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LG 50PA6500 and LG 60PA6500 Plasmas

375K views 1K replies 258 participants last post by  stereo55 
#1 ·
#5 ·
Hi all,


Just saw one of these in the local hhgreggs. Price was about the same as everywhere else but got a few dollars knocked off because of past dealings with the sales guy.


Anyway I'm supposed to get the 50 inch delivered on Monday.


I'll try and answer what I can, but be gentle on me. I'm just an average tv viewer and do not have calibration tools handy so I can not give you mll readings and what not.


The set looked good in the store with the bball game playing. Court showed a lot of detail coach K's face sometimes looked a little blotchy but he looked the same on the panny st right beside it so hoping that was from their distribution and nothing with the set.


We went with this one kinda blind as nowhere I could find has any reviews available. We were actually looking for a set to replace an ancient olevia 32" that is slowly dying. This set wasn't that much more then the smaller sets we looked at so figured this would go in family room and the 40" Samsung would move to the olevia's spot.


So let me know what you're curious about and I'll do my best to answer.


Jim
 
#7 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by kosekjm /forum/post/21730618


Hi all,


Just saw one of these in the local hhgreggs. Price was about the same as everywhere else but got a few dollars knocked off because of past dealings with the sales guy.


Anyway I'm supposed to get the 50 inch delivered on Monday.


I'll try and answer what I can, but be gentle on me. I'm just an average tv viewer and do not have calibration tools handy so I can not give you mll readings and what not.


The set looked good in the store with the bball game playing. Court showed a lot of detail coach K's face sometimes looked a little blotchy but he looked the same on the panny st right beside it so hoping that was from their distribution and nothing with the set.


We went with this one kinda blind as nowhere I could find has any reviews available. We were actually looking for a set to replace an ancient olevia 32" that is slowly dying. This set wasn't that much more then the smaller sets we looked at so figured this would go in family room and the 40" Samsung would move to the olevia's spot.


So let me know what you're curious about and I'll do my best to answer.


Jim

Did it arrive? What do you think of it - glare, contrast, colors etc?
 
#8 ·
Hi all,


It did come in Monday afternoon. Got it setup on the TV stand and haven't really changed anything yet. Mostly cycling through the built in modes for now. Once I get some time on it, I'll try and run a calibration disk (I only have the Disney WOW disk so that'll be the one).


Anyway, here are my thoughts:


First time with a Plasma so getting used to the darker colors then my LCD had. Everything looks a little dull to me, but I know that is a remnant of watching too bright colors on the LCD screen. Don't get me wrong the video looks beautiful on movies and TV, just doesn't seem to pop as much as the LCD did (And I know that was artificial). I love finally getting to see black on space scenes and not a really dark grey.


There is a bit of reflection on this set, but coming from the Samsung 750 series I'd say that had a bit more reflections then this one does. I have a room that has windows to the side of the TV, and only ever watch TV with a back light on, so normal (normal for me at least) viewing is unaffected by the reflection. If I watch something on this set with the room lights on, I do not notice the lights that much. I did notice the lights with the Sammy though.


With the room lights on and the TV off, it makes a pretty decent mirror


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15199839/LG5...20Lighting.JPG

There appears to be a double image but that was a slight bumping of the camera.


Having some trouble getting the Harmony One to correctly switch the inputs when jumping from activity to activity. The Harmony Database does not know what a PA6500 is, but it did suggest the PG6500 instead. That one has discrete inputs (And discrete power too). The discretes work, but when switching activities the set refuses to switch inputs. If I hit the help button then it goes right where it needs to. Still playing around a bit with the delays, so might eventually get it working.


I've noticed that it does seem to have some IR on static images, but not sure if that is a function of it being so new. For example my son was playing Burn Out Paradise on the PS3 the other day. When you launch the game you get the loading screen and then it fades to black, since my son has a tendency to leave the LCD on with a game paused (he's 10) and then forget about it, I've warned him that he cannot do that with this TV. When the game faded to black he commented that he could see the burn out logo and thought he had already broken the set. Now that screen was only up for about 10 seconds or so (and we were sitting really close), but we both noticed the retention. None of these images stay on the screen very long. As soon as something repaints that area the IR is gone. Something I'll have to watch in the next 30 days.


Haven't had a chance to watch a full movie yet, but did watch the bank robbery scene from Dark Knight. That looked phenomenal. So much better then it looked on the Sammy. The Sammy had the 120 Film mode processing and when the camera panned over the building the lines of windows seemed to stair step a bit, not seeing that on this one. Motion seemed very smooth.


I have noticed that text on the closing credits of Doctor Who through Netflix streaming looks odd, but Doctor Who has very fast scrolling credits and not sure if that is the TV, Netflix, the PS3 or what. I never watched Doctor Who streaming on the Sammy, so not sure if that did the same. Will check this weekend, but then that'll be a Roku box and not a PS3 so might not be an accurate comparision. But if I see artifacting there, at least it leads to something other then the set. Speaking of Netflix, I'm seeing more detail on this set then I saw on the Sammy. Little things like individual strands of hair stand out now.


Comparing this to the Sammy (LN40A750) size wise, this set is obviously a bit bigger, but since the Sammy had such a large (and reflective) bezel, the Tv does not seem that much bigger on the stand then the Sammy was. It's a few inches bigger all around, but just doesn't seem it. Vieweing area though is a big increase. My wife (Who never notices these things) even commented on how the set did not appear that much bigger, but the viewing area seemed huge compared to the Sammy.


If I have my ear right behind the set there is a little high pitched humming, but the fans in the computer (That is also hooked up to this) are much more noticeable to me then the set is. As I type this I'm sitting about three feet from the screen and hear nothing. My wife has dog hearing. She usually notices humming in dead silent rooms. She has not said anything yet about hearing humming from this set.


For the price we spent, I'm very happy so far with my purchase. Once I get the colors and such dialed in more to my liking, I think I'll enjoy it even more. But if not I still have 26 more days to decide if I'm keeping it or not.


Jim
 
#9 ·
My store has the 60" on display. To be honest the design is really nice; it looks just like the LM6200 albeit a lot more reflective. I didn't even pay attention to the picture quality, but I'll try and evaluate it next time I'm in...
 
#12 ·
Hi all,


Not trying to neglect you guys just been a really busy week or so. In fact tonight was the first chance I had to sit and actually watch a movie on the new set.


I will try and get pics up hopefully Sunday night.


One quick note with the harmony remote, my coworker has the pv450 (predecessor to this set I think) and his harmony works fine. Setup that tv in the activities and everything is switching just like it should.


Jim
 
#13 ·
The 6500 has the more advanced menu interface that the 450 lacked last year, which makes it better for OTA antenna viewing. It provides full program information, as well as a dual signal strength meter which gives both signal strength percentage as well as signal quality percentage. And since LG has good tuners, this makes this set a good budget choice for OTA antenna viewers. But more pic quality reviews wanted.
 
#14 ·
My BB has this TV next to the Samsung D6500 plasma. I thought this TV looked better than the D6500. The blacks looked close but hard to really say in BB. The D6500 doesn't look good to me though. Way to red, to much red color to much red in the whites etc... It was in vivid mode and I changed it to standard and it was still way to red. Seems to me just about every Samsung plasma I see looks that way on the demo floors!? I don't see how they sell any of there plasma's the way they all look on the demo floor. The bezel on the LG is smaller too.
 
#15 ·
Hi all,


I've posted a few pictures out to Flickr (Since I cannot quite figure out how to post them here)


Any way they are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47135862@N07/


Order got changed from the way I uploaded them, but basically they are named to reference the mode the set was in when I took the picture. I reset the the TV prior to taking these pictures, so these modes are the default settings that the TV has. The Blu Ray player (Panasonic 60K) passes through an Onkyo 606, but the Onkyo is set for pass through mode only so there should be no processing done on the video until the TV gets it.


Not too many pictures in there just yet, but I did tyr and bounce the same image through the various modes the TV has. I did not include pictures from the two ISF modes that the TV has as those appear to be (At least to me) a place to store your tweaked settings. Bouncing from IFC 1 to IFC 2 seemed to have no effect on the image so I did not take any shots in that mode. The pictures are from Bolt and the new Star Trek movie. I also have two shots in there one with the room lighting reflecting on the set and one without.


Camera is now a few years old (Maxxum 5D) and not sure what tweaking Flickr does, but hopefully might at least give you some idea what the tv looks like with video on it.


I'll try and get more later this week.


kosekjm
 
#16 ·
Hi all,


The scrolling credits on Doctor Who appears to be with that show or with Netflix as I see the same on my two Roku boxes connected to other TVs.


If you use the PV450 settings with a Harmony remote make sure to program Enter to the OK button. By default the Enter button is mapped to the E button on the remote. Also might want to program the - button to a hard button instead of only on the Additional Buttons of the remote.


Wasn't meaning to imply that this is a direct replacement for the 450 series. Just meant that the 450 is an older model. I have not seen my coworker's 450 so have no idea how his menu looks.


Have not had a chance to setup the antenna and try it on this set yet. No idea how well the tuner works. Again project for next weekend.


Sound is not too bad through the set, but other then trying it out I've just looped it out to the receiver and turned off the speaker completely. I run everything through the receiver.


Playing with the built in TV modes I have to say that I am not a fan of the APS mode. It seems very sensitive. When somebody walks out of the room the TV flickers as it tries to compensate for the change in light across it's sensor. So far have not used that mode much.


Showing hours on the set had me confused at first. I stumnbled across it as I was running the burn in slides (Just trying to get a fw hours on the set to run calibration not to actually age pixels). Open the Settings menu, then hit the Red Button to bring up customer support. From there go down toi the Product/Service Info page and there you see your hours as well as your serial number and software version.


Speaking of burn in slides I have one pixel that fails to show blue correctly.It is way up in the upper left hand of the screen and if I was not watching for stuck/dead pixels I would never have known it was there. I only see it on a solid Blue background. This one pixel stays more Cyan then Blue. Other color screens load fine. It is so far out of the viewing window and does not hamper viewing so I'm not worrying about it.


I still have not had a chance to try and change any of the picture settings. Hopefully I'll get to do it this weekend.


Remote is not backlit (Not using it anyway), but the main buttons do glow when placed in light for a bit. None of the menu or setting buttons light in anyway, so using in a dark room might be a bit problematic.


All in all I'm still loving my purchase.


hope this helps.


Jim
 
#18 ·
Our old Toshiba 50Ah2 projection TV acted up last week with convergence and I've been searching/researching for a while. I decided that I couldn't fix it myself and the $350+ to have it fixed wasn't worth it on a 10 year old TV.


I did spend some time comparing the PA6500 to the Panny U50 which cost considerably more ($999). I played with the main picture settings as much as I could but the white on the Panny was definitely better but this is also over the standard Sears broadcast signal which the sales rep said was basically crap. I definitely agreed. I also compared it to the 720p PA5500 - oddly enough I can really tell the difference between all 720p and 1080p panels. I know most can't, but it's fairly obvious to me. I can usually spot them. Dunno why.


In the end, I didn't feel like waiting another couple of weeks for the lower-end Panny that will be about $805+. I also realized that I won't have both in my family room to constantly compare, so I think I'll be happy with the LG. Definitely an upgrade from the Toshiba with the exception of sound quality.


So after comparing prices everywhere, I ordered the PA6500 last night through Fatwallet (3% off) to sears.com Will pickup tonight. Overall cost is about $720 + a little gas.


Any suggestions on calibration? Where do you get calibration discs? Do they need to be through a Blueray DVD? I don't have Blueray as we rarely watch DVDs.


Thanks,

Josh
 
#19 ·
Hi Josh, the link is to the the free AVS HD 709. You will need to be able to burn it to a dvd, all instructions are there, as well as all the information you need, links to helpful videos, and support (by posting your questions or reading the questions and answers from others who have been in your shoes).


Also, if you have any dvds with THX there is a program on those that can help you calibrate your set too. However, nothing takes the place of a professional calibration.
I personally did not find the AVS 709 hard to use after viewing some videos and asking a few questions. A few of us, who bought 2010 LG LCD models, were learning it at the same time and the thread starter, who is experienced with calibrating, helped us along the way (Thank you Phase700B).
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TGeesus /forum/post/21895110


Just Took possession of my 60PA6500, it replaced my Panny Pro 50PH10UKA. Had little time with it so far, but pretty impressed with it as-is so far...Plan to run the HD 709 on it this week, has anyone tried prev year LG settings on this yet?

Looking forward to your impressions of this set. I've seen a handful of these in stores and they've all looked pretty good. I wonder how IR is on them?


-Guru
 
#22 ·
I had a little time with the 60PA6500 at Fry Electronics. First thing I did was change over from "Vivid" to "Cinema" and run the 'Wizard II' setup utility. Unfortunately they were running "The Incredibles" instead of "Avatar". (Ever notice how cartoons are run on LED/LCDs but movies and ESPN are run on plasmas at the stores?) There was an LED set next to it and as expected the whites seemed a little washed out/dimmer/warmer on the plasma; the LED/LCD showed the typical bright white-bluish tint. I couldn't really gauge the blacks in Mr. Incredible's black uniform ("I Robot" is better for that, just as "Avatar can be used to readily compare a "video" vs "film" comparison) as the source material tends to go towards grayish blacks.


I would have loved to have seen the ESPN channel on the 60PA6500 to compare to the "a-typical" Samsung. The Samsungs they had were obviously set to "Vivid" mode, which typically means that the sharpness is set too high, giving "blocking" fore heads; the colour balance was obviously all wrong, with reddish skin tones.


My conundrum is whether to buy a demo Samsung 64D7000 for $1600 (down form $1999 a week ago) or go with the 60PA6500. Versus the 60PM6700 it may be a non issue - go with the Samsung, but versus a $400 difference with the 60PA6500 it takes a little more thought when one considers the extended warranty cost. $1600 + $400 for the extended warrant plus 8.5% tax =equals >$2000. With the $1200 60PA6500 one is more likely to wait to get an extended warranty seeing as it comes with a 2 years warranty & 1 year parts & labour vs. the one year warranty on the Samsung.


My budget is $1200 - $1500, so getting the 64D7000 is over my budget. Would I be happy with the 64D7000? Absolutely. But I would also be just as happy not having spent an extra $500. [Once you have your house broken into, seeing your plasma stolen, taking a $1000 deductible and applying the depreciation, you tend to see spending $2000 for a TV a little differently.] The Samsung 59D6500 is no longer available and the 60E6500 is coming in at $2000, which means paying about $2600 after taxes and extended warranty. When one compares that with a $1200 set (for now, the price will probably rise in the future) and taxes, and no warranty, it may make more sense to go with the inferior set.


What will be interesting is whether the 2D only LG 60PA6500 will out-sell all 3D sets. I only watch OTA TV because I refuse to pay cable prices (basic, extended channels, HD - $75 a month or $$900 a year - which pays a large portion of the TV set) and am not interested in streaming inferior-to-BD quality movies to my set, nor am I interested in paying $15 more for 3D movies over 2D BD movies. If more people buy this set (instead of 3D capable sets) it basically signals the end of 3D. IMO.


Would I like the Pani ST50s? You betcha. But the $1500 price point means that I will "only" be able to be buy a 55" set. Having owned a 42" 720P Pani my experience says that it will only last 3 years before I need to buy another set. (Which I was considering before my house was broken into. Good thing I didn't buy a new set before it was broken into. Now I'd like to get the biggest set - if only to make it harder for the thieves to steal it. Chances are that they will drop it and it will break as the alarm will notify the police - hopefully in time for them to get caught, or about 10 to 15 minutes before the police get here. Most houses are broken into during the day - when the owner is at work. All I can do is make it harder for them to get away by beefing up the exit points.)


My main concern is the LG blacks. No way would I consider PZ750 level blacks. It was just plain bad. The 60PA6500 is supposed to be 30% better. Is that good enough versus Samsung or Panasonic? It comes down to economics - pay $1200 for a "good enough" set or pay $2000 - $3000 for a "great" set. (Last year a 59" Samsung was $2000, but the Samsung 60" was $3000. $1200 versus $3000 is a "no-brainer".)
 
#23 ·

Quote:
The 60PA6500 is supposed to be 30% better. Is that good enough versus Samsung or Panasonic? It comes down to economics - pay $1200 for a "good enough" set or pay $2000 - $3000 for a "great" set. (Last year a 59" Samsung was $2000, but the Samsung 60" was $3000. $1200 versus $3000 is a "no-brainer".)

Check out the LG 60PA6550 at CostCo - suspect that it is simply the "club" version of the PA6500, and it is currently on sale ("Instant Rebate") @ some $200 below the 6500 at other local outlets...
 
#24 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dierkdr /forum/post/21896793


Check out the LG 60PA6550 at CostCo - suspect that it is simply the "club" version of the PA6500, and it is currently on sale ("Instant Rebate") @ some $200 below the 6500 at other local outlets...

I wonder if it is the PA6500 or last year PZ550. Very hard to find any info on the Costco version. Price is definitively great.
 
#26 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by wallijonn /forum/post/21904343


Too bad that it isn't listed on the Costco website. heck, no plasmas are listed.

Have learned in the past that the CostCo Website does not always show items that are sold in the stores - and sometimes that works in the opposite direction as well.


There is also differentiation between stores: the CostCo at the north-west end of our city tends to carry a much broader range of electronics - and HDTVs in particular - than the one closer to the south-east borders.
 
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