I did an extensive search that didnt bring up a specific thread just for this TV.

So mine will be ordered very shortly, but seeing as this TV is nearly impossible to find at retail, please post your settings, questions, how you managed to finally find one stories :) and other info about this HDTV.

thanks have a great new years!

Official JVC Manuals for 52FA97

Instruction Manual: http://books.jvcservice.com/download/798432136/40671.pdf

Service Manual: http://books.jvcservice.com/download/798432136/40670.zip

note: Service Manual doesnt load in Safari, i tested Firefox 2.0 and it works fine. (Mac OS X)

I'm about to buy one (2nd week in January) and I had heard that Beach Camera was a pretty reliable retailer. I have yet to see one of these in person, but Best Buy carries it's 56" big brother and that one looks every bit as good as the Sony 50 or 60" A2000 series. Even with the additional 3 year warranty & bulb replacement ($1,399+$209=$1,608), it's a steal compared to the $2,399 Best Buy want for the Sony 50A2000.

If anybody knows of a better deal, please let me know before I spend my hard earned cash.

Does anyone know what the "FA" in the model number stands for. I have seen models with FA, FN and FC in the number but I don't know what the difference is.

Ive been looking literally everywhere. Online only stores. Online retail stores. Retail stores. Mom and pop stores. I cannot find this TV at any retail store so i havnt been able to demo it. Places online that i have found it are NOT cheaper than the Beachcamera.com prices. Here is an email i recieved from Beachcamera.com regarding this Television.

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting us.

The standard shipping takes 7-9 business days.
If the product arrives DOA, you would have to refer to the 1 year JVC warranty. Once the box has been opened and signed for we do not accept any returns on TVS.
We are an official authorized dealer. This item comes with the USA JVC warranty and is not "grey market".

The $1395 price is a sle price. The price is subject to change at any time without prior notice.



Sincerely,

Sales Dept Rep.
BeachCamera.com

Hopefully that helps. I hope the info im giving helps. The instruction manual specifications i think helped seal the deal for me.

I have looked at the info on this set and cannot find ary reference to it having the optical iris that the other models do, This includes the manual and info on the JVC web site. Without the adjustable iris, blacks are terrible on the iDLA sets.

In comparison to a JVC set with an optical iris, what setting relatively would the 52FA97 be compared to on the other sets that can change the iris?

Like is the 52FA96 stuck at something similar to the MAX setting on a 56FN97?

Like is the 52FA96 stuck at something similar to the MAX setting on a 56FN97?

That is probably a safe assumption.

thanks dponeill.

can it be combatted with the contrast (picture) and brightness settings?

thanks dponeill.

can it be combatted with the contrast (picture) and brightness settings?

I had one of the 575 series sets (no iris) for about 2 weeks, then returned it. There was nothing you could adjust to fix the excessive brightness. There is a whole thread somewhere here about installing a neutral density filter in front of the lamp to decrease brightness. I would not buy one without first getting some more info about it.

Thanks, i did some reading about the 575's and found its probably on par with my Hitachi as far as blacks go, but colors are too cool. JVC mentioned they fixed some problems in a revision of the TV a little later which leads me to beleive they kept that fix in the new 52FA97. Even if it is still as bright as the Hitachi 50v500, i think i will more than likely be satisfied by the jump in resolution. That is if it is safe to beleive this TV's resolution is exactly on par with the 56FN97?

Thanks for the information, thats why i started this thread, to gather that information

Bought the HD-52FA97 at HH Gregg yesterday. Appears to be a great set. Actually took me longer to put the matching stand together than to setup the set. After getting the set home I noticed that a couple of features that were described on the HH Gregg website the set did not have. It was stated as have to fierwire ports ,and a center channel input. It has neither of these features. Their website also states the set has 2 s-video input, but it only has one. I had no need to any of the missing inputs, but their website clearly is not correct.

Impression: way hot out the box. After tweaking a bit the smoothness, and colors seemed more natural. This is a very bright set. It is much brighter than the 5 year old Hitachi HD rptv that it replaced. I also have a 720p plasma in the master beedroom. This new Hitachi cost over a grand less than the plasma, and has no reflection issues ,and is much smoother than the plasma. The plasma wins in black level and startup.

Overall very pleased with my purchase!

Thanks, i did some reading about the 575's and found its probably on par with my Hitachi as far as blacks go, but colors are too cool. JVC mentioned they fixed some problems in a revision of the TV a little later which leads me to beleive they kept that fix in the new 52FA97. Even if it is still as bright as the Hitachi 50v500, i think i will more than likely be satisfied by the jump in resolution. That is if it is safe to beleive this TV's resolution is exactly on par with the 56FN97?

Thanks for the information, thats why i started this thread, to gather that information

For what it's worth, the 575 I had was a very late production model.

I would doubt that with a 52" screen size and a viewing distance greater than about 6' you will see any difference from going to 1080P.

Hey Cynic821

Where are you ordering from?

Beachcamera.com

Grabbed one today, open box from HH Greg for $999! Amazing. Wifey thinks it is a bit too big for our room though. I think I need to fight for this one. What a steal. I did pass on the ridiculous $400 5yr service plan though! Seriously half the price of the set almost?! Come on. But with a few tweaks this set is beautiful with HD, absolutely great. And there are actually black blacks on this set. Not so with Sony 3LCD I have had for past week and a half. Good chance it is going back for the JVC. But WHY couldnt they change the input system?! Horrible, and my only major complaint.

3 year plan was $299, which is about the price of the lamp replacement. This is a wonderful display that works well with my Logitech 880. Can't wait to feed it a 1080p source.

I'm interested in this model TV. Can 'youse guyz' give me as much in depth feedback as possible?

Is the lack of an auto iris that big a deal?

Thanks

Morning all. Just joined this forum because I picked up the 52fa97 over the weekend at HHGregg, and I was hoping to get some info on tweaking the pic for the best settings from anyone who may have already gone through the process. I bought it NITB for $1214 (with a stand for $59). The HHGregg sales people are on commission, and this guy must have been pretty hungry to let it go for that price ;-)
Anyway, out of the box, the TV is truly spectacular, particularly watching football and hockey. The remote is cumbersome though, and requires ALOT of getting used to.
SD programs aren't as crisp as I had hoped they'd be, so that's why I'm here. Anyone have the 'perfect' setup yet?
Also, if you can, buy it with a CC like Amex that doubles the manufacturers warranty :-D

I'm getting this set delivered on tomorrow. I'm also interested in hearing people impressions, and some general settings for colors and brightness.

I'll have one on Friday. I stopped at HH Gregg affer work and offered them, including tax and delivery, $20.00 over the lowest online price I found and they accepted.

I'll post my impressions over the weekend.

thanks guys. im going to be making an attempt to return my 56FC97 soon, though i still cant find this damned tv anywhere in retail in bay area.

I have looked at the info on this set and cannot find ary reference to it having the optical iris that the other models do, This includes the manual and info on the JVC web site. Without the adjustable iris, blacks are terrible on the iDLA sets.

I also cannot get 100% confirmation of the iris. But I will say that the blacks do not suck at all. MUCH of an improvement over a Sony 3 LCD I had recently, and am returning tonight. I def wish for a way to lower SCREAMING brightness (other than "smart picture" which does do it) such as in service menu. While the blacks and for the majority all colors look great on this set, there is a bit of a greenish/yello tinge to highlights and skintones. But again compared to the Sony these blacks are black, not a dark grayish blue.

I also cannot get 100% confirmation of the iris. But I will say that the blacks do not suck at all. MUCH of an improvement over a Sony 3 LCD I had recently, and am returning tonight. I def wish for a way to lower SCREAMING brightness (other than "smart picture" which does do it) such as in service menu. While the blacks and for the majority all colors look great on this set, there is a bit of a greenish/yello tinge to highlights and skintones. But again compared to the Sony these blacks are black, not a dark grayish blue.

Are you using the Theater Pro setting? That should have the darkest blacks and the tamest whites. Sound & Vision and Home Theater magazines both have a review of the 61FN97 in this months issues. One of them mentioned that it was a good idea to leave Smart Picture turned on.

Anyone having a problem with SSE (Silk Screen Effect) on this model?

Anyone having a problem with SSE (Silk Screen Effect) on this model?


No, and why would they, because this is not a DLP.

In reading the thread on the larger 56 & 61' JVC DILA's, there is distinct mention of SSE!

Obviously it's not a DLP, but there are complaints about it. Read that thread!

Just trying to do all the research I can here to make an educated buy.

No, and why would they, because this is not a DLP.

Any rear projection TV can and will exhibit some degree of SSE. This is caused by the screen itself, not by the type of light engine.

Got mine today, and I do notice a bit of SSE. Turning the brightness down quite a bit helped, so I don't think it will bother me too much.

So far, HDTV looks great (so far only PBS), but SDTV looks pretty mediocre. Playstation 2 looks really bad, but I kind of expected that, and some games may look better than others (Final Fantasy 12 only game I looked at).

The tv is very bright, and I think that hurts the blacks a little, but the blacks do look black, there just isn't as much definition to the blacks as there could be.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the set so far. I need a better antenna and an up converting dvd player, and then I think I'll enjoy it a whole lot more.

Yeah this set kicks butt on HD no doubt. But its SD picture is not so swift to say the least. DVD's look great too though I do not have an upscaler and just a progressive scan.

My 2 complaints though of the day are again the SSE, which is quite prevelant. As well as a quite noticeably loud cooling fan! Man is that sucker loud when volume is below 5! Everyone elses too? Has anyone jumped into the service menu? I am looking to rid the bright yellow tone to highlights and skin, as well as maybe bring overall light output down a bit.

I haven't noticed the fan at all. To be fair, I have it in a room with my computer, which is quite noisy.

Watched The Office and My Name is Earl, as well as Grey's Anatomy last night. The 1080i sources (NBC) looked exceptional, and the 720p (ABC) looked very good, but not quite as nice as the 1080i.

The SSE is annoying, but for me, when I sit down and actually watch something, I forget about it and don't really notice. It is kind of like looking through a window. You can look at the window and see imperfections and dirt, but you don't really notice those if you are looking through the window.

Well. I got mine yesterday and it has to go back. It seems to have the same problem that the Sony SXRD sets have with their "Green Blob", only this is a "Yellow Blob". More than half of the screen (about a third of the way up from the bottom and one fourth on the other sides) has a severe yellow tint. It is EXTREMELY noticeable in Theater Pro mode. Everyone looks like their liver has failed! Screen geometry is a bit shaky too with pronounced bowing on the sides in pillar boxed material.

On the positive side, it has a very sharp, noise free image and looks like it would have had excellent color. Convergence is good, with some fringing only at the extreme right side. Blacks are good (but not great) thought they do have a blue tint.

Overall, if not for the "Yellow Blob" I think I would have been satisfied. As it stands now, I think I may upgrade to the 56FN97 to get the dynamic iris.

I toned down the very strong yellow tint in the service menu last night. Blue was only set at 114 which was a shocker to me as red and green were 138. Makes quite a difference but in the high end of the white spectrum like in highlights, there is still alot of yellow. But overall this set gives a beautiful HD image. SD is another story of course.
Today my complaint, which is minor to most, is a big deal for me. You cannot use the front (or any) inputs for sound only! I have some kids songs recorded on my Sirius Stiletto that my daughter wanted to hear. And with the receiver no longer hooked up (in a comprimise) that is how we had to listen to it. BUT YOU CAN'T! There has to be video being fed for the input to work. Also the inability to use the audio outs while using HDMI. Since this, and many, sets don't have headphone jacks that is the only way, but that doesn't work either. It does with Sony televisions, as well as the audio only on inputs. Why oh why!?

I toned down the very strong yellow tint in the service menu last night. Blue was only set at 114 which was a shocker to me as red and green were 138. Makes quite a difference but in the high end of the white spectrum like in highlights, there is still alot of yellow. But overall this set gives a beautiful HD image. SD is another story of course.
Today my complaint, which is minor to most, is a big deal for me. You cannot use the front (or any) inputs for sound only! I have some kids songs recorded on my Sirius Stiletto that my daughter wanted to hear. And with the receiver no longer hooked up (in a comprimise) that is how we had to listen to it. BUT YOU CAN'T! There has to be video being fed for the input to work. Also the inability to use the audio outs while using HDMI. Since this, and many, sets don't have headphone jacks that is the only way, but that doesn't work either. It does with Sony televisions, as well as the audio only on inputs. Why oh why!?

It sounds an awful lot like your set has the same problem as mine. If that is the case, it's defective and no amount of adjusting will cure it. Have you looked at a solid grey screen (just choose an unused input - it will be most obvious in Theater Pro mode) to see if the yellow covers the entire screen or is limited to part of it? The blacks are already noticably blueish on mine.

No I don't seem to have that. Actually I chose this set over a Sony 3LCD I had for about a week because of its great blacks. Well at least compared to the Sony. I had them side by side for a while and blacks on the Sony were outragously blue. In a dark scent this tv handles it quitre well, the sony would just be gray-blue nonsense. These blacks are great w/o any yellow or blue tinting to them at all. I was a color corrector for a didgital photo lab for a few years so I unfotunately can see the worst in every set very quickly and can tell what colors are not what they are supposed to be. At least in my set, I can say the blacks are excellent. It is just in the extreme upper end of whites/highlights where I get the yellow-green cast.

Fan noise...BLAH! I noticed mine after a few days when the volume is down or there's a pause in the dialogue. Also, the set sits in an alcove, so the noise is magnified off the walls. I'm still VERY happy with this set and the deal I got, so I'll not return it for that alone.

Fan noise...BLAH! I noticed mine after a few days when the volume is down or there's a pause in the dialogue. Also, the set sits in an alcove, so the noise is magnified off the walls. I'm still VERY happy with this set and the deal I got, so I'll not return it for that alone.

Mine is quite a bit louder that the Toshiba DLP that it replaced too.

Grabbed one today, open box from HH Greg for $999! Amazing. Wifey thinks it is a bit too big for our room though. I think I need to fight for this one. What a steal. I did pass on the ridiculous $400 5yr service plan though! Seriously half the price of the set almost?! Come on. But with a few tweaks this set is beautiful with HD, absolutely great. And there are actually black blacks on this set. Not so with Sony 3LCD I have had for past week and a half. Good chance it is going back for the JVC. But WHY couldnt they change the input system?! Horrible, and my only major complaint.

For all those who live near a Fry's, check out their everyday price brand new. Get'em while their hot!

http://newspaperads.contracostatimes.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=18196&adid=4027973&subid=14767287&type=

Picked one up this am from Brandsmart USA ($1298).

The HD is significantly better than my previous Panny CRT HD 53"'er. SD is worse. I do see the SSE and while I don't like it, I don't think it's a deal breaker. Why is the 4:3 mode showing a bowed look? What's up with that? Do you guys see that too?

Set it to theater pro mode so it's not blindingly bright. Left smart pic on which I think manages the excessive brightness, and limits the SSE effect.

Ok, gotta go back in staredown mode to the TV. I think I'm in love...I'm all atwitter!

For all those who live near a Fry's, check out their everyday price brand new. Get'em while their hot!

http://newspaperads.contracostatimes.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=18196&adid=4027973&subid=14767287&type=

That is unfortunately not the 1080p F series. That is one of the G or Z series, otherwise I would be all over it for a brand new one! I am still pretty happy with my price being open box. Just not real happy that the service contract would have been based on the full $1500 retail. That is my only fear in the back of my head.

That is unfortunately not the 1080p F series. That is one of the G or Z series, otherwise I would be all over it for a brand new one! I am still pretty happy with my price being open box. Just not real happy that the service contract would have been based on the full $1500 retail. That is my only fear in the back of my head.


By golly you are right. My apologies. I took to quick a look at the bezel. The FA97 is all silver with a black foot. Still, not to bad a deal if you want the 720p HD-52G887.

Anyone here with an xbox 360 that has their TV working with the 1080p setting? Tried it and it was all distorted.

Anyone here with an xbox 360 that has their TV working with the 1080p setting? Tried it and it was all distorted.


1080p is a hdmi connection only on this set. X-Box 360 component ouput is limited to 1080i.

The vga connection is limited to 1024 X 768.

Anyone here with an xbox 360 that has their TV working with the 1080p setting? Tried it and it was all distorted.

The set does a great job deinterlacing 1080i. I don't think you would see any improvements in having the xbox 360 do this for you instead of the tv. Your best option is probably to set the 360 to 1080i on the component input and let the tv handle the conversion to 1080p.

Is there anyway in the service menu to back off the whites on this set which are really showing The SSE, which is annoying me!

Is there anyway in the service menu to back off the whites on this set which are really showing The SSE, which is annoying me!

This is EXACTLY what I have been asking for! I am inches away from exchanging for a 50A2000

Is Silk Screen effect the same as Screen Door Effect ?

Apologize if its a dumb question.

On Tuesday I had my defective 52FA97 exchanged for a 56FN97. What a difference! No large yellow blob, no blue tint in the blacks, and the blacks are much darker too. Theater Pro mode with a good HD signal looks stunning!

Anyone have any pics of their 52fa97...currently considering purchasing one of these soon, tax return on the way!

SSE is silk screen effect, which the JVC's have in spades. SDE is Screen Door Effect, a whole 'notha deal, not on lcos tv's.

Here are pics from mine a couple of days after I got it.

On Tuesday I had my defective 52FA97 exchanged for a 56FN97. What a difference! No large yellow blob, no blue tint in the blacks, and the blacks are much darker too. Theater Pro mode with a good HD signal looks stunning!

Exchanged in store? Or by JVC? I unfortunately bought from HH Gregg with the worst return exchange policy in the land. 10 days, thats it.

Man, nobody talks about these tv's at all. I have to go to the 56FN/FC/FB thread to get anything.

Exchanged in store? Or by JVC? I unfortunately bought from HH Gregg with the worst return exchange policy in the land. 10 days, thats it.

Exchanged by HH Gregg.

Man, nobody talks about these tv's at all. I have to go to the 56FN/FC/FB thread to get anything.


There is a couple of reason why your staement is true.

Sold at limited places.
Certain postings about excessive fan noise.
Lack of iris.

This is my 5th HD monitor since 2001. This set by far has the best picture. Zero problems with this set.

Can't take the excessive SSE. Jvc's are the worst in my viewing and research.

I don't see it that much on the Mits' I've been looking at in the stores this week.

Bringing it back tomorrow for a Mits WD-52631. If I get this home and it's got just as much SSE, I'll be man enough to admit it. Also the 4:3 picture has terrible pincushioning and vertical geometry is pincushioned on HD also.

We'll see...

Exchanged by HH Gregg.

Oh so it was w/in the horrendous 10day period?

There is a couple of reason why your staement is true.

Sold at limited places.
Certain postings about excessive fan noise.
Lack of iris.

This is my 5th HD monitor since 2001. This set by far has the best picture. Zero problems with this set.

I hear ya. I really do like the picture overall, but just made the "assumption" that since it was in this years 1080p lineup that it had the iris. Found out too late, and am quite bummed about that and the audio options. ALMOST exchanged for an open box 50A2000, but did not. If it were purchased anywhere else but HH Gregg I would probably exchange for something else. But the picture is very nice for the price, just can't stand the SCREAMING brightness and lack of audio options. Also wish for the iris. Certainly will never buy from HH Gregg again.

Has anyone tried toning down the white in the service menu? I'm tempted to try this, but haven't had the time to mess with this. I'm betting that it would help to have a calibration dvd while i did this, which I don't have at the moment.

I don't mind the pin cushioning on 4:3 pictures, because really I don't really watch anything 4:3 much anymore. The SSE is definitely there but somewhat minimized unless there is a very bright scene. The whites hurt my eyes. The brutal whites are my main gripe with this set. Other than that, I'm quite happy with it.

Exchanged the JVC for this Mits today.

Bottom line - SSE is almost non existent on this set. What a fricken difference!
and the geometry and 4:3 pincushioning is MUCH better too!

Those were the 2 JVC things that I couldn't live with.

Adios JVC muchachos. I'll miss you dawgs!

Rainbows are the ticket :rolleyes:

Yeah I am with kevinivey on this one. I would have loved a mitsubishi 1080p pr a Toshiba but I just cannot do the DLP thing unfortunately. The blacks are nice, I will say, and also Mits seem to pop up less for me. But still I see those rainbows like crazy on dlp's.
I thought for a minute the Mits was totally imune to it in my eyes. Then I was at Ovation and they were playing some rock concert with a dark backdrop and alot of strobing lights and flashes, and all I could see over and over again were rainbows! It was insane how bad it was. Now I know in alot of calm pretty scenes it wont pop up, but they will. So good for you if you are the kind that can't see them. unfortunately for me, DLP was not even an option.

Has anyone tried toning down the white in the service menu? I'm tempted to try this, but haven't had the time to mess with this. I'm betting that it would help to have a calibration dvd while i did this, which I don't have at the moment.

I don't mind the pin cushioning on 4:3 pictures, because really I don't really watch anything 4:3 much anymore. The SSE is definitely there but somewhat minimized unless there is a very bright scene. The whites hurt my eyes. The brutal whites are my main gripe with this set. Other than that, I'm quite happy with it.

I am 100% behind you on this man. As beautiful as this set can be, these screaming bright whites kills me. Of course the wife complains and blows it all out of proportion. I hate to say it but I agree with her, minus all the acting.
I have gotten into the service menu but the ONLY user understandable thing to change is RGB. And even then it is not listed as gain or bias, just each color and that is it! Of course there are a ton of other things in there, just none that make any sense. But there HAS to be a way as I have read reviews on these sets where the reviewer mentions similar problems and is able to "tone them down". If anyone could point us to the right adjustment I would be thrilled. But am not willing to jepordize my set as the guinea pig.

In adition to the SCREAMING whites, my other picture complaint is the heavy yellow/green push to bright scenes and highlights. At first I thought it was the source, but it continues to show up and bugs me big time. Then I thought it must just be my set and I need to have someone out. So today I went to HH Gregg (don't reccomend them due to a crappy 10 day return policy) and they had this set next to a 720p 52G887.
I set both to same source with exact same settings. Guess what?! It was there. Skin tones looked dead on beautiful on the "G series" set. So much so that had I seen these 2 side by side in the store, I would have grabbed the older 720p set hands down. It drives me nuts. Faces on American Chopper were an ugly yellow/green in the cheek-nose area. However they were absolutely georgous on the 'G' with absolute detail and great color. Same for an old lady's white hair and t-shirt. I was SHOCKED!
I should also add I have a VERY sensitive eye for colors as it was at one time my job to analyze photos and digital screens in a pro lab. So this REALLY bugs me.

[QUOTE=gb33]In adition to the SCREAMING whitesQUOTE]


Turn on "Smart Picture".

I do turn on "smart picture" along with the picture setting at -22 ! That is just too much. I sometimes don't like 'smart picture' as it sometimes gets "tricked" and I see a flicker in the contrast.

I unfortunately just left a negative review on epinions for the set. JVC has to know about this issue. I have seen 3 sets now all with the same thing. Next to another one of their own 720p sets, apples to apples, these sets have a problem. Highlights and skintones should not look like this.

Here are pics from mine a couple of days after I got it.


Thanks for the pics! It's a really nice looking set...saw the 56FN97 at BB today, wondering how much of a difference the lack of iris makes in the picture because I've never been able to see the 52fa97 in a store...

Thanks for the pics! It's a really nice looking set...saw the 56FN97 at BB today, wondering how much of a difference the lack of iris makes in the picture because I've never been able to see the 52fa97 in a store...

From what I have seen. A HUGE difference. I seem to be making progress via service menu for the yellow-green problem I keep crying about. But the blacks of the models with the iris is fantastic. If I could have a do over I would. But unfortunately I purchased from HH Gregg with a 10 day return policy.

I haven't noticed a yellow/green push really. At times I thought I did, but then realized it was the signal. Watching the office, I think I always notice yellow on Steve Carell's face, but everyone else's looks normal.

One strange setting that I've done that seems to help with skin tones in the Theater Pro setting, is setting the color temp to high instead of low. For some reason, colors look more natural. In all other sets I've had, this goes against conventional wisdom. Also in the Vivid setting, color temp looks better when it is on low.

Smart Picture is on. Bright whites still hurt my eyes, even if the brightness is turned down to -30. But then everything else is too dark.

I can post my settings tonight or tomorrow, but really I'm still changing them quite often. I don't have many hours on the set yet, so the bulb may still be getting broken in (do they actually break in?).

I just received my 52FA97, also from Beach camera. I ordered on a Wednesday, had it the next Tuesday- total 6 days. I have an Xbox 360 and used OTA HDTV to test it out.

WOW!!! This thing is AMAZING. Better than any computer display I have ever seen, much less EVERY TV. The explosive brightness level it has, especially for bright objects in games, is so bright it hurts my eyes. Before I bought it, I considered doing a mod to lower the brightness, but now that I have seen it in action I LIKE it. Yes, this mean blacks are a little grey...but I hate deep inky blacks in movies and games because you can't see anything.

Checklist : there are NO dead pixels. There is one teensy speck of dirt that shows up as a shadow in the lower left corner...but I cannot see it at all from the couch.

There are NO geometry or other issues that I can perceive. Lines are straight, screen is perfect.

There is NO "HDTV lag" that I can perceive while playing games. Everything happens instantly as far as I can tell.

Flaws : slow channel and input changing. This is for obvious reasons : JVCs video processing hardware must be a little slower than other makers at getting going. Not a problem for my system as I will use a HTPC to drive it. This means the ATSC tuner quality, the scaler, all that stuff is irrelevant : but I do like the scaler.

The only other 'flaw' is 1080p component input doesn't work, at least from an Xbox 360 : but component is analog anyways, and I will be using HDMI for my computer's output.

Even the sound is rather good out of the box. Sure, not an audiophile system : but it has good resonant bass and sounds excellent.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. I think the quality of sound and video in my apartment will be comparable to anything on here once I get the HTPC connected to it and use computer scalers for video, and sennheiser HD 580s for sound.

Has anyone seen a contrast ratio for this set? Doesn't look like it has the iris like the FN and FH models do, so I assume its much lower than the 10,000:1 that they produce.

EDIT: Actually, according to this http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=29658905 it does have a 10,000 to one contrast ratio...how is this possible without the iris?

Im still on the fence as to which model to choose? Ive been reading these forums for days now and keep getting thrown back and forth between models. I think Ive narrowed it down to the 52FA97 or the Sony 55E2000. They both seem to have pro's and con's, but Ive only ever been able to see the Sony in the store. I currently have a 42 inch Sony Wega Lcd and Im also a little nervous about the switch to LCOS, since its closer to DLP then it is LCD. Is there anyone on here who owns the JVC that can help me with my decision. Also, ive seen several people talk about the iris feature not being in this model, but I havent seen anything as to how it effects the picture and so forth? Is there anyone that can shed light on this? Thanks.

Do yourself a big favor and go out & get a Mitsubishi WD-52631. Great TV. I had a JVC 52 FA, and had to return it because of bad SSE, bad geometry, and out of control blazing whites that can't be adjusted out. The Mits is better on all counts, and I don't see any rainbows.

Just a little 411 from someone who's been there & is a perfectionist.

Has anyone seen a contrast ratio for this set? Doesn't look like it has the iris like the FN and FH models do, so I assume its much lower than the 10,000:1 that they produce.

EDIT: Actually, according to this http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=29658905 it does have a 10,000 to one contrast ratio...how is this possible without the iris?

It's possible because contrast ratio is a mostly useless specification. It's just a measurement of the difference between the lowest and the highest light output a display is capable of. If manufacturers also stated what the minimum light output was, then the two measurements together would provide useful information. As it stands now, the easiest way to increase the contrast ratio is to make the the display brighter. Imagine the difference between a 60 watt light bulb and an arc welder. That would probably measure in the millions, but could you make a useable display from it? In the case of the FA, the lack of an iris makes the blacks lighter and the whites brighter resulting in the same ratio of light to dark.

thanks hardball.....however the mits. is a dlp model and im not a big fan of the dlp models. i hate the rainbow effect and would rather deal with SSE. However the high brights must have a fix because Ive read a few posts that talked about them toning it down. I appreciate the advice, but I dont think the Mits. model is for me. ive also considered back dropping to the 720p model because I dont think at 52" id be able to see a difference between 720p/1080i and 1080p. Maybe if i was going for the 60" plus model, but from what Ive read it doesnt seem to be that big a deal. Correct me if Im wrong though. Like I said before I have the 720p/1080i 42inch Sony model from two years ago and Im completely happy with the picture quality both on Comcast HD and my 360 in 1080i. My biggest concern is getting a TV to match that quality and if I can do that with the 787 or 887 JVC 720p models w/iris then maybe I should just do that? Anyone with thoughts on this, please help me out. Thanks.

Read my posts lunarskye, go with the 720p 52G series

It's possible because contrast ratio is a mostly useless specification. It's just a measurement of the difference between the lowest and the highest light output a display is capable of. If manufacturers also stated what the minimum light output was, then the two measurements together would provide useful information. As it stands now, the easiest way to increase the contrast ratio is to make the the display brighter. Imagine the difference between a 60 watt light bulb and an arc welder. That would probably measure in the millions, but could you make a useable display from it? In the case of the FA, the lack of an iris makes the blacks lighter and the whites brighter resulting in the same ratio of light to dark.

Makes sense, especially considering the people that have the set talking about the blindingly bright whites. Thanks for the explanation! I think I'm gonna go ahead and go with the 61g787 myself, has the iris and is much larger.

No problems all with the whites on this HD-ila. I have a 720p 50" plasma ,57" 1080i crt, and a 32" 1080i crt. This set was by far the best vaule , and has the best picture by a long shot.

No problems all with the whites on this HD-ila. I have a 720p 50" plasma ,57" 1080i crt, and a 32" 1080i crt. This set was by far the best vaule , and has the best picture by a long shot.

So your whites are not blindingly bright? I have mine at -23 and smart picture on just to be tolerable. I think I got 2nd degree burns on my retinas.

gb33....u said u have it set to -23 on your current set? Is that the G set or are you referring to when you had the newer FA/FB set? Ive read everything about the G series and the FB model 56inch JVC and I think Ive come to the conclusion that the 56FB97 is the right choice. Ive read good and bad about both models and not to discredit your opinions gb33, but no matter what TV I read about theres always people who love it and hate it. Just makes the decision that much harder I guess. lol. Anyhow....I'll post back with my thoughts on the model when i actually make a choice and go through with the purchase. Thanks for the help....

Have you messed with the service menu at all? There is a service manual for the higher end sets in their owner's thread (search for YA411).

Have you thought about getting your set professionally calibrated?

My whites are pretty glaring as well, but I think I'm getting used to it. The Apple computer ads are the worst (two people on an entirely white background).

I'm planning on getting Avia or DVE and messing with the service menu a bit to tone down a few things (hopefully the white a bit especially)

----------------------
On a separate note, is anyone here able to change the color temperature to High in Theater Pro mode, and then change the video status to something else (Standard, Vivid, Game) and then back to Theater Pro and have it save the color temperature?

Mine always reverts back to Low. I emailed JVC about this and they said changing the video status resets the memory, which really doesn't seem right to me. The color temperature is the only setting that isn't saved (when in Theater Pro), and it is saved in every video status other than Theater Pro. :confused:

gb33....u said u have it set to -23 on your current set? Is that the G set or are you referring to when you had the newer FA/FB set? Ive read everything about the G series and the FB model 56inch JVC and I think Ive come to the conclusion that the 56FB97 is the right choice. Ive read good and bad about both models and not to discredit your opinions gb33, but no matter what TV I read about theres always people who love it and hate it. Just makes the decision that much harder I guess. lol. Anyhow....I'll post back with my thoughts on the model when i actually make a choice and go through with the purchase. Thanks for the help....

GB33 and I both have the 52FA97. It is a good set and I don't think there is much difference between the FA and FB. I don't have any experience with last years sets, but I think the FA and FB would provide a slightly nicer picture, but last years sets would provide a bit more options for improving the brightness of the set.

For the FA, picture quality is excellent. Scaler is decent, but you will notice a lot of artifacts when using non HD satellite (I don't think this is the scalers fault though).

Problems include SSE and the sets glaring whites. Whites are white, but they seem too bright. The SSE and whites are related as the SSE is most visible on bright scenes.

Overall, I'm happy with my set, though if I had to do my purchase all over again, I'd probably save up another couple hundred bucks and get the FH or FN.

thanks for ur input....ill take it into consideration and see what I can do.

Problems include SSE and the sets glaring whites. Whites are white, but they seem too bright. The SSE and whites are related as the SSE is most visible on bright scenes.

Overall, I'm happy with my set, though if I had to do my purchase all over again, I'd probably save up another couple hundred bucks and get the FH or FN.

I agree with this guy. Especially on the 56" set. I like its looks better (black and smaller speaker grill) and it also has the adjustable iris to improve blacks. Where as the 52FA97 is fixed. In addition to the whites I have the stated yellow-green problem. It is not fixable in the service menus. It really is only on highlights and skin tones, and bugs me to death. I notice it less on DVD's than I do Sat or OTA. But it is there on all inputs and all sources. Hoped it was maybe just my TV or just my Sat box, or just HDMI. But tried every opposite there and had no luck. I am hoping a JVC service tech can help me out. But the only things that are user adjustable in the service menu is RGB gains. NOTHING ELSE!

I bought the 61g787 today...went with the larger set with the iris. The FN and FH were just out of my price range.

UH OH! I may be forced to eat my words now! I received a call from HH Gregg Manager tonight. After reading my complaints online, she has offered me an exchange towards another set if I come in tonight (can't wife is sick) or tomorrow. Tomorrow may be good since it is "employee pricing" day and tings are marked down alot. For instance the 46E2000 is $999 and the 42" is $850! A Hitachi 3LCD 55 is $999.
At any rate I need to make a decision. I may shockingly end up going with the 52G series as it's colors and skin tones looked SO MUCH better than this 1080p model it is insane. Or perhaps back to what I started with, a Sony LCD RP. Although the blacks on it were not good enough for me. I am sure the 50" SXRD will be a tick out of range though. Again, tight (wifey) budget here. And DLP is out due to rainbows.

i bought the 52' JVC FA97 (1080p)from HHGREGG just the other day. I set everything up and it looks good. I have noticed the off skin tones, etc. but the brightness does not bother me all that much. What is bothering me the most is the fan. Its just as loud as my laptop. I tend to be an auditory person vs a visual person which is probably why the brights dont bother me so much but the fan does. I have never heard a TV this loud and am not sure i can deal with it. I called my brother and some friends i knew and they pointed me to this website. So now i am here and writing my 1st post. I have about a week to return it if need be and have no real objections to that if i find a better TV. I was looking at the 50'samsung to. I dont mind spending a few hundred more if there is a more dependable TV out there with less fan noise but at the same time i wonder if i should just try to deal with it since i got it at a decent price (1399). I just want to make sure I get a good TV this time since my Sony of 2.5 years just died on me. PLEASE HELP! Someone point me in the right direction fast.

CP

If you are going to return, they are having Employee pricing today until midnight. I beleive I am going to tonight. Yes the fan is EXTREMELY loud I certainly agree.

anyone at all have any advice. I am still trying to decide if the fan is a dealbreaker. It is seriously getting on my nerves but since i bought it from hhgregg i only have this weekend to decide. Are all of the fans jvc makes this loud? Any suggestions on other tv's or are all the fans this loud? someone please give me some help.

I can't hear the fan on mine, so I don't know what to tell you. Good luck getting it straightened out.

could it bet my particular set? maybe if i exchange it for the same set i want have as much noise.

It's possible I guess. There are others here that complained about it as well though.

fwiw, i went through 2 jvc's (i had the 56FN97), with the fan on the 2nd set being louder than the 1st. this was the dealbreaker for me, and i switched to a sony A2000. however, that's not without its problems (green blobs).

so, for me, the fan was a dealbreaker. but i'm thinking i might have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire with the sony

could it bet my particular set? maybe if i exchange it for the same set i want have as much noise.

I can't hear it all if unless I turn my amp or pause the dvr. Not really all that loud ,but I do sit 16 feet away and the set is in a large entertainment center that may keep some of the fan noise contained. The great picture more than offset any minor fan noise.

how are you connected to your amp? audio-out or optical-out

i dont have an amp unless your talking about something i am not aware of. my tv is hooked up to a tivo, a progressive scan dvd player, an a receiver. Is there a way i can hook it up where the fan want be so loud? To say the least I am not very electronic savvy. I usually turn to my brother for this type of thing. But he lives out of town and i only have a few days left to decide. i have heard some complain of the fan noise and some say it is very loud. Could it have been a bad batch of tv's that have this fan problems and others do not? I keep hearing people say they have taken there jvc back and gotten a worse tv. I am now scared of taking it back to gett the sony but would not mind taking it back for a dlp. I love everything about this tv except the fan. If there was no problem with the fan then i would not think twice about taking it back but am still unsure i can deal with since i have to turn the volume to 12 before i cant here it. At the same time i dont want to take it back and get something worse. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. If I take it back what should I get?

I have my SAT and DVD connected to HDMI-1 and HDMI-2. My stereo receiver and -or- my HTIB only have RCA (SPDIF) inputs, neither have Optical Audio inputs. I believe the manual says that "when using HDMI inputs, the Audio-out is turned off" How do I get the Audio-out on the JVC to work with my surround system when I am using HDMI connections? I do get Audio-out to work when I am using Component. What am I not doing right?

Can't do it. Just another smart feature of theirs. Seriously you can't do it.

which "nitwit" engineer thought that was a good idea?

Hi, first post here, but would someone mind explaining what the silk-screen effect is? What does it look like? Is that what I'm seeing when a person's face on the screen has a weird blurry look sometimes when watching HD? Seem to only notice it on some channels, and usually only on a person face or hair?

I too notice the bright whites, and when watching in the dark its a little unsettling when a white screen pops up for a commericial or something. I feel like I need sunglasses!!

I really like the tv overall, the sound is good, and I got a great deal at HHgregg for it. ($1100).

There has got to be a way to fix these minor issues!

Todd

SSE is kind of hard to explain. It is the tiny shiny spots that look like screen texture when you are looking at a bright screen.

To help with the whites, turn the picture setting down quite a bit. It doesn't eliminate the problem, but it helps a bit.

I'm enjoying this TV more and more. I've got the colors pretty close to the way I like them with the help of DVE. The set came with the blue drive set too low, but after raising it a bit in the service menu, things are looking much better.

Thanks CueTheMusic,

Would it be difficult for you to post your settings? Do you set the tv to standard and have them adjusted according for sd or hd?

Maybe my bulb is stil 'breaking in' also, as I probably am just now getting at 100 hours if that...

thanks,
Todd

by the way, I don't use an upconvert dvd player for this tv, only using progressive scan/component cables(and on a $25 Insignia dvd player!) and it looks really good. I am wondering if it would even be worth it to go to upconvert.. or just wait til hd-dvd comes down. I'm inclined to wait at this point.

your thoughts anyone?

Todd

I'm going off of memory here, but for DVD off of my Phillips 642 (not that great of a player)

Status: Standard
Tint +1
Color -2
Picture -19
Brightness -2
Detail -30
Temp Low
all other settings off

Before messing with the RGB values in the service menu, Tint was around -12 just to get skin to look a little better.

HD settings are a bit similar
Status: Standard
Tint 0
Color -4
Picture -19
Brightness -2
Detail -5
Temp Low
All other settings off

I believe my color settings in the service menu are:
Red 136
Green 138
Blue 136

Blue was originally 116, but that made skin look a little yellow. These values could still use a little more tweaking.

For DVD player, I'm really starting to want an oppo or something similar. My hope was to just buy a PS3 to be my all around player, but after hearing some standard dvd impressions on it, I'm thinking of getting an oppo 970 and waiting for the PS3 to drop in price (I'm in no hurry). I'll probably live with my phillips for a while though. I think a better set would look much cleaner (especially with the deinterlacing), but the TV does a good enough job with the scaling.

I had ordered this tv until reading this thread about the screaming whites and the SSE, then cancelled the order. Did i jump the gun? I have a JVC CRT RPTV that i love, and the price for a 52FA97 is excellent for a 1080P set.

I do really enjoy my set, but I kind of wish I would have saved up a little more for the FH or FN version.

I'm getting really close to getting a picture I really like even with my cheap dvd player, and the closer I get the more I am happy with my purchase.

Took delivery on a JVC HD-52FA97 Tuesday. Took about a week to get from Beach.

So far, so good. Using an SA8300HD from Comcast, an Oppo DV981HD, and NVidia 7600GT video card DVI to HDMI.

Beautiful video all the way around.

Got lucky with mine. It is not bright at all. Hasn't been calibrated yet with the DVD but it does look very good so far.

Was a bit concerned by the problems other experienced but I haven't heard the fan yet and it isn't bright and all seems fine as far as I can tell with the variety of DVDs and files that have been played on it.

Less than a week, for sure, but money well spent thus far it appears.

Moving up from a 32" CRT TV and must say that this TV has re-introduced video watching. Can't stand to move off the HD channels because they are so fantastic. SD channels pretty much suck. Perhaps with optimization they will look better. Hope the SD channels look better because they really do suck. Right now HDNet movies is my hangout.

Non-HD DVDs look a bit better than I expected. They are so close to HD it has amazed.

At first I wanted the Samsung 5687 that is so popular and was on hold for Amazon to get them back in stock but felt that there was just more value in this set. Also, 52" is really bigger than I need but I went with it anyway. My room isn't that big and I often sit quite close to the TV. It is really nice up to now no matter how close I get, which has been a pleasant surprise and really suited my particular needs because I wanted to play files to the TV off the PC.

Thanks for everyone that has posted their experiences here, it has helped.

The link to the service manual at the start of this thread appears to be down. Does anyone have an alternate link or is it working for anyone?

Thanks,
Lake

I am overall happy with the tv. The only time I hear the fan noise is when I turn the tv off. I never hear it when the tv is on, only for the minutes after turning it off while its cooling down the lamp. For the money, I think this model is the killer deal on the market for the screen size and technology. It just needs some tweeking to help with various aspects of the picture, such as the bright whites.

just got this tv from a buddy. He has blown 3 bulbs in 2 years. Which I read is a common problem. He put in a new bulb in about a month ago. And still had no picture, but has sound. He got pissed about it and went and got a new tv. So i offered to take this one. I put in a new bulb and hooked it up per the manual. I have a picture and sound but the piture has 1/4" or so green lines running up and down on it. And 4-5" left and right of the screen are solid gray/black. What could the problem be? I have it hooked up to dish network receiver.