I think it could be either. It could even be a poor connection or a bad cable, those HDMI cables plug-in pretty sloppy sometimes.
But ive never had this issue with my cable box, and the issue with the PS3 is completely gone. Ive moved the ps3 around a few times since I saw it flicker, and im pretty sure that if I jiggle that cable, itll start doing it again. :rolleyes:

Bosorio,

I don't recall what cable box you have. Can I ask what brand it is and how you have it hooked up to your maxent.

Bosorio,

I don't recall what cable box you have. Can I ask what brand it is and how you have it hooked up to your maxent.
Its a MOXI HD DVR from Charter Communications.
Although it is now on component cables, I had it hooked up through a DVI to HDMI cables for the past 3 months or so...I only changed to component so that I can hook my PC up to the tv through HDMI2, PS3 is on HDMI1.

Component 1 went to massive green tint and cant be fixed. HDMI and Component 2 are fine. I did most viewing through Component 1 so I am nervous the others will go once I use them more.

Anyone else?

Component 1 went to massive green tint and cant be fixed. HDMI and Component 2 are fine. I did most viewing through Component 1 so I am nervous the others will go once I use them more.

Anyone else?
Wow that sux. Have you tried component 2?

Wow that sux. Have you tried component 2?

Component 2 and HDMI are fine, but Component 1 is shot. I bought the 4 year warranty from Best Buy when I purchased the TV 2 years ago, I wonder if this is under their warranty and if they will replace the tv?

Component 2 and HDMI are fine, but Component 1 is shot. I bought the 4 year warranty from Best Buy when I purchased the TV 2 years ago, I wonder if this is under their warranty and if they will replace the tv?
I'd be concerned with what they'd try to replace it with.

Component 1 went to massive green tint and cant be fixed. HDMI and Component 2 are fine. I did most viewing through Component 1 so I am nervous the others will go once I use them more.

Anyone else?



I lost my Component 2 input (no picture whatsoever) about 8 months after I got mine. Checked everything - inputs, cables, settings, everything. Returned it and got my Panasonic instead. Hopefully, I will have better luck with this one.

Component 2 and HDMI are fine, but Component 1 is shot. I bought the 4 year warranty from Best Buy when I purchased the TV 2 years ago, I wonder if this is under their warranty and if they will replace the tv?

I would call them..I think they might give you a check for the purchase price and you can get whatever you want...if they can't fix it. Please let me know what they do since I have the ext. warranty also..thanks

Its a MOXI HD DVR from Charter Communications.
Although it is now on component cables, I had it hooked up through a DVI to HDMI cables for the past 3 months or so...I only changed to component so that I can hook my PC up to the tv through HDMI2, PS3 is on HDMI1.

Interesting..I have my maxent hooked up thru dvi-hdmi with my comcast box also... and as you know..no issues with that. I think moto box's with hdmi outputs have a problem with handshaking.. if you turn a component off..but am not sure. Maybe someone will chime in here and let us know if they have a non-moto box hooked up hdmi..no dvi to hdmi..and tell us their experiences.

Ive had my 50" Maxent for about 2 weeks now and i am very happy with it so far. The remote isnt THAT bad and its come very handy. I've read this thread from beginning to end but i have these questions:

-What are (for those of you who have an xbox360) the BEST picture settings while using the xbox?

-What are the best settings while using a regular digital cable box?

-What are the best DVD settings? (Im using a JVC THC5 DVD)

-That whole "Burn-In" protection.. How does it work?

Thanks a lot guys!!

If you for certain have the 50x3 and the newer maxent model. I recommend vga cables for 360, because component cables have floating blacks evident in dve tests, most noticable when you switch between high & low apl. Also I would recommend 1024x768 for your vga connection. You get pretty much no overscan like this for some reason. Hopefully in the future microsoft will release a resolution update to include 1366x768. You can use the screen shift function to prevent burn-in. I only use the burn-in function when I am watching something on cable(I have verizon fios) I do not use the screen shift function when I play 360. I just check after I am done playing with the full white screen option to see if I have some image retention. A couple of times I have had minor image retention after playing for 10 hours or so. Usually goes away pretty easily by using the full white screen for up to 1 hour if need be.

I recommend vga cables for 360, because component cables have floating blacks evident in dve tests, most noticable when you switch between high & low apl.

Does this advice also apply for viewing from the XBOX 360 HDDVD player as well?

Does this advice also apply for viewing from the XBOX 360 HDDVD player as well?
Yes.

The only thing I have connected through component is my Wii, and that's because there are no other options.

I had my cable box hooked up through component because the PQ was just as good as HDMI and it helped me eliminate one thick cable running down my wall.

That lasted about two hours though. The black level fluctuation drove me out of my freaking mind. In dark scenes, the whole screen would just go up in brightness by about 10 on the scale. It was slightly delayed, which is what sucked. If the camera panned to a dark place, the screen would just light up a couple seconds afterward.

So, avoid component whenever possible.

That lasted about two hours though. The black level fluctuation drove me out of my freaking mind. In dark scenes, the whole screen would just go up in brightness by about 10 on the scale. It was slightly delayed, which is what sucked. If the camera panned to a dark place, the screen would just light up a couple seconds afterward.

So, avoid component whenever possible.

This bothers me alot also. Why does the 50x3 do this thru component only? I wonder if the comcast box has anything to do with this? Some people, I recall.. stated with a ota tuner that they did not experience this. I have a progressive scan dvd player hooked up thru component and must say that I never saw this black level fluctuation occur with playing a dvd thru component.

I would like to hook this plasma to my computer. I would like to achieve native pixel mapping resolution. I understand this requires VGA. However my video card only has DVI. Am I out of luck, or can I use supplied DVI VGA adapter and get desired results?

This bothers me alot also. Why does the 50x3 do this thru component only? I wonder if the comcast box has anything to do with this? Some people, I recall.. stated with a ota tuner that they did not experience this. I have a progressive scan dvd player hooked up thru component and must say that I never saw this black level fluctuation occur with playing a dvd thru component.
I don't have Comcast. I've also used two different brands of cable box and it does it with my DVD player as well.

I would like to hook this plasma to my computer. I would like to achieve native pixel mapping resolution. I understand this requires VGA. However my video card only has DVI. Am I out of luck, or can I use supplied DVI VGA adapter and get desired results?
You can use a the DVI-VGA adapter just fine. I do exactly that with my HTPC.

Please Confirm your getting 1366x768 resolution from a DVI source routed through your VGA adapter. Thanks, I was not optimistic this would work since DVI is Digital as is HDMI which does not support this resolution. With this resolution your getting some unused pixels on both sides right? Do you take any burn in prevention measures for this? Any other advised PC config. settings?

Please Confirm your getting 1366x768 resolution from a DVI source routed through your VGA adapter. Thanks, I was not optimistic this would work since DVI is Digital as is HDMI which does not support this resolution. With this resolution your getting some unused pixels on both sides right? Do you take any burn in prevention measures for this? Any other advised PC config. settings?

Look in the manual (you can download it from maxentusa.com if you need to), it lists the supported resolutions for the different inputs. As you note, HDMI does not support 1366x768, but the rgb (VGA) input does. I used to have a PC connected via RGB and it looked great, make sure your video card supports that resolution though. I don't remember if there were any unused pixels (there should not be from what I can tell), if there were it did not stand out at all. For burn in protection all I know that you could do is to configure a shift using the picture menu, if it is available for RGB.

Please Confirm your getting 1366x768 resolution from a DVI source routed through your VGA adapter. Thanks, I was not optimistic this would work since DVI is Digital as is HDMI which does not support this resolution. With this resolution your getting some unused pixels on both sides right? Do you take any burn in prevention measures for this? Any other advised PC config. settings?
You're a little confused about DVI.

DVI comes in several "flavors." The DVI connector on your computer is DVI-I.

A DVI-I connector has the pins for both digital DVI/HDMI *and* analog VGA. The DVI - VGA adapter merely connects a VGA cable to the analog VGA pins on the DVI-I connector.

So, when you put a DVI - VGA adapter on a DVI-I port, it is literally a normal VGA port. It's a 100% analog signal.

I get no unused pixels when running at 1366x768. I don't take any burn-in prevention methods because I just use it to watch videos.

Both component inputs on my TV are all but dead. They rarely work. It's out of warranty.

I'm sad :(

Both component inputs on my TV are all but dead. They rarely work. It's out of warranty.

I'm sad :(

So are you using an HDMI switcher/scaler to make up for the lack of inputs?

Do you plug and unplug cables often? Did they go out one at a time or at the same time?

Do you plug and unplug cables often? Did they go out one at a time or at the same time?
Same time, apparently. I almost never touch the inputs of the TV.

I have an HTPC hooked up to RGB and a DVR and DVD player hooked up through an HDMI switcher.

But my Wii only has component output. They will work sometimes, but the amount of working time is slowly decreasing, it seems. The picture will go in and out but lately it's been staying out for much longer than in.

Does the 50x3 float blacks when using hdmi also? I don't believe anyone has answered or asked this question yet. I am curious because I want to get a ps3 soon, but if it floats blacks thru hdmi I will wait till I get a new tv. The way to check is by using DVE and switching between a low and high apl test. The visible black bars will change in brightness if you switch back and forth. Thanx!

Does the 50x3 float blacks when using hdmi also? I don't believe anyone has answered or asked this question yet. I am curious because I want to get a ps3 soon, but if it floats blacks thru hdmi I will wait till I get a new tv. The way to check is by using DVE and switching between a low and high apl test. The visible black bars will change in brightness if you switch back and forth. Thanx!
It's been answered many times.

There is no floating black level over HDMI.

sorry about that. THANX!!!!

You're a little confused about DVI.

DVI comes in several "flavors." The DVI connector on your computer is DVI-I.

A DVI-I connector has the pins for both digital DVI/HDMI *and* analog VGA. The DVI - VGA adapter merely connects a VGA cable to the analog VGA pins on the DVI-I connector.

So, when you put a DVI - VGA adapter on a DVI-I port, it is literally a normal VGA port. It's a 100% analog signal.


Wow, so my DVI output on my video card can output 100% both analog & digital, without any conversion either way. That's great

Wow, so my DVI output on my video card can output 100% both analog & digital, without any conversion either way. That's great
Precisely. It has VGA pins and digital DVI/HDMI pins.

Just bought a ps3!! Awesome build quality!! Anybody have a preferred resolution setting? 720p or 1080i?

Just bought a ps3!! Awesome build quality!! Anybody have a preferred resolution setting? 720p or 1080i?

I have my ps3 set to 720p right now. I see no difference in pic quality between 720p and 1080I.

Does anyone know how to do a reset of all the settings? I want to reset to factory defaults

Mine does that by itself randomly ;)

Unplug it from the wall for a few minutes. That should do it.

Just to update on my component input issue, it turns out that it was actually my receiver that was the problem.

It seems my DVD player and STB were set with the component inputs off or something. Hooked my Wii directly up (which involved me having to move the Wii thanks to the short component cables) to the TV and it works perfectly.

Just to update on my component input issue, it turns out that it was actually my receiver that was the problem.

It seems my DVD player and STB were set with the component inputs off or something. Hooked my Wii directly up (which involved me having to move the Wii thanks to the short component cables) to the TV and it works perfectly.
:rolleyes: Well thats good to know.

Just to update on my component input issue, it turns out that it was actually my receiver that was the problem.

It seems my DVD player and STB were set with the component inputs off or something. Hooked my Wii directly up (which involved me having to move the Wii thanks to the short component cables) to the TV and it works perfectly.

Been thinking about getting the Wii..How does it look on the Maxent?

Well, after about 20 months, mine died. The yellow standby will go to green when I turn the TV on, but I get no picture and complete unresponsiveness after that (I can't even turn it off without using the hard switch in the back).

I didn't buy the extended warranty. I called Maxent about getting it repaired anyway, knowing I'd have to pay for it. They told me there are three authorized service people in PA -- one is 10 miles away and the other two more than 100 miles. So I call the place nearby, but have had no luck in the past two weeks getting them to schedule me, even though I've left numerous messages.

I lose patience and call BestBuy (where I purchased it). I'm told they can repair this set, but that it would cost $100 just to send someone for the initial diagnosis. Fine, I say, send them out. Of course the guy gets here and is completely unable to tell me what is wrong, he suggests replacing two boards at a cost of $1148 plus $175 labor, and says he isn't sure if those boards are the problem anyway. He never opened up the TV and tested anything, he said he wasn't authorized to do that. I guess BB sent him out to diagnose whether my cables were plugged in correctly. I'm very angry with BB and going to insist they refund my money for the "service" call. This was an insult on top of injury.

Anyway, I'm left to conclude that ultimately, the MX50X3 was designed to be a disposable plasma television.

Been thinking about getting the Wii..How does it look on the Maxent?
Looks awesome.

I'm playing through Metroid right now and it looks killer.

Get the component cables, obviously.

Here's a close-up shot of the difference between stock cables and component cables on my Maxent:

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y190/jonnythan/?action=view&current=Zelda_Wolf_Detail.jpg

Still havbing a problem with my maxent. On white scences like skiiing or strong white backgrounds, the screen flickers back and forth between a lighter shade of white and then a darker shade of white.

Anyone else expirience this, and have you been able to fix?

jim: This is a known function of the set when used via component inputs.

There is no fix. The workaround is to use HDMI, VGA, or S-video inputs instead. If you're not watching an HD source, the S-video inputs work quite well. If you are watching an HD source, use the HDMI/DVI port.

Looks awesome.

I'm playing through Metroid right now and it looks killer.

Get the component cables, obviously.

Here's a close-up shot of the difference between stock cables and component cables on my Maxent:

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y190/jonnythan/?action=view&current=Zelda_Wolf_Detail.jpg

Errr..looks ok. Does not look like a 360 or ps3 though. Thanks. I know you can't compare the Wii to these next gen consoles..but I am sure it is acceptable. How does Wii bowling or tennis look? These are the games that my 5 year old is interested in right now.

The games look good enough that it's not a concern while playing.

Still havbing a problem with my maxent. On white scences like skiiing or strong white backgrounds, the screen flickers back and forth between a lighter shade of white and then a darker shade of white.

Anyone else expirience this, and have you been able to fix?



jim: This is a known function of the set when used via component inputs.

There is no fix. The workaround is to use HDMI, VGA, or S-video inputs instead. If you're not watching an HD source, the S-video inputs work quite well. If you are watching an HD source, use the HDMI/DVI port.

This is the only thing about my maxent that I never liked. You can reduce the severity thru component, if you turn the contrast way up. But doing this sometimes reduces picture quality on some programming. I keep mine hooked up thru hdmi so I don't have to see this annoying flicker. Funny I don't see this on dvd's run thru component on my setup..wonder why!

Also jonnythan..is this a different problem than the black level fluctuation that you have previously posted about? And thanks for the Wii info. I will probably pick it up for her birthday in Nov. That is, if I can get one.:( After almost a year they are still hard to get.

Hey guys, my maxent mx-50x3 is pissing me off.

If it gets a 1080i source through hdmi, and the soure is on BEFORE the tv, then the tv just produces snow until i reset the device.

For example, i have my comcast dvr and it outputs only in 1080i, i leave my dvr on all the time, so everytime i turn on the tv i have to turn the dvr off and on. The problem with this is i cant turn the thing on and off if its recording something... this also happens with my toshiba hd-a2, i have it set to output in 1080i, and then i sometimes preload an hd-dvd, but have to turn it off then on, with a 30 second boot up time this is a huge PITA.

This happening to anyone else?

Mine does that by itself randomly ;)


had a good laugh at this post, happens to me as well, its just something you put up with though.

Did your issue just start happening? I have the Comcrap dvi box and never have this handshaking issue. Did you try the component inputs from the box to the maxent?

Did your issue just start happening? I have the Comcrap dvi box and never have this handshaking issue. Did you try the component inputs from the box to the maxent?

no its been happening for a while (probably a couple of months).

i thought it was just the cable box but its anything that seems to use 1080i

i switched the cable box twice and it didnt solve it so i really doubt this is comcasts fault (but really it still could be knowing comcast)

Hey guys, my maxent mx-50x3 is pissing me off.

If it gets a 1080i source through hdmi, and the soure is on BEFORE the tv, then the tv just produces snow until i reset the device.

For example, i have my comcast dvr and it outputs only in 1080i, i leave my dvr on all the time, so everytime i turn on the tv i have to turn the dvr off and on. The problem with this is i cant turn the thing on and off if its recording something... this also happens with my toshiba hd-a2, i have it set to output in 1080i, and then i sometimes preload an hd-dvd, but have to turn it off then on, with a 30 second boot up time this is a huge PITA.

This happening to anyone else?



had a good laugh at this post, happens to me as well, its just something you put up with though.

Are you sure it's when it's a 1080i signal? My Comcrap Moto DVR box acts the same way whenever I switch my video switcher to something else and back. Lots of times I'm also unable to reboot because of recording or it doesn't cure the snow problem anyway. If you unlpug your HDMI cable and plug it back in it will work fine. But I dind't spend all this money for a remote controlled HDMI switch in order to get up and unplug a cable every time. I think it's the receiver and it's stupid stupid firmware and lack of any support. I can switch to my Xbox 360 and it will give me video w/o any trouble what so ever. I'm curious about how you say it does it on a 1080i signal though, have you tried it with the same cable box set to 720p? I haven't yet tried that but will next time I'm down in my theater to see if it helps at all but I doubt it will cure it as it's a HDCP issue and not just interlaced vs. progressive.

So, bottom line is it's not the Maxent but your cable box that has the issues...I believe. There's another good thread on the box itself here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=558602) you can check out.

In the meantime you can power off your Moto box and immediately click 'Menu' and allow it to load the service menu. Then change the output from 1080i to 720p (if it isn't already because I believe 720p is default) and then power cycle. Post if that helps or not. I'm guessing you will still get video errors but they won't be snow. I think I was getting blue screen errors instead on a Vizio 50" plasma with the same box. My 50" Maxent in the bedroom uses component so unfortunately I can't tell of experience with that exact set and HDMI.

Also, to simplify things, whenever possible run component instead of HDMI. Too bad they've managed to eff up such a great connection type.

I did a bunch of investigation on my set after reading threads here and thought I would share the info. All testing was done with an Xbox 360 over component or VGA, running the AVIA dvd.

Component: DEFINITELY has some active brightness algorithm running. The AVIA DVD even has a name for it. It is called Average Picture Level (APL) and it says "many" TV's modify this depending on the brightness of the current content. Brightness setting on the DVD has 3 test screens. "Black Bars, Black Bars + 1/2 grey, and Black Bars + 1/2 white" The first is a solid black screen, with 2 very faint black bars. My contrast is at 75. In order to see the black bars I set brightness to 25. The next test screen "Black Bars + 1/2 grey" has 1/2 the screen black, and 1/2 the screen grey, with the 2 faint black bars on the black side. Immediately when this test screen shows up, the whole screen dims. In order to get the black bars to show up, I have to raise the brightness to 33. Then I try "Black Bars + 1/2 white." The screen dims even more, and I have to raise the brightness to a whopping 71! This is terrible, since if you set your brightness properly for the solid black test screen, whenever you are watching bright content you lose all of your low black level detail. Alliteratively, if you set it properly for the 1/2 white test screen, the set is way to bright for dark scenes once the APL stops dimming the screen.

Solution: Never use component on this TV...

I don't have an S-Video or HDMI source. But I do have VGA. VGA doesn't have any APL algorithm running. I used Contrast 65. Brightness 78 is perfect and all three brightness test screens show up properly. The only downside of VGA: When doing the blue bars color tests HUE is perfect but saturation is off, and when using VGA the Color and Tint controls are not available.

Other interesting things I noticed that I also read about here.

I never noticed any image shaking some people mentioned while using component. But after switching to VGA, depending on the xbox output resolution I saw shaking! I found out that changing the Clock Phase setting on the TV made the shaking go away. I don't know anything about Clock Phase, but I just moved it around until I saw the shaking stop.

For VGA output, 1280x1024 and 1280x720 Xbox 360 output look virtually identical. Most of the other resolutions don't work with this TV. Make sure it is set to widescreen mode or you will be getting some ridiculous resizing going on during movies. Also, I had to change the screen size parameters to get the over scan corrected. I ended up with V-Size 60, V-Position 51, H-Size 52, H-Position 53.

Hey guys, my maxent mx-50x3 is pissing me off.

If it gets a 1080i source through hdmi, and the soure is on BEFORE the tv, then the tv just produces snow until i reset the device.

I had this happen for a while myself but could never narrow down the cause. I guess now I know.

I don't use the HDMI port anymore - no use for it. I use VGA and Component for most things, and switch down to S-Video when I need the Zoom feature of the TV.

I struggled a little trying to get PowerStrip setup with the Maxent. To make it dead-simple for anyone else who wants to set theirs up at full 1366x768 resolution from any computer with a VGA cable:

PowerStrip settings for Maxent Mx50x3:
http://soopahman.com/fun/PowerStripMaxentMx50x3.png

Important things to note:
1) Neither "Positive" checkbox is checked.
2) You need to set the numbers in the image from the top left, so, top left box, top right box, 2nd left box, 2nd right box etc. If you don't, PowerStrip will calculate some of the numbers for you, and do so incorrectly.
3) You click "Add Resolution" at the bottom after you're done filling it out, not before.
4) When you're done you just restart your computer, open the Display Settings (the builtin Windows one) and drag up the Resolution slider for your TV ("2nd monitor"). The 1366 setting will be one of the stops on the slider. Pick it and revel in how wonderful the image comes out. Watch an HD movie or something.

How much different is the MX-50X5 from the MX-50X3?

How much different is the MX-50X5 from the MX-50X3?

Substantially. Most people reported substantially worse PQ on the 'upgraded' model over the 50x3.

Substantially. Most people reported substantially worse PQ on the 'upgraded' model over the 50x3.

Those who still have the 50X3 - how happy are you with the purchase? My screen still looks AWESOME. One of the better HDTVs I've seen, aside from the 1080P models out now.

Substantially. Most people reported substantially worse PQ on the 'upgraded' model over the 50x3.
OK thanks I just bought a 50X5 and to me DVDs and kid's Wii look very nice. Cable channels are pretty varied, but I'm having Comcast come Monday to hook up the HD digital box and I'm sure that will help clean things up.

Might be a dumb question but what causes cable channel PQ to be so varied? They are all coming down the same wire to the TV, so I would assume the PQ would be somewhat the same. I guess that is the one thing that bugs me about my LCD TV and now this Plasma over a tube TV. With a tube TV every channel was about the same, now some have bars at the top and bottom, some have bars on the side, some are crystal clear and are so so. Will there ever be uniformity in how cable channels display?

OK thanks I just bought a 50X5 and to me DVDs and kid's Wii look very nice. Cable channels are pretty varied, but I'm having Comcast come Monday to hook up the HD digital box and I'm sure that will help clean things up.

Might be a dumb question but what causes cable channel PQ to be so varied? They are all coming down the same wire to the TV, so I would assume the PQ would be somewhat the same. I guess that is the one thing that bugs me about my LCD TV and now this Plasma over a tube TV. With a tube TV every channel was about the same, now some have bars at the top and bottom, some have bars on the side, some are crystal clear and are so so. Will there ever be uniformity in how cable channels display?

PQ all depends on the channel that's sending the signal. Some channels pony up and send a stronger singal, and also use better equipment to tape their shows. Bars on the side means non-HD content. Bars at the top/bottom means that the show was shot in a different aspect ratio than your screen. It's all normal and everything that continues to bug everyone, but there's nothing we can do until all TV is HD.

Well Comcast came today and hooked up the HD digital box to my Maxent 50X5 and everything looks great now. I'm using HDMI from the cable box to the Maxent. Had slight problem with the cable hookup, since the guy they sent didn't know anything. When first hooked up every channel had bars on the side and I told him something in the setting must need to be changed. He tells me I need to call Comcast. WTF you are Comcast, so after him making 5 calls to find someone that knew how to access the settings menu we figured out that the 4:3 needed to be set on Stretch.

The only thing that I'm a little bit let down about is that I thought I could send the signal from the cable box to my Panasonic DMR-EZ47 and since it has a digital tuner I thought it would pick up the channels from the box and I could record without needing the cable box. No such luck (or I'm over looking something). Need to have cable box set to channel I want record and have recorder on channel 3 or Input #1. Have Panasonic DMR-EH75 if I want to record 2 programs on different channels when I'm not home, so I can live with it.

Now that I have a monitor and see how nice it looks, I'm thinking that I should have bought a monitor instead of the Vizio 42 LCD I have in the bed room. If you are going to use a cable box is there any point in buying a TV with a tuner?

The only thing that I'm a little bit let down about is that I thought I could send the signal from the cable box to my Panasonic DMR-EZ47 and since it has a digital tuner I thought it would pick up the channels from the box and I could record without needing the cable box. No such luck (or I'm over looking something). Need to have cable box set to channel I want record and have recorder on channel 3 or Input #1. Have Panasonic DMR-EH75 if I want to record 2 programs on different channels when I'm not home, so I can live with it.

Now that I have a monitor and see how nice it looks, I'm thinking that I should have bought a monitor instead of the Vizio 42 LCD I have in the bed room. If you are going to use a cable box is there any point in buying a TV with a tuner?

What you can do is split the coax cable coming into the comcrap box. One cable to the cablebox and one to the panasonic. Then you will be able to record without the cable box. Some channels will not tune in on the panasonic without the cable box so you will have to experiment with that.

The reason some channels look worse than others is because of the feed from comcast. Some channels are more compressed than others. A good reason to by a tv with a tuner is you can hook up a hdtv antenna to them and you can get free hdtv over the air if you are close enough to a transmission tower..and most households in the us are. Over the air broadcasts (OTA) are a much better signal, since the compression is way less than what you get over your cable line. Good luck with your new set..and glad you are happy with it.

Those who still have the 50X3 - how happy are you with the purchase? My screen still looks AWESOME. One of the better HDTVs I've seen, aside from the 1080P models out now.

very happy for the most part. It is right there with its PQ ability.. a very nice plasma from that era.

What you can do is split the coax cable coming into the comcrap box. One cable to the cablebox and one to the panasonic. Then you will be able to record without the cable box. Some channels will not tune in on the panasonic without the cable box so you will have to experiment with that.

The reason some channels look worse than others is because of the feed from comcast. Some channels are more compressed than others. Good luck with your new set..and glad you are happy with it.

Splitting isn't going to help, since what I record most are EPL soccer matches off the FOX Soccer Channel and you need the box for that. Like I said not that be a deal, since the other recorder has the IR Blaster to change the channels on the cable box.

One thing I think is odd, is that FOX News is one of the crappier looking regular cable channels and would think they have the money to send out a good signal.

For what I paid, at this point I couldn't be happier. If anyone else wants one at a good price, go to that famous auction Website and do a search for the 50X5. BB is selling them through their outlet.

The only thing that I'm a little bit let down about is that I thought I could send the signal from the cable box to my Panasonic DMR-EZ47 and since it has a digital tuner I thought it would pick up the channels from the box and I could record without needing the cable box. No such luck (or I'm over looking something). Need to have cable box set to channel I want record and have recorder on channel 3 or Input #1. Have Panasonic DMR-EH75 if I want to record 2 programs on different channels when I'm not home, so I can live with it.


Problem solved (sort of), I was in CC today and I was able to talk them down to 250 on a Panasonic DMR-EH75 floor model. They said it had never been plug in and it has all the accessories.

Those who still have the 50X3 - how happy are you with the purchase? My screen still looks AWESOME. One of the better HDTVs I've seen, aside from the 1080P models out now.

I have had mine for almost 2 years now and I am still very happy with it.

My only regret was that I didn't wait a few weeks longer to buy it, prices really started to drop on plasmas right after I bought this.

Other than that, it still has a great picture quality and had been very reliable.

very happy for the most part. It is right there with its PQ ability.. a very nice plasma from that era.

Damn, you make me feel like a senior citizen phrasing it like that.:eek:

When I play back a dark scene from a show, I will see horizontal white lines in the darkest part of the screen. Anyone have an idea what this might be? I first started getting it with my Comcast DVR and have now replaced it with a TiVo HD box and still have the same issue. Both were hooked up with HDMI. I tried switching to component, still there. I work nights, so I haven't been able to watch many TV shows live at night to see if it is just the recordings or if it happens during live broadcasts too. I don't see it when playing dvds via component, but that is only 480p. I do have the output on the TiVo and the Comcast DVR set to 720p. Thanks.

Mine does that by itself randomly ;)

Unplug it from the wall for a few minutes. That should do it.

Mine resets its settings every once in awhile too. Sometimes it takes months to happen, other times it happens a few days apart. It's so damn annoying. Between that and the brightness flickering during dark scenes, I've decided after 2 years of ownership that I am going to make this a bedroom TV, and get one of the new 120Hz LCDs for my main TV viewing.

Although, it's good to hear that the flickering black does not happen over HDMI. I first reported this issue 2 years ago somewhere in this thread, and nobody knew at the time it didn't happen in HDMI. I'll buy an HDMI cable soon and try that out.

Mine resets its settings every once in awhile too. Sometimes it takes months to happen, other times it happens a few days apart. It's so damn annoying. Between that and the brightness flickering during dark scenes, I've decided after 2 years of ownership that I am going to make this a bedroom TV, and get one of the new 120Hz LCDs for my main TV viewing.

Although, it's good to hear that the flickering black does not happen over HDMI. I first reported this issue 2 years ago somewhere in this thread, and nobody knew at the time it didn't happen in HDMI. I'll buy an HDMI cable soon and try that out.

The reason your TV settings reset is due to power outages. Check your clocks when this happens.

I'm running my TV through component because people complained about how HDMI looked on this TV. I don't experience any flickering in dark scenes. Had the TV for over 2 years now

The reason your TV settings reset is due to power outages. Check your clocks when this happens.

I'm running my TV through component because people complained about how HDMI looked on this TV. I don't experience any flickering in dark scenes. Had the TV for over 2 years now

It's not occurring with power outages. There's been times when I've turned off the TV, realized I forgot to set something up on my DVR, and turned it right back on again, and the settings are lost. It's very random.

What were your complaints about the picture via HDMI?

The reason your TV settings reset is due to power outages. Check your clocks when this happens.

I'm running my TV through component because people complained about how HDMI looked on this TV. I don't experience any flickering in dark scenes. Had the TV for over 2 years now

Definitely 100% nothing to do with power outages.

If you don't notice the dynamic brightness adjustment over component on this set.... I guess you're just not as observant or simply don't care about picture quality as the rest of us. Many people can look at a stretched SD image on a widescreen TV and say they see no difference, so *shrug*

The reason your TV settings reset is due to power outages. Check your clocks when this happens.

I'm running my TV through component because people complained about how HDMI looked on this TV. I don't experience any flickering in dark scenes. Had the TV for over 2 years now

The flickering is on white scences like snow or hockey games.

The flickering is on white scences like snow or hockey games.

i get it on light and dark scenes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mhoffmeier
When the component one input on my Maxent is hooked up to a 480p source, the picture drops out occasionally, three or so times during a movie. This lasts for a second or two, then the 480p signal detection text appears in the upper right hand corner, and the picture reappears. When I have my Dishnetwork 622 or xbox 360 sending it 720p to the same input, I've no problem at all. I've tried this with two different dvd players, so I'm convinced it is a problem with the monitor. Maxent tech support wants me to try and hook up the dvd to the composite, and see if the problem goes away. I hate to go back to composite.

Has anyone encountered this problem, and perhaps solved it?


I'm experiencing this exact issue. I have gone through 3 different DVD players and they all have the same results. I tried different cables and the different components with no luck. Maxent tech support also wanted me to go back to composite, and see if the issues goes away. This is my 3rd TV from them, I'm wishing now that I went with a panasonic.

LONG time since I have checked this thread. I purchased my Maxent on 11/11/2005. I have also had this exact same issue, twice now. Actually mine would do it maybe 15-30 times during any given movie in 480p. Fortunately, I purchashed the Best Buy 4yr. PSP when I bought my Maxent. Both times this happened to me BB tech replaced the PC board in my Maxent. It was 12 months before it happened the first time around, 9 months the second time around, right now it is fine as the PC board was just replaced recently. I am sure it will happen again though:p

I just need two more eligible repairs and it is a brand new 1080p Panny for me next time around!!:D

Saw a strange issue with my maxent yesterday. All of a sudden.. while watching a program, about 30 vertical different colored lines 1/32 of a inch wide showed up on the screen. All the lines were on a grid pattern of about a inch apart. I switched inputs and the lines were still there. I powered the unit off.. and turned it back on, and the lines disappeared.

Has anyone else seen this on their maxent? I really have not watched the tv that much since it happened, so I hope the lines do not return. I purchased it in Feb.2006 and did buy the 4 yr. ext. warranty from BB.

A couple of months ago I started getting a vertical 12" red line that started from the top right side of screen. I purchased the set in Nov. 2005. and I also had purchased the 4yr warranty from BB. About a month ago I called BB and they sent out a serviceman who determined that it was the driver board or something, and that he was going to have to order the part. It took about 2 weeks until he came back, replaced the part, and nothing changed. He determined that it could not be repaired and I now have a brand new Samsung PN50A550. I only had to pay the difference in price, which was about $70.00 + I bought another service plan for $350.00. Not too bad. ;-)

Thanks for the information regarding your issue. You made out pretty damn good with the bb ext warranty!! It is good to know that they took care of you, and gave you a good price for your maxent...to put towards another unit.

Was your issue intermittent at 1st, then constant after a while? How does your new sammy's pic quality compare to the maxent? Thanks again for the info.

Yes it started out intermittently, then it was constant. The only hassle after the service guy determined that it couldn't be fixed was going to BB and having them figure out what to do. LOL They decided that they had to arrange to have the Maxent picked up, and once the pick-up guys gave me the pink slip verifying pick-up, I had to take the slip to BB. Once there, I told them which TV I wanted, and paid the difference. Shipping was free.

The pic quality is great. The Maxent had excellent pic quality also, but this plasma definitely exceeds it.

Mine still has a great pix. We use HDMI for all HD content.

However, it quite frequently goes into a mode where it does all of the below:

* displays a small "noise box" instead of the momentary input mode characters (HDMI, AV1, etc.) when changing settings
* defaults to factory settings on the pix
* does not respond to manual buttons (it continues to respond to the remote commands just fine)

These issues are cleared for a while by turning off the power switch in the back for a minute. (of course my pix settings don't come back). Then in a few hours or days, it will do this again. We just watch it now on the factory pix settings because it seems to be occurring more and more often.

In addition, pix will occasionally (rarely) go blank when changing channels. And very very rarely, when a station cuts between a program and a commercial. Cycling power (via remote) clears this.

Does anyone know of fixes for these or is there a software upgrade? I haven't been on this forum for a while and have not had time to scan all the recent posts.

Mine still has a great pix. We use HDMI for all HD content.

However, it quite frequently goes into a mode where it does all of the below:

* displays a small "noise box" instead of the momentary input mode characters (HDMI, AV1, etc.) when changing settings
* defaults to factory settings on the pix
* does not respond to manual buttons (it continues to respond to the remote commands just fine)

These issues are cleared for a while by turning off the power switch in the back for a minute. (of course my pix settings don't come back). Then in a few hours or days, it will do this again. We just watch it now on the factory pix settings because it seems to be occurring more and more often.

In addition, pix will occasionally (rarely) go blank when changing channels. And very very rarely, when a station cuts between a program and a commercial. Cycling power (via remote) clears this.

Does anyone know of fixes for these or is there a software upgrade? I haven't been on this forum for a while and have not had time to scan all the recent posts.
Mine also resets to default, but only when hooked up through HDMI. When I use component, it does not do this. It has been like this since I bought it, about 2 years ago.

Neil

Yes it started out intermittently, then it was constant. The only hassle after the service guy determined that it couldn't be fixed was going to BB and having them figure out what to do. LOL They decided that they had to arrange to have the Maxent picked up, and once the pick-up guys gave me the pink slip verifying pick-up, I had to take the slip to BB. Once there, I told them which TV I wanted, and paid the difference. Shipping was free.

The pic quality is great. The Maxent had excellent pic quality also, but this plasma definitely exceeds it.

Thanks for the extra info! The maxents pic quality is excellent, and closely compared to other plasma's from the same time period imo. With all the new technology in the past few years, plasma's have gotten better with pic quality. I have not had the issue that I described in my previous post happen again..so we will see how it goes.

Mine still has a great pix. We use HDMI for all HD content.

However, it quite frequently goes into a mode where it does all of the below:

* displays a small "noise box" instead of the momentary input mode characters (HDMI, AV1, etc.) when changing settings
* defaults to factory settings on the pix
* does not respond to manual buttons (it continues to respond to the remote commands just fine)

These issues are cleared for a while by turning off the power switch in the back for a minute. (of course my pix settings don't come back). Then in a few hours or days, it will do this again. We just watch it now on the factory pix settings because it seems to be occurring more and more often.

In addition, pix will occasionally (rarely) go blank when changing channels. And very very rarely, when a station cuts between a program and a commercial. Cycling power (via remote) clears this.

Does anyone know of fixes for these or is there a software upgrade? I haven't been on this forum for a while and have not had time to scan all the recent posts.

I have only had mine reset back to factory defaults a couple if times during my ownership..and I am not quite sure if someone might have hit the recall button on the remote by mistake, when it did happen. I don't use the remote anymore since I have a universal remote now...for over a year. It has not reset it's pic settings for at least that long and most likely longer.

I did have the manual buttons not respond when pushing them once. But after switching the power button on and off in the back I have never seen this again. I do turn it on and off quite frequently with the button on the unit..so it definitely has not occurred again. I have not had any of the other issues that you have had..yet! When your picture goes blank sometimes... sounds like a intermittent hdmi handshake issue from whatever source you have hooked up to the maxent. You could try a new source..but if it does not do it often, I would probably just let it go.

Well, my MX-50X3 purchased from BB bout 2 years ago is too showing those static verticle lines. Sometimes the screen even goes completely crazy, blocks of color, blank, etc. It sounds like same issues as most of you. Unfortuanately I didn't buy the BB protection plan (never believed in those until about now).

My question is, if I wanted to get it fixed....how much would it cost...if a fix was even possible? Or is it even worth fixing, based on the cost. Just get a new one? Thanks in advance for any advice/input.

Based on my own experience with TV repair guys, and the post above from etw926, most seem to just try fixes at random, hoping that the problem goes away. Trying to pay for repairs on your own will probably be an expensive and non-successful process. But maybe there are still some electronics guru's out there that could actually fix one of these TV's.

Well, my MX-50X3 purchased from BB bout 2 years ago is too showing those static verticle lines. Sometimes the screen even goes completely crazy, blocks of color, blank, etc. It sounds like same issues as most of you. Unfortuanately I didn't buy the BB protection plan (never believed in those until about now).

My question is, if I wanted to get it fixed....how much would it cost...if a fix was even possible? Or is it even worth fixing, based on the cost. Just get a new one? Thanks in advance for any advice/input.

I am sorry to hear about your issue. Mine did this back in March..and I did not see it again until a few days ago.. So roughly 2 months ago was the last time that this issue happened to me, until a few days ago. I again turned the unit off, and the vertical lines went away. These lines are also made of different colors.

How often is it showing this issue? Also, is it intermittent or constant? Did you call Maxent and ask if they could help you?

bump

Last! Take that all you firsties! :p

Last! Take that all you firsties! :p

?????

I just got FIOs from Verizon and the HDMI input is not working. Is there anybody having the same problem. I have best buy PSP and I already have schedule a service.

Try turning on the set top box first , then the TV with it already selected to HDMI , there has been some "handshake" problems reported earlier in this forum about this.

I purchased my MX-50X3 from Costco in the Summer of '06. A few months ago, I noticed that the screen would "flicker" at power-on for several seconds and run fine for hours after. With the weather cooling, the "flicker" time has gone from 3-5 seconds to +20 seconds. It's as if the power supply needs to "warm-up". The unit runs fines after the initial power-on. Let me know if you have run into this problem with your unit.

Also, can anyone confirm that my purchase is "grandfathered" into the old Costco warranty since it was made before the new policy went into affect?

Thanks,
.joe

From everything I have heard about the Costco policy..you should fall under the grandfathered return policy. The only way to know for sure is to go talk to them.

I purchased my MX-50X3 from Costco in the Summer of '06. A few months ago, I noticed that the screen would "flicker" at power-on for several seconds and run fine for hours after. With the weather cooling, the "flicker" time has gone from 3-5 seconds to +20 seconds. It's as if the power supply needs to "warm-up". The unit runs fines after the initial power-on. Let me know if you have run into this problem with your unit.


Have same issue at startup with my MX-50X3, purchased Nov 05 at BB, still under extended warranty, Geek Squad technician verified today and ordered "a board" to repair. Mine has a longer flicker with component inputs vs. HDMI. Part ordered, but 2 weeks minimum before it's in.

Today my Maxent lost its picture. Reset it by unplugging it and the picture came back on. Watched tv for 5 min and the picture went out again. Has anyone had this happen, any idea what the cause could be??

It does it on any input regardless of video source.

My Maxent went about 5 months ago. purchased in 06. returned it to costco for a 50"panny. although i loved my maxent the picture from the panny is like night and day.

its that much better.

Have same issue at startup with my MX-50X3, purchased Nov 05 at BB, still under extended warranty, Geek Squad technician verified today and ordered "a board" to repair. Mine has a longer flicker with component inputs vs. HDMI. Part ordered, but 2 weeks minimum before it's in.

Same thing with mine. It's been doing it for a year...

I've tried every approach possible to contact Maxent/Regent to find a solution, but no luck at all.

Please say which board it is!

/TOM

Same thing with mine. It's been doing it for a year...

I've tried every approach possible to contact Maxent/Regent to find a solution, but no luck at all.

Please say which board it is!

/TOM

I had the same problem with the flickering. Bought my set when it first came out. Had a repairman come out and take a look and he said it was one of two boards. Since I had paid with American Express, they doubled the warranty and I came in just under the wire to get reinbursed for the expense. The estimate of replacing the two boards was around $1100 and that is what I got from AmEx. What I did was found a cheap set on ebay with a broken glass and bought it. Took out all the parts and swapped out one of the boards the repairman said could be the problem. BINGO. It was this part.
http://parts.discount-merchant.com/modim/photos.php?itemid=1014942. I noticed several sites have the part in stock. It is not a hard repair to make if you are careful.

Originally Posted by silvercans
What's the best way to connect my computer to this set and achieve the native resolution (I'm buying an nvidia that can do 1366 x 768). According to Maxent's website the D-sub port only supports a max res of 1280 x 1024. So does that mean I stuck using a DVI to HDMI cable (will the HDMI port even accept 1366x768?).

that is correct the hdmi port will not accept native resolution

Can someone elaborate here? I'm tring to connect this monitor to the Nvidia 9400 based Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H via HDMI. I don't understand how to get rid of the overscan. The quote above combined with the following (http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=143&p_created=1100037537&p_sid=nk9671oj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ 9MSwxJnBfcHJvZHM9MiZwX2NhdHM9MCZwX3B2PTEuMiZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJ jaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3R leHQ9MTM2Ng**&p_li=&p_topview=1)from Nvidia's website has me wondering if there is no solution to my problem...

"NVIDIA GPUs can now support horizontal timings that are not evenly divisible by eight. However, such resolutions (example H .1366 x V. 768) must be included within the Displays EDID* firmware. "

:confused:

Can someone elaborate here? I'm tring to connect this monitor to the Nvidia 9400 based Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H via HDMI. I don't understand how to get rid of the overscan. The quote above combined with the following (http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=143&p_created=1100037537&p_sid=nk9671oj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ 9MSwxJnBfcHJvZHM9MiZwX2NhdHM9MCZwX3B2PTEuMiZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJ jaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3R leHQ9MTM2Ng**&p_li=&p_topview=1)from Nvidia's website has me wondering if there is no solution to my problem...

"NVIDIA GPUs can now support horizontal timings that are not evenly divisible by eight. However, such resolutions (example H .1366 x V. 768) must be included within the Displays EDID* firmware. "

:confused:

In reply #2050, a user showed how he used powerstrip to obtain 1366x768 using a vga cable. I would look into that if I was you.

"Flicker" fixed...sort of.

Ordered the Dpwb11522-mpp-d board online. Originally tried BB.com but would take a month so cancelled it. Got it from another outfit. My set had the flicker that got longer and longer to go away, compete with crazy colors, horizontal lines, etc. Anyway, after replacing the board and powering up, the crazy flashing, horizontal lines and colors remained...but only for about a minute. After that, set looks great. Of course, it is still not right. Was I sent a defective board? Two different folks from the company I bought it from said it sounds like I have something else wrong that is slowly corrupting the Dpwb11522-mpp-d board. Any thoughts?

I wouldn't trust the board. If you can send it back then I would do so. It can only go down from here. I would tell them all the other parts in your set are fine. You do not want to accept a part that is not going to last all that long.

When my set started to go bad, it took about a minute for it to settle down and show the proper picture. It then started to get worse until it was taking quite a bit longer to come on properly. Since I changed out the part, it has worked perfect.

Did your other board go out completely or did it still work?

I just thought I'd mention that I bought mine in December of 05 and have had no problems with it.

Knock on wood.

The original board worked, but it took about 20 minutes or so before it "warmed up" or "settled down" for want of a better term. However, and this is unfortunate, it doesn't even do that anymore after putting in the "new" board! After initially noticing the TV still acting up with the replacement board in it, I said, "Okay Dad, let's take the dern thing off the wall again and put the old board back in. Clearly, this replacement is not right." Well, guess what? The old board would not settle down! The problem was now constant! I watched TV in horror Thursday night (not bashing the quality of the programming, of course:) while I waited for the next day so my pops could come back over and help me take the set off the wall again, take out the million screws (slight exaggeration, of course) and put the replacement back in. I keep the TV on the wall because I have three small kids that run around like maniacs and I don't trust the stand. I must admit that I am flirting with the idea of leaving the new card in because of the inconvenience involved in getting yet another one, installing it, etc. Deep down, I know I should probably try another one, but I wonder if it is worth the hassle.
Thanks for the help!

Tough decision to have to make. If you decide to keep it, hopefully it will last.

Agreed. I will keep you posted.

The original board worked, but it took about 20 minutes or so before it "warmed up" or "settled down" for want of a better term. However, and this is unfortunate, it doesn't even do that anymore after putting in the "new" board! . . . I said, "Okay Dad, let's take the dern thing off the wall again and put the old board back in." . . . The old board would not settle down! The problem was now constant! . . . I keep the TV on the wall because I have three small kids that run around like maniacs and I don't trust the stand.

You won't be happy leaving the TV as-is, so I doubt that's an option.

You basically have 2 options going forward:
1) Buy a new TV - yes, you didn't want to think about that but that's the best option now. Consider a projector - you can mount it on the ceiling far from harm, and it's small and easy to tinker with in case something goes wrong. Not too expensive either.

2) Experiment with this one - and take that word seriously. Approach the problem scientifically. Assume you'll be doing a lot of swapping. Get the TV down and in a place that's safe and above all easy to work on. Take a look at what other parts affect the board and get a few replacement parts - another board and one of each of the other parts. Ideally you'd get 2 of each in case any one is defective, so you can quickly swap parts one by one (scientific method) until things work again, to identify what really went wrong.

The middle ground is to just order a part here, a part there, basically putting all your hopes in a guess, and you'll be stuck in a loop of taking it down, putting it up, sending things back. So don't do that!

The "flicker"

I actually found this TV by the dumpster where I work, if the screen is ok, the TV is fixable, so I took it home. Noticed the flicker and noticed that it got a little better as the TV warmed up. So, I took a hair dryer to it to see where it needed to heat up. Sure enough, when I hit the video board, QPWB11522-1G, or DPWB11522-MPP-D, with the dryer, the flicker cleared, but not for too long. After a while of no heat the TV flickered again. I pinpointed the problem to, what seems to be the main processor, the one with the bigger green heat sink on the board. So, the board needs to be replaced, but at over $300, and probably not in stock, I won't be fixing it any time soon.

Just my 2 cents!

Yeah, my TV that I bought in Feb of '06 has gotten to the point where it flickers continuously. Sometimes it will stabilize after being on 5+ hours, but it's pretty much unwatchable. We're in the midst of getting it serviced. I did buy the 4-year service plan from Best Buy, but the guy had no clue as to what was causing it. He's ordering a new power supply, but didn't have much hope that that would fix it or that it would be the final thing he would try. I'll let you guys know what he finds.. but I'm hoping he says it's unfixable and I can get a new TV. It's actually gotten worse after he took it apart - it kind of shocked me when first thing he did was lay the TV on the floor face-down.

Well, I've finally got some resolution from BB. When the technician came a couple of weeks ago to swap power supplies it did not do the trick - in fact the TV wouldn't even come on (the power light just pulsed green and it never did power up).

When he left, his plan was to order the same MPP board mentioned a page or two ago on this thread. In fact, I jumped on here and wrote down the part number and he said that he was thinking it was that part as well (nice...). So I called the repair company and BB last week, and they still hadn't ordered the part - they said it took a couple of days for him to enter the part into the system (his company said he had to determine the part number), and then they couldn't find it in stock. At this, I got fairly aggravated (with a google search I had already found a vendor that had the power supply after they said it would be a month wait, and I had seen this MPP board in stock in a new search as well). I commented to the Geek Squad agent on the phone that it looks like these guys didn't have much idea how to fix a Maxent and that it seemed they were simply going to order one part after another. Meanwhile, I'd already been w/o HD for 8 weeks. But it seemed my complaints fell on deaf ears, as she said there was nothing she could do.

Well, imagine my surprise today when they told me I've been authorized for a replacement TV. They didn't say what finally triggered this, but I imagine the costs started to rack up on these visits and parts, and maybe they weren't able to acquire this new part. Of course, this isn't any help to anyone here suffering the same problem - in fact my TV now flickers continuously no matter how long I leave it on. So, now I'll see what BB's policy is for warranty replacement - I know the 'plan' says it should be replaced by a similar model, but I'm hoping for closer to what I originally paid. So, in the end, the warranty paid off, but I probably won't get it in the future for a 'name brand' set, and it was certainly a hassle to deal with this for the last couple of months.

Wanted to mention I've successfully hooked my PC up over HDMI to the MX-50X3, and my previous glitchy HDMI experience was apparently a problem of the output device (an OTA HDTV receiver), not the TV.

By default, hooking the PC up to the TV resulted in a black border all around the image, but digging through the drivers (ATI Catalyst in this case) lead me to the "Overscan" tab where I could reduce the Overscan to about 5% and fill the screen appropriately.

Unfortunately the overly-perfect 16:9 ratio (1360x768 is on my PC defaults and all my 3D games... but 1366x768 is true 16:9 mathematically... so who's right?) makes for a lot of annoyances in trying to set the resolution in just about anything, and text is nearly unreadable in the barely-stretched 1360 wide mode.

Since every Component device displays flawlessly on this I'm debating switching the PC to Component output as well, which is apparently trivial - Radeon HD's do it out of the box, you just have to dig through the parts and drivers a little (there's basically no documentation of this, nor the built-in soundcard they all have now... why not brag about something like that... or at least document it?)

"Flicker" at start-up is about two minutes now, but other than that working well.

Lost AV1 on mine last week will only display B&W, otherwise still tooling along after almost 4 years.

Wow, hard to believe I started this thread 4 years ago next month. My Maxent has been going strong and it has gotten LOTs of use over the years. The only minor complaint is that when I first turn it on there is some weird green video noise that seems to be sticking around a little longer but it goes away after a minute or less. Really not a big deal and has outlasted some of my buddies much more expensive PDPs so I'm happy. Picture still looks great and no major issues to report at all.

Now if the 50" Vizio in the living room just lasts that long and if only I can repair the other 50" Vizio in my garage I would be set!

Hey all. Been quite some time since I checked this thread. My 50x3 is now having the "green flicker" issue when first powered on. It lasts for less than a minute but I'm concerned that this may be the beginning of the end. Has anyone been able to fix this issue yet? Anyone know if Maxent has ever made a statement about it?

Any thoughts here would be much appreciated!

My Maxent went some time ago....

miss her;)

Mine's still going strong, thank god :)