The Official Pioneer 9G North American KRP-500M / KRP-600M Owner's Discussion Pt. II - Page 208

Just received my new in box 500M. I'm on my way out of town so I only had time to unbox it, do a quick and dirty setup and run the break-in DVD for a few minutes, but everything looks great so far. Coming from a Panasonic VT25 I was impressed at how quiet the buzz was. In fact it was inaudible. Also the screen uniformity was much better.

Can't wait to get home and start the break-in process. Glad to be a part of the Kuro family!

Good to hear it made it ok. Where did you find a nib 500m? Did you end up getting rid of your 929?

Congrats

I'd be happy to but my computer is hooked to my 500M via the VGA input. The only picture mode available using that input is Standard.

I was wondering about this too. Does Auto just take the base calibration numbers and adjust the brightness according to the room? Wouldn't this affect the black level? I assume Auto get its own calibration numbers, and adjusts the brightness from there. It doesn't make sense that it would take its data from Day or Night.

Congrats on the purchase. I'm surprised you found one NIB. I think you'll find it a worthy upgrade to the VT25. Once you get it broken in and after enjoying it in Pure you definitely should unlock the ISF modes via Kurocontrol and apply D-Nice's numbers. They really bring it to the next level.

I'm still loving my 500M after a year and a half. The blacks are just super deep and satisfying and no worries about rising/floating/morphing blacks or brightness. Everyone I have over to watch it is impressed and asks what brand it is, praising not only the awesome picture but the minimalistic styling and piano black finish. It's just quality all around, even the menus and special features that no one will ever use (like image mirroring and adjustable translucence and position of the PIP). With a good BD the picture just jumps off the screen. Who needs 3D anyway when you have a picture this good?

Finally I got an answer to my question!
This was photo'ed on 600A: http://s1.ipicture.ru/uploads/20110703/mTWMmUSL.png
Proper 4:4:4 chroma upscaling is on hand!

I'm kind of a video newbie. What exactly does this mean, how does it compare to other sets and what are the implications?

I have a 7 month daughter who will be walking in a few more months so I'v been thinking of walk mounting my 600m on the wall. At the moment it's behind my rack system being held by a salamander Room Synchro rack ? Which I don't think it's that sturdy and rocks easily.

So are there any new wall mounts out there that have come to the market, I recall a few members modding monoprice wall mounts. If you anyone knows of any thing, or sales on them please let me know.

Thanks

Djoel

Here's some comparison for you on two other plasma brands. Basically, all Panasonic plasmas will have this picture. http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/62758

So after breaking in my 500m and applying D-Nice's settings I must say I'm extremely happy with the TV. Amazing picture quality. Also, it's so nice to watch a movie not have to worry about floating blacks, blooming, or any other anomalies. I do have a stuck red pixel that comes and goes, but I've never noticed it during normal viewing, so no big deal.

My one and only complaint is that I have a "whiner." The TV emits a high-pitched whine for as long as it's on. Buzzing I can deal with as I'm used to it, but the whine is pretty irritating and I can hear it over all but the loudest scenes in a movie. As I purchased the TV from an authorized Pioneer dealer, the 1 year warranty should apply, yes? Is it worth it to have someone come out to look at the TV? Is this even something that can be fixed?

I tried searching around the internet but I could only find people complaining about the whine... nothing about a successful fix. I'm sure there's some way to eliminate/minimize the whine myself as I placed a blanket over the back of the TV and the whine was gone. Not really an optimal solution, but I'm sure I could think of some clever way to block/redirect the sound.

Input would be appreciated!

Use your warranty.

Yeah get that checked out via warranty. Mine emits a buzz which isn't that bad, but I have never heard any kind of high pitch whine coming from my 500m. Hopefully it's something minor. Word of advice, once you get this resolved get the isf patch installed and have your 500m professionally calibrated. Simply Unbelievable!

That's definitely the plan

What are your thoughts so far between the 929 you had and the 500m?

For movie watching the 929 was very similar to the Kuro in both black level and color accuracy; however, blooming was a deal-breaker for me (obviously). I watch movies in a dark room so I could see blooming 95% of the time on letterbox content. Super distracting.

For gaming the Kuro is superior because it doesn't have to sacrifice picture quality for better input latency. Can't say I'm a huge fan of the Kuro's overscan on non-1080p content though. I'm considering buying a new AV receiver in order to upscale games to 1080p.

I would strongly recommend getting a screen protector in addition to put over it in case of any stray projectiles. Cost a few hundred, but worth it esp. considering it'll be difficult to try and find any kind of replacement.

A little bit outside of the scope of this thread but Panasonic LCDs have the same problem. They also have some undefeatable processing which I hope has not made its way to the plasma line. On the other hand Samsung LCDs will do 4:4:4 chroma perfectly but you must name the input PC.

The good news is Pioneer gave the service center the go-ahead to fix the whine, so that should be the end of that.

The bad news is that 2 more "stuck" pixels have emerged, for a total of 3. I put stuck in quotes because they behave pretty oddly and aren't really stuck per se. They basically only stick after they're pure black. Once they're pure black they have a hard time switching colors, but they do eventually. Anyone experienced anything like that? I'm hoping it's something that will get better/go away over time, but who knows... it could get worse. Fortunately they're all off towards the edges of the TV, so I've only noticed them during normal viewing once or twice (and probably only then because I was looking for it), but the fact that I'm noticing more of them worries me as I've read that in some cases once one pixel goes bad, more will follow.

It seems I have just started to notice a problem with my 500M. Maybe it is some source material or an input but all of a sudden I have noticed that blacks on the panel have a reddish tint to them. It is most noticeable when the whole screen goes black. I initially noticed this while watching some blu rays on my ps3. The black bars at the top and bottom made it a little more noticeable. I don't remember the blacks having a reddish tint to them in the past. What is also strange is when the blu ray is loading up the screen kind of "switches" between different shades of black. Maybe this has to do with the screen/ps3 switching from different resolutions or something. The PS3 hooks up to my receiver via HDMI and then the receiver goes to the TV via HDMI. I was thinking this could maybe be an issue that could be fixed through calibration but I had a previous 5020 that had a red push to it that was noticeable with the whites being reddish/brownish but I don't remember the blacks having a reddish tint to them. Does anyone know what this could be or have any suggestions? Thanks!

I have four dead pixels on my 500m and they've been there since the start. At first I panicked, now I don't even notice them. They are towards the side of the screen so that helps also. Maybe try a dvd like pixel protector or something similar that has patterns to flash specifically for stuck pixels.

There are now plenty of reports from Kuro owners, stating that their blacks have turned slightly reddish. Especially in the letterbox portion of the screen. Only noticable mostly in a pitch black room. Do a search for "red tint kuro", "reddish kuro", etc.

I have this on my panel, as do at least 3 other members, including, I believe, one gentleman who have these reddish blacks on all 3 of his Kuros.

It could have something to do with the accumulation of many hours on the panel.

Do you know how many hours your Pio has logged?

When I first got my KRP, I had a bunch of hot pixels that showed up green or something like that during certain shades of blue (skies). That was right when I first got it (before I did break-in). After I did the 120 break-in slides with a fairly quick color cycle, the issue went away. It's possible you could try something like that (doing slides), but I'm not familiar enough with the internals to know if that would help at all. I just know that generally when you have stuck/laggy pixels on a display "flexing" them sometimes pushes them back to normal.

I was really hoping it was maybe just some setting on my receiver/TV/PS3 that was causing the issue and could be fixed. I just recently unlocked the ISF modes with KuroControl a few weeks back. I wonder if that could have affected anything. I will have to check my hours when I get home but I think I have around 1800 or so. How many hours does your panel have and how many did it have when you started to notice the red tint?

I was watching Band of Brothers on blu ray when I first noticed this. I mentioned it to the other person watching with me and he said he wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't said anything and he still didn't even really acknowledge that it was reddish. I almost felt like it was in my head because just the day before I noticed it I was out looking at new TVs because I want a 65" TV. I was looking at the Panasonic 65VT30 and Samsung 64D7/8000. (maybe my Kuro knew I was out looking for a new TV to take its place in my HT room and it is angry at me and is red faced now...haha)

I wonder if D-Nice has any input as far as this goes and if maybe it can be fixed via some adjustment or calibration. I have been wanting to get the 500M calibrated as soon as I get my new 65" panel (get both calibrated at the same time) and now I am wondering if the calibration would fix this black problem or not...

My panel has about 8500 hours on it.

Other owners who noticed this issue also have plenty of hours put on their Kuros. Your hour-count is quite low. We are still trying to determine if this may be a problem that occurs after many, many hours accumulate on the panel, but since your count is so low, perhaps it may be something else.

I don't believe that a pro calibration will help. D-Nice calibrated my Kuro a few months ago, and noticed the issue aswell. Nothing can be done as far as we know.

For your information, I have a 5020FD. I think this problem popped up on another member's 5020, also a 6020 and possibly a 151. First I heard of it happening on a KRP, especially with such low hours.

Has the reddish tint gotten worse over time or has it stayed about the same once the issue popped up? I had a 5020 previously where the color temp was off I think and the whites seemed yellowish/brownish but D-Nice calibrated that set and it looked great afterwards. I don't remember noticing the blacks being reddish before or after. I found out about the 500M when D-Nice calibrated my 5020 so I had to have the best so I sold the 5020 to my dad and got a 500M. Next time I go to my parents I will have to check out the blacks on the 5020. I know the 500M should look better then the 5020 but for some reason whenever I go back to my parents I am amazed at how good the 5020 looks. I don't know if it is just because it is calibrated and the 500M isn't or maybe their HD cable is better quality (that is usually what I am comparing/watching while I am there..cable and not blu ray).

Calibration would definately make a difference between the two.

As for the reddish tints, they seem to have gotten slightly worse over time. It began only in the letterbox areas of the screen, but it looks like it has spread out slowly over the screen. It hasn't covered the whole screen yet, but looks like it might be going that way. It started in the bottom right corner of the tv, and that is where it is now most pronounced. The rest of the screen has only a slight tint to it, and nothing in the centre. I would estimate that around 60% of the screen has this noticable red tint to the blacks, save a small band in the centre, which is not affected, yet...

Good thing is that it is only noticable on dark content, in a pitch black room. Generally, if there are bright objects on the screen, it is very hard to notice. It is quite distracting though, when you do see it, as you are always looking for it after that point.

I know what you mean by you are always looking for it haha. Like you said though, it isn't as noticeable when something bright comes up on the screen. Do you have any pics of yours showing the reddish tint?

It is just disappointing that the 500M is supposed to be the king of black levels but now that is kind of ruined because of this reddish tint.

I have some pics, but it doesn't nearly represent the real-world situation that you would see if you looked at the tv in person (due to lack of camera skills, camera, and the fact that it seems extremely hard to get an accurate picture of the problem, especially in the dark)

The picture I sent to Pioneer was really unrepresentative of the situation, so they sent over a tech to take a look. A-Board was replaced, still nothing.

More info on this problem is needed for any potential solution to come about.

I just checked and my panel has about 2400 hours on it.

Anyone need a table stand/mount for a KRP-500M? Free for p/u in NYC. PM me for info.

Kal

It seems as if this "red tint" is common across all the Kuro models, Elite, non-elite and now KRP. I own a PRO-111FD that is just short of 3 years old and has approximately 7000 hours of use.

The red tint was just noticeable about a month or so ago and now is noticeable as a crimson tint on letterbox bars in dark scenes. Strangely enough the tint is not really seen in the active picture area, only in the letterbox area! It does not seem to be strictly a calibration problem as adjusting the white balance red and blue will mess up the active picture area before any real change is seen in the red tint. The overall grey scale seems mostly OK with maybe a slight red tint but if this is adjusted out to slightly minus red or plus blue the red tint is still noticeable in the letterbox area.

Hopefully we can get some idea of the problem and help out all Kuro owners! There are postings about this "red tint" in the non-elite thread, in the 9G Kuro settings/issues thread and now here. The picture on my set is still perfect...except for this issue.

Cheers,
P.E.H.

I think the reddish tint on the sidebars is just more noticeable. Obviously this will be harder to see in the main viewing area because it isn't completely black and has bright images. When your screen goes black for a second during a movie can you see the reddish tint over the whole TV or just the sidebars? I watched another movie last night and when the whole screen goes black then you can see a reddish tint over the whole panel. You may not be able to tell that this is messing with the main viewing area but it has to. Why wouldn't it? Like I said, it is just "covered" up by the film. Last night I noticed that on the sides of the picture it looks a little washed out due to the red tint on the sides. I think it was even washed out a bit across the whole picture but usually the screen was bright enough in those areas to "mask" this.

I know I should just try and not notice this but it is starting to ruin my viewing experience because I can't help but notice it while watching movies, etc that have side bars. If the whole screen is covered then it kind of hides the issue and makes you forget about it. Let's hope we can find something out. I need to call Pioneer and ask them about this but I don't know if I will get any help from them and I'm sure I don't have any kind of warranty anymore because I didn't purchase any extended warranty such as squaretrade.