The Official Pioneer 9G non-Elite KURO Owner's Discussion Thread - Page 185

there's a 70 inch xbr 8 for 20g's..me I'll take a nice Russian gal too..for 20g's throw in a Polish one as a backup

Fatbottom,

I agree, and 99% of owners do not require this feature. Apparently
the 1% that do require it keep bringing it up, over and over again.

I sympathize, but the bottom line is the owner failed to research
this needed feature properly.

Mike

I have been reading through as many threads here and 3rd party reviews as I can prior to making my first HDTV purchase (currently have a 36" SD Sony Wega).

I have decided on a 50" Pioneer plasma. The Elite is too expensive for my budget, so I'm weighing the closeout pricing on a 5010 against about $200-250 more for a 5020. I am unable to find any 8G locally to compare so have to go off reviews and opinions.

While I care more about PQ than the average consumer, and am something of an audiophile, I am not a true videophile, can't achieve perfect darkness in my condo, and will be watching much more HD cable than BD movies.

The consensus is that the blacks are better/darker in the 9G, while you give up some picture control. However, given what I said above, is it possible/likely that the settings that Pioneer has "locked in" per picture setting will look perfectly acceptable to me? Would the increased brightness of the 5020 be an advantage for watching daytime sports?

Are there any real build quality differences between the 8G and 9G?

Basically, can anyone make an argument that the $200-250 is better spent elsewhere and I should get the more "configurable" 5010?

Thanks for your help,
Phil

haha screw polish gimmie a german

I'd go with the latest picture quality step up in the 5020, and just not "miss" the different menu items!

I could make that argument. I have a D-Nice calibrated 5010 and could not be happier. Do you watch in a totally blacked out room? If you don't, you may be hard pressed to notice much of a difference. I personally find the blacks excellent and wanted the "configurable" traits that were removed.

John

I think that's an excellent point, and one that we probably overlook often. I for one do not do this, and in the Fall, daylight filled rooms for football watching will negate much of the black level differences. Even for movie watching, my room will always have some lighting.

Totally agree. I watch at night in a dark room, but not totally blacked out; some light, my eyes prefer it. The jump from 7G to 8G was far more than the jump from 8G to 9G. I think it is a personal preference. For me, the savings this summer on the 5010, as well as the inclusion of the features that were removed from the 5020, combined with my personal viewing environment, made it the right choice for me, ymmv. After D-Nice calibrated my set, I feel I have excellent shadow detail and black level, dark scenes look great!

John

Is your calibration more or less the settings that D-Nice posted in the 8G settings thread, or does it go an extent further due to additional calibration equipment? how did you like the picture prior to calibration? Was the difference subtle?

I liked the picture prior, but after it was fantastic. This was a professional calibration using equipment and controlcal. On the 5010, you have a color temp choice. "Low" was too yellow for my taste, and I believe was about 6100 kelvin. "Medium" looked better to me, but was a little too hot (too blue). After calibration at 6500 it looked great. Greyscale was nearly perfect. The 5020 has the color temp hard coded I believe, without a calibration you have no choices there. I am not knocking the 5020, a fantastic set, but for my viewing, as stated in the above post, the 5010 was my choice. You will get a great TV with either set, just consider what is most important to you as well as factoring in costs.

John

Hi all. New 151FD will arive in a few days. Thanks for everyone's help through all my research deciding which display to get. I gotta admit to not being as avid as many of you here. Hoping to learn more. I will order the break-in DVD from Evangelo tomorrow if I cannot figure out how to burn it. Also have D-Nice's settings for break-in and afterwards. Also have contact info for calibration after break-in. Quite a wealth of info in this thread. Thanks again. I am sure to have lots of questions after the unit arrives. Biggest issue will be keeping my boys (7 and 10) from playing non-stop Madden09 on the PS3 after I plug it in!!

It's different (better ) because D-Nice did the calibration for that individual display in the owner's home with the owner's lighting conditions.

Now that I think about it, the 10gs are far away.. should be easy enough to put a bit of $$ aside by then Put the 5020 in the bedroom. Hopefully ECC will be a part of the 10gs. Panasonic's NeoPDPs are interesting too but the prices sound out of this world and they apparently won't best a 9gs for blacks.

I didn't have to look for a future buyer as long as I though, my good friend who bought my PZ85U looks like he might want to step up and take the Kuro off my hands if the 10gs are worth it when the time comes.

I have to admit I was a bit PO'ed that day I still love the PQ of the 9gs. I'm still praying for a firmware update though

I have the 6020 and love it. Mine is plugged into the Audience power conditioner--- the $4100 model. I already had that for 2ch use,anyway.
I think I might be the first to post re. the sound from this TV. I think it to be terrific,for what it is.---That would be: so much better than the Sony xbr 6 it has replaced./And or the big Mits rptv also still in the house.

Hey all.
Well, I can't believe I am in the plasma thread. I have a Samsung LCD 4671f (getting refund check from samsung within the next 10 days). I will have around $2800 to spend on a new TV once I get the check.
I was at Bestbuy (Magnolia) yesterday to look at the new Samsung 950 series LED LCD, and even though the settings they had were terrible, I kept going back to the Pioneer that was right next to it. Both TV's were showing a college football game on ESPN. The LCD looked too bright and was too sharp. Again, I think the settings were crappy, but nonetheless, the Pioneer caught my eye.

So, my decision is between a A950 LED LCD Samsung or a Pioneer 5020.
I play video games (sometimes 4 hours at a time) and I also watch a lot of ESPN. I have researched this thread and others, but I ask the questions again, after the break-in period, how long would I need to display a static image for it to burn in with the orbitor mode "On?"(assuming I leave it on and never turn it off)
Also, is there any harm with the "gas" or other components pioneer plasmas are made with? I have an animal in the house and I am a hypochondriac and well, my heart can't afford any more worries, even at 26. Yes, I am one of those people.
Also, lets say I watched a 2 hour movie and there was some image retention. Instead of running a full screen movie or tv show to to rid of the image retention, I just shut the TV off. Is this a good thing to do?
I am trying to convince myself and my family that burn in isnt a problem, and well, I don't want to blow $2500 and regret it later on, especially in this economy.

Thanks

So, the only problem I have with my new PDP-5020FD is that I cannot set the time on it.

I know in the manual it says to go to Home->Setup->Digital Tuner Setup->Clock

But when I go there, all I can do is set the Time Zone and DST.
Is there no option to actually set the time?

Every TV I have owned has had a menu item to allow you to set the time.
I just want to be able to see the time in the upper right corner of the screen when I press the Display button on the remote.

SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and I have decided to upgrade from our 27" Sony CRT to HDTV. We've verified we're "plasma people" and have decided on a 50" inch screen. Those points are no longer open for discussion.
We thought we had narrowed our choice down to the Panasonic TH-50PZ850U. Yesterday we went to Atlanta trying to find one to view. No luck but did find an 80 and 85 at a Fry's Electronics store. Both looked nice but not stunning. The store folk had made an effort to display the sets in an area with reduced lighting, better than the average big box operation. We viewed the sets in both HD and SD, signal sources unknown. Both were "nice" but not spectacular.

We left there and went to a nearby video specialty store that turned out to carry only the Pioneers - no Panasonics. We viewed the Elite 111 in HD and SD and were both shocked at the picture quality improvement over the Panasonics. The Pioneer was displayed in a low light living room environment. Signal sources unknown. This has left us, to say the least, uncertain we are on the right track with the Panasonic PZ850U. We leave tomorrow morning for an out-of-state visit to the grandkids for Christmas. On the road we're going to have a "come to Jesus" meeting about which TV to buy.

In our decision-making process some things are "givens" and not subject to discussion: we will not pay the price of the Pioneer Elite 111 HD - it's not an option, period; we would pay the price of the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD only if it has a markedly better picture than the Panasonic TH-50PZ850U when viewing DirecTVHD, DirecTV SD and DVDs when viewed in a low-light (never no-light nor bright light) livingroom environment. Either TV has all the controls, connections, feature bells and whistles I would ever use (we're in our 50's and watch mostly movies, documentaries, news and football games; we like a nice picture but we're not videophile hobbiests). We're highly unlikely to spend the money for professional calibration for any of the sets so assume calibration will never happen.

In preparing for that meeting I very much need useful answers to the following questions, with the above listed "givens" firmly in mind:

1. In a livingroom low-light environment how does the picture quality of the PZ850U compare to the 80 and 85 models (black levels, color richness, color accuracy) using only the signal sources I've listed?
2. In a livingroom low-light environment how does the picture quality of the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD compare to the picture of the Elite 111 when using only the signal sources I've listed?
3. In a livingroom low-light environment how does the picture quality of the Panasonic TH-50PZ850U compare to the picture of the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD when using only the signal sources I've listed?
4. Can anyone suggest where, in Northeast Georgia, I could actually view the PZ850U and the 5020FD in operation? I've burned up a lot of cell phone minutes and gasoline trying to find these around here with no luck.

Please confine your comments to the models I've listed, the signal sources I've listed and the viewing environment I've listed, since I'm going to be traveling and trying to read the thread on my PDA. Please bear in mind that we are just folk who will be using this TV for a long time and just want a top notch picture. I won't be studying test patterns on the darn thing! and I have no present plans to ever buy a BlueRay player.

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts.

Regards,
SmokinLawyer

I will have my 6020 tv calibrated by a ISF calibrator and have some questions.

What questions should I ask the person I select to calibrate my tv?

Is there a recommended calibration software for the 6020 over others?

Does my tv only need calibrated once? I have no interest in paying for calibrations once every year/two years or more. If the calibration no longer improved the picture quality after 2 or 3 years, I have no interest in even having it done once.

If the tv is picked up and moved from my house to an apartment, does it have to be calibrated again?

If I switch from DirectTV to another cable provider, does it have to be calibrated again?

Thanks,

Mark

To make a long story short, as long as you leave the orbiter on, you don't have to worry about burn-in. I've spent countless hours watching football on my 8g and I've never had any problems.

Just a few years ago that would have been a problem but technology has advanced in leaps and bounds since then.

mholtz2j my pioneer plasma is an elite but shares the same concern, well i / we my family games on this tv EVERY DAY for atleast 4hrs or more! i never never never worry about burn in, NOT even Image retention. if you do get Images retention (which is rare) it will go away

opensesame why would you switch from directv to cable pos? if i were to switch from directv it would be to verizion fios and your tv once calibrated it has nothing to do with source changes. and EVERY tv shifts every several thousand hrs, what that means is that you can have the tv calibrated enjoy those results and IF you wish to re calibrate it later that your choice.

So yes and no the tv would benefit each calibration, you DONT need to do it every year, its your choice but even if it changes it will STILL BE BETTER then if you NEVER calibrated it. lol if its moved it wont matter.

Check out one of the Kuro XX20 calibrators here for a good start.
Most will be using ControlCAL software for the grayscale control along whichever calibration measurement software they normally use professionally. Other than general references which you can check here on this forum I might just inquire as to what experience they have calibrating the 9G Non-Elite models.





Once it's calibrated the first time you should be able to get a touch up from most calibrators which should be quicker and cheaper. You'll have an improved PQ from the original whether you have it touched up or not though.
Moving the display around was an issue for CRTs rather than Plasmas.



Not unless you just want to have some touch up based on source. Shouldn't be required to still benefit from your calibration.

Placing any heat generating source in a confined area can cause problems. However, you can eliminate them by installing exhaust fans in the back of the cabinet to draw off the heat. Your AVR, PS-3, HD-DVD or any other source are well known to run "hot". Its very easy to cut the necessary holes in the rear of the cabinet and install the fans, even hook them up to a "Switched" source on your AVR and have the fans only running while the equipment is in use. Following these precautions, you should be fine.

Hi All,
I have my HTPC setup in dual monitor mode. One goes to my LCD monitor and one goes to my plasma. The HTPC is connected to my plasma using HDMI. The output to my plasma is used exclusively for watching movies (mostly blu ray and some internet movies).
My question are:
Should I set the "Signal Type" of the HDMI input to "Video" or "PC"?
Would it be OK if I leave the "Video" option of the HDMI input as "Auto"?

Thanks, hdp.

Video works best for movies and stuff and for games and desktop things you should switch to PC. Make sure you have the orbiter on for both. Some good PC settings to start out with are R+3 G0 b-15 Contrast 36 (any higher clips) brightness 0. As for the video mode D-Nice's settings as always.

Just got my first plasma, the 6020, a few days ago. Have not used the break-in disk. Had planned to use D-Nice's settings and noted that the default (movie) mode was pretty much D-Nice's settings at baseline, just had to lower brightness to -1 and change tint to R1.

Other than maybe/possibly/perhaps the overall color tone being a teeny yellowish at times, it still overall looks outstanding, color wise, and couldn't be more pleased with the out-of-box experience. However, just for the heck of it, I put in the Avia disk and when I took a look at the color bars it seemed way out of whack. I had started to adjust it and then scared myself off, hating to change what appeared to look just fine visually when I actually watched a movie.

Guess my question is does anyone know why there would be such disparity? Is this Avia disk (several years old...SD disk) not really usable with a plasma?

Is everyone with this set pretty much staying with these settings for movie watching (contrast 38, color -4, sharpness -15, brightness -1, and tint R1)?

Lastly, coming from a rear projection television that I had to converge ever so often...does this TV need any such convergence? I didn't see a setting for that anywhere. This is my first plasma and I'm a little leery of getting over my head and messing something up. Appreciate any comments.

Peggy

That's pretty much my story. I liked Movie mode on my 6020 right out of the box but slightly modified it in accordance with D-Nice's recommendations. Later I ended up with settings between Movie default and D-Nice's recommendations. My settings are:

Contrast 40
Brightness 0
Color 0
Tint R1
Sharpness -15
PureCinema
Film Mode: Advance
Text Optimization: On

I have had my 6020 for nearly 5 months and have liked these settings so well, I use them almost exclusively for all HD programming, including sports. The PQ, especially the shadow detail, is matchless.