Any info on this Zenith TV - Z50PV220?

This should give your post a bump, but you may already have your answer: seems likely that the intersection between those who buy Zenith and those who visit AVS is probably quite small....

Assume you are not REALLY all that concerned about comparative quality, or else would have posted a query before plopping down $$, but - given no glaring flaws - would expect your new set to be just fine...

That Zenith is made by LG but is not a rebadged 450. If you actually walk into a Sears store you can see both of them on display and note that the menu graphics are the same but the 450 has a number of features the Zenith lacks.

The 15% restocking fee is also called the "Superbowl Clause", discourages renters, "test drivers", and chronic returners.

Superbowl clause?


Zenith, LG, it's still Gold Star to me.



Ian

People would buy huge bigscreen tvs to watch the superbowl and return them the week after. Now it's cameras for the June wedding/graduation season so we not only have the restocking fee but an "exchange only" policy on them-no money back if the box has been openned.

Xbox owners with the red rings of death would buy a new one, put the bad one in the box and try to return it the next day. Pulled one out of the box a couple of months ago and it had a Sept. 07 mfg. date and a distinct odor of fried electronics. No returns or exchanges on game consoles once the seal on the box is broken.

The store where I work is at the North end of a huge mall that was built in the mid-50s. The neighborhood isn't what it used to be so some of the south end was converted to office space, some of which is rented to CalTrans.

Cal. state employes are required to circumnavigate the mall on foot on their 10am and 2 pm breaks (something about making them healthier). They used to buy stuff on their morning breaks, open it and return it on their 2 pm breaks, and buy it again as discounted open box merchandise after work.

You should go look at the tv in the store, then perhaps place the order again. People always say the store is a bad place to test a set...but I think it is the best place. The tv has to look good under strong lighting, and next to its competitors. Put the settings to standard/cinema/movie on it, and a few sets around it, and compare the flaws. If you can manage to be impressed by the set in the store, then it should look stunning at home.

This TV will have the same PQ characteristics as other LG plasmas -- relatively poor MLL, extremely prone to image retention, pretty good color after calibration. You are not going to get good black level or out-of-the-box color accuracy from a Zenith. But if you can calibrate the TV and live with the poor MLL, then it should be a good TV for the price. It's probably as appealing as anything that you're going to find in that price range.

Doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the government, does it?

This set (Zenith Z50PV220) is ostensibly similar to LG 50PV450 . . but similar does not mean identical.

Specifications on the Zenith are woefully lacking, I assume purposely so for "marketing" reasons.

What I'd be most grateful to know is whether the Zenith is 3:3 pulldown (72Hz refresh) capable, like the LG 50PV450. If it is, it's a steal. If it's not, I would not even consider purchasing it, regardless price.

I guess to find this out you have to buy the darn thing!!!

I downloaded the User Manual from Sears, and it does show a "Film Mode", described as -

• Makes video clips recorded in film look more natural by eliminating judder effect.
• DVD and Blu-ray movies are filmed at 24 frames per second.

The manual doesn't mention 3:3 pulldown.
I did buy it yesterday, and it gets delivered Wednesday.

Here you go
It's on Page 53 of the manual, in the Picture Control section.

Please let us know how the unit is after you get it to the house. I am interested to hear how you like your purchase.

Also makes ME never ever buy from Sears...so maybe they win, or maybe they are just chasing customers away.

I bought it online. I got an extra 5% off plus free shipping and no tax since I am in Delaware. It's just for a den and I figured for 522.00 it was worth it. But like you as soon as I went online to find info I noticed it wasn't easy to find out much! I am happy you checked it out and then decided to still get it.

is this deal over now?
the price is still high even after adding to my cart

For some reason, Sears canceled my order last month (Claiming it is not in stock). Resulted in a lot of head-banging with them, showing they were still selling it and also showing them a few local stores have it in stock etc....
Eventually, someone in their corporate offices contacted me and offered a $100 refund if I purchased another TV.

Last weekend, I finally purchased one online, and picked up from a store.
Played with it a bit. It does indeed have a 24P mode, which works perfectly with my Panasonic BluRay. So far, looks good. Haven't really played with any picture settings etc.

Did find 1 hack for it - Accessing the Host Diagnostic Screen -
Use the Host Diagnostic screen to investigate the signal quality of a problem channel.
1) Place Television on the digital channel that may be showing problem.
2) Bring up the Menu. Highlight CHANNEL. Press ENTER on the remote.
4) Press the (1) Key 5 to 8 times.
The Host Diagnostics screen appears.

This screen shows the Model #, Firmware version, and DTV SNR (Digital Television Signal to Noise Ratio)
Over the Air: 8VSB Above 20 is good
Cable Digital: QAM64 (Above 24 is good)
Cable Digital: QAM 256 (Above 30 is good)

Just to confirm...you were able to purchase the Zenith TV you had originally ordered?

Yes, however, this was a new order, for the same Zenith z50pv220. It was on sale this weekend (regular $669.xx - less 5% weekend sale - less the $100 the Corporate office refunded, after they verified I purchased the TV)

No previous experience with plasma, so, pardon my ignorance...

MLL (Minimum Luminance Level) = Black levels (correct ?)
Is this similar to the issues with Panasonic plasmas a few years ago?

Any suggestions for setting the black levels and calibration?

Thanks!

update on this tv?

I owned one of the 720p versions of this set and had the matching LG up until recently. They're for the most part identical except for the lack of a few menu features. If the 1080p is identical it still will have the full controls to do calibration without even accessing a service menu. Picturewise they're for the most part the same. I'd bet the biggest difference is the firmware and the logo on the front.

The resounding downside is the black levels are not so hot. They always remind me of one prior model year to everyone else. So a 2011 LG will look like everyone elses 2010 models did.

So on the upside even in the budget models you get very good control over the picture. They're quite thin for the price. They're also cheap.

On the downside they black levels are a step behind the competition. Picture won't quite have that same pop because of it. You'll still best a comparable sized LCD that is in the same general price range, but you won't be looking at something even comparable to a budget Samsung in the black level department.

The weirdest thing is out of the box they're almost calibrated to the warm side, as opposed to the ultra cool blue whites that most of these things are set at for the store. This makes comparison in the store virtually useless, and unless someone has messsed with them they look noticably different than the other sets (oddly this doesn't seem to be the case with the 60 inchers).

I messed around with the 1080p set for a while at Sears, I was actually debating between the 1080p Zenith, Panasonic, or Samsung before stumbling across a comparably priced Kuro, from my brief playing around it looks like it will be similar to the 720p version which could be good or bad. For the right price I'd be game to try one.

Today I was at Sears and they had both the LG & Zenith 1080p models next to each other. I had a few minutes only, but noticed the LG was more colorful and brighter.

The white had a more 'cleaner' look

Maybe it's settings in the menu?

I'm still new to the whole Plasma/LCD/LED

Can someone else with more experience try both tv?

Just settings I'm almost positive of it. Set identically with the same source they are identical so far as I could tell if the picture settings are the same. I played around quite a bit with the settings. I seriously doubt LG would bother making loads of different panels and parts for a TV that is mostly marketed as a low end model and sold almost exclusively at Sears. I really believe for the most part they're identical TVs minus some features. Our Sears has the two right next to each other. Of course I was limited to the Sears HD loop featuring crap programming. This wasn't the perfect programming so I couldn't test the video processing, but from a picture standpoint and having owned 720p versions of the sets I'm willing to wager the only difference is firmware.

Remember, I was seriously considering this Zenith before finding the Kuro to the point where I was actualling going to buy it and was waiting for a sale, as this was only supposed to be my bedroom TV, I wasn't really aiming high end, just sort of landed there by accident. I didn't think it looked too bad for its low cost. I still may may buy one for my computer room as I phase out outdated and smaller sets. It does look better than any comparably sized and priced LCD, even with its black levels which IMHO are a year behind Panasonic and Samsung.

Glad to see this thread, and hope it's okay that I bumped it (my first post). Already found good info here and elsewhere on this Zenith. Grabbed one this evening since I was able to get it for $470; it is set to be delivered Tuesday. I have been living with a 24' CRT RCA from 2000 for the past 10+ years, so please understand even this modest set is a huge step up for me. The refresh rate, resolution, and (probably) relation to the LG range were big sellers for me in addition to the price. I'd appreciate any further info anyone has regarding this set. I hope to make this one last, despite its humble roots, so any tips would be much appreciated. I was sick of my video being multiple generations behind my audio capabilities! All best, and glad to get to know this forum.

I am looking at the same set. Looked decent in the store, but maybe not quite as bright as similar level models from Samsung, Panasonic. Even the LG, which is supposed to share the same panel looked a little brighter. Anyways, please let me know how it looks in your house!

Will do. It will be a bit of a test, since my living room is fairly bright in the daytime. We will mostly use it at night, though, and I think it has a brightness sensor, in any case.

My friend is considering this TV for his son. A relative works at Sears and may get a fairly good discount on top of the currently attractive price but I'm concerned based on your "prone to image retention" comment.

His son is a HUGE gamer. It's my understanding that plasmas today are far less prone to IR & BI. Can you or anyone else elaborate on why Zenith/LG are "prone to image retention"?