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The Official Pioneer 8G KURO Owner's Discussions Thread

3M views 18K replies 2K participants last post by  bigbadbob 
#1 ·
OK, first off, thanks to Roman@Invision for his friendly and fast service.
In the door for ~75%MSRP ain't too shabby either!


An unabashed black-level fan, I have been frustrated since replacing my first HDTV, a 2001 Sony XBR CRT. Many plasmas, LCD's, DLP's,and projectors later, I have landed one of these 8G's, mostly on the strength of this forum and it's like- minded (hello Mr.Harkness) folk. Was a bit skeptical of all the hype from trade shows and such,but hopeful none the less.


Anyway, I've had it (4280)running 4 hrs. now,both in filtered daylight conditions and now some night-time viewing and it does not dissapoint. I have it side by side with a 9G Panny 58 running the same source and having been self-calibrated with AVIA.

Naturally,the PIO is just out of the box, using standard setting for now.


Where to begin?


Universal HD-DVDs open with a starry space-like sky with planet earth in foreground-I have been known to count the stars in it to measure "blackness of space". I tried to take a picture of it, but was far too blurry to publish.

Suffice it to say though, the PIO is a new high, very near to CRT level black, as I remember it.


The one picture attatched is a night scene from the opening of SAT NITE LIVE.

Hopefully, it shows relative black level to the Panny , which may be the best plasma I have had . I know taking pictures like this is a crap-shoot but someone will ask for them anyway. I tried to keep the variables to a minimum.

I can take more if requested but please be patient as I test my new toy.


As far as the sidebars approaching the blackness of the frame, this guy comes pretty close -not quite a total blending, but closer than anything since CRT.


I expect to have an HD-DVD calibration disc by tomorrow, and will try to be better dialed in soon.


First impressions:


Very smooth, almost no dithering, unlike the Panny.


Pure whites,no grey whites here.


Plenty sharp and detailed , better than the 5070 I had.


Natural motion(120hz?) beats the heck out of any LCD I have owned.


Screen a bit more reflective than I thought, Elite will probably be better.


And of course, blacks to beat all ('cept maybe the 'ole CRT)


For the entry price , I think it's a winner.


Roman: Please reserve my 6010 in the fall!


Steve Longo
 
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#13,581 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by E-A-G-L-E-S /forum/post/13467915


*Can the break-in dvd be burned onto a Cd-RW? Or does it have to be a dvd-R?(PS3)


400hrs. is a long time. Not sure I can push my date back that far as the payment was already made.

He also told me 'not' to run the t.v. 24/7 as it needs proper warm-up and cool downs when breaking in?

why would the phosphors need warm up and cool downs? what time frames (on or off periods) did he recommend for you?


many Kuro/Kuro Elite owners have broken their panels in this way and not reported any problems.


the panels and phosphors should be fine as long as you have normal room temps and decent air circulation/ventilation. The PRO150FD has three vent fans along the top back vents and they never came on even once in 228 straight breakin hours.
 
#13,582 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by drgkja /forum/post/13457693


most laptops have a key on the top row that toggles between the built-in display, an external display, and both. The icon on the key looks like a rectangle next to an icon of a laptop. On my IBM, I have to hold the "fn" key (lower left corner) and then press "F8" to get the external display (5080) going.

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I've since ordered a DVI to HDMI cable from Monoprice for better resolution, and will be getting a Mini DVI to DVI adapter to work with a Macbook, so I'll be using a different cable, but I think this info can come in handy still. Thanks again.
 
#13,585 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dssturbo1 /forum/post/13472134


why would the phosphors need warm up and cool downs? what time frames (on or off periods) did he recommend for you?


many Kuro/Kuro Elite owners have broken their panels in this way and not reported any problems.


the panels and phosphors should be fine as long as you have normal room temps and decent air circulation/ventilation. The PRO150FD has three vent fans along the top back vents and they never came on even once in 228 straight breakin hours.


That is beyond me.

He recommended 8-10 hours a day.

Sounds good, I'll run the break-in dvd whenever I'm not home then and when sleeping.

Burned it and used it this evening for a few hours.
 
#13,586 ·
You are welcome. remember no matter what output you choose, it is very likely that you will have to activate it either from the keyboard or within some menu.


good luck!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Foppa /forum/post/13472277


Thanks, I'll give that a try. I've since ordered a DVI to HDMI cable from Monoprice for better resolution, and will be getting a Mini DVI to DVI adapter to work with a Macbook, so I'll be using a different cable, but I think this info can come in handy still. Thanks again.
 
#13,587 ·
Hey D-Nice,

It's good to see you're still checking in here and straightening us out.


A couple of pages ago I asked some questions about using the orbiter(s).


I don't have a clue what the orbiter does, or which to use, or for how long.


Should the orbiter still be used after break-in? Anyone with good info please reply.


Thanx,

Atri
 
#13,588 ·
#13,589 ·
I had Gregg Loewen over to calibrate my "new" pioneer elite 60" plasma. The set was "broken in" over the last few months. I thought the unit looked great out of the box.

However Gregg showed me how much the set pushed blue. The difference after the calibration is remarkable. It looks even better!! This is the 2nd set I have had Gregg calibrate. I highly recommend his work. He can be found at

lionav.com

I know he travels around the country doing very professional calibrations. It amazing to see him in action and def worth the $$

Scott
 
#13,590 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by scottjays /forum/post/13474321


I had Gregg Loewen over to calibrate my "new" pioneer elite 60" plasma.

Thanks for the report. I've included it in the list of owner's who have had flat panels professionally calibrated. The two calibration lists are linked at the bottom of my post.


Enjoy.
 
#13,591 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by scottjays /forum/post/13474321


I had Gregg Loewen over to calibrate my "new" pioneer elite 60" plasma. The set was "broken in" over the last few months. I thought the unit looked great out of the box.

However Gregg showed me how much the set pushed blue. The difference after the calibration is remarkable. It looks even better!! This is the 2nd set I have had Gregg calibrate. I highly recommend his work. He can be found at

lionav.com

I know he travels around the country doing very professional calibrations. It amazing to see him in action and def worth the $$

Scott

Were you using D-Nice's reference settings prior to calibration?
 
#13,592 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by bak_phy /forum/post/13471939


Hi,

A friend of mine waas looking to buy the 4280 (I have the 5080) but the prices seem to have increased a fair bit oover the last few months if one can be foound at all. The 5080 appears to be even harder to find.

Amazon still shows that the 4280 is available. A friend of mine just got one from them. The supply is getting very slim from most sources.
 
#13,594 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by scottjays /forum/post/13474321


I had Gregg Loewen over to calibrate my "new" pioneer elite 60" plasma. The set was "broken in" over the last few months. I thought the unit looked great out of the box.

However Gregg showed me how much the set pushed blue. The difference after the calibration is remarkable. It looks even better!! This is the 2nd set I have had Gregg calibrate. I highly recommend his work. He can be found at

lionav.com

I know he travels around the country doing very professional calibrations. It amazing to see him in action and def worth the $$

Scott

where you using D-Nice Reference settings before calibration??


im trying to justify the cost of calibration. If my picture is 90% of the way there with Dnice settings then, IMO, its not worth the money for the extra 10%..ill leave that for the 'videophiles' to spend.
 
#13,595 ·

Quote:
im trying to justify the cost of calibration. If my picture is 90% of the way there with Dnice settings then, IMO, its not worth the money for the extra 10%..ill leave that for the 'videophiles' to spend.

Kind of a shame, you buy the best consumer panel made, and then you dont want to get it to its full potential.
 
#13,598 ·
sorry, but i'm not understanding the reason you have to have someone actually come and calibrate your set. they're all made the same - couldn't you just set the settings to certain numbers? i'm sure there is a list of all the exact degrees and settings that are the best ones for each display out there on the net. or is there some magic hoohoo that the calibrater does that normal humans can't?

not trying to put down the calibraters, it just doesn't make sense to me.
 
#13,599 ·
There are adjustments in the user menu of displays that make all the difference and unless you know what you are doing and own expensive equipment you are unable to adjust these things that fix innacurate color points and greyscale issues.

It is not mandatory, but if you want the best your display can offer it is needed.
 
#13,600 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by briansemerick /forum/post/13477124


sorry, but i'm not understanding the reason you have to have someone actually come and calibrate your set. they're all made the same - couldn't you just set the settings to certain numbers? i'm sure there is a list of all the exact degrees and settings that are the best ones for each display out there on the net. or is there some magic hoohoo that the calibrater does that normal humans can't?

not trying to put down the calibraters, it just doesn't make sense to me.

Brian,


These displays are not that consistent and the advice here is conflicted. Some of it is correct and some of it is wrong including the majority opinion in many cases. It is also dependent on the source setup which greatly increases the complexity. Accurate color is a very difficult thing to measure well. For example, I use a $24,000 instrument to obtain the most accurate color possible. Once you have seen a really accurate picture it is hard to go back.


Audio is also very room dependent and subject to even more problems than video.


What someone understands and what is reality can be two different things.
 
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