch mode to fill the screen. Drive every pixel.


After 100 hours of this I'm safe to turn all levels to desired and watch whatever programming I want for however long I want?

Beware of bright static images forever:
a) most games
b) non-transparent station identification logos
c) some screen savers like the Motorola DCT-6416's screen saver -- it's a pure full brightness white logo moving around the screen, and is unexpectidly enough to cause light burn in.

What I do is run at perfect/calibrated settings for BluRay and HDDVD disks, and low contrast settings for cable television (CSI, Star Trek Voyager, Mad About You).


I did the Evangelo2's DVD thing for about 200 hours, with a couple of hours of 16:9 HDDVDs in there, all at low contrast -- I'd just bought this expensive toy and I had to watch something on it the first two days.

I'd really like to use this burn in DVD, but am having troubles finding someone to burn it for me.

Also not sure if my DVD player plays SVCD...anybody know with this model:
Sony DVD-NC665P (Precision Cinema Progressive, Precision Drive 2/MP3 Playback)

Would anybody out there be willing to burn this for me and mail to me? I could pay for the services or return it when I'm finished.

Appreciate the help

Some other idiotic questions...feel free to flame me!

1) What means this...explain to me like I'm 10 yrs old: can watch any true 16:9 DVDs that you have. (no 2.35:1 stuff).

2) I see on my Panny U77 settings it has a specific "Brightness" level I can reduce, but what labeled level would I change to lower the Contrast? (Picture, Color, Tint, Sharpness, etc.)

thanks!

Some other idiotic questions...feel free to flame me!

1) What means this...explain to me like I'm 10 yrs old: can watch any true 16:9 DVDs that you have. (no 2.35:1 stuff).

2) I see on my Panny U77 settings it has a specific "Brightness" level I can reduce, but what labeled level would I change to lower the Contrast? (Picture, Color, Tint, Sharpness, etc.)

thanks!

1) you can watch any DVD you want as long as there are no black bars anywhere. If there are black bars, zoom the picture.

2) Not sure of the level to use for panny's as I ahve a Pioneer. Look around this forum and Im sure you'll find settings posted for your panny.

If you need a disc burned you can order one from the site. All disc are tested before they are sent out and are mailed USPS First Class.

-Evangelo2

offdee:

Please update your "User CP > Edit Profile > Location".

I see on my Panny U77 settings it has a specific "Brightness" level I can reduce, but what labeled level would I change to lower the Contrast? (Picture, Color, Tint, Sharpness, etc.)
I don't know the Panny U77 .

On most TVs/Plasmas there are two settings:
- Brightness - this controls where the black vs blacker-than-black setting is. In otherwords the setting of the dimmest part of the image. When your DVD sends "show this pixel as black", this determines how bright that will be. On a scale of 0-255, you should just be able to see 16, anything from 0-15 should be 'blacker-thank-black' and invisible.
- Contrast - this controls the brightest part of the image your tv/plasma will display. When your DVD sends "show this pixel as white", this determines how bright that will be. On a scale of 0-255, 235 should be as bright as you can get, anything from 236-255 should be 'whiter-than-white' and indecernable from white.

Don't worry about the 0-255 settings. You don't really need to know those.

Just remember 'brightness' is dark, and 'contrast' is white.

The problem with 100hour burn in, is that pixels age/decay more in their first 100 hours. So the trick is to get them to decay evenly. Lowering contrast, combined with filing the screen with random (Discovery HD) or predictably even (Evangelo2's dvd) makes that more likely.

In the longer term, your plasma in a year will be less bright than it is the day you get it. Because the pixels continue to decay over time. The rate of decay is inverse exponential, meaning it decays a lot the first 100 hours, and very little on day 365.

How do you know when you've logged 100-200 hours?

Is there an area on the TV that shows viewing time or is this just something I'll need to keep track of myself?

For the Pio's the recommendation is to run the tv at normal viewing settings or just a bit higher while using the dvd..I have a *new* PDP5071hd. So to be clear, you are saying I should run the DVD with the mode set to "NORMAL" (i.e., not DYNAMIC, MOVIE, GAME, or USER) during the burn-in period. Is this correct? I take it this is the exception to the rule of turning down the contrast and brightness.

Does it matter that the current DVD player doing the burn-in only outputs in 480i? I have another DVD player that I can move into position that I believe can do 480p and possibly 780p. Would this be any better for the burn-in? I have an HD DVD player coming, but it's not expected to ship for a couple of weeks yet. :)

Thx

I have a *new* PDP5071hd. So to be clear, you are saying I should run the DVD with the mode set to "NORMAL" (i.e., not DYNAMIC, MOVIE, GAME, or USER) during the burn-in period. Is this correct? I take it this is the exception to the rule of turning down the contrast and brightness.

Does it matter that the current DVD player doing the burn-in only outputs in 480i? I have another DVD player that I can move into position that I believe can do 480p and possibly 780p. Would this be any better for the burn-in? I have an HD DVD player coming, but it's not expected to ship for a couple of weeks yet. :)

Thx

I have a Pio 5050 and I had the settings turned extremely low when I wasn't home to keep an eye on what was going on. Im talking contrast at 15 and brightness at -5 to -8. When I was watching a show or something on the tv I had more normal settings but still avoided black bars and static logos for long periods of time.
-Evangelo2

when i play this disc, does it matter if its running through HDMI or Component through my DVD player?

also, do i need to set anything when playing or does this disc loop itself?

i plan on using the DVD version of this

HDMI or Component should not make a difference.
The disc should play straight through for almost 24 hours without any player forced looping.
-Evangelo2

I'm new here but thought I'd contribute.

I was looking at this thread and downloaded the nero disk image. Seeing as my PC laptop cannot burn DVD I thought I'd try burning the image to DVD using my Macintosh. Macs use DVD -R discs by the way so your DVD player will have to be able to play that format.

First I tried using Toast but no go. Toast couldn't see the image. Then I tried using the macs disc utility and it worked perfect the very first time.

I thought maybe someone else out there could use the info.

I am waiting for the delivery of my new plasma Pio 5070 and wanted to be ready when it comes in. I saw that Evangelos says DVD-R version of break dvd is here. Is it ok if I burn the .iso file onto DVD+R and use it?

cheers

I am waiting for the delivery of my new plasma Pio 5070 and wanted to be ready when it comes in. I saw that Evangelos says DVD-R version of break dvd is here. Is it ok if I burn the .iso file onto DVD+R and use it?

cheers

Either are fine -- it would work on a dvd rw disk also if your player supports them.

Either are fine -- it would work on a dvd rw disk also if your player supports them.

Thanks joebar.

Hi all,well i just downloaded and fired up the dvd break in disc (thanks Evangelo2) and now have had playing on my new Panny 58PX60U for the last 1 hour, i haven't even watched a dvd or tv show on it yet.my settings are

Standard

-10 picture

-5 brightness


-6 color

-4 tint

-20 sharpness

normal color temp


Is this acceptable to start the break in process and gradually crank them up after 50 hrs,or should i follow the other method of turning up the settings first hand ( and if thats the case recommend Panasonic settings).thanks sorry for a noob question,just trying to maximize the break in,and minimize ir..and have read to different methods.

Hi all,well i just downloaded and fired up the dvd break in disc (thanks Evangelo2) and now have had playing on my new Panny 58PX60U for the last 1 hour, i haven't even watched a dvd or tv show on it yet.my settings are

Standard

-10 picture

-5 brightness


-6 color

-4 tint

-20 sharpness

normal color temp


Is this acceptable to start the break in process and gradually crank them up after 50 hrs,or should i follow the other method of turning up the settings first hand ( and if thats the case recommend Panasonic settings).thanks sorry for a noob question,just trying to maximize the break in,and minimize ir..and have read to different methods.

From everything I've read thru this thread I'm doing the break in as
Picture: -10
Brightness: -10
all other settings: 0

No black bars or standing logos on the screen. All else should be fine to watch for the first 100-200 hours.

I let the dvd play for about 9hrs on my earlier settings and now have them all set at 0,thanks for the reply Offdee,welcome others to chime in..

Just to share with everyone the advice from a Pioneer Engineer - here's what D-Nice's conversation was with that Engineer concerning break in with a break in disk...

"Per the engineer, the absolute best way to properly break-in a plasma is with alternating full screen colors (break-in DVD) with the contrast and color slightly higher than what you would normally watch TV. This process should be done for a minimum of 150 hours. This ensures that all phosphors (center, corners, top, bottom, etc) are properly and evenly aged."

Here is the link to that revelation:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=731242&page=26&pp=30

so break in periods do exsist on plasma's? how does it help? what does it help inprove on ? and i was reading from op and he wanted to go 1,000 hrs ? isnt it 200 only? whats the total amount of days /hrs that a break in should be ? im planning to get the panasonic TH-50PZ700U

So what would be the best settings to adjust my 58px60u too,for the break in dvd, +5 on everything or ?

So what would be the best settings to adjust my 58px60u too,for the break in dvd, +5 on everything or ?

New info is to set all settings as you want them to eventually be after break in.

During the first 100-200 hours of break in just be aware of black bars and standing logos.

Simple.

I'm at the beginning stages of break in on my PX77U and last night set my optimal settings and am presently at:
Mode: Standard
Pic +21
Brightness: +10
Color: 0
Tint: -3
Sharpness: 0
Color Temp: Normal
Color Mngmt: On
Video NR: On
Mpeg NR: off
Black Level: Light

Couple Questons:
1) what does "Mpeg NR" do?

2) During break in is it OK to watch a show that has the translucent station logos in the bottom right hand corner....FoxHD, NBCHD, etc....or should I avoid those during break in as well?

Cool,ill guess i will turn mine up also to match yours Offdee,im in no rush to watch tv yet on it so i dont mind breaking her in for 200 hrs first and than wall mounting it,in a few weeks,after i get some other projects finished...(house painting) :(

Just picked up the 42" Vizio from CC. My sister left paused Guitar Hero 2 on the screen for about 20 minutes. Had some very mild burn in, but the TV has a "Screen cleaner" (light grey screen) and that got rid of it. Now i am runnign the break in dvd through the night. THanks all.

Then you had very mild IR (image retention), NOT burn in. Burn in is not reversible. Just a little education here on terminology... ;)

Then you had very mild IR (image retention), NOT burn in. Burn in is not reversible. Just a little education here on terminology... ;)

Thanks for the clarification. Learning is good.

Either way 7 hours done of the break in DVD, 193 to go.

Just to share with everyone the advice from a Pioneer Engineer - here's what D-Nice's conversation was with that Engineer concerning break in with a break in disk...

"Per the engineer, the absolute best way to properly break-in a plasma is with alternating full screen colors (break-in DVD) with the contrast and color slightly higher than what you would normally watch TV. This process should be done for a minimum of 150 hours. This ensures that all phosphors (center, corners, top, bottom, etc) are properly and evenly aged."

Here is the link to that revelation:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=731242&page=26&pp=30

So what I can gather from this is, during the break in process keep the settings how I would normally keep them during normal viewing but just avoid black bars and static images correct?

So i'm gonna watch mostly hd stuff, with no logos, no black bars run the dvd at night and keep settings the way I like them.
Sound good?

Perfect. If you want to watch SD material you can Zoom or set the screen to Wide to fill it.

Need a little help....

I recieved Evans burn in DVD, but put it into my DVD player and it has black bars across top and bottom. I looked in my DVD player's menu for a Zoom function and can't find anything to fix it. Anybody know what I can do?

My DVD player: Sony DVD-NC665P (Precision Cinema Progression, Precision Drive 2/MP3 Playback)

I did 100 hours of the burn in DVD on my 42" Vizio last week. Now just trying to be a little wary of black bars and static logos to some extent, but not worrying about it too much. Most I've noticed so far is a couple seconds of IR after leaving it on a bright static logo (namely Music HD's big, bright MHD logo) for a half hour or so and a little IR in Pan's Labyrinth from the bright white subtitles where you could tell where they had been when it switched to a very dark scene. But again they vanished right away after the movie was over.

I'm just going to limit logos, black bars (just a 2:35:1 DVD here or there) etc. for another month or so, and then not worry about it anymore. Not going to play the DVD anymore 100 hours was enough of that IMO.

Need a little help....

I recieved Evans burn in DVD, but put it into my DVD player and it has black bars across top and bottom. I looked in my DVD player's menu for a Zoom function and can't find anything to fix it. Anybody know what I can do?

My DVD player: Sony DVD-NC665P (Precision Cinema Progression, Precision Drive 2/MP3 Playback)Use the ZOOM or WIDE function on your tv to stretch the image.

Also, if its not filling the screen you may have your DVD player set to output to a 4:3 TV rather than a 16:9 TV.

You can change that buy going into the setup menu with the DVD player stopped (or with no disc in)--press menu or setup or display depending on the player brand/model.

I tried downloading it and unzipped the files and put it on a DVD as a Data file. For some reason I could not get my Sony dvd player to play the dvd. Maybe I used the wrong download.
There are 3 files...
ISO Download
NRG Download
VIDEO_TS Download
Which one do I use? Also when copying onto DVD do I just copy the files and file folders or do I copy just the files.
I am using Sonic recorder to record it all.
Any help would be much appreciated!!!!!! Thanks!!! :)

The .iso file will need a program which will burn image files - do not simply copy the files.
The .nrg file is for use with Nero or other programs which will burn Nero images.
The TS files will need a program which can handle TS files.

With Sonic you may need to start with "Data disk" and add the ISO file and burn to dvd.

With Sonic you may need to start with "Data disk" and add the ISO file and burn to dvd.

Thats what I did and it did not work. Oh well. I guess I will just get some HD programming and use that to break in the tv.

In Sonic, have you tried to use the .iso file with the "burn image" under "backup projects"? I've never used Sonic for video, so this is only a thought.
I used Nero Express 6 to burn the TS files to DVD and it worked fine. In NE6, there is an option for "DVD Video Files" when you have a DVD burner selected.

Use the ZOOM or WIDE function on your tv to stretch the image.

Good call, that did the trick. It's always the little easy stupid things!