The Official HP Pavilion 1080P DLP Owner's Thread - Page 174

Originally Posted by Ding62

I'm one of the people that suspects that his TV is a bit louder than it ought to be. I suspect it's color wheel noise since the sound varies when I'm switching "modes". But since I've never owned any sort of rear projector before, it's hard for me to decide what "normal loudness" is. I do however, own a Radio Shack sound level meter.

Do any of you other HP owners have one of these meters? If so, I'd love to compare notes. I just got a reading of 60dB off of my MD5880n. 61dB, if I hold my mouth just right. Here's how I took the reading:

• Turn on the set. Watch it. Enjoy it.
• At least two hours later, after the set has had a chance to get thoroughly warmed up, open up the front access door. (My TV seems to get louder after a couple hours.)
• Turn off your AV amp, and/or turn the TV speakers all the way down. Tell your kids to hush.
• Turn on the sound meter. Set it to the 60dB range. C Weighting. Slow response.
• Place the snout of the meter against the center of the front panel, against the flat area right above the blue LED.
• Now back the meter off just enough so that it's no longer touching the set. Leave it within a quarter inch though.
• Note the reading. If the needle is on the 0, that's 60dB. If it's on -2, then that's 58dB, and so on.

Unfortunately, the meter won't be able to measure anything quieter than 50dB, so if you have a nice quiet set, you won't be able to tell me just exactly how quiet it is. We will however be able to tell whether it's significantly quieter than mine, in which case I'll be giving HP another call.

Originally Posted by utexas05alum

Hey guys,

I did the firmware update tonight on a 128mb USB drive of mine and everything is working great! I unplugged everything before updating. My Harmony 360 remote is almost working flawlessly. Here are my findings:

- The white line across the top of the screen on component inputs is gone!
- Channel and input switching is faster and it also seems to me that menu navigation is faster.
- Discrete codes work great.
- I have an N64 hooked up via S-video to the Video 1 input. Before the update there would be screen glitches every 20 seconds or so when playing N64, now they are gone!
- I now have no sound coming out of the digital audio out after the firmware upgrade. It starts working if I cycle the sound options. Anyone figure out a permanent fix for this?

I have a couple of Harmony questions. I have my TV setup as the MD5880N.

1) Has anyone found out what the Recall & Return codes are used for? (they're listed as codes for the TV) I'm sure they aren't for going to the previous channel, the ChannelPrev code does that.

2) The InputNext code doesn't cycle through the inputs like it's name implies (it just brings up the source screen like if you pushed the source button on the TV remote). Does anyone know how to get this to work or if this feature currently exists on these TV's?

3) For some reason the setup incorrectly maps the same button configuration between my watch DVD activity (uses Panny S97) and my watch PS2 activity. I think it's because both can be DVD players. For example, when you customize the button config for an activity (from the homepage click Customize, then Change the behaviour of buttons) I have 3 columns, DVD as DVD Player, TV as Video Display, and AV Receiver as Volume Control. The online setup incorrectly assigns commands for the DVD and TV to one button on the Harmony. If I remove one of these assignments, it then removes it from the Watch DVD activity AND the Play PS2 activity. So this prevents having separate button assignments for these 2 activities. Anyone know how to fix this?

Originally Posted by utexas05alum

Danabw,

Thanks for the help. The reason I was asking about the InputNext code is to avoid using 6 of the Harmony buttons for inputs. I would rather assign the buttons to other functions.

Originally Posted by lagcal3

I also remember someone else in the hp thread saying something about measuring 52db with the HP. So if your getting in the low 60's I would call HP and put in a request about possible color wheel replacement. Just tell them what is up.

Originally Posted by bambam1901

The only issue I have is that my front panel pops open during use. I just put 2 small pieces of electrical tape on each side near the speakers & that problem has been solved.

Originally Posted by Danabw

[*] Sets default for sharpness to 5

Originally Posted by Robert A. Fowkes

Each day I find new things about this set that I like. The picture is, of course, stunning and right out of the box it required very little adjustment to get all the settings correct (using the usual DVDs including the surprisingly helpful ISF/Monster DVD which gets to 90-95% of where the AVIA and Joe Kane discs get with a very easy interface. Great for quick tweaks). And the combination of my 5880 with my DVDO VP30 gives me amazing flexibility. Today I connected my portabledirectly to the HP MD5880n (a very capable top of the line Dell M170 running WinXP Media Edition 2005 with an NVidia 7800 GTX Ultra card) and viewed some native 1080p WMVHD material -- the 1080p version of Step Into Liquid. Jaw dropping! And yes, the INFO display verified that the HDMI2 input was accepting 1080p. Those who dismiss lack of 1080p native input capability as something trivial "because there just isn't any 1080p source material" just don't get it.

Originally Posted by nobbie

Just wanted to let everyone know that HiDef Lifestyles came through as promised. There was a slight glitch in that stock of the 65" HPs in the Fresno warehouse arrived in plain brown boxes as opposed to the normal HP-festooned boxes of yore. Being suspect, HiDef called me and expressed their reservations about the CA stock and informed me they could send a unit from their Texas facility, but I would not receive it on Friday as promised. It would be more like Tuesday. While disappointed and a little suspicious, I agreed. To make up for it, HiDef offered to send a me little gift, which I totally accepted, of course! (PM me if you want to know what it was.)

Anyway, so, they kept me informed with the progress of my order, online and via email. Their online order status page is pretty good and even provided direct links to the shipping companies' tracking updates. A follow-up emails after delivery was also sent.

My TV arrived yesterday afternoon via FedEx freight. It was for curbside delivery, but the FedEx guy offered to bring it up the driveway near the front door or even put it in my garage. The thing is so light, he used a hand truck! (Is that bad? The box had a wooden pallet strapped to it's bottom. I'm attaching a couple pics of it as it journeyed from the front of my house through the side gate and into the backyard. Silly, huh? I'm also attaching a pic of the TV sitting on the floor next to our old Sony for size comparison purposes. I still like the looks of the Sony. That burled cherry wood trim is pretty sweet.

So, to wrap it up, HiDef Lifestyle gets the proverbial two thumbs up. They are a legit operation and they deliver the goods as promised. If there's a glitch, they are quick about telling you and very upfront and honest. I told them they should sponsor groups like ours and get on review sites, etc. But, they said they prefer to build their business via word of mouth and their reputation. What did Aaron say? "We don't want to be the biggest, we want to be the best." But, I gotta tell ya, if they treat everyone the way they treated me, they'll have no choice but to become big!

Oh, and to make your deal even sweeter, just write a review of the HP 65" on Pricegrabber.com and they'll send you $25! As a favor to me, I'd appreciate it if everyone here could go check out my review and give me some props. I don't know what I get, but I sure would like to be recognized for my eloquent verbosity! Hah! Click here to go to my review and learn more about getting $25 for writing one of your own!

Thank you for your time!

Nobbie

Originally Posted by pestep

FYI, like a previous poster, my sharpness is at 10 after the update.

The Insanity Continues...

Well, after 45 days they finally came and got my DOA original HP MD5880n, but even that didn't go without incident. Over the past few days I received several calls from some company called "Decision One" (I believe they repair computers) that someone would be picking up my set today (Wednesday) between 8 a.m. and 12 noon to ship it back to Hewlett Packard. Around 9 a.m. I received a call from a Decision One technician who said that he was coming over to coordinate the exchange and to set up the TV that was being delivered. I informed him that no exchange or set up was involved since I had received my replacement a week ago and all that was going to happen was for the old set to leave my premises. The technician seemed surprised but said he'd be over at 10 a.m. to "coordinate the paperwork" since the trucker would be there by then.

At 10 a.m. the technician arrived and, of course, no trucker and no box. After a few phone calls he found out that nobody could find the trucker even though they were supposed to be there at that moment according to the dispatcher. The technician spent about a half hour with me marvelling at the great HD picture on my working 5880. His comment, "I've never seen one of these sets before" didn't exactly instill in me any confidence regarding his ability to provide setup or service had that been required. Luckily, that wasn't necessary. At about 10:30 the technician told me he had another appointment scheduled about 15 miles away at 11 so he would have to leave. A final call to the trucking dispatcher verified that the trucker was missing in action so the technician left for his next appointment. He told me that since I appeared to know what I was doing just to sign any paperwork if and when the truckers appeared.

Fifteen minutes later a truck pulled up with two workers and an empty HP MD5880n box. They had no idea that a technician was supposed to meet them and said that nobody had contacted them all morning. They brought the empty box into my garage (where the technician and I had placed the faulty set) and then attempted to get the set packaged up. This was hilarious. Although the box was the right size the packing inserts were in no way able to accommodate the MD5880n. It was worse than trying to solve Rubik's Cube or a 6 star Sudoku! Finally the truckers said, "Screw This! You're just returning the set to HP, right?" I told them that this was the plan. They then proceeded to place the set in the box and used some of the packaging material to loosely hold it in place as they slid the top of the box over the set and onto the base of the box and the skid. They then loaded the skid onto the truck and mumbled something about wrapping it up tightly back at the warehouse before shipping it back to HP. I signed and dated the receipt and off they went.

Wait. There's more.

About an hour later, as the clock struck 12, the doorbell rang and when I answered a man in a pickup van said he was there to pick up some sort of TV for HP. I said it was already picked up and asked him if he had a box with him. Of course he didn't. When I mentioned that "Decision One" had picked up the set he commented that this was probably a case of some secretary placing the pickup order twice. He then put my entire predicament into perspective when he said, "At HP the left hand doesn't know that the right hand is doing." Truer words were never spoken. This should be on the front page of the manual!

And now the kicker. As I was sitting at the computer writing the second paragraph of this account the phone rang. It was the original technician from CompUSA (the guy who was supposed to come on January 4th.) He was calling to inform me that the light engine had arrived and that he wanted to come over and install it in my TV. As soon as I stopped laughing I told him that if he hurried he might be able to catch the truck with the faulty set. It sure wouldn't be too difficult to repair the set since it was only loosely packed in the carton. However I told him to be careful to avoid some guy in a pickup van (with no box) who was looking for a TV to pick up and who, therefore, might not be paying too close attention to the road!

We both had a good laugh when I filled him in on the day's events. I thanked him for his perseverance in this matter. After all, the repairman was just trying to do his job and wasn't responsible for this massive screwup. He told me that this happens all the time since the people who schedule these things don't coordinate them very well and that very often he has to make several calls and trips before an issue gets resolved. I believe that Mr. Pickup Van had said it more succinctly with his "Left Hand/Right Hand" comment.

So what's the moral of this story? Today's events just prove to me that it is imperative that if you are looking to get one of these HP sets that you must align yourself with a dealer who is equipped to handle any exchanges without any middlemen involved. If you get a good set (probably much better than a 50-50 chance) you will be extremely pleased. But if you run into a lemon, as I did, you need a "Plan B" since the alternative is frightening.

Caveat emptor!

Originally Posted by Danabw

Nice pics...now that's what I call an upgrade, even if you have to lose the burl wood.

Glad to hear that HiDef came through for you. Enjoy the pretty pictures...

Originally Posted by steverobertson

Nobbie,

Congratulations on your new set and glad that company worked out for you. I hope you enjoy your sert for many years to come.

Good Luck

Originally Posted by xsailor1233

Prior to the firmware update, I couldn't get any sound from my hdmi input. Now I have sound BUT the picture and sound do not appear until I physically unplug the hdmi cable from the tv and plug it back in. I tried reloading the firmware but still get the same results (?)

Originally Posted by KevinG

Just a quick note to anyone who might care.

As I suspected, the Pronto codes that I uploaded to remote central, as well as posted here, contain a working discrete code for power ON. Power Off always worked, but Power ON wasn't in the interim firmware update. I upgraded last night and confirmed that the code works.

Many thanks to "you know who" for supplying the information in the first place. :-) See, I'm "discrete" till the very end. :-)

-Kevin

Originally Posted by Danabw

What kind of device, and does it behave the same on HDMI2?

Originally Posted by tg.fla

My HP 5880n connected to my dish 942 HD-DVR takes a very long time to become active when I first turn them both on. This seems to happens when the 942 has been powered off for a while. The 942 has an inactivity sensor and powers itself off even if the kids don't turn it off. The HDMI 1 bottom info banner appears after 10-20 seconds but the HDMI picture takes over a minute to show up.

Any body else have slow HDMI start up issues? I suspect the 942 HDMI just takes a long time to wake up. I was starting to worry that the $7.49 6 foot HDMI to HDMI cables I bought from computertechnet.com might be the problem, but I see no issues once everything is going.

Originally Posted by Griff1324

1. My manual had the "pizza stain" on it (which appears to be a good omen).