Ok, I never expected this... I bought a Hitachi P50H401 plasma last week. It has a great picture for the money I paid. However, I have one significant issue that has caused me to consider returning it.

When viewing darker scenes, I experience colour separation in the form of rainbows (RBE for those who like acronyms). Previously I had seen this effect only on DLP rear projection units and specifically avoided them for that reason. I never expected this to be an issue with a plasma display.

It's most noticeable on dark scenes and during THX Optimization calibration screens included in some DVD's (i.e. Pearl Harbour). I'm viewing my DVD's through a Pioneer PVR and component connection.

Has anyone else experienced this model or with any other plasma?

Cheers,

MarkT

Bump.

Are you seeing rainbows or yellow/green streaks? I can see a little bit of a streak effect on my plasma, but it's not nearly as colorful as the DLP rainbow effect and it's also about 1% as annoying.

Yes, I see RGB rainbows similar to DLP projection sets. It's most noticable when you have a fairly dark scene with something small and bright in it.

I have yet to take my Pearl Harbour DVD to the store and test on other plasmas.

I knew my eye for detail was more of a curse...

Same tv in both 50" and 42". No problems here.

Yes, I see RGB rainbows similar to DLP projection sets. It's most noticable when you have a fairly dark scene with something small and bright in it.

I have yet to take my Pearl Harbour DVD to the store and test on other plasmas.

I knew my eye for detail was more of a curse...

Strange to see rainbows. I see kind of yellow trails, but they aren't especially noticeable. You don't get the full spectrum of colors as with a DLP.

chris,

I had another look last night. The trails might be more yellow after all. So, maybe we're seeing the same thing. My eyes might be more sensitive to the 60hz frequency of the display...

Cheers,

MarkT

You may be seeing the "rainbows" because the Hitachi panel is ALIS (or eAlis - I couldn't determine with a quick search). Every other line is refreshed at the same time - "Alternate Lighting of Surfaces" - similar to how "interlaced" CRTs are refreshed. All other plasma panels refresh all lines at the same time. (This is a simple description).

larry

You may be seeing the "rainbows" because the Hitachi panel is ALIS (or eAlis - I couldn't determine with a quick search). Every other line is refreshed at the same time - "Alternate Lighting of Surfaces" - similar to how "interlaced" CRTs are refreshed. All other plasma panels refresh all lines at the same time. (This is a simple description).

larry
I hadn't considered this ALIS panel being the culprit. I will have to test this with other panels such as the Panasonic or Samsung to see if I can observe the same thing.

However, my logic makes me think that refreshing every other line would be smoother in some ways. Maybe the opposite is true...

Cheers,

MarkT