I haven't seen too many comments from owners of LG plasmas and then quickly realized that this is one of the few brands without an "official" thread. Since I have been so pleased with my LG plasma (50PX5D) I really want other LG owners to weigh in on their experience with the brand.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

I just picked up the 50PX1D from my local BB and so far, the picture is great. The remote and functionaily of the menu's are easy to use and well layed out and the overall packging is nice.

My only gripe is the speakers. They seem to have a "crackling" sounds from the subwoofer when the bass is turned up. But I'm going to get a reciever etc., so I won't be using them, but that's just something that bothered me.

Other than that, for the PQ, features and price, I love it!

I just got back from BestBuy where I looked at the 2006 LG 50PC3D which was sitting next to a 50" Pioneer and Samsung. At first the LG had a bit of red push, so I adjusted the settings a bit and it looked pretty darn good compared to the Pioneer. The Panasonic 50PX60U was 20' away and facing the wrong direction so I had a hard time comparing the two, but it did seem to hold its own. I did not notice much (if any) clayface which I've seen on the Panasonics even after some adjustments.

I only viewed the internal HD feed from BB, but I really came away feeling good about the LG glass. I was also impressed with the electronics, menu, and remote. For starters, the remote makes the new Panasonic remote look like a pos. The on-screen menu is also nice and well designed. The TV itself looks nice.

One thing that I liked were the anti-burnin features on the TV. I believe it had an orbiter setting, white wash, and screen inversion. The latter would come in quite handy after you fall asleep watching a DVD and have it stick the menu up for 6 hours. :)

Anyone brought this puppy home yet? MRSP for it is listed as $3699.95 on LG's website and also includes a 2-year warranty with in-home service.

I got a 42PX4D last night. I have been looking for a new tv for a while and this one seemed like the right one for me, great features, very nice picture, and I like the aesthetics. The only thing I would change is making the speakers removable.

I have only used it for a several hours so far but everything seems really nice. I like the menus and setting up with the ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner was simple and quick. The reception on the tuner is very good. The two year warranty is a nice feature as well.

So far, I have not had any issues at all and I get a big grin every time I turn it on.
I am only using it as a TV now, I have a projector that I use to watch DVDs on but when I get time I will hook up my DVD player and see how upconverted DVDs look at 1080i and 720p.

Since I created this thread I might as well put my two cents in...

I purchased my 50PX5D about a month ago at my local Brandsmart and got a great deal. The delivery was scheduled only a couple days later and I impatiently awaited its arrival. Tuesday comes and the truck arrived on schedule. The shipping guys wheel the surprisingly large box through my door and begin to unpack it for initial inspection. To my dismay, the plasma's inner glass was shattered. After sheepishly repacking the box, the delivery guys scheduled another delivery that Friday. Friday came, and lo and behold the same two guys wheel in a flawless set (horray!). I tested the set initially with the Spider Man 2 dvd, and the results were stunning.

Since I was wall mounting the unit, me and a friend lifted the plasma onto my couch, and removed the attached swivel stand. After attaching the plasma to the wall mount, I realized that connecting the set while it was hung may become a problem due to the fact the inputs were facing the wall. However, by using a small mirror and a flashlight, the hookup went relatively smoothly.

After finalizing installation I turned on D*'s SD programming (HD bow was to come in a couple of days). I was actually surprised by quality of the picture. So many on here have complained about D*s insane compression of content being very evident on HD displays that I almost feared seeing it for the first time. A few channels had some pretty nasty macroblocking and color saturation issues, especially in the local channels, but overall I was very impressed. That same evening I popped in "The Last Samurai" being fed through component. The PQ was breath taking, from the lush mountain village surroundings, to the night action scenes. Even at the conservative settings, the set showed excellent low light detail and black level performance.

As soon as my H20 came in I hooked it up and went straight to the HD content. I was blown away by the picture initially. However, after careful inspection (ie. viewing the set at less than a foot away) I still saw some minor macroblocking and banding in the picture. I blame much of this on D*'s compression. I then hooked up an antenna to watch some primetime OTA HD content. Almost all of the PQ issues I had seen on my satelite HD content were nowhere to be found.

All in all I am still amazed by the quality of the plasma, and hope to put a 42" LG in my bedroom.

Since I created this thread I might as well put my two cents in...

I purchased my 50PX5D about a month ago at my local Brandsmart and got a great deal. The delivery was scheduled only a couple days later and I impatiently awaited its arrival. Tuesday comes and the truck arrived on schedule. The shipping guys wheel the surprisingly large box through my door and begin to unpack it for initial inspection. To my dismay, the plasma's inner glass was shattered. After sheepishly repacking the box, the delivery guys scheduled another delivery that Friday. Friday came, and lo and behold the same two guys wheel in a flawless set (horray!). I tested the set initially with the Spider Man 2 dvd, and the results were stunning.

Since I was wall mounting the unit, me and a friend lifted the plasma onto my couch, and removed the attached swivel stand. After attaching the plasma to the wall mount, I realized that connecting the set while it was hung may become a problem due to the fact the inputs were facing the wall. However, by using a small mirror and a flashlight, the hookup went relatively smoothly.

After finalizing installation I turned on D*'s SD programming (HD bow was to come in a couple of days). I was actually surprised by quality of the picture. So many on here have complained about D*s insane compression of content being very evident on HD displays that I almost feared seeing it for the first time. A few channels had some pretty nasty macroblocking and color saturation issues, especially in the local channels, but overall I was very impressed. That same evening I popped in "The Last Samurai" being fed through component. The PQ was breath taking, from the lush mountain village surroundings, to the night action scenes. Even at the conservative settings, the set showed excellent low light detail and black level performance.

As soon as my H20 came in I hooked it up and went straight to the HD content. I was blown away by the picture initially. However, after careful inspection (ie. viewing the set at less than a foot away) I still saw some minor macroblocking and banding in the picture. I blame much of this on D*'s compression. I then hooked up an antenna to watch some primetime OTA HD content. Almost all of the PQ issues I had seen on my satelite HD content were nowhere to be found.

All in all I am still amazed by the quality of the plasma, and hope to put a 42" LG in my bedroom.


Nice write up! The way your story started off, I thought that you were going to end it with it falling off your wall mount! :) Glad to see you got everything hooked up.

What is D's compression and H20? Sorry, I'm new to all the acronyms.

Since I created this thread I might as well put my two cents in...

I purchased my 50PX5D about a month ago at my local Brandsmart and got a great deal. The delivery was scheduled only a couple days later and I impatiently awaited its arrival. Tuesday comes and the truck arrived on schedule. The shipping guys wheel the surprisingly large box through my door and begin to unpack it for initial inspection. To my dismay, the plasma's inner glass was shattered. After sheepishly repacking the box, the delivery guys scheduled another delivery that Friday. Friday came, and lo and behold the same two guys wheel in a flawless set (horray!). I tested the set initially with the Spider Man 2 dvd, and the results were stunning.

Since I was wall mounting the unit, me and a friend lifted the plasma onto my couch, and removed the attached swivel stand. After attaching the plasma to the wall mount, I realized that connecting the set while it was hung may become a problem due to the fact the inputs were facing the wall. However, by using a small mirror and a flashlight, the hookup went relatively smoothly.

After finalizing installation I turned on D*'s SD programming (HD bow was to come in a couple of days). I was actually surprised by quality of the picture. So many on here have complained about D*s insane compression of content being very evident on HD displays that I almost feared seeing it for the first time. A few channels had some pretty nasty macroblocking and color saturation issues, especially in the local channels, but overall I was very impressed. That same evening I popped in "The Last Samurai" being fed through component. The PQ was breath taking, from the lush mountain village surroundings, to the night action scenes. Even at the conservative settings, the set showed excellent low light detail and black level performance.

As soon as my H20 came in I hooked it up and went straight to the HD content. I was blown away by the picture initially. However, after careful inspection (ie. viewing the set at less than a foot away) I still saw some minor macroblocking and banding in the picture. I blame much of this on D*'s compression. I then hooked up an antenna to watch some primetime OTA HD content. Almost all of the PQ issues I had seen on my satelite HD content were nowhere to be found.

All in all I am still amazed by the quality of the plasma, and hope to put a 42" LG in my bedroom.


Great review. I too love the athestetics of the Lg. It is a beautiful set. I total agree with you on the Direct TV. I just recently switched to Comcast and am extremely happy. I can't believe so many people are spending thousands on TV and don't even get a great HD pic through D*. OTA or cable are much better.

Nice to see a thread for the LG brand. Three weeks ago I brought home an LG DU-37LZ30. While the build quality and aesthetics were very nice I was not happy with the quality of the picture. I am new to LCD/plasma TV although I have used an LCD computer monitors for years.

I had the LCD connected via Charter Cable and component wiring. In my opinion there was not enough sharpness in the details and blurring, for instance, in fast-paced basketball games. My terminology is probably weak, so bear with me.

In any case I returned the LCD and came home with an LG 42 PC3D plasma. You might ask why would I purchase the same brand that I had just returned? The price was in my range, it was a newer model, and while Panasonic appears to be so well-regarded, I did not like the looks of their 42 inch model.

The LG 42 PC3D is making me pretty happy. The stand is cumbersome with a large rounded front as opposed to the DU-37LZ30, which had a nice, rectangular base.
In my eyes I am seeing better detail. It may be that I just prefer plasma to LCD,

As a newcomer I would appreciate some advice on hook-up. Should I get an DVI-HDMi cable or use the RGB connection instead of the component cables? Right now I am afraid to use anything but a full-screen to prevent burn in. How important is this? I have read the forums concerning this issue but get some conflicting reports.

Thanks for providing a wealth of information on the subject of HDTV.

I'm considering a 50 inch LG plasma with the built in HDD DVR. Anyone have any experience with this? I have a Philips SD HDD DVR that uses the TVGuide scheduling and am aware of the weaknesses of this guide (although it works pretty well for the price).

How about fan noise? Any problems?

Thanks.

deitripper, good choice with the 42PC3d. As far as connections go, stick to component, DVI and HDMI. All of those pass a HD signal if available. The RGB connection is primarily used for computers, unless you bought a set in the UK which has SCART connections which are sometimes reffered to as RGB if I'm not mistaken. In any case stick to the first three I mentioned for the best quality picture.

Does anyone know if this set has active cooling fans like the Panasonic 50PX60U? The set at the local best buy is mounted such that I can not check it for cooling fans.

got the 42pc3d. great picture, good sound. however connected to a sa 8300hd stb via hdmi i have big audio problems. i get sound on about 10 of the first 100 channels. only 2 of the next 150 channels are silent and all hd channels work. cox cable was baffled by this but, they don't support hdmi anyway. component cables work fine but i miss the sharper hdmi picture. hope a firmware update will fix this issue! this set runs way cooler than the 42" akai i had before and sounds much better.

Any insight on the 50PC1DR? The included HD DVR, good/bad/don't know, wonder if BB has them yet...

Just got a 50PX4DR (much like the PC1DR). The picture from off the air HD is excellent.

I've used that type of DVR with the TVGuide On Screen schedule and it is not as good as the TIVO, ReplayTV or DISH from a users point of view, but works well. It has all the usual DVR functions (pause, record, rewind, fast, slow, etc).

The only problem so far is that I can't get the Auto Demo mode to stay off. Every 10 minutes it switches to that mode. The instructions to disable it don't work. I'm going to call the dealer (BB), then LG.

Any insight on the 50PC1DR? The included HD DVR, good/bad/don't know, wonder if BB has them yet...

Don't have any particular insight. But I was at BB today - for another topic and saw this exact PDP. It was sitting next to a Pioneer 5061. I was actually quite impressed with the LG. Would not have even thought of it - had it not been right next to the Pioneer.

While it had a bit of red push - very evident next to the Pioneer - overall it was very, very nice. I did fiddle with it for a few minutes and got rid of the red push.

I am now doing more research on this model - simply had never considered it - having seen it - would state that at least on HD (that was the feed in the store) and on HD - DVD (my real reason for being there) it was as good as the other top tier plasmas.

Certainly worthy of consideration - did not check out any other features.

Just my .02$
Therese

hey guys, im new here and looking for more info on LG's plasmas. anyone hear anything on the 42PC1D ? .. and if so how does it compare to the PIO 4360 ? .. any input would be nice kinda stuck between these two .. thanks in advance!

I found the set at Circuit City and it was in a position where I could at least feel the air flow coming from the top. It does look like the 50PC3D does have a cooling fan -- the amount of air blowing out the top exhaust port was significant.

I believe the 42PC3D has passive cooling based on the fact that it has many more air vents than the 50PC3D. The 50" only had a few small air inlets at the bottom and perhaps an 8"x2" vent at the top center. I could be wrong on it as I didn't have a clear view of the rear.

A couple of years ago, there was not an LG made anything on the floors. No TV's, appliances, etc. Now everything but the checkout counter at the local BB seems to be LG.

Other than what the salesmen have been taught to parrot back when I ask the question as to who are these guys, where do they come from and do they have enough background and experience to know how to build a fine TV, does anyone know anything about the company? I wonder who they displaced or took market share from since I find it hard to believe they can become a major player in this country without taking some business away from the established brands, or are they just a rename of someone we knew by another name? Also, a new player to the market doesn't have a lot of design history and learn-from-mistakes, which people like Sony and Panasonic have been doing for years.

If I look at an LG, will I be in danger of wasting a sizable chunk of my hard earned cash instead of going with one of the other established names?

Thanks for any insight....

A couple of years ago, there was not an LG made anything on the floors. No TV's, appliances, etc. Now everything but the checkout counter at the local BB seems to be LG.

Other than what the salesmen have been taught to parrot back when I ask the question as to who are these guys, where do they come from and do they have enough background and experience to know how to build a fine TV, does anyone know anything about the company? I wonder who they displaced or took market share from since I find it hard to believe they can become a major player in this country without taking some business away from the established brands, or are they just a rename of someone we knew by another name? Also, a new player to the market doesn't have a lot of design history and learn-from-mistakes, which people like Sony and Panasonic have been doing for years.

If I look at an LG, will I be in danger of wasting a sizable chunk of my hard earned cash instead of going with one of the other established names?

Thanks for any insight....LG stands for Lucky-Goldstar (not "Life's Good" as the advertising would have you believe). Goldstar is a brand that's been around for decades as a 'value' brand and an OEM suplier to some major makes (I know they made Panasonic's microware Ovens in the 1990's (and still might). See more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Group

I found the set at Circuit City and it was in a position where I could at least feel the air flow coming from the top. It does look like the 50PC3D does have a cooling fan -- the amount of air blowing out the top exhaust port was significant.

I believe the 42PC3D has passive cooling based on the fact that it has many more air vents than the 50PC3D. The 50" only had a few small air inlets at the bottom and perhaps an 8"x2" vent at the top center. I could be wrong on it as I didn't have a clear view of the rear.

Swank is right about the passive cooling. My unit is dead silent and cant feel any air movement at the vents. Does anyone know why this TV weighs so much less than other 42 inch plasma sets?

According to specs it only weighs 55.6 lbs. minus stand.

deitripper, I was pretty surprised at how light the plasma was myself. Comparing the specs between other 42" LG plasmas, it looks as if the majority of the weight savings is due to the speaker array. I think they went with smaller drivers and possibly a smaller (in size, not in power) amp. Also, some ancilliary weight might have been saved by the smaller cabinet design and the deletion of components enabling cable card support and PIP.

Any insight on the 50PC1DR? The included HD DVR, good/bad/don't know, wonder if BB has them yet...

Yes, BB does have them, although not many of them. I live in Chicago and they had to go all the way to northern Indiana to get mine! I've had it now for a couple of weeks.

I have it connected to my Sony SAT-HD200 DirecTV receiver, which I used for my previous CRT HD set. This has DVI output, so I got a DVI-to-HDMI adapter to plug it into the LG. I also have a roof-mounted antenna for OTA signals.

The good: Almost undetectable fan noise, and very little heat. Great PQ, especially with my new upconverting Sony DVD player or local OTA HD broadcasts. Having 2 HDMI inputs is great (but those cables are EXPENSIVE!!). TV Guide is nice, but not useful with my DirecTV hookup. The set looks great in my living room. The Tonight Show on OTA HD and the HDMI input is awesome!

The bad: The DVR ONLY WORKS WITH ANTENNA, CABLE OR A/V INPUTS! It will NOT let you record from the component or HDMI inputs. This makes the DVR completely useless to me. Not even the "pause live TV" feature works. This is a MAJOR disappointment! I will have to buy an HD DirecTV box with TiVo to get any decent PVR capabilities. (I wonder if this is some kind of DRM copy-protection issue?)

Also, changing between HDMI inputs is REALLY slow, as it has to establish a data connection, which can take at least a second or two. And while it will automatically skip over inputs that have nothing connected to them, this does not seem to be true for the antenna or cable inputs, so I end up with solid snow on the cable input when cycling through the inputs. I wish there was an easy way to switch to a specific input from the remote.

The ugly: The signal from HBO HD and Showtime HD on the satellite is COMPLETELY unwatchable. What you can see of the picture is random blocks, and no sound at all. Maybe this is an issue with DirecTV or my HD satellite receiver, but that receiver worked fine on HD signals with my CRT (Sony KV-34XBR800). Maybe this older box is too slow to process the input for the LG, but it doesn't even work at 720p, much less at 1080i. I'm doing research now to see how I might be able to fix this.

Would I recommend it? Not if you want to use the DVR for any high-quality signals. Definitely not if you have DirecTV (unless I can figure out why the HD signal is so bad). At this point my satisfaction is about a "6" out of 10.

Mike, thanks for starting this thread. I'm a new LG plasma owner and look forward to sharing my experiences with other owners (or potential ones).

-- XWing

I have had the 50" 50PX1D since October and I have been a pretty happy camper. I Did some more calibration work over my week long spring break and I think I am getting this set dialed in.

Likes:

HD and SD Picture Quality
Price
Digital Cable Support

Dislikes:

Only one HDMI port (Going to have to get a switchbox or a Video Processor when I add a HD-DVD/BD player.)

When I purchased this set (I bought at a smaller A/V dealer instead of a Big Box), the only set I thought that surpassed the LG in picture quality was the Pioneer Elite but at nearly twice the price I didn't think it was a 2x improvement.

I also appreciate starting this thread, LG is definately a dark horse in the PDP marketplace.

-- Jim

I'm still mulling over my options and my two major concerns over this set are:

1) Will it accept 1366x768 or 1280x720 inputs over the RGB port from a HTPC. I hope it doesn't only accept 1024x768 and stretch it -- or worse yet, not stretch the input image and leave pillarboxes. Time to take a laptop to BestBuy and do some testing.

2) How it handles deinterlacing of a 1080i signal. With HD-DVD here and Blu-Ray nearly here, I really don't want a 768p set that can't properly deinterlace a 1080i signal (see Gary Merson's tests). Since you can reconstruct a progressive frame from an interlaced film source, I'd hope that the set could properly de-interlace and scale the 1080i output from an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray down to 768p without a huge loss of quality (1080i -> 540i -> 768p). Perhaps future HD/BRD players won't have the issues the current Toshiba unit has with poor internal scaling when the output is set to 720p and eliminate this concern. I'll probably get the sales folks at BestBuy to hook up their HD-DVD player to the set before I buy it.

The set does have slightly worse black levels than the well known sets (Pioneer and Panasonic), but it isn't that bad. And once I have the set in my living room I won't have a much more expensive Pioneer sitting next to it to remind me. :)

I have had the 50" 50PX1D since October and I have been a pretty happy camper. I Did some more calibration work over my week long spring break and I think I am getting this set dialed in.

Likes:

HD and SD Picture Quality
Price
Digital Cable Support

Dislikes:

Only one HDMI port (Going to have to get a switchbox or a Video Processor when I add a HD-DVD/BD player.)

When I purchased this set (I bought at a smaller A/V dealer instead of a Big Box), the only set I thought that surpassed the LG in picture quality was the Pioneer Elite but at nearly twice the price I didn't think it was a 2x improvement.

I also appreciate starting this thread, LG is definately a dark horse in the PDP marketplace.

-- Jim

jmallory - thanks for your input. What kind of calibration did you do and what were your findings? I have the same TV and so far, I love it!

I'm still mulling over my options and my two major concerns over this set are:

1) Will it accept 1366x768 or 1280x720 inputs over the RGB port from a HTPC. I hope it doesn't only accept 1024x768 and stretch it -- or worse yet, not stretch the input image and leave pillarboxes. Time to take a laptop to BestBuy and do some testing.

2) How it handles deinterlacing of a 1080i signal. With HD-DVD here and Blu-Ray nearly here, I really don't want a 768p set that can't properly deinterlace a 1080i signal (see Gary Merson's tests). Since you can reconstruct a progressive frame from an interlaced film source, I'd hope that the set could properly de-interlace and scale the 1080i output from an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray down to 768p without a huge loss of quality (1080i -> 540i -> 768p). Perhaps future HD/BRD players won't have the issues the current Toshiba unit has with poor internal scaling when the output is set to 720p and eliminate this concern. I'll probably get the sales folks at BestBuy to hook up their HD-DVD player to the set before I buy it.

The set does have slightly worse black levels than the well known sets (Pioneer and Panasonic), but it isn't that bad. And once I have the set in my living room I won't have a much more expensive Pioneer sitting next to it to remind me. :)

I've ran my 50PX1D to 1360x768 on the RGB input.

-- Jim

jmallory - thanks for your input. What kind of calibration did you do and what were your findings? I have the same TV and so far, I love it!

I used DVE and the Expert Calibration Mode (Hidden Menu)

Calibrated HDMI with DVE being played back from my Powerbook G4.
Calibrated RGB with DVE being played back from my home-built HTPC.
Calibrated Component with DVE being played back through my JVC VHS/DVD/HDD unit.

Calibrated my Direct Cable input using an average from the other three settings as a starting point. Fine tuned using a color bar channel being sent from Comcast in ClearQAM.

Calibrated my Antenna and Video ports with an average of the other settings.

-- Jim

Thanks for keeping this thread alive guys, I got a little worried when it slipped to page 4. :)

jmallory, how did you access the expert calibration mode on DVE?

Couple comments, I went to CES last January and hung out in the LG booth while a rep was giving a tour to a buyer, just listened to the info. The new LG plasma's have fewer heat producting componets so they run cooler. They had couple units (last year compared to this year) wth the backs off and you could see the layout and the reduced number of capacitors (?). Anyway, it was interesting.

I've put off my purchase date, going to hold out for a Panny 600. Two reasons, didn't need a DVR in the set as it would be unused in light of my TIVO (also waiting for the new HD verion of that), and have to attempt to reduce the number of remote controls (new panny HDVI promises). So that's where I am, waiting for the next generation of everything :^)

Thanks for the comments!

Thanks for keeping this thread alive guys, I got a little worried when it slipped to page 4. :)

jmallory, how did you access the expert calibration mode on DVE?

It's not in DVE. It is a setup menu on the set itself.

Follow this thread for info.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=604282&page=1&pp=30

It is for a Zenith set but since Zenith is an LG North American Brandname. The menus and how you access them are the same.

Note: You will ned an One for All remote to punch in the codes for direct access. If you don't have a good grasp of Television Calibration, it would best to stay away from the more advanced modes. Whatever you do, write the original settings down. Also, the Expert calibration screen does have a handy "load defaults" option that will set things back up the way they were orginally for the "expert" setting.

Also, if anyone has done the expert calibration. Is it just me or does grayscale track closer to D65 in the expert mode? Also, I noticed that once you are in the expert mode, the "Color Temperature" option is grayed out on the user menu.

-- Jim

Ah, you're talking about the service menu. I actually found the way to access it on a different post, but the post you provided it much more detailed :) . On LG's you can actually change the RGB settings for each of the temp presets, and the option is not blacked out after calibration.

DVE is a pretty good tool for initial set calibration, but I still take issue with its green filter on the included card. After calibrating my other sets and looking around on this forum, I found out that my green filter wasn't entirely accurate and leaked some blue. However the red and blue filters look to be accurate, and after comparing the green filter on my plasma with a reference LCD monitor, the plasma decoder looked to be almost spot on. I hope to eventually get a SpyderTV to finish the grayscale calibration.

I recently bought the LG 42 PC3D as I mentioned in an earlier post. Would it be appropriate to ask some general HDTV questions in this thread? Or, should they go in the more appropriate thread?

I'm basically new to HDTV and my questions concern the STB I am using from Charter Communications. Why does one need the STB if the TV has built in tuners?

Let me know if this should go elsewhere. Thanks.

I'm really interested in buying a 42" plasma but suffering from analysis paralysis. I was all set to buy a Panasonic but I think the new '06 models are horribly ugly and cheap looking!!! While I was looking I saw the new LG 42PC1DA today for the first time. I thought the picture was great (HD only in a showroom of course), I loved the PIP, and it just looks classy (I love black over silver). I just don't know much about LG and it's too new to really have any reviews out yet.

Has anyone else seen this model? Comment/suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

LG is a famous Korean company. They've been around since the 70's or early 80's I believe. They always competed with Samsung. I've seen a lot of LG products and their strength is the design. From refrigerator to TV, they look sleek and modern. People generally believe that Korean companies don't have the same quality control of the Japanese companies. I do believe that LG makes good plasma.

I recently purchased the LG Plasma 42PC1DA. After much research and coming very close to buying the Sony 40" XBR Bravia, I ended up with the LG Plasma. It took me awhile to warm up to the LG name, but in the end I was convinced I was purchasing a quality product. The television is going in our upstairs living room and will be used 99% of the time for regular tv watching. I have a separate room in the basement deisgnated for movies and game playing (61 inch JVC). The TV Guide feature has been surprisingly nice and we use it more than I imagined. I am also happy with the PIP capability which works with ease. The remote is easy to use and looks nice. The menu system on the television is a breeze to navigate and setup is convenient. I have been impressed with the sound thus far, which is important as I will be using the televion speakers exclusively. I plan to get a CableCard for the unit within the next week. This tv does not have a built in DVR, but I already had one on my other television through the cable box. I have not yet seen HD on this set. The thing I'm most impressed with is the clarity of standard cable. The "horizon" mode is very nice and outperforms the "wide" mode for standard cable IMO. Watching the NBA playoffs on the regular TNT feed was close to HD quality. I have viewed plenty of HD material on my other set and I am not kidding when I say the standard picture on this LG is very good. My wife is happy because the esthetics of the unit itself are impressive. All black cabinet with black "gloss" bordering the screen. Two year warranty is also a nice touch. I'm very happy thus far with the purchase and will post if I have any problems. I was seriously considering the LG 42PX5D, but the PC1DA is not as wide, weighs only 56 pounds, and supposedly has a better contrast ration (10000 to 1). If anyone has any questions about the 42PC1DA, post and I will try and reply.

Based on the MSRP, the 42PC1DA is probably out of my price range, but what's the difference between this and the 42PC3D?

I purchaced a 42" LG plasma about a year ago. About 6months into use, it started to have an almost intelaced look to it. Sometimes turning it on and off would fix it, but lately it does it more often and stays like that more often. It makes for a very blurry, distorted picture. Has anyone else noticed this on any LG plasmas and if so, is their customer support pretty good at addressing problems?

Yes... I've been lazy about getting around to this, since it is our "bedroom" TV, but I do have pictures of the problem if that helps figure out what it could be and how to fix it. I will post the model # when I get home. It is a monitor only with outboard speakers.

Swank is right about the passive cooling. My unit is dead silent and cant feel any air movement at the vents. Does anyone know why this TV weighs so much less than other 42 inch plasma sets?

According to specs it only weighs 55.6 lbs. minus stand.

non-reflective, high-tech plastic panel instead of glass

(May 21 - After talking to the LG rep again he admitted that they still use some glass in the panel. He claims though, that the LG glass is the thinnest in the industry therefore the lighter weight compared to their competitors. This new information still does not change my mind that the LG is a great tv.)

Hello :)

I just purchased a DU-50PZ60H from a friend. The TV came with no speakers. While I will be using my 7.1 a/v with B&Ws for most of my viewing, it's really nice to be able to use basic two (or three) speakers driven by the TV for simply viewing sometimes.

The speaker connections (8 ohm) look to be molded dual-bannana, but so far I have had no luck matching the plug. I don't need matching LGs nor do I wish to spend a lot. Has any one else had success finding simple speakers to plug in? And if so what worked well?

Thanks for any advice and recommendations!!

Cheers,

Based on the MSRP, the 42PC1DA is probably out of my price range, but what's the difference between this and the 42PC3D?

Check out the LG website to get the specifics. I'm pretty sure the PC3D is silver and the PC1DA is black. The PC3D does not have a cable card slot, which was a deal breaker for me.

Check out the LG website to get the specifics. I'm pretty sure the PC3D is silver and the PC1DA is black. The PC3D does not have a cable card slot, which was a deal breaker for me.

The 42PC1DA also adds a 2nd HDMI input, PIP, TV Guide on screen, and a higher bit color processor.

Robert

Tks for the replies robert and lgplasma. Sounds like a nice piece of hardware.

Recently I was looking into getting a 32" sony XBR. My friend has it and he has it setup using HDMI, I went into CC and was looking at an open boxed one and right next to it was the LG 32LX1D (last years model i think). I then asked him if we could connect it to an XBOX 360 as that is what ill be using it mostly and i thought the picture didn't look as good on the LG but after resetting factory settings and hooking up a HD Box to it then the LG looked better (to me) on regular channels and with a dvd player attached. I bought the LG and when i got home i used the cables that came with my comcast HD box(Component).PQ was not good so i was thinking i made the wrong decision, so i went back into CC and talked to another sales associate and he said that he thought the PQ would improve if i connected it VIA HDMi, Bought Cable and then got home and didn't have an HDMI slot in my box. So im pretty PO'd now so i call my cable company and they tell me that the DVR box has HDMI, so i went down to get the DVR box and once connected PQ improved 100%. Now when i see my friends XBR, i like my LG alot better. Very happy with this decision,I am so glad I did not return it when the PQ was not good with the Component cables. Would Highly recommend this unit. Very good price and very good PQ for HD/DVD/XBOX360. I am now looking into buying another one for my girlfriend.

non-reflective, high-tech plastic panel instead of glass

Thanks for that bit of info. I did read this description on the LG site before I purchased:

"Clear Filter;
Advanced thin film filter for improved brightness and contrast,
reduced reflection and truer color reproduction."

I didn't realize this was in lieu of glass but rather I assumed it was a thin coat over the glass. Hmm.

non-reflective, high-tech plastic panel instead of glass


I found this quote in my web searching:

" the panel also boasts the unique Film Filter, which enhances the colour purity and brightness significantly. The Film Filter is optically adhered to the plasma glass, eliminating any air-gap between the glasses. By removing this gap, light refraction has been minimised, increasing focus and eliminating double image. The Film Filter also helps to considerably reduce the weight of the panel, allowing it to be moved with greater ease. "

This seems to be saying the film filter adheres to the plasma glass. Anyone have any further insight? This thread is getting harder to find lately; page 9...sheesh.

I have a 50PX5D. The PQ of this model is great!

I Have a HTPC hooked up to it. I have some quiestions.

The VGA connections is limited to a max of 1024x768 and will only accept the resolutions in the manual. None are widescreen resolutions.

I also tried via DVI to HDMI/DVI input. That I can get 720p (1184x 682) or the PC resolution in the manual. Again none are widescreen except the 720p i used above.

Also, there is a screen adjustment to fix the overscan ... but is it only active for the non widescreen PC resolution up to 1024x768.

All the PC resolutions with RGB/HDMI are useless as they are streched to fit the entire screen. Therefore viewing picture, home movies and DVD's is ugly.

Is there anything in the service menus that would allow me to do more? Any firmwares updates?

I have a 50PX5D. The PQ of this model is great!

I Have a HTPC hooked up to it. I have some quiestions.

The VGA connections is limited to a max of 1024x768 and will only accept the resolutions in the manual. None are widescreen resolutions.

I also tried via DVI to HDMI/DVI input. That I can get 720p (1184x 682) or the PC resolution in the manual. Again none are widescreen except the 720p i used above.

Also, there is a screen adjustment to fix the overscan ... but is it only active for the non widescreen PC resolution up to 1024x768.

All the PC resolutions with RGB/HDMI are useless as they are streched to fit the entire screen. Therefore viewing picture, home movies and DVD's is ugly.

Is there anything in the service menus that would allow me to do more? Any firmwares updates?

I have a 50PX1D and I have ran resolutions upto 1360x768 with an Nvidia 7800 GTX card through the VGA port. 1360x768 looked really good. You may need to disable the "only show recommended resolutions" to get all the resolutions.

The only resolution that I recall looking good thru the HDMI port was 1024x768 when it was being fed via my Powerbook G4 (running DVE via DVD Player so I could calibrate the HDMI input.

There is a way to set overscan in the "Expert Calibartion" menu. See my above post for a link to the thread that contains everything you need to know and have to access it.

-- Jim

Thanks jmallory ... I will look at it today

Here are the results for my 50PX5D

Using CAT6.1 with the Cat Control center

Using VGA Input, only the resolution listed in the manual would work ... nothing more. All other resolutions resulted in INVALID FORMAT being displayed. Looks like they have tighten down the VGA to be pretty useless. Of course, I may be doing something wrong but I could get these res to work
720x400
640x480
800x600
1024x768

In DVI to HDMI, I can get 720p with a adjusted for overscan res of 1184x672.

I would really like to display a 1280x 720 screen. Where in the service menu are the overscan controls. I have never really been in any service menus before so detailed instruction would be much appreciated.

I purchased the 50py2dr with DVR last December. I have been very impressed with the PQ of the HD shows. But I have noticed that the cable card fan stays on 24 hours a day, even before I had a cable card connected. Does anyone else have this fan noise? It does get a little annoying listening to the low hum of the fan in the middle of the night!

I'm a naive soon-to-be consumer, and I'm trying to decide which plasma to buy. Has anyone an opinion concerning the LG 42PC1DA vs the Panasonic TH-42PX60U? It seems that they differ in 2 areas: burn-in avoidance and SD processing.

I'm a naive soon-to-be consumer, and I'm trying to decide which plasma to buy. Has anyone an opinion concerning the LG 42PC1DA vs the Panasonic TH-42PX60U? It seems that they differ in 2 areas: burn-in avoidance and SD processing.

Just from looking at the specs it seems that the LG has a better color processor (68 billion vs 29 billion colors), better speakers (30W vs 20W), CableCard slot, PC input, 2 tuner PIP, and the TV Guide On-Screen Guide. Haven't compared the two sets side by side so can't say much about their pictures but LG has put some real good features into their new TVs.

I'm a naive soon-to-be consumer, and I'm trying to decide which plasma to buy. Has anyone an opinion concerning the LG 42PC1DA vs the Panasonic TH-42PX60U? It seems that they differ in 2 areas: burn-in avoidance and SD processing.

I haven't seen the new Panasonics, but I can tell you I'm very happy with the LG 42PC1DA. This set is absolutely loaded with features and inputs. I have been pleased with both standard cable and high-definition signals. The contrast ratio is excellent. My wife voted for the LG because she liked the esthetics of the set when it is off. The gloss black border on black cabinet looks sharp. I was convinced for two years before finally purchasing that panasonic was the best, hands down. I rather spontaneously went the LG route and have yet to be disappointed. The two year warranty is also a nice touch! At the end of the day, I'm sure you'll be happy with either television. Bang for buck, the LG is hard to beat.

I'm a naive soon-to-be consumer, and I'm trying to decide which plasma to buy. Has anyone an opinion concerning the LG 42PC1DA vs the Panasonic TH-42PX60U? It seems that they differ in 2 areas: burn-in avoidance and SD processing.

I'm debating between pretty much the same two options (although also still considering stepping up to 50"). I've seen both in a showroom and the LG seemed to have the better HD PQ although I couldn't see them side-by-side. The Sales guy seemed impressed and he said that they just arrived and everyone was blown away with the PQ (but he also said the same about the new Samsungs).

The probably with the new Pannys is that they are just butt-ugly!!!

I have had the LG 50PC1DR for 2 weeks now. In April BB in Houston had them on a two week backorder. Purchased due to incredible PQ compared to available 50" which were older technology models. Built-in DVR was a must too. Unfortunately LG Service is scheduled to visit tomorrow since the system has required 3 HDD re-formats (error 10a)causing lost recordings. When working, the TV Guide works great and the DVR recording and playback works well. Only other issue is an audio delay from LG speakers. Playing through external surround sound system there is no delay and lip sync is fine. There is a nasty echo if have LG and surround sound speakers on at same time. The PQ from LG OTA HD tuner is much better than PQ from Dish Network OTA HD tuner which surprised me. All connections are HDMI, except optical audio from TV to external surround sound system. I'll reserve my purchase recommendation on LG 50PC1DR until I get HDD issues resolved.

Alex03:
Keep us posted on the service results. The lip sync thing is strange, isn't it. I'll check it this weekend.

Also, please check on something for me. I have a 50PX4DR, and I see a slight background brightness change in some OTA programming. It always seems to happen during Jay Leno's monolog (when he is standing). Look for a background brightness shift, every 1-3 seconds, most noticable in medium background. It doesn't happen when he sits at his desk. It is odd. I've seen it on rare occasions in other programming, mostly medium to darker scenes.

No problem with my hard disk so far. I think you have a newer version of basically the same set. -Jim in Austin.

OK...after 2 weeks of shopping and 3 days of reading...the ONE THING I MUST say is an absolute is "THANK YOU FOR THIS FORUM.." GRIN

I just ripped out my media room (last Monday), sold my 65" Mits and AWESOME cherry cabinent to my neighbor (his gain, my loss in a way) and have embarked on the next major project in my basement...

To set the stage, I am NO stranger to HD. I have 3 other HD/ED sets in the House (Zenith LCD 44", Toshiba DLP 44" and a Sharp Aquos 17"). I have DTV and have the Samsung TS-360s (I LOVE THEM) all through the house. I will be upgrading to the UGLY DTV HD DVR on the entertainment system. I have a NICE HD OTA signal (I have all of 5 miles for the local OTA attenea!). ALL of my current connections are component, and none of my current sets have HDMI. All the sets I am looking at seem to be this standard...so I will take that leap too.

SO

I just took a 20x16 room and turned in into a 20x20 room. Am custom fitting the 7.1 and building something for the senses...GRIN

My INITIAL purchase was going to be the SRND 60" Sony rear project. Downside...my contractor wants to build mid height to ceiling columns (that I think will look great!) and he says the Sony will take up too much of the rooms floor space for proper fitting.

So off I went in search of an alternative flat panel. (50"...NO smaller)...

Wife looked at consumer reports and Pany was 1/2/3. Sammy was rated poorly with others in between.

After a full week of shopping (when I could) I have narrowed my focus after "SEVERAL visits to CC/BB and Brandsmart."
Here are the top 3...

1. Sammy 5053- Even the wife (who usually has no opinion says its the best pic)
Pro-PQ and Price (2999 any way you slice it) and PC input
Cons -Smaller footprint, no swivle base, and ho-hum PiP

2. LG 50PX5D (what can I say..I kinda like it)
Pro - Inputs galor, PiP ROCKS, VERY NICE swivle base and the casing is appealing to me.
Cons-PQ is average to all the other sets I have looked at, its about 300 MORE than the Sammy

3. Sony 60' LCD SRXD (screw the contractor???)
Pro - PQ is REALLY NICE, good look, probably less worries over the Plasma's
Cons - BIG, not a lot of inputs

One last footnote...I can get Phillips at Employee discount, but have not heard great things about the Phillips. Their top of the line retail unit (6K is 2300 my cost).

So...for all you buyers out there like me....(and I know that this is more of a Sammy Theard)...what are you thoughts?

Opinions VERY welcome.

Balz

I have the 50PX5D for 1 month now. Here are my pros so far

- PQ (for me) is fantastic
- 2 HDMI inputs
- VGA that will accept 1366x768 native from a HTPC
- upconvert of SD is really good
- Swivel Base
- Looks!

and the cons are

- Will not accept and other then the listed resolution of native via VGA (ie 720p/1080i)

I have the 50PX5D for 1 month now. Here are my pros so far

- PQ (for me) is fantastic
- 2 HDMI inputs
- VGA that will accept 1366x768 native from a HTPC
- upconvert of SD is really good
- Swivel Base
- Looks!

and the cons are

- Will not accept and other then the listed resolution of native via VGA (ie 720p/1080i)

SUCH a HARD decision....I have to admit...it is absolutely the BEST Plasma I have ever seen....The Sammy looks short and stubby in comparison (sorry sammy lovers)...

But side by side....the Samsung's picture is really a lot better....

Aurgh..GRIN...decisions decisions decisions....

When i recently seen a simple test on the 42LG compared to the other ones around it.It was suprising how the film like plastic insdie makes it sharper.If you go into a store,take a sheet of paper.Put it on another screen that has like failry sized letters(easier to compare),then put it on the LG and see how clearly and sharp the picture is on the LG compared to others.Only other one that does it in plasma is the Pioneers.Why LG didnt do it in there 50inch as well no clue.

When i recently seen a simple test on the 42LG compared to the other ones around it.It was suprising how the film like plastic insdie makes it sharper.If you go into a store,take a sheet of paper.Put it on another screen that has like failry sized letters(easier to compare),then put it on the LG and see how clearly and sharp the picture is on the LG compared to others.Only other one that does it in plasma is the Pioneers.Why LG didnt do it in there 50inch as well no clue.

Which 42" LG model are you referring to?

But side by side....the Samsung's picture is really a lot better....


Are they properly calibrated with DVE or Avia? If not, you can not say which one looks better in the store.

Other factors

- Using the same input
- Using the same connection method (ie HDMI)
- Are those the inputs you will be using (ie if you are using only HDMI then do not test component video)

Both were connected Via Component cables comming off of the same split feed for the other tv's on the wall. I did my best to clean up the LG...but it was a "softer picture" (not as crisp...not as much detail).

The faces on the Samsung were life like...the ones on the LG were lacking some of the detail. The colors on the Samsung seemed to be sharper as well....you were spliting hairs on some and others were very noticable (blues and blacks especially). There was a Tennis match on and the detail on the Samsung showed all the scuffs on the court...the LG showed about 1/2 of them. Again..I love the features and the look of the LG...but the PQ in this case on the Samsung was something that still has me wondering.

Frank

Ballvice, The extra sharpness of the Samsung is mostly due to their proprietary "Dnie" processing, which for the most part does enhance the picture generally. However, there is a darkside which comes in the form of posterization or "clayface." If you can swing it have a look at SD programming on both sets, the "clayface" effect will most likely be evident then. Some Samsung sets that my friends own almost make SD channels unbearable and even some HD channels were subject to it.

Which 42" LG model are you referring to?
The 42PC3D.

I recently purchased the LG 50PC1DRA and am very happy. I have been recording HD programs through a CableCard and have been impressed with the quality. I am a die-hard TiVo user/fan, so the DVR isn't so impressive (other than being HD).

However, I seem to have a phantom in the TV. Several times, now, I've turned the TV off, and 10 minutes later (or so) it turns itself back on. Has anyone else had this happen?

Thanks in advance.

Hoog, I'm planning on getting the 50PC1DRA (all black) also. It's hard to find around here. Most places only have the 50PC1DR (silver/black). Do you have a DVR through cable company also? How bad is the onboard DVR? Can you record from any available source hooked through the TV? Or do you have to use the cablecard in order to record cable channels?

I am trying to get some programs I have recorded off of my hard drive, as my 50PX4DRH is scheduled to leave my home. I tried using the IEEE jacks, and my computer recognizes it, but there are no drivers available. I can use my computer on the IEEE as a monitor and GIGA Pocket software to record, but only current programs. Likewise the RCA jacks will do the same things to outsource to VCR.

Is there any way to use the DVHS out to get these recordings on other machines?

Does anyone know where to ding XP drivers for this Plasma TV?

I went ahead and purchased the 50PC1DRA. I don't have HD programming yet. Still trying to decide on STB vs. CableCard. I haven't setup an OTA antenna either. I was told that there is only one channel you can get OTA that isn't available through cable. I'll probly hook an antenna up at some point anyway to see for myslf.

Anyway with the SD cable hooked up right now, the picture is pretty decent (for SD). But it seems like the whites are too bright. I can't seem to tone them down with any of the settings. I've been using Normal and Warm setting and I've got Contrast, Color, Sharpness, etc. turned down in the User1 settings. I didn't see this white shine effect in the stores. Has anyone seen this on the LG panels? Is there a way to tone down the whites?

I'll post a full review once I get HD going.

I just bought the 42PC1DA. Have you tried to remove the Base from the TV? I am gonna be installing to the wall and haven't seen an easy way to remove it..


I recently purchased the LG Plasma 42PC1DA. After much research and coming very close to buying the Sony 40" XBR Bravia, I ended up with the LG Plasma. It took me awhile to warm up to the LG name, but in the end I was convinced I was purchasing a quality product. The television is going in our upstairs living room and will be used 99% of the time for regular tv watching. I have a separate room in the basement deisgnated for movies and game playing (61 inch JVC). The TV Guide feature has been surprisingly nice and we use it more than I imagined. I am also happy with the PIP capability which works with ease. The remote is easy to use and looks nice. The menu system on the television is a breeze to navigate and setup is convenient. I have been impressed with the sound thus far, which is important as I will be using the televion speakers exclusively. I plan to get a CableCard for the unit within the next week. This tv does not have a built in DVR, but I already had one on my other television through the cable box. I have not yet seen HD on this set. The thing I'm most impressed with is the clarity of standard cable. The "horizon" mode is very nice and outperforms the "wide" mode for standard cable IMO. Watching the NBA playoffs on the regular TNT feed was close to HD quality. I have viewed plenty of HD material on my other set and I am not kidding when I say the standard picture on this LG is very good. My wife is happy because the esthetics of the unit itself are impressive. All black cabinet with black "gloss" bordering the screen. Two year warranty is also a nice touch. I'm very happy thus far with the purchase and will post if I have any problems. I was seriously considering the LG 42PX5D, but the PC1DA is not as wide, weighs only 56 pounds, and supposedly has a better contrast ration (10000 to 1). If anyone has any questions about the 42PC1DA, post and I will try and reply.

So the world is full of questions? Which one would you buy 50PC1DRA or 42PC1DA? I know it's not easy, yet want to hear from you. I plan to buy it this week.

I first thought I wanted a 42" model, but went with the 50" and am not sorry in the least. My wife even said she think the 42" would have been too small. Once I decided on LG, it had to be the 50PC1DRA, because the 50PC3D didn't have all the features. Last year's models were not an option for me.

I replaced a 27" CRT, and our living room isn't really that huge. I currently only have SD (cable guy is coming today with a new cable card). The 50PC1DRA has the DVR, so I'm opting to try the cable card and use the TV's DVR with TV GUIDE program guide first. If it doesn't work out, I'll switch to the Set Top Time Warner HD DVR.

The only problem I've noticed so far is the whites are too bright and detail gets washed out, as I mentioned a couple posts back. I haven't heard anyone else with this problem and I didn't see it in the stores. Not sure if this is only with standard def over digital STB, or if the problem will still be there after I get my HD cable setup. I'm investigating to see if I can tweek the Service Menu settings. I've heard of tuning DVDs, but I don't know if they help with service menus, or only the end user menu options.

I thought this model comes with a cable card built in it. Isn't it?

The TV has a CableCard slot. You have to get the CableCard from the cable provider.

So the appointment to recieve my card was between noon and 4pm yesterday. They didn't make it. I called cust service and they'll give a $20 credit on my bill. They were going to reschedule for next Wednesday. I was frustrated so the guy spoke to his manager and said he will submit a form for me and they'll try to come sooner than that. He was suppose to call me back with the time (didn't happen). Have to call them back again. I did ask them if I could pick up a CableCard and they could walk me through setup over the phone. They refused (probly don't want to give out the encryption key or passcodes, etc.).

The only problem I've noticed so far is the whites are too bright and detail gets washed out, as I mentioned a couple posts back. I haven't heard anyone else with this problem and I didn't see it in the stores.

.............
I too think the whites are too bright. Try turning the brightness up (which brings up the dark areas) and turn the contrast down (which reduces the brights). This seems backward, but I read it somewhere and it works. These settings can be done in the normal Menu picture setup area. Each input (air, hdmi, etc) has it's own settings, so each can be changed.

I set the brightness to about 70%, and the contrast to about 40%.

I too think the whites are too bright. Try turning the brightness up (which brings up the dark areas) and turn the contrast down (which reduces the brights). This seems backward, but I read it somewhere and it works. These settings can be done in the normal Menu picture setup area. Each input (air, hdmi, etc) has it's own settings, so each can be changed.

I set the brightness to about 70%, and the contrast to about 40%.

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it out and it helps some. I'm going to wait until I get HD programming and compare to what I've been watching. Hoping it will make a difference. If not, I'll have to call LG and hopefully one of their techs can help me in the service menu. I looked in the service menus myself, but there must be a thousand settings and I have no idea which ones to try to change. I've also heard rumours that the service menu settings wont save if you turn the TV off and back on or switch to different sources (goes back to defaults). Maybe there's a special code to unlock/lock the settings at default if that's the case.

50PC1DRA is all black not the 50PC1DR? Am I right? I just ordered 50PC1DRA. Still don't know why people prefer all black to silver/black though.

Which is better? The 50PC1DR(A) or the LG 50PX4DR? I was told by LG that the latter was for high altitude places. I asked why stores in PA, NY and NJ were then selling it. She didn't seem to be too swift and really couldn't answer my question. There seemed to be more features on the latter but I need to make sure I'm getting the right one.

Anyone out there in TVLand know? Also...who has either at the best price? Thanks...

Which is better? The 50PC1DR(A) or the LG 50PX4DR? I was told by LG that the latter was for high altitude places. I asked why stores in PA, NY and NJ were then selling it. She didn't seem to be too swift and really couldn't answer my question. There seemed to be more features on the latter but I need to make sure I'm getting the right one.

Anyone out there in TVLand know? Also...who has either at the best price? Thanks...

The 50PX4DR is a 2005 model. The 2006 models have the newest panels, but they have removed some features such as FireWire inputs and the memory card reader. There was a 50PX4DRH model for high altitudes.

Robert

Thanks Robert...I appreciate that valuable info as I did not know. So...to be specific, the 50PC1DR(A) is newer then the 50PX4DR? Is it the newer version?

Anyone know where I can get the best price for the 50PC1DR or DRA?

So I finally got the CableCard setup today. They came on Saturday and had trouble getting it working. All the HD channels were not coming in when the tech left. So they scheduled someone to come out on Sunday (wow). Anyway, by the time the tech got here Sunday I was getting everything except HBO and CInemax over the cablecard. The channels populated about 40 minutes after the tech left on Saturday, but I let them come on Sunday anyway because HBO and MAX still weren't coming through. They switched out the card and shortly after, everything was working fine.

The picture is very nice. The whites are not washed out like they were through the old SA8000 DVR. I still have the SA8000 hooked up to the TV through AV1 connection because I have some things recorded on it I'm not sure what to do about yet.

I've been playing with the DVR and it does appear to be rather limited. I'll submit another post later on the 50PC1DRA DVR.

I saw the 50pc3d this weekend. It looks nice. If anyone has this unit....I have a few questions. The dealer said it has only one hdmi. The LG website says two but the manual shows only one.
Also can you change aspect control for ota tuner or hdmi.

I don't need a dvr, is there a better new LG model ?

I have 50PC1DRA1 and am having a issue with it - will appreciate any help.
Using a cablecard I went through the Menu and EZ Scanned all the channels.
When doing the scan the TV skips Channel 120 which are my home security cameras channel.
So in the cahnnel list this does not show up although I can see it when scanning it scans through channel 120.
When I hit 120 in the remote the TV does not go to the channel (I guess because it was not scanned).
How can I force a channel - in my case 120.
Thanks in advance.

I have 50PC1DRA1 and am having a issue with it - will appreciate any help.
Using a cablecard I went through the Menu and EZ Scanned all the channels.
When doing the scan the TV skips Channel 120 which are my home security cameras channel.
So in the cahnnel list this does not show up although I can see it when scanning it scans through channel 120.
When I hit 120 in the remote the TV does not go to the channel (I guess because it was not scanned).
How can I force a channel - in my case 120.
Thanks in advance.

Did you try adding the channel manually in the Channel Edit area under the Setup menu? I believe the EZ scan will only add channels that recieve a broadcast signal. However the Channel Edit area allows you to add channels manually.

One thing I found interesting with the cablecard is that the channels are pooled into CATV and CADTV. When channel surfing up and down using the remote, it only stays within the current pool. If you are watching a CATV channel and click UP, to go up one channel, it will skip over any CADTV channels and go to the next CATV channel. Same thing with the CADTV pool. You have to manually enter a channel number in order to switch to the other pool.

I saw the 50pc3d this weekend. It looks nice. If anyone has this unit....I have a few questions. The dealer said it has only one hdmi. The LG website says two but the manual shows only one.
Also can you change aspect control for ota tuner or hdmi.

I don't need a dvr, is there a better new LG model ?


The 50pc3d does have only one HDMI, where the 50pc1dr(a) has 2. Additionaly, the 50pc1dra has PIP, POP, Split Screen.
I have been able to use the various aspect controls for all display choices so far. I haven't used HDMI, but I'm pretty sure you can use them on any signal. It may not be advantagious to use some of the aspect options on certain signals, however. I noticed the 50pc1dra seems to do great at converting as much as possible to use the full screen. It's pretty rare that I've seen any channels coming through with borders on top and sides. I've been using the Zoom 2 option for most SD channels, and it seems to switch automatically to 16:9 when it gets a 16:9 signal.

I think there are more "PX" models out later this year, but the prices will probly be significantly higher than the 50pc3d and the 50pc1dr(a). I think the best value for the money will be the 50pc1dr(a) right through Christmas, even if you don't want to use the built in DVR. The price for this model was discounted for several weeks at Best Buy, then they raised it by about $300 last week (actually they only had the 50pc1dr (not the "dra"). I'm not sure what it is right at the moment, but I would definately barter for a better deal whatever they're asking.

Don't be tricked by the PQ in the stores, either. These TVs will look WAY better once you get home and have a good signal coming through. I was worried about that for awhile before and after my purchase right up until I got CableCard working. All I can say is HD and SD both look great through the CableCard, unless the source picture is truelly crappy.

Seeker One:
This is what I did to manually add channel 120.
Pressed Menu On Remote
In Setup
In Manual Scan I only see two options DTV and TV - no CATV or CADT - my 120 channel is a CATV channel.
So I do not know how the channel can be added manually.
Will appreciate any help.
Ash

I bought this LG one week ago. Everything was fine up till yesterday. Now I'm starting to get intermittent horizontal grid lines of pulsing pixels across the entire screen. When this happens, the sound changes to static. I have to mute it. The
grid lines will stay varying lengths of time from 5 secs to 20 minutes. Sometimes the pixels freeze and do not pulsate. It's not interference as I've tried disconnecting the input cables and the problem persists. I think the set is defective, but I would appreciate any input before I call LG Service.

DVR update:

Anyone who owns the 50pc1dr(a) probly has realized by now the DVR is definately lacking. Not only can you only record one program at a time, but since the TV only has one digital tuner, you can't record a digital program, and watch another digital channel at the same time. You CAN, however, record a digital program and watch other regular CATV channels at the same time, but the TV will not let you change to another DIGITAL channel while the original recording is still in progress. Also, from what I can tell, if you start a recording, and then change to another input source while the recording is still in progress, the main TV source does not continue in the background, so the DVR records the "no signal" screensaver (BLAH!!).

There's a silver lining here, believe it or not. I have cable setup so the main signal goes right to below my TV in the basement for the strongest signal. From there, I split it 3 ways. 1 signal goes to the rest of the house, the other 2 signals go to my new plasma (1 to CableCard, and 1 to my old DVR). The coax cable input on the back of the TV is handled by the CableCard, and I currently run the old DVR cablebox to the TV through AV1. So I can use PIP to swap back and forth between two separate cable signals. This means I can go to the TimeWarner DVR (AV1) and setup to record 2 simultaneous digital programs there, and then swap back to the main TV and record a 3rd simultaneous digital program there, and then watch a 4th simultaneous non-digital (regular CATV) program while the other 3 programs are being recorded. Seems like overkill, but I've been paying the monthly fee for the DVR all along, and I believe it's worth the value. The CableCard is only another $2/month. That's going to be worth it, even if I only use the triple recording approach once and awhile. So now all I have to do is trade out the old Time Warner DVR for the new HD model, hook it up to a better input (HDMI, or DVI), and I'll be golden.

Where can I get the best price for an LG 50pc1dr(a)? What's the link to the best price. The best I can find is just under $3200 which includes shipping.



DVR update:

Anyone who owns the 50pc1dr(a) probly has realized by now the DVR is definately lacking. Not only can you only record one program at a time, but since the TV only has one digital tuner, you can't record a digital program, and watch another digital channel at the same time. You CAN, however, record a digital program and watch other regular CATV channels at the same time, but the TV will not let you change to another DIGITAL channel while the original recording is still in progress. Also, from what I can tell, if you start a recording, and then change to another input source while the recording is still in progress, the main TV source does not continue in the background, so the DVR records the "no signal" screensaver (BLAH!!).

There's a silver lining here, believe it or not. I have cable setup so the main signal goes right to below my TV in the basement for the strongest signal. From there, I split it 3 ways. 1 signal goes to the rest of the house, the other 2 signals go to my new plasma (1 to CableCard, and 1 to my old DVR). The coax cable input on the back of the TV is handled by the CableCard, and I currently run the old DVR cablebox to the TV through AV1. So I can use PIP to swap back and forth between two separate cable signals. This means I can go to the TimeWarner DVR (AV1) and setup to record 2 simultaneous digital programs there, and then swap back to the main TV and record a 3rd simultaneous digital program there, and then watch a 4th simultaneous non-digital (regular CATV) program while the other 3 programs are being recorded. Seems like overkill, but I've been paying the monthly fee for the DVR all along, and I believe it's worth the value. The CableCard is only another $2/month. That's going to be worth it, even if I only use the triple recording approach once and awhile. So now all I have to do is trade out the old Time Warner DVR for the new HD model, hook it up to a better input (HDMI, or DVI), and I'll be golden.

Where can I get the best price for an LG 50pc1dr(a)? What's the link to the best price. The best I can find is just under XXXX which includes shipping.

We're going to want to avoid discussing specific prices here. I'm pretty sure it's against the forum rules. All I can say is take the best price you can find to a local supplier and see how close they can come to that price.

Some people will only buy online because they know they can get the cheapest price, save on taxes and shipping too. I've only seen one web site advertise this TV for less than the price you mentioned. But I wouldn't trust that site for a second. Often the websites give you very short time to return. The hassle involved and sometimes shipping and restocking fees, you could find yourself paying a lot of hard earned $$$ for nothing. With a local supplier, I know I can get the TV **NOW** and take it back within typically 30 days at the minimum without any extra costs. It gives you enough time to get everything hooked up and really get to know the TV (as long as you don't procrastinate once that plasma box is sitting at home waiting to get opened... none of us would do something like that with a brand new 50 inch plasma right?).

I've seen stories about people buying from the cheap priced sites, and those people wound up waiting for months to get their TV. The pice was not reasonable and the supplier was probly waiting for the reseller's price to come down, so they could make a profit off the sale.

Unfortunately, investigating wholesale websites online is kind of insane. It's a crap shoot. There's thousands of reviews that say this one site is excellant, and thousands more that say the same site is horrible. If you stick to the reputable sites, you'll end up paying much closer to what the TV is actually worth. At that point, you might as well take that price to your local dealer and see what they can do for you.

Taxes are usually where you can actually save. Granted, on a $3K item, that's quite a bit. But it is illegal to avoid paying your own state sales tax for that item also. And for the skeptical return policies, potential restocking fees, etc. I'd rather not risk it. Just MHO.

any reviews of the 50PC3D?? there was the question of the single HDMI...any other issues....pros or cons for that display??

I've recently been eyeing up the LG 50PX4D for purchase over here in the UK. I really do like this plasma and (IMO) it seems to offer a very (very) good balance between price and performance.

One thing I am very interested in is native resolution and 1:1 pixel mapping on the display as I eventually intend to use a video scaler of some sorts. In the manual for the device it states that it will accept 1366/1360 x 768 @ 60/75Hz over the RGB or HDMI inputs.

I have contacted LG twice (with 2 seperate people) as has my brother (who is also interested in the TV) to confirm that the TV can accept a signal of 1366/1360 x 768 @ 60Hz using the HDMI input and display it on screen without scaling, overscanning, etc, from sources such as the DVI-D out on a PC.

I wondered if any of you who have the TV could let me know if you have tried this, and how you have got on with it? Is it possible? I know it can be done on the VGA (PC D-Sub) input, but this isn't appropriate for me, and I need to know whether it can be done through the HDMI input.

Many thanks.

Thanks SeekerOne for the counsel and advice. I've been an AVS member for quite some time though admittedly have not been on this site for quite some time. If it's against the rules to find best pricing then I'm a bit confused as to why? I did get an email from AVS the other day and replied by asking them if they could direct me to a reputible place with the best price. I got no reply.

Now don't misunderstand...just because on this occasion they were unresponsive doesn't mean I don't value AVS as I do...a great deal which is why I contributed to the Gold membership.

Insofar as your advice with shopping on the I-net...I agree. In my case I'm an avid eBayer (is that okay to say?) and am pretty good at spotting the proverbial red flags. Still, buying directly from a local concern is more safe yet oft times the dollars saved is worth the minimal risk so long as you've done your homework.

Thanks...

Seeker One:
This is what I did to manually add channel 120.
Pressed Menu On Remote
In Setup
In Manual Scan I only see two options DTV and TV - no CATV or CADT - my 120 channel is a CATV channel.
So I do not know how the channel can be added manually.
Will appreciate any help.
Ash

I have the same issue with my TiVo coming through channel 65. What I did to fix it was run cable directly from the modulator to the Antenna coax input on the LG. That way, I have CableCard on the Cable Input and TiVo on the Antenna Input on channel 3.

I had an AV guy look at it, and he also concluded that he couldn't figure out how to get channel 65 (or 120 in your case) added to the LG.

Sorry.

Hoog,
Thanks.
BTW - I bought this Plasma as I want to make a stealth install using Vutec Artscreen - A cablecard and DVR was a must for me as I did not want any components- the power plug will be a Panamax in wall - - I did not care much about it be super high resolution such as 1080P as this is my bedroom Plasma and my bedroom is always bright.
Ash

The LG 50PC3D manual mentions a "Horizon" aspect ratio mode which I believe sounds like the Panny's "Just" mode which is supposed to stretch the image more at the sides rather than in the middle, to reduce the "fat head" distortion effect. Am I correct in making that assumption?

But the manual somewhat cryptically adds "Horizon aspect ratio is not available for Component 1-2 (720p/1080i) / RGB-DTV (720p/1080i) / HDMI/DVI-DTV (720p/1080i) / DTV(720p/1080i) input source."

Does that simply mean you can't use it with widescreen HD content or does it mean it's not at all available if you're using an HDMI or DVI connection?

Has anyone tried the Horizon mode? Does it look good?

Thanks.

I just bought the 42PC1DA. Have you tried to remove the Base from the TV? I am gonna be installing to the wall and haven't seen an easy way to remove it..

I didn't have any problems removing the base. There are a couple of screws at the botton rear of the set which need to be removed. The plasma then pulls up off the base.

One thing I am very interested in is native resolution and 1:1 pixel mapping on the display as I eventually intend to use a video scaler of some sorts. In the manual for the device it states that it will accept 1366/1360 x 768 @ 60/75Hz over the RGB or HDMI inputs.


I have a 50PX5D running VGA at 1366x768.

I managed to get both VGA and HDMI to display the 1366 x 768. The picture was not adjustable in HDMI mode (ie Vertical/Horizontal size and centering) but was in VGA. I was able to get it to fit exactly. The VGA also looked a little better .... don't know why.

My set would only accept up to 1024 x 768 as the "normal" VGA modes. My ATI card could not do 1366 x 768 so I changed to a 6600GT

Thanks for your reply!
I managed to get both VGA and HDMI to display the 1366 x 768. The picture was not adjustable in HDMI mode (ie Vertical/Horizontal size and centering) but was in VGA. I was able to get it to fit exactly. The VGA also looked a little better .... don't know why.When you say the picture was not adjustable in HDMI mode are you saying that it needed to be adjusted? As in the picture was overscanned, or off center, etc? I would have (liked to have) thought that if you sent 1366x768 to the screen it would display perfectly (as the screens own native resolution is 1366x768) without overscanning, scaling, etc, and would not have required position or size adjustments?

More negative issues with the DVR. I had recorded a couple things and then yesterday, it suddenly forced me to format the drive. I couldn't do anything until I went ahead with the format. Additionally, If the TV Guide program guide doesn't acknowledge one of your channels (in my case INHD1 and 2, among others)... in other words, you get a signal, but TV Guide can't tell what channel it is so it doesn't get a label in the program guide... you can't create a manual recording from the TV Guide software. You have to go to the live channel, start a recording, and then you can alter the recording times after it starts recording. Not cool.

I really don't like the TV guide software at all. There's no rhyme or reason to the order of the channel listing. If you are in the guide, you can't just type a channel number (ie. channel 20 is CNN here), and have the Guide actually go to the channel. It's not in order of the local channel lineup and they are not in alphabetical order either. If you want to use the TV guide software to find a channel, after entering the guide you have to scroll through the hundreds of channels to find the one you want. The only thing you can do is change the TV to the channel you want to see, then press the TV Guide button. It will then place that channel at the top of the channel list.

I found where you can edit the channel lineup in the guide. But why would someone want to have to edit hundreds of channels in the guide to get the channels in logical order of some sort. It's pretty bad.

Also, the TV Guide is not integrated into live TV. If you are changing channels, you don't see any of the guide information. You have to press TV Guide for any channel you want to see the info for. Then you have to exit the guide's API to get back to full screen TV.

Anyone buying this TV for the DVR functionality should really consider that it's got some serious problems and, although you can easily program rcordings, the program guide is not logically setup and integrated into live TV. All that being said, I'm still not halfway motivated to return it. I know once I get the cable HDDVR, I'll still have the abilty to record 3 things at once and watch a fourth.

yep ... slight overscan. The same overscan was there in VGA mode but I was able to use the Vert/Hoz resize and position to get an exact full screen. These contols are exactly as found on all computer moniors.

There was also a slight shimmering effect but I had not optimized it with DVE. The overscan was not that bad ... around 1/2 icon all around. Still very usable for windows and MCE.

That OK, because I plan to use the inputs as follows

HDMI1 - HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player
HDMI2 - Cable Box (SA8300HD)
VGA - Computer
Comp1 - DVD Player

More negative issues with the DVR. I had recorded a couple things and then yesterday, it suddenly forced me to format the drive. I couldn't do anything until I went ahead with the format.

I had this "error 10b" happen to me twice. I think it's an LG problem on this new model, but I haven't reached them yet to discuss. If you find anything out about this (e.g., they have an upgrade to the DVR operating system) please let me know.

As for the TVGuide diatribe -- you're bang on. It sucks...especially compared to TiVo.

Few Days into use my LG Plasma is broken - the set is in stand by with the red light ON. Every time you turn it on from the remote or through the button under the front bezel the light in front turns green and then red.
The TV goes back into stand by.
I have unplugged it for overnite tonight and will report back if the problem persists.

The 50PX4DR is a 2005 model. The 2006 models have the newest panels, but they have removed some features such as FireWire inputs and the memory card reader. There was a 50PX4DRH model for high altitudes.

Robert


I want to buy a Plasma without DVR, I am very interested in the 50PX5D model, but I am scared that I can buy a panel from last year.

Seaching in LG site, the 50PX5D is the most expensive 50" panel, is that a mistake? Why is that panel so expensive if this an old model?

Any advise if I should look for another model?

My alternative could be the LG LCD LP1, is this technology newer?

Thx and sorry for my english

Tried posting this in my own thread, but it got bumped to page 4 in about 2 hours...

So...hopefully some one out there own's one of these and is having the same problem..

I have owned my LG 42PX5D for almost 1 year now. I am using an LG LDX-514 Combo DVD/VCR Player using an HDMI cable to the LG Plasma. The DVD resolution playback mode is set to 720p.

I love the TV itself, so I'm completely satisfied there, however, whenever we watch a movie on DVD, the audio doesn't match the movie...especially when the actors are talking, the words are always just after their lips. I'm sure its always that way, but its gotten really annoying lately...its like everything is a bad Dub job. The worst is our DMB concert at Red Rocks DVD...he's singing but the words aren't matching up.

I have tried all the resolution settings on the DVD player thinking the Upconversion of the player is causing the delay.

What is going on? It only happens when we're watching a DVD, not during a digital broadcast...so that pretty much puts the problem on the DVD player in my mind...

Help!

TIA

dorelse-
do you have a seperate surround reciver that the audio is going through?

I only had the sync issue when the audio from my dvd player was going directly to my reciver for surround sound and not being first sent to the tv and then from the tv out to the reciver..

Once I sent the dvd audio and video (component cables here) to the tv and then did out from the tv to my sound system the audio sync was fine.

I see this same audio sync problem happen for lots of people with Tivo and other dvr systems and I think it must be the same problem, since they all had diffrent tvs?

Nope, its a pretty simple setup...the DVD player is directly connected to the TV via HDMI.

I'm not using any separate audio cables at all, and don't have a receiver in the mix. I did notice that I have a optical port on the back of the DVD player...maybe I should be using that for audio, as there's some lag in the HDMI cable's audio?

I dunno?

Check out the LG website to get the specifics. I'm pretty sure the PC3D is silver and the PC1DA is black. The PC3D does not have a cable card slot, which was a deal breaker for me.


What exactely does a cable card slot do for you? I'm assuming you take the card out of the cable box and put it here but what is the advantage other than eliminating the need for a separate cable box? and how is the guide compared to your cable box guide?

I had this "error 10b" happen to me twice. I think it's an LG problem on this new model, but I haven't reached them yet to discuss. If you find anything out about this (e.g., they have an upgrade to the DVR operating system) please let me know.

I've had the "error 10(b)" problem several times recently. I can't tell if it's happenng rendomly yet, or only in certain situations. I know if I start recording something and turn the TV off, I lose that recording. I had two HD programs scheduled for a time when the TV would be turned off. The next day, I got the 10(b) error and had to reformat. I guess it's time to bite the bullet and call LG.

What exactely does a cable card slot do for you? I'm assuming you take the card out of the cable box and put it here but what is the advantage other than eliminating the need for a separate cable box? and how is the guide compared to your cable box guide?

Cable Card is a PCMCIA card that goes in the Cable Card slot in the back of your TV so you don't need a cablebox. You get the actual card from the cable company. My feedback on it as a user... it works. But if a functional guide is important to you and you have space for it, you should go with the cable box. The cable card will work without a program guide, but I think most of the LGs come with TV Guide software (which I really don't like). The TV guide software just throws all the channels in a spreadsheet style guide, with no logical ordering (ie. not sorted by channel number). So it's not easy to find the channel you want from within the guide. Also, the TV Guide program info is not displayed while you're channel surfing, unlike the cable box guide. So the cable box wins easily.

I just bought LG 50PC1DRA. Everything looks fabulous. We watched the WorldCup soccer game yesterday and it felt like we're in the stadium. I used to have my laptop (Dell Latitude) connected to my old tv (Sony), so I could watch some downloaded programs. I connect the laptop to the new LG tv, but it shows only black and white. I checked the computer settings and changed some features, yet it is still same. Does anybody have an idea?

does anyone have any settings for the LG plasma

ok i have the 50px1D hooked up to my xbox 360 vga mode, got in expert mode and can get 1280x720 but overscanning is occuring, i set my xbox to 1360 x 768, and the tv can not accept the signal, how can i make it accept it to get the native resolution of the tv with no overscanning issues?? or is the 50px1d model not really a 1366x768 set as it is advirtised??? lol... i see some of u got the 50px5d working, but what about the older model 50px1d???????? plus xbox 360 is a great upscaling dvd player now thru the vga output ONLY!! its great watching dvd's on it

Friend of mine has the SA 8300HD box and LG 42" 42PC3D plasma. He recent connected the box and TV via the newly purchased HDMI cable from Monoprice. However, he can only get sound on 3 channels below channel 100 and all above 100 except one. It's a very strange problem and I don't see a technical explanation for this behavior. If he uses a component connection (or even coaxial or analog), the sound comes through just fine on all channels.

The cable company (Brighthouse) said they don't support the HDMI connection in their SA 8300HD box, so out of luck from them. He has a call into LG for possible support.

Anyone here ran into this problem before? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Lesmiz

Friend of mine has the SA 8300HD box and LG 42" 42PC3D plasma. He recent connected the box and TV via the newly purchased HDMI cable from Monoprice. However, he can only get sound on 3 channels below channel 100 and all above 100 except one. It's a very strange problem and I don't see a technical explanation for this behavior. If he uses a component connection (or even coaxial or analog), the sound comes through just fine on all channels.

The cable company (Brighthouse) said they don't support the HDMI connection in their SA 8300HD box, so out of luck from them. He has a call into LG for possible support.

Anyone here ran into this problem before? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Lesmiz

Are the channels below 100 supposed to be Dolby Digital 5.1? One my cable system, anything below 100 (I have an all-digital system) is 2-channel Dolby Digital which is denoted With the Double-D (DD, although the one on the right is flipped Horizontally) symbol on a Motorola STB. The few channels above 100 (mostly HD channels) that broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 have the DD5.1 symbol on the program info.

-- Jim

Are the channels below 100 supposed to be Dolby Digital 5.1? One my cable system, anything below 100 (I have an all-digital system) is 2-channel Dolby Digital which is denoted With the Double-D (DD, although the one on the right is flipped Horizontally) symbol on a Motorola STB. The few channels above 100 (mostly HD channels) that broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 have the DD5.1 symbol on the program info.

-- Jim

I believe the cable system is an all-digital system. However, I am not sure if below 100 is DD or DD5.1...Assuming under 100 is DD and over 100 is DD5.1, would that be the problem with the sound using the HDMI connection? If so, the problem sounds more like a STB problem than the LG or HDMI cable issue?

Thanks,
Lesmiz

I believe the cable system is an all-digital system. However, I am not sure if below 100 is DD or DD5.1...Assuming under 100 is DD and over 100 is DD5.1, would that be the problem with the sound using the HDMI connection? If so, the problem sounds more like a STB problem than the LG or HDMI cable issue?

Thanks,
Lesmiz

I don't have a problem with my STB sending audio through the HDMI port but mine is a Motorola DCT-3412. You mentioned above that you were only getting sound through 3 speakers, that sounds like you are getting 2 channel audio and whatever is doing your sound processing maybe adding the third channel as some sort of pseudo surround sound effect. I know I had an old pioneer receiver that would mix the left and right signals together to create a third channel.

-- Jim

Friend of mine has the SA 8300HD box and LG 42" 42PC3D plasma. He recent connected the box and TV via the newly purchased HDMI cable from Monoprice. However, he can only get sound on 3 channels below channel 100 and all above 100 except one. It's a very strange problem and I don't see a technical explanation for this behavior. If he uses a component connection (or even coaxial or analog), the sound comes through just fine on all channels.

The cable company (Brighthouse) said they don't support the HDMI connection in their SA 8300HD box, so out of luck from them. He has a call into LG for possible support.

Anyone here ran into this problem before? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Lesmiz

same problem exactly. call LG and someday if they get enough complaints they'll fix it with a firmware update

Satelite TV for 50PC1DRA.
I recently installed DISHNETWORK satelite dish. The picture quality was really worst. Worse than Off-the-Air tv. I have Dishnework technicians come over and look at it. What they are saying is that, it is because I have too big tv. He said as long as you have this tv and unless you subscribe HD programs, you will have this poor quality of picture from either satelite or cable tv. Is he right? I'm bits disappointed. Thanks.

I've had the "error 10(b)" problem several times recently. I can't tell if it's happenng rendomly yet, or only in certain situations. I know if I start recording something and turn the TV off, I lose that recording. I had two HD programs scheduled for a time when the TV would be turned off. The next day, I got the 10(b) error and had to reformat. I guess it's time to bite the bullet and call LG.

I posted "error 10(a)" back in May after arranging a service call with LG. Update is that local service center spent 3 weeks trying to get a replacement part from LG - then LG spent 2 weeks doing a swapout as they agreed no part available. I was without PDP for 5 weeks! Unfortunately the replacement has same problem. Today was my third HDD format in 2 weeks. See attached picture of this lovely error. LG now need proof of problem before going to next step in service recovery - so another service call being scheduled. LG were great saying I get to keep the TV this time. I'll just have unreliable DVR until they work something out. Looks like some others here have same problem. I'll keep you posted.

Here are the results for my 50PX5D

Using CAT6.1 with the Cat Control center

Using VGA Input, only the resolution listed in the manual would work ... nothing more. All other resolutions resulted in INVALID FORMAT being displayed. Looks like they have tighten down the VGA to be pretty useless. Of course, I may be doing something wrong but I could get these res to work
720x400
640x480
800x600
1024x768

In DVI to HDMI, I can get 720p with a adjusted for overscan res of 1184x672.

I would really like to display a 1280x 720 screen. Where in the service menu are the overscan controls. I have never really been in any service menus before so detailed instruction would be much appreciated.

I have a Zenith 50" Plasma (Z50PX2D) and with DVI-HDMI (I've tried VGA too) I can only get 1024x768 good. I can get 1280x720, but it doesn't look right and the outer parts of the screen are not showing, I can barely see my start button!!!

I can even get it to do 1920 x 1080 but it is interlaced real bad, but at least I can see the whole desktop. If I could do 1280 x 720 I would be very happy. Any ideas???

I have had the same error 10(b) (and error 10(a)). Keep me informed, Alex03, of LG's response.

I have a Zenith 50" Plasma (Z50PX2D) and with DVI-HDMI (I've tried VGA too) I can only get 1024x768 good. I can get 1280x720, but it doesn't look right and the outer parts of the screen are not showing, I can barely see my start button!!!

I can even get it to do 1920 x 1080 but it is interlaced real bad, but at least I can see the whole desktop. If I could do 1280 x 720 I would be very happy. Any ideas???

BUMP!

I came here looking for a 60" review. Suprised that I did not find a single one. Anyone out there with an LG 60"?

-NJJ

I came here looking for a 60" review. Suprised that I did not find a single one. Anyone out there with an LG 60"?

-NJJ

Don't be surprised, it is hard to find what you are looking for. I hope I get some help on my quest for 1280 x 720 (and it look right) from my computer, but until then I will keep trying to figure it out for myself, but so far no luck. :confused:

Does anyone have discrete remote codes for LG50PCRDA Plasma?
I am intrested in:
Discrete Power On Off
Discrete PIP to Twin
Please send me e mail at ash@wsiservicesinc.com
Thanks in advance

For the people who have purchased the 42PC3D, how has the experience been thus far? For anyone who has an LG plasma, have you noticed lot's of image retention?

I purchased the 42PC3D from CC because it was a great deal. I won't be able to bring it home until next month when we move into our new home, so I have a lot of time to think about it. I have my xbox 360 but I only play an hour or two every night or sometimes every other.

It sounds like people have had good experiences so far with the LG plasma, except for the DVR, which I don't have anyway.

Any comments from those who have had theirs for awhile?

I have the 50PX5D and I have to say that it is a great plasma. It handles both SD and HD signals very well. I can drive both the HDMI and VGA at 1366 x 768 with my HTPC. Can hardly wait for HD-DVD prices to drop!

During the first 200 hours I was very careful with image retention. Now I have no problems at all.

I have the 50PX5D and I have to say that it is a great plasma. It handles both SD and HD signals very well. I can drive both the HDMI and VGA at 1366 x 768 with my HTPC. Can hardly wait for HD-DVD prices to drop!

During the first 200 hours I was very careful with image retention. Now I have no problems at all.

Ok so the newer ones can do it, is it just that that older one cant and can only do 1024x768???

I have no idea if the older ones can but here's what you can do

1) Make sure you have an Nvidia card (i got a 6600gt). ATI cards do not work for 1366x768 resolution

2) Go to the HTPC forum and do a search for 1366x768. There is a thread there that describes how to set up you video card to display 1366 x 768


Good Luck


PS Here is the thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=543784&highlight=1366x768)

For the people who have purchased the 42PC3D, how has the experience been thus far? For anyone who has an LG plasma, have you noticed lot's of image retention?

I purchased the 42PC3D from CC because it was a great deal. I won't be able to bring it home until next month when we move into our new home, so I have a lot of time to think about it. I have my xbox 360 but I only play an hour or two every night or sometimes every other.

It sounds like people have had good experiences so far with the LG plasma, except for the DVR, which I don't have anyway.

Any comments from those who have had theirs for awhile?

I bought the 42PC3D for the same reason you did (the deal) and couldn't be more satisfied. The first one I brought home had no picture, but after a quick exchange at CC, I have been more than satisfied. There are plasmas out there with a marginally better picture in HD in my opinion, but where the LG shines is the quality of analog and digital cable. As far as I'm concerned, the 42PC3D is a great TV and I probably would have chosen it over Samsung and Panasonic even at the same price.

The 42PC3D is on my short list. I would like to connect my laptop to the panel in order to show my photos. Is this possible? I have read conflicting specifications regarding PC input.

I have no idea if the older ones can but here's what you can do

1) Make sure you have an Nvidia card (i got a 6600gt). ATI cards do not work for 1366x768 resolution

2) Go to the HTPC forum and do a search for 1366x768. There is a thread there that describes how to set up you video card to display 1366 x 768


Good Luck


PS Here is the thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=543784&highlight=1366x768)

I got a Evga 7900 GT OC Superclocked card. Thanks for the thread I'll definately look into that tonight!

I recently purchased an LG 42pc3d and anytime I watch anything, I am noticing a "ghosting effect" being left on the screen. now the image could have only been there for 5 mins and when I go to a completly black screen I can still see bits of the image. I am just wondering if this is something that goes away over time. I have only used my plasma for maybe 8 hours now, but this is a real concern to me. Happens with both regular cable and my dvd player...any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

It will diminish with time. Have you tuned you set with DVE or Avia? Is your brightness >50? Is your sharpness >50? Is your contrast >50?

Any of these will make retension worst.

I have had my 42PC3D for a whopping 3 weeks, but in that time I have had absolutely no issues with image retention or ghosting. LG offers customer support, but as to how good they are, I really couldn't say. They were straight up enough to tell me that I needed to exchange the first one I brought home, but how hard was that since there was no picture. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong. I am 100% satisfied with the one I have now, but if I did begin to have ghosting issues that I couldn't adjust out, I would be talking to LG or my retailer. As to hooking up a laptop, I have not tried it. If you go to us.lge.com, you can download the owners manual that gives you all the necessary information. It is supposed to be excellent, but that is information that I have heard and not seen.

It will diminish with time. Have you tuned you set with DVE or Avia? Is your brightness >50? Is your sharpness >50? Is your contrast >50?

Any of these will make retension worst.

Hey Brian

I have my brightness, sharpness and contrast between 40 - 50...I ordered AVIA approx 2 days ago so I should have that soon. So you say retention is pretty normal then, and will dimish over time? kind of like a break in period I am guessing....

The first 200 hours are bad ... be careful during this break-in it

well I contacted LG support to see what they had to say...they told me to contact a local service centre to have someone take a look at the TV. So I placed a call to the local service centre....will have to see what they say...they are closed for the weekend so I will have to wait until monday.

I hope it goes away...I really enjoy the television

I have the LG 50" model with dvr here at my place for my parents (they just got it Friday) until they move. The PQ is awesome!!! Great contrast, great colours and the image is just super smooth and detailed.

How come LG doesn't get more coverage at this forum? Did their previous models have mediocre PQ or something? I can't imagine the Panny and Pioneer mdoels are much better than this, if they even are at all.

This is a great TV - I got one two months ago and am very happy with the performance and the picture quality.
I would reccomend that you run this TV as much as you can the first 30 days of getting it as mine had a problem (It stopped turning on - stayed in standby even when I pressed remote power) - Best buy promtly replaced the set and the second one is running without problems).
FYI - LG has the largest share of Plasma market worldwide - It is the most sought after brand in Asia (as per a recent news report).

I just got back from a trip to one of the major US electronic retailers. I went to see the Panasonic 42PD60U & Samsung SP-S4243 42" EDTV plasmas. When I was getting ready to head for home, the salesperson said "Why not step up to true HDTV for a lower price." He said he would sell me the LG 42PC3d 42" plasma for about $600 less (retail) that the other two plasmas. He was expecting delivery of about 50 of them late this week.

The price he told me was within about $125 of the best online price I have found for the 2 EDTV plasmas. Of course I have to pay sales tax but I would be buying locally.

I will be using it primarily for standard definition signals from Dish Network and also for DVD's of course. I will not have a HDTV signal available to me for several years due to my apartment situation.

What do others here think about this deal and the LG display in general. Will standard DishNetwork channels look good?

Thanks,
Dave

After the research I did, I came to the conclusion that the LG was among the best for displaying an analog signal, since it was a great concern of mine too. The salesman was surprised I was even asking about it. Another salesman there had one of the panasonic 37 inch HDTV plasmas at home and he said it didn't handle analog very well.

Now granted I don't have mine yet. I was watching the OTA analog in the store and it looked okay for being OTA. They didn't have cable hooked up in the store. I would recommend just going into the store and playing with the TV and see what the have it hooked up to. The XD engine that LG uses it really supposed to bring analog signals up in quality.

Hi,

I just purchased a 50PC1DRA and set it up last night. While I really like the look of the tv and all of the features, I was a little disappointed by the picture quality...especially on some of the HD channels. While some channels seemed very sharp (ESPNHD in 720p), others seemed a little blurry even with 1080i resolution.

I am using a SA8300HD STB with an HDMI connection. My cable company is cablevision.

I was wondering if any other LG owners are using the SA8300HD and what settings you have. I went through the HD Setup wizard on the SA8300HD and selected all of the different resolutions and then set the Picture Format to Auto DVI/HDMI. I am not using any of the stretch features on the TV itself.

If anyone has any comments or recommendations regarding the setup and/or picture quality please let me know.

Thanks,
Gary

Hi,

I just purchased a 50PC1DRA and set it up last night. While I really like the look of the tv and all of the features, I was a little disappointed by the picture quality...especially on some of the HD channels. While some channels seemed very sharp (ESPNHD in 720p), others seemed a little blurry even with 1080i resolution.

I am using a SA8300HD STB with an HDMI connection. My cable company is cablevision.

I was wondering if any other LG owners are using the SA8300HD and what settings you have. I went through the HD Setup wizard on the SA8300HD and selected all of the different resolutions and then set the Picture Format to Auto DVI/HDMI. I am not using any of the stretch features on the TV itself.

If anyone has any comments or recommendations regarding the setup and/or picture quality please let me know.

Thanks,
Gary

I don't have that cable box but I can say I see no softness or anything with hd (or anything) on this display. It is fantastic and is as sharp as a tack. I have my hd cable box set to 1080i res.

Thus far the set has incredible PQ and I am boggled why it doesn't get more interest here at AVS...How new is this model and did previous LG models offer medicore PQ? This set sure doesn't.

I have a 50PX5D hooked up to a SA8300HD via HDMI

Some channels are broadcasting regular video as HD - upconverted. This will give the upconverted ones a softer image. Also, the amount of compression the provider is using will also degrate the image.

Candian HD Discovery has the best HD picture and looks clear and sharp. The Movie Network HD often has a softer image.

This is true for you also because some channels/programs look better than others.

The more I watch this 50PC1DRA the more I am blown away by the image. I am amazed it doesnt get more play here on the plasma forum here.

Is it because the set is very new (have no clue when it came out), because LG is seen as mediocre (based on past models) or is it just because people are brainwashed into thinking Panny/Pio are the only good PQ brands and thus never check out any other competitors? All I know is this image is stunning. I pity the fool (Mr T reference) who won't even attempt to check out this model when shopping for a 50" set.:)

Is the 50PC3D a current set or is it obsolete now? I can get a nice deal on this set at the local Circuit City and I am very tempted. I currently have a LCDRP and am suffering with the silk screen effect. I see plasma as my only other option, as DLP has the same problem plus rainbows.

Is the 50PC3D a current set or is it obsolete now? I can get a nice deal on this set at the local Circuit City and I am very tempted. I currently have a LCDRP and am suffering with the silk screen effect. I see plasma as my only other option, as DLP has the same problem plus rainbows.

I believe it's the 2006 model. I thought there was a thread floating around here with a spreadsheet of plasma models.

I believe it's the 2006 model. I thought there was a thread floating around here with a spreadsheet of plasma models.

Yes, it is a current model. See the LG flat panel link in my signature.

Robert

Does anyone have any comparisons between the LG 50PC1DRA and the slightly cheaper LG 50PC3D?

I know that one has a DVR and the other doesn't, but I'm mostly interested in PQ differences.

Thanks

For the people who have purchased the 42PC3D, how has the experience been thus far? For anyone who has an LG plasma, have you noticed lot's of image retention?

I purchased the 42PC3D from CC because it was a great deal. I won't be able to bring it home until next month when we move into our new home, so I have a lot of time to think about it. I have my xbox 360 but I only play an hour or two every night or sometimes every other.

It sounds like people have had good experiences so far with the LG plasma, except for the DVR, which I don't have anyway.

Any comments from those who have had theirs for awhile?
I bought it in June 2006. It worked great for 1 week. Then a circuit board needed to be replaced due to a bad picture display. the board was replaced and it workes great.
The picture quality is phenomenal and has good sound from the built in speakers.

Hi, I have the DU-42PX12X unit. Have been playing around with the picture settings, and was wondering if anyone has found what they think is an optimal setting for their unit.

Thanks,
Russ

I am thinking of buying the lg 42pc1d plasma tv but there are reports tht the sound is not very good. Has anyone any opinions about this.
Cheers oilyboy

I have had the same error 10(b) (and error 10(a)). Keep me informed, Alex03, of LG's response.

Alright...this tv is awesome. I really love it. Beautiful pic, great sound, large screen, pause-rewind live tv and stylish looks. Got the set in Mid April for 28 hundred and change (Thousand Oaks CA). Now to the crap that everyone else is talking about:

1. Pretty much - right away, we noticed the tv turning itself on....NICE! The band-aid was to activate the settings in the menu - to shut the tv off after 10 min of no signal and before turning off the tv, change the input with the remote to something with no signal.

2. A few months later, after playing with the hard drive and recording a few things, I got the wonderful error 10(b) and error 10(a) - which forced the reformat and removed everything.

LG folks (who were nice enough) said they were unaware of the tv turning itself on issue and for the hd errors, they suggested unpluging the set for a few minutes...see, because it has a hd and sometimes hd's need to be reset...LOL! Next, someone came out (independent service that LG farms out)- dont get excited, the story doesnt end well. The tv is on the wall, and this bitch is so heavy and big, they sent two people. I described everything above. They broke out with a funky remote (which gave them a menu I have never seen before and they were able to see the hours of use, etc.), reformatted the hd (erased my data AGAIN!) then they left. This was 6 days ago, and I got the errors AGAIN! All data gone. Oh well.

So I guess the take home is...live with it. Dont record with the expectation that it will stay forever. This has to be a hardware problem and I am not willing to have someone take the tv off the wall and swap out the hd for a fix that is not guaranteed. If someone figures this out...let us know.

Oilyboy... the 42PC1DA actually has pretty decent sound. I bought it for the other features, but the sound is a nice bonus until my surround sound is up and running.

Hey all
I just picked up my 42pc3D
If you are using the stand, does everyone actually use the bolts it comes with to attach it to the wall too?

Hey all
I just picked up my 42pc3D
If you are using the stand, does everyone actually use the bolts it comes with to attach it to the wall too?
I just have mine siting on the stand, you only use the bolts when its mounted on the wall and not on the stand. Its a great tv so far. I cant wait to get HDTV Satelite Receiver.

So far so good
What settings(contrast, color, sharpness, etc.) are you guys using for the 42PC3D?

I am a total newb so any tips are great

I just got the 42pc3d. In the manual under imput label it says you can select to skip certain inputs when pressing the imput on the remote. There is no skip function when cycling through the selections. If I leave it blank it still shows up when pressing the imput on the remote. Does anyone know how to get it to skip the non-use imputs? Thanks

How's the QAM tuner working for those with the 42PC3D or 50PC3D?

The 50PC3D is now on my short list for first HDTV purchase. I've been waiting for the Sony KDS-50A2000 to show up at the local B&M stores so I made the rounds again today. No luck at BB, however my cheaper pick, the KDF-46E2000 was on display. It's ok but I always seem to get distracted by the SSE and SDE on these LCD RPTV.

As usual I end up in the plasma section and three value priced sets are sitting next to each other: Toshiba 50HP66 - LG 50PC3D - HP PL5060N. I came away really liking the LG especially after seeing the price. It seemed to have more accurate colors, better sharpness, and similar black levels compared to the other two. The new Sony 50" SXRD will probably retail for the same price but I'm now leaning towards a plasma since I watch alot of sports and SD.

Anyone have HD pictures of their 50PC3D in action?

I gave serious consideration to an LG, just because I didn't want to spend another 400 or so on the Panasonic 50PX60U. Also the LGs are so good looking cosmetically. I couldn't tolerate the SSE on my 50E2000 either, it had to go. Ultimately I decided against the LG because I just couldn't find enough good buzz about it. The 50PC3D received a pretty poor review from CNet, you can find the review HERE (http://reviews.cnet.com/LG_50PC3D/4505-6482_7-31848963-2.html?tag=nav).

I read the Cnet review of the 50pc3d and totally crossed this model off my short list. I had my heart set on the Panasonic 50px60u. Then a local retailer had a sale on LG plasma tvs a couple weeks ago. The $1600(Canadian) difference between the LG and the Panasonic was too much to ignore. I took a chance and boy am I happy I did. I also got 6 months of free HD programming and an HD pvr free for 6 months. Other than the phenomenal HD picture quality, two things really surprised me about this set.
1.The sound from the built in speakers is the best I've heard on any tv. I actually waited a week to hook up my surround sound.
2. the picture quality of regular cable really surprised me. I have no intention of getting digital cable, it's that good.
This unit never really impressed me when looking at it in the store but after getting it home and playing with the settings...WOW! I've watched more tv in the last 2 weeks than I have all year. DiscoveryHD is like crack.
The only thing the panasonic does better in my opinion is black levels.

I just got home from best buy with my new LG 42pc3d. This is the first tv I have bought for more than $200. Best Buy offers a 4 year extended warranty for $299, I havent decided if I'm going to get it or not. I ordered a wall mount, monster hdmi cable, monster component cable, and monster power strip from provantagecom. Did I forget anything? Do you think the extended warranty is worth the money?

I've had my set up and running for 3days now and IMO it's a great set. OTA HD is awsome and my c-band system offers the best standard definition picture you can get, direct from the satellites, 23,000 miles from space. I read the cnet review of the 50 and don't notice much of the negative aspects they discuss but it is a larger picture. Still haven't figured out how to get rid of the inputs I
m not using with the imput selector on the remote, my only minor complaint.

Well I am in day 5 of my ownership. I am starting to think maybe I should have gone LCD. I love the picture of the plasma, but I am becoming more and more paranoid of burn in

Well I am in day 5 of my ownership. I am starting to think maybe I should have gone LCD. I love the picture of the plasma, but I am becoming more and more paranoid of burn in

i've had the LG 42pc3d for 2 days now and i havent found anything i dont like about it but i am thinking about returning it and getting the westinghouse LVM-42w2, its a lcd flat panel 1080p for about the same price as the LG.

Hi,
I bought an LG 50 inch plasma 3 months ago. Always put on orbiter, contrast and colors set between 40 & 50, No video games. Last friday all on a sudden the center of the screen becomes very bright (almost like polerized) and it spread all over the screen. Does any one have any clue as to what this is. I did some search online and couldnt find anything. Bestbuy ordered a service call. I contacted LG and they said it has to be repaired and not replace. I am highly irritated with the scenario, since I spent $3000 for a plasma which crapped out on me within 90 days. Does any one experience similar problems? Thanks for your comments

In regards to burn-in, if you read these threads there hasn't been an issue for plasmas for over 1.5 years give or take. Image retention - yes. However this can be easily corrected. LCD's are great, but as you'll see the motion artifacts and pixeling isn't up to plasma standards - even on the best LCD's.

Please help!! I need to know if this TV is good or not!!

The 50PC1DRA

by LG....I really need help please...:

Does anyone know the operating power consumption of the 42PC3D. I can't find it listed anywhere. For example, the Sony KDS-50A2000 is rated at 200W.

Has anyone used a cable card on these sets? As I understand it when you do you have only one connection to the set through the Cable Card. I believe this means the other connections are not available to the set. True?

How does SD look in this case?

Wednesday I bought a 50PC3D it came home in all its glory. Nice picture all was going well when several hours later I lost the channels that were EZ programed and all my favorites. This happened a total of three times in 24 hours. I called LG in Cliff NJ they said take it back. Well as you know it is one thing to take back a 12 inch TV not so great when it weighs, mmmm 100 pounds and its 50inches. I talked to the Manager and I think they are going to replace it on Sunday AFTER they look at it. Has anyone else seen this kind of behavior? Channels erase randomly, favorites not there any more, on manual channel program, the channels dance around like they are being reprogrammed. Did I make a mistake or are you all happy with yours and I should be OK with a new one. I have 30 days to make a quick decision. Thanks, Mike :(

I'm loving my 50pc3d. I've had it since Aug. 8th and no problems so far.

Does anyone have a 42PC1DA hooked up to a HTPC?

This TV is one of my top contenders, but I'm a little concerned about the 4:3 - 1024 x 768 resolution (as is the case with most 42" plasmas of course).

Do you feed it 1024 x 768 as is recommended in the manual, or do you force a 16:9 aspect ratio resolution on it (I see 1360 x 768 in the manual)? Does a 16:9 aspec ratio display noticably less crisp on the display then the recommended 1024 x 768? And, if you want to watch DVD's in widescreen (without black bars) wouldn't you have to feed it a 16:9 aspect ratio resolution?

I'm hoping to use this TV as an all purpose solution for HDTV, DVD, PC video games, and slideshows, all fed from a HTPC. Please reply with your comments if you have a similar setup already!

Hi, I have the DU-42PX12X unit. Have been playing around with the picture settings, and was wondering if anyone has found what they think is an optimal setting for their unit.

Thanks,
RussI have the same unit and calibrated it for watching DVDs. Since there is only one DVI input, I have to use the same settings for watching TV and I must say they work perfectly for HD channels (I don't really care for SD channels anymore :)). I used the DVE DVD (Digital Video Essentials (http://www.videoessentials.com/products_main.php)) to calibrate the panel. It gives a ton of information about getting the best out of your Home Theatre System. Well worth the price.

For the VIDEO options, I find the following settings to be quite good. But, of course, the result will depend on the equipment you are using. There is no miracle setup you can apply. What looks good on my system may not look as good on yours. But you can start with these values and do some fine tuning. Remember that the settings must be adjusted for each input you use.

This is what I use for the DVI input:

EZ Picture = Off
Contrast = 85
Brightness = 39
Color = 44
Sharpness = 50
Tint = 0
XD Engine = Off
Color Temperature = Medium

Earlier, when I was using the Component inputs, I used the same settings as above except for these:

Brightness = 64
Color = 63
Sharpness = 60

If your set is new, you might want to ease on the contrast level for the first 200 hours of viewing.

I can't give you any advice on the AUDIO settings since I don't use the TV speakers at all.

Finally, in the OPTIONS menu, I set 'Cinema' to On and 'Low Power' to Off.

You will notice that I turned off 'EZ Picture' and 'XD Engine' on the set. Although these gadgets seem to give you a better picture, I find them to introduce noise, artifacts and 'Edge Enhancement' to the picture. If you feed this PDP with a good signal, it will give you a superb picture without any of these gadgets ;).

Hope this can help you.

Hi, I got my first plasma, a LG 42PC3D, and tested it today. I have the basic cable hooked up directly to the TV. I used the basic calibration feature from Avia but couldn't really undertand the steps. Could LG 42PC3D owners care to share your optimal settings with me? I set almost everything at 50 (Contrast, Brightness, Color, Sharpness) Thanks in advance.

eclaixp,
Congrats,
What other plasma's did you look at and why did you choose the LG?

eclaixp,
Congrats,
What other plasma's did you look at and why did you choose the LG?

Thanks. I looked at a Zenith EDTV one but due to a mishap with CompUSA, they offered me the LG for the same price as the Zenith. Cost was the only reason that got me a Plasma. I'd state my cost but I believe this is prohibited on these forums. Could anyone care to post and share their optimail settings on their LG plasma?

I am wondering if anyone here considered the Panasonic or the Hitachi and still went with the LG

BuddyMcCool -
I can't speak w/ much authority on the home PC use. I have used it for slides shows and I have played some DVD's and avi's using my laptop and the provided VGA input. I have been pleased with the picture but I have no benchmark to judge it against.

I will play around with the 16:9 4:3 as you described tonight. Right now the default or "from source" display is 16:9.

So I got a second LG/50PC3D brought to my home, and sure enough after 24 hours it too is loosing all memory. It happens after I shut the TV off. The memory of channels, video, audio are also lost. I called Tech support, I took the spliter off, I took the VCR off, I have a surge protector on the plug that is not wall switched, again after shutting the TV off for an hour it looses all memory. I called LG and talked with a very rude manager who was not willing to allow me to talk to a tech. I called the local tech that works for LG in the field and said it sounded like the memory module on the circuit board, I said WHAT TWO TV's in one week?
My question is has anyone hooked this LG to cable without a cable box and had this problem. If so what did they do to fix it. Thanks :mad:

Since the 42PC3D is only accepting 1024 x 768 on VGA input, will a 720P (or any other) setting on my video card and the use of a VGA to Component converter will work? My goal is to get real 16:9 format from my laptop not just a damn 1024 stretched. :eek:

Since I'm new to the forum I can't post links to what converter looks like, so search google for Audio Authority - 9A60 VGA to Component Converter and Key Digital - KD-VTCA3 VGA to Component Converter

So I got a second LG/50PC3D brought to my home, and sure enough after 24 hours it too is loosing all memory. It happens after I shut the TV off. The memory of channels, video, audio are also lost. I called Tech support, I took the spliter off, I took the VCR off, I have a surge protector on the plug that is not wall switched, again after shutting the TV off for an hour it looses all memory. I called LG and talked with a very rude manager who was not willing to allow me to talk to a tech. I called the local tech that works for LG in the field and said it sounded like the memory module on the circuit board, I said WHAT TWO TV's in one week?
My question is has anyone hooked this LG to cable without a cable box and had this problem. If so what did they do to fix it. Thanks :mad:

I have the 42" version, cable connected directly to the unit, and havent had any issues at all. Still not sure I am keeping the unit, but no issues yet.

eclaixp,
I use custom during the day
Contrast 70
Bright 60
Color 50
Sharp 40
Tint centered
Temp Warm

I use nightime and movie at night. It seems to calm the picture down in a dark room.
Bill

eclaixp,
I use custom during the day
Contrast 70
Bright 60
Color 50
Sharp 40
Tint centered
Temp Warm

I use nightime and movie at night. It seems to calm the picture down in a dark room.
Bill

ibill,
Did you calibrate your set to get those numbers?

Well folks I am done with the LG. I called again and they want to replace the entire tuner as LG is having problems with the Qam tuner, set up without a cable box. So if you have a cable box your good. If you don't then do not get the LG if your using the Qam tunner feature.
I am going with the Panasonic 60U as it got a better review and I was not happy with the LG customer service.
Best of luck to all of you, Mike

I brought a LG 50PC3d home last Friday. I spent a lot lot lot of time in Best Buy and Circuit City looking at the Panasonic, the Hitachi, the Samsung and when it came down to it, I just though the LG looked the best. I know what CNET says about it and I know they love Panasonic, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy a set I didn't like picture on, no matter how many they are selling to other people. I've been really happy with its performance, especially every single thing in HD. A Coldplay concert was televised a few days ago and I just couldn't believe how cool it looked, watching network shows in HD is also a lot of fun. Beautiful picture, period.

At first I was really disappointed with some of the SD programming I viewed on my LG. But I realized some channels are definitely better than others and that using the RF coaxial input generates a much better picture although the picture generated from my component input running from my cable box isn't that bad. Its just that the HD is SO GOOD, that SD will always be a bit of a let down, but I think LG does a fine job. I haven't heard of any HD being far and away above others. Its impossible to compare with other TVs since Best Buy only uses that closed store feed, but watching "a few good men" on court tv as I type, the picture looks beautiful (no ghost effects or pixelation) and I think I might have just seen some bad channels those first days.

I went down to Best Buy again, trying to make sure I made the right decision (I'm within the 30 day guarantee). I looked at the Panasonic again, the Samsung, the Hitachi. I'm happy with the LG (the Hitachi is the only one thats close) and especially the PC input which I've played with and watched some downloaded shows on (Prison Break), it looks great. I'm going to keep it and I'm really happy, you will be to if you're looking for a phenomenal and rich HD picture, the LG and the Hitachi just seem to look best in my opinion and you can't pick one out except by looking at them all and figuring out what looks best to you.

For any other 50PC3D or similar model owners, one question though: How do I get the TV to skip certain inputs when I press the input button on the remote? The manual seems to suggest you can skip inputs which for example you don't have anything connected to but I can't figure out how to do this.

As far as I can tell, you can't skip the inputs. I've read through that section of the manual and messed around with it but I'm pretty sure it can't be done. I know it's a pain having to shuffle through 8 inputs every time you want to change one. This is my 30th day with the 50pc3d and I couldn't be happier.

Hey all,

I just picked up a 50PC1DR last weekend and I suppose I am multiple posting here as I posted a new thread out in the main part of the Plasma forum before discovering this thread.

Anyhow, I am impressed with the set. I first noticed the LGs last summer (2005) when I wanted to buy the 50" with the built in DVR. My wife didn't like the idea then but did agree this fall. Kinda glad I waited as the set dropped in price about $2000! :) I think I read someone else say that they took out some features like Firewire. Seems like I remember that being on the set in the past so I think that's correct.

Anyhow, I liked this set because it had the best PQ for the price. The only set that I thought beat it was a Pioneer model they had at Best Buy but that was an extra $1000 (of course, the 50" 1080P Pioneer I saw the other day blows all away but that $10K a little too rich for my blood!). Anyhow, I didn't think the Pioneer was worth the extra $1000 and being a big ReplayTV fan and loving DVRs I wanted the HD-DVR capabilities.

I agree that the DVR capabilities are very limited compared to something like my Replays. I'm very disappointed that it appears to be broadcast flag aware and so you can't necessarily record everything you watch. I'm also disappointed that you can't record from HDMI or Component inputs. But the main reason I wanted it was to be able to record HD content. All my other SD content I'll record with my Replays. And as for not being able to record one digital channel while watching another is not really as problem either. I'm getting a cable card installed and I can always switch to my HDMI input and watch HD on my cable box. So it seems like it's limited functionality will work.

What I did find interesting was the serial control capabilities of the TV. Has anyone written any software to control the TV remotely via the serial port? The manul gives instructions on all the commands and it doesn't look to be that hard. Would be a cool way to be able to control the TV from a remote location.

I'm glad that I see others really liking the PQ of their sets as well.

Jon

As far as I can tell, you can't skip the inputs. I've read through that section of the manual and messed around with it but I'm pretty sure it can't be done. I know it's a pain having to shuffle through 8 inputs every time you want to change one. This is my 30th day with the 50pc3d and I couldn't be happier.

You can use the up/down buttons on the remote to move through them and then the enter button to select the input you want. That is sometimes faster then repeatedly pushing the input button.

Anyone have any luck finding an LG code for the Comcast DVR (6412) Remote Control? Just got one, and can't seem to find a working code anywhere.

Thanks,
rb

I have an LG 42PC3D that I got back in March of 2006. I had a Daewoo for 2 yrs before this LG. Video card for the PC input side went bad so Best Buy gave me in store credit to replace it with whatever I wanted. I sat in two stores for two days looking at everything they had, rear projection, LCD, Plasma..... I'm in a wheelchair so I was really a patient looker,lol. My first priority was picture quality and pc input. I WANTED pip if the quality was the best.
I wound up getting the 42PC3D. I had 3500 bucks to spend btw. I saved over 900 bucks. This was lost in store credit btw, I wasn't allowed to get anything else. So you KNOW I really was pleased with this plasma.
I have had my laptop hooked to it from minute one. I use my computer a lot and also game a lot. I view rented dvd's through my laptop, no seperate dvd player.
I have adelphia cable connected directly to the set by rg-6 coax. Also have adelphia isp. I am SUPER pleased with mine.
I have my settings @ contrast 37- 48 brightness37- 46 color 37 sharpness 0
tint neutral 0
I vary the contrast and brightness in this range depending on the channel and brightness/sunlight in the room. When playing games I run the higher end of these settings. Sometimes on dark maps I flip to VIDEO GAME preset to brighten it up at the push of a button with the EZ PIC button under the slide cover on the remote bottom.
I love the sound capabilities also. I just disconnected my seperate dvd player and it's surround speakers when I got this home. Less clutter. Everyone that sees it rants about the picture quality. I am EXTREMELY well pleased with mine.

I recently purchased the 50PC3D 50" Plasma and a universal wall mount to hang it above my fireplace. On the back of the tv there are several threaded holes to attach the wall brackets to however when I line the bracket up with the holes I notice there are black screw heads that interfere with the bracket laying flush to the tv. Has anybody else noticed this and what did you do? Remove the interfering screws? Also, there are actually two sets of bolt holes, the outermost set is a row of 3 holes and then there is another row of 2 holes that are spread further apart and are about 1" towards the center from the other set. Is that to allow more flexibility for different brands of wall mount brackets?

Thanks

Since the 42PC3D is only accepting 1024 x 768 on VGA input, will a 720P (or any other) setting on my video card and the use of a VGA to Component converter will work? My goal is to get real 16:9 format from my laptop not just a damn 1024 stretched. :eek:

Since I'm new to the forum I can't post links to what converter looks like, so search google for Audio Authority - 9A60 VGA to Component Converter and Key Digital - KD-VTCA3 VGA to Component Converter
This is something that really irritates me about this set. My solution was to use a DVI-to-HDMI cable. I'm guessing that your laptop doesn't have a DVI output though. You then have to use a utility to (I used ATI control center) to underscale the output to correct for overscan... which brings us to another topic.

I am able to eliminate overscan from the service menu, but I don't know how to save the settings. Every time I switch inputs, the settings are reset when I switch back. How do I save the service menu settings? For those unfamiliar with the service menu, you can enter it by holding down the menu buttons on the remote and TV simultaneously. I can give detailed instructions on the settings necessary to eliminate overscan for 720p for those interested... however they won't be very useful without the ability to save them.

I recently purchased the LG 50PC1DRA and am very happy. I have been recording HD programs through a CableCard and have been impressed with the quality. I am a die-hard TiVo user/fan, so the DVR isn't so impressive (other than being HD).

However, I seem to have a phantom in the TV. Several times, now, I've turned the TV off, and 10 minutes later (or so) it turns itself back on. Has anyone else had this happen?

Thanks in advance.

:eek: YES!!! Glad I'm not the only one...
I have a CableCard, my DVD connected via HDMI, My XBox 360 connected via Component and my ReplayTV connected via AV1.
With the XBox and ReplayTV disconnected, it didn't turn on by itself at all... then a couple weeks later I plugged the XBox back in and it happened. The next night I unplugged the XBox and plugged in the ReplayTV and it happened.

Have you figured it out yet? I love the TV otherwise... just glad I'm not the only one - thought my house might be haunted ;)

I am purchasing a 50PC3D this week, is this a good set? It comes with a 1000 watt, 1 disc LG Home Theatre system in the PKG. [EDIT]. Anyone have it? Is it a good set?

Thanks!

Another thing I heard is that I should avoid 1st generation Plasma's.. Is 50PC3D a 1st or 2nd generation Plasma??

Thanks!

I am purchasing a 50PC3D this week, is this a good set? It comes with a 1000 watt, 1 disc LG Home Theatre system in the PKG. The PKG costs $CENSORED CDN, which is $CENSORED USD. Anyone have it? Is it a good set and is the price right?


I am a little suspicious of LG quality, but they make a lot of plasma panels. A 1000 watt home theatre system along with it sounds pretty slick too. A lot of people are pretty happy with their LG plasmas. I decided on a Panasonic, but I paid a lot more and I didn't get a sound system.

I am a little suspicious of LG quality, but they make a lot of plasma panels. A 1000 watt home theatre system along with it sounds pretty slick too. A lot of people are pretty happy with their LG plasmas. I decided on a Panasonic, but I paid a lot more and I didn't get a sound system.

See, that's where im at too. I'm not too sure about quality but when I go to any electronics store LG name is growing like crazy and if they're growing so swiftly, they must be doing something right. Plus I read a lot of reviews from actual people that bought this particular set and they absolutely loved it. Some even went as far as saying that the picture quality in both HD and standard TV mode rivals that of Panasonic and other expensive brands.

The free Home Theatre sort of sealed the deal for me, I know its prob nothing spectacular but whatever, its a bonus, so I'll take it.

Sorry, I notice that the price conversions I listed are censored in your post above,.. Are we not supposed to list prices on this forum and if we aren't I do apologize.

Sorry, I notice that the price conversions I listed are censored in your post above,.. Are we not supposed to list prices on this forum and if we aren't I do apologize.

Including prices in comments is a no-no here. Go stand in the corner.

I agonized for a long time over the tempting LGs. As I said ultimately I decided the price difference between a Panasonic and an LG wasn't enough to warrant taking a chance on the LG, when the Panasonics have such a sterling record. That said, if I wanted to spend less than I did on the Panasonic, I would have taken the LG over any of the other less expensive brands, like Philips, Sylvania, Maxent or Vizio.

Including prices in comments is a no-no here. Go stand in the corner.

I agonized for a long time over the tempting LGs. As I said ultimately I decided the price difference between a Panasonic and an LG wasn't enough to warrant taking a chance on the LG, when the Panasonics have such a sterling record. That said, if I wanted to spend less than I did on the Panasonic, I would have taken the LG over any of the other less expensive brands, like Philips, Sylvania, Maxent or Vizio.

That's cool and all but I just don't have the $ for the Panny. For now the LG will do just fine, I will however get the extended warranty just in case. I still think its a steal at the price that im paying.

It certainly sounds like a steal, especially with the sound system included. And LG's have great cosmetics. They are great looking sets.

Another thing I heard is that I should avoid 1st generation Plasma's.. Is 50PC3D a 1st or 2nd generation Plasma??

Thanks!

I would call it 6th generation.

Robert

I am torn between the LG 50PC3D or Toshiba 50 HP66. The LG seems to perform better with SD signal than the Toshiba SD PQ. Though I am seeing them at different stores. LG also has more aspect controls. Toshiba seems to have superior HD PQ though once again at a different store.

Has anyone compared these two models / manufacturers. The current LG rebates also are attractive.

Thank you

Just browsing the local video store and saw the LG 60PC1D.
Any comments on PQ? I thought it looked pretty good and for $5k it was an awesome deal, same price as the PIO elite 50" that I came into look at.

Does this unit have the DVR built in? The LG web site seems to say so , but I can hardly believe it at this price.

Anybody got one of these? 47 inch LCD, 1080P, cable card, PIP. Just came out in August. Saw one today - impressed this newbee, but kinda pricy at my local dealer . . .

Where did you see the 47?

Saw it in person at the Silver Spring MD store of Belmont TV, a local dealer with in the Washington DC metro area. Also saw it online at one dealer on the internet by searching with the model number.

http://us.lge.com/products/model/detail/tv|audio|video_lcd%20flat%20panel__47LB1DA.jhtml

Well, let's see what happens here. Can you tell I'm new at this? NS. I have been going crazy for about a month now trying to find someone here on the West coast that stocks the 42PC1DA. I have fallen in love with this 42" plasma just reading about it. I would really like to see it up close. I've sent emails to all the "support" staffs at all the electronic and appliance stores I can think of and it's like they have never heard of it. So I stumbled across this forum(seen a thousand and never participated) specific to LG and thought I could get some input from anyone who might help me out. Thanks in advance.

Good luck! You may need it! It is sometimes hard to find a particular model to see in person. I was looking for a JVC I fell in love with on line. No one in town here in the Washington DC area had one on display. One shop said they had ordered one, so to call them in a week. I did, they had received it, but they noticed that the box had a dented corner and when they opened it, the glass had been shattered! So, call back in another week. Meanwhile, I realized that set had a feature shortcoming, so I shifted my interest away and found another online that had the specific features I wanted, searched and found a shop in town that listed it, called and they had one on display! In person, I was not impressed, but the salesperson said, "We just got this LG in a couple of days ago that has that feature you are looking for [1080P]". It also had other features I was looking for and I'd swear I'd checked the LG website and didn't find that model. Maybe because it's so new. I may be old fashoned, but something in this price range I just can't buy without seeing one in person, so keep looking, but keep looking with your eyes wide open and you might come across something you like even better than the one you are looking for!

You're right. Always keep your eyes open. Always wanted a Sebring convertible and ended up with a 1998 Eclipse Spyder and I love it. Sorry if I shouldn't mention cars. Anyway, there ARE alot of plasmas out there and if no one out there wants to make an effort to help maybe it's better to get something with local support. Just hope to find the same features AND an all black body.

Well I did find another plasma. Samsung HP S4273. WOW. Just wish I could have compared it to the LG 42PC1DA. Still can't believe there is nowhere around Seattle to look at it.

I'm VERY pleased with my quite nearly all black LG 47LB1DA, tho its an LCD and 47". It has a 1/2 inch outside border that's not exactly black, but it's not aluminum either - maybe 'blackened aluminum'. Sounds like I'm trying to talk you in to it! Sorry!

The only HD I have so far is what I can get from the outside antenna here in the Washington, DC area, which is PBS, and some NBC, FOX, ABC & CBS, incuding local news on CBS, while I wait for FiOS TV from Verizon to become available It's fantastic! I find myself watching types of shows I don't care for because visually they are so amazing. That fasination may wear off.

I bought a 50PC1DRA and absolutly love it. Does anyone know if there is a way to hack into the cable card and get more cable channels?

Does anyone have any more information on the LG 47LB1DA? I see that jaums has one but that is the first that I've seen.

Thanks,
CJ

Hello! Im new here and would like to ask a few questions.I bought a 50" LG plasma tv about a year ago and have cablecard problems.When the card is in use the following problems happen!
(1) the tv will turn its self on after a few hours and wont shut off by remote or the set.(need to unplug!)
(2) I loose many of the higher channels including the premium ones.
(3) sometimes cant select tv menus after tv has been reset and on alittle while
basicly!! The tv goes crazy!
When the card is removed the tv has no problems at all,but im left with basic cable.
I called LG! They say nothing wrong with the tv! Its the cable card.
The cable company has been here twice replacing the card.They would get it to work but that only lasted a week or so then the problems started all over again.
Im frustrated!! Thinking of using the cables hd box and forgetting the card.
Anyone else have cablecard problems?(I have Comcast)
One other question! Will i be able to use my built-in dvr with the cable tvs tv guide?LG says yes!but last service guy from cable said he didnt think so.

I've owned the same model 50PX4DR and used it with a Motorola cablecard from Cox Cable for a about year. No problems here even though supposedly Cox has had problems with the cablecard elsewhere.

I'm not sure I understand your last question. The DVR can record anything coming through the cablecard or via an OTA antenna and it can be scheduled in advance with the LG's internal TVGOS TV Guide. I don't think that an external cable box's guide can control the DVR recording process though, if that's what you're asking.

Thanks Les! ill see if comcast has a motorola card.They have tryed scientific Atlanta cards.I think you answered my last part ok! If comcast cant get it right! then im stuck using their hd top box.Im hoping there is still a way i could use my internal DVR without the cable card.PS!! Unless LG is not correct in what they said to me!i should be able to use the comcast cable guide from their (on demand) hd box to record with LGs internal dvr.

Hello! Im new here and would like to ask a few questions.I bought a 50" LG plasma tv about a year ago and have cablecard problems.When the card is in use the following problems happen!
(1) the tv will turn its self on after a few hours and wont shut off by remote or the set.(need to unplug!)
(2) I loose many of the higher channels including the premium ones.
...


At least for your first two symptoms, it may be a long shot, but other tv brand owners (not just LG) have made a loose correlation with problems with the TV Guide On Screen feature when receiving data. Obviously, not a graceful implementation. Evidently, the data is transmitted over the analog PBS station, so if you removed the channel from your channel setup, you wont get it, so you'll want to add it back. Some folks have disabled the feature entirely by entering 00000 for the zip code. Search this forum for other similar references.

Comcast couldnt get cable card to work correctly with my 50" plasma :( .I have no problem with the hd box they gave me except i have verry limited use of my built-in DVR.They hooked cable thru my component 1 inputs and use catv input.My Tv manual show that i can use the gemstar tv guide with the use of the g-link cable supplied with the set.Instructions verry poor on this.Has anyone used this G-LINK??.What other options do i have on using the internal dvr?? I heard that ieee-1394might work,cable box has that output.

Both LG and comcast were not such a big help on my internal dvr vs hd cable tv set top box problem.I may of found the best solution of using LGs onscreen tv guide with comcasts cablecox.I use a G-Link (IR) cable hooked from the back of the set to the IR sensor on the cable box.I then use LGs onscreen tv guide setup.The setup changes the catv input to cabox.The cabox input then controls the cable box and you get all the channels that the cable box provides.I have full use of the on-screen tv guide and my internal DVR.There is a catch though!! cabox will provide all the channels!But no HD quality on the hd channels.If theres a better way id like to know.I cant use the cable card! The brand comcast uses will not work correctly on this set (50px4dr)

I'm totally new to both Plasma TV's and also forums such as this, but am no stranger to HDTV.

I recently WON an LG 60PC1D television and am weighing my options on it. Hopefully some people here can give their two cents to help me make a decision. Here's the facts:

1. It's 60". That's gigantic. I currently rent an apartment and do not have room for this. I plan on buying a house next year probably, so this may change...

2. I fear the technology. This TV was free, I don't want to have to spend hundreds of dollars fixing it in the near future. The purchase receipt is on it's way to me (bought from BB and donated to a charity event I attended) so I should be covered, but still...

3. I already own a 40" HD rear-projection TV. No, not the greatest thing out there but it was fine for me, and I only paid $700. That's peanuts for these types of items.

4. The bigger picture: I need a car and have been saving... I was offered $2000 by my dad; $3000 by a local guy; BB recently was selling this for $4000 but now it is currently $4500. Money talks and a car is probably more useful to a guy who already had a 40" HD, if I give it to me dad what if something breaks? I will feel bad. If I sell it for $3000 they get a sweet deal and I will never see a 60" Plasma for that kind of money again. (I would prefer $3500-$4000 but have not heard that offer yet...)

5. IT WAS FREE! Should I just suck it up and keep it? I also am building a MAME cabinet and this thing could totally be the center of a game room. Picture classic arcade games at 60"!!!

Anyway people, I know this is not the usual type of thread on this things but I want to hear people chime in with there opinions to help me make a decision. Keep in mind that most of you that are buying large plasmas have more cash then me. I have $3k in the bank for my future car, so this would double the down payment. Also, how reliable are LG tv's? I can find almost NO reviews of this model, and almost no stores even sell 60" plasmas! I think they are just too big really. If it was a 50" I would not even have all these thoughts, I'd keep it.

Any help would be appreciated. Other things to consider are I AM a gadget freak, and my future intent was to buy a digital projector when I owned a house. No matter what I win but I'm not sure what to do. :confused:

If your dad has the room let him store it for you, in his living room for sure. Tell him one day when you get your new house you will pick it up for sure but he can enjoy it till then. Rent for free. No lost to you it was free. Just let him know the stipulations, that you want to keep it for your future house but have no place to store it at this time. He can enjoy it now and you later. Or' you can give him your 40" and you keep the 60", both worlds are happy. :)

I am certainly happy to find this thread. Despite several "searches" I was never able to find an LG thread.

I was all set to buy the Sony KDS-50A2000 rptv than walk into the local HT shop I buy from and find a nicely remodeled viewing room with 6 plasma and lcd tv's on display. Toshiba and LG brands specifically. I start watching a variety of content, HD and SD through the SA 8300HD box, on a Toshiba and LG 50PC3D set. All I could say was WOW. Even my "oh so frugal wife" said "oh my". I found the LG to be as good as the Toshiba and a bit better for SD play. Plus the cost was less and the warranty better, 2 years.

My wife actually gave me the go ahead, feeling my pain...sympathetically that is...after I crushed my fingers at work last week...lucky it was only my fingers and arm, another angle and a tv would not be necessary merely a mantle for the ashes...sheesh.

So now I am going to be getting the LG.

Question: Does the 50PC3D have a DVI input? If so it would allow me to connect either my dvd or SA8300HD box via dvi and the other via hdmi.

Hi all,

Thanks for this great thread, it has provided me with some wonderful information and gave me all I need to happily purchase the LG 42 PC3D yesterday. I love it!

I now have some incredibly stupid questions... :o

Is there a specific aspect setting you use when watching TV? 16:9 worked great when watching football last night, but the screen length varied greatly between commercials and channels. I am assuming this is common? (Sometimes there were black lines on the side, sometimes on the top, sometimes all around) I'll admit, I don't know the difference between 4:3, 16:9, Zoom 1 or Zoom 2 or Cinema 3:2? I am sure this topic has been addressed ad nauseam, so perhaps someone can point me to the newbie beginner's thread if anything! What do you feel works best?

I am totally new to this world of plasma TVs (obviously) so any wisdom you can impart would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Chad

Hello Kia
I dont think the LG 50pcd3 has a DVI input.I also have a LG 50" Plasma (50px4dr earlier model)with built-in dvr.I have 2 HDMI inputs! One i use for the dvd player.My Hd cable box dosnt have HDMI!so its hooked up to componant1(which also supports hd).Im sure your set will support the same kind of hook up as i have.My set has a cable card slot!but comcast has not been able to supply a card that works well.I have had this set for a year now!Great pic with no problems except for the cable card.If you want 2 HDMI inputs!LG has the 50" with the dvr built in.THis is a nice site! Hope i was able to help some! Take Care! Stan

I was reading the pdf owners manual and the 50pc3d does not have dvi. I will probably use the hdmi for my dvd play and run cable through the component cable connect.
Thanks for the input,
Kai

Chad I experienced the same thing watching Extreme Home last night on ABC HD. I think it depends on the format of the taping. Some scenes had the sidebars and when doing individual interviews there was a "frame" around the entire picture.

I watched the last half of last night's game but don't remember what the screen looked like. I was too busy yelling and crying and looking for my sponge "brick" to throw at the set LOL.

Chad! When viewing on a HDTV if the broadcast is not in HD then you will see the side bars! You can remove them by stretching the pic alittle.I beleave your tv has this feature on it.

Thanks Stanley and Kai! It is good to know I am not going crazy. :) I can tell already this is going to get expensive. I went out and bought a new DVD player today and am now looking at the HTIBs! I also realized that the model LG I bought does not have 2 HDMI slots, so it looks like I will have to buy a splitter AND another HDMI cable. (For now I am switching back and forth between my cable and DVD player. LOL

By the way, Kai, I currently reside in Indiana so you know which side I was rooting for. I have to say, some of the worst officiating I have seen (for both sides). That game almost gave me a heart attack as well!!

Chad!! You dont really need two hdmi's.Put your HD cable threw your tv's component input(which should be HD compatible) and your dvd threw the hdmi.Thats how mine is hooked up and it works fine

I too run my cable through my receiver and into the tv via component and my dvd player directly to the tv via hdmi/dvi cable...my tv has only dvi.

The Patriots plyed awful. Brady got intercepted 5 times and they had 100 yards in penalities. It was just a poor game on their paert...oh yeah they shanked a n easy field goal too though Vinatari shanked 2 lol. Overall it was a good game to watch and close to the wire despite their best efforts to screw it up hehehe.

Hello everyone,

I am a new owner of a LG42pC1DA, and currently have the set on the "normal" mode (the others are "daylight," "nighttime," etc.). My concern is that I have no way of knowing what the contrast levels are for these settings...the only ones I can manually adjust and recognize are under "user 1" and "user 2." I'd prefer to use the ones provided by LG (currently on "normal"), but don't want the contrast higher than it should (around 50%, right?) in order to avoid burn-in and prolong the picture...any advice?

Thank you in advance...

Robert

Thanks again Stanley and Kai - I think the component sounds like a great option. I don't think there will be too much of a quality difference and it sounds like the best bet is to use the HDMI for the DVD player.

BTW, Kai - how about Manning getting sacked 4 times and as you mentioned two big "laces out" shanks by Vinatari! LOL Just a strange game!

Robert - I would use one of the user1 settings to customize it. It sounds like the settings are a little bit different, but after reading the threads here, I customized mine today to help break it in. I put all the settings under 50 (around 40 - 45) and put it on the energy saver. Definitely not the same picture quality, but I guess it will work for now as things are getting warmed up! I was living in ignorant bliss until today though. Watching the football game nice and bright and watching Batman Begins with the letterbox bars on. LOL Fortunatley, it looks as if there was no burn-in issues. (Please let me know if anyone has anymore advice regarding this or if what I posted is incorrect). Anyone have any burn-in issues with their LG?

Thanks,

Chad

Chad - thanks for the advice. I'll change those settings. (How do you get rid of the letterbox bars on widescreen DVDs, by the way?) It'll definitely be strange losing so much of the picture quality, but it's certainly worth it for the time being.

I am still concerned, though, as I've had the set for a month and have been watching it on the "normal"picture setting (hopefully, I didn't do any damage?). Is there any way to find out what the contrast and brightness levels are for those "pre-made" settings?

Thanks again...I appreciate the help!

Robert

Robert, it is interesting, my model allows you to see what the pre-settings are for the Normal, Movie, Nighttime, etc. mode. Perhaps the LG website can give you some insight?

For the widescreen movie you can just select a different aspect ratio like Zoom or Cinema mode etc. and that should work. I am incredibly new to all this so perhaps someone can give you better advice though.

It is funny though - I have talked to a couple people in the industry and they both told me not to be all that worried about the burn-in issues, they said being cautious is fine but there are rarely any problems. I just find it interesting that LG makes no mention of burn-in issues in the owner's manual. I will still do the 100 hours thing though. They also said that the LG sets are nice ones, which is good to hear!

Chad - that is funny...my manual *does* mention burn-in.

If you have time, would you be able to tell me what your contrast & brightness levels are for "normal" mode?

I'll pull the manual and re-read what it says about burn-in. From what I remember, it tells you that burn-in can occur with static images, the ISM methods built-in to the TV to prevent burn-in, and that burn-in is *not* covered under the warranty...nothng about other precautions, adjusting the contrast, etc.

Robert - when I get home today I will check out the normal mode and post the findings here. I think there was a one sentence mention on burn-in in my manual regarding the static images but that is about it. They talk about the ISM methods for IR, etc., but nothing overt.

I wish they would have a section on breaking in your plasma!!

Hello Mrbaz
heres my settings that are preset by LG
C-contrst B-Brightness 0 to 10
Norm-c90 b50
Night-c70 b60
Day-c100 b40
Custom(my setting)-c50 b40
I find that norm and day are a bit too high for a new set!
I used to worry about burn in too much! But after a year! no problems so far.Your LG set should have some anti burn-in settings on it!I have mine set to orbiter.

I agree, Chad. A "break-in" section would have been really appreciated. I'm very close, if not over, 100 hours as of now, and I've been running on "normal" mode the entire time. I had no idea how to access and adjust the contrast level, let alone to know where it was set from the factory at "normal" mode...

Hello Mrbaz
heres my settings that are preset by LG
C-contrst B-Brightness 0 to 10
Norm-c90 b50
Night-c70 b60
Day-c100 b40
Custom(my setting)-c50 b40
I find that norm and day are a bit too high for a new set!
I used to worry about burn in too much! But after a year! no problems so far.Your LG set should have some anti burn-in settings on it!I have mine set to orbiter.


Hello stanleyjohn - thanks for the information! In your opinion, could I have done any damage to my set by running on "normal" mode? I have to be close to the 100 hour mark at this point, and just now realized how to adjust the contrast through the custom modes...I have been running "orbiter" as well, so I hope things are okay.

After a plasma has been "broken in," is it okay to run it on "normal" with the contrast at 90, or should that still be avoided?

Thank you so much for your reply and your help...as someone new to plama ownership and this board, it is greatly appreciated!

Robert

Hello Robert!
I dont believe any damage has been done.Wouldnt think LG and others would set presets with a risk of damage.Not sure! but a think plasmas are rated for 60000 hrs before you use half of the plasma panels life.Thats alot of hrs! about 8years if u have it on 24 hrs a day.If tests on plasma life are based on LGs normal preset!i wouldnt worry much about the higher settings after the breakin period.Rule of thumb! Higher settings would slightly reduse plasma life! so i keep them as low as i can without sacrifice in viewing.I do use the higher settings when needed but prefer my own custom most of the time.

Robert, my setting were the same as Stanley's for Normal mode (and his others) Normal mode: Contrast 90, Brightness 50, Color 50, Sharpness 50.

Like I said my custom is currently all under the 50 mark, but i will tell you, with that and the low power mode on, it is a bit to dark for me. I am ready to get the low power mode off and to get back to optimal viewing. Honestly, I really like the night time mode which as Stanley mentions has a contrast of 70. All the other ones are set at 50.

BTW, guys, I was a bit confused by all the ISM settings. I have the orbiter set as well. I thought it would move station logos around every two minutes, but I guess it doesn't? I have no idea what inversion means...LOL

Thanks to all for the help. I think Stanley makes a great point as well. I really doubt LG would have their normal setting to do damage to a new TV...that would be ridiculous!

Chad - thanks for the reply. I keep thinking that there must be a way for me to see the setting of the pre-made modes (normal, night, etc.), but I have yet to figure that one out.

Concerning the orbiter ISM mode, it's supposed to shift the picture a few inches every few minutes - the salesmen I talked to said that I would likely notice the shifting screen when watching. However, I've only noticed it when playing a video game - there is a two-inch "black bar" on the left side of the screen, with the picture shifted to the right. However, that bar never moves or shifts the picture like the desciption for orbiter says it should, at least not that I've noticed. A little confusing, really...

And I agree with you and stanley both about "normal" mode not doing damage to the set, and it's really common sense. Still, all the talk about keeping contrast below 50 and giving the set a proper "break in" and avoiding burn-in made me quite nervous, especially as I (still) can't read/access the individual settings for the pre-made viewing options.

Again, I'm grateful for the help, advice, and discussion...thank you!

mrbaz-I have 3 types of ism(image sticking minimization)
white wash-Turns screen totally white removing perminant images! "Note" wouldnt use alot!its like 100% contrast on whole screen
Orbiter-Shifts the picture slightly up,down,right,left one every minute.I mostly use this feature."Note" Orbiter will result in looseing small part of right end of screen at times.This can be quickly fixed by using the white wash or the inversion.
Inversion-Takes the picture and inverts it.(like a negative)
These 3 are all designed to prevent a still picture from causing burn-in.

I see you like to play video games!(So do i!! just pc games though).Dont forget to shut it off when not in use. For long periods of continuous use many still pictures in some video games may cause burn-in problems in time.You can play! Just dont leave on for long periods of time like over night.Chado! Thanks for your input!its nice to have others here to exchange ideas and questions.

New to this thread but I've been having intermittent problems with my comcast digital cable to my new LG 60" plasma TV. My other smaller plasma TV doesn't have a cable box and the signal is fine but on this one I'm finding days where I can lose my video signal for seconds or even several minutes at a time. Comes and goes. Totally intermittent. Comcast has been out twice and tested signal and claims the signal is fine. Swapped the box and still have the issue. Any ideas?

Talked with with our rep today and he said we will be getting 3 new plasma models. All of which will be 1080p. The sizes i recall were 50" 60" and 71"? As well as 11 new 1080p LCD models sizing from current 55" down to 37".

Someone had a question about the 47" LCD.
This thread please.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=725067&highlight=47LB1DA please..

Hey all,

Great to see this thread. I just ordered a 42PC1DA, which will be arriving on Saturday. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on setup, calibration and break-in.

I would also love to find out what you think some awesome media to begin enjoying my new tv would be, since I'm dedicating my we weekend to setting it up and watching it!


Pav