Sorry for a double post but can anyone here who has spent a lot of time with this NEC and also had a decent ammount of time with the latest 50" Fuji tell me how the NEC compares? I was finally decided on the Fuji but its quite a bit more at street prices. Everyone is raving about this NEC and I'm trying to understand what if anything all the extra money buys me with the Fujitsu?

OK, here is the 42XR4 configuration as set up by the installation guy:
Strong 5400 HD STB connected to the panel DVD/HD1 input via component
Satellite STB S-video connected to VCR, which in turn is connected via
S-video to panel Video 1 input
no DVD player connected
only about 100 hours up on the panel so far, but this problem isn't improving.
As I said previously, the crushing white problem occurs on all sources via both inputs, leading me to believe it is a panel setting issue. The level of the darker colors can certainly be changed significantly by either adjusting the pedestal/setup level from 0 through to 7.5, and/or adjusting the Picture Mode up to theatre 1 & 2 (although these make things a little dark for my taste). However nothing I’ve fiddled with so far has had the same effect on white & pale colors, which remain washed out. Pushing the contrast higher also doesn't do anything for the problem, and again, much above 32-40 appears high to me. Apart from this niggling problem, the display is fantastic.

Settings:

Strong HD STB via component to DVD/HD1 (Video 1 settings similar):

Contrast 32
Brightness 37
Sharpness 2
Colour 32
Tint 32
Picture Mode normal
Noise Reduction off
Colour Temp middle-low
- Gain R 40
- Gain G 39
- Gain B 34
- Bias R 40
- Bias G 40
- Bias B 40
Gamma 2.2
Low Tone auto
Colour Tune
- R 32
- G 32
- B 33
- Y 32
- M 32
- C 33

cpcat said:

What is the deal with this? Isn't this a rather large imposition? What is the downside of this in your view so far? You basically cannot modify the color settings if you use an external scaler? Or am I misreading you? Is this common amongst high end plasma displays? Does the Fujitsu do this too?

Both NEC and Panasonic do this. No, it's not an imposition. Scaler manufacturers typically recc. that brightness/contrast be adjusted through the display and tint/saturation throught the scaler anyway. I'm not sure whether Fujitsu panels behave the same way.

Cinema mode I believe turns 3:2 pulldown detection on which shouldn't really matter if you are feeding NR. I did find a way to toggle it on/off though. The panel has to be fed an interlaced signal for the option to be enabled.


Also in an early post you said you removed your Lumagen scaler from the mix and the NEC PQ got better. What is up with that? Is that because the built in scaler is really better than a $1k+ seperate scaler?

This was before I found the panel was limiting contrast for PC signals (including NR). After I went into the SM and turned "Limit PC" to off, the picture improved with the Lumagen.
The NEC does have excellent scaling, though.




What if I wanted to mate the NEC HVQ scaler to this NEC plasma with a native feed over HDMI? That should produce a better PQ right?

That would be quite a setup. I'd love to see it.

OK, here is the 42XR4 configuration as set up by the installation guy:
Strong 5400 HD STB connected to the panel DVD/HD1 input via component
Satellite STB S-video connected to VCR, which in turn is connected via
S-video to panel Video 1 input
no DVD player connected
only about 100 hours up on the panel so far, but this problem isn't improving.
As I said previously, the crushing white problem occurs on all sources via both inputs, leading me to believe it is a panel setting issue. The level of the darker colors can certainly be changed significantly by either adjusting the pedestal/setup level from 0 through to 7.5, and/or adjusting the Picture Mode up to theatre 1 & 2 (although these make things a little dark for my taste). However nothing I’ve fiddled with so far has had the same effect on white & pale colors, which remain washed out. Pushing the contrast higher also doesn't do anything for the problem, and again, much above 32-40 appears high to me. Apart from this niggling problem, the display is fantastic.

Settings:

Strong HD STB via component to DVD/HD1 (Video 1 settings similar):

Contrast 32
Brightness 37
Sharpness 2
Colour 32
Tint 32
Picture Mode normal
Noise Reduction off
Colour Temp middle-low
- Gain R 40
- Gain G 39
- Gain B 34
- Bias R 40
- Bias G 40
- Bias B 40
Gamma 2.2
Low Tone auto
Colour Tune
- R 32
- G 32
- B 33
- Y 32
- M 32
- C 33

Pedestal should be at 7.5 for component input. The default Sharpness level for component input is around 16 isn't it? You might try returning sharpness to the default level and see what that does for the pq.

You need to get a DVD player hooked up. That will allow you to assess your white balance through AVIA or THX optimizer. In addition, it's a must to have more than one relatively high quality source to evaluate things. AVIA is a calibration DVD which is around 14 dollars. THX optimizer is a free bonus on many DVD's. Disney and Pixar DVD's as well as anything to do with George Lucas will have it. Look at the needle pulses test on AVIA or the white boxes test on THX optimizer to set white balance. You should see both pulses and all the boxes clearly. The black bars test on AVIA and the drop shadow test on THX optimizer will help in setting brightness as well.

I don't have any experience with s-video on this set. I assume the Strong STB is a cable box?

Not sure if this has been posted.. thought I saw it but then it was gone.

Contrast Ratios for NEC Models per this NEC site

http://www.de.nec.de/press.php/id/650/lang/ENG

42XR4- 2100:1
50XR5- 1000:1
61XR4- 1000:1

I am emailing the author of this Press Release to confirm current specs.

Those are wrong. Here are the contrast ratios:
42XR4 - 3000:1
50XR5 - 2000:1
61XR4 - 1500:1

Not sure if this has been posted.. thought I saw it but then it was gone.

Contrast Ratios for NEC Models per this NEC site

http://www.de.nec.de/press.php/id/650/lang/ENG

42XR4- 2100:1
50XR5- 1000:1
61XR4- 1000:1

I am emailing the author of this Press Release to confirm current specs.

They are probably actual measured ANSI contrast ratios which differ from the full on/full off and dynamic contrast ratios being published all over now. The Pioneer 5060HD was measured at 1135:1 which was described as impressive. In any case, don't worry about it. Anyone who has one or has seen one will tell you contrast is not this panel's weak link.

When Blu-Ray or HD-DVD finally come along, what are the options for using those sources with the 50XR5?

It seems like the 50XM5 may be a better choice with respect to "future-proofing" since it can accept 1080p via DVI, but if I read the specs right it has no HDMI inputs whereas the XR5 has 2.

Can anyone help clarify....

Sorry for a double post but can anyone here who has spent a lot of time with this NEC and also had a decent ammount of time with the latest 50" Fuji tell me how the NEC compares? I was finally decided on the Fuji but its quite a bit more at street prices. Everyone is raving about this NEC and I'm trying to understand what if anything all the extra money buys me with the Fujitsu? If you search this thread, you can see some of my opinions re the Fuji vs NEC. I auditioned the Fuji for several hours an evening for about 2 weeks before buying the NEC. I did A/B comparisons with Panny (nearby) and Pio Pro (adjacent wall), with multiple sources - OTA, DVD, cable. The Fuji was clearly more accurate and lifelike, the Panny more aggressive with color, the Pio in between. All 3 provided excellent HD PQ. The Fuji and Pio were slightly better with SD.

Pulling the trigger on the Fuji was delayed by (a) its premium price and (b) early encouraging reports on the new NEC. Unless someone has a NEC and Fuji in their home it will be difficult to find them for side-by-side auditions. After about a month with the NEC (185hrs of panel time), I believe the NEC PQ is very comparable to the Fuji, both HD and SD. The NEC is clearly a better bang for the buck. Now that NEC and Pio are catching up to Fuji, I suspect they will need to reassess their premium price structure.

At the risk of another stupid question ... Does accessing the service menu void the warranty?

For those who are interested in the optional side mount speaker performance…
I ordered my 50XR5 last night with this option. With our old system, we primarily used our sound system while watching movies and serials but, relied on set speakers for news and such. (This option will also conceal the side mount wiring). If this option makes my wife happy…its money well spent in my book.
I suspect the performance will be as expected, just fine. I’ll let you know in a week or so.

At the risk of another stupid question ... Does accessing the service menu void the warranty?

No. That would mean hiring a professional calibrator would void your warranty -- hardly fair.

When Blu-Ray or HD-DVD finally come along, what are the options for using those sources with the 50XR5?

It seems like the 50XM5 may be a better choice with respect to "future-proofing" since it can accept 1080p via DVI, but if I read the specs right it has no HDMI inputs whereas the XR5 has 2.

Can anyone help clarify....

From what I've learned here, HDMI is not 1080p compatible, but component is, so you would use component video with hi-def DVD's.

For those who are interested in the optional side mount speaker performance…
I ordered my 50XR5 last night with this option. With our old system, we primarily used our sound system while watching movies and serials but, relied on set speakers for news and such. (This option will also conceal the side mount wiring). If this option makes my wife happy…its money well spent in my book.
I suspect the performance will be as expected, just fine. I’ll let you know in a week or so.

how conspicuous are the cable inputs, considering they are on the side of the screen? Obviously, one will be able to see them from the side, but are they sufficiently recessed so as long as the cable are routed toward the back of the unit, that the cables are not visible from the front?

It appears that there is an accessory to cover the cables (NEC model# px-cv2u) It's a shame one has to pay an additional 50-75 bucks to maintain a clean appearance.

If anyone has this cover, does it jut out from the side when viewing the screen from the front? that would be ugly, if so.

Eric

how conspicuous are the cable inputs, considering they are on the side of the screen? Obviously, one will be able to see them from the side, but are they sufficiently recessed so as long as the cable are routed toward the back of the unit, that the cables are not visible from the front?


They are actually very well hidden as the inputs are about 4-5 inches in. Route the wires to the middle of panel and all is well. Someone will have to be looking from the side to see the wires. I would say the only time a person would need the cover would be if there was a hall entrance on the right side of the panel. (If you are facing the front of the panel the inputs are on the right.)

Both NEC and Panasonic do this. No, it's not an imposition. Scaler manufacturers typically recc. that brightness/contrast be adjusted through the display and tint/saturation throught the scaler anyway. I'm not sure whether Fujitsu panels behave the same way.

I got an email from a Fuji rep who said that the Fuji will obviously not scale a native rate image passing through it but it will still execute its "color space management, analog-to-digital conversion, and so on."

So given that description would you say that the Fuji is doing something slightly different than the NEC with a scaler attached? Or am I parsing this too literally?

It appears that there is an accessory to cover the cables (NEC model# px-cv2u) It's a shame one has to pay an additional 50-75 bucks to maintain a clean appearance.

If anyone has this cover, does it jut out from the side when viewing the screen from the front? that would be ugly, if so.

Eric[/QUOTE]

I have the optional PX-CV2U Input Terminal Cover but haven’t installed it yet. The terminals on our 50XR5 face the kitchen adjacent to the family room and my wife is ultra sensitive to cable and wires so I plan on installing it as soon as I’m sure I’ve decided on a final configuration. I haven’t looked at it closely but I’m almost certain it is not visible from the front. It is a simple piece of flat black metal, curved on the outside edge. It looks like it will do exactly what we’d hoped. It might be a week or two until I’m ready but I’d be happy to post a picture after I finally install it.

All the XR5 experts here please help if you can. I've Nvidia 6600GT video card in my HTPC. I've few questions:

(1) Do you guys have any settings for this video card I can try?

(2) Before I go out get a RGB cable, what do you think will be a better PQ, RGB or DVI cable from my Nvidia 6600GT card to XR5? FYI - I need 30"+ cable.

(3) What is the best break in method for XR5? Should I just turn on some Hi-Def channel and play 24X7 for a week?

(4) What is the latest XR5 setting you guys using now?

Thanks in advance.

All the XR5 experts here please help if you can. I've Nvidia 6600GT video card in my HTPC. I've few questions:

(1) Do you guys have any settings for this video card I can try?

(2) Before I go out get a RGB cable, what do you think will be a better PQ, RGB or DVI cable from my Nvidia 6600GT card to XR5? FYI - I need 30"+ cable.

(3) What is the best break in method for XR5? Should I just turn on some Hi-Def channel and play 24X7 for a week?

(4) What is the latest XR5 setting you guys using now?

Thanks in advance.

Here are my timings that I posted earlier here in the thread (via HDMI):

Well, I've been "working" hard all day.

I found that 1:1 mapping was a snap. I was making it too hard. Here are the timings (obtained from NEC secondhand) via Lumagen VisionHDP through HDMI:

VTOT 788 HTOT 1526
VACT 768 HACT 1365
VSYN 4 HSYN 50
VFRN 4 HFRN 51

V freq. 60.00 Hz
H freq. 47.20 Hz

Make sure RGB select in setup menu is set to "auto"
Disable orbiting in PDP saver menu
Set image adjust values all to zero.
That's it. Double check signal info in the menu and it should read 1365 x 768 and memory 18.

V-line and H-line patterns via the Lumagen test patterns are perfect one-pixel rows.

You'll probably want to go into the SM and toggle "Limit PC" to off as it will make a huge difference. When on, this function limits panel contrast for PC inputs including native rate. Instructions for this here: http://www.glaucobruzzi.com/plasma-faq/showthread.php?t=148
You'll then need to drastically reduce your contrast from what it was before.

As far as settings go, lately I've been using gamma set at 2.4. I like the high color temp although that flies in the face of common wisdom. Use AVIA or THX optimizer to set contrast/brightness through the panel's controls and then you'll need to set tint/saturation through your video card. CW would dictate HDMI set to "low" for PC level input but there's no rule against experimenting. The same goes for pedestal which should be zero.

I vasilate somewhat between sharpness of 1 or 2. There will only be 1-4 with NR input.

Here are my timings that I posted earlier here in the thread (via HDMI):

Well, I've been "working" hard all day.

I found that 1:1 mapping was a snap. I was making it too hard. Here are the timings (obtained from NEC secondhand) via Lumagen VisionHDP through HDMI:

VTOT 788 HTOT 1526
VACT 768 HACT 1365
VSYN 4 HSYN 50
VFRN 4 HFRN 51

V freq. 60.00 Hz
H freq. 47.20 Hz

Make sure RGB select in setup menu is set to "auto"
Disable orbiting in PDP saver menu
Set image adjust values all to zero.
That's it. Double check signal info in the menu and it should read 1365 x 768 and memory 18.

V-line and H-line patterns via the Lumagen test patterns are perfect one-pixel rows.

You'll probably want to go into the SM and toggle "Limit PC" to off as it will make a huge difference. When on, this function limits panel contrast for PC inputs including native rate. Instructions for this here: http://www.glaucobruzzi.com/plasma-faq/showthread.php?t=148
You'll then need to drastically reduce your contrast from what it was before.

As far as settings go, lately I've been using gamma set at 2.4. I like the high color temp although that flies in the face of common wisdom. Use AVIA or THX optimizer to set contrast/brightness through the panel's controls and then you'll need to set tint/saturation through your video card. CW would dictate HDMI set to "low" for PC level input but there's no rule against experimenting. The same goes for pedestal which should be zero.

I vasilate somewhat between sharpness of 1 or 2. There will only be 1-4 with NR input.

cpcat,

Thanks for the response. I assume you are using HDMI. Have you try RGB? Can I use these setting via RGB?

Thanks!

cpcat,

Thanks for the response. I assume you are using HDMI. Have you try RGB? Can I use these setting via RGB?

Thanks!





I would assume so, but I've not tried it. I actually use DVI output through a DVI/HDMI cable.

I assume you are referring to digital RGB? As far as I know, isn't that pretty much the same as DVI anyway?

If you mean analog RGB (VGA, RGBHV) then unless you have a specific reason for this I'd recc. staying digital and avoiding unnecessary D/A A/D conversion.

If you search this thread, you can see some of my opinions re the Fuji vs NEC. I auditioned the Fuji for several hours an evening for about 2 weeks before buying the NEC. I did A/B comparisons with Panny (nearby) and Pio Pro (adjacent wall), with multiple sources - OTA, DVD, cable. The Fuji was clearly more accurate and lifelike, the Panny more aggressive with color, the Pio in between. All 3 provided excellent HD PQ. The Fuji and Pio were slightly better with SD.

Pulling the trigger on the Fuji was delayed by (a) its premium price and (b) early encouraging reports on the new NEC. Unless someone has a NEC and Fuji in their home it will be difficult to find them for side-by-side auditions. After about a month with the NEC (185hrs of panel time), I believe the NEC PQ is very comparable to the Fuji, both HD and SD. The NEC is clearly a better bang for the buck. Now that NEC and Pio are catching up to Fuji, I suspect they will need to reassess their premium price structure.


I saw the 42" NEC next to the 50" Fuji ... NEC had better blacks and richer colours .... the fuji PQ looked smoother ... both panels were being fed the same HD image via the same STB box via component ... the NEC had only 3-4 hours of use, the fuji over 100 ... the fuji had been tweeked - the NEC was out of the box .... the fuji looked a bit grayed compared to the NEC blacks....

disclaimer... this is my opinion only with 15 mins instore to compare both side by side... I didn't compare them via HDMI or DVD .... my first impressions are that the NEC rocks ...

a fairer comparisson would have been the 50 NEC to the 50 Fuji ...

I'm looking to buy the 42" eventually and the price of the NEC is pretty good ...

I am still a fan of the FUji .. .however IMHO the NEC has the edge here ... and its works better with an external scaler... I've got the VP30 ... so its looking like NEC for me...

From what I've learned here, HDMI is not 1080p compatible, but component is, so you would use component video with hi-def DVD's.

Yes, but there is some concern that Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will not offer component out, inorder to help with the HDCP enforcement; although (*IIRC*), there was some mention of a component out HD player from at least one mfg at CES this year.

So it would appear that rubinjm has raised an interesting point about the 1080p DVI input on 50XM5 versus the XR5's component in for 1080p. If the Blu-Ray and/or HD-DVD players are outputting 1080p (and unless I'm missing something here), an HDMI-to-DVI cable would allow for 1080p input on the 50XM5; and minus a componenet out from the new players, the XR5 will not be able to.

Yes, but there is some concern that Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will not offer component out, inorder to help with the HDCP enforcement; although (*IIRC*), there was some mention of a component out HD player from at least one mfg at CES this year.

So it would appear that rubinjm has raised an interesting point about the 1080p DVI input on 50XM5 versus the XR5's component in for 1080p. If the Blu-Ray and/or HD-DVD players are outputting 1080p (and unless I'm missing something here), an HDMI-to-DVI cable would allow for 1080p input on the 50XM5; and minus a componenet out from the new players, the XR5 will not be able to.


I know, that's what I said a little while back...it would have been ideal if NEC gave us one DVI and one HDMI on the XR5.

To tell you the truth though, with the scaler and other internal components in the NEC, I am willing to be that 1080i might even look better than the 1080p from the first gen HD players anyway! We'll have to wait to make the comparison though....should be interesting!

Can somebody PM me on what is a decent price on these units. You should be able to post that publically, I mean come on.. It is good to discuss technology and what looks good etc.. You should be able to give prices and or good places to buy these at least via PM... How about pricing on a 50 and or 60" of this unit?

Thanks.

Multiply the size by a factor of 80 , amount includes shipping without stand .
This formula holds true for the most common NEC panel people bought in this thread.
Go figure.
At least that 's what i paid . I would call it a good price .

I saw the 42" NEC next to the 50" Fuji ... NEC had better blacks and richer colours .... the fuji PQ looked smoother ... both panels were being fed the same HD image via the same STB box via component ... the NEC had only 3-4 hours of use, the fuji over 100 ... the fuji had been tweeked - the NEC was out of the box .... the fuji looked a bit grayed compared to the NEC blacks....

disclaimer... this is my opinion only with 15 mins instore to compare both side by side... I didn't compare them via HDMI or DVD .... my first impressions are that the NEC rocks ...

a fairer comparisson would have been the 50 NEC to the 50 Fuji ...

I'm looking to buy the 42" eventually and the price of the NEC is pretty good ...

I am still a fan of the FUji .. .however IMHO the NEC has the edge here ... and its works better with an external scaler... I've got the VP30 ... so its looking like NEC for me...

I'm curious as to why you think the NEC works better with an external scaler? What is the basis of this statement? I just spoke to a Fuji rep through email and he said that the Fujis work fine with a scaler, so long as you feed them a native rate, the only function the Fuji will still perform is color space management, andanalog to digital conversion.

As far as the 42" NEC, I have no idea if its the same thing or not. But I sense from your comment about the NEC's richer colors that it exhibits color punchiness that is closer to the Pio Elite. Someone else who has a Fuji and had previously been comparing it to the NEC prior to purchase has been private messaging me and said they felt the NEC (at least the way it was set when they saw it) was closer in color saturation to the Elite, that's why your comment seems to be confirming this. I've seen the Elite next to the Fuji and yes the blacks are not quite as strong but the colors are more neutral IMO and even more filmlike.

I wish I could compare the NEC to the Fuji side by side, but there is absolutely NOBODY in the NYC, CT area who even can show me this display! I've called every single NEC dealer and even contacted NEC.

.

I wish I could compare the NEC to the Fuji side by side, but there is absolutely NOBODY in the NYC, CT area who even can show me this display! I've called every single NEC dealer and even contacted NEC.

I love this thread and I think I can love the 50XR5, but i really need to see it with my very own eyeballs.
I have contacted every listed NEC dealer for100 mi. and NEC themselves.
Is there anyone who has seen one in Mass/New Hamphire ??
Do I hear New England??
HELP!

THANKS!

I'm curious as to why you think the NEC works better with an external scaler? What is the basis of this statement? I just spoke to a Fuji rep through email and he said that the Fujis work fine with a scaler, so long as you feed them a native rate, the only function the Fuji will still perform is color space management, andanalog to digital conversion.

As far as the 42" NEC, I have no idea if its the same thing or not. But I sense from your comment about the NEC's richer colors that it exhibits color punchiness that is closer to the Pio Elite. Someone else who has a Fuji and had previously been comparing it to the NEC prior to purchase has been private messaging me and said they felt the NEC (at least the way it was set when they saw it) was closer in color saturation to the Elite, that's why your comment seems to be confirming this. I've seen the Elite next to the Fuji and yes the blacks are not quite as strong but the colors are more neutral IMO and even more filmlike.

I wish I could compare the NEC to the Fuji side by side, but there is absolutely NOBODY in the NYC, CT area who even can show me this display! I've called every single NEC dealer and even contacted NEC.


it could be an Australian thing... the new Fuji models brought downunder have 2 HDMIs and no DVI port... thus you can't do NR on the HDMI port (at least that's the report down here so far) -

- richer colours on the NEC could be because it hadn't been properly calibrated yet - however they didn't look unnatural or overly bright ... like some of the LCD screens close to it... a matter of preference I think.

- the NEC you can do NR at 60hz on the HDMI (which may cause some judder... need to test) and NR 50/60hz on the VGA (analog) port

- the pio professional range can do NR at both 60 & 50hz on the DVI port - however some have commented the DVI blade has its own issues....

the Fuji/Pio/Pana/NEC are all very good plasmas really .. its more of a case of preference to users .. . and once the panel is at home you won't be comparing to other panels.....

having an external scaler (DVDO VP30) has complicated my set up a bit as some plasmas are designed to cope better with .... the fuji/pio used ot have the best internal scalers... the new NEC range does a very good job indeed.. I've already got a scaler.. so might as well use it... hence the choice of panel to suit the scaler and not the other way around.....

Interesting info about the Australia factor. I'm pretty sure the Fuji still does have the best internal scaler in the AVMII, and if its not on top of everything else it probably is tied with someone else, but I don't think that's the case, not even the Elite. The only one I haven't seen yet is the NEC so I cannot comment.

As far as color goes you're right its preference and someone else also confirmed that the NEC probably could have its colors tweaked a bit closer to the Fuji's neutrality and away from the Elites, and that was a Fuji owner who told me this.

I love this thread and I think I can love the 50XR5, but i really need to see it with my very own eyeballs.
I have contacted every listed NEC dealer for100 mi. and NEC themselves.
Is there anyone who has seen one in Mass/New Hamphire ??
Do I hear New England??
HELP!

THANKS!

Holy crap dude. I was considering driving up to Mass to see it from Westchester, NY, and they don't even have em that far up? This is INSANE! How can NEC expect to make inroads with this display, and don't tell me everyone is buying them word of mouth, that just doesn't add up.

Interesting info about the Australia factor. I'm pretty sure the Fuji still does have the best internal scaler in the AVMII, and if its not on top of everything else it probably is tied with someone else, but I don't think that's the case, not even the Elite. The only one I haven't seen yet is the NEC so I cannot comment.

As far as color goes you're right its preference and someone else also confirmed that the NEC probably could have its colors tweaked a bit closer to the Fuji's neutrality and away from the Elites, and that was a Fuji owner who told me this.

Funny you say that - a lot of the guys downunder who have the Fuji 40 series and also purchased the DVDO VP30 have not noticed a big improvement (sometimes none) - some have returned the VP30, others are hoping for better improvements from firmware releases and some using the VP30 as a switch .... yap the Fuji AVMII is still the top one I think .... and my first impressions of the NEC PQ was (to my eyes) the same or slightly better than the fuji (again - no indepth tests there - just a 15-20 min look.)...

Holy crap dude. I was considering driving up to Mass to see it from Westchester, NY, and they don't even have em that far up? This is INSANE! How can NEC expect to make inroads with this display, and don't tell me everyone is buying them word of mouth, that just doesn't add up.

Where did you think they were in Mass-I could have missed a place.
I would be happy to check on it for you (and me!)
Thanks,
Steve

can the side speaker accessories function as L and R front speakers in a 5.1 setup?

I can't seem to find any specs on them, particularly what kind of connectors they have.

eric

just a FYI- the Stereo Shop in San Francisco was both the 50 & 42" up and running, near each other....
The Music Store- (next to Trader Joes)
db

ANyone know if the 50XM5 & 50XR5 both use the same anti-glare screen?

and don't tell me everyone is buying them word of mouth, that just doesn't add up.

I did. The two best values in pdp right now IMO--the NEC models and the Panny commercials, both are very hard to see before you buy. The Panny is hard to see even after you buy. ;)

I did. The two best values in pdp right now IMO--the NEC models and the Panny commercials, both are very hard to see before you buy. The Panny is hard to see even after you buy. ;)

Cute, cpcat...very cute. :p

just a FYI- the Stereo Shop in San Francisco was both the 50 & 42" up and running, near each other....
The Music Store- (next to Trader Joes)
db
There are 4 Trader Joe's in San Francisco. Which one?

just a FYI- the Stereo Shop in San Francisco was both the 50 & 42" up and running, near each other....
The Music Store- (next to Trader Joes)
db

Look, I understand the NEC is great (by all of you on this thread who have it) but I ain't flying out to San Fran to check it out. :) :) :)

Where did you think they were in Mass-I could have missed a place.
I would be happy to check on it for you (and me!)
Thanks,
Steve

I was just looking at the places on the NEC dealer site that were near the CT border. Nothing that you hadn't probably already known about.

ANyone know if the 50XM5 & 50XR5 both use the same anti-glare screen? Yes they do.

The only differneces between the two are:

XM5 has an all black bezel compared to the XR5 having the siler trim on the side of the bexel. The XR5 also has a 1/3 year warranty were the XM5 has a 1 year warranty on everything.

1/3 = 1 year on plasma panel and the 3 year warranty is on everything else.

XM5 has a DVI compared to the XR5 having 2 HDMI all the other inputs are standard.

NEC PX-XM5 Models HERE (http://www.necvisualsystems.com/Documents/ColorBrochures/NEC010607.pdf)

NEC PX-XR5 Models HERE (http://www.necvisualsystems.com/Documents/ColorBrochures/NEC100519.pdf)

Really, what are you gaining by seeing a PDP in the store? Most stores send substandard video signals anyway. So you are seeing a poor representation of what it can do.

Word of mouth of actual in home performance is a good way to buy a monitor. I even buy my audio equipment that way. No need to audition, I'm not an audio/videophile. Audio equipment will not sound the same at home anyway, so why bother?

Also, I have used a lot of NEC computer displays, so I knew I was buying quality.

Here's my unboxing pictures for those of you into that sort of thing. I snuck in a picture of my wall mount. Since I was waiting for my wife to get home to help me hang it on the wall, I was in no rush, so I snapped a few pictures.

http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/9500/img02773np.jpg
http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/9069/img02787ax.jpg
http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/587/img02794ck.jpg
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/646/img02803ci.jpg
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9091/img02823dd.jpg
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/2199/img02834rt.jpg
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5824/img02842jr.jpg
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2038/img02852qd.jpg
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/1672/img02860gz.jpg
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4085/img02875je.jpg

Unfortunately, once we got it on the wall, I forgot all about taking more pictures :)

Question. What kind of speaker hookups are on the rear of the TV (push tabs or pins)? Are they located in the same location as the rest of the hook-ups, or near the edges on each side?

You're killing us! More pics of it *unwrapped* pleased!!

Can folks who've had the the NEC for more than 200 hours comment on the IR issues that seemed to be plentifully raised over the last weeks? Are they gone?

Question. What kind of speaker hookups are on the rear of the TV (push tabs or pins)? Are they located in the same location as the rest of the hook-ups, or near the edges on each side?


they're push tabs...

on the 42 they're on the bottom right hand side when looking at the front of the set..but the connections are on the side on the 50, so it's probably different.

Question. What kind of speaker hookups are on the rear of the TV (push tabs or pins)? Are they located in the same location as the rest of the hook-ups, or near the edges on each side?

They're the standard spring-loaded push tabs and all 4 are located on the bottom, near the center of the panel. Like the side inputs, they're toward the back and very easy to connect, even after wall mounting.

Dave

Edit: this is for the 50

Can folks who've had the the NEC for more than 200 hours comment on the IR issues that seemed to be plentifully raised over the last weeks? Are they gone?

Apparently not.

If I were to get a dvi to hdmi cable for my xr5 would that allow me to hhok my desktop up to the plasma?

^^^^^^^Yes, IR is much diminished. Not to be rude, but I think most of us just don't want to answer the same questions about the IR again, as we went into it in pretty much detail a few pages back. You might want to scroll back and read them. All in all, it is not really an issue. Take care,

Really, what are you gaining by seeing a PDP in the store? Most stores send substandard video signals anyway. So you are seeing a poor representation of what it can do.

Word of mouth of actual in home performance is a good way to buy a monitor. I even buy my audio equipment that way. No need to audition, I'm not an audio/videophile. Audio equipment will not sound the same at home anyway, so why bother?

Also, I have used a lot of NEC computer displays, so I knew I was buying quality.


Exactly .
You can never go wrong , specially with information from dedicated forums like these .
I did the same and absoultely no regrets .

You can not rely on information from sales people at circuit city or best buy.

Wow, i just read this whole thread. Glad to hear everyone is happy.

^^^^^^^Yes, IR is much diminished. Not to be rude, but I think most of us just don't want to answer the same questions about the IR again, as we went into it in pretty much detail a few pages back. You might want to scroll back and read them. All in all, it is not really an issue. Take care,

No rudeness inferred. I'll go back and read it. But not to be rude myself but it sounds like from your choice of language (diminished) that's its still an issue just that it's less of one. I'll go read back a bit now. Thx.

Sharpie ,
You seem to be lurking back and forth between NEC & Fujitsu thread.
I think you seem to be inclined towards Fujitsu , but you have expressed concerns about price if i remember correctly .
Quite a few of us have been through that phase and considered Fujitus at one point.
Here is how i rationalized . Any panel you buy now will undergo a major change in next 4-5 years(1080P and other changes in technology) . With a comparable PQ and may be even better according to a few . I would like to save that money to upgrade in next 5 years maybe to 100 inch LCD with a better response time .
If money is no consideration than you should not think about NEC as most people believe Fujitus is the grand daddy of all.
Hope i am not rude either.

Big Mac, no rudeness inferred. Everyone here has been helpful and I've learned a lot and continue to.

Money is not an issue for me in chosing the display, but if I can save a few thousand milkshakes then I would like to. But at the same time if the consensus really is that the NEC is really close but still not quite as good as the Fuji, I'll happily pay the premium. Then again it sounds like to most even if the Fuji is better it aint that many milkshakes better. I'm teeter tottering. I'm going to make a decision soon but I am currently renevating my living room so I still have time to sit on the fence.

...but I used the DVI-HDMI cable that came with my HD-TiVo to plug my Mac mini into one of the HDMI ports on the plasma. Here's what I saw:

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/9134/img03258em.jpg

So it recognizes the plasma as a PX-50XR5, which is good. A bunch of resolutions, also good. But what's that last resolution: 1920*1080. I've selected it, and it works. Well great, but what is actually getting outputted.

Unfortunately, with digital signals, the Signal Info page of the NEC menu does not tell you whether or not the signal is interlaced. It is showing that it is receiving a 1920*1080 signal though, which is something.

So does anybody know for sure whether or not a Mac mini can output 1080i? If not, then these panels may take 1080p over HDMI after all. I'll put my money on "funny stuff" going on though.

Big Mac, no rudeness inferred. Everyone here has been helpful and I've learned a lot and continue to.

Money is not an issue for me in chosing the display, but if I can save a few thousand milkshakes then I would like to. But at the same time if the consensus really is that the NEC is really close but still not quite as good as the Fuji, I'll happily pay the premium. Then again it sounds like to most even if the Fuji is better it aint that many milkshakes better. I'm teeter tottering. I'm going to make a decision soon but I am currently renevating my living room so I still have time to sit on the fence.

HI sharpie,

there's one guy in forum in Australia who is selling his Fuji 42" and going to buy an NEC 50" ... then again is the Fuji 42" which has a different glass then the Fuji 50" ...

I don't think you would be dissapointed with the Fuji 50" - the NEC has good options to use external scalers.. however if you are not planning on using external scalers the Fuji/NEC question becomes a matter of personal preference of the image really.

Have fun shopping!

Cheers,

Marcelo

...but I used the DVI-HDMI cable that came with my HD-TiVo to plug my Mac mini into one of the HDMI ports on the plasma. Here's what I saw:

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/9134/img03258em.jpg

So it recognizes the plasma as a PX-50XR5, which is good. A bunch of resolutions, also good. But what's that last resolution: 1920*1080. I've selected it, and it works. Well great, but what is actually getting outputted.

Unfortunately, with digital signals, the Signal Info page of the NEC menu does not tell you whether or not the signal is interlaced. It is showing that it is receiving a 1920*1080 signal though, which is something.

So does anybody know for sure whether or not a Mac mini can output 1080i? If not, then these panels may take 1080p over HDMI after all. I'll put my money on "funny stuff" going on though.



Here here.

http://www.nodrm.com/index.php?p=104

See if this help . I will try to connect my G4 powerbook tomorrow.

NY LUCK ON CONNECTING TO sony Hd CRT
Sony KV-30HS420 CRT/HDTV

FROM ANOTHER SITE:
From Fred Connors, Jr. (Thanks!)…
I have had some success in getting my Mac Mini to display on the SONY KD-34XBR960.

First, I discovered that when I removed the DVI cable from back of the Mini and connected the DVI for the SONY, the Mac Mini would in fact recognize the SONY as a 1920X1080 display and sync to that setting, not retaining the setting from the previous monitor. However the SONY will not function at 1080p (only 1080i is supported in the Sony) so the screen was always black. I found this by installing Timbuk2 Pro, remote control software, on the Mac Mini and another Mac on my home network. This also allows me to control the display preference and set the Mini to HDTV720p as a starting point for adjusting DisplayConfigX.

Second, I then found that you cannot adjust the Vertical Front Porch in DisplyConfigX. So I can’t correctly setup the vertical positioning of the display. Harald Schweder of DisplyConfigX fame has confirmed this issue and he thinks it will be working in Mac OSX-4, Tiger.

Sorry I cannot give you exact setting figures for the SONY KD-34XBR960, but I will send my interim numbers.

Seems like the funny stuff has some weight to it.

Big Mac, no rudeness inferred. Everyone here has been helpful and I've learned a lot and continue to.

Money is not an issue for me in chosing the display, but if I can save a few thousand milkshakes then I would like to. But at the same time if the consensus really is that the NEC is really close but still not quite as good as the Fuji, I'll happily pay the premium. Then again it sounds like to most even if the Fuji is better it aint that many milkshakes better. I'm teeter tottering. I'm going to make a decision soon but I am currently renevating my living room so I still have time to sit on the fence.
sharpie, teeter to the Fuji or totter to the NEC, then don't look back. They are both awesome. Sitting here as I type watching winter olympics on NBCHD - if you aren't doing that...bummer.

Here here.

http://www.nodrm.com/index.php?p=104

See if this help . I will try to connect my G4 powerbook tomorrow.


I'm not going to spend anymore time on it as the mini is a shorttimer. When the macbook gets here, i'll really figure out what's going on.

The issue isn't getting NR though, it's that I've never heard of a computer outputting a 1080i signal, yet here the Mac mini was claiming to send it, The NEC claimed to be receiving a 1920*1080 signal, yet the HDMI port shouldn't support 1080p

I just got done reading all 36 pages of this thread. Wow. I do have a couple of questions:

1. What kind of credit cards are you using to "extend the warranty"?

2. What is the "optimal" viewing distance for a 50" tv? (I'd love to get something larger, but my budget is around $3-4K and plasmas seem to triple in price when larger than 50")

3. Is it better to buy a STB or use the one the cable company (time warner in my case) provides?

I am coming from a 32" NON-HD CRT viewed at a distance of around 12-18 ft (on couch or from bed), so I think this is going to be a whole new ball game. I don't suppose anyone on here is from wisconsin and is willing to let me take a peak at one of these? :cool:

TIA,

Eric

sharpie, teeter to the Fuji or totter to the NEC, then don't look back. They are both awesome. Sitting here as I type watching winter olympics on NBCHD - if you aren't doing that...bummer.

dude, as i said i am renovating my home at the moment, so that aint happening regardless of what plasma i get. that's why i have the time to continue teetering and tottering :)

Has anyone got their video card to output to 1365x768 so there is no black bars around their pc image? i dont have my tv hooked up to my pc yet but i can not change the settings in my graphic card settings to this resolution. Should I just select a greater resuolution and let the nec scale it back down.

Dewsky,

What graphics card are you using?

My read of the NEC documentation suggests that for PC inputs the only way to get 1:1 mapping is to set the resolution to 1360x768, which means five rows will be unused.

Having said that, I'm not sure if using the overscan compensation settings in the newer ATI (and perhaps Nvidia) drivers will let you get 1365x768. If they do, then you may be able to get 1:1 at that resolution.

I'm waiting for my panel (61xr4) to arrive and this is one of the things I will be trying.

I am using an nvidia 6800 gt. I just dont want to have to worry about burn in if I am playing a game or watching a movie from my pc to the plasma because of the 5 lines of resolution which you say wont show up. Will the five black lines that dont even show up even cause burn in?

The five unused lines will have less use than the others, so in that sense the other 1360 will show more were.

Practically speaking though, I doubt anyone would ever notice that the last 2-3 pixels on the border of a broadcast are slightly brighter.

So are you saying that the unused lines will eventually have a a chance of burn in or not.

...but I used the DVI-HDMI cable that came with my HD-TiVo to plug my Mac mini into one of the HDMI ports on the plasma. Here's what I saw:

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/9134/img03258em.jpg

So it recognizes the plasma as a PX-50XR5, which is good. A bunch of resolutions, also good. But what's that last resolution: 1920*1080. I've selected it, and it works. Well great, but what is actually getting outputted.

Unfortunately, with digital signals, the Signal Info page of the NEC menu does not tell you whether or not the signal is interlaced. It is showing that it is receiving a 1920*1080 signal though, which is something.

So does anybody know for sure whether or not a Mac mini can output 1080i? If not, then these panels may take 1080p over HDMI after all. I'll put my money on "funny stuff" going on though.

The XR5 will show 1920 x 1080 at memory location 94 for 1080i input. Your PC is outputting 1080i. It's probably actually outputting 1920 x 540p60 which will be recognized as 1080i by the set.

For 1080p60 it will show 1080P60 in the signal info menu. There isn't a memory location number shown for it for whatever reason.

Dewsky,

What graphics card are you using?

My read of the NEC documentation suggests that for PC inputs the only way to get 1:1 mapping is to set the resolution to 1360x768, which means five rows will be unused.

Having said that, I'm not sure if using the overscan compensation settings in the newer ATI (and perhaps Nvidia) drivers will let you get 1365x768. If they do, then you may be able to get 1:1 at that resolution.

I'm waiting for my panel (61xr4) to arrive and this is one of the things I will be trying.

The 1360 x 768 timing only applies to the older NEC's. The 50XR5 and 61XR4 as well as the commercial equivalents will take 1365 x 768 and 1:1 mapping is a snap. Read back in this thread as I've posted this several times including the timings from NEC which you'll want to use as well as the technique for 1:1 mapping.

I am using an nvidia 6800 gt. I just dont want to have to worry about burn in if I am playing a game or watching a movie from my pc to the plasma because of the 5 lines of resolution which you say wont show up. Will the five black lines that dont even show up even cause burn in?

DCypher got 1:1 with the timings I'm using from NEC using the nvidia 6800 over HDMI/DVI if I"m not mistaken. See http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=622396&page=15&pp=30&highlight=nvidia
earlier in the thread and if you'll backtrack in the thread some you'll find the timings and the copy of the emails from NEC I posted as well.

Here are the timings again:
VTOT 788 HTOT 1526
VACT 768 HACT 1365
VSYN 4 HSYN 50
VFRN 4 HFRN 51

V freq. 60.00 Hz
H freq. 47.20 Hz

Make sure RGB select in setup menu is set to "auto"
Disable orbiting in PDP saver menu
Set image adjust values all to zero.
That's it. Double check signal info in the menu and it should read 1365 x 768 and memory 18. V-line and H-line patterns via the Lumagen test patterns are perfect one-pixel rows.

If you are feeding NR to the panel, the contrast will be limited in the SM. You may want to toggle "limit PC" to off in the SM. Instructions here: http://www.glaucobruzzi.com/plasma-faq/showthread.php?t=148

The 1360 x 768 timing only applies to the older NEC's. The 50XR5 and 61XR4 as well as the commercial equivalents will take 1365 x 768 and 1:1 mapping is a snap. Read back in this thread as I've posted this several times including the timings from NEC which you'll want to use as well as the technique for 1:1 mapping.

Curious, because it's specifically called out that way in the manual.

cpcat, I seem to remember that the timings you were using were for a external scaler. Is that correct?

The problem with the PC route is that they don't always let you give a specific resolution because of resolutions having to be divisible by 8. I'm not sure if the new drivers have removed that restriction or not.

I'll check out DCypher's info.

So are you saying that the unused lines will eventually have a a chance of burn in or not.

Yes, if you run the majority of you time in 1360x768, the unused lines will have less wear and will show up as burn-in. Technically reverse burn-in since they are less used than the other lines.

Don't fret it though. Like I said, it's very unlikely that anyone, unless they were inches from the screen and looking for it, would ever notice it.

The problem with the PC route is that they don't always let you give a specific resolution because of resolutions having to be divisible by 8. I'm not sure if the new drivers have removed that restriction or not.


Well I just tried to define a 1365x768 resolution on my card (9700Pro, Cat 6.1 drivers) and I was only able to get 1360x768.

I haven't used the CCC for custom resolutions yet since I use Powerstrip so I'll have to give that a try.

Well I just tried to define a 1365x768 resolution on my card (9700Pro, Cat 6.1 drivers) and I was only able to get 1360x768.

I haven't used the CCC for custom resolutions yet since I use Powerstrip so I'll have to give that a try.
I use a Lumagen HDP scaler.

DCypher posted his powerstrip timings back earlier in the thread. His initial problem was with a bum DVI cable and once he got that worked out everything worked based on his last few posts. You could PM him too if you want.

The 1365 x 768 timing only works via DVI/HDMI according to NEC. You may have to fall back on the 1360 x 768 timing if you want to use VGA.

Yep, I saw those, but my card would only accept 1360x768 via Powerstrip. The 6.2/CCC drivers are downloading as I type.

I'm not tremendously worried if I can't get 1:1 at 1365 with my current card because:

A. 5 pixels out of 1365 isn't worth sweating.

B. I may be upgrading the HTPC later this year once the whole HD-DVD / BluRay mess stabilizes anyway.

I have a couple of newbie questions:

Whats the optimal viewing distance for a 50" tv?

Who's the best provider for HD TV? (I have time warner now and I think they only offer like 8 or so HD channels)

Which performs better, the STB you get from the provider or one you purchase and use with a cable card?

I've only been looking into this a few weeks but...

Whats the optimal viewing distance for a 50" tv?
My google search says about 10-11 feet. :D
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=optimal+viewing+distance+for+a+50%22+tv

Who's the best provider for HD TV? (I have time warner now and I think they only offer like 8 or so HD channels)
Not sure, but I believe cable is considered better quality, but Dish/DirectTV have more channels. Satellite is starting to move to MPEG4 which is better quality. (I'm actually quite bothered by the amount of compression on Digital Cable channels... hard to believe Satellite could be even worse.)

ok, maybe just Dish has significantly more channels:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=419472
Also of interest:
http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5108854-3.html

Which performs better, the STB you get from the provider or one you purchase and use with a cable card?
Cablecard means you don't have to use a STB, it goes directly into the TV. I was just searching on picture quality of Cablecard the other night. Didn't find anything conclusive but it's supposed to be a little bit better, at least theoretically, because the signal isn't going through another box where it could possibly degrade.
I personally would like Cable Card just to have one less box but alas, the NEC doesn't offer it. (Despite that, I've pretty much decided on the 50xr5 over the Pioneer 5060).

I like PM from those who bought the NEC 50" plasma so that I know what is the market price.
I am trying to buy this TV too. (waiting for a quote and availability currently)

Originally I preordered the HP PL5000N but it was out of stock for close to 8 weeks.

So I am switching to this NEC plasma. I have not seen the TV myself so I am just purchasing it based on the reviews in this forum.

Piston: you will not regret your decision.

Well, consider me your guinea pick for Image Retention stress tests. I went to bed before my wife last night and she paused the TiVo, left for a second, and never went back. 10 hours on a static screen with only 67 hours on the plasma (now 77).

My only consolation is that it was a dark scene and in HD. On a black screen, you can see the shadow of everything pretty clearly. Can't really notice while watching television, but it's obvious anytime it fades to black or even on the gray screens the NEC uses when you switch to an unused input.

I've switched over to HDNet and turned on the Screen Wiper. Any other ideas? In hindsight, I guess I should've kept it on that frame she paused it on and then turned on Inverse and left that for a few hours. Oh well.

Well, I'm insanely bummed out now, and I've got to get to school.

aranganath, bummed to hear that. I think you should be okay. I would put the full white screen on for a couple of hours or maybe even run the breakin dvd that someone else posted here for a night or two. Those might be able to even it all out quicker than anything else. 10 hours on one screen for is a long time though for a new panel....doesn't your tivo automatically kick to live tv after like 30 minutes? Let us know how it works out and good luck!

aranganath, bummed to hear that. I think you should be okay. I would put the full white screen on for a couple of hours or maybe even run the breakin dvd that someone else posted here for a night or two. Those might be able to even it all out quicker than anything else. 10 hours on one screen for is a long time though for a new panel....doesn't your tivo automatically kick to live tv after like 30 minutes? Let us know how it works out and good luck!

It's what I've always considered a bug with TiVo. It never stays on a static screen longer than a few minutes without kicking to live tv EXCEPT in the case of the user pausing playback. I guess their logic is that if it's user initiated, you must mean it.

i'll leave it playing right now, and when I get back from school, I'll switch it over to a white screen for a few hours.

Well, I'm insanely bummed out now, and I've got to get to school.
Chin up, young man! While it does seem like you'll be in a position, shortly, to report on whether all this fuss about IR is a legitimate concern, I'm optimistic. Think about it - years ago, when some of us stared at green screens for a living, IR was definitely a problem on CRTs. But it took days, maybe even months for it to become noticable. My office has a 50" Philips plasma that hangs in our demo room, and it is definitely has image burn in, but ... it got that way because someone thought it would be cool to display that stupid Windows quasi-animated fish tank while the screen was not in use, and the background got burned in. But that took weeks or months, and is on a four-year old, lesser quality TV. My guess (and sincere hope) is that you will find that within another 10 hours or so of display time, your set will be back to normal.

My Dell 50" retained the picture adjustment sliders for a bit (I spent a LOT of time trying to get that stupid thing dialed in, but that's another story). It was very noticable for an hour or so, but then I sort of forgot about it. The next day, it was gone.

Aranaganath,

I think over the next 10 hours of normal use it will be just about gone. I dought with that image being on there only 10 hours that is enough to burn in.

Had my NEC now for about 200hrs. I love the PQ, but have noticed a degree of color banding in 2 general HD scenarios: blue sky and bright light in dark screen. I'm using component feeds from (1) Toshiba DST3000 STB - OTA and (2) SA3500HD for digital cable (neither has HDMI output). I used AVIA (also on component input from Panny RP82) for cal. Settings:

Contrast 48
Brightness 36
Sharpness 5
Colour 32
Tint 32
Picture Mode Theater1
Noise Reduction off
Colour Temp middle
Pedestal 7.5
Low Tone Auto
HDMI High

Would color banding be reduced with HDMI feeds (I read somewhere where the HDMI circuit uses more of the grey scale?)? Should I try different settings?

I am sorry I am sure this question has been question and answer before.

What is the best way to break-in this display? Should I just feed HD 1080i materials such as DirectTV HD Discovery 24X7?

Thanks in advance.

Had my NEC now for about 200hrs. I love the PQ, but have noticed a degree of color banding in 2 general HD scenarios: blue sky and bright light in dark screen. I'm using component feeds from (1) Toshiba DST3000 STB - OTA and (2) SA3500HD for digital cable (neither has HDMI output). I used AVIA (also on component input from Panny RP82) for cal. Settings:

Contrast 48
Brightness 36
Sharpness 5
Colour 32
Tint 32
Picture Mode Theater1
Noise Reduction off
Colour Temp middle
Pedestal 7.5
Low Tone Auto
HDMI High

Would color banding be reduced with HDMI feeds (I read somewhere where the HDMI circuit uses more of the grey scale?)? Should I try different settings?

Using HDMI might be worth a shot. It made a surprising difference on my Panny 8UK. You shold be able to get an HDMI cable box from your cable supplier. If they claim that they don't have any, ask for a TIV0 (or equivalent) box and just cancel the TIVO service once you install the new box. (Okay....maybe you should wait a couple of weeks before cancelling.) Most cable TIVO recorders have HDMI or DVI connections built-in. If you cancel the TIVO subscription, the cable companies generally let you just keep the box as your receiver and, voila....you now have a box with HDMI.

Had my NEC now for about 200hrs. I love the PQ, but have noticed a degree of color banding in 2 general HD scenarios: blue sky and bright light in dark screen. I'm using component feeds from (1) Toshiba DST3000 STB - OTA and (2) SA3500HD for digital cable (neither has HDMI output). I used AVIA (also on component input from Panny RP82) for cal. Settings:

Contrast 48
Brightness 36
Sharpness 5
Colour 32
Tint 32
Picture Mode Theater1
Noise Reduction off
Colour Temp middle
Pedestal 7.5
Low Tone Auto
HDMI High

Would color banding be reduced with HDMI feeds (I read somewhere where the HDMI circuit uses more of the grey scale?)? Should I try different settings?


70Runner, I think you may be right with the HDMI vs. component. I think I remember reading that the panel applies the full 4096 shades of gray scale when using the digital inputs compared to a lesser amount for analog (component), but I am not positive. I think this is the case for the Panny's as well, so it would make sense.

Also, I would try altering the bias and gain settings under the color temp setting to smooth out the gray scale as well. I can remember off hand the order the colors are, but I think mine are (will try to confirm later when I get home) starting from top to bottom ( I think the top is Bias Red).

27
26
27
38
36
35

This is using color temp Mid-Low by the way. It has seemed to smooth out the gray scale while keeping the colors accurate for my setup.

let me know how it works out.

I am sorry I am sure this question has been question and answer before.

What is the best way to break-in this display? Should I just feed HD 1080i materials such as DirectTV HD Discovery 24X7?

Thanks in advance.

Look for a thread title break-in dvd. Someone actually made one that I found extremely helpful.

Had my NEC now for about 200hrs. I love the PQ, but have noticed a degree of color banding in 2 general HD scenarios: blue sky and bright light in dark screen. I'm using component feeds from (1) Toshiba DST3000 STB - OTA and (2) SA3500HD for digital cable (neither has HDMI output). I used AVIA (also on component input from Panny RP82) for cal. Settings:

Contrast 48
Brightness 36
Sharpness 5
Colour 32
Tint 32
Picture Mode Theater1
Noise Reduction off
Colour Temp middle
Pedestal 7.5
Low Tone Auto
HDMI High

Would color banding be reduced with HDMI feeds (I read somewhere where the HDMI circuit uses more of the grey scale?)? Should I try different settings?

I just used AVIA last night to run some calibrations. My TV probably has around 50+ hours on it by now. My settings are similar, although my brightness setting is at 25, not 36. I'm using a Denon 2900 via component connections. Also, either my colour or tint is set at 30 instead of 32, but the difference wasn't that large. I'm using the color temp mid-low.

I have yet to experiment with changing the color gain & bias, not sure about the best way to do this. I did notice that with the AVIA color decoder test (I think that's what it is called) that my blue and red were spot on at 0%, but green was undersaturated around -10 to -15%. I haven't noticed this in the picture at all.

Using HDMI might be worth a shot. It made a surprising difference on my Panny 8UK. You shold be able to get an HDMI cable box from your cable supplier. If they claim that they don't have any, ask for a TIV0 (or equivalent) box and just cancel the TIVO service once you install the new box. (Okay....maybe you should wait a couple of weeks before cancelling.) Most cable TIVO recorders have HDMI or DVI connections built-in. If you cancel the TIVO subscription, the cable companies generally let you just keep the box as your receiver and, voila....you now have a box with HDMI.jsf/tony, thx for response. Would like to hear from other NECers re color banding with HDMI or otherwise. I'm after my cable company for a newer STB with HDMI or may try the TIVO alternative.

Tony, I'll give the bias/gain settings you posted a shot, with mid-low temp.

doing some legwork in anticipation of the arrival of my XR5 and wanted to know of the hole sin the back of the unit for the wall mounts to be screwed into are centered from top-to-bottom? I'm trying to decide on placement on a wall and know that the wall mount is centered from top-to-bottom, but was unsure if it was the same on the plasma.

thanks

eric

doing some legwork in anticipation of the arrival of my XR5 and wanted to know of the hole sin the back of the unit for the wall mounts to be screwed into are centered from top-to-bottom? I'm trying to decide on placement on a wall and know that the wall mount is centered from top-to-bottom, but was unsure if it was the same on the plasma.

thanks

eric

eric, the following should help you out.

http://www.necvisualsystems.com/Documents/InstallationGuides/50XR5_IGv10.pdf

I'm also very interested in any reports of banding and its resolution. I actually returned a Maxent plasma recently due to the banding in dark colored scenes. There was also quite a bit of dithering noise in dark colors. From everything I've read the higher priced sets like the NEC and Pioneer are much better in this regard, with much better shadow detail. I'm looking forward to seeing for myself how much better it is.

Watch out for the source though. Currently I have a 32" CRT hooked up to a Moto 6200 STB via S-Video and I saw a little banding in a red gradient in a Verizon commercial! This was on an HD station... the local NBC HD, I believe, which generally looks better than the non-HD version even on my non-HD CRT. I guess it's just the craptacular compression cable adds. I was pretty surprised to see it because although the digital stations are compressed pretty bad, I don't see much compression generally in the HD stations.

So anyway, watch out for the source. Seeing banding on a known DVD I find more reliable since it is easier to compare on different sets. If you are seeing it on a variety of channels and shows, of course, then that is a better indicator as well.

It's funny, I never used to notice this stuff, but now I'm looking at programming picture quality with a fine tooth comb. :p

I am thinking about buying the 42XR4, the 50XM5, or the 50XR5. Whats the biggest difference between these models? (other than one is a 42 inch).

Also, I live in Chicago and I am looking for the best place to buy this TV at the best price - I am willing to order from online if it means saving even more money.

I am completely new to plasmas - my 30" Loewe Articos was damaged in my move from Denver to Chicago and the moving company is buying me a new TV basically :)

Thanks for the help!

Jeff

Watch out for the source though. Currently I have a 32" CRT hooked up to a Moto 6200 STB via S-Video and I saw a little banding in a red gradient in a Verizon commercial! This was on an HD station... the local NBC HD, I believe, which generally looks better than the non-HD version even on my non-HD CRT. I guess it's just the craptacular compression cable adds.

Very true.

Banding (or it's many aliases) is generally due to quantization effects in the processing of the digital data and is most noticeable in digital displays.

The source comes into play when the processing path doesn't keep enough bits of resolution and rounding errors start to accumulate. I.e. even though the data is stored/transmitted as 8 bit per colour, if the internal processing is not done with 10(minimum) or 12 (better) bit precision, you will likely see banding.

I suspect that the NECs will generally be OK because the internal circuitry is all supposed to be 12 bit processing but garbage-in = garbage-out.

Hi, I am a newbee. But, I have it down to either the Panny 50 inch 8uk or the Nec 50Xr5. I would love some advice. I have a new JVC RX-D401 receiver with two HDMI's in and one out to the TV. Would I be able to use the Pannys PIP with this receiver if I had a DVD and a cable box going into the HDMI feeds (assuming I can get a cable box like this)?

And, Which of the two would do better in a bright room?

Thanks for any and all feedback.

Greg

I am thinking about buying the 42XR4, the 50XM5, or the 50XR5. Whats the biggest difference between these models? (other than one is a 42 inch).

50xr5 vs 50xm5
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7112448&&#post7112448

50xr5 vs 42xr4 is less clear, probably nothing too significant:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7002165&&#post7002165


Also, I live in Chicago and I am looking for the best place to buy this TV at the best price - I am willing to order from online if it means saving even more money.

I am completely new to plasmas - my 30" Loewe Articos was damaged in my move from Denver to Chicago and the moving company is buying me a new TV basically :)

Thanks for the help!

Jeff

Check for local dealers here:
http://www.necvisualsystems.com/LocateDealer/

Otherwise, many in this thread have ordered through Cleveland Plasma. Other forum sponsers are probably the best bets for ordering online as well. Just make sure you use an authorized dealer so the warranty is valid.

eric, the following should help you out.

http://www.necvisualsystems.com/Documents/InstallationGuides/50XR5_IGv10.pdf

those schematics are very good and indeed the mounting holes are located equidistant from the centerline both top-to-bottom and left-to-right. Now I know I can install a mount without the tv present and know that the middle of the screen will ultimately reside exactly where the middle of the mount is. thanks!

eric

So my image retention update. I had HDNet running continuously with the screen wiper for the last 9 hours. I had it on one of my dimmer presets, and the retention happened on normal mode.

The retention is greatly diminished but there is still a little "shadow". I've switched over to the white screen and I'm bumping the brightness up to normal for a couple of hours. Hopefully that'll clean up the last of it.

I am thinking of buying the 50XM5 as I can get it at a "substantial" discount.

My question is:

- Will I lose any video quality if I use an HDMI->DVI adapter to plug in current and future HDMI video sources into the Plasma's DVI port?

Thanks!

EnR

70Runner,

I just edited my post since I posted the wrong gain color settings. Below are my final settings for my HDTIVO over HDMI.

Contrast 51
Brightness 34
Sharpness 3
Color 31
Tint 30
Color Temp Mid Low
Picture Mode Theatre 1
Gamma 2.2
Low Tone Auto
Pedestal 0

Gain Red 27
Gain Green 26
Gain Blue 27
Bias Red 38
Bias Green 36
Bias Blue 35

Color Tune settings
Red 33
Green 32
Blue 33
Yellow 32
Magenta 33
Cyan 32

Try em out and let me know. Take care,

I am thinking of buying the 50XM5 as I can get it at a "substantial" discount.

My question is:

- Will I lose any video quality if I use an HDMI->DVI adapter to plug in current and future HDMI video sources into the Plasma's DVI port?

Thanks!

EnR

I see no degrading of quality on my VR5 using the HDMI to DVI cable. You should be fine.

Anyone have a 50" set w/ dead or stuck pixels?

Anyone have a 50" set w/ dead or stuck pixels?

I've seen a 42" in-store with a dead pixel in the upper middle of it..... NEC will send the store a replacement panel... only noticeable with lighter scenes/backgrounds.... but once you notice it.... you'll always notice it!

A note on the grey scale adjustments. The smoothness of the grey ramps on AVIA will not only be dependent on the gain/bias values, but will also vary depending on your contrast, brightness, gamma, pedestal and/or HDMI input setup values.

I found the values that Tony posted above to provide smooth ramps, but I also found that for me using those settings required raising contrast/brightness. Once I had made those adjustments, the grey ramps were no longer as smooth. I then had to adjust back and forth between the grey scale-brightness/contrast until I zeroed in on values that provided accurate black/white levels as well as smooth grey ramps. This took some patience but I think it was worth it. False contouring is diminished over what it was before yet I'm now running the panel at a higher contrast level. My saturation and tint settings have remained the same.

Just noticed when comparing the specs again on the NEC website that the XR5 has "Advanced AccuCrimson Filter Technology" & the XM5 doesn't. This "produces vivid, accurate colors by eliminating unwanted neon light transmission"--any idea if this would result in a noticeably better PQ on the XR5?

70Runner,

I just edited my post since I posted the wrong gain color settings. Below are my final settings for my HDTIVO over HDMI.

Contrast 51
Brightness 34
Sharpness 3
Color 31
Tint 30
Color Temp Mid Low
Picture Mode Theatre 1
Gamma 2.2
Low Tone Auto
Pedestal 0

Gain Red 27
Gain Green 26
Gain Blue 27
Bias Red 38
Bias Green 36
Bias Blue 35

Color Tune settings
Red 33
Green 32
Blue 33
Yellow 32
Magenta 33
Cyan 32

Try em out and let me know. Take care,Tony, thx for the effort, however, I'm on component connections for now. Trying to pry an HDMI STB from my digital cable company.

Hi all,
Just want to share some pictures of my new NEC 61XR4A. I've been a long time follower of this thread and really appreciate all the information you guys provided. I was so set on getting the Panny 65" commercial model before but quickly changed my mind after reading up this thread. No regret what so ever. The HD pictures on this set is incredible and so is the SD picture. It has the best SD pictures I've seen on any plasma. NEC scaler is definitely a notch better than the one in Panny (I have a 42" Panny). The zoom and stretch feature on NEC also works very well. I'm able to get rid of most of the network logos and the annoying black borders without losing much picture quality. Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with this purchase. Many thanks to Chris at Cleveland Plasma. The transaction was smooth and painless and he had the TV delivered in 4 days after the order.

I'm approaching first 100 hour mark with the help of break-in DVD found in another thread. I haven't noticed any IR or dead pixel.

Sorry I am not able to post a direct link (haven't made 5 posts yet) to my profile in the Photo Gallery. It's under Plasma Theater titled 'NEC 61XR4A'. Maybe someone can post the direct links for me.
Regards,



JC

Wow, really cool JC.

Here's the link to your photos: http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/19405/cat/500/size/big/ppuser/7575623

A note on the grey scale adjustments. The smoothness of the grey ramps on AVIA will not only be dependent on the gain/bias values, but will also vary depending on your contrast, brightness, gamma, pedestal and/or HDMI input setup values.

I found the values that Tony posted above to provide smooth ramps, but I also found that for me using those settings required raising contrast/brightness. Once I had made those adjustments, the grey ramps were no longer as smooth. I then had to adjust back and forth between the grey scale-brightness/contrast until I zeroed in on values that provided accurate black/white levels as well as smooth grey ramps. This took some patience but I think it was worth it. False contouring is diminished over what it was before yet I'm now running the panel at a higher contrast level. My saturation and tint settings have remained the same.

Good point cpcat. I watch tv mostly in complete darkness, so these settings would really apply to my setup only. Also, other receivers/stb besides the HDTIVO would most likely have different contrast and brightness settings as you said. Final settings will definitely vary by user, but hopefully it will provide a good starting point.

After months of research & following this thread, just pulled the trigger on the 50XM5...thanks for the help

Someone from wisconsin needs to buy one of these bad boys. The NEC plasmas are officially impossible to see in real life before buying. The closest 4 auth NEC dealers don't have anything comparable on display. :(

Does 50XR5 do a 1:1 mapping for 720p source or does it scale it up to 1365x768? I have a Oppo connected to NEC and don't see any appreciable difference between 480i component out scaled by NEC vs. 720p DVI out by Oppo. Considering that Oppo is one of the best upconversion players in the market, NEC seems to have a great scaler too. I am just hoping that I can get a far better image if NEC did not scale the 720p source to 1365x768.

Needless to rave about the 50XR5 performance -- with about 50 hours on the panel, and being another Cleveland Plasma's satisfied customer, this panel has the best scaler, vibrant/vivid , yet remarkably real colors, and wonderful flexibility for connections. Very satisfied so far...

Someone from wisconsin needs to buy one of these bad boys. The NEC plasmas are officially impossible to see in real life before buying. The closest 4 auth NEC dealers don't have anything comparable on display. :(

I'm one of at least 2 cheeseheads that own a new NEC :D

Dave

Does 50XR5 do a 1:1 mapping for 720p source or does it scale it up to 1365x768? I have a Oppo connected to NEC and don't see any appreciable difference between 480i component out scaled by NEC vs. 720p DVI out by Oppo. Considering that Oppo is one of the best upconversion players in the market, NEC seems to have a great scaler too.

This is the main reason I bought the NEC XM5 over the Panny 8UK. The scaler and stretch modes are superior. Also, the DVI input on the XM5 and the component inputs on the XR5 will accept 1080p. Panasonic has fallen behind here.

I'm debating between the xr5 and the xm5.

The reason I'm leaning to the xm is that its my experience that hooking an HTPC (with Nvidia 7800 GT) up to my mits RP DLP via a dvi-hdmi cable is a recipe for problems.

When I've done this before the card detects the display as an HDTV (vs. a monitor) and has limited my options to 480p, 720p and 1080i. The colors look worse, and overscan becomes a problem.

When hooked up to the same DLP set via VGA, I can define custom resolutions and get perfect 1:1 pixel mapping.

So here are my questions:

Do the NEC X_5 plasmas work the same way? Is this simply how the mits "advertises" its capabilities to the card?

Is this a quirk of the Nvidia card being a little too "smart" for its own good? Would ATI not have this issue?

Do I need to get the XM5 with DVI to avoid this problem or can I get the XR5 to do 1:1 mapping from an HTPC over a DVI-HDMI cable?

Before you ask why I'm not just going to use the VGA connector on the XR5, I plan to use that for my XBOX360 as I prefer that to using the component inputs. If XBOX360 had an HDMI cable I could use that instead and leave the VGA free for the PC.

Thanks for any tips!

Can anyone explain why some models are designated 42XR4 and others 42XR4A?

Does anyone know if you can fit the 50XR5 stand (PX-ST2U) onto the 50XM5 plasma? I can't stand the duck feet table top stand they sell as an accessory for the 50XM5

The price is right for the M5, but with those duck feet it's a like a 4k eye sore.

Does 50XR5 do a 1:1 mapping for 720p source or does it scale it up to 1365x768? I have a Oppo connected to NEC and don't see any appreciable difference between 480i component out scaled by NEC vs. 720p DVI out by Oppo. Considering that Oppo is one of the best upconversion players in the market, NEC seems to have a great scaler too. I am just hoping that I can get a far better image if NEC did not scale the 720p source to 1365x768.



All digital displays will scale the input signal to their native resolution before displaying them. This means all signals on the 50XR5 will be scaled to the panel's NR of 1365 x 768. The exception to this would be feeding the panel NR with 1:1 mapping in which case the panel's scaler is bypassed.

If it were possible to map a 720p source 1:1 to the display (it is in theory), you'd have 85 unused pixels horizontally and 48 unused vertically.

As far as the Oppo question, use whichever method looks best to you. Conventional wisdom would be to ouput as close to a native source signal as possible (in this case 480i) and allow the display to do the rest. Since 480i isn't available via HDMI and 480i via component requires a/d conversion in the display, it may be "a wash" so to speak and therefore you aren't seeing much difference.

The other possibility is that both the display and the dvd player are doing a good job so there may not be a visible difference.

Can anyone explain why some models are designated 42XR4 and others 42XR4A?

No difference. It's just that the "A" gets dropped sometimes.

Does anyone know if you can fit the 50XR5 stand (PX-ST2U)?
I strongly suspect that you can. If you look at the dimensioned diagrams in the 50XR5 (http://www.necvisualsystems.com/Documents/InstallationGuides/50XR5_IGv10.pdf) and 50XM5 (http://www.necvisualsystems.com/Documents/InstallationGuides/50XR5_IGv10.pdf) Installation Guides, you can see that the center-center spread between the mounting holes in the bottom of the set is the same for both. And, it would seem silly for NEC to design the mount points of such similar TVs to be different in any way.

To avoid a big hassle, why not give one of the sponsors of this forum a call and ask them?

Hi all,
Just want to share some pictures of my new NEC 61XR4A. I've been a long time follower of this thread and really appreciate all the information you guys provided. I was so set on getting the Panny 65" commercial model before but quickly changed my mind after reading up this thread. No regret what so ever. The HD pictures on this set is incredible and so is the SD picture. It has the best SD pictures I've seen on any plasma. NEC scaler is definitely a notch better than the one in Panny (I have a 42" Panny). The zoom and stretch feature on NEC also works very well. I'm able to get rid of most of the network logos and the annoying black borders without losing much picture quality. Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with this purchase. Many thanks to Chris at Cleveland Plasma. The transaction was smooth and painless and he had the TV delivered in 4 days after the order.

I'm approaching first 100 hour mark with the help of break-in DVD found in another thread. I haven't noticed any IR or dead pixel.

Sorry I am not able to post a direct link (haven't made 5 posts yet) to my profile in the Photo Gallery. It's under Plasma Theater titled 'NEC 61XR4A'. Maybe someone can post the direct links for me.
Regards,



JC


Awesome !!.
I own a 50 inch . Those 11 inches are started to bug me more, after seeing your set up . :D :D

After months of research & following this thread, just pulled the trigger on the 50XM5...thanks for the help

Excellent Decision.
Please make sure you post the images and a brief review as most of us own 50XR5.

I use a Lumagen HDP scaler.

DCypher posted his powerstrip timings back earlier in the thread. His initial problem was with a bum DVI cable and once he got that worked out everything worked based on his last few posts. You could PM him too if you want.

The 1365 x 768 timing only works via DVI/HDMI according to NEC. You may have to fall back on the 1360 x 768 timing if you want to use VGA.

cpcat,

I don't use Lumagen scaler. Can I still use your setting below for my HTPC Nvidia 6600GT card?

VTOT 788 HTOT 1526
VACT 768 HACT 1365
VSYN 4 HSYN 50
VFRN 4 HFRN 51

V freq. 60.00 Hz
H freq. 47.20 Hz

Make sure RGB select in setup menu is set to "auto"
Disable orbiting in PDP saver menu
Set image adjust values all to zero.
That's it. Double check signal info in the menu and it should read 1365 x 768 and memory 18.

Awesome !!.
I own a 50 inch . Those 11 inches are started to bug me more, after seeing your set up . :D :D

I own a 42 inch (which I love). However, that 61 inch set looks awfully sweet. Nice setup!

For the video cards cant since we have nvidia cards use the tv output part of the driver which allows you to set your dvi output to any high def resolution and output that via the dvi. wont that give the people wanting to use their nvidia cards the best result. has anyone tried this.

cpcat,

I don't use Lumagen scaler. Can I still use your setting below for my HTPC Nvidia 6600GT card?

VTOT 788 HTOT 1526
VACT 768 HACT 1365
VSYN 4 HSYN 50
VFRN 4 HFRN 51

V freq. 60.00 Hz
H freq. 47.20 Hz

Make sure RGB select in setup menu is set to "auto"
Disable orbiting in PDP saver menu
Set image adjust values all to zero.
That's it. Double check signal info in the menu and it should read 1365 x 768 and memory 18.

Yes. DCypher did it earlier in this thread with that exact video card.

Does anyone know if you can fit the 50XR5 stand (PX-ST2U) onto the 50XM5 plasma?

Just spoke with NEC and yes the PX-ST2U will fit the XM models.

Hi all,
Just want to share some pictures of my new NEC 61XR4A. I've been a long time follower of this thread and really appreciate all the information you guys provided. I was so set on getting the Panny 65" commercial model before but quickly changed my mind after reading up this thread. No regret what so ever. The HD pictures on this set is incredible and so is the SD picture. It has the best SD pictures I've seen on any plasma. NEC scaler is definitely a notch better than the one in Panny (I have a 42" Panny). The zoom and stretch feature on NEC also works very well. I'm able to get rid of most of the network logos and the annoying black borders without losing much picture quality. Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with this purchase. Many thanks to Chris at Cleveland Plasma. The transaction was smooth and painless and he had the TV delivered in 4 days after the order.

I'm approaching first 100 hour mark with the help of break-in DVD found in another thread. I haven't noticed any IR or dead pixel.

Sorry I am not able to post a direct link (haven't made 5 posts yet) to my profile in the Photo Gallery. It's under Plasma Theater titled 'NEC 61XR4A'. Maybe someone can post the direct links for me.
Regards,



JC

Great set-up, JC. Best wishes with your new NEC. It looks great.

Well, I believe I will finally put to rest the in-home vs. carry-in warrantee issue on the XR series. The local authorized NEC dealer is sending a tech later this week to check out my 50XR5. I'd obviously prefer that someone else gets this dubious honor, but someone has to be the first, so here we go:

After 2 week’s worth of testing, viewing and tweaking, I felt it was time to tidy up my installation. While working on the cover for the cable inputs, I noticed a slight buzzing sound. Between the softness of the sound, proximity of my sources and the wall mounting, I was having a hard time pinpointing the exact source of the buzz. Another 2 weeks have passed and the buzzing has now become a growl, and it's loud enough to confirm that it's coming from the NEC. I have opened a ticket with NEC's customer support, who told me to contact a local authorized service shop. One phone call and I had an appointment for the tech to visit my home. He actually offered to come over the same day, but I wasn't able to be there (stupid day job). So far, so good.

I'll be sure to let you all know how things progress. Meanwhile, I’ll be glad to take requests for questions on service-related issues. If the tech seems knowledgeable and friendly, I’ll try to pick his brain a little while he’s here.

For the curious, the growling noise is very mechanical in sound - pitch ramps up when power is turned on, stays fairly constant during operation, winds down when power is turned off. It's there whenever the power is on and the sound is very similar to that of a PC case fan with a failing bearing. And it’s either getting louder every day, or I’m becoming increasingly more sensitive to it.

And, for the record, my fantastic purchasing experience with Chris at Cleveland Plasma has not been diminished one bit by this minor hiccup. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to give additional kudos to NEC and the local dealer as well when this is all done and over.

To be continued...

Dave

Has anyone purchased the optinal speakers for the XR5?

I don't like to use my receiver/infinity stadium 320w speakers for watching everyday tv so I was considering buying the speakers.

I'd like to see what the set looks like with the optional speakers on as well as the specs on the speakers.

Well, I believe I will finally put to rest the in-home vs. carry-in warrantee issue on the XR series. The local authorized NEC dealer is sending a tech later this week to check out my 50XR5. I'd obviously prefer that someone else gets this dubious honor, but someone has to be the first, so here we go:

After 2 week’s worth of testing, viewing and tweaking, I felt it was time to tidy up my installation. While working on the cover for the cable inputs, I noticed a slight buzzing sound. Between the softness of the sound, proximity of my sources and the wall mounting, I was having a hard time pinpointing the exact source of the buzz. Another 2 weeks have passed and the buzzing has now become a growl, and it's loud enough to confirm that it's coming from the NEC. I have opened a ticket with NEC's customer support, who told me to contact a local authorized service shop. One phone call and I had an appointment for the tech to visit my home. He actually offered to come over the same day, but I wasn't able to be there (stupid day job). So far, so good.

I'll be sure to let you all know how things progress. Meanwhile, I’ll be glad to take requests for questions on service-related issues. If the tech seems knowledgeable and friendly, I’ll try to pick his brain a little while he’s here.

For the curious, the growling noise is very mechanical in sound - pitch ramps up when power is turned on, stays fairly constant during operation, winds down when power is turned off. It's there whenever the power is on and the sound is very similar to that of a PC case fan with a failing bearing. And it’s either getting louder every day, or I’m becoming increasingly more sensitive to it.

And, for the record, my fantastic purchasing experience with Chris at Cleveland Plasma has not been diminished one bit by this minor hiccup. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to give additional kudos to NEC and the local dealer as well when this is all done and over.

To be continued...

Dave

Dave.....Sounds like a defective fan or a problem with the fan installation. Either way, it's a very simple fix. The hard part is taking the panel down and putting it back up. The fix itself will probably take all of 10 minutes. Take my word for it, the growling sound will be gone and you'll be back to grinning ear to ear in no time.

I have Pronto TSU3000. Does anyone here got all the remote codes or pcf file can share with me? hlkc@yahoo.com

Thanks in advance.

So, with all this talk of artifacts and low-res source material, I thought I'd ask about the differences, or discerning between the two.

When any of you notes what appears to be artifacts, the most common being banding / false contouring, do you say "yeah, that's a 480p DVD trying to look good on an HD panel." Or, contrarily, do you say, "durned NEC's PQ stinks!" I recall watching VHS on a standard CRT, and you could see smeared details that look like false contouring. Years ago, I didn't realize VHS had poorer resolution than broadcast TV. Later, I swore DVD's looked much better than broadcast television, but they really only looked better than VHS. Now that I have an HD panel, I find myself being extra critical of DVD's, but I have to ask myself, is it the source, or is it the panel?

I was watching tennis on INHD from Comcast today, and the court looked smeared while moving players had a bit of clay face. When they were relatively still, there was exceptional detail, and I could even see the panel resolve from clay face into more focused detail when they would stop moving. Now this isn't DVD, it is HD! So, is it the source, or the panel?

I am still running stock settings.

By the way, Anna played earlier, and she was breathtaking!

For the video cards cant since we have nvidia cards use the tv output part of the driver which allows you to set your dvi output to any high def resolution and output that via the dvi. wont that give the people wanting to use their nvidia cards the best result. has anyone tried this.

I'd like to offer a response, but the lack of punctuation is making it difficult for me to understand the actual question.

I'll be picking up my 42XR4A tomorrow and hooking it up to my HTPC using a DVI-to-HDMI cable and I will convey my experiences doing so with the nVidia drivers for my video card. I never had any problems doing this with my Samsung DLP (it has DVI and HDMI ports, but I tested the HDMI port with the DVI-to-HDMI cable just to see how the drivers would interpret the connection).

I got my xr5 last Friday in large part based on the info in this thread. Thanks to all for the posts. I ordered from Chris in Cleveland on Tuesday and it was in my house on Friday from a warehouse 1-2 hours away. I had some delivery scheduling hic-ups but these were local issues and in the end were resolved to no negative effect.

Note: I had the Panny 8UK backordered with TVA and figured it might come down to timing. TVA called the same evening I ordered from Chris but by then I wanted the NEC.

At my day job we have NEC commercial models all around. We work in a trading floor environment with financial news on NEC plasmas all around the room. We also have video conference rooms with NEC plasmas that also do PC presentations. I have not noticed any burn in even though we use PC input and play TV stations with ticker bars and logos almost 24 ours a day. We have these things cranked up bright too.

I got up and running on Friday night when I watched StarWars Episode 2. Pretty impressive colors and pq. On Sat I had my HD Directv antenna installed and my HD10-250 activated. I am a little less impressed with the HD content via this source than I thought I would be - at least after watching the 480 DVD. I think that a bunch of this is source related (by comparing different channels and content) and I probably need to spend some time tuning up the NEC. I watched Episode III and IV on the rest of the weekend and continue to be impressed. The new StarWars are great on color and the old are very black and grey. The xr5 did very well on both. I watched Sin City on SD Direct TV last night and it was fantastic. I almost could not believe it was not DVD or HD giving support to the quality of the SD scaler, an important consideration for me.

Viewing distance: I am 9 feet from the screen and was considering a 42" because I had some eye discomfort viewing 50" for that distance in the store. I think it was probably more their settings as 50" is hardly big enough. The fact that this unit is so crisp and has a small bezel makes it fit into the room nicely.

Burn-in/ghosting: I was concerned about this before buying. In the end I have rationalized pixel usage that makes me confident that this is a temporary effect related to the differences in pixel use compared to total usage. As total usage goes up the immediate differences are less meaningful. This and seeing the ones at work gave me confidence to buy.

In use, the panel will hold images early on. I don't know if this is ghosting or whatever but I see menus and bars and whatever after they have been up. But they do go away after watching a regular full screen picture or running the white screen for just a a minute or less. I am being careful but I am not afraid of programming my TIVO. (I did the TIVO setup with 10 hours on the PDP) and I have no image that remains at this point. I would not leave a PC pic up for a couple hours yet but I am not losing any sleep over these effects.

Dead Pixels: None. I first thought I had some but alas it was dust.

Tuning: after a few days I did the THX optimizer on the SW disk. I think the picture is better although I want to spend more time with it and maybe try some of the settings posted here. I am impressed with PQ but I have at times noticed some artifacts an various sources. At this point my feeling is that it is input quality and tuning but I still need to look at this more systematically before making a conclusion.

Overall Assessment: I wish my apartment were bigger for that 60" :-)

For the video cards cant since we have nvidia cards use the tv output part of the driver which allows you to set your dvi output to any high def resolution and output that via the dvi. wont that give the people wanting to use their nvidia cards the best result. has anyone tried this.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=639448

Does anybody turn on the Noise Reduction feature here? I've noticed that this makes my DVDs look better, but really only when standing close to the screen. I would think that video-philes would cringe at turning on NR.

In the service menu for the 42XR4, is there an audio delay option?

I'm getting a lip sync problem on all sources - all different delays of course, some quite noticable (eg. HD FTA), others not so. I'm thinking if I can tweak the delay slightly, it might make it less obvious.

In the service menu for the 42XR4, is there an audio delay option?

I'm getting a lip sync problem on all sources - all different delays of course, some quite noticable (eg. HD FTA), others not so. I'm thinking if I can tweak the delay slightly, it might make it less obvious.

I use a video processor which introduces some added delay and I still only rarely will have any lipsync problems and even then I believe it's the source.

I didn't see anything in the SM which would help. Even if it did, that would only solve the problem using speakers attached to the TV.

Some people seem to be more sensitive to this than others. Many HT receivers have an audio delay feature and also there are devices that will do this as well. I think the one most liked here is made by Felston.

Image Retention completely gone. (Original post here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7121848&&#post7121848))

I left the television on HDNet all day, and then put it on a white screen all night. After that, I could only see a smudge on part of the screen, and that was only from certain angles. It could've been in my imagination for all I know. Another day of normal viewing, and now when I look at it, I can't notice anything anywhere.

I'd say at this point, the only damage is psychological. The TV no longer has that "new tv smell", as I'm constantly checking a black screen and worrying about every shadow I see on the screen even though there's nothing there. It's unfortunate, because the logical part of my mind knows that things are as back to normal as they can be, but the irrational part can't forget.

Anyway, after a torture test like that, I think we can lay the IR issue to rest once and for all.

Someone stole my XR5...

I am angry… I ordered my plasma a week ago today from Chris in Cleveland Plasma and he shipped out the same day, thanks Chris! It arrived in my local trucking warehouse last Friday night. I called them Monday morning and ask them to deliver to me same day but they told me they need one day in advance. Then I schedule to deliver Tuesday. I called Tuesday morning to confirm my appointment and they told me they can’t find it and maybe mis-route to another station. They look and look and Tuesday afternoon they admit they lost it internally. The dock manager confess to me that 2 of his employees saw the box Monday but Tuesday morning there is no where to be found. According to the dock manager, after some investigation, He said “One of my 15 people crew is a thief and very disappoint him as well.” Then yesterday another worst news came. Chris called me and told me 50" XR5 is back order as long as 2 weeks now, I am angry and nothing I can do. I ran all my wires, 2 HDMI, VGA, S video and MIT Z-cord II then even drill a big hole in the wall and ready the mount and cables for the XR5 now. I'm sitting on the side and reading all your posts and can't join the game :mad:

On Sat I had my HD Directv antenna installed and my HD10-250 activated. I am a little less impressed with the HD content via this source than I thought I would be - at least after watching the 480 DVD. I think that a bunch of this is source related (by comparing different channels and content) and I probably need to spend some time tuning up the NEC.


DirecTV HD-Lite is horrible. if you can try OTA or cable or Dish.

Someone stole my XR5...

I am angry… I ordered my plasma a week ago today from Chris in Cleveland Plasma and he shipped out the same day, thanks Chris! It arrived in my local trucking warehouse last Friday night. I called them Monday morning and ask them to deliver to me same day but they told me they need one day in advance. Then I schedule to deliver Tuesday. I called Tuesday morning to confirm my appointment and they told me they can’t find it and maybe mis-route to another station. They look and look and Tuesday afternoon they admit they lost it internally. The dock manager confess to me that 2 of his employees saw the box Monday but Tuesday morning there is no where to be found. According to the dock manager, after some investigation, He said “One of my 15 people crew is a thief and very disappoint him as well.” Then yesterday another worst news came. Chris called me and told me 50" XR5 is back order as long as 2 weeks now, I am angry and nothing I can do. I ran all my wires, 2 HDMI, VGA, S video and MIT Z-cord II then even drill a big hole in the wall and ready the mount and cables for the XR5 now. I'm sitting on the side and reading all your posts and can't join the game :mad:

Bummer man. What carrier?
Does not surprise me though. They hire anybody these days ;)

Bummer man. What carrier?
Does not surprise me though. They hire anybody these days ;)

A pretty big fleet: http://www.usfc.com/

I have joined the club. Ordered from Chris late last week, delivery was yesterday (Wednesday). I live on the third floor, delivery guy from New Penn was happy to help me up the stairs. I've only run SD, as I've got to take my 42" Maxent off the wall to access all the feeds, but it looked acceptable.

There are SO many options in the full menu.. I'm lost.

Perhaps this belongs on the antenna thread. I was able to combine the feeds from two Terk HD antennas to my 50XM5. I live on a hill and the main tower is on the next hill, only about 17 miles away. The problem is that the NBC tower is 90 degrees off from the main tower and the top of my hill is between me and this transmitter which is about 45 miles away. I have Dish but I really wanted to see the olympics in HD. My primary antenna is the Terk55 and it works great although it is very directional. I went to Circuit City and bought a Terk Slim Profile Antenna and pointed it toward the distant antenna. Nothing. I laid the new antenna on my roof which has a 45 degree pitch to go and check the connections and to my amazement the picture now looked fantastic. Olympics in HD! Just the 5-10 degree adjustment upwards worked and this was by accident. Anyway, I am using a Radio Shack splitter and the two antennas working together also bring me another station 180 degrees opposite the NBC feed from an antenna over 50 miles away. Last night was fun.

So, with all this talk of artifacts and low-res source material, I thought I'd ask about the differences, or discerning between the two.

When any of you notes what appears to be artifacts, the most common being banding / false contouring, do you say "yeah, that's a 480p DVD trying to look good on an HD panel." Or, contrarily, do you say, "durned NEC's PQ stinks!" I recall watching VHS on a standard CRT, and you could see smeared details that look like false contouring. Years ago, I didn't realize VHS had poorer resolution than broadcast TV. Later, I swore DVD's looked much better than broadcast television, but they really only looked better than VHS. Now that I have an HD panel, I find myself being extra critical of DVD's, but I have to ask myself, is it the source, or is it the panel?

I was watching tennis on INHD from Comcast today, and the court looked smeared while moving players had a bit of clay face. When they were relatively still, there was exceptional detail, and I could even see the panel resolve from clay face into more focused detail when they would stop moving. Now this isn't DVD, it is HD! So, is it the source, or the panel?

I am still running stock settings.

By the way, Anna played earlier, and she was breathtaking!

My experience with the panel so far has brought forth similar observation. At first I thought it was because I was feeding 1080I HD signal to the panel via a component cable. However, a HDMI connection hasn't solved the problem. I checked with several different channels -- INHD, Discovery HD, etc. Still, I see a good amount of banding/false contouring, especially on open areas such as the sky, etc. I was seeing the Venus Bikini Photo Shoot on INHD and the false contouring was almost unacceptable.

I also tried out some stellar video quality DVDs such as Incredibles, Lion King, Gladiator, etc using HDMI connection via my upconverting DVD player with both 720P and 1080i. Despite my tweaking the video settings to the max, the false contouring doesn't change.

So, one more time, is it the source or the panel ...?

Has anyone here seen the 42VP5 or 42VM5 (Ehanced definition version of the 42")? I'm looking for comparisons to the 42XR4 ideally...my seating position will be more than 8 feet away from the screen and our cabinetry size does not allow for the 50", so I'm trying to decide if the HD version (42XR4) is really necessary. I'd love to hear the feedback from any NEC owners here.

Also, not sure if the generation of glass is even comparable between the products, but I believe the EDTV versions have been out much longer than the new 42, 50, and 61". Anyone know if NEC is going to put out any new EDTV versions? (Or plans to stop making them completely?)

Thanks for your help (again!)
Jon

I've been eyeing the ED as well, and I read (somewhere within this thread, I think) that there were no new ED versions coming out, at least as of now. I don't know if I can justify the cost differences either. I haven't really done a detailed feature comparison between the latest HD version & the existing ED, so maybe there would be some extra goodies that would make it worth considering the HD model upgrade. Stuff like.. extra connections, more and better stretch modes, anti-reflective screen upgrade, lower wattage consumption.. things of that sort.

I'm also curious to check out the Marantz ED screen, which has been out for a while now (couple years?). It's supposedly made by NEC and, from what little information I can find about it, seems to have gotten rave reviews. Marantz might have tweaked it with some of their own parts, such the scaler, to make it even better. Just speculation on my part.

Marantz plasmas are hard to find, but there is a well-regarded electronics store about 30 miles away from me which I think carries it, so I'd like to go check it out. Of course, I'd want to check out the NEC version as well, if I can manage to find a decent dealer. For example, there is an authorized dealer close by, which is listed on the NEC website, but when I go there, it's a residential address in a wealthy, gated community. What's up with that!??!

My experience with the panel so far has brought forth similar observation. At first I thought it was because I was feeding 1080I HD signal to the panel via a component cable. However, a HDMI connection hasn't solved the problem. I checked with several different channels -- INHD, Discovery HD, etc. Still, I see a good amount of banding/false contouring, especially on open areas such as the sky, etc. I was seeing the Venus Bikini Photo Shoot on INHD and the false contouring was almost unacceptable.

I also tried out some stellar video quality DVDs such as Incredibles, Lion King, Gladiator, etc using HDMI connection via my upconverting DVD player with both 720P and 1080i. Despite my tweaking the video settings to the max, the false contouring doesn't change.

So, one more time, is it the source or the panel ...?

I've come to the conclcusion I feel most of this is source related. If I watch shows with stellar pq such as My Name is Earl or Close to Home, I NEVER see false contouring. However I do see it on some of the worse feeds (such as NBC's coverage of the olympics). As for your DVD player, I would recommend not upconverting and feeding the panel 480i and see what that does. The scaling of your player may be introducing unwanted effects. The scaler in the NEC is better than almost all upconverting players out there, so it is probably going to be better fed 480i.

Let us know what you find.

I use a video processor which introduces some added delay and I still only rarely will have any lipsync problems and even then I believe it's the source.

I didn't see anything in the SM which would help. Even if it did, that would only solve the problem using speakers attached to the TV.

Some people seem to be more sensitive to this than others. Many HT receivers have an audio delay feature and also there are devices that will do this as well. I think the one most liked here is made by Felston.My speakers are connected to the set, but if there is nothing in the service menu I'll have to think about an outboard device 7 amp. :(

My speakers are connected to the set, but if there is nothing in the service menu I'll have to think about an outboard device 7 amp. :(

Tech_head, it seems odd your getting a delay with on board speakers. due you have a 42 or 50?

Tech_head, it seems odd your getting a delay with on board speakers. due you have a 42 or 50?It is a 42XR4. I didn't think it was an unusual problem for plasmas & LCDs, caused by delays in pix processing vs. audio virtually straight through. I've got NR turned off and even the orbiter if that would help.

I've seen it on other brands, it varies with the source and some of it could be the station's fault. Not having delved into the service menu, I thought like some brands the NEC might have a delay adjustment, but apparently not so.

So no one bought the speakers for the 50XR5?

The specs say they're only 3.14" wide! Thats pretty small.

I had been thinking for some time that most DVD's are 16x9 aspect ratio. However, during my break-in period, many of the DVD's I wanted to watch were in the wider 2:35 ratio. I loathe missing any of the film, from a purist pov, and I think the cropping causes a bit of artifacting as well. Nevertheless, I'm still breakin' 'er in. Once I'm thru with that, I'll have a choice. For those of you beyond break-in, what do you prefer to do with the wider films -- display the top and bottom bars, or use one of the display modes to fill your screen?

In other news, I am encouraged to see that some of the new commercials on the HD channels are also actually in widescreen format. I didn't expect that.

HD favorites this past week -- both "Lost" and anything on Discovery HD. D-HD really films like they KNOW they're HD, with lots of textural close-ups, colors, and detail. To keep this all thread-specific, it is great to take advantage of the NEC 50XR5's excellent skills to display all of this content!

For those who are interested in the optional side mount speaker performance…
I ordered my 50XR5 last night with this option. With our old system, we primarily used our sound system while watching movies and serials but, relied on set speakers for news and such. (This option will also conceal the side mount wiring). If this option makes my wife happy…its money well spent in my book.
I suspect the performance will be as expected, just fine. I’ll let you know in a week or so.

Perhaps RJM13 has gotten the speakers and can report back...

:)

I noticed in this thread that the NEC consumer version can accept 1080P via the component input and the commercial model can accept 1080P via the DVi input.

Can the commercial model also accept 1080P via the component input?

Also, how expandable are the NEC plasmas? I think it's great that they have lots of inputs right out of the box, but do they have some kind of expansion slot in case a new input standard emerges?

So no one bought the speakers for the 50XR5?

The specs say they're only 3.14" wide! Thats pretty small.
I actually wanted to by them, but ... they're the exact same speakers you get for the 42XR4. I'm sure they sound fine (as far as TV speakers go), but I didn't like the thought of mounting speakers to the sides of my 50" plasma that aren't the same height as the panel itself.

I noticed that the speakers for th 50XM5 are full-height, so I emailed NEC to see whether they would work on the 50XR5. The answer was as expected: yes, they will work, but they will not match the 50XR5 cabinet in either color (the speakers are gray) or trim.

I went to BestBuy an bought a nice pair of Boston Acoustic CR57s for less than $200 - they sit on either side of my center channel speaker on a shelf above the set, and sound pretty darned good (for TV speakers).

Anyone using the 50xr5 with the HDMI connection to a SA83000 HD DVR box? I'm curious what your settings are. I tried using Tony17's suggestions for his HDTivo, but they just aren't right. The picture is dim and too blue. I'm currently using the settings that I came up with when using AVIA through my DVD player (component input) with the exception that HDMI is set to high and pedastal at 0. I haven't adjusted any of the color gain or bias settings. (going from memory, contrast at 48, bright 25, mid-low color temp, theater 1, saturation & hue have one at 30 and one at 32)

What I've noticed is that when I switched to the HDMI connection from the component connection for my cable box I'm getting more of what I'd call pixellation in some of the colors. I don't know if this is what some other people are describing, but for some colors (even in static pictures) I see lots of little boxes rather than say, a smooth red shirt. Red seems to be the most problematic color, but I've noticed it a few other times as well. I'm sure this is likely a function of not being able to calibrate with a disc through HDMI (maybe it's time I buy an HDMI player) as the problem didn't seem to be as bad through my component input.

Anyone using the 50xr5 with the HDMI connection to a SA83000 HD DVR box? I'm curious what your settings are. I tried using Tony17's suggestions for his HDTivo, but they just aren't right. The picture is dim and too blue. I'm currently using the settings that I came up with when using AVIA through my DVD player (component input) with the exception that HDMI is set to high and pedastal at 0. I haven't adjusted any of the color gain or bias settings. (going from memory, contrast at 48, bright 25, mid-low color temp, theater 1, saturation & hue have one at 30 and one at 32)Not quite...I just subscribed to digital cable and got my SA8300HD box a few days ago. Tech said they "disabled" the HDMI output and don't support it, so used component. I can tell you this wrt component: the HDPQ out of the 8300HD is virtually identical to the HDPQ I get via OTA, read: EXCELLENT. I can't imagine much improvement with HDMI, but I plan to see just how "disabled" the HDMI output really is. Assuming the HDTivo has component out, I'd give that a shot.

Question for you...I understand the 8300 has provision for external storage via USB. Have you tried this?

Depending on the source player some SD channels are weak and can look this way. This happens on any HDTV. A lot of people run a S-video to the TV for SD and just use HDMI for HD. They claim it helps the analog channels. I have dish network and I just use my DVI input (50XM5A).

Question for you...I understand the 8300 has provision for external storage via USB. Have you tried this?

I'm not fully versed in this, but I think there are a couple different software versions for the 8300 based on your cable provider. I have Time Warner in New York City with the passport software, I think this version does not support an external hard drive. I guess this version also has the HDMI enabled....

Question for you...I understand the 8300 has provision for external storage via USB. Have you tried this?

The 8300HD has a SATA connector for adding an external hard drive. My cable provider (Rogers in Canada) allows this. I haven't used it myself but many have.

The USB port on our boxes is disabled.

I've come to the conclcusion I feel most of this is source related. If I watch shows with stellar pq such as My Name is Earl or Close to Home, I NEVER see false contouring. However I do see it on some of the worse feeds (such as NBC's coverage of the olympics). As for your DVD player, I would recommend not upconverting and feeding the panel 480i and see what that does. The scaling of your player may be introducing unwanted effects. The scaler in the NEC is better than almost all upconverting players out there, so it is probably going to be better fed 480i.

Let us know what you find.

didn't know this to be the case. just bought a second panasonic s77 dvd player for my NEC (TV arrived yesterday, thanks Chris!); i guess I should have tried out my 6-year-old Panasonic non-upconverting (but component out) DVD player first before blowing another $230 for another S77. FWIW, my other S77 looks super on my Panasonic 42" plasma HDTV. Now I'm afraid to turn off the upconverting on that one in case the picture is good using 480i :)

Eric

My experience with the panel so far has brought forth similar observation. At first I thought it was because I was feeding 1080I HD signal to the panel via a component cable. However, a HDMI connection hasn't solved the problem. I checked with several different channels -- INHD, Discovery HD, etc. Still, I see a good amount of banding/false contouring, especially on open areas such as the sky, etc. I was seeing the Venus Bikini Photo Shoot on INHD and the false contouring was almost unacceptable.

I also tried out some stellar video quality DVDs such as Incredibles, Lion King, Gladiator, etc using HDMI connection via my upconverting DVD player with both 720P and 1080i. Despite my tweaking the video settings to the max, the false contouring doesn't change.

So, one more time, is it the source or the panel ...?

I occasionally see some on my panel when watching lower quality stuff, especially when watching "In Demand" shows from TWC, but then I saw the same artifacts when watching this stuff on an analog CRT, so that definitely isn't the TV.

I never see it when watching a high quality HD feed though like INHD or Discovery HD, with the one exception of an occasional very bright light/black background. I guess my first thought would be to make sure you have your screen calibrated properly, but you said you have been adjusting the settings a lot already. Have you used AVIA or DVE, or you calibrating by 'eye'? BTW, I am using component for both cable and DVD since neither output digital.

Also for Quinocampa, now that I am past the 100 hour mark I watch letterboxed movies with the letterbox on. I like seeing the entire picture the directors intended as well.

I have the same question as Quinocampa. For those of you beyond the 100 hour mark, do you watch a dvd with black bars at the top and bottom or do you expand the picture to cover the whole screen to help prevent burn-in? I would like to maintain the black bars but don't want to mess up the screen. Thoughts??

I have the same question as Quinocampa. For those of you beyond the 100 hour mark, do you watch a dvd with black bars at the top and bottom or do you expand the picture to cover the whole screen to help prevent burn-in? I would like to maintain the black bars but don't want to mess up the screen. Thoughts??I just turned 200hrs on my 50XR5. Watching a lot of the winter olys...when they break for SD commercials I don't fuss switching to stadium anymore. Occasionally I'll see IR from the sidebars, but it quickly dissipates. If I was to play a DVD with bars I'd probably still use stadium or zoom...but thats just me.

At what point in the panels life do you think it will be ok to watch widescreen dvds and not have to worry.

My speakers are connected to the set, but if there is nothing in the service menu I'll have to think about an outboard device 7 amp. :(

For whatever reason, lipsync problems seem to be more common with PAL sources. I've seen this reported in the video processor forums as well. I'd assume there must be extra processing required and that explains the video delay.

I've come to the conclcusion I feel most of this is source related. If I watch shows with stellar pq such as My Name is Earl or Close to Home, I NEVER see false contouring. However I do see it on some of the worse feeds (such as NBC's coverage of the olympics). As for your DVD player, I would recommend not upconverting and feeding the panel 480i and see what that does. The scaling of your player may be introducing unwanted effects. The scaler in the NEC is better than almost all upconverting players out there, so it is probably going to be better fed 480i.

Let us know what you find.

I'm thinking the same thing. The other night I saw terrible noise/false contouring during the moguls competition in the red billboard background at the top of the mountain just before the start of the run. The thing was, I was watching my 19 inch CRT at the time. :)

At what point in the panels life do you think it will be ok to watch widescreen dvds and not have to worry.

Most would say as soon as you get past that 100 hour mark. Some people are a bit more cautious then others, so it is really a matter of preference. I have about 400 hours now and use my panel for gaming and watch 2.35:1 dvds all the time without worry. I plan to enjoy my panel! :)

NEC 61XR4 is 870:1 contrast?

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/6478.html

I am a new poster, although I have been reading this thread for the last few months. I recently bought a 42xr4 (Plasma Concepts....excellent experience !) Does someone know the "manufacturer's code " to load into the remote control for a comcast (motorola) cable box ? Why are we are at it, I also need the "manufacturer's code" for a Yamaha ysp-800 digital sound projector. The codes listed in the comcast guide for the 42xr4 and the ysp-800 don't seem to work. Thanks for any assistance.

Update on my repair saga begun earlier this week:

Previous post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7137202&&#post7137202)

The noise was not from the fans, dealer service rep suspects the power supply, but wanted to do some troubleshooting. Unfortunately, NEC has not yet supplied him with a service manual (they claimed it's too big to pdf and e-mail, were sending it via snail mail). The 50XR5 went back to their shop with him and his assistant, via a very slick truck-mounted "plasma transporter". I'm still happy to be dealing with the in-home warranty as opposed to carry-in or a return to the store.

The tech said he'd look into seeing what it would take to gain the previously mentioned additional memory settings without going through a complete ISF calibration :cool: . Probably going to be another week or so before I can share more info. For now, it's back to the 42" ED :mad:

To be continued...

Dave

Is your 50xr5 wall mounted? (EDIT: I just read your original post again, and you did wall mount) I have a buzz with my 42xr4. My set even buzzes a real tiny bit (ear up against the vent) when its in standby. I figured it was just the wall amplifying the buzz. I was able to damp most of it out with a $3 piece of black fabric from Walmart. I stuck it between the plasma and the wall, being careful to not block the vents.

If they actually fix your buzzing sound I will have a tech come and look at mine.

If you use google to search for plasma buzzing, you will find someone that went all out, he used acoustic tile. That's what gave me the idea for the fabric.

I just turned 200hrs on my 50XR5. Watching a lot of the winter olys...when they break for SD commercials I don't fuss switching to stadium anymore. Occasionally I'll see IR from the sidebars, but it quickly dissipates. If I was to play a DVD with bars I'd probably still use stadium or zoom...but thats just me.

70runner: Are you serious that you see IR (or did see IR) on the display after just a few minutes of watching commercials during SD breaks on HD broadcasts? I hadn't realized that the NEC sensitivity to IR was that high. Is that true even after you dial down the brightness level of the screen to a reasonable level?

Is your 50xr5 wall mounted? (EDIT: I just read your original post again, and you did wall mount) I have a buzz with my 42xr4. My set even buzzes a real tiny bit (ear up against the vent) when its in standby. I figured it was just the wall amplifying the buzz. I was able to damp most of it out with a $3 piece of black fabric from Walmart. I stuck it between the plasma and the wall, being careful to not block the vents.

Yes, the wall does amplify the sound - heard 20' away with the volume muted/no source connected when it was wall mounted. However, the top fans are even drawing the sound out of the plasma, making any external damping hard to do.

Both techs heard the sound very clearly while we had the plasma balanced on a pair of upholstered chairs. Both agreed that something was not right - especially since this sound appeared 2 weeks after I had mounted it. So, we'll see.

Dave

70runner: Are you serious that you see IR (or did see IR) on the display after just a few minutes of watching commercials during SD breaks on HD broadcasts? I hadn't realized that the NEC sensitivity to IR was that high. Is that true even after you dial down the brightness level of the screen to a reasonable level?

I call this afterimaging or ghosting. I saw it on my Panny Th-50PX50U as well. A ghost image is retained especially if you look at a black screen following the image. This can remain for a few seconds to a few minutes depending on panel age and brand. The Panasonic seemed to exhibit this to a lesser extent than the NEC.

It seems like no one is listening. This behavior likely has nothing to do with the likelihood of image retention/burn-in. If a pdp panel were to age enough to cause IR/burn-in after only a few seconds, that would equate to a half-brightness panel life of, oh, say 100 hours as opposed to 60,000. Doesn't what I'm saying make sense to anyone? :confused:

Doesn't what I'm saying make sense to anyone? :confused:


Believe me, I hear what your saying loud and clear cpcat. I am not sure what the heck people are getting so worked up over a bit of afterimaging for; :confused: as well

NEC 61XR4 is 870:1 contrast?

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/6478.html


Contrast is the last issue with these panels .You are asking the same question again if i remember. This has been answered previously .
The images are stunning, as a panny owner ,it will be stepup for you .
Stop reading tooooooo much into specs , they can be misleading.

I'd like to use "grey bars" as the manual encourages for images that don't fill the screen. Specifically, the manual referred to 4:3 aspect ratio, but I expected they'd be available for 2:35 DVD's as well. However, I can't find it in the menus anywhere? All I could find was background color, for when there is no image. Setting that to grey does nothing when watching content.

Any help?

Thanks!

I call this afterimaging or ghosting. I saw it on my Panny Th-50PX50U as well. A ghost image is retained especially if you look at a black screen following the image. This can remain for a few seconds to a few minutes depending on panel age and brand. The Panasonic seemed to exhibit this to a lesser extent than the NEC.

It seems like no one is listening. This behavior likely has nothing to do with the likelihood of image retention/burn-in. If a pdp panel were to age enough to cause IR/burn-in after only a few seconds, that would equate to a half-brightness panel life of, oh, say 100 hours as opposed to 60,000. Doesn't what I'm saying make sense to anyone? :confused:

Cpcat.....Is it possible that the NEC's have a default brightness scale that may be "pushed" a bit more to make the picture "pop" and, as a consequence you're seeing a bit more IR when the panels are younger? I'm not trying to denegrate the NEC in any way. Rather, I'm trying to reconcile this IR observation with a perception that I've made that most NEC owners are suggesting that their panels are "brighter" than Pannys are out of the box. There's a part of me that wonders if the Pannys are intentionally less bright to reduce IR (i.e. that the brightness range is intentionally limited at the factory to reduce consumer/end-user flexibility and, as a result, IR is reduced). I know that Panasonic takes this "big brother" approach with their consumer models, generally, by removing certain PQ adjustment options from the menu structure and by turning on certain screen saver features automatically and irrevocably. Limiting the brightness adjustment scale could be an extension of this same philosophy and might explain some things.

I'm a firm believer that PDP technology is out in the "open," and all of the major higher quality manufacturers (Panasonic, Pioneer/NEC, Samsung, LG) are picking and choosing the elements of the technology that they think presents the best trade-off to achieve the best picture quality possible. (Perhaps Samsung and LG do tihs to a lesser extent as the market dictates that they sell their products at lower price points.) What we see, as consumers, - at least for the most part - is the end result of each manufacturer's prejudice in this process. Yes, there may be a lag time (say, 1 or 2 generations, at most) for one manufacturer to reverse engineer a technological improvement that a competitor's product may have. But, we're seeing fewer and fewer leap-frog improvements each year (except for full 1080p, which is being adopted by several manufacturers within the same generational year anyway). What that means is that there is technological parity in the industry for the most part.

Regardless, I am VERY confident that the NEC Image Retention observation that some have noticed does not present ANY long-term issues for NEC buyers.

Regardless, I am VERY confident that the NEC Image Retention observation that some have noticed does not present ANY long-term issues for NEC buyers.



If we're talking about something that happens after seconds or minutes on a 60,000 hour panel, it's definitely not long-term.

Anyone using the 50xr5 with the HDMI connection to a SA83000 HD DVR box? I'm curious what your settings are. I tried using Tony17's suggestions for his HDTivo, but they just aren't right. The picture is dim and too blue.

Okay, I promise this is the last time I'm gonna post settings :) . Rhoffman, I actually just got the 8300 setup via hdmi a couple of weeks ago, but didn't have a chance to mess with the settings until today. Let me know how the following looks for you...

Contrast 52
Brightness 36
Sharpness 3
Color 32
Tint 30
Color Temp - Mid Low (with the following adjustments)
Gain Red 29
Gain Green 26
Gain Blue 27
Bias Red 38
Bias Green 36
Bias Blue 35
Pic Mode - Theatre 1
Gamma 2.2
Low Tone Auto
Pedestal 0
Color Tune adjusted as following
Red 33
Green 32
Blue 32
Yellow 33
Magenta 33
Cyan 32

Anyone else with this box or the HDTiVo that has made some adjustments?

Believe me, I hear what your saying loud and clear cpcat. I am not sure what the heck people are getting so worked up over a bit of afterimaging for; :confused: as well

I think people are getting worked up over it because its clear that more people are reporting it on the NEC than any other display from this past year's release. Its probably the main reason I am choosing not to buy one. I'm sure in all other respects its a great display but I'm not hearing this level of concern form owners of Pioneer Elites or Fujitsus. Not trying to start a flame or anything, but this does seem to be a real issue with this NEC and it was an issue in the previous generation as well.

I think people are getting worked up over it because its clear that more people are reporting it on the NEC than any other display from this past year's release. Its probably the main reason I am choosing not to buy one. I'm sure in all other respects its a great display but I'm not hearing this level of concern form owners of Pioneer Elites or Fujitsus. Not trying to start a flame or anything, but this does seem to be a real issue with this NEC and it was an issue in the previous generation as well.


I am glad you at least eliminated one and are moving towards a decision.

Big Mac, I wish I was moving towards a decision. Now I'm stuck between plasma and front projection. I've regressed :)

You guys enjoy the NEC. I am sure, despite the minor IR issues it is still a fab TV. If I wasn't as insanely particular (if you haven't figured out already) I'd probably have gotten it, or something a long time ago :)

Hey guys, I just got my 50XM5A today, and have finally had time to test it some. It's got a great picture. The image retention is there, but it goes away after only a few minutes of watching something else. I think this is going to make a great set for us.

Big Mac, I wish I was moving towards a decision. Now I'm stuck between plasma and front projection. I've regressed :)

You guys enjoy the NEC. I am sure, despite the minor IR issues it is still a fab TV. If I wasn't as insanely particular (if you haven't figured out already) I'd probably have gotten it, or something a long time ago :)Suspect we're all a bit particular about such a purchase, each in our own way of course. It seemed like I was spending all my free time in plasma auditions, probably cause I was :)

Front projectors are a whole different science. Good friend is an engineer for Sony, works in commercial front projector design dept. He tried to talk me into a FP during the whole time I was auditioning plasmas. After looking at Fujis, Pios, and last years 42in NEC I was hooked. No regrets.

So no one bought the speakers for the 50XR5?

The specs say they're only 3.14" wide! Thats pretty small.
My speakers are currently on back order.
I do intend to post some pictures after arrival.

I call this afterimaging or ghosting. I saw it on my Panny Th-50PX50U as well. A ghost image is retained especially if you look at a black screen following the image. This can remain for a few seconds to a few minutes depending on panel age and brand. The Panasonic seemed to exhibit this to a lesser extent than the NEC.

It seems like no one is listening. This behavior likely has nothing to do with the likelihood of image retention/burn-in. If a pdp panel were to age enough to cause IR/burn-in after only a few seconds, that would equate to a half-brightness panel life of, oh, say 100 hours as opposed to 60,000. Doesn't what I'm saying make sense to anyone? :confused:

I have been one of the posters asking about IR experiences from current users.
I have been listening (reading) the responses. I am about 2 weeks from a purchase of either a 42XR4, Fuji 42HHA40US, or Pioneer 4360,

I have been reading threads about all three. I have an opportunity to buy the Fujitsu for only 25% more than the NEC. I almost pulled the trigger; but after reading professional reviews regarding poor upscaling ( I was surprised!); combined with having only one HDMI input, and the higher price; I came back to the NEC.

This is a decision process. Consequently, this forum; along with everyones input: is how I make my purchasing decisions (in addition to viewing the PDP's themselves; except for the NEC).

After reading yours and others responses, it appears that IR (ghosting) is not a serious issue (burn-in). I am just trying to make the best decision. Based on what I've read thus far; and vaselating back and forth; I am leaning toward the NEC. It appears to have the best overall package of: picture/features/value/warranty.

Thanks for everyones input.

yeah rdkaz...I think the IR/ghosting will make you nervous initially, it did me, but it goes away very quickly, and I haven't actually seen it at all since the initial bootup. I love the HD and DVD PQ on this set. The black levels do seem better than on my 55" Hitachi, but I am not impressed by the SD PQ on the NEC. My hitachi does better with an SD signal than the NEC. Both are great TV's though.

Good Luck,
Mark

Anyone have a 50" set w/ dead or stuck pixels?

Yes - just found one on mine. What's the dead pixel policy from NEC?

Jeff

Yes - just found one on mine. What's the dead pixel policy from NEC?

Jeff

I doubt one stuck pixel will be treated as a defect. You could contact them and see, though. Personally, if the only issue I had was a single dead pixel, I'd stay put.

I have been one of the posters asking about IR experiences from current users.
I have been listening (reading) the responses. I am about 2 weeks from a purchase of either a 42XR4, Fuji 42HHA40US, or Pioneer 4360,

After reading yours and others responses, it appears that IR (ghosting) is not a serious issue (burn-in). I am just trying to make the best decision. Based on what I've read thus far; and vaselating back and forth; I am leaning toward the NEC. It appears to have the best overall package of: picture/features/value/warranty.

Thanks for everyones input.

I don't think you will go wrong with either of these. I'd lean towards either the Fuji or NEC personally due to native rate support for a video processor. If you think you might consider that in the future, native rate support over DVI/HDMI is pretty much mandatory.

Okay, I promise this is the last time I'm gonna post settings :) . Rhoffman, I actually just got the 8300 setup via hdmi a couple of weeks ago, but didn't have a chance to mess with the settings until today. Let me know how the following looks for you...

My current settings are Contrast 48, bright 25, shrp 3, color 32, tint 30, color mid low, theater 1, low tone auto and ped at 0. All the specific color settings are unchanged.I derived these from using AVIA through component for my DVD player and then just switching the pedestal to 0 from 7.5 for HDMI through my cable box. It's interesting comparing your settings to my previous. The colors seem to be relatively similar but the largest difference can be seen in the whites. Using your settings the whites take on more of a blue, but in all honesty I can't tell if that's a more accurate rendering of white than my settings. The picture seems a little dimmer with your settings (surprising given the higher contrast & brightness). I'm not sure which one is better. I'll leave your settings on for a while and see if I notice anything else. Thanks.

How about this for a defect. I've got a tiny (about the size of 1 pixel) piece of dust (or some other sort of imperfection) on the inside of the outer most piece of glass. It's located in the bottom left area of the screen. I only noticed it initially when I was standing a foot or so away from the screen looking down on the monitor against a white screen. Doesn't bother me as you can't see it when looking head on at the monitor (the pixels behind it are clearly working, so it isn't a dead pixel) and it would be impossible to see from anything further than say 5 feet away.

Last night, I watched Master and Commander (awesome cannons thru my Axiom sub!) and I chose to watch it in anamorphic mode. This allowed the full image, and consequently gave me the black bars top and bottom. I had reached 100 hours earlier in the day, and decided, "what the hell?" After the movie was done, I turned it off, but left the screen on the DVD input. I could see two different shades of dark grey, one being the bars and the other being the picture area. This indicated image retention, but I was confident it would disappear when I switched on the STB. My wife and I started watching the Olympics and later I watched a Discovery feature. I did not notice where the bars had been from the moment I turned on broadcasts. I was satisfied everything was cool.

Still, as I asked before, it would be nice to have those black bars grey as recommended in the manual. I don't know where to make that setting though. Can anyone confirm that you can do that?

I know what it is like to be a bit "particular" or anal-retentive, or overly analytical -- call it what you prefer. However, I think to the degree some have professed to practice it, it is w-w-a-a-a-y-y overboard. This IR behavior is a non-issue with the 50XR5. I don't think anyone should go about forcing the panel into it (all-night TiVo freezes...ahem... <grin>), but normal viewing will be FINE.

I am approaching 300 hours on my 50XM5 and I have noticed no IR whatsoever. My audio system could have retailed in excess of $30,000.00 and I am particular enough to have spent the money on the NEC so I would not consider myself to be without a critical eye. I care not to even hint at what I have spend on upgraded power cords and I have even auditioned several toslink cables to find the 'best'. I am so busy enjoying the NEC that I have simply not bothered to sit, remote in hand, watching for some kind of shadow from the last show. Yes, I have avoided keeping black bars on the screen and I have not missed watching too many shows with the network logo in the bottem corner. I think I have done so more to enjoy the show without having to tremble with the thought of 'hurting' my NEC. This does not mean I don't watch them; I just don't go overboard.

Having read a previous post where his wife left the picture on overnite using the pause button, I did activate my timer so that this shouldn't happen to me.

Still, as I asked before, it would be nice to have those black bars grey as recommended in the manual. I don't know where to make that setting though. Can anyone confirm that you can do that?Go to the SET UP menu, and look for GRAY LEVEL. A 0 setting makes the bars black, anything higher changes the level of gray up to 15 which is pretty much white. I like to keep mine set at 3.

This works well for 4:3 content that you don't want to stretch. It doesn't work for 2.35:1 DVDs or 4:3 content shown in HD. I think the black bars on the top and bottom of DVD movies are put in by the DVD player. And SD commercials on HD channels have black bars on the sides because those are put in by the broadcaster.

The NEC doesn't convert this black to gray, it only puts gray in where there is truly no image. For an example, set the gray level to 3 and then watch a DVD in Normal WIDE mode. Maybe there is a way to have your DVD player set the gray level for its bars?

I am not impressed by the SD PQ on the NEC. My hitachi does better with an SD signal than the NEC. Both are great TV's though.
Mark

What is the source of your SD signal? It could be that your STB is deinterlacing and scaling the signal BEFORE the NEC sees it. Thus you are really seeing a deficiency in the built-in scaler of your STB. When I first got my 50XR5, I was receiving an all-SD signal via Directv. About two weeks ago, I switched to DISH for HD and SD service. The HD is fabulous, but SD via the DISH STB is actually inferior to SD via my old DTV STB. This is where I discovered that the DISH STB has its own scaler/deinterlacer, and there is no way to bypass it :mad: The real clue to this problem is the comparison between SD via my outdoor antenna and SD via the DISH STB. The antenna just blows away the STB, which is evidence of the superiority of the scaler in the NEC. I am going to cancel my local channel service on DISH and just use my antenna from now on. (HD is amazing via the antenna as well.) These little thoughtless flaws in the design of the hardware are drowned out by the hype. Even an expensive external scaler and/or a 1080p-capable display will play second fiddle to the built-in scaler in the DISH STB.

I have been reading threads about all three. I have an opportunity to buy the Fujitsu for only 25% more than the NEC. I almost pulled the trigger; but after reading professional reviews regarding poor upscaling ( I was surprised!); combined with having only one HDMI input, and the higher price; I came back to the NEC.
Where did you see professional reviews complaining of poor upscaling from Fujitsu? Fujitsu has the best if not tied for the best scaler out there in form of the AVMII processor. I have never seen one thing said poorly of this scaler and I've seen it in person. Can you cite a reference for this?

Fujitsu also has a 3 year warranty.

Geez sure don"t like to hear that, we're moving and won't have access to over the air channels, will be using the dish mover program and upgrading to the new 622 receiver, guess I'll just suffer through it. Mike

I only watch one or two programs in SD but, when I do, I have been blown away by the picture quality on the 42xr4. The SD programs are recorded on an 8300HD box so perhaps that has something to do with it. The SD quality is definitely better than on my Mitsubishi Diamond CRT using the same cable box.

What is the source of your SD signal? It could be that your STB is deinterlacing and scaling the signal BEFORE the NEC sees it.

It is true, I am new to using the Motorola DVR from Buckeye Cablevision, but I believe I have tried to bypass the STB's processors. If anyone has more experience with the Motorola Dual Tuner DVR, I'd appreciate any inputs. When I had the box outputting 480i, the picture looked soft and blurry around the edges. When I had it up convert to 720p or 1080i, it looks too sharp, with digital artifacts all over. When I had Time Warners 8300 HD DVR on my Hitachi, it really didn't matter whether I upconverted or not, it always looked pretty good. I kept the TWC 8300 set to upconvert to 1080i so that I didn't have to wait for the TV to change over to different resolutions. Anyways, I'm really happy with the pq on my 50XM5, both HD and DVD's which is about all I watch anyways. I'll have to compare the Hitachi's SD picture connected to the same cable when I get it up here in Toledo from South Carolina.

i've read through the thread and see that the ferrite cores go on each end of the power cable...but what exactly do they do?

Eric

i've read through the thread and see that the ferrite cores go on each end of the power cable...but what exactly do they do?

Eric


I think they are for noise reduction.

Just purchased the XR5 (Kudos again to Chris @ Cleveland Plasma) and plan to hook up a HD receiver and a DVD player both via HDMI. The audio will be routed to my A/V receiver, but I'm curious....which audio out "takes priority"?(i.e., What would happen if while listening to a movie through your A receiver, you hooked up separate speakers to the speaker terminals on the XR5? Would your main speakers go silent and the ones connected to the XR5 take over? )

Eric

just played with the picture settings and then the setup settings on my XR5. When I returned to the picture settings, "TINT" was no longer there below "COLOR" and above "NR" Where did it go?

Eric

The audio will be routed to my A/V receiver, but I'm curious....which audio out "takes priority"?(i.e., What would happen if while listening to a movie through your A receiver, you hooked up separate speakers to the speaker terminals on the XR5? Would your main speakers go silent and the ones connected to the XR5 take over? )
Eric
My SA 8300HD DVR is connected via component/analog audio to my TV and via digital audio coax to my A/V receiver. With A/V receiver off, TV speakers provide decent sound. For material that contains 5.1 audio, I can mute the TV speakers (and YES, NEC did this right - the "Mute" indicator goes away after a few secends), and fire up the A/V receiver. I'm watching the NBA all star game in 5.1, and the people clapping *behind* me is pretty cool.

My DVD player is hooked up via HDMI to the TV and via digital audo coax to my A/V receiver. Everything works the same - my kids can watch DVDs without having to mess with the A/V receiver, but it's there when I want it.

Ok, I've played around a bit with the Motorola Cable Box, and set it to pass through the SD signals as 480i to the set, and it does look better than having the STB upconvert. It is a bit "soft" looking, but better than the upconverted signal with digital artifacting. I am going to continue to watch all media in a stretched or zoomed mode for the first 100-200 hours on this set though to guarantee no burn-in issues. Hopefully after that I'll be able to use the set any way I want without fear of burn-in. My hitachi 55" is impossible to burn-in, and I hope that this set will be as good.

Mark

I am giving you the benefit of the doubt that you actually have sources for this statement, but unless you post them soon I am going to start thinking you are spreading FUD.

Everyone here, even NEC owners who have seen the Fujitsu have acknowledged it pretty much leads the industry in the area of its scaling and video processing and that sentiment has been shared by all professional references I've seen so if you have something from professional source that is contrary I am sure everyone would love to hear/read it.

I'd like to be giving you the benefit of the doubt that you actually have sources for this statement, but unless you post them soon I am going to start thinking you are spreading FUD.

Everyone here, even NEC owners who have seen the Fujitsu have acknowledged it pretty much leads the industry in the area of its scaling and video processing and that sentiment has been shared by all professional references I've seen so if you have something from professional source that is contrary I am sure everyone would love to hear/read it.

Please, if you have a source for these reviews post it. Otherwise, don't post comments like this that are unverifiable. These forums are best serving us when the information in them is true and verifiable, otherwise a thread like this can start to appear like a fan club that reduces the legitimacy of the praise within. I am sure current NEC owners would not want that perception reducing the quality of this thread, nor should any member of this forum.

Will be viewing from 12', is this too close for such a large screen? Was originally thinking about the Pio PDP-614MX, but after reading in this thread might re-think. Seems price may be fairly close, Thanks for any suggestions

I received my 50XR5 last week (thanks, Plasma Concepts). I am just amazed by how good this set is. Blacks are black and picture detail is outstanding. What little banding / false contouring I've seen has been short-lived and probably source-related. I just finished an 8 week ordeal with three different Dell W5001C sets, and the 50XR5 just blows the Dell away.

I've been careful to avoid black bars, and will keep the the peak brightness set to 75% for the first 100-200 hours. I've noticed no image retention whatsoever after watching material (such as the Daytona 500 or the Olympics) that make extensive use of static images for scoring.

I haven't watched much SD material, but I'm very impressed with how good it looks. Digital cable looks better than analog, but even analog looks no worse than it did on my analog RPTV. Plus, the NEC's stadium mode works really well, making SD viewing even better.

All said, the 50XR5 is a righteous display. I'm extremely pleased with my purchase.

I don't think you will go wrong with either of these. I'd lean towards either the Fuji or NEC personally due to native rate support for a video processor. If you think you might consider that in the future, native rate support over DVI/HDMI is pretty much mandatory.

CPCAT : Can you explain the native rate support function? My sources are a D* H20 stb; and a Pioneer Elite Dv-59AVI dvd player. I have read that it may be best to feed the dvd signal to the Plasma at 480i; and let the plasma scaler upscale?
Thanks.

I'd like to be giving you the benefit of the doubt that you actually have sources for this statement, but unless you post them soon I am going to start thinking you are spreading FUD.

Everyone here, even NEC owners who have seen the Fujitsu have acknowledged it pretty much leads the industry in the area of its scaling and video processing and that sentiment has been shared by all professional references I've seen so if you have something from professional source that is contrary I am sure everyone would love to hear/read it.

Please, if you have a source for these reviews post it. Otherwise, don't post comments like this that are unverifiable. These forums are best serving us when the information in them is true and verifiable, otherwise a thread like this can start to appear like a fan club that reduces the legitimacy of the praise within. I am sure current NEC owners would not want that perception reducing the quality of this thread, nor should any member of this forum.

The review I read was at www.cnet.com.au ( Australian CNET website)
The review was of the Fujitsu P42HHA40WS, dated 11-08-05. This appeared to be the Australian version of th P42HHA40US. Read the full review.

I realize that CNET may not be the best resource for reviews; but nonetheless there it was. Consequently, yesterday I went to a Magnolia HIFI store inside Best Buy to compare the Fujitsu with a Pioneer Elite 930 myself. I wish I could find an NEC to look at locally.

The SD feed to both units were the same; and the plasmas were next to each other. To my eyes, and others at the store the Fujitsu picture was better than the Elite. Not that the Elite was bad; but the Fujitsu was better. I feel better now.

Will be viewing from 12', is this too close for such a large screen? Was originally thinking about the Pio PDP-614MX, but after reading in this thread might re-think. Seems price may be fairly close, Thanks for any suggestions

I set my couch about 14-15 feet away for 61XR4 because it's hung on top of the fireplace and I have to look up a little bit to see the picture. If it's going to be placed at eye level I don't think 12' would be a problem.

As for the Pio PDP-614MX, I think it's more appropriate to compare the NEC to the Pio Elite model or the Fujisu picture wise. IMHO, NEC is a better looking plasma compared to the 'industrial' model (wife agreed!) and is also newer with more connectivity (2 HDMIs). To me, it's a no brainer especially if both NEC and Pio PDP-614MX are priced very close.

Just my thoughts. Good luck with your search.

jc

I live in an area where i was able to compare the comparable Panasonic, NEC and Fujitsu. I brought a couple of DVDs along to equalize things as best as possible knowing the rooms, settings and sources would still make for an unequal comparison. Yes, the NEC looked better than the Panasonic and the idea of being able to upgrade the inputs in the Panasonic is a real plus. But the NEC looked real sweet. Yes, the Fujitsu was maybe a bit better but not so much better to justify the price. I bought the NEC knowing that I could get a really good external scaler that would match the Fujitsu but I am now so happy with the NEC scaler that I am done shopping.

I think I will also cancel my Dish local service and go with my OTA feeds as I can now pull in OTA feeds from two major metropolitan areas.

The review I read was at www.cnet.com.au ( Australian CNET website)
The review was of the Fujitsu P42HHA40WS, dated 11-08-05. This appeared to be the Australian version of th P42HHA40US. Read the full review.

I realize that CNET may not be the best resource for reviews; but nonetheless there it was. Consequently, yesterday I went to a Magnolia HIFI store inside Best Buy to compare the Fujitsu with a Pioneer Elite 930 myself. I wish I could find an NEC to look at locally.

The SD feed to both units were the same; and the plasmas were next to each other. To my eyes, and others at the store the Fujitsu picture was better than the Elite. Not that the Elite was bad; but the Fujitsu was better. I feel better now.

Yeah I don't trust CNET for something like a six thousand dollar plasma. I trust them for virus scanning software though :) They just don't have the rigor or knowledge to be testing these products on the level that members here expect.

Thanks for clearing that up though.

Anyone watch the NBA all-star game in NYC using Time Warners' 8300HD box? My TV had one heck of a time trying to render that orange color correctly. It was causing lines and noise all over the screen. This went away immediately once the game broke to a commercial or any other screen without that orange color.

i've read through the thread and see that the ferrite cores go on each end of the power cable...but what exactly do they do?

Eric
The Supplemental Sheet indicates that the ferrite cores are to be used on a "remote cable." It also specifies that the remote cable is "not supplied." The manual makes no mention of remote cables, but refers to the power cable as the "power cord." In addition, there is one smaller sized ferrite core included.

The point of all this is that I don't believe the ferrite cores are intended to be used on the power cord, but rather on interconnecting cables. I don't know if any benefit or detriment will be seen using them on the power cord, I am only giving my interpretation of the product literature.

I own a week-and-a-half old 42XR4. I have not yet noticed the fans operating, and have checked often over the last few days. Even after the TV has been on for several hours, to the point that the screen feels warm and the top portion of the backside feels very warm, the fans still do not turn on. The TV is not on the wall, so it is very well ventilated, and the room is fairly cool, so that might explain it (NEC rep confirmed this possibility over the phone), but I want to hear from other owners.

How often do your fans turn on?
Is there any way to induce the fans to turn on to ensure they are working?

Thanks.

CPCAT : Can you explain the native rate support function? My sources are a D* H20 stb; and a Pioneer Elite Dv-59AVI dvd player. I have read that it may be best to feed the dvd signal to the Plasma at 480i; and let the plasma scaler upscale?
Thanks.


Some plasmas have NR support incorporated into their design. This means for a 1365 x 768 panel feeding a 1365 x 768 signal to it from an external source such as a video processor (VP) or home theater PC (HTPC). This can be an advantage as the internal scaler of the plasma won't have to work much or not at all. Assuming the external source has better scaling than the plasma's internal one, better PQ results. Some examples of VP's include the Lumagen Vision HDP, DVDO VP30, and NEC HQV Theatersync. HTPC's use video cards like those made by nvidia or ATI. All your various sources feed into the VP or HTPC which then scales/processes and feeds it to the display.

You'd think that NR support would be "automatic" but unfortunately it's not. If the set isn't designed for it you can't get it to work. You can still use a VP or HTPC without NR support, but it won't work as well.

In general, you should feed source signals to the panel (or VP,HTPC) at their native rate (i.e. 480i for DVD, 720p for FOX) whenever possible as the plasma (or VP, HTPC) likely will have better quality processing than your source box.

Ok, I've played around a bit with the Motorola Cable Box, and set it to pass through the SD signals as 480i to the set, and it does look better than having the STB upconvert. It is a bit "soft" looking, but better than the upconverted signal with digital artifacting. I am going to continue to watch all media in a stretched or zoomed mode for the first 100-200 hours on this set though to guarantee no burn-in issues. Hopefully after that I'll be able to use the set any way I want without fear of burn-in. My hitachi 55" is impossible to burn-in, and I hope that this set will be as good.

Mark

I think you will find that there will be a marked improvement in the deinterlacing/scaling PQ of SD broadcasts by the NEC over the first 100 hours. It seems there really is a break-in period during which time the processing improves very noticeably (i.e., I don't think it's my imagination or wishful thinking). I think others have remarked about this phenomenon as well. It is certainly known to occur with solid-state (and tube-based) audio gear. I only wish it was possible to bypass the processors in the DISH STBs, via my HDMI connection. Apparently this is an issue with DISH-niks that is well discussed on their sites. Little did I know about it when I made the decision to purchase the DISH satellite service.

Sounds as though the deinterlacer/scaler in your cable STB can be bypassed; are you using a digital (i.e., HDMI or DVI) connection between the STB and the NEC? Does your cable box selectively pass SD signals without scaling them while scaling HD, or have you bypassed its scaler entirely, so that your set is receiving both HD and SD without any processing by the STB? If this is done in the digital domain (without the STB converting the signal to analog at all, so that the NEC does not have to convert back to digital for upscaling), then that is the best way to go.

One more thing (sorry for the triple post, I've been saving up).

Does anyone else out there see bright green flashes on their NEC plasma?

I first noticed it while watching a subtitled movie, which forced my eyes to dart around the screen while reading the dialogue. It is mainly during very high contrast scenes (appears to come out of the whites), and less noticeable during daytime hours, but can sometimes be very distracting. If I show black bars on the sides with a very bright picture, it can be downright unbearable. I probably wouldn't be able to stand watching a black and white movie.

I have read elsewhere on this forum that this effect is specific to certain people (much like the DLP rainbow effect). My wife says she can see it if she tries, but isn't at all distracted during normal viewing. A friend said the same thing. My suspicion is that it is my eyes that are the problem (my wife has been on me to have my eyes checked for years, and I finally plan to do just that). Still, I am curious if anyone else has had a similar experience with their NEC. I haven't calibrated it yet (AVIA should be arriving tomorrow), but have played with the picture settings to no avail. Any thought/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

The point of all this is that I don't believe the ferrite cores are intended to be used on the power cord, but rather on interconnecting cables. I don't know if any benefit or detriment will be seen using them on the power cord, I am only giving my interpretation of the product literature.

One ferrite core should go on either end of the power cord. This is to shield the AC from RF interference and emission. I'd say leaving them off entirely would be fine, too, unless your set picks up any RF or you notice interference. I think it's required for the FCC class B rating. Commercial model plasmas may actually have a class A rating (shielded less) and they don't seem to run into any problems typically anyway.

Anyone watch the NBA all-star game in NYC using Time Warners' 8300HD box? My TV had one heck of a time trying to render that orange color correctly. It was causing lines and noise all over the screen. This went away immediately once the game broke to a commercial or any other screen without that orange color.
------------------------------

Interesting that you mention. My current Panny (50 7UY) has the same problem with Cox (SA 8300HD box). I thought it was my Panny and ordered an NEC 50XR5, which should arrive in a couple of weeks....looks like it won't solve my problem. My Panny has a lot of problems with any color in the bright red area...hmmm.

Some plasmas have NR support incorporated into their design. This means for a 1365 x 768 panel feeding a 1365 x 768 signal to it from an external source such as a video processor (VP) or home theater PC (HTPC). This can be an advantage as the internal scaler of the plasma won't have to work much or not at all. Assuming the external source has better scaling than the plasma's internal one, better PQ results. Some examples of VP's include the Lumagen Vision HDP, DVDO VP30, and NEC HQV Theatersync. HTPC's use video cards like those made by nvidia or ATI. All your various sources feed into the VP or HTPC which then scales/processes and feeds it to the display.

You'd think that NR support would be "automatic" but unfortunately it's not. If the set isn't designed for it you can't get it to work. You can still use a VP or HTPC without NR support, but it won't work as well.

In general, you should feed source signals to the panel (or VP,HTPC) at their native rate (i.e. 480i for DVD, 720p for FOX) whenever possible as the plasma (or VP, HTPC) likely will have better quality processing than your source box.

Thanks much.

The Supplemental Sheet indicates that the ferrite cores are to be used on a "remote cable." It also specifies that the remote cable is "not supplied." The manual makes no mention of remote cables, but refers to the power cable as the "power cord." In addition, there is one smaller sized ferrite core included.

The point of all this is that I don't believe the ferrite cores are intended to be used on the power cord, but rather on interconnecting cables. I don't know if any benefit or detriment will be seen using them on the power cord, I am only giving my interpretation of the product literature.

Page EN-1 of the Model Information brochure has a picture and little description about the power cable ferrites and where to place them. I personally don't think they do a whole lot, but they are intended to filter EMI. Some medical devices I used to work with required them too.

As for the fans on a 42XR4, I never hear them. I think they are on though, because when I look at the service menu there is a screen that should what I think is the fan status and rpm and two or three of them have some rpm number listed. I think they just run very quiet when the screen is operating normally in a well ventilated area.

And finally, I watched some of the All-Star game and I didn't notice any noise or problems with the orange/red color. I wasn't looking that closely, but I remember being impressed with clarity and resolution of the picture. If what you were seeing was really noticeable, I wasn't seeing it because my picture looked great. I am using a TWC SA 3250 HD box with component cables.

I'll be picking up my 42XR4A tomorrow and hooking it up to my HTPC using a DVI-to-HDMI cable and I will convey my experiences doing so with the nVidia drivers for my video card. I never had any problems doing this with my Samsung DLP (it has DVI and HDMI ports, but I tested the HDMI port with the DVI-to-HDMI cable just to see how the drivers would interpret the connection).

First I'd like to offer my thanks to all those who've contributed their experiences with the new line of NEC plasma displays. It was integral to my decision making process, something that took months of careful thought and planning and in the end I felt I came away with a fairly good understanding of the technology (and its strengths and weaknesses).

This weekend I set up my 42XR4A (on a Bell'O PVS-4207T stand) and I've been amazed by it in every respect. To give this some context, I was using a 46" Samsung DLP before with limited HD content, so this is my first plasma display. I have some experience doing content review work on HD material on various display types (LCD, plasma and 1080p front projection - yes, this is high-end gear), so I have access to some very good examples and some understanding of what to look for in regards to how the material is supposed to look (this is less true with broadcast HD in my experience, as it tends to be less reliable, at least in my area - Comcast overcompresses their HD, so I don't subscribe to it).

My 42XR4A is connected to a HTPC (running Windows MCE 2005) via a DVI-to-HDMI cable. Currently, the display is set up in Windows as a 720p HDTV running a resolution of 1280x720. Most of the HD material I have is either 720p or 1080p and the 720p stuff looks gorgeous. This is also true of DVDs, as yesterday I played several episodes of Band of Brothers. This may not be the most colorful source material for checking the vibrant colors of a plasma display, but it includes many blacks, grey shades and fast moving scenes, and I never noticed any image retention (I have about 70-80 hours on my set, most of it through a break-in DVD), blurring or inconsistency with blacks. I have no doubt that NEC performs some form of break-in on these sets before they leave the factory. For colors, I loaded up Finding Nemo and was floored by the colors - this is an excellent film to use to show off this display.

I then decided to try the 1080p content to see how well the scaler performs. This set will support resolutions up to 1920x1080, but with a pixel resolution of 1024x768, you are relying on the scaler to do a lot of work. I changed the display driver settings in Windows to treat the set as a 1080p HDTV and set my resolution to 1920x1080. I have to say that it performed really well - at least as good as any other sub-1080p native display I've used. As an example, you can play the IMAX film Amazing Caves and in the first few minutes there are several scenes (some slow and some fast) where its quite easy to see that the content is not being viewed in its original resolution. It was still quite obvious at points, but still very viewable. All in all, not bad for a set that isn't 1080p native.

SD content was very good as well, but I'll admit that I haven't watched much. Most of what I've watched was History channel (stretched in MCE - similar to the Stadium mode on the NEC). SD is perhaps not quite as good as it was on the DLP, but I attribute this to the projection TV presenting a 'softer' picture, so I believe I'm just seeing the content in a more literal presentation. Still very good, and it should seem excellent to most people.

I'll include some pictures of my setup in the next day or two, but I am very impressed with this panel. So much so that I feel no apprehension whatsoever spending the ~3k, something that I can not in all honesty say about my Samsung DLP.

And for those in the Seattle area that are looking to see one of these panels before buying, I actually bought mine locally. I'm not entirely familiar with the rules on this board for mentioning prices or sellers, but if anyone cares to know where they can take a look (they have a 50XR5 on display), just send me a PM and I'll be happy to provide info.

Very informative thread and you have me convinced that I should get the NEC instead of the Panny. I do have a couple of questions however. Other than the inputs on the XR5 are there advantages to it over the XM5. I really have no use for HDMI onlyDVI.

I own a week-and-a-half old 42XR4. I have not yet noticed the fans operating, and have checked often over the last few days. Even after the TV has been on for several hours, to the point that the screen feels warm and the top portion of the backside feels very warm, the fans still do not turn on. The TV is not on the wall, so it is very well ventilated, and the room is fairly cool, so that might explain it (NEC rep confirmed this possibility over the phone), but I want to hear from other owners.

How often do your fans turn on?
Is there any way to induce the fans to turn on to ensure they are working?

Thanks.


I have never seen/felt/heard my 42XR4's fans come on.

I have never seen/felt/heard my 42XR4's fans come on.

I've heard the fans on my PX-42XR4A, but they are temperature controlled. Only after having the set on for several hours was I able to hear them and then only by listening with my ear about 6 inches away from the fans themselves. They run slow and they are very quiet. The fan(s) in the 50XR5 that I saw in the store was bigger (120mm I believe - I think the ones on the 42XR4A are about 80mm) and was slightly more noticeable.

My panel is also sitting on a stand, not wall-mounted. I would imagine a wall-mounted setup would generate more heat with the reduced air circulation.

Page EN-1 of the Model Information brochure has a picture and little description about the power cable ferrites and where to place them. I personally don't think they do a whole lot, but they are intended to filter EMI. Some medical devices I used to work with required them too.I see this now. Thanks for directing me to that page. My new guess is that the Supplement Sheet I noted earlier is referring to the one extra smaller ferrite core that is included, and that it is intended for the "remote cable."
As for the fans on a 42XR4, I never hear them. I think they are on though, because when I look at the service menu there is a screen that should what I think is the fan status and rpm and two or three of them have some rpm number listed. I think they just run very quiet when the screen is operating normally in a well ventilated area.I haven't accessed the service menu, but my fans are definitely not running when I check them. I can see them through the grates and they are not turning. Like I said, the NEC rep I spoke to said they should click on at a certain temp, so either that temp isn't being reached, or there is a defect. If your set isn't on the wall, you should be able to see the fans turning (or not turning) by looking through the small holes on backside top corners where the fans are located.
And finally, I watched some of the All-Star game and I didn't notice any noise or problems with the orange/red color. I wasn't looking that closely, but I remember being impressed with clarity and resolution of the picture. If what you were seeing was really noticeable, I wasn't seeing it because my picture looked great. I am using a TWC SA 3250 HD box with component cables.Not sure if this was directed at me, but my post wasn't about the NBA All Star game (didn't watch it), rather the bright green flashes I'm seeing on heavily contrasted scenes. I guess you aren't seeing those.

I have never seen/felt/heard my 42XR4's fans come on.
Thanks. That makes me feel a little better.

Not sure if this was directed at me, but my post wasn't about the NBA All Star game (didn't watch it), rather the bright green flashes I'm seeing on heavily contrasted scenes. I guess you aren't seeing those.

This comment was addressed to the poster talking about seeing lots of noise in the red/orange area. I don't see the green flashes either.

Very informative thread and you have me convinced that I should get the NEC instead of the Panny. I do have a couple of questions however. Other than the inputs on the XR5 are there advantages to it over the XM5. I really have no use for HDMI onlyDVI.

1year panel replacement/3 years parts and labor warranty for the consumer vs. 1year for both on the commercial model. The DVI input on the commercial model accepts 1080p60 whereas only the YPbPr and VGA input on the consumer will.
That's all that comes to mind other than what you already know.

It's been confirmed by Chris that the swivel pedestal stand works with either.

^^^^^ Yes the PX-ST2U stand will work on both the XM and XR. If we are lucky we can get some picks up......

Does anyone else out there see bright green flashes on their NEC plasma?

SnipYes I see that also, usually when there is a dark scene with a bright patch. It occurs around one edge of the bright area when I blink. It happens with other brand panels too. Go figure :) My eyes are OK; recently tested. I also see bad flicker on CRT's running HD, so maybe that has something to do with it i.e. I'm susceptable to some effect.

Others: I haven't heard noise from my 42XR4's fans even when the air temp. here has been around 90 degrees F, though there is clearly slight airflow.

Also the ferrite cores are for RF interference suppression, both received (i.e. from outside sources) and generated by the panel and/or devices connected to it.

Someone stole my XR5...

I am angry… I ordered my plasma a week ago today from Chris in Cleveland Plasma and he shipped out the same day, thanks Chris! It arrived in my local trucking warehouse last Friday night. I called them Monday morning and ask them to deliver to me same day but they told me they need one day in advance. Then I schedule to deliver Tuesday. I called Tuesday morning to confirm my appointment and they told me they can’t find it and maybe mis-route to another station. They look and look and Tuesday afternoon they admit they lost it internally. The dock manager confess to me that 2 of his employees saw the box Monday but Tuesday morning there is no where to be found. According to the dock manager, after some investigation, He said “One of my 15 people crew is a thief and very disappoint him as well.” Then yesterday another worst news came. Chris called me and told me 50" XR5 is back order as long as 2 weeks now, I am angry and nothing I can do. I ran all my wires, 2 HDMI, VGA, S video and MIT Z-cord II then even drill a big hole in the wall and ready the mount and cables for the XR5 now. I'm sitting on the side and reading all your posts and can't join the game :mad:

I am happy now :D After one of the employees in the previous shipping company stole my plasma, I immediately called Chris in Cleveland Plasma to seek for some help. This guy is AMAZING - Just after 1 day I report to him, he contacted NEC, NA and let him know my situation. NEC immediately shipped it to me and it arrived in my local warehouse last Friday. Since I was out of town and they are going to deliver later today. I don't usually like to recommend or endorse anyone. But I feel I need to do that to Chris. If you are going to buy these NEC plasmas and you don’t buy it from Chris, you are making a mistake! Try to call other company sales rep 9PM and expect him to help you like Chris. Once again, if you are in the market for any these NEC models, PLEASE give Chris a try, this guy really take care you not just before the sales but most importantly after the sales especially when any problem occurs. Chris – Thanks a million!

I want to second everything that hlkc said about Chris. I ordered my 50XM5A from Chris on the 11th I think, and it shipped out the next day or so. We had some problems with Roadway as far as the shipping was concerned (they lost it for a short time) but Chris contacted them immediately and straightened it out. I got it on Saturday, and have hardly turned it off since. It is one beautiful set, and I want to thank Chris @ Cleveland Plasma for suggesting it to me. If you buy one of these sets from someone else, you are doing yourself a disservice. Thanks again Chris, I'll call you again when we need some more sets.

Mark

After much research and a great deal of reading on this forum. I jumped in and also purchased the NEC 50XR5. It arrived last week and is now installed and running. Wow! what a great plasma TV - the Olympics are alive in full HD 1080i in my media room. Thanks to everyone for their posts. I read them all - very, very helpful in my decision making process.

To sum it up for folks new to this thread, I purchased this unit because:

-1-
Great conversion of SD content showing on Standard DVD's from my old 480i DVD player

-2-
Fantastic brilliance and depth of 1080i HD content

-3-
The packaging of the unit just looks more professional and high end then the reference Panasonic models

-4-
2 HDMI inputs

-5-
Lots of granular color adjustments

-6-
Competitive pricing

-7-
It’s a HD monitor only - no Tuner, or speakers. I did not what to pay for stuff I did not need.

-8-
Availability of a trust-worthy, highly recommended, NEC certified, on-line reseller, that could answer technical questions and rapidly execute an order.

The reseller in #8 is the well respected Chris from Cleveland Plasma. Chris did an excellent job processing my transaction including intelligently answering initial questions, giving me a fair price, and providing regular updates on the status of my order/shipment. Nice work Chris!

Cheers to all,

Dell

just played with the picture settings and then the setup settings on my XR5. When I returned to the picture settings, "TINT" was no longer there below "COLOR" and above "NR" Where did it go?

Eric

Sorry for the self bump, but I'm shocked that this is a unique problem. I can't adjust tint because the setting is not there! I've reset everything but to no avail. I'm awaiting a customer support response from NEC and I'll report back if/when I get a response. Can this be a defect? Anyone? Thanks, Eric

Wow!!
Everyone seems to be pleased and content with PQ.
3-4 new satisifed owners in last 2 pages .
Hmm.. Sharpie, is becoming more confused.. :confused: :confused:

Wow!!
Everyone seems to be pleased and content with PQ.
3-4 new satisifed owners in last 2 pages .
Hmm.. Sharpie, is becoming more confused.. :confused: :confused:

LOL :) I went to make my purchase today for the Fujitsu, and guess what, the chain that was carrying it and was going to give me a nice discount is out of stock and no longer carrying Fujitsu, because its too high end for their customers. They are falling back on the Pio Elites. Of course they didn't have the NEC either, bastads :)

Sorry for the self bump, but I'm shocked that this is a unique problem. I can't adjust tint because the setting is not there! I've reset everything but to no avail. I'm awaiting a customer support response from NEC and I'll report back if/when I get a response. Can this be a defect? Anyone? Thanks, Eric

I think I figured it out. I was on the VIDEO 1 input. looks like there's no tint control for that. i forgot to mention I don't have any source material hooked up yet, so I was inputting settings to a grey screen...on video 1 if you go to other sources "TINT" is there.

Eric