I tried the Sampo on both my cable remote and the Radio Shack I bought, no good. Im going out to BB today to buy a learning remote. I will post my results.

Thanks

when you buy a universal learning remote, make sure it has all the buttons you need. there were cheaper remotes, but this was the cheapest one that had the necessary buttons for my DVR - play, pause, menu, guide, etc. it didnt have all the buttons i needed, like a, b, c, page up, page down, but i used the extra buttons on the learning remote (l1, l2, l3, l4, m1, m2, m3) to program that functionality.

Does anyone have Time Warner and a Scientific Atlanta with this set? There are no remote codes for Maxent. Did anyone else have this problem and was able to track down the codes? My wife and I have been trying to find them, but haven't had any luck.

If you hunt online for the SA8300 manual, you'll find that there is a way to have the remote cycle through all available codes. Unfortunately, I can't remember the directions now, but I did this and after several minutes came up with a code that worked. It controls input, power and volume anyhow, not sure what else you would want to do. For anything more advanced than that I use the Maxent remote.

Edit: Found the directions and pulled the code from my remote. It is 1191, assuming you are using the same standard TimeWarner remote.

Brian

If you hunt online for the SA8300 manual, you'll find that there is a way to have the remote cycle through all available codes. Unfortunately, I can't remember the directions now, but I did this and after several minutes came up with a code that worked. It controls input, power and volume anyhow, not sure what else you would want to do. For anything more advanced than that I use the Maxent remote.

Edit: Found the directions and pulled the code from my remote. It is 1191, assuming you are using the same standard TimeWarner remote.

Brian

i tried that process to cycle through, and it didnt work for me. i also tried code 1191, and it also didnt work. is your 8300 a DVR or just an hd tuner? does your remote have dvr controls?

i tried that process to cycle through, and it didnt work for me. i also tried code 1191, and it also didnt work. is your 8300 a DVR or just an hd tuner? does your remote have dvr controls?

It didnt work for me either. It looks like the Time Warner remote only takes three digits.

Chanc & Sohr, Thanks for your help! I am ready for a long day today returning this plasma.

Now that ive had the Akai for a week or so i will be able to give a solid review when i get my Maxent home..

Thanks!

i tried that process to cycle through, and it didnt work for me. i also tried code 1191, and it also didnt work. is your 8300 a DVR or just an hd tuner? does your remote have dvr controls?

This worked on the 8300 DVR and 8000HD DVRs that I have. TimeWarner must use different remotes in different regions.

This worked on the 8300 DVR and 8000HD DVRs that I have. TimeWarner must use different remotes in different regions.

probably. one of my co-workers has the same dvr as me, but lives in a different city nearby, and he has a different remote.

I picked up the One for all Kameleon URC-6690. It actually had a code for the Maxent and I have been able to program my cable box and receiver as well.

I was able to program any missing buttons.

FWIW, the Harmony remotes do have codes for MX3, they are listed under TVs rather than monitors, where they should be.

Hey Tech guys, I need a valuable suggestion:

I bought my maxent 50 on November 11th. Till now no problem. I was today at best buy, and checked the manager about return of this product. he told me that I had time to return the maxent till Jan 24th, and there is not re-stocking fee. I am in double minded after getting the costco coupons books since yesterday, the main reason costco has PANASONIC 50 HDTV READY PLASMA with 1366 x 768 resolution, 3000:1 Contrast ratio HDMI Input for x,xxx(pls check costco website) from Jan 9th to Jan 15th. The item number is 960600. The second problem now with costco is that now they chnged their return policy for just 6 months, and after 6 months they will charge 15% of the total amount of the TV as re-stocking fee. I would like to know whether this panasonic which costco is selling is same Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK or not ?

Pls provide me with guidance and suggestions, since I am very new to this plasma technology

plasmabuyer2006: Please edit your post to remove any price and coupon/discount talk as that's not allowed by the mods on this forum.

Sorry Jer.. I was not aware that I added the price tag. I just removed the price tag buddy.

Ok, Just got home after returning my Akai 50" from Sams Club...

Hooked up the Maxent and WOW!!

This TV is MUCH better. I thought the Akai looked great, well this thing Looks AMAZING

The clarity and colors of HD are at least 30% better.

Even my Digital cable menu's are clearer.

Thanks to all in this forum for help! I used a 10% coupon expiring tomm and the manager took $100 off for some comcast sign up thing that i can cancel.

I had to pick it up at the Warehouse becuase no Best Buy's around had this in Stock, while the main warehouse here in Chi-town had over 80.

Cheers!

Quick question:

Is there any way to change the Display size on the fly?

e.g. Panorama, 4:3, TV mode, Normal etc..??

It is stretching the 480P out on the whole screen, my last plasma you could change the aspect ratio on the fly

Thanks!

you can change modes using the "wide" button under the sliding cover of the remote.

Hey Tech guys, I need a valuable suggestion:

I bought my maxent 50 on November 11th. Till now no problem. I was today at best buy, and checked the manager about return of this product. he told me that I had time to return the maxent till Jan 24th, and there is not re-stocking fee. I am in double minded after getting the costco coupons books since yesterday, the main reason costco has PANASONIC 50 HDTV READY PLASMA with 1366 x 768 resolution, 3000:1 Contrast ratio HDMI Input for x,xxx(pls check costco website) from Jan 9th to Jan 15th. The item number is 960600. The second problem now with costco is that now they chnged their return policy for just 6 months, and after 6 months they will charge 15% of the total amount of the TV as re-stocking fee. I would like to know whether this panasonic which costco is selling is same Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK or not ?

Pls provide me with guidance and suggestions, since I am very new to this plasma technology


Where did you get this information?

Really? 624x352 isn't even up to EDTV standards... and you have a hard time noticing it's not HD??Yep. Forgot to take any pics this weekend (long story), but I'll try to do it over lunch today.

...I have a modded XBOX myself running XBMC and I absolutely love it for my current setup, which is a 6 year old Toshiba 32" CRT. As someone else had asked, hfelsh, how does the Maxent handle the display of XBMC? It sounds like we download the same format of programs (624x352) and I'd love to hear how they compare to something on DVD. Is the text on the menus very sharp as well?

I don't want to change the topic here, I would just love to hear more about the display of the XviDs on the Maxent. Thanks!XBMC is set to 1080i and looks excellent (I'll snap a pic of that, too, if you like.) As for how they look compared to DVDs, well, I'd say *almost* as good. However, I have the Oppo DVD player now, so it does get the slight nod due to the Faroudja DCDi upscaler. My watching preference is HD channels - upscaled DVDs - downloaded TV shows (HD/wide-screen) - SD channels. A modded Xbox running XBMC is the absolute best entertainment investment under $300 anyone can get! I tend to watch it more than the cable box, and only slightly less than TiVo. :p

FWIW, the Harmony remotes do have codes for MX3, they are listed under TVs rather than monitors, where they should be.I have a Harmony 880...great remote! :D

I have to recommend the Harmony 880 remote as well. It took one or two tweaks on power settings, etc. but it's so much better than anything else I have tried.

I had originally bought the 676 'sport'. I took it back last week to exchange for the 880.

I'm liking the 880 much better.

What I was getting at in an earlier post was why are we so convinced this is only 7th gen glass? Here is a 8th gen set Here (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=95594&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702&surfModel=TH-50PM50U&catGroupId=24973&surfCategory=Plasma%20TVs&displayTab=S) and all the specs look the same except number of colors. Also in a earlier post someone confirmed a panny set that had the same panel model number except for one letter "D" instead of an "F".

Maybe someone could get a panel model number from a known 7th gen panel...maybe hit the panny forum for a helping hand? Or even manufacture date of the panel which is 5/2005 on mine, does that coincide with 7th or 8th gen.

I am leaning toward this being a 8th gen...specs seem to close and date seems to neew to be an 8th gen. Maybe they are disabling/degrading the number of colors to 16mill purposefully? Maybe the have an agreement with panny about it? This is all speculation of course.

downloaded TV shows (HD/wide-screen)

Where do you find these? Is there a site that lists them or do you just use P2P like Bearshare?

So finally receiving my HDMI cables in the mail (thanks monoprice!), I decided to hook my STB which is a SA 8300HD in. Well, it seems like I am having issues now. The STB doesn't like HDMI for some reason. Keeps displaying errors of HDCP issues and Copy Protection error: DVI/HDMI output is blocked on every channel when watching SD with S-Video. However, the HDMI does work and doesn't play those errors when switching.


The errors only show during SD when HDMI is NOT in use. Called TW, they had no clue what to do and said its either the cables or the box. I am assuming box, since the cables are brand new. They want me to exchange it, but after reading some internet forums, seems like this is a constant issue.

Anyone here with a 8300HD STB and having problems? Any resolutions found?

Anyone here with a 8300HD STB and having problems? Any resolutions found?

FWIW, I'm no expert, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Before taking delivery of my Maxent, I called TW tech support here in Raleigh Durham, NC.

Just to check what I would need, cables, etc.

The tech made a specific point of mentioning, unprompted by me, that all the new 8300HD that they sent out would have the HDMI port enabled. I didn't ask, but got the impression that this may have been an issue previously.

Regardless, I'm using the component cables that they delivered with the 8300 and using HDMI for my DVD player.

So finally receiving my HDMI cables in the mail (thanks monoprice!), I decided to hook my STB which is a SA 8300HD in. Well, it seems like I am having issues now. The STB doesn't like HDMI for some reason. Keeps displaying errors of HDCP issues and Copy Protection error: DVI/HDMI output is blocked on every channel when watching SD with S-Video. However, the HDMI does work and doesn't play those errors when switching.


The errors only show during SD when HDMI is NOT in use. Called TW, they had no clue what to do and said its either the cables or the box. I am assuming box, since the cables are brand new. They want me to exchange it, but after reading some internet forums, seems like this is a constant issue.

Anyone here with a 8300HD STB and having problems? Any resolutions found?

If I recall correctly, if you are using the HDMI port in the SA8300, the s-video port is disabled....It's one reason why I haven't gone HDMI, because I use s-video for standard def. There's a thread in the DVR forum that discusses this.

Trying to do my best guess work:

MC127H27D8

MC = Matsushita Corporation
127 = 127 cm = 50 inches
H = "higher definition" -> from the panny post
27 = ?
D = revision?
8 = 8th gen glass?

What I was getting at in an earlier post was why are we so convinced this is only 7th gen glass? Here is a 8th gen set Here (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=95594&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702&surfModel=TH-50PM50U&catGroupId=24973&surfCategory=Plasma%20TVs&displayTab=S) and all the specs look the same except number of colors. Also in a earlier post someone confirmed a panny set that had the same panel model number except for one letter "D" instead of an "F".

Maybe someone could get a panel model number from a known 7th gen panel...maybe hit the panny forum for a helping hand? Or even manufacture date of the panel which is 5/2005 on mine, does that coincide with 7th or 8th gen.

I am leaning toward this being a 8th gen...specs seem to close and date seems to neew to be an 8th gen. Maybe they are disabling/degrading the number of colors to 16mill purposefully? Maybe the have an agreement with panny about it? This is all speculation of course.

The 16 million color number is due to the controller....It's a 24bit color processor just like many PC video cards.

Yes, that is what I meant to say...there is definitely different hardware in there, so maybe the controller is purposefully 16mill colors.

Yes, that is what I meant to say...there is definitely different hardware in there, so maybe the controller is purposefully 16mill colors.

It is...As stated, it's a 24bit processor, so its limitation is 16.7 million colors. Which incidently is more than the eye can discern, so whether it's 16.7 million or trillion, it's academic as far as actual performance of the unit.

What I was getting at in an earlier post was why are we so convinced this is only 7th gen glass?No one has said we're "convinced it's a 7th gen glass". We've said it's definately a 7th OR 8th gen glass.

Where do you find these? Is there a site that lists them or do you just use P2P like Bearshare?There are numerous ********** sites out there. The most popular are torrentspy.com and tvtorrents.com, bth of which I use.

Still gotta snap some pics for you guys...lunch ran long so I ran outta time. :o

Sounds pretty good! So the only thing I'm kind of worried about is that 1366x768 isn't a lot of pixels for a 50" screen... Can you give me some kind of reference as to how large your windows icons show up? I don't see the point in a huge computer screen if the "my computer" icon is the size of my fist :)

Thanks.

The icons on my desktop are 1.5" x 1.5" at 1366x768. Easy to read without taking up alot of space on the desktop.

So finally receiving my HDMI cables in the mail (thanks monoprice!), I decided to hook my STB which is a SA 8300HD in. Well, it seems like I am having issues now. The STB doesn't like HDMI for some reason. Keeps displaying errors of HDCP issues and Copy Protection error: DVI/HDMI output is blocked on every channel when watching SD with S-Video. However, the HDMI does work and doesn't play those errors when switching.


The errors only show during SD when HDMI is NOT in use. Called TW, they had no clue what to do and said its either the cables or the box. I am assuming box, since the cables are brand new. They want me to exchange it, but after reading some internet forums, seems like this is a constant issue.

Anyone here with a 8300HD STB and having problems? Any resolutions found?


I have the 8300HD and my HDMI works but it didnt initially. I had to go into the settings, output formats and select 720p. I tried some of the othre formats, but 720p seems to be the best for SD and HD. Also, any other format and I got a blinking line at the top of the TV on some SD channels.

I'm having an issue with my HDMI connection where when I initially turn on the TV and calbe box, I get a black backward "L" shapped box on the monitor. Once I change the channel or bring up the guide or anything else that takes up that space, it goes away, but it keeps coming back when I shut everything off and put it back on.

Anyone else having this problem? It seems to be only an issue wth the HDMI connection and I have Time Warner with an 8300HD

XBMC is set to 1080i and looks excellent (I'll snap a pic of that, too, if you like.) As for how they look compared to DVDs, well, I'd say *almost* as good. However, I have the Oppo DVD player now, so it does get the slight nod due to the Faroudja DCDi upscaler. My watching preference is HD channels - upscaled DVDs - downloaded TV shows (HD/wide-screen) - SD channels. A modded Xbox running XBMC is the absolute best entertainment investment under $300 anyone can get! I tend to watch it more than the cable box, and only slightly less than TiVo. :p

I have a Harmony 880...great remote! :D


I am experimenting with XBMC on this XBOX I inherited. Hopefully I can get it set up well on the MX-50x3. Where is a good place to read up on settings etc. Better yet, what is HD spindown time, Immediate HD spindown, what are audio and DVD cached for, and how may I achieve digital audio output?

Hey Tech guys, I need a valuable suggestion:

I bought my maxent 50 on November 11th. Till now no problem. I was today at best buy, and checked the manager about return of this product. he told me that I had time to return the maxent till Jan 24th, and there is not re-stocking fee. I am in double minded after getting the costco coupons books since yesterday, the main reason costco has PANASONIC 50 HDTV READY PLASMA with 1366 x 768 resolution, 3000:1 Contrast ratio HDMI Input for x,xxx(pls check costco website) from Jan 9th to Jan 15th. The item number is 960600. The second problem now with costco is that now they chnged their return policy for just 6 months, and after 6 months they will charge 15% of the total amount of the TV as re-stocking fee. I would like to know whether this panasonic which costco is selling is same Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK or not ?

Pls provide me with guidance and suggestions, since I am very new to this plasma technology

can you tell us where you got this information? if its true? i googled it up and didnt come up with with anything on policy change.

I am experimenting with XBMC on this XBOX I inherited. Hopefully I can get it set up well on the MX-50x3. Where is a good place to read up on settings etc. Better yet, what is HD spindown time, Immediate HD spindown, what are audio and DVD cached for, and how may I achieve digital audio output?

xbox-scene has a good forum for XBMC as does the XBMC site itself (www.xboxmediacenter.de). The latter site can be a little harsh with newbies as they really prefer you to read the FAQ's and the online wikki manual before posting...I can't blame 'em judging from the number of repetitive posts day after day.

Just walk to the costco warehouse, and check with the customer care, he will tell the new policy change.

This is off-topic, as it doesn't relate to the Maxent...
I am experimenting with XBMC on this XBOX I inherited. Hopefully I can get it set up well on the MX-50x3. Where is a good place to read up on settings etc. Better yet, what is HD spindown time, Immediate HD spindown, what are audio and DVD cached for...Don't change any of those settings. Leave them alone.

...and how may I achieve digital audio output?You need the Xbox High Definition AV Pack (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/h/hdavpack/). It uses TOSlink (fiber optic) for digital audio. Keep in mind that the DVD player is still only 480i, even though you're using the HD adapter. lder versions had component cables that plugged into it; newer versions have the cables built-in (they don't unplug from the Xbox adapter.) Get one of the newer ones, as they have better quality than the older version. Besides, it's only $20 brand-new at just about every store, and I've seen it on sale for half that.

xbox-scene has a good forum for XBMC as does the XBMC site itself (www.xboxmediacenter.de). The latter site can be a little harsh with newbies as they really prefer you to read the FAQ's and the online wikki manual before posting...I can't blame 'em judging from the number of repetitive posts day after day.What he said. :cool:

I tried snapping a few pics last night of XBMC and the TV shows I was watching, but unfortunately, they didn't come out very well. My hand shakes too much, and I don't have a tripod. :( I'll try to take some more and see if I can get better pics to show you guys. It really does look good, though there is MB on some scenes. Still, it's better than SD. I missed my episode of "Surface" last night, so I grabbed it off BT and will be watching it this evening. :D

You need the Xbox High Definition AV Pack (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/h/hdavpack/). It uses TOSlink (fiber optic) for digital audio. Keep in mind that the DVD player is still only 480i, even though you're using the HD adapter. lder versions had component cables that plugged into it; newer versions have the cables built-in (they don't unplug from the Xbox adapter.) Get one of the newer ones, as they have better quality than the older version. Besides, it's only $20 brand-new at just about every store, and I've seen it on sale for half that.


my HD pack for my xbox has component cables and analog audio (red and white connectors). are you saying that they now make one with optical out instead of analog audio? if so, do any xbox games even output sound in dolby sigital 5.1 or dts?

i can't check the link you posted, because our proxy server here is blocking it because it is classified as a "games' site.

my HD pack for my xbox has component cables and analog audio (red and white connectors). are you saying that they now make one with optical out instead of analog audio? if so, do any xbox games even output sound in dolby sigital 5.1 or dts?Sounds like you have one of the older versions. Yes, the HD A/V pack has digital audio out (TOSlink), and yes, many games do DTS or Dolby 5.1 surround sound. I know Madden NFL 2k6 does. Plus XBMC does DTS for movies that have it.

my HD pack for my xbox has component cables and analog audio (red and white connectors). are you saying that they now make one with optical out instead of analog audio? if so, do any xbox games even output sound in dolby sigital 5.1 or dts?

i can't check the link you posted, because our proxy server here is blocking it because it is classified as a "games' site.

Yep, I have an XBOX HD-pack which has a digital audio output.

There are some games that take advantage of it... my favorite being ESPN NFL 2k5 (you can hear the linebacker that is about to blindside you)...

Damn, time to upgrade again. I have the s-video connectors for this thing, for before i had an hdtv. then i bought an RF adaptor for when i was traveling for my job. then i bought the HD pack, and now I'll have to buy another.

I have the S-Video connection as well. It also has a TOSlink port. When I connect it to my receiver, it shows the Dolby Digital Icon.... Halo is awesome in 5.1...

Great, the VGA port is no longer working. Resolution/refresh rate shows in the upper right corner and then some white lines flashes but then turns black.

-armus

I AM AN IDIOT. for a person that runs multiple servers/desktops/laptops at home and at work, I've been plugging it into the wrong port, the VGA OUT port. The guy on the phone asked me to plug it into the OTHER port (VGA IN).

Plasma is fine. nothing wrong with it. me, on the other hand, is another story.

-armus

Damn, time to upgrade again. I have the s-video connectors for this thing, for before i had an hdtv. then i bought an RF adaptor for when i was traveling for my job. then i bought the HD pack, and now I'll have to buy another.

koach,

Before you go out to buy another AV pack, look very closely next to the analog audio inputs on your current HD pack - you should see a small black door of sorts that is square shaped on one side - that's the TOSLink port. I missed it myself on my HD pack, and I don't think yours could be older than mine - I got it when I first purchased my XBOX many moons ago. Take a closer look - you should already have the digital port there.

If it's for a standard Xbox and it's the monster HD cables you'll need a mini to toslink adapter that can be had for about a buck fifty from monoprice.com

You'll see a small gold round plug on the part that plugs into the Xbox itself. Plug the mini to toslink adapter into that and you'll be good to go to plug it into most receivers and TVs that are optical audio equipped.

(Hopefully I read that right because now I'm wondering if that was even the question. Guess I'll leave the info in case someone else could use it)

koach,

Before you go out to buy another AV pack, look very closely next to the analog audio inputs on your current HD pack - you should see a small black door of sorts that is square shaped on one side - that's the TOSLink port. I missed it myself on my HD pack, and I don't think yours could be older than mine - I got it when I first purchased my XBOX many moons ago. Take a closer look - you should already have the digital port there.

Thank you! I looked on the back and there it was. I've had an HDTV and a 5.1 system for over a year now, and have had the xbox hooked up with analog audio. I wish I would have known about this sooner. Thank you for saving me $40 for a new one. Now I just have to go buy an optical audio cable tomorrow.

Just walk to the costco warehouse, and check with the customer care, he will tell the new policy change.


Greetings all. I have been lurking back and forth between this thread and the 42x3 thread checking all the good and bad about this set. Being my first plasma purchase, I was very concerned about not only this set in particular, but ANY plasma because I wasn't sure if I'd like it or hate it or what. That was a major reason I decided to go with Costco, because of their apparent "unlimited" return policy.

Well, there's a reason they say "nothing is for free." C'mon. To expect a company to simply accept something because someone is "no longer 100% satisfied" may be good for a while but will eventually catch up to them. That was why they switched their return policy to 6 months on all computers and laptops and you can be assured that may indeed be the next thing to happen to TVs and everything else they sell under the sun. I did make it a point to ask my local Costco (Cincinnati, OH) about their return policy. Because while Costco "guarantees your satisfaction with the merchandise you purchase from us. Costco.com products may be returned to any of our hundreds of Costco warehouses worldwide. Or, if you wish to return or exchange merchandise directly to costco.com, contact us at customer service." They basically say the same thing in their warehouses.

When I asked my local Costco their return policy, I asked them "Do I really have basically a lifetime guarantee on what I purchase here??" She responded with "We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase." It sounded like she was dancing around it, so I pressed on. I then said "Yeah, but this TV I just bought. I can return it whenever I want??" She again responded with the whole 100% satisfaction thing, but went a little deeper. She said they used to take literally everything back up until a couple of years ago. She said people began bringing in their old computers when they were essentially tired of them after, say, a couple of years, saying things like "It just isn't working fast enough for me anymore, so I need a new one." They'd flash their receipt, get credit for a brand new one, and off they'd go. The same, she said, is beginning to happen with the TVs.

So, in the end, it was posed to me that basically, the way that she knew all of the warehouses are operating when it comes to TVs, is that Costco will essentially mimic the manufacturer when it comes to a "warranty," and then evaulate the TV being returned on a case by case basis. In other words, since I bought my new 42x3 last week (on 1/3/06), I basically have until 1/3/2007 to take it back to any Costco store with no real questions asked. After that date, should I need to return it, she told me that there would have to be something that they could physically document as being defective with the set in order for them to take it back as a return. This, she said, will help cut down on those people who have been simply "upgrading" over the last few years, yet allow those people who truly enjoy their purchase to be able to still utilize their 100% guaranteed satisfaction in the event that something happens to their TV.

WHEW!! That was a lot of typing for a conversation that only took about 4 minutes at my local store. Anyway, I hope this helps some people who may be on the fence about the whole deal. But you're gonna have to pull some teeth if you want to hear an exact policy on how long you have to return the set. It seems like they like to stop just short of saying "You have as long as you'd like." ......

-Scott

Thank you! I looked on the back and there it was. I've had an HDTV and a 5.1 system for over a year now, and have had the xbox hooked up with analog audio. I wish I would have known about this sooner. Thank you for saving me $40 for a new one. Now I just have to go buy an optical audio cable tomorrow.http://tampabaymiatas.net/forum/images/smiles/eusa_doh.gif D'oh! I should probably have told you to look as well. My bad.

For those of you using a Harmony remote with the TV, what do you have the "warm up" time set to?

I've been messing with my new remote for a couple of hours, and can't seem to get it to power up and switch to the correct input, so I'm messing with the warm-up configuration and am up to 5000 MS (5 seconds) to wait before sending the input signal, and it's still not switching....

guess I'll bump it up to 10 seconds and see how it goes.


EDIT: Ok, it appears 8 seconds is the magic number...got it working now.

If I recall correctly, if you are using the HDMI port in the SA8300, the s-video port is disabled....It's one reason why I haven't gone HDMI, because I use s-video for standard def. There's a thread in the DVR forum that discusses this.


Hmm, that is disappointing to hear. So is this fixable by them releasing a firmware do you know? Considering I am using the standard setup of svideo for SD and HDMI for HD. Its weird since, both ports work, but I still get those error message every time I change the channel stating the DVI/HDMI output is blocked.

Ok.... I've had my Maxent hooked up for a few days now and just a few quick things I've noticed so far:

1) This plasma really shows off how good HD can be. DiscoveryHD, INHD, and INHD2 on this plasma are nothing short of incredible.

2) Unfortunately, this plasma also reveals every minor flaw with HD signals. HBO-HD, Starz-HD, and ShowTime-HD show a lot of dithering and random pixel-sized noise in backgrounds and on textures. These pixel-sized dots are usually all the same color. Turning down the Sharpness seems to minimize the noise, but doesn't eliminate it completely. I don't notice this on Discover-HD, INHD, or even DVDs (so far)... so I think it is a source issue.

3) Perhaps unrelated, when my cable box is off but the TV on, I see random black and dark blue pixels (like snow) on the screen. Not sure if this is indicative of a problem with the plasma, indicative of bad component cables, or just plain normal.

4) Analog SD through component is absolutely wretched. Everything is very dark and very muddy-- I have to turn the brightness and contrast settings up to almost 90 to see any kind of shadow details. Again, I'm not sure if this is due to bad component cables, a bad STB, bad component inputs, or something else entirely.

5) Switched the cable box over to S-video, and HOLY COW! Suddenly SD is now not only watchable, but it looks pretty darn good! I turn the brighness and contrast down to 60/60 and it looks like SD is supposed to look-- better than my Sony Wega LCD RPTV, but still not quite as good as my 5-year old GE 32" tube TV. Watching downrezzed HD through the S-video and you almost couldn't tell what you were watching was only 480i-- the colors and depth were exactly what you would expect from HD.

6) However, as good as S-Video looks for both HD and SD sources... I noticed what appears to be shifting black levels. For instance, in some scenes I would notice that a dark blue wall in the background would for a split second become a slightly lighter shade of blue. It seemed to occur randomly-- but was especially noticable in dark scenes. In looking at the archives here, I notice this is a problem with the 42" and perhaps the 50" Pannys-- although not all agree. I hope to spend some more time to tonight with my DVR to see if it is a source issue (I can replay a scene frame-by-frame), or a problem with my screen.

6) I also noticed when viewing SD through S-video or composite that color details would lag behind the movement on the screen. For instance, a highlight on an actors cheek would stay in the same exact position on the screen for a second or so even after that actor moved or turned his head around. I didn't really notice this on my regular Comcast HD STB box, but really notice in on my HD DVR-- so I'm wondering if it's the MPEG compression artifacts that I'm seeing. I think that is the case as when I move through a recorded clip frame-by-frame, I see the highlights and color details staying in the same position even after an actor has moved.

7) The sound on the built-in speakers on this unit is, as expected, pathetic. I might be a tad bit too harsh in evaluating this as I was somewhat spoiled my the sound on my Sony Wega-- it had a built-in subwoofer and had great booming sound. In comparision, the Maxent sounds tinny-- like tiny little computer speakers. However, they will serve their purpose well when the kids or the wife just want to watch Spongebob Squarepants or a little Dr. Phil-- but for any kind of sports or movie viewing you will want to use a powered subwoofer or add your own surround system.

8) The glare on this unit is worse than I though it would be, but I can't really say that is a fault of the Maxent as I doubt there is a plasma screen out there that could fare better in my environment. My TV is exactly opposite of a wall with a sliding glass door and where the couch is... the line from our sofa to the TV back to the sliding glass door form a nice isocoles triange, meaning in dark scenes (or when the TV is off) we have a pretty good view of the sliding glass door reflected in the plasma screen....


I'd appreciate any feedback you other guys with this set have on whethever you've noticed some of the above effects or not... meanwhile, I'm going to spend more time tonight playing around with the set, trying different inputs and what not....

FWIW, I'm no expert, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Before taking delivery of my Maxent, I called TW tech support here in Raleigh Durham, NC.

Just to check what I would need, cables, etc.

The tech made a specific point of mentioning, unprompted by me, that all the new 8300HD that they sent out would have the HDMI port enabled. I didn't ask, but got the impression that this may have been an issue previously.

Regardless, I'm using the component cables that they delivered with the 8300 and using HDMI for my DVD player.


When did you get this information? I was under the assumption that all SA8300HD were made equal as you would assume in the product and all would have the same firmware updates.

When did you get this information? I was under the assumption that all SA8300HD were made equal as you would assume in the product and all would have the same firmware updates.

Roughly, the first week of December was when the Time-Warner tech told me that the 8300HD delivered to my home would have HDMI enabled (again, as if this was contrary to earlier units)

Is it possible that all 8300HD hardware is identical and that local cable operators enable/disable various features?

4) Analog SD through component is absolutely wretched. Everything is very dark and very muddy-- I have to turn the brightness and contrast settings up to almost 90 to see any kind of shadow details. Again, I'm not sure if this is due to bad component cables, a bad STB, bad component inputs, or something else entirely.


Wait, you see this too? I've been trying my damnedest to figure this out, and figured it was the cable box itself (Comcast with Motorola 3412 box). In fact, I was about 5 minutes away from calling Comcast to switch it out for another box. HD stuff looks great, but SD (through the component) is horrible. So dark I can't even see most of the stuff on the screen. SD through S-Video is ok though.

I have the Motorola 6412 box with Comcast hooked up via component and everything looks great!

although i like watching SD in 4:3 mode even though it says not to in the manual.

For those of you using a Harmony remote with the TV, what do you have the "warm up" time set to?

I've been messing with my new remote for a couple of hours, and can't seem to get it to power up and switch to the correct input, so I'm messing with the warm-up configuration and am up to 5000 MS (5 seconds) to wait before sending the input signal, and it's still not switching....

guess I'll bump it up to 10 seconds and see how it goes.


EDIT: Ok, it appears 8 seconds is the magic number...got it working now.I didn't change any settings at all. I took the defaults, works fine.

I just picked up my 50x3 from bestbuy. I check the labels on the unit and its a Matsushita panel/boards i believe. in any case i had a few questions::

1. What were the decided optimal settings to use with this plasma, id like to hear from those of you who used calibration discs(DVE, AVIA) to find optimal contrast/brightness/color...etc..??

2. i have an xbox360 hooked up to this display. Im using the Microsoft HD VGA cable, it uses the db15 rgb cable instead of component. Is it better to use RGB input instead of component??? The 360 is running @ 1280x720, the PQ looks great IMO.

3. I see like dots around the blacks on this display when i looks real close, ive never really studied other plasmas upclose so is this normail. FRom seating distance you cant see them, is this how plasmas work? or is mine defective.??

THANKS!!!

This happened to me once before. The solution is to unplug the TV power cord from the wall, and plug it right back in. OR, turn the TV off using the switch located on the BACK of the TV, then turn it back on.

One time the buttons on my TV stopped working, and this fixed that as well. It's definitely a problem, but it's not worth taking it back right now, but I'm glad I got the 4 year warranty. In 3.5 years I'll probably report the problem, and if they can't fix it, I'll get a brand new TV. :)

Hey koach, I never wrote back but I'm here to say this worked great for me and I have my green on-screen info back as it should be...thanks again for the help.

I also wanted to mention something I just received from Maxent support a few minutes ago for future reference for this group should anyone have a similar problem. Good thing this wasn't an emergency...I wrote them a week ago :eek:

"You can try to reset the unit by holding the power key and volume up button for 5 seconds on the plasma display. That should reset the unit for you. Please let me know if that fixes the problem that you are having with the plasma.

Regent USA
Technical Support"

Ok.... I've had my Maxent hooked up for a few days now and just a few quick things I've noticed so far:

4) Analog SD through component is absolutely wretched. Everything is very dark and very muddy-- I have to turn the brightness and contrast settings up to almost 90 to see any kind of shadow details. Again, I'm not sure if this is due to bad component cables, a bad STB, bad component inputs, or something else entirely.




I had the same problem until I got the 8300HD box from Time Warner with the HDMI connection. It saves from switching inputs since the cable box handles the 4:3 stretch / zoom.

SD is acceptable (not as good as my Sony XBR-didnt expect it to be).

The other thing I noticed, that might be your issue as well, is that SD looks fantastic (as good as my 36" Sony) when I watch TV from my dining room. When Im closer in my living room, things look less clear. Again, you are dealing with a much larger TV and the closer you are, the more imperfections you will see with SD. With HD, you have to get really close to start seeing flaws (with my setup, at least).

I had the same problem until I got the 8300HD box from Time Warner with the HDMI connection. It saves from switching inputs since the cable box handles the 4:3 stretch / zoom.



So are you saying that you noticed SD over component looks SIGNIFANTLY worse than SD via s-video?

If I could get acceptable SD and great HD through a single HDMI input I might go that route but I am somewhat skeptical that that will be the case.




The other thing I noticed, that might be your issue as well, is that SD looks fantastic (as good as my 36" Sony) when I watch TV from my dining room. When Im closer in my living room, things look less clear. Again, you are dealing with a much larger TV and the closer you are, the more imperfections you will see with SD. With HD, you have to get really close to start seeing flaws (with my setup, at least).

Nope... what I'm seeing with SD over component isn't just bad resolution-- it's flat out horrible color reproduction and black level rendition. It looks just as bad 15 or 20 feet away as it does 3 feet away. Like I said... everything is dark, dark, dark and the color are very dull. Yet when I switch to S-video, suddenly I can see details on clothing and faces where before I saw nothing but dark grey patches.

So are you saying that you noticed SD over component looks SIGNIFANTLY worse than SD via s-video?

If I could get acceptable SD and great HD through a single HDMI input I might go that route but I am somewhat skeptical that that will be the case.

Nope... what I'm seeing with SD over component isn't just bad resolution-- it's flat out horrible color reproduction and black level rendition. It looks just as bad 15 or 20 feet away as it does 3 feet away. Like I said... everything is dark, dark, dark and the color are very dull. Yet when I switch to S-video, suddenly I can see details on clothing and faces where before I saw nothing but dark grey patches.


Although there was improvement, it was not significant or as bad as you describe. What HDMI and the new cable box gave me was not having to switch inputs whenever I wanted to go from HD to SD. With the old box, I rarely switched to HD.

It sounds like you may have a bad cable box.

Although there was improvement, it was not significant or as bad as you describe. What HDMI and the new cable box gave me was not having to switch inputs whenever I wanted to go from HD to SD. With the old box, I rarely switched to HD.

It sounds like you may have a bad cable box.

I know what Sohr is talking about. The "brightness" of SD over component is so bad that I need to crank up the brightness on my TV to 90 to 100 just to see it. I'm talking so dark that there can literally be people in the scene that I cannot see until I turn the brightness up. Eye sockets are black....that level of darkness.

I will be returning the cable box and trying a different one.

Well I went out to Best Buy and Spent over $200 on the highest end Monster Cables to see for myself the quality of their cables vs Monoprice and to see what cable combinations work best on the Maxent. I had 5 people also watching the setting helping me see what im seeing. Maxent picture Settings are 50,50,25 +1,

I bought the very cheap monoprice HDMI cable and the Component cables - got both less than $20

I have a motorola HD DVR 6412 via comcast & LG LDA-511 Upconvert DVD player

1. HDMI from DVR to PDP (monster brand)
- HD looks very clear- very sharp
-SD looks ok, but i see some macroblocking issues- see some grainyness

2. HDMI from LG DVD player to PDP (monster)
- 480p looks good, colors a tad off, had to re-calibrate for DVD.
-720p definetely sharper, but all it looks like is i raised the sharpness setting all the way up
-1080i- The best setting, from 10 feet away DVD looks clear and better than 720p & 480p

3. DVR via Component to PDP (monster)
- HD looks great, colors seem bright and i cant tell the difference between HDMI
- SD looks pretty good, better than HDMI, no macroblocking issues
- Clearly a better SD picture

4. S-video from DVR box to PDP
- SD looks very grainy
- Worse than HDMI and Component

4. Component (monster) from LG DVD player
- No Upconvert available
480p looks good, no visable difference from HDMI

I re-did the test on the monoprice cables using the double blind method (where only one person knew what was connected)

Absoluletly No one could tell any difference between cables.

There were definetly differences between types of cables used and what source, but not with the brand of cables..

Cant wait to return these to best buy!

So i will use my HDMI for my DVD player and component for my HD and SD TV

How important do folks find the ability to tilt a wall mounted plasma? I'm tring to pick out a wall mount and it seems the tradeoff for tilt is that the panel sticks out further from the wall and it's more expensive. Do you think it's worth it? I do have a window that reflects on my screen, so I wonder if a slight tilt down might help with this?

Thanks

How important do folks find the ability to tilt a wall mounted plasma?

I really like the tilt option becuase it makes plugging cables in so much easier.
It might help with glare from an overhead light but it depends on your seating angle etc.
I bought mine from AV-Clearance on ebay.
It was less than 1/2 of what BB wanted ;)


Good luck,
Token

Ok... I am seeing a ton of greyscale-dithering on my Maxent, especially in dark scenes.

If I pause my DVR on a dark scene and look in dark regions, the image isn't solid-- rather I see a lot of of solid-color pixel-sized noise like the panel is trying to dither. Even with the scene paused, these pixels flicker on and off like snow...

In bright areas of the scene, the image is solid-- no flickering, no noisy snow... just in the darker areas.

This is very evident when using the THX Optimizer with the screen with the THX logo and the dark boxes-- all of the grey boxes show varying levels of non-constant dithering noise.

I've noticed this when using S-video, component, and HMDI so it doesn't appear to be an input issue... and I don't think it's a source issue anymore, either-- there should be no reason why the grey boxes on the THX Optimizer should be anything but smooth and solid.

Can someone else with a Maxent and either a DVR or a DVD with the THX Optimizer verify if this is normal for this panel or not?

yea, let us know what kind of mount you decide on, i really need one that can tilt also. how far do they stick out?

The tilt version sticks out about 2.5-3" more than the fixed version. I started with the tilt but returned it and switched to the fixed.

The tilt version sticks out about 2.5-3" more than the fixed version.
Did you find that the 3" made a difference? How so?

FWIW, I was removing speakers and rearranging components this evening and got around to hooking up my S-video cable to the SA8300HD.

I bounced back and forth between component and SV and could see no difference in picture quality on SD programming.

I had always had a nice bright image on SD, some SD programming seems to hold up better than others.

FWIW, I was removing speakers and rearranging components this evening and got around to hooking up my S-video cable to the SA8300HD.

I bounced back and forth between component and SV and could see no difference in picture quality on SD programming.

I had always had a nice bright image on SD, some SD programming seems to hold up better than others.


Same here. I have the 6412 and I can see little to no difference in image quality. If you put a gun to my head I would say the s-video is "slightly" more defined (I had Alito's red checked tie on pause and flipped between inputs--the s-video was ever so slightly more defined as compared to a slightly blurry definition under component), but not enough to bother with having to go through the motions of changing screens and inputs with channel surfing. Color and brightness were negligable.

Hmmm... I wonder if this is just a variance from set to set, or just STB to STB.

I finally connected an HDMI cable from my 6412 to the Maxent, and SD looks about as good as it does via S-video. HD looks just about as good as it does through component.

However, SD through component still looks like junk. Strange...

Also, is it just me, or is Cinema mode completely unwatchable? Even with all of the lights out in our family room, everything we watched was just way, way too dark... like watching the world through squinted eyes....


On another note, can anyone else with a Maxent and a Finding Nemo DVD (or any other DVD with a THX optimizer) confirm that they see the temporal dithering I am seeing on the screen with the THX logo and several dark boxes?? Pretty please??

On another note, can anyone else with a Maxent and a Finding Nemo DVD (or any other DVD with a THX optimizer) confirm that they see the temporal dithering I am seeing on the screen with the THX logo and several dark boxes?? Pretty please??

I didn't know Finding Nemo had a THX optimizer but I can give it a try this weekend ;)
I have noticed pixelization occassionally in darks scenes. Last time was this weeks episode of Lost via OTA on a DTV HD Tivo.

Token

Did you find that the 3" made a difference? How so?
It's rather subjective based on your decor and what you have around the display - in my case, the display is the only thing on the wall so it literally sticks out like a sore thumb :)

It's rather subjective based on your decor and what you have around the display - in my case, the display is the only thing on the wall so it literally sticks out like a sore thumb :)Even if it sat flush with the wall, a 50" plasma HDTV is gonna "stick out like a sore thumb". :p

Side note: been watching a LOT of downloaded HDTV programming on my modded Xbox the past week or so. Picture quality is VERY good...not *quite* "true" HDTV, but very close. It's gotten to the point that I prefer downloading it, since the commercials are taken out and it's one continuous show. ;)

Hmmm... I wonder if this is just a variance from set to set, or just STB to STB.

I finally connected an HDMI cable from my 6412 to the Maxent, and SD looks about as good as it does via S-video. HD looks just about as good as it does through component.

However, SD through component still looks like junk. Strange...

Also, is it just me, or is Cinema mode completely unwatchable? Even with all of the lights out in our family room, everything we watched was just way, way too dark... like watching the world through squinted eyes....


On another note, can anyone else with a Maxent and a Finding Nemo DVD (or any other DVD with a THX optimizer) confirm that they see the temporal dithering I am seeing on the screen with the THX logo and several dark boxes?? Pretty please??

I also see the dithering that you are referring to, although my dvd player is a dinosaur, ( 480i only, hooked up through component ) I used the THX optimizer to get in the ball park on the settings and then found some scenes that were almost total darkness, such as a starry sky or space scene and adjusted the contrast until the dark scenes were evenly black ( no grey blocks or pixelation ). I found that there is a precise point ( 51 to 52 ) where the contrast made the scene go from evenly black to being pixelated and blotchy. I then found other scenes of varying light levels and adjusted the brightness until I was happy with the details overall. I agree that cinema mode is too dark also. There is a good sticky on this forum about setting video adjustments ( don't remember where it is ) but it helped alot with getting mine dialed in.

Anybody got an XBOX 360 hooked up? What settings did you use? I have been trying to set it to 1080i or 720p, but it keeps defaulting back to 480i. I've got it going through composite cables and Im trying to change the settings in the dashboard "initial settings".

Anybody got an XBOX 360 hooked up? What settings did you use? I have been trying to set it to 1080i or 720p, but it keeps defaulting back to 480i. I've got it going through composite cables and Im trying to change the settings in the dashboard "initial settings".

Do you mean composite cables, or component? If composite (red, white, and yellow), that's your problem... composite, like s-video, is 480i only.

Do you mean composite cables, or component? If composite (red, white, and yellow), that's your problem... composite, like s-video, is 480i only.


Sorry, I meant component. it's been a long day. Everytime I set the xbox to 720p or 1080i, the Maxent intially goes to that setting (i can tell from the display on the top left corner or in the settings), but then quickly defaults back to 480i.

Not sure if the xbox is not pushing out the right signal. Could be an xbox issue.

---

Turns out there is a toggle switch on the component cable connection on the xbox. I had mine set to "tv" and not "hd". Flipped the switch and now everything looks great!

Been reading this thread all week and managed to track down a store that was fairly close with a few X3's. The jackass store person I talked to confused them with an M11 even though I stated x3. By the time I got there and realized his mistake, the store here that had six in stock had them all sold. I'm rather pissed. My entire TV plans are shelved. Congrats to those that got an X3. There really isn't a decent plasma anywhere in that price range right now.

Im sure they have them at the main warehouse if you live near a larger city. Only 2 best buy stores in chicago out of like 25 had one in stock that wasnt a floor unit. The main warehouse had 99 in stock. I went to a best buy who had the lowest sales tax and told them i wanted it they didnt even have one around or on the shelf, then i paid and they gave me a willcall slip and we drove 45 minutes to pick it up from the warehouse...

I recently purchased a sony 42a10 with a 10% coupon and $49.99 delivery on dec. 25. at a best buy store. I just recently realized the set has noticeable red splotches on a black screen and started doing some more research. I finally decided on the 50x-3 because I believe it is currently the best deal in town. Tonight I returned the Sony 42a10 in exchange for the 50x3. Best Buy applied the previously applicable 10% coupon to the newer purchase and also provided free delivery. Overall, the process took approximately half an hour with the customer representative, but I was extremely satisfied with the resolution. Now I am really anxious to get the set, which will be delivered this Sunday.

Can someone else with a Maxent and either a DVR or a DVD with the THX Optimizer verify if this is normal for this panel or not?

I ran the THX Optomizer from Nemo and didn't notice any pixelization during the test patterns. I'm using a Sony Sony DVPCX985V DVD Changer set to 480P using Component Cables. My TV Settings are 60, 74,40,0,40.

Good luck,
Token

The tilt version sticks out about 2.5-3" more than the fixed version. I started with the tilt but returned it and switched to the fixed.

The Sanus VMPL tilt mount puts the TV just a hair under 3" from the wall.

Good luck,

Token

Question 1: Does Maxent have discrete input IR codes for programing macros?Someone hasn't bothered to read the whole thread, have they? :rolleyes:
Question 2: Is anyone using Harmony or Home Theater Master remotes with the MX-50X3?I repeat, Someone hasn't bothered to read the whole thread, have they? :rolleyes:

What does "image shift" do and what is the recommended setting for it?

What does "image shift" do and what is the recommended setting for it?

Just what it says...It shifts the image every x seconds depending on your setting. Helps prevent burn in. I have mine set to 10 seconds.

I want to share a very informative information about the amex card buyer benefit program. I purchased sony 32 inches flat screen regular TV at around six hundred bugs at circuit city during February 2004 by using the Amex Card. Since the intial warranty for the sony tv was for one year till Febraury 2005, by using amex card it got extended for another one year till February 2006. On 2nd Jan 2006, the TV stopped functioning, and since I also did not purchased the extended warranty plan from Circuit City, there was no way I can call sony or Circuit city to look into the problem. I called the Amex credit card buyer protection customer care, and told about the problem. They immediately opened the claim, and asked me that incase if I am able to locate the purchase receipt of the TV, then try to Fax it or if I am not able to locate the purchase receipt then no need to worry. I called yesterday to check the status of the claim, and the customer care rep told me that processed the claim, and mailed the check of six hundred bugs to me on 12th Jan 2006. I was in happy mood, and so inquired about the Maxent purchase, and she told me that if something happen to the Maxent purchase within the two year from the date of purchase, they will do the same refund process of sending the total price of the purchase. So folks, my current experience clearly shows the very good example of using amex card of making big electronics purchase because of their buyer protection program.

Just what it says...It shifts the image every x seconds depending on your setting. Helps prevent burn in. I have mine set to 10 seconds.


Thanks! I set it at 10 also. Doesn't seem to effect PQ any and since I watch a lot of ESPN (damn ESPN logo) and xbox 360, it's probably best that I have it on.

Hey robert, first of thanks for your suggestions for the setting. Your suggestion for

contrast
brightness
sharpness
tint
noise reduction
color temp

really helped all the new buyer of plasma, and also seeing today your reply for the image shift setting helped me to understand the concept and setting.

Robert, if possible pls also tell us know what are the other setting within the picture menu we need(new buyer to plasma) to follow to avoid all the pitfalls of using this maxent.

Thanks once again for your valuable setting suggestions.

I believe someone posted about this earlier but I cant remember what they were calling it. I have been noticing from 2 seperate source some "flickering". The pictures seems to occasionally and randomly get brighter and darker as if someone is adjusting the contrast or brightness. Has anyone else seen this and/or found a explanation or solution?

Thanks.

Yeah, I also notice it when watching SD on directv, though I've never seen it when watching DVDs, so it might be related to compression/low quality signal which may give the color/chroma decoders a difficult time.

I believe someone posted about this earlier but I cant remember what they were calling it. I have been noticing from 2 seperate source some "flickering". The pictures seems to occasionally and randomly get brighter and darker as if someone is adjusting the contrast or brightness. Has anyone else seen this and/or found a explanation or solution?

Thanks.

I've noticed this as well... mostly on SD, but sometimes even on HD when there are letterboxes on the top and bottom.

I know for sure it's not a source issue, either-- when I go frame by frame on my DVR, I can't reproduce it. However, when playing at normal speed it occurs at the same time in the same places.

The funny thing is that it seems to go away, or occur at different places, if I used a different zoom option.

This is a known problem with just about all 42" Pannys, and there have been some with 50" Pannys saying they have the same issue-- but some other owners swear they have never noticed it.

I think there is something in the Maxent and the Pannys that is adjusting the brightness level based on the content of the screen... I wish I could find a way to turn it off...

Someone hasn't bothered to read the whole thread, have they? :rolleyes:
I repeat, Someone hasn't bothered to read the whole thread, have they? :rolleyes:

this is a 37 page thread, we can't expect that each new person coming here has read it all.

I believe someone posted about this earlier but I cant remember what they were calling it. I have been noticing from 2 seperate source some "flickering". The pictures seems to occasionally and randomly get brighter and darker as if someone is adjusting the contrast or brightness. Has anyone else seen this and/or found a explanation or solution?

Thanks.

I noticed this on the xbox. I thought it was the image shifting, so I turned it off, it seemed to go away, but then I turned it back on and it hasnt come back yet. I dont think it's the image shifting, and I expect it to come back. I will keep an eye on it.

One other thing I noticed about this (and again it could just be me), but I am trying to be really careful about keeping the contrast and brightness low for the first 100 hours. There are times when I look and can swear the brightness looks higher. I have checked to make sure it was still set to low and it was. Could it be that whatever is adjusting the brightness does it so slowly that you can't notice it most times?

Most recently this is occurring while watching a DVD and I have seen it happen also on HD, both over component.

this is a 37 page thread, we can't expect that each new person coming here has read it all.

Why not?

I read every page on the 42x3 and didn't even buy it.

I read every page on the Samsung 850 DVD player before even buying it.

I read countless threads in their entirety and didn't even buy the item in the end.

If you actually own the electronic device I think you owe it to yourself to read the entire thread as this forum tends to have some great information that can't be found elsewhere. Heaven forbid you learn something. :rolleyes:

If you were to cut out the posts asking about things that are already covered then this thread would probably be less than 30 pages.

I've noticed this as well... mostly on SD, but sometimes even on HD when there are letterboxes on the top and bottom.

I know for sure it's not a source issue, either-- when I go frame by frame on my DVR, I can't reproduce it. However, when playing at normal speed it occurs at the same time in the same places.

The funny thing is that it seems to go away, or occur at different places, if I used a different zoom option.

This is a known problem with just about all 42" Pannys, and there have been some with 50" Pannys saying they have the same issue-- but some other owners swear they have never noticed it.

I think there is something in the Maxent and the Pannys that is adjusting the brightness level based on the content of the screen... I wish I could find a way to turn it off...

This is interesting, because this just stared happening to me about a week or so. I was about to post about this, and found you other guys posting the same problem.

for me, it happend periodically on dark scenes. It's like it toggles back and forth between a higher brightness level. I too suspected it was the image shift, and just turned it off today, and will see what happens.

Why not?

I read every page on the 42x3 and didn't even buy it.

I read every page on the Samsung 850 DVD player before even buying it.

I read countless threads in their entirety and didn't even buy the item in the end.

If you actually own the electronic device I think you owe it to yourself to read the entire thread as this forum tends to have some great information that can't be found elsewhere. Heaven forbid you learn something. :rolleyes:

If you were to cut out the posts asking about things that are already covered then this thread would probably be less than 30 pages.

I too have read many, many 35+ page threads in their entirety, including ones for products I don't own, and will never own. I'm just saying that I don't think most people here will do that.

I too have many, many 35+ page threads in their entirety, including ones for products I don't own, and will never own. I'm just saying that I don't think most people here will do that.

These are the same people who shouldn't expect a speedy reply when the answer has already been posted at least once in this very thread. They could also try a search as they would be amazed what has been answered already and this is the reason the search was created and if more people searched before posting the forums would be so much cleaner.

These are the same people who shouldn't expect a speedy reply when the answer has already been posted at least once in this very thread. They could also try a search as they would be amazed what has been answered already and this is the reason the search was created and if more people searched before posting the forums would be so much cleaner.

Let's not get offtopic here, but I'll just say one more thing. Whereas I agree with you, keep in mind that many of the new people here may not be very technical, and have possibly NEVER used a message board before this. They may not know how it works, or how to best use. That's why I prefer to either the question, or not answer it at all, rather than coming across as snide.

That's all I'll say on the matter, now back to our regularly scheduled program.

finally went and got the rs232c cable from radio shack ~ $16 with tax.
hooked it up and started to mess with the settings. my default settins were somewhat different then some other people's. anyhow, i did get the green push to go away only now i see a slight yellow push.

besides the ones already posted in this thread, would anyone else like to share their settings? mine are set to ones on page 24 or 25.

i'll try messing around with it more to see if i can get it perfect.

-armus

Does there happen to be a pdf of the user manual? (I searched with no luck)

Can anyone list the zoom/panorama options? Is there an automatic mode by chance?

Also wondering about the PIP/POP options... I have read one source must be HDMI but wondering about picture placement options... e.g. split screen?

thanks in advance! this thread has been a great resource. I don't think any of the above was covered and if it was I can't find the right page now! (or get a relevant search result).

Robert,

I got my set today and I have to say I am not as happy as I hoped I would be.

I hate to say that my Panny TH42PD25UP EDTV has a better HD picture than this set.

This is coming from a SA4200HD box using DVI-HDMI monster cable :D

I never used AVIA on either just stole some settings from this forum.

I have already sold the old Gateway 42" plasma in the den to a friend and the Panny is there now. Maxent 50" is in the bedroom.

Not sure at this point if I am going to keep it or not.

I looked at this panel at BB this week. It looked horid compared to the Panny panels...the PD50 Ed next to it blew it away. Next...tried a local retailer using cable HD...did a side by side...the Maxent was soft.

I don't get the enthusiasm for this thing.

I looked at this panel at BB this week. It looked horid compared to the Panny panels...the PD50 Ed next to it blew it away. Next...tried a local retailer using cable HD...did a side by side...the Maxent was soft.

I don't get the enthusiasm for this thing.

And tell me....Did you ask to get the remote and adjust the settings yourself? It's already been discussed how BB is notorious for down adjusting their loss leaders (Maxent). They don't want to sell them...It's also why not many BB's even have them on the floor. Of course the Panny looks better next to it. It's classic bait and switch. Get them in the store with the low priced Maxent, make it look crappy, put the 'beautiful' panny next to it, and there you go.

Incidently, Once I spent a couple of hours in a BB adjusting the picture, I thought the Panny HD model still looked better too...But not 2K better, and certainly the Maxent didn't look 'Horrid'. As for the ED version, NO WAY it looks better. Yes, it has a little better white reproduction, but the picture was no way near as sharp when viewing HD sources. And if you were viewing DVD or SD material, of course it looks better as do all ED sets whose native resolution is more closely matched.

Anyone who has caught my last few posts about dvd players knows that I have been unhappy finding one that can make the dvd's look good on the Maxent 50x3. I was worried that this was the television. Admittedly, I am not too technical so I may be missing something but I had the chance to realize something this weekend.....

I have been using The Matrix to test the PQ through DVD players on the Maxent. All have bad picture crawl in dark scenes. I noticed on TNTHD through Comcast this weekend that they were playing The Matrix. I tuned in to the TNTHD channel and watched it. I have to say that the picture was perfect, no crawl, good brightness and detail. Black areas were, well, black like they should be and didn't look "alive".

So, I have to say that in my opinion, all my issues have been source related. When a good source is being used, I am ecstatic. A bad source is just what it is. I've decided to wait for PS3 to be launched so I can jump on the Blu-Ray bandwagon and get DVD's encoded with more quality and less compression. Who will will the format war I don't know but I'm willing to wait it out.

I hope this helps.

Does there happen to be a pdf of the user manual? (I searched with no luck)

Can anyone list the zoom/panorama options? Is there an automatic mode by chance?



I don't know if there's a PDF for the manual anywhere, but the zoom/panarama modes are (recalling from the top of my head):

16x9 -- assumes the signal is in 16x9 format and stretches appropriately.
4x3 -- assumes the signal is 4x3 format and displays it pillarboxed in center of screen
Panorama -- stretches content to fit the screen, with the strech being more focused on the edges. The center of the image is left unstretched.
Zoom1/Zoom2 -- zooms in the image, streching the image the same in all dimensions. I don't recall what Zoom2 does different than Zoom1...



Also wondering about the PIP/POP options... I have read one source must be HDMI but wondering about picture placement options... e.g. split screen?


As far as I've been able to play around with it, your primary source must be HMDI. Hitting the PIP button brings up a small window with a different source in one of the corners. As far as I can tell, you can change the corner where the second source is... but otherwise you cannot change the location or size of the second source. In other words, no true split screen...

I don't recall what Zoom2 does different than Zoom1...

Zoom 2 does an upward shift to keep any captioning, etc. viewable.

Anyone who has caught my last few posts about dvd players knows that I have been unhappy finding one that can make the dvd's look good on the Maxent 50x3.
I broke down and purchased the Oppo for a test run. Only gone through a few DVDs so nothing real firm to report. MB is present. Don't know yet if it's going to be as bad as the other upscaling units I tried before (Toshiba/Samsung).

Reason for the trial run rather than waiting for MPEG4 is that there will always be previously purchased DVDs, etc. that I will want to play even when HD DVDs are available. And, although, backwards compatibility might be present with the newer players, I am doubting that their ability to handle MPEG2 material will be as state-of-the-art as found with players such as the Oppo.

Was there anyone that bought the Maxent who was on the fence comparing it to The Zenith Z50PX2D ? Its acually cheaper than the Maxent this week and I am still in my 30 day period... I was originally looking at this set and it was out of my price range...
But then again I am happy with my Maxy

hmmm

I don't know if there's a PDF for the manual anywhere, but the zoom/panarama modes are (recalling from the top of my head):

16x9 -- assumes the signal is in 16x9 format and stretches appropriately.
4x3 -- assumes the signal is 4x3 format and displays it pillarboxed in center of screen
Panorama -- stretches content to fit the screen, with the strech being more focused on the edges. The center of the image is left unstretched.
Zoom1/Zoom2 -- zooms in the image, streching the image the same in all dimensions. I don't recall what Zoom2 does different than Zoom1...


As far as I've been able to play around with it, your primary source must be HMDI. Hitting the PIP button brings up a small window with a different source in one of the corners. As far as I can tell, you can change the corner where the second source is... but otherwise you cannot change the location or size of the second source. In other words, no true split screen...

Zoom 2 does an upward shift to keep any captioning, etc. viewable.

Thanks for the quick info! I'm slightly irritated that there is no manual available online but you nicely filled in the holes. :)

I'm slightly irritated that there is no manual available online but you nicely filled in the holes. :)

Don't be:

Maxent MX-50X3 Owner's Manual

Part 1: Pages 01-20 (http://www.maxentusa.com/uploads/files/225.pdf)
Part 2: Pages 21-40 (http://www.maxentusa.com/uploads/files/226.pdf)
Part 3: Pages 41-64 (http://www.maxentusa.com/uploads/files/227.pdf)

Was there anyone that bought the Maxent who was on the fence comparing it to The Zenith Z50PX2D ? Its acually cheaper than the Maxent this week and I am still in my 30 day period... I was originally looking at this set and it was out of my price range...
But then again I am happy with my Maxy

hmmm

My wife and I really like the removable speakers of the Maxent, plus it seems to have a thinner frame than others which makes removing the speakers even more appealing. That was the main deciding factor compared to the Zenith actually. The integrated tuners in the Zenith seemed to be the only big feature difference and we decided we weren't going to need those anyway with cable... though I have heard local channels often look better OTA which would make tuners a plus. Another very minor thing was that the Zenith only accepts 1024x768 via VGA (I think) and also it's nice not to deal with a mail-in rebate.

I should say right now that this is our first HDTV and frankly, looking at the picture quality in the stores we can't tell much of a difference between any of the plasmas. Any difference we do see can easily be attributed to individual calibrations or signal strength issues due to splitting, etc. So I've read a lot of threads to hear others impressions and plan to make a final verdict once it is set up in home.

We finally got to Costco to look at the Vizio and the Philips 50PF7220A which were the other major contenders. PQ again looked fine on both. I was a really interested in the Vizio partially because I thought the black frame would look nice, but in person it was bumpy and a little flimsy looking. My wife didn't like the bottom speakers anyway so that ruled it out. The Philips I'm still considering if the Maxent doesn't work out once I set it up. The speakers aren't removable but the tuner/cablecard and 2 hdmi's are appealing and it seems like a more feature rich television all around (the menus are pretty, lol) But even with the sale price in a week or two it would come out to be several hundred dollars more and I'm probably not going to need any of the extras anyway. And the wife loves those removable speakers....

Our Maxent should arrive this week... still have to schedule HD cable though.

Don't be:

Maxent MX-50X3 Owner's Manual


Awesome! I swear they weren't on that site last night (or maybe I was just too tired). :)

Yea, I do like not having the speakers attached. I dont plan on returning it but its tempting to see that low of a price...

Thanks for the advice :)

Do you also need to attach a vga cable to the computer, when the rs-232 is attached to the computer?

Do you also need to attach a vga cable to the computer, when the rs-232 is attached to the computer?

The RS-232 is a serial data connection that is used to read and send data to the display. Most often used to alter the display parameters. Data shows up on the computer display that is connected to the serial port.

The VGA connection is a video connection used to display video from a computer on the Maxent.

Awesome! I swear they weren't on that site last night (or maybe I was just too tired). :)
They never were and still aren't.

thank you Monolithic

I looked at this panel at BB this week. It looked horid compared to the Panny panels...the PD50 Ed next to it blew it away. Next...tried a local retailer using cable HD...did a side by side...the Maxent was soft.

I don't get the enthusiasm for this thing.

My stepfather just recently bought the Panasonic 50", and he has it hooked up to the same HD DVR with the same component cables, and I like the PQ of mine a LOT better. His picture isn't as clear, and looks pixelated and jaggy in a lot of spots, whereas mine does not.

My stepfather just recently bought the Panasonic 50", and he has it hooked up to the same HD DVR with the same component cables, and I like the PQ of mine a LOT better. His picture isn't as clear, and looks pixelated and jaggy in a lot of spos, whereas mine does not.

hmmm.. has anyone from his service provider checked the quality of his signal? a weak signal could cause problems...

-armus

hmmm.. has anyone from his service provider checked the quality of his signal? a weak signal could cause problems...

-armus

that's not the case with HD channels. With HD channels, you either get the channel, you get nothing, or you get a scrambled mess of squares across the screen. The scrambled mess of squares comes when the signal is not strong enough. As long as it is strong enough, it will display the picture perfectly.

Signal strength is more relevant for analog cable. I have hooked up many adjustable amplifiers to my cable, and the only thing it affects is te qualityof analog cable.

They never were and still aren't.

??????

You just posted a link to the Maxent's user guide in PDF format, and then you say they aren't there and never were?????


:confused:

??????You just posted a link to the Maxent's user guide in PDF format, and then you say they aren't there and never were?????
:confused:
There is no hyperlink for the owner's manual on the Maxent website.

I am noticing a terrible picture over rgb. The red seems extremely bright. Is this red push? If so is there a way to correct it?

My wife and I really like the removable speakers of the Maxent, plus it seems to have a thinner frame than others which makes removing the speakers even more appealing...

We finally got to Costco to look at the Vizio and the Philips 50PF7220A which were the other major contenders. PQ again looked fine on both. I was a really interested in the Vizio partially because I thought the black frame would look nice, but in person it was bumpy and a little flimsy looking. My wife didn't like the bottom speakers anyway so that ruled it out....

And the wife loves those removable speakers....

Our Maxent should arrive this week... still have to schedule HD cable though.

I've narrowed it down to the Vizio and the Maxent... finally found a Maxent to look at, and they didn't have an HD feed into it... just a DVD that kept locking up... I think they are really trying to sell this (right). I wish the Maxent had a black frame... or the Vizio had removable speakers. Let me know what you think of the Maxent when you get it connected to HD.

Thanks,
JayMan

arrghh..just purchased an xbox 360 vga cable which supports 1360 X 768...minimal scaling was my goal...unfortunately the tv itself rejects 1360 x 768. I was this close to kicking a hole through the screen

arrghh..just purchased an xbox 360 vga cable which supports 1360 X 768...minimal scaling was my goal...unfortunately the tv itself rejects 1360 x 768. I was this close to kicking a hole through the screen

Dang, that does seem like an oversight on microsoft's part... supporting 1360 and not 1366.

If it makes you feel better, I looked at the Vizio manual and the Philips manual and they support a max resolution of 1280x768 through the pc/vga port. So the Maxent is at least offering an additional larger resolution.

Does anyone experience a wierd pixelation problem in HD, I was watching 24 and there was this orange skin blocking thing during the dark scenes that started to bother me. Almost like their skin was peeling off.

I have it hooked up from my HD DVR box via Component..

Or i guess it could have been a poor feed from Fox...

anyone?

Does anyone experience a wierd pixelation problem in HD, I was watching 24 and there was this orange skin blocking thing during the dark scenes that started to bother me. Almost like their skin was peeling off.

I have it hooked up from my HD DVR box via Component..

Or i guess it could have been a poor feed from Fox...

anyone?

I noticed this too. I had Desperate Housewives recording at the same time so I'm not sure if pulling two HD sources was straining my signal or what. However, Desperate Housewives was very clear. I think that the broadcast quality might be to blame here. All of my other HD shows, etc. were just fine.

I finally got around to mounting my TV:

http://adam-snow.com/house/images/01_17_2006/DSCN0460.jpg

http://adam-snow.com/house/images/01_17_2006/DSCN0461.jpg

http://adam-snow.com/house/images/01_17_2006/DSCN0462.jpg

Beautiful Job!!

Love the flush look, no visable mount showing!

How is the viewing angle when you are sitting on the ends ?

I finally got around to mounting my TV:

http://adam-snow.com/house/images/01_17_2006/DSCN0461.jpg


That looks great. Where did you get that stand? I'm trying to find something like that and am having a hell of a time. What I do find is over $1,000 and I'm not spending that much on something so simple.

NEW 2006 Panels from MAXENT
Anyone seen this. - I looked around at the MAXENT site but they had no addtional info on what has changed on the new models

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maxent Unveils 2006 Line of Value-Packed Plasma Displays at Consumer Electronics Show
Updated Family of Maxent 42- and 50-Inch Enhanced- and High-Definition Plasma Displays Includes Addition of ThunderPanel Displays Which Deliver Rich, Robust Audio Performance



-- MX-42EPM20 42" Enhanced Definition Video Monitor
-- MX-42EPT20 42" Enhanced Definition Television with ATSC OTA Tuner
-- MX-42EPT21 42" Enhanced Definition Television with ATSC OTA/QAM
--- MX-42EPT22 42" Enhanced Definition Television DCR w/CableCARD

--- MX-42HPM20 42" High Definition Video Monitor
--- MX-42HPT20 42" High Definition Television with ATSC OTA Tuner
--- MX-42HPT21 42" High Definition Television with ATSC OTA/QAM tuner
--- MX-42HPT22 42" High Definition Television DCR w/CableCARD

--- MX-50HPM20 50" High Definition Video Monitor
--- MX-50HPT20 50" High Definition Television with ATSC OTA Tuner
-- MX-50HPT21 50" High Definition Television with ATSC OTA/QAM tuner
-- MX-50HPT22 50" High Definition Television DCR w/CableCARD

--- MX-42HPM30 42" ThunderPanel HD Video Monitor
--- MX-42HPT30 42" ThunderPanel HD Television with ATSC OTA Tuner --
--- MX-42HPT31 42" ThunderPanel HD Television with ATSC OTA/QAM Tuner
--- MX-42HPT32 42" ThunderPanel HD Television DCR w/CableCARD

Addtional Info

I did find this in a press release..............
...........
Maxent's ThunderPanels are among the most versatile displays on the market offering a variety of connectivity options including: two HDMI inputs, RGB inputs, two sets of Composite/S-Video inputs, two sets of SD/HD component video inputs, discrete audio inputs for each video input, a composite video output, and an RS-232 remote control port.

The Maxent ThunderPanel will be available through retailers and warehouse stores nationwide in Q2 2006 at a list price of ..........


----------------------------

Looks like someone is listening (2 HDMI )

Beautiful Job!!

Love the flush look, no visable mount showing!

How is the viewing angle when you are sitting on the ends ?

viewing angle is awesome. i can stand way in the other room at a sharper angle and view it just fine.

That looks great. Where did you get that stand? I'm trying to find something like that and am having a hell of a time. What I do find is over $1,000 and I'm not spending that much on something so simple.

The stand is made by Bush, and the model number is VS53936. Here is a link to it on the manufacturer's site:

http://www.bush-furniture-online.com/bush_VS53936.html

The MSRP is $209.10, and I got it HHGregg for a little less.

Addtional Info

I did find this in a press release..............
...........
Maxent's ThunderPanels are among the most versatile displays on the market offering a variety of connectivity options including: two HDMI inputs, RGB inputs, two sets of Composite/S-Video inputs, two sets of SD/HD component video inputs, discrete audio inputs for each video input, a composite video output, and an RS-232 remote control port.

The Maxent ThunderPanel will be available through retailers and warehouse stores nationwide in Q2 2006 at a list price of ..........


----------------------------

Looks like someone is listening (2 HDMI )

what is the list price? you're allowed to post MSRP.

The stand is made by Bush, and the model number is VS53936. Here is a link to it on the manufacturer's site:

http://www.bush-furniture-online.com/bush_VS53936.html

The MSRP is $209.10, and I got it HHGregg for a little less.

That store is nowhere near me. I'll do some searching.

Full press release:





Maxent™ Unveils 2006 Line of Value-Packed Plasma Displays at Consumer Electronics Show


Updated Family of Maxent 42- and 50-Inch Enhanced- and High-Definition Plasma Displays Includes Addition of ThunderPanel™ Displays Which Deliver Rich,,Robust Audio Performance




LAS VEGAS - January 5, 2006 - Maxent, a leading provider of value-priced flat-panel display solutions for consumers, today unveiled its 2006 family of feature rich, value-priced, high-performance plasma displays at the 2006 Consumer Electronic Show.



Maxent’s 2006 line of 42- and 50-inch enhanced- and high-definition 16:9 plasma displays all incorporate MotionDSC® II Video Processors to provide advanced video processing capabilities and TrueBlack™ technology to deliver outstanding contrast ratios.



In addition to surround sound enhancement to deliver rich audio through the integrated speaker system, all 2006 Maxent plasma displays feature a wide variety of connectivity options including HDMI inputs, RGB input, two composite/S-video inputs, dual SD/HD component video inputs, discrete audio inputs for each video input, composite video output, and an RS-232 remote control port.



Maxent’s new ThunderPanel™ family of 42-inch plasma displays incorporates advanced audio processing technology and boasts an extensive 60 watt integrated speaker system to provide the best audio performance of any flat panel display in its class.



The 2006 Maxent Plasma display family includes:



MX-42EPM20 42” Enhanced Definition Video Monitor – MSRP $1,599
MX-42EPT20 42” Enhanced Definition Television with ATSC OTA Tuner – MSRP $1,699
MX-42EPT21 42” Enhanced Definition Television with ATSC OTA/QAM tuner – MSRP $1799
MX-42EPT22 42” Enhanced Definition Television DCR w/CableCARD – MSRP $1899


MX-42HPM20 42” High Definition Video Monitor – MSRP $1899
MX-42HPT20 42” High Definition Television with ATSC OTA Tuner – MSRP $1999
MX-42HPT21 42” High Definition Television with ATSC OTA/QAM tuner – MSRP $2099
MX-42HPT22 42” High Definition Television DCR w/CableCARD – MSRP $2,199


MX-50HPM20 50” High Definition Video Monitor – MSRP $2,999
MX-50HPT20 50” High Definition Television with ATSC OTA Tuner – MSRP $3,099
MX-50HPT21 50” High Definition Television with ATSC OTA/QAM tuner – MSRP $3,199
MX-50HPT22 50” High Definition Television DCR w/CableCARD – MSRP $3,299


MX-42HPM30 42” ThunderPanel HD Video Monitor – MSRP$2,299
MX-42HPT30 42” ThunderPanel HD Television with ATSC OTA Tuner – MSRP $2,399
MX-42HPT31 42” ThunderPanel HD Television with ATSC OTA/QAM Tuner – MSRP $2,499
MX-42HPT32 42” ThunderPanel HD Television DCR w/CableCARD – MSRP $2,599


For additional information about Maxent’s digital display products, call (888) 373-4368 or visit website


About Maxent


The Maxent brand is the affordable line of value-packed plasma and LCD digital displays for the consumer market offered by Regent USA.

Headquartered in City of Industry, Calif, Regent USA is a supplier of affordable advanced consumer electronics solutions including LCD and plasma displays, and high-end, high-performance, technologically advanced LCD and plasma monitors for the commercial, education and government sectors, and home theater environments.

Maxent is a registered trademark of Regent USA. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.


©2006 Regent USA, the Maxent Logo, Maxent, and ThunderPanel are trademarks or registered trademarks of Regent USA in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.

I've found a sure-fire way to reproduce what appears to be the infamous black-level shift. I'm not sure if this is just a problem with my set, or the 50X3, or just the Panny glass or electronics (as a lot of Panny users have noticed the same symptoms).

In any case, I've found a sure fire way to reproduce the problem when I hook my laptop up to the RGB input. I open up Excel, or Word, or Internet Explorer (set to google.com), or any other application with a ton of whitespace.

Then, I open up command prompt-- which is a black window. I expand the window as large as possible so it covers up most of the application with the whitespace. Then, I grab the window and I move it around so various parts of the black window run off the edges of the screen. As I do this, I notice the whites in the whitespace area and the blacks in the command prompt window swiftly change.

With the command prompt taking up most of the screen, the whites are bright white and the blacks are very, very deep. When the command prompt is mostly hidden, the whites become quite pale and the blacks become ever-so slighty lighter-- as though the contrast was bumped down.

Anyways... those with a Maxent and a laptop or PC with RGB analog output can easily run this test and verify if your set suffers for black level shift or not.... it will be very obvious...

Otherwise, in RGB mode this panel looks pixel perfect-- good crisp colors, and perfect 1:1 pixel matching when using Powerstrip.

I've found a sure-fire way to reproduce what appears to be the infamous black-level shift. I'm not sure if this is just a problem with my set, or the 50X3, or just the Panny glass or electronics (as a lot of Panny users have noticed the same symptoms).

In any case, I've found a sure fire way to reproduce the problem when I hook my laptop up to the RGB input. I open up Excel, or Word, or Internet Explorer (set to google.com), or any other application with a ton of whitespace.

Then, I open up command prompt-- which is a black window. I expand the window as large as possible so it covers up most of the application with the whitespace. Then, I grab the window and I move it around so various parts of the black window run off the edges of the screen. As I do this, I notice the whites in the whitespace area and the blacks in the command prompt window swiftly change.

With the command prompt taking up most of the screen, the whites are bright white and the blacks are very, very deep. When the command prompt is mostly hidden, the whites become quite pale and the blacks become ever-so slighty lighter-- as though the contrast was bumped down.

Anyways... those with a Maxent and a laptop or PC with RGB analog output can easily run this test and verify if your set suffers for black level shift or not.... it will be very obvious...

Otherwise, in RGB mode this panel looks pixel perfect-- good crisp colors, and perfect 1:1 pixel matching when using Powerstrip.

do you have image shift turned on? i noticed mine shortly after i enabled this feature, and ever since turning it off, i have not noticed the issue

That store is nowhere near me. I'll do some searching.

you can buy it directly from bush from the link i posted

you can buy it directly from bush from the link i posted

Looks like Wal-Mart carries it too. I want something cherry in color and it looks like this is also made in cherry. Now if only Wal-Mart can get one.

I see most people are using Sanus. Is anyone using a Peerless or other brand of mount?

How universal is the mounting pattern on the Maxent?

I am looking for a model that tilts.

Thanks,
Steve

do you have image shift turned on? i noticed mine shortly after i enabled this feature, and ever since turning it off, i have not noticed the issue

Koach

So does it seem like turning off image shifting fixed it? Remember I turned it off, it stpped, then turned it back on and it hasnt come back.

How much does image shifting help? I read somewhere that it doesnt do much.

Looks like Wal-Mart carries it too. I want something cherry in color and it looks like this is also made in cherry. Now if only Wal-Mart can get one.


I have mine on a larger Bush stand, if anyone doesnt want to mount it. I think it's the same line:

http://www.bush-furniture-online.com/bush_VS05850-03.html

I can take pictures if anyone is interested.

Okay, just got this in my house. I don't have cable yet (we just moved, comes tomorrow), but I hooked up the only DVD player I have, which is ancient (Panasonic RV31), and this is what I discovered. I hooked it up via component in the component 2 slot. I immediately went in and adjusted the settings to the 50/50/20/0/1 that everyone has decided on. Popped in Star Wars III. Flipped to the lightsaber fight, and it was unwatchable because it was so dark. I remember Robert having this problem when I read the thread, so scrolled through and on page 14, he said for his DVD through component he had it set at (70,65,40,-2,1), and the picture was much, much better. My question is, Robert and anyone else, is that your setting for your DVD or is it at the 50/50/etc setting.

Secondly, another thing I noticed is in the Senate fight scene, anything that was white, it looked jaggy. That is the best way I can describe it, edges seemed jaggy at times. I am no video expert, so I don't know what that is. Probably need a new DVD.

Third, I want to get a new DVD, what should I get? An upconvert, a progressive? The one I have isn't even a progressive I don't think. I can go upwards of 300 on it, and am really looking for a high quality machine that will match well with the Maxent, so if anyone has suggestions please let me know. So far I love the tv, just curious about these things. Am looking forward to getting the cable hooked up tomorrow.

I'm thinking about the Denon 1920 DVD with my Maxent. Anyone have experience with this one? It's the only upconvert player I've found that also does DVD-A and SACD.

Anyone know if you can get this set calibrated efficiently with an isf guy?

I used AVIA. I didnt have the filters so I cant so I cant comment on color setting but I use:

Contrast: 65
Brightness: 58
Color: 25
Sharpness: 40

Anyone know if you can get this set calibrated efficiently with an isf guy?
When I was speaking with Jay, the support guy at Regent, I asked about this. He said there's a special service remote that allows you to access more parameters.

IF those parameters are the RGB bias and level numbers, it's possible to edit them using the serial interface. If there are more parameters, it's worth getting the service remote.

Okay, just got this in my house. I don't have cable yet (we just moved, comes tomorrow), but I hooked up the only DVD player I have, which is ancient (Panasonic RV31), and this is what I discovered. I hooked it up via component in the component 2 slot. I immediately went in and adjusted the settings to the 50/50/20/0/1 that everyone has decided on. Popped in Star Wars III. Flipped to the lightsaber fight, and it was unwatchable because it was so dark. I remember Robert having this problem when I read the thread, so scrolled through and on page 14, he said for his DVD through component he had it set at (70,65,40,-2,1), and the picture was much, much better. My question is, Robert and anyone else, is that your setting for your DVD or is it at the 50/50/etc setting.

Secondly, another thing I noticed is in the Senate fight scene, anything that was white, it looked jaggy. That is the best way I can describe it, edges seemed jaggy at times. I am no video expert, so I don't know what that is. Probably need a new DVD.

Third, I want to get a new DVD, what should I get? An upconvert, a progressive? The one I have isn't even a progressive I don't think. I can go upwards of 300 on it, and am really looking for a high quality machine that will match well with the Maxent, so if anyone has suggestions please let me know. So far I love the tv, just curious about these things. Am looking forward to getting the cable hooked up tomorrow.

If your DVD players does not have progressive output, it is worth getting. There will be less jaggies.

I'm not convinced that upscaling DVD players are the way to go, but in my experience with the 42x3 the HDMI input does look significantly better than the component inputs. I hear the OPTO is a good player. I use the Sony NS50 and I like it. The model just up the line, think it's the NS70 or NS80, has upscaling and HDMI outputs for about $150. When I bought the NS50 I didn't know the HDMI would look better, and though I don't buy most of the buzz about upscaling players, I would use the HDMI output.

I'm not convinced that upscaling DVD players are the way to go, but in my experience with the 42x3 the HDMI input does look significantly better than the component inputs. I hear the OPTO is a good player. I use the Sony NS50 and I like it. The model just up the line, think it's the NS70 or NS80, has upscaling and HDMI outputs for about $150. When I bought the NS50 I didn't know the HDMI would look better, and though I don't buy most of the buzz about upscaling players, I would use the HDMI output.[/QUOTE]

I have the NS70 set to 480P over HDMI (720 or 1080 shrinks it a bit for my taste and I can't tell that it's any better) and I think it looks pretty good. The Sony NS70 also has it's own picture adjustments and it's helped me tweak the picture quite a bit.

I tried the Denon and it was one of the worst pictures I've seen. I took it back to the store and they guy there hooked it up. He couldn't do anything with it either.

Looks like Wal-Mart carries it too. I want something cherry in color and it looks like this is also made in cherry. Now if only Wal-Mart can get one.
One thing I forgot to mention. This unit is completely enclosed, because there are doors on the front and the back is not open. This means that there is no airflow to your components, and they will run hotter. If you have a dvd player or a vcr, it won't be much of an issue. however, for DVRs and receivers, it will be a big deal, and could cause them to fail much sooner. i hadn't thought about this before i got one, so i figured i would mention it to you

Koach

So does it seem like turning off image shifting fixed it? Remember I turned it off, it stpped, then turned it back on and it hasnt come back.

How much does image shifting help? I read somewhere that it doesnt do much.
i haven't had a chance to watch it much, but I'll report back after I've watched it more.

I'm not convinced that upscaling DVD players are the way to go,They are. A good one, at least.

...but in my experience with the 42x3 the HDMI input does look significantly better than the component inputs.I dunno...my modded Xbox on the component inputs looks pretty darn good with downloaded HD content.

I hear the OPTO is a good player.OPPO. Not "OPTO", OPPO (http://www.oppodigital.com/).

Hi All,

What mounts are people using for their Maxent plasmas?

I'm looking at the Peerless 650 or 660 and wanted to know if anyone else has used either of these

Thanks,
Steve

Hi All,

What mounts are people using for their Maxent plasmas?

I'm looking at the Peerless 650 or 660 and wanted to know if anyone else has used either of these

Thanks,
Steve

Sanus VMPL

Okay, bear with me guys. I just got the TW SA 8300HDDVR hooked up. Anything in HD looks amazing. Anything that is in SD I am unable to stretch. It will not let me do it. When I hit the wide button my options are 4:3 or 16:9. It is hooked up via compnonet cable. When I am on regular SD and hit the wide and it goes to 4:3 I get a double set of bars, the gray ones form TW and the black ones from the tv, and th epicture is vertically compressed. I thought there was a way to stretch the 4:3 shows. Any ideas? I also tried to go in the picture menu to do it, but only gave me 4:3 and 16:9 also. Again HD looks phenomenal, and dark scenes look great at the 50/50/22/0/1, so I guess my dvd issue with dark scenes is because it is old.

Also, how do I set settings on the cable box. I wasn't given a manual. Right now when I switch inputs, the tv is set at 1080i. Is that preferred? Is the tv doing the switching or the cable box. Again, a complete newbie here when it comes ot this stuff so bear with me.

Living in Santa Barbara, I was out at the nearby Costco and saw the 50" Maxent on sale for around $xxxx. It's a set I know nothing about, and would be grateful if you would briefly clue me in on who makes it --- or the panel anyway --- and whether it's a good buy for the price.

It had a good PQ to the extent you can judge this at Costco, which has terrible hook-ups and only an Akia and a Vizio five sets away to compare with.

-- Michael

Gordongordo, Read this thread, ALL your answers are in it.

Dishiki,

Try changing your Standard def to 480i, My cable box lets me choose my SD & HD settings. When my SD is at 480p, it only lets me choose between 16X9 or 4:3, when its on 480i, i get more options like panorama etc..

Living in Santa Barbara, I was out at the nearby Costco and saw the 50" Maxent on sale for around $xxxx. It's a set I know nothing about, and would be grateful if you would briefly clue me in on who makes it --- or the panel anyway --- and whether it's a good buy for the price.

It had a good PQ to the extent you can judge this at Costco, which has terrible hook-ups and only an Akia and a Vizio five sets away to compare with.

-- Michael

The 50" at Costco is not the MX3, but the older MX2...Not the same quality

Okay, bear with me guys. I just got the TW SA 8300HDDVR hooked up. Anything in HD looks amazing. Anything that is in SD I am unable to stretch. It will not let me do it. When I hit the wide button my options are 4:3 or 16:9. It is hooked up via compnonet cable. When I am on regular SD and hit the wide and it goes to 4:3 I get a double set of bars, the gray ones form TW and the black ones from the tv, and th epicture is vertically compressed. I thought there was a way to stretch the 4:3 shows. Any ideas? I also tried to go in the picture menu to do it, but only gave me 4:3 and 16:9 also. Again HD looks phenomenal, and dark scenes look great at the 50/50/22/0/1, so I guess my dvd issue with dark scenes is because it is old.

Also, how do I set settings on the cable box. I wasn't given a manual. Right now when I switch inputs, the tv is set at 1080i. Is that preferred? Is the tv doing the switching or the cable box. Again, a complete newbie here when it comes ot this stuff so bear with me.

I know on my cable box, pressing the # key stretches 4:3 to 16:9 content.

You'll likely have to pump up the settings on your DVD input. The 50/50 settings are normally too dark. I run about 75, 65 on DVD.

Hi All,

What mounts are people using for their Maxent plasmas?

I'm looking at the Peerless 650 or 660 and wanted to know if anyone else has used either of these

Thanks,
Steve

We used the OmniMount U3 Tilt. It was a snap to install except we had a glitch with the tilt function. One of the tension screws on it was defective and cracked when we hung the unit, tilting it all the way forward with no way to fix. You could see the screw wasn't molded properly when looked at closely. Anyway, we wanted the option of tilt but now find we didn't need it.

I recommned the OmniMount non-tilt version because the instructions were simple and it was a snap to get installed.

Jeff, tried putting it at 480i. 480i gives mea a terrible picture. It's a double, kind of blurry picture. Currently, this is what I have set and I think it's okay. On the SA 8300, I have it set to 1080i, 720p, 480p (normal and wide). I didn't check 480i since the picture was terrible. When the cable guy installed he had it at just 1080i and fixed. I have it set to passthrough. When I goto NBCHD it sets to 1080i, if I go to an HD channel that is 720, it'll switch to 720P. WHen I go to a SD channel it it stretches the picture automatically, so I don't have the side bars. The only time I have side bars is on an HD channel not geting HD content. I think this is a good setup. Of course, comments and recommendations are welcome.

I'm considering buying this TV but for the next couple of months I won't have digital cable---only a regular coaxial hookup. Is there any way to switch a coaxial signal to composite? Is there some sort of connector you can buy?

I'm considering buying this TV but for the next couple of months I won't have digital cable---only a regular coaxial hookup. Is there any way to switch a coaxial signal to composite? Is there some sort of connector you can buy?Quick answer: no. http://www.theamazingcams.com/animated_icons/darn.gif.

Long answer: There is no such thing as a "coaxial signal". Coax is the TYPE of cable being used to send the signal into your dwelling. Both my SD and HD signal come into my apartment via a coax cable.

You need a set-top box (aka STB) from your cable provider. This unit doesn't have a tuner, so if you're just plugging the coax cable into the back f your current TV and watching TV, this unit won't be of any use to you, since it does not have a coax input (since it doesn't have a tuner.)

Living in Santa Barbara, I was out at the nearby Costco and saw the 50" Maxent on sale for around $xxxx. It's a set I know nothing about, and would be grateful if you would briefly clue me in on who makes it --- or the panel anyway --- and whether it's a good buy for the price.

It had a good PQ to the extent you can judge this at Costco, which has terrible hook-ups and only an Akia and a Vizio five sets away to compare with.

-- MichaelYou didn't even bother to read the very FIRST post, did you? :rolleyes: http://tampabaymiatas.net/forum/images/smiles/eusa_wall.gif If you had, you might have seen this:

"Note: This is NOT the 50x2 that's been sold at CostCo for quite some time now but the all new 50x3 that will be a Best Buy exclusive (at least through the holiday season)."

Hfelsh, you seem a bit impatient with other members. I would find a new approach to adding to the discussion. We all miss things now and then.

Quick answer: no. http://www.theamazingcams.com/animated_icons/darn.gif.

Long answer: There is no such thing as a "coaxial signal". Coax is the TYPE of cable being used to send the signal into your dwelling. Both my SD and HD signal come into my apartment via a coax cable.

You need a set-top box (aka STB) from your cable provider. This unit doesn't have a tuner, so if you're just plugging the coax cable into the back f your current TV and watching TV, this unit won't be of any use to you, since it does not have a coax input (since it doesn't have a tuner.)

Thanks man, I guess this will save me some money and I won't buy till I get my tax return/ get digital HD cable.

Its pretty interesting that Best Buy is touting this TV as having both HDMI and DVI while it appears there is no DVI input.

http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/7335/7335485_ba.jpg

http://www.comaxtech.com/pic/DVI-co_big.jpg

Hfelsh, you seem a bit impatient with other members. I would find a new approach to adding to the discussion. We all miss things now and then.Give me a break. I could understand if it were buried in the thread...or even on page 2, 3, 4, or heck, at the bottom of page one. But it's right in the freakin' MAIN POST. There's no excuse for missing that, other than stupidity and laziness. :rolleyes:

Thanks man, I guess this will save me some money and I won't buy till I get my tax return/ get digital HD cable.I wouldn't. Got a VCR? That's a tuner, it'll work. Get it while it's cheap, and still available. From my understanding, this unit won't be made anymore due to shortages in the Panny glass.

Its pretty interesting that Best Buy is touting this TV as having both HDMI and DVI while it appears there is no DVI input.We've known that for a while. I may even call them on it sometime. Funny though that they haven't updated their site with the correct info.

Ugh. I seem to get all the little problems :confused: This post is for those who do use the attached speakers. I can't always turn my surround system on due to sleeping children.

Noticed the other day that my left speaker wasn't working. I removed it and tested the speaker jack with an Infinity indoor/outdoor speaker that I have, using standard speaker wire. This speaker tests fine so I know the jack is okay. Contacted Maxent/Regent USA tech support and their response was:

"I suggest that you check you speaker connection.

Regent USA
Technical Support"

Uh, okay, that's helpful. Not. :(

Thinking there might be something loose internally, I figured I'm fairly technical so I took the speaker down, took the bracket off, removed any screws I could find but still couldn't get inside unless I cracked the thing open with maybe a screwdriver. Then called Magnolia Home Theater at BB where I bought it and shared my story. Lady said that as it's under 30 days since I bought it to bring the entire TV in for an exchange. Yikes, I love the TV, but this is not really something I want to do just for a faulty speaker!

Anyway, has anyone else had any problems with a speaker cutting out on them? Any ideas on a course of action? Maybe wait til 30 days is up then call on my extended warranty?

Mucho gracias amigos.

I'm more than half-deaf, so I can't hear jack *unless* my 5.1 surround-sound speakers are on. But I have the Maxent speakers connected and I'll check this evening (I can put my ear right by it and hear something, so if I dont' hear anything...I've either gotten worse, or the speaker doesn't work.)

I wouldn't. Got a VCR? That's a tuner, it'll work. Get it while it's cheap, and still available. From my understanding, this unit won't be made anymore due to shortages in the Panny glass.

So if I run the F connector coaxial cable into the VCR, I can then run coaxial cables from the VCR to the TV to run the cable signal?

Ugh. I seem to get all the little problems :confused: This post is for those who do use the attached speakers. I can't always turn my surround system on due to sleeping children.

Noticed the other day that my left speaker wasn't working. I removed it and tested the speaker jack with an Infinity indoor/outdoor speaker that I have, using standard speaker wire. This speaker tests fine so I know the jack is okay. Contacted Maxent/Regent USA tech support and their response was:

"I suggest that you check you speaker connection.

Regent USA
Technical Support"

Uh, okay, that's helpful. Not. :(

Thinking there might be something loose internally, I figured I'm fairly technical so I took the speaker down, took the bracket off, removed any screws I could find but still couldn't get inside unless I cracked the thing open with maybe a screwdriver. Then called Magnolia Home Theater at BB where I bought it and shared my story. Lady said that as it's under 30 days since I bought it to bring the entire TV in for an exchange. Yikes, I love the TV, but this is not really something I want to do just for a faulty speaker!

Anyway, has anyone else had any problems with a speaker cutting out on them? Any ideas on a course of action? Maybe wait til 30 days is up then call on my extended warranty?

Mucho gracias amigos.

That's all we've been using is the attached speakers and they've worked fine...And contrary to what some think, they're plenty loud too.

So if I run the F connector coaxial cable into the VCR, I can then run coaxial cables from the VCR to the TV to run the cable signal?Where exactly would you plug the coaxial cables from the VCR to the TV? Considering that th TV does not have a coaxial connector since it doesn't have a tuner.

You can, however, run S-Video (preferable, if your VCR has an output for it), or Video Out (yellow) to the TV, which has two AV inputs. (AV = S-Video cable + red & white audio cables, or Yellow video cable + red & white audio cables.)

Granted, though, that you should keep this in mind: SD is NOT going to "dazzle" you.

Hey Hflesh, are you using an Oppo? If so how do you like it and what do you have it hooked up via (compnonent)? Do you have any of the macroblocking issues that others seem to have? Think I might pull the trigger on it. It's relatively inexpensive.

Where exactly would you plug the coaxial cables from the VCR to the TV? Considering that th TV does not have a coaxial connector since it doesn't have a tuner.

You can, however, run S-Video (preferable, if your VCR has an output for it), or Video Out (yellow) to the TV, which has two AV inputs. (AV = S-Video cable + red & white audio cables, or Yellow video cable + red & white audio cables.)

Granted, though, that you should keep this in mind: SD is NOT going to "dazzle" you.

Hey sorry I meant coaxial into the VCR and composite from the VCR to the TV. But I guess I could go S-Video too.

That sounds like a good solution to me. I might just wind up going for it and getting the Maxent then. It looked pretty good next to the Phillips and other TVs.

I know the standard def isn't going to wow. I mostly play xbox or watch movies on the TV right now anyway.

Noticed the other day that my left speaker wasn't working. I removed it and tested the speaker jack with an Infinity indoor/outdoor speaker that I have, using standard speaker wire. This speaker tests fine so I know the jack is okay.

Thinking there might be something loose internally, I figured I'm fairly technical so I took the speaker down, took the bracket off, removed any screws I could find but still couldn't get inside unless I cracked the thing open with maybe a screwdriver.
Have you tried swapping both the left and right speakers?

Hey Hflesh, are you using an Oppo? If so how do you like it and what do you have it hooked up via (compnonent)? Do you have any of the macroblocking issues that others seem to have? Think I might pull the trigger on it. It's relatively inexpensive.
The Oppo is not meant to be used via component. All its internal goodies are aimed at the DVI port (comes with a DVI to HDMI cable if you order directly from Oppo).

MB issues exist with the Oppo, but I have not had time to make a thorough evaluation (as in is it minor enough to keep the player or wait for Blu-ray). Demi Moore's Half Light sex scenes were pretty bad. But the Rutger Hauer's The Hunt for Eagle One only had very minimal MB. Half Light is 2.35 while the Hunt for Eagle One is 1.85 ratio. Hope to view Lord of War and The Constant Gardener soon. However, via HDMI, when the picture is good, it's really good. So it is a balance between what is an acceptable level of MB to you and the fantastic picture quality.


I've also noticed a definite degradation of local OTA signals as well (which causes MB). Not all stations broadcast at maximum HD bandwidth (they split the bandwidth into sub-channels). I mention this because MB is typically a compression artifact and can occur with any source. Internal scalers can also add to the problem when not enough data exists.

Hey Hflesh, are you using an Oppo? If so how do you like it and what do you have it hooked up via (compnonent)? Do you have any of the macroblocking issues that others seem to have? Think I might pull the trigger on it. It's relatively inexpensive.Common mis-spelling on my name, there...it's f-E-L-s-h, not f-l-e-s-h. :o

The OPPO is connected via DVI, as that's the only way it will upscale. Looks great. SpaceBalls looks so close to "true" HD I can't tell. :p Of the several movies I've watche don it (most recently, "The Chronicles of Narnia" DVD - don't ask how I got it :p ), I've experienced little to none MB issues.

...I know the standard def isn't going to wow. I mostly play xbox or watch movies on the TV right now anyway.Actually, even in 480i, Xbox games look pretty darn good! My kids play all the time. Madden 2k6 and NFL Blitz look excellent.

I'm close to pulling the trigger on this TV. I just want to know two things:

1. Does the standard definition cable pass straight through the VCR like it currently does on my VCR? Right now, the VCR doesn't need to even be on to get a TV signal from it. Would it be the same with s-Video connection or would I need to have the VCR and change the channels on the VCR itself?

2. Does Comcast's HDTV box had a DVI or HDMI connection for high def. If it is DVI, do they make a DVI to HDMI convertor? (I know I could use component cables for the HD source too)

1. Does the standard definition cable pass straight through the VCR like it currently does on my VCR?
It will, but it's not relevant. You must use the internal VCR tuner. The Maxent does not have a tuner.


Right now, the VCR doesn't need to even be on to get a TV signal from it. Would it be the same with s-Video connection or would I need to have the VCR and change the channels on the VCR itself?
Must turn on the VCR to use its tuner. Even with S-Video must have the VCR on to use its tuner.

Actually, even in 480i, Xbox games look pretty darn good! My kids play all the time. Madden 2k6 and NFL Blitz look excellent.

Or get the HD pack for x-box and it looks even better.

Cool. I'll have to find a cheap VCR with an S-Video out then. Something cheap since I won't really need it in a couple of months.

I'm still confused about the 480i, 480p thing. What's the difference. I cannot set my cable box to accept 480i becasue the picture is terrible. So I have it set at 1080i, 720p, 480p. I have it set to passthrough so the TV does the switching. What am I missing out by not using 480i? Should I have that enabled also? With the settings I have, HD comes in great, and SD is auto-stretched to get rid of the black bars. The 8300 is set to pass through, normal.

I'm still confused about the 480i, 480p thing. What's the difference. I cannot set my cable box to accept 480i becasue the picture is terrible. So I have it set at 1080i, 720p, 480p. I have it set to passthrough so the TV does the switching. What am I missing out by not using 480i? Should I have that enabled also? With the settings I have, HD comes in great, and SD is auto-stretched to get rid of the black bars. The 8300 is set to pass through, normal.


You're not missing much by not outputting 480i.

In essence, you are using the cable box's deinterlacer to turn 480i into 480p instead of the Maxent's. Not too big of deal...

If you are happy with your SD, I would just leave it be.

Or get the HD pack for x-box and it looks even better.You know I have it. But the HD pack doesn't make the game run in HD. :rolleyes:

Cool. I'll have to find a cheap VCR with an S-Video out then. Something cheap since I won't really need it in a couple of months.That'd be pretty much any VCR being sold. FYI, no more "new" VCRs are being built afer 2005 (last year), as DVD have *finally* replaced them. No company is manufacturing new VCR units.

Hell, if you're in Tampa Bay FL, I got two sitting on my shelf. Bring me a Vanilla Coke and take your pick. :p

So what is the official personal/consumer recording media then? I don't think dvd recorders are too popular other then the ones designed for PCs.

You know I have it. But the HD pack doesn't make the game run in HD. :rolleyes:

No need for the rolleyes...It does make the game look better. Go to any review site and read the comparison reviews on the SD vs HD pack.

No, it doesn't make a non-HD title run in HD, but it does play it in progressive mode which almost all games are encoded. And it plays it in widescreen mode which many more are encoded. And it plays HD titles that are encoded in 720p.

Also, if not mistaken, the best you'll get out a standard pack with s-video is 600dpi. I believe the HD pack gives you 800dpi.

Not to mention the benefit of digital audio.

I'm trying to figure out if I am seeing a compression problem or false contouring when viewing HD programs. This especially happened on the premiere of 24 and a few movies I've been watching over Comcast. I thought initially it was the signal but now as I read about false contouring I'm starting to think it may be that.

Anyone else noticing bright pink and peach spots on people's faces, etc? Has anyone found any settings to reduce/fix this effect?

YES!! 24 HAS THE WORST PROBLEM!

All the faces seem like there is this peach colored blocks that makes their faced look like they are melting...

So far I only see this on Fox and One other channel. 24 is by far the worse. I have Comcast HD Digital Cable too!

I'm running the basic 50/50/25/+1

All the other HD channels look great!!

anyone esle with this prob! I'm glad im not the only one!

24 looks beautiful on my TV.

YES!! 24 HAS THE WORST PROBLEM!

Not sure if I'm glad to hear that all broadcasts were bad, but 24 is not HD, more like an attempt at HD. I'm suprised that it seems to be Fox itself that is limiting quality - I had just assumed it was my local broadcaster.

EDIT - found out my local Fox station is upgrading their transmitter by this weekend. Hopefully, it will make a difference....

Oppo update - For Lord of War, I spent most of the movie watching Cage's suit due to artifact issues. At the 1 hour 28 minute or so mark there is a long scene with Cage sitting and listening to his wife which was very distracting. Also, I re-watched the prostitute scene on my Pioneer at 480p to see what the actual scene was supposed to look like (the actual scene had weird red lighting and I wasn't sure if it was the upscaler or not - turns out it was the way the scene was shot....).

The Constant Gardener was fine except for a scene where "Sandy" leaned in toward the Constant Gardener's wife while in Sandy's office. This movie has mainly outdoor and bright shots which typically are not conducive to MB.

My personal issue with the upscaling artifacting is that I "come back to reality" while watching the movies when it occurs. Some might not find it as bothersome. I also spent a considerable amount of time watching and re-watching different scenes with various Oppo settings changed. Setting the contrast to -3 seemed to help but did not totally eliminate MB in some scenes.

Not being a true videophile, I guess I am still leaning toward living with 480p for simplicity's sake. If someone is willing to tweak it to their heart's content and post their values, I will try them and see how they turn out. So, I'll keep tweaking and post my results.

So I've been loving this TV, almost 90% fo the time (ESPECIALLY when watching Discovery HD)

However, sometimes I get really bad color banding - and its starting to drive me nuts. I get it both on DVDs (Samsung HD841 outputting via component @ 720p) as well as from my HD DVR box (SA 8300HD also via component).

Anyone have any idea what I can do to get rid of or solve the color banding? If it wasn't for this I would love the set.

Thanks,
Mufaddal

Hi Tech folks, time is running out to do any replacement of our current maxent with zenith Z50PX2D model sale in both BB and circuit city by tomorrow evening, since Jan 21st is the last date of sale of zenith Z50PX2D at BB and circuit city. I think folks the most tech knowledable person in this theard take an additional initiative to compare both maxent and zenith in detailed manner, since we need to protect our investment, since we all have time till 24th Jan 2006 to get replacement for this maxent. I request senior person who had more knowledge about the plasma technology to do the comparision on step by step basis. Thanks to any person who takes the initiative to start this comparision

Hi Tech folks, time is running out to do any replacement of our current maxent with zenith Z50PX2D model sale in both BB and circuit city by tomorrow evening, since Jan 21st is the last date of sale of zenith Z50PX2D at BB and circuit city. I think folks the most tech knowledable person in this theard take an additional initiative to compare both maxent and zenith in detailed manner, since we need to protect our investment, since we all have time till 24th Jan 2006 to get replacement for this maxent. I request senior person who had more knowledge about the plasma technology to do the comparision on step by step basis. Thanks to any person who takes the initiative to start this comparision

Are you serious??? C'mon, there is enough information in this thread and threads about the zenith be it here or on fatwallet. You should be able to make the right decision on which one to have based on this information.

You are an adult, correct? If you need others to tell you how to make large purchases, maybe you shouldn't make such purchases.

I am sick and tired of people that cannot put the EFFORT themselves to do the work and research. I myself am not an AV expert but was able to determine that the Maxent is the right plasma for me. So can you.

-armus

So I've done some tweaking and I realized that I can signifigantly reduce the color banding (especially on peoples faces) by turning the "Color" option down to at least 30 or below. This reduces the saturation and my Maxent is almost perfect at this point.

Now.....if I could only find a way to get the TV to save my "User" settings. Well, back to reading the manual....and searching this thread for answers.

Now.....if I could only find a way to get the TV to save my "User" settings. Well, back to reading the manual....and searching this thread for answers.

What do you mean? When you change a picture setting, it stays that way until you change it again. The settings never default back to their original value. If yours does, you have a defective set.

Back to the issue about the TV seeming to flash a brighter picture on and off (I'm not sure how to describe it, but we talked about it earlier, and someone mentioned that the Panasonic's suffer from this same problem.) It's been driving me nuts lately because I'm watching a show, especially a dark one like "Supernatural", and I see it flash to a brighter setting, then back to normal, and this repeats for the whole show. So I got to thinking, and realized that I never saw this until a few weeks ago. I then remember that a few weeks ago, I changed the brightness from 60 to 70. I just now changed the setting back to 60, and it is no longer flashing on me. I don't know if the flashing has actually stopped, or if my eye just cannot detect it because it's now a darker picture.

60 is a hair darker than I'd like, but it's well worth the trade off to not have the flash. Maybe if enough people have this problem, we can report it to Maxent, and get a fix for it.For those that mentioned that Panasonics suffer from this problem, do you know if a fix has been found?

I then remember that a few weeks ago, I changed the brightness from 60 to 70. I just now changed the setting back to 60, and it is no longer flashing on me. I don't know if the flashing has actually stopped, or if my eye just cannot detect it because it's now a darker picture.

60 is a hair darker than I'd like,

I haven't noticed the flashing yet - but after calibrating with Avia today according to test patterns I got a contrast at 50 and a brightness at 80 - which I think might be a bit too high.

But I must admit, everything looks a lot better, and the black levels have much more detail at brightness 80. I just hope I'm not torching my set (I've turned it back down to 65 for now)

I was wondering what others have gotten after calibrating - I saw a lot of contrast 50/brightness 50 but this seems too low.

I was wondering what others have gotten after calibrating - I saw a lot of contrast 50/brightness 50 but this seems too low.

While a good benchmark, you really can't go by other people's settings, as it is very source dependent. I have the 50/60 on my cable box, but around 70/70 on my Xbox. I also found on my DVD player that I needed higher contrast/brightness. Unless you have the same source equipment, setup exactly the same (as many sources have independent gamma/color correction settings), you're not really comparing apples to apples.

I haven't noticed the flashing yet - but after calibrating with Avia today according to test patterns I got a contrast at 50 and a brightness at 80 - which I think might be a bit too high.

But I must admit, everything looks a lot better, and the black levels have much more detail at brightness 80. I just hope I'm not torching my set (I've turned it back down to 65 for now)

I was wondering what others have gotten after calibrating - I saw a lot of contrast 50/brightness 50 but this seems too low.

mufaddal, you think it's worth the money to buy the Avia disk? i was thinking getting those or the DVE disks. i read that the Avia disks are much better than the DVE disks.

thanks,
-armus

After reading all the thread and pages for the best suitable upconverting dvd player to 1080i, and reading some of the owners experience with atleast all the brands, I am quite confused whether all the maxent piece are different or same. The reason, first I tried with toshiba brand of upconverting dvd player by using the HDMI cable(which was purchased from monoprice.com), and the toshiba player was totally horriable while displaying the picture on 720/1080. This weekend, I tried with LG LDA-511, and after viewing almost more than 10 movies in 1080, the picture displayed was very excellent and terrific. But I went to different user opinion at this thread, I find only two to three people find even the LG LDA-511 was not able to provide the exact picture. MY setting remains as same suggested by robert 50/50/22/0/1. The picture displayed was awesome on 1080 upconversion. I am planning to try sony brand within this week. My experiement gave me the conclusion, that all the maxent pieces are behaving unique in respect of handling different brand of upconversion dvd player. did any body feel the same ?

I need a recommendation on a swivel wall mount. The tilt mounts are all I see people using here. Has anyone bought one that works with this set yet? Or maybe some tips on what to look for when searching for compatibility.

I've been looking at the Peerless PLA-1 . I posted awhile back to see if anyone was using one and got no response. I plan on getting on myself but I'm a month away from both panel and mount purchases.

From what i've found, you can order the Peerless with a mounting plate specific to your panel. The downside is that they list the older maxent 50 and not the 50X3. If the mount points are the same then we are good to go.

We finally finished our setup of the Maxent. We mounted the TV last weekend and this weekend I got my husband to finish spacing the surround speakers. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

We used the OmniMount U3 Tilt mount but found that we didn't really need the tilt feature for where we chose to position it.

With regard to my previous post:

Oppo Update Post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6955602&&#post6955602)

I was able to get the Great Raid movie (1.33 ratio) to match my Pioneer 480p for MB with a 54/59 contrast/brightness setting. In other words, where I found MB with the Oppo I also had the same thing with the Pioneer (poorly transferred DVDs look bad no matter if upscaled or not). The settings were obtained using the Avia disk.

While keeping these settings, Monster Inc. was fantastic to watch upscaled. The MB was never objectionable and probably would be the same even at 480p.

I'll keep posting my results if others are interested in the Oppo player combined with the Maxent. Unfortunately, I could not go back and re-view Lord of War or Half Light to see if the new contrast/brightness ratios would have helped the Oppo or not with those particular movies.

Without going back and reading 40+ pages; can someone tell me if this TV has any of the banding issues the Pannys have (black text+white background = banding)?

Thanks.

mufaddal, you think it's worth the money to buy the Avia disk? i was thinking getting those or the DVE disks. i read that the Avia disks are much better than the DVE disks.

thanks,
-armus

Both are great - the only real difference I can tell, is the Avia comes with red, green, and blue filters, while DVE only comes with blue filters.

A lot of people recommend using both, one to set settings, and one to check them.

We finally finished our setup of the Maxent. We mounted the TV last weekend and this weekend I got my husband to finish spacing the surround speakers. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

We used the OmniMount U3 Tilt mount but found that we didn't really need the tilt feature for where we chose to position it.

Nice! Are those your speakers near the top of the wall? What kind are they? We're looking at new speakers, and for the WAF, small size/unobtrusiveness is a very very important factor.

They are Mirage Omnipolar Nanosats. They are mounted upside down because they are placed above 6 feet. I'm no audiophile but I have to say we've been thrilled. They matched our decor and everything. I bought them at Best Buy (Magnolia). Here is the manufacturer's website:
http://www.miragespeakers.com/nano.shtml

We bought the set. It included 5 speakers and a subwoofer. You can also buy single speakers if you decide to go from 5.1 to 7.1 in the future. That is if you do it before they stop making them of course.

I've been looking at the Peerless PLA-1 . I posted awhile back to see if anyone was using one and got no response. I plan on getting on myself but I'm a month away from both panel and mount purchases.

From what i've found, you can order the Peerless with a mounting plate specific to your panel. The downside is that they list the older maxent 50 and not the 50X3. If the mount points are the same then we are good to go.

I was looking at this one also and noticed the same thing's you did. This is Kinda why i'm hesitant to buy one to only find it does not fit. I am emailing the mountsandmore store on the web with some pictures of the back of the plasma. I have a guy that is going to call peerless and find out what can be used.

We finally finished our setup of the Maxent. We mounted the TV last weekend and this weekend I got my husband to finish spacing the surround speakers. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

We used the OmniMount U3 Tilt mount but found that we didn't really need the tilt feature for where we chose to position it.

Looks great.

May I suggest flipping your sub around 180 degrees? The best bass will be achieved by reflecting the bass note into the corner first as the deeper notes require more time/space to reach tones listened to by the human ear. Firing the bass right too you will not allow it to reach peak quick enough. Also, if possible, the opposite wall (right corner) will get you better sound yet as both walls are solid versus the left wall that has the curtains and what looks like a slider? If you have your audio wires run to that side then flipping it around will get you better sound but ideally you would want it in the other corner.

Give it a shot.... see what you think! :)

Just curious can someone email me the price of this plasma? The nearest costco is over an hour away. I'm currently thinking about this or the 42 inch. I'm wondering how much more the 50 inch is over the 42. Thanks

Brentjax75@hotmail.com

Without going back and reading 40+ pages; can someone tell me if this TV has any of the banding issues the Pannys have (black text+white background = banding)?

Thanks.


On mine, it does.

I've never actually noticed it while watching TV... but I can reproduce the banding when I hook up my laptop to the display and display an all-white image with black bars or text.

Just FYI for anyone looking at buying a upscale DVD player for this set. I went through 5 DVD players too, trying to find one i liked. I ended up buying this refurbished Samsung 841 off Amazon for very cheap and i updated to the latest firmware and it is by FAR better than the Toshiba upscale player, the LG LDA-511, and a current Sony (forgot the model)

I bought the 841 for a gift for my dad and tried it anyways on my maxent and the definition/colors and clarity were amazing, so i kept it!!

I bought a HDMI to DVI cable from Monoprice and everything is great!

So anyone looking for an inexpensive Upscale DVD player, definetly check out the Samsung HD-841

the LG LDA-511 was my second choice, just a "soft picture" is the best way to explain it.

Has anyone found a big difference between component versus HDMI and/or PC/VGA?

I was amazed how much better the PC/VGA cable looks compared to component. This was with an Xbox 360... I don't have an HDMI cable yet for my set top box.

With the Xbox over component, I could see static especially with black backgrounds and the entire picture looked dark, despite fiddling with the brightness/contrast. I was also seeing image retention when the screen would go black you could see a reddish outline of the image that was there before. When I switched to VGA, the static was immediately gone and the black background looked totally clean. Also, the picture brightened up quite a bit (even though contrast/brightness settings were the same) which was very nice since I'm having a hard time in general getting detail in the dark colors without making the whites too bright. One thing though, the "color" slider doesn't appear for the VGA connection.

I've ordered an HDMI cable and hope to get similar results with the set top box as I am seeing the same static when the screen goes all black there too. This has me sort of worried about the quality of the component connections though and only having a single HDMI.

I'm actually using the XBOX 360 for DVDs too so I won't need more than one HDMI for the time being. It does a much nicer job with DVDs (less jaggies) than my 5 year old DVD player. Not sure why... over component I think it was doing 480p rather than my DVD players 480i, but now that I have it connected via VGA it switches to 640x480 (somehow I would expect it to do 720x480). Anyway, looks better.

Both are great - the only real difference I can tell, is the Avia comes with red, green, and blue filters, while DVE only comes with blue filters.

A lot of people recommend using both, one to set settings, and one to check them.

I'm pretty sure DVE comes with all 3 filters now. I bought it a few months ago and I'm almost positive that I remember it having all the filters, I can double check when I get home after work today to make sure.

May I suggest flipping your sub around 180 degrees?

I will give that a try and see how the audio sounds. I had originally chosen that corner for decor's sake but I guess I can bend a little and try it in the other corner. There's a window with sheer curtains over it where it is now, not a slider. Does that change your assessment any?

Thanks for the suggestion.

I will give that a try and see how the audio sounds. I had originally chosen that corner for decor's sake but I guess I can bend a little and try it in the other corner. There's a window with sheer curtains over it where it is now, not a slider. Does that change your assessment any?

Thanks for the suggestion.

The more flat wall space the better but you probably won't be able to tell too much of a difference from one corner to the other. You can try both ways and if you can't hear much of a difference then just put it where it looks most aesthetically pleasing to you.

Ok. Since noone would email me the price of this tv. Could someone at least tell me where are you all buying this at? I'm looking to get one soon and would like to know where the best place to get it would be? Thanks for any help.

Also, If buying this from BB and they match the online price. Does this mean they want charge the tax if bought instore? If I choose not to get the 4yr extended plan now. Can I do at a later date if I want it? Thanks

Also, If buying this from BB and they match the online price. Does this mean they want charge the tax if bought instore? If I choose not to get the 4yr extended plan now. Can I do at a later date if I want it? Thanks

check your PM.

-armus

Hey jeffdom, did you suggest to buy the refurished samsung HD841 or new brand new one. Ecost only has the brand new one, and all others has only refurbished one

Ok, here is another newbie question. This is my first HDTV, and I'm not really sure if this is the TV, the feed, a setting, or what. I also have no idea what to call this effect, but there probably is a term for it.

When I'm watching what I would call a made-for-HD program (like ones on INHD or INHD2 or Discovery HD), everything looks gorgeous. However, on a lot of the network HD programs (like ER, 24, Lost, Surface...etc) I notice what can only be described as "blotchiness" in darker scenes. Most of the picture looks great, but things in shadows in the background (or the side of someone's face that's in a shadow) almost looks like it's being displayed in 256 colors.

I notice the same thing when watching DVDs.

I know that's hard to explain in writing, but maybe someone knows what I'm talking about.

Another example might be a background shadow...it more displays as a "blob" or "ripple" of differing shades of black, with the center being black, but then there's an outside "ring" of lighter black around that...and so on. I guess rather than a "smooth" shadow I'm seeing a sortof diffused shadow or something.

Does that make sense to anyone here? Anybody know what I'm talking about? I just want to make sure it's not a problem with the TV...

Also, If buying this from BB and they match the online price. Does this mean they want charge the tax if bought instore? If I choose not to get the 4yr extended plan now. Can I do at a later date if I want it? Thanks

It's only available from BB, yes they will charge you tax, yes you can buy the extended warranty later.

When I'm watching what I would call a made-for-HD program (like ones on INHD or INHD2 or Discovery HD), everything looks gorgeous. However, on a lot of the network HD programs (like ER, 24, Lost, Surface...etc) I notice what can only be described as "blotchiness" in darker scenes. Most of the picture looks great, but things in shadows in the background (or the side of someone's face that's in a shadow) almost looks like it's being displayed in 256 colors.

I notice the same thing when watching DVDs.
It sounds like you're describing compression artifacts. Just for kicks, try calling your cable company and ask what bandwidth they're transmitting the shows. I think you'll find that Discovery HD is being transmitted with more data than the other shows.

Same holds for the DVD (compression artifacts). Bad DVD transfers suck no matter if they are upscaled or not.

A lot of what you are seeing can be reduced with proper calibration of the monitor. Otherwise, wait for Blu-ray or complain heavily to your cable company to stop reducing bandwidth for your TV shows and force them to transmit in full HD bandwidth. By the way, cable HD is compressed more than OTA HD.

It sounds like you're describing compression artifacts. Just for kicks, try calling your cable company and ask what bandwidth they're transmitting the shows. I think you'll find that Discovery HD is being transmitted with more data than the other shows.

Same holds for the DVD (compression artifacts). Bad DVD transfers suck no matter if they are upscaled or not.

A lot of what you are seeing can be reduced with proper calibration of the monitor. Otherwise, wait for Blu-ray or complain heavily to your cable company to stop reducing bandwidth for your TV shows and force them to transmit in full HD bandwidth. By the way, cable HD is compressed more than OTA HD.

Thanks. As long as I know it's not the TV, I'm ok. I am still waiting on my AVIA disc, so maybe it won't be so bad after I calibrate it (although I think I have it pretty close using others' suggestions). It's just distracting and I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious.

When I'm watching what I would call a made-for-HD program (like ones on INHD or INHD2 or Discovery HD), everything looks gorgeous. However, on a lot of the network HD programs (like ER, 24, Lost, Surface...etc) I notice what can only be described as "blotchiness" in darker scenes. Most of the picture looks great, but things in shadows in the background (or the side of someone's face that's in a shadow) almost looks like it's being displayed in 256 colors.


Try turning down the "color" option to 30 or below. This has helped me greatly with this issue. You'll have to decide the right balance for you but it's the color saturation that is making it worse.

Plasmabuyer,

I bought the Refurb model. I updated the firmware from Samsung's website and all is fine. I figure it will last me until The HD-DVD comes out or Blue Ray.

Thanks. As long as I know it's not the TV, I'm ok. I am still waiting on my AVIA disc, so maybe it won't be so bad after I calibrate it (although I think I have it pretty close using others' suggestions). It's just distracting and I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious.
As an example, my locally broadcast (OTA) CBS station has a fantastic picture when broadcasting David Letterman. However, my NBC station (which has 3 digital subchannels that are carved out of the available bandwidth) is great but somewhat lacking for Jay Leno. I always have my color saturation set to 22 or below. To compensate for NBC's limited HD bandwidth broadcasting, I increased my contrast a few notches and decreased my brightness one notch. The exact numbers won't help you b/c it's going to depend on your source and type of input. But relatively speaking, start off with the 50/50/22/0/1 and increase contrast and decrease brightness until you get a combination where the MB is reduced. For me, I watched my NBC station with a 54/59 setting.

As more people get HD sets, there will be less tolerance of reduced bandwidth HD broadcasting. So, complaining to your cable company now might actually do some good down the road.

Ok, here is another newbie question. This is my first HDTV, and I'm not really sure if this is the TV, the feed, a setting, or what. I also have no idea what to call this effect, but there probably is a term for it.

When I'm watching what I would call a made-for-HD program (like ones on INHD or INHD2 or Discovery HD), everything looks gorgeous. However, on a lot of the network HD programs (like ER, 24, Lost, Surface...etc) I notice what can only be described as "blotchiness" in darker scenes. Most of the picture looks great, but things in shadows in the background (or the side of someone's face that's in a shadow) almost looks like it's being displayed in 256 colors.
Actually this is the main problem I'm having with this Plasma too. I don't think it is compression... it's what I think is called color banding. I see it on darker colors regardless of the source, especially if it's a solid color fading to black. One example was a comcast (or verizon?) commercial on a HD channel that had a lot of red gradients in the background. Another was the beginning of the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD with smoke on a black background. The edges of the smoke end up looking like they are only using about 5 colors instead of many in a smooth gradient.

This is my first HDTV and Plasma so I'm wondering if it's inherent in the technology. Looking very close at the display at dark grays, I actually see it is made up of red and I guess blue/green pixels "dithered"... dancing around like static. Like the display can't make a dark enough color of gray, so it dithers very dark colored pixels to create it.

I occasionally see this banding on very light gradients as well. But I'm not seeing the dithering effect at all up close when the screen is solid white or a solid bright color which makes me think Plasmas may have a hard time with dark colors? (or maybe I just don't see it because the screen is bright, but I don't think so).

So in a nutshell, having trouble getting smooth gradients with very dark colors and sometimes light colors. Getting a pure black isn't a problem, but getting detail in the dark colors right above black seems to be. Banding also seems more prevalent in dark red than other colors.

I need to go to a store and check out the other plasmas to see if this is typical or not. You may recall in an earlier post I said all the displays looked pretty much the same in store... it's not till I got it home that I started to get picky. :) Really, though, aside from this the display looks very very good.

I don't think it is compression... it's what I think is called color banding.
"Compression," by definition, requires less data to be present than was originally. Thus, when video is compressed, there is less data. Compression algorithms attempt to reduce the data size logically so that it can be recreated in a "lossless" fashion. Data is compressed in order to allow it to be transmitted at a lesser cost (as in resources). One process by which "compression" takes place uses an algorithm that groups "exact" pixels of data together. So, rather than send 100 pixels of the same information, one color is sent along with information that explains that the same color covers 100 pixels (and their location). Now, as further compression is required, the algorithm attempts to group "like" pixels together. In other words, the colors do not have to be exact but are just close in color. It is this "likeness" degree that allows lesser or greater compression of the video data. When, for example, a DVD manufacturer attempts to mass produce 100,000 DVDs, they might use extreme compression algorithms to minimize the amount of data on the DVDs (each DVD takes a certain amount of time to create - the less data, the less time to transfer the data onto the DVD). The same holds true with cable data as well. The more compression, the less the end device is able to recreate the original data. "Macroblocking" is the term given when not enough data is present to recreate all of the subtle details in the data of "like" pixels. "Color banding" is an example of "macroblocking." Gradients require more detailed information to correctly display.

These "compression artifacts" are also exacerbated by poor decoding algorithms at the receiving end. Such things as MPEG-4 standards and further improvements in compression techniques and data storage mediums (HD-DVDs) will allow more information to be transmitted and recreated from the compressed sources.

I will show you an sample of an original image and a bad compress image. This is the original image
http://d1creation.com/images/original.gif
This is the bad compress image
http://d1creation.com/images/compress.gif

I will show you an sample of an original image and a bad compress image.
Very good example. Thank you. And just to point out the amount of data compression, the first image is 18.86kb, while the compressed image is 3.85kb. Thus, the compressed image has almost 5 times less data than the original image which is good for transmitting the data but bad for recreating the original image - and the resulting compression artifacts are obvious (color banding).

Thanks everyone for clearing this up for me. For years I had read DVD reviews that complained about "compression artifacts" and I had no idea what they meant, but figured my little 27" SDTV just wasn't going to show them. I guess now that I have the bigger HDTV, I can now see them.

I will also try to mess with my brightness/contrast to see if I can clear it up a little bit. Thanks!

If anyone is interested the peerless PS-1 or the PLA-1 wall mounts with the PLP-UNL adapter plate will work with this plasma. This is a Articulating Swivel wall mount. Does anyone know of any other mounts that work with this plasma with the swivel feature?

jeffdom,

I never purchased anything till my life the refurb model, so not sure whether it will be last till couple of years, but any idea or previous experience buying the refurb model and lasting for a long time.

Thanks

Another was the beginning of the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD with smoke on a black background. The edges of the smoke end up looking like they are only using about 5 colors instead of many in a smooth gradient.


This could be due to a low-quality DVD player, or the DVD itself too compressed.

There is one way to find out if this is a source issue or not-- play that scene on your PC's DVD-ROM drive, and pull up that scene and pause it. You should see whether or not the edge of the smoke is made of many colors, or just 5 because it was overly compressed.




This is my first HDTV and Plasma so I'm wondering if it's inherent in the technology. Looking very close at the display at dark grays, I actually see it is made up of red and I guess blue/green pixels "dithered"... dancing around like static. Like the display can't make a dark enough color of gray, so it dithers very dark colored pixels to create it.


I noticed this on my Maxent as well, too.

I did a quick search on here and find that this is par for the course for plasma technology.

I wasn't aware of this, but plasmas cannot control the individual intentisty of each subpixel (one red, blue, and green for each pixel) directly-- a subpixel is either fully on or fully off. Hence, to produce varying shades of colors the panel quickly turns subpixels on and off many times per second. To produce 100% color intensity, the subpixel is left on all the time. For 90% intensity, it is left on 90% of the time-- so on and so forth.

Most of the time, this occurs so quickly your eyes see a smooth color. However, for low-intensity colors (such as very dark greys, dark blues, etc.) this process means a subpixel might come on only 5 or 10% of the time. Unfortunately, our eyes are much more sensitive to when a color is on for 5% of the time then when it is on for only 95% of the time-- so we notice the flickering subpixels. They look like pixel-sized dancing snowflake, and are usually solid blue or green.



I need to go to a store and check out the other plasmas to see if this is typical or not. You may recall in an earlier post I said all the displays looked pretty much the same in store... it's not till I got it home that I started to get picky. :) Really, though, aside from this the display looks very very good.


I was exactly like you... I didn't notice this temporal dithering when I was at the store.

I went back last week just to reassure myself, and sure enough I could find the same pixel-sized dancing snow in dark areas on both the Panasonic and the Pioneer I looked at. With how fast the content changed on the screens, it is very hard to notice but if wait patiently enough you will find it.

I encourage you for your own peace of mind to go back for yourself and check out the other plasmas to verify they exhibit the same effects you are seeing...

Anyone know how to force the 50x3 to display 1360 x 768 through vga cables for xbox 360. The manual doesn't list 1360 x 768 as a supported resolution, but I'm curious. Thanx

Thanks for the responses... this forum is great. :)

I did check the DVD on my computer with an LCD monitor... the color banding is still there but not as bad as on the Maxent. So it turns out to be partially compression and partially the plasma. Adjusting the Brightness/Contrast on the Maxent helps a bit if I'm willing to turn them up so that Blacks aren't quite a pure black.

Anyway, I feel reassured knowing that this is inherent to plasmas. Such is the price for 50" of beauty. :)

Anyone know how to force the 50x3 to display 1360 x 768 through vga cables for xbox 360. The manual doesn't list 1360 x 768 as a supported resolution, but I'm curious. Thanx

Nope, but 1280x720 looks quite fine to me.

Thanks for the responses... this forum is great. :)

I did check the DVD on my computer with an LCD monitor... the color banding is still there but not as bad as on the Maxent. So it turns out to be partially compression and partially the plasma. Adjusting the Brightness/Contrast on the Maxent helps a bit if I'm willing to turn them up so that Blacks aren't quite a pure black.

Anyway, I feel reassured knowing that this is inherent to plasmas. Such is the price for 50" of beauty. :)

Well, for the ultimate test... did you try connecting your PC to your Maxent using the VGA connector?

You could then connect your regular monitor to the VGA output port.

Play the DVD, find the scene and pause. You can then compare what you see on the Maxent with what you see on your monitor....

I'm hoping someone can help me remove my head from the wall I have pounded it into :confused:

When I connect a PC to the RGB port, I do not get any image. I can, however, see the display indicating that the resolution is changing as the PC goes through the boot process. There is occasionally a random line of color that flicks across the screen when resolution changes, but other than that it's just black.

Details about my troubleshooting so far:
* I have tried various desktop resolutions, all supported according to the manual, but none of them work.
* I have tried two computers. One has an ATI Radeon AIW with DVI out. The other has an ATI 9600 with VGA out. Same behavior with both.
* Both PCS work fine with regular LCD monitors.

The only clue I have is that when I connect to the PC remotely, is does not seem to be recognizing the monitor properly. The computers are set to use a "Plug and Play" monitor, so I am starting to suspect that the TV is sending it a bad signal during the "autodetect".

Has any one else experienced similar issues, or have any suggestions for how I can further narrow down the issue? Seems most people have been able to just plug it in, and at least get an image. This leads me to think it may just be my set, but I thought I'd ask here before calling the Best Buy repair guys.

Thanks for any help ... this forum has been an immense help in setting up and tweaking my TV over the past month. Sorry about the lengthy post ... but the devil is in the details :cool:

I'm hoping someone can help me remove my head from the wall I have pounded it into :confused:

When I connect a PC to the RGB port, I do not get any image. I can, however, see the display indicating that the resolution is changing as the PC goes through the boot process. There is occasionally a random line of color that flicks across the screen when resolution changes, but other than that it's just black.

Details about my troubleshooting so far:
* I have tried various desktop resolutions, all supported according to the manual, but none of them work.
* I have tried two computers. One has an ATI Radeon AIW with DVI out. The other has an ATI 9600 with VGA out. Same behavior with both.
* Both PCS work fine with regular LCD monitors.

The only clue I have is that when I connect to the PC remotely, is does not seem to be recognizing the monitor properly. The computers are set to use a "Plug and Play" monitor, so I am starting to suspect that the TV is sending it a bad signal during the "autodetect".

Has any one else experienced similar issues, or have any suggestions for how I can further narrow down the issue? Seems most people have been able to just plug it in, and at least get an image. This leads me to think it may just be my set, but I thought I'd ask here before calling the Best Buy repair guys.

Thanks for any help ... this forum has been an immense help in setting up and tweaking my TV over the past month. Sorry about the lengthy post ... but the devil is in the details :cool:

yep, I had the same problems. even called and almost had a technician come out. TURNS OUT, I had it in the wrong port. Try the OTHER vga port. You are probably plugging it into the VGA OUT. don't feel bad. I did the same..

-armus

The output of my xbox360 looks significantly better on 1080i vs 720p.....do other folks see the same thing? I thought I noticed other threads that people say 720p will give a much better output....is this specific to my set or do other folks with the maxent see the same thing?

yep, I had the same problems. even called and almost had a technician come out. TURNS OUT, I had it in the wrong port. Try the OTHER vga port. You are probably plugging it into the VGA OUT. don't feel bad. I did the same..

-armus


Wow, I'd almost rather it was broken ... but that worked! I'm going to go crawl under a rock.

Thanks for the help, Armus!