[BodegaBay]

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[CraigN]

Thanks for the excellent post. Please see a new thread by me about the fans. Are they audible at usual viewing distance and up close?

 

[Hallov]

Very nicelly done; makes me wanna wall mount my 42 panny (if only i was not renting the flat

 

[billd]

Go SOX


good post. Interested in how many component inputs the unit has.

 

[R Harkness]

Thanks for the pix and evaluation.


As I always say: Take 30 seconds with a screwdriver, remove the simple four screws to take off those industrial handles on the corners of the plasma. You don't need them now and the plasma will look cleaner and less industrial without them.


(Most people don't eve realize they come off).


Glad to see you are so happy with the unit.

 

[robnalex]

BodegaBay- Absolutely beautiful installation, but I must say that I'm seeing a lot of very pretty installations, including yours, that would be too high on the wall for me. The over-the-fireplace installations are the worst, IMO- very pretty like a picture, but not comfortable/practical for viewing. But yours is a beautiful install nonetheless- congratulations!

 

[Chicago_Dill]

Quote:

Yes, SD material look very smooth vs. previous and current plasma models. No detectable jaggies but certainly NOT 480i DVD clean either!

Bodega,


Please comment more on the SD PQ.


What is your source for SD material? Sat? Cable? What connection? Do you preprocess the signal in any way? (HTPC?)


Thanks for the great post!

 

[vdmai]

Well done!!


What kind mount is that?

 

[crbaldwin]

Quote:

Originally posted by BodegaBay - The so called anti-reflective glass coating should not be called a feature. The Panny glass is highly reflective IMO, even moreso than my previous 2 year old Pioneeer 503CMX. [

Wow, do other owners feel the same way? This might be a deal breaker. With my current Mits. RPTV I had to take the protective screen off to reduce reflections. I have a few large windows in my room.

 

[overtime]

Thanks for the great review Bodega and thats a sweet looking setup you have. While the bezel and look of the 7uy might be industrial it does seem to give that "window upon the world" sort of impression which is very cool.


I really notice the reflections on the 6uy consumer pannys I've seen as well. I spent a good amount of time just comparing the reflective qualities of the plasmas I've seen in various stores and the pannys do not fair well .

 

[phatboykim]

Are there ways to reduce the amount of reflection/glare? Eg, isn't the ambilight technology on the Philips "supposedly" used to create the glow behind the PDP in order to reduce the amount of glare? (hence, I have read some ppl use mini-lights behind their display to produce the same effect?

 

[tic-tac]

Bodega, where are your cables? It seems it that profile pic that you should be able to see at least a little bit of them, based on seeing the speaker connector and the height of where the A/V connectors are...

 

[dusty144]

Quote:

Originally posted by R Harkness Thanks for the pix and evaluation. As I always say: Take 30 seconds with a screwdriver, remove the simple four screws to take off those industrial handles on the corners of the plasma. You don't need them now and the plasma will look cleaner and less industrial without them. (Most people don't eve realize they come off). Glad to see you are so happy with the unit.

Is that what they are? Thanx for clearing up one of my questions Rich.


I actually like them. They give a more robust professional look to the set. Also some thing convenient to grab onto to adjust the tilt rather than the bezel.


Bodegabay, It is a fabulous installation and looks exactly like how I will be installing it down to the wall color. Thanx fo the ton's of pictures. gives one all sorts of ideas.


Is that little coffee table thingy enough for all your AV equip? Or do you have some of it stashed elsewhere.


Also to repeat a request which mount did you put in. Is a tilt mount absolutely recommended? Do you actually use it.

 

[CrocD]

I have a Panny 50PHD7UY and I used to have a Pio 433cmx. In terms of reflections, to me the Panny does as good as my Pio did, IMO.


By now there should be someone in your area with a 7uy of some kind. Try to see one.


Are the windows behind your seating position? Or are they to the side or on the same wall as the plasma?


The new 504cmx and 434cmx should theoretically deal with reflections really well now that they have no cover glass. The blacks are still the same though.


Nick

 

[BodegaBay]

Hi All,


- It is a low noise unit and the fans have yet to kick in for me. If it has, I have yet to hear anything. My Pioneer was built with the same way -- even after watching 8 hours of straight TV, the fans never turned on. The key is to give it breathing room. Also of note -- the power supply buzz typically associated with plasmas is extremley low noise for this unit. The Pioneer always buzzed when bright HD scenes came on.


- The unit comes with TWO component SIGNAL inputs. However, they both use different termination connectors: one uses BNC connectors (see Bruzzi's illustration below #6) while the other uses a VGA D-Sub 15 pin (see #7). You do not need a transcoder -- just cables that have these connectors on one end and RCA connectors on the other end for Stb, DVD players, etc.
http://gon5.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1072988517.jpg


- Rich, thanks for your contribution with the video calibration posts. I wanted to leave the handles on during the evaluation period (just in case we have to pull it off the wall for anything). I'll be taking them off with a small screwdriver shortly. BTW, I could definitely use some pointers from you in taking pictures for the images (your's looks great!).


- Concerning the height, this setup it is pretty good me as the ideal sitting position is 12-13' ft away. The side sofa you see in the picture is deceptive because no one ever sits that close to the side. I did not have to change the wall mount height as the mounting points on the Panny is virtually identical to the Pio. Thank God because my wife would have killed me -- she helped me move the Pio 5-6 times to achieve a comfortable height. Trust me, I detest the over the fireplace kneck strain look. On the other hand, one that sits too low will bring your head down, which is very weird when you are slouching. Getting it the right height in a PITA IMO, you want it just high enought to separate itself from the cabinet + center speaker while keeping it at a comfortable viewing angle.


- For SD, I use a Sony HD-200 DirecTV box. SD is noticeable better than current and previous generation plasmas but it is still a long way from a 480i DVD signal. It will never get that good. We just have to wait for all the stations to broadcast HD -- which I've read the deadline might be pushed back until 2009. Crimeny.


- The mount is a Premier PCM-100. ~$200 and solid as heck. Look for the Clevis Wall Mount PCM-100.
http://www.premiermounts.com/PartDat.../large/PCM.jpg


- Again, the AR is not the greatest. IMO it's no better than the current crops out there. In fact, it's slightly worse vs. my old Pioneer.

 

[edaly]

Quote:

Originally posted by crbaldwin Wow, do other owners feel the same way? This might be a deal breaker. With my current Mits. RPTV I had to take the protective screen off to reduce reflections. I have a few large windows in my room.

I also had an RPTV with the screen re-stacked (protective behind lenticular) and I can tell you NOTHING beats that for reflections. I have tons of windows in my living room and the RPTV lenticular is so diffuse you couldn't see an reflections.


The 7UY, ont the other hand, has a lot of reflections. It's probably the only downside I see to it now. Maybe it is still better than it would be without their so-called anti-reflective coating, but it ain't nearly as good as my old RPTV. I wasn't expecting it would be, mind you..


Now the g/f wants a white couch.. even more reflected light! arr...



edaly

 

[hyperion]

I all looks sweet. Nice job on the mount and hiding all the wires. My set up is similar, though with a 6uy. OT, but what's your accompaning audio set up there.

 

[BodegaBay]

Quote:

Originally posted by dusty144 Is that little coffee table thingy enough for all your AV equip? Or do you have some of it stashed elsewhere. Also to repeat a request which mount did you put in. Is a tilt mount absolutely recommended? Do you actually use it.

Dusty,


I do not actually use the tilt feature. I thought I might when I bought it two years ago. In terms of installation this unit is a cinch. Just lift (with two people that is) and hook on. You can buy units that at untilted/flat and it might save you another ~1in. The Panny is already thin in depth and I found it quite aethestically pleasing.


The component cabinet is a Salamander Design Synergy Twin20. I holds an Outlaw pre-pro, an Outlaw 5-ch amp, DVD player, DirecTV stb, and room for one more component. You can configure the SD cabinets to be so high or so wide per you requirements. However, there are less expensive fixed sized alternatives from Sanus and even Busch. Pics for SD is below:

http://salamanderdesigns.com/syn/imgs/gal_sn20mb.jpg

http://salamanderdesigns.com/syn/imgs/gal_snrmb.jpg

http://salamanderdesigns.com/syn/imgs/gal_237wb_01.jpg

http://salamanderdesigns.com/syn/imgs/gal_326ma.jpg

http://salamanderdesigns.com/syn/imgs/gal_337ma.jpg

 

[JuiceRocket]

Great set up, great pictures, and a fantastic and in-depth review.


You mention that the Pio had more of a "punchy" and bright color feel to it. You HD sports pictures look very vibrant, and they look like they have a lot of punch to them. Was the Pio even more vibrant that your images? Understandably, your pics do not reflect what you see with your own eyes.


-JR

 

[crbaldwin]

Quote:

Originally posted by CrocD By now there should be someone in your area with a 7uy of some kind. Try to see one. Are the windows behind your seating position? Or are they to the side or on the same wall as the plasma?

The windows are on the side wall. Do the consumer models have the same degree of reflections? I certainly could find these somewhere to look at.