Official Vizio P50HD Thread ( part 2): NO PRICING: Technical Issues ONLY! - Page 9

Check that the HDMI connections are snug too.

Another client's HDMI cables and repeater are pretty bullit-proof. Click here to see a good article on HDMI/DVI throws by Thomas J. Norton -
http://www.guidetohometheater.com/ac...tra/index.html

Can anyone post pics of their Vizio running an Xbox 360 game or even HD broadcast pics? I am really interested in this thing and pictures would go a long way towards helping me decide if this is the one. Also, does the Vizio have any noticeable Screen door effect? I bought a RP Sony 42A10 last week and am very disappointed in the SDE it displays. Thanks in advance!

Can't help you with pictures but in regards to SDE this set has virtually none. A coworker has the same Sony you do and quite frankly there is no comparison to the Vizio. He also has the SDE, a smaller viewing angle and it doesn't do a good job with standard def material. Not that any other HD set is great with SD but it's at least watchable on the Vizio. IMHO, take back the sony and get the Vizio. You won't regret it.

yes mikeval...the vizio has too much overscan vertically. and its not squared correctly with the horizontal overscan...and its worse on hdmi than on component. of course vizio wont admit it, but its a bad factory setting...and since NOONE has the damn service menu codes, we wont be able to adjust it ourselves. i guess vizios opinion is that its better to lose a customer than to give out the almighty service menu procedure...you know what, its my damn set, i paid my hard earned money...if i want to F it up, thats my damn business, not vizios. o well...new pannys come out, back itll go...again.

Hear Hear!!.... you're one of me dtrell Someone will eventually stumble on or disclose the service menu codes, I have a hunch!

I had my dad (while he was at the local warehouse not assocated with Sam Walton) check the serial numbers on the boxes, and they are:

ahpbabbg020841

ahpbabbg020842

So it looks like from G02 they were manufactured last month. Anyone have any problems with their G02's? I'm right on the edge of pulling the trigger and throwing it on my AMEX, any final words of wisdom?

Vizio P50 HDM
Reviewed by Robert Heron

PC Magazine

REVIEW DATE: 03.09.06 online and the 04.25.06 issue #7 of PC Magazine

The Vizio P50 HDM is the least expensive 50-inch plasma display I've seen to date, and I came away impressed by its good overall picture quality and selection of A/V inputs.

Excellent value. Good image quality with standard and high-definition video. Clean, easy-to-navigate menu system.

Click this Link to view the article: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1936232,00.asp

jim noyd, did robert heron turn the sound down and listen to how loud the cheap power supply was? or did he try component 2 to see the picture droputs? or hdmi to see the handshake issues? pq for the price is great i agree, however the other bs just makes this set too tought to take over the long haul.

anyway pdawg and drwam, i got my 3rd set today, a G02 build (second week of january) and components 2 so far is not as bad....buzz is as bad...vizio tech rep called while i was on the way to swap sets and said both boards were in...i told him id call him back of the new set did it too. but i have decided to not bother having him come over...if they are just going to replace the power supply with the exact same power supply,then its going to do it too, so why bother? i am just going to bide my time until the new pannys come out and get one of those. i just decided that i want a tuner with cable card, and obviously vizio (amtran) dont feel the need to put cable card options in even their newer sets.

oh and i dont want to forget the overscan issue. its simply not adjusted right on these sets and hdmi is really bad vertically. unless i can get the service menu options, this set goes back when its panny time.

tootall...g02 is second week of jan. its two months old like my new one. g means 2006, 02 means second week of year.

Forgive me if this is clearly spelled out somewhere else in this thread (or in the other closed P50 thread), but have people been asking VIZIO for the service menu codes? (dtrell, I take it that someone has, from what you say above, but I just wanted to clarify).

If VIZIO refuses to disclose the service menu codes, that fact alone makes me hestitant to buy one of their sets (I'm currently considering the P42HDTV).

Thanks for any info!

Ive finally picked up my P50HD!

My wife and I are currently living with my parents until our house is ready in 2 weeks, and I didn't want to pass up the March Madness deal. Currently they have a 42" Panny in their den, so I have the Vizio sitting in the living room hooked up to my Xbox 360 (which looks amazing at 1080i). I've started the arduous break in process, but since their isn't a FAQ on this thread, what is the recommended settings for these critical first 100 hours?

The P50 will only display in 720p, so if your feeding it 1080i, it is being converted automatically to 720p by the P50.

I'd buy this for the 360.....any pics of it running some games?? That would rock

We just got one of these at my house, jesus I was just at the menu for about 10 seconds and it had like a few second image retention.

what settings of brightness and contrast do you guys recommend for the first 100 hours?

should I watched dvds in zoom only?(to equally age the phosphors?)

is there any way to make the colors of the bars on the side anything other then black?

I strongly recommend you fill the screen for the first 100 hours. Contrast/Brightness in the low 40's.

(No way to change the color of the bars, that I am aware of).

ok thanks tahts what i figured

I was just about to pull the trigger on this tv but I could not get the standard channels to stretch in the store. I tried wide, zoom and regular but no matter what standard def was letterboxed. The store associate was unable to get it to stretch either. Switching to a hi-def channel of course filled the whole screen.

Please tell me there is a way to stretch the 4:3 images...this display set already had black bars severely burned in.

Did your efforts have any effect on the 4:3 screen size? I'm anxious to hear how this works out... I'm interested in the 42" Vizio, and this is a feature of interest to me as well.

My cable box (SA8300) has options to send 1080i, 720p, 480i wide, 480p wide, 480i and 480p.

If I let it send 480i or 480p wide - I can't stretch the SD signals to full screen.

Also,

If I let it send 1080i and 720p over HDMI, I get handshake issues.

It is perfect when I limit output to 720p and 480p. No handshake issues and I can stretch 4:3 images.

Ahhh, perhaps it is the cable box itself that is forcing it. Changing the aspect ratio changed it only by an inch or so, and still had bars. I would have thought the zoom or wide picture mode would override the cable box settings regardless of how the STB is set up?

I'm curious to know how many people are experiencing false contouring/posterization/gradients with this set? The more time I spend with it, the more I notice it. It does not seem to be input- or device- specific. I notice the issue with both hdmi and component on cable and DVD. I know false contouring is said to be an "issue" with many plasmas, but I find it extremely distracting.

How many of you are having this problem and how bad would you rate it on a scale of 1-10 (1 being not bad at all; 10 being so bad you're going to return it). For me, I can't go five minutes without seeing it, even on a good signal. Sometimes it's barely noticeable, other times even a casual viewer would notice it.

Suggestions for minmizing the effect are welcome.

I see the issues you mention quite a bit. I would rate them a three on my current Vizio and a five on the one I had to return. I bought the set for DVD/HDTV viewing and in all but the best transfers I have the macroblocking/posterization, contouring, and gradients. Until the prices drop on more advanced plasmas I am going to live with it.

I was really interested in the P42HDTV, but after evaluating my room setup(about 14-15' viewing distance), I'm looking more towards the 50" PDPs. The P50HDM really catches my eye everytime I go into "the warehouse that starts with a C" so naturally with it's good price it's at the top of my list.


I've read about all the problems you guys are having... so I just have one question -

Would you buy the set again if you had to make the same choice, or maybe step up to a Panny for a little bit more? It's an option even though I'm not a huge fan of the grey/silver styling of the one carried at my local C*****.

I'd buy it all over again, it's not perfect, but it's a damn good looking set with the right sources and it has just about every input you could ask for.

should I avoid dvds if they dont cover the full screen with zoom?

I was going to watch Ray, but there was a thin strip of black(not the border)

the TV only has been used about 4 hours

The pictures don't do how good it looks any justice but here is Ghost Recon on the 360 on my 50 inch Vizio. I don't know how to take them to make it look better but you can find them here:

http://timjanderson.com/Pictures/Gho...zio/index.html

Take my word for it. It is glooooorious. And if you get a 360 make sure to pickup Ghost Recon. It rocks

THANK YOU!! I've been dying to see how 360 looks on it. FANTASTIC!!

I only have one problem I can see. You are not getting the whole picture of the game. Are you able to adjust this set with height and width or anything? I noticed in your pictures the blue HUD box was cut off, and there's a little more after it that isnt showing. This is a screen shot from IGN See how it shows more of the blue? I'd be worried some stuff will be cut off....but WOW it looks good on that set. Hrrrm.

EDIT:
Are you running your 360 at 1080i or 720p? Does the picture change at all if you change it from one to the other? I wonder if it's set at 1080i, if you make it 720 if it will format the picture better?

hmm yea you're right. I've never noticed that on any other games. And I normally run the 360 at 720p but switching to 1080i made no difference in the overlay.

I'm curious if anyone else notices this on a different set.

Hrrrm. It's such a littlle amount is really isn't worthwhile, but I wonder if it's adjustable somehow anyways. I still want to pick up this set soon!! GRAW looks so good in your pics

I have a vanilla Sony DVD changer and I'd give false contouring a 1-2/10...I have only seen a little of it if I'm 2-3 feet from the screen (and that was searching for it)...

To respond to the other question about "would I buy this set all over again", I would say definitely...I bought it way back in August '05 and I have yet to see a tv I would rather have (that may change within the next year of course but I'm actually surprised I've made it this far without wanting something else)...