Signature Elite 141 Owners Thread - Page 161

Like bodosom, I also have the -83 and highly recommend it. I've only played a few DVDs, and the PQ looked noticeably better letting the -83 do the upscaling vs. the 141. But the -83 is used almost exclusively for Blu-ray discs...

Adjust your 141 settings using PURE mode, and enter some of the values from other AVS'ers. Hopefully that will help you get a step or two closer to video nirvana!

BD performance will be about equal between the Oppo(s) and the PS3. No surprise there. DVD performance will be significantly better with the Oppo vs. the PS3. I retired my PS3 when the Oppo BDP-83 came out. I find it much better for my needs.

Netflix streaming will most likely disappoint you, given what you reported about your DVD experience. Even their HD (loosely applied) offerings are crap.. on par with a mediocre DVD. My daughter is using my PS3 and I have seen this first hand. Her display is a 42" Elite (my old one, actually). So, it is calibrated. I cannot imagine watching that garbage on my 60" 141

I don't think you'd be disappointed with the PS3. But, I would highly recommend the Oppo -83. It doesn't get much better (if at all) than that for video performance.

Unless you just cannot get enough content, I'd advise just to avoid streaming. That is, unless you really want to see something and cannot (or won't) go out and rent the BD. It really is horrible!

Hi everyone,

I had bought a 141FD back in June of last year so I would be sure to get one. (+ had a nice deal)
I was deep into renovations at the time so the precious Kuro waited patiently in its box for all that time. It's been painful for me as you can imagine.

But now is the time to put it on the wall!!
OK great thread BTW. Very informative.

My question is not the most popular one I think: mounts.
I was looking for something as close to the wall as possible. I was set on a Thinstall mount as Chief told me it was compatible with the set, only to retract this information later.
I'm looking (big surprise here) for something as close to the wall as possible. Around 0,5" or less.

Sanus told me their LL11 wasn't compatible but someone on this thread mentioned it.
What's up with this?
That would be perfect if it is indeed compatible and Sanus made an error.


I invested a lot of time searching the web for mounts.
In that 0.3"-0.5" range, there is the Peerless SUF660P, Omnimount ULPT-X, Chief Thinstall and the Pro Mount SF-L. All incompatible. + Sanus LL11

I've scanned this thread as much as I could. Maybe I missed on some other compatible mounts in the 0.3-0.5" range. Any ideas?

I know about Pioneer's. But it's more expensive and not as close to the wall. For me it's not only an aesthetic thing but also viewing distance factor. The room is kinda small so I want to maximize the distance.

Looking forward to put it on the wall and start playing with it!
Gabriel

Just got audio and video calibration from UMR on my 141 as well as a video cal on my KRP 500M. Jeff was fantastic, as he talked me through the huge range of meticulous steps he goes through to do his job. My home theater set-up presented him with a few issues, as my equipment rack is in a front hall closet about 60 feet from my wall mounted 141, but he dealt with everything with a smile. One of the (many) discs he uses is Casino Royale because of its varied scenes of HD, black & white, and animation. The only problem is that the images look so great, you'd like to just sit back and watch the rest of the movie...but there's work to be done. So thanks, Jeff, and look forward to seeing you again.

It was my pleasure. I look forward to meeting again.

You made a great choice in choosing Jeff (UMR) to do your calibrations in my opinion. Over the past years I've worked with 3 different calibrators and found that Jeff was far the best. He did a fantastic job in getting the best picture and sound from my AV system including my 151 and previous Sony SXRD as well as my audio gear. If you ask he will also give you recommendations for AV gear within your budget as he works with systems in all price ranges. He is very meticulous and after making the initial adjustments with his equipment he spends much time and takes great care in fine tuning the final adjustments with his eyes and ears. He also explains everything that he does and the reasons why. BTW, he also often uses the Charlotte Gray DVD for fine tuning skin tones.

[quote= BTW, he also often uses the Charlotte Gray DVD for fine tuning skin tones.[/QUOTE]

Is that a movie or calibration disc? DVD or BD?


thx

bob

Its a standard definition DVD non-BluRay movie, not a calibration disk. IMHO I think its a pretty good movie too. To my knowledge has not been released on Blu-Ray. Incidentally, there is a love scene in the movie where there is a lot of skin to look at!

Here is a link to it if interested:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245046/

Thanks for your calibration report. I've included it in the flat panel (Post#2) list that's linked at the bottom of my post. There is an entry for each of your monitors.

Ordered!

thx

bob

You made a great choice in choosing Jeff (UMR) to do your calibrations in my opinion. Over the past years I've worked with 3 different calibrators and found that Jeff was far the best. He did a fantastic job in getting the best picture and sound from my AV system including my 151 and previous Sony SXRD as well as my audio gear. If you ask he will also give you recommendations for AV gear within your budget as he works with systems in all price ranges. He is very meticulous and after making the initial adjustments with his equipment he spends much time and takes great care in fine tuning the final adjustments with his eyes and ears. He also explains everything that he does and the reasons why. BTW, he also often uses the Charlotte Gray DVD for fine tuning skin tones.

Thanks Bob, I agree, having UMR work on your system is a priviledge, and he was throwing out so many ideas and comments while he was working, my head was spinning. And he doesn't sugarcoat--he said the acoustics in my 5.1 set-up would have to improve to be considered "below average"--ouch! Hey, I'm working on it, but the WAF is a powerful force. BTW, he did use the Charlotte Gray DVD, and it was facinating to hear him talk about the subtle things that disc illustrates, such as how cinematographers manipulate your emotions through the use of color.

hey guys!

regarding settings of the video signals, I'm not sure I understand it enough to set up everything properly


here's my setup (I plan installing it in 3 weeks)

pro-101fd
elite HTS-LX70 receiver system
PS3 slim 250gb
SA 8300HD

RECEIVER input 1 SA8300hd
RECEIVER input 2 PS3
RECEIVER output to input 5 on the pro-101fd

ok some might not be familiar with the hts-lx70 pio system so basically this is a pseudo 5.1 or 6.1 system (anyway 4 speakers with the two in front having built-in center channel) but what's important to know is that it's supposed to be only pass-thru regarding hdmi video inputs and output

question 1
To my understanding, the receiver will just use the audio signals in the hdmi and let the video go thru without touching anything including the video space (rgb 16-235 or 0-255)... Am I alright on this?

question 2
The SA8300HD is rgb16-235 and can not be change?

Question 3
What would be the best settings to avoid crushed blacks?
If the answers are yes at question #1 and #2... I think the kuro at RGB auto and the PS3 to RGB full with superwhites on are the best settings...Am I alright???


THANKS for your HELP!!!! Hopefully I posted this on the right thread. I didn't find a clear enough explanation on those settings after searching the forum...

Without AVSforum, I don't think I would have bought a kuro... NOW I'm glad I've done before they sold out!

Conventional wisdom is that you set the PS3 to Auto (or YCC) + superwhite for video and set your Kuro to Auto. Now the KRP models are known to have a problem with the PS3 and SA-8300 on the same HDMI input. I don't recall a Signature owner mentioning this but I'm not positive. However it's fairly easy to test. Record something with a fade-to-black (e.g. before or afer a commercial), connect your SA directly to the Kuro, pause during the fade to black and switch between Auto, 3(RGB 16-235) and 4(RGB 0-255). If Auto and 3 look the same and 4 turns the black gray then using Auto with the PS3 is fine. If Auto looks like 4 then you'll have to work around that. After you determine the correct direct connection you can plug into the AVR and make sure the picture looks the same which would validate that the AVR does video pass-through.

thanks for your reply, finally some explanations on how to determine it easily!!!

I apologize in advance for cluttering up the 141 owners board, but I REALLY want to be a 141 owner! Does anyone know where I can buy NIB with warranty? I am willing to pay to have it shipped to Charlotte, NC. Thanks!

thanks to the OP, I will try to get to the menu via IP on my 101FD.

Is there a thread devoted to surge protectors/battery backup/line conditioners? My quick search didn't turn up one.

If not, then I trust your advice.

I am looking for a unit with battery backup, surge protection, and "power cleaning" capabilities. I am not familiar with the different brands. What do you use and/or recommend? Three outlets for battery backup would be ideal (141, dvr, and receiver).

+1

If you NEED battery backup, the APC's are very nice, well made, reliable and have an excellent reputation. You could spend more and not get more.

If battery backup is not required, APC also has surge/filtering units that are quite nice. So does Panamax (that's what I use). You can't go wrong either way.

We use a Chief Manufacturing PAC521P. It's just a surge supressor, but that's all we need.

Chad B did a calibration for me this week, and I just wanted everyone to know what a great job he did. The difference between calibrated and non-calibrated is not subtle! Chad not only calibrated everything to perfection, but spent time with me explaining what he was doing and why so even I could understand the technical stuff. Great job...

I know it's been said that it is not accurate but how is it designed to be used?

I'm having color/saturation issues on my 101, have done a self cal w/ DTP-94, HCFR and my saturation shifts don't look that great. It takes moving green in the CMS 15 clicks to shift it to the right place on the CIE chart.

Do you use the blue mode with a color bar pattern,. etc?


thx

bob

edit: found the flashing color pattern, set color to +11. Looks better

Question: How do you use blue mode in ISF mode w/ controlcalc?

Hi all. First post after lots of reading, and hoping you can help.

I've been enjoying my BDP83 and cable on my Pio 141 and everything's been working great via hdmi, through a Emotiva LMC1 and its hdmi switch.

But yesterday, while the TV was off (in standby), the breaker to that outlet was turned off. The power to the Oppo was not turned off.
So after the breaker was flipped back on, the 141 won't recognize the Oppo. It says "no signal". Sound through the LMC1 is just fine. When I switch the LMC1 to cable, the cable works normally.
I hooked up the Oppo via hdmi to another TV and the Oppo worked normally. I also ran hdmi direct from the Oppo to the 141, but it still wouldn't recognize any signal. And I tried other hdmi inputs on the 141 without success.

Could a setting in the 141 have been changed when the power went out, and is preventing it from recognizing the Oppo signal? I've tried everything I can remember and would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

Mike.

Nickff---
I know I am going to get some grief for this but here it goes anyways. I have a Monster power center, the home theater reference series. It weighs 20 lbs. and is built quite solid. The Monster power centers you see at Best Buy, etc. are not even close in comparision to their professional stuff. My piece comes rack-mountable and does a fine job. Retails at $700. I know many people are not fans of Monster, and to be quite honest, I find most of their stuff that's sold at big box stores to be utter garbage. But, their pro stuff which you will find through custom installers and high-end retailers, is nice and well built. I love mine.
I used to own the Rotel Vancouver speaks of. As far as I know it is not available anymore. And, correct me if I am wrong, Rotel has gone down in quality when it came to their new 15 series. Vancouver's power center is built rock solid with the heavy fins on the side and its a classic Rotel piece. From what I remember, the newer stuff is much, much lighter more plastic, etc. But thats just my opinion. APC is great tho... good stuff solid build.

Thanks!

Hi Sony: How do you klike your new Runco and how does it compare to the Pio? I (and others I think) would love to hear your impressions...thanks!!

As a fellow 141/83 owner, did you ever figure out the problem?

RJVR23,

As you mentioned, I will be in the Dever area in early May, if you are still interested in having your display calibrated we would be happy to do so! Feel free to contact me at dave@avical.com for further details.

Good Pictures!

Dave

Sony324

Just to see if you have gotten the Runco plasma installed yet.

Sadly no.
I've tried everything I can think of. Still no signal on the 141 from the 83 but the Sat is just fine. And now hdmi inputs 6-8 don't even show up when selected.

Next is try some different cabling. And call Pioneer I guess. I've got a lot of new blue-rays to get to!