Topic: The Plasma Thread

[barrister]

For me, it's PQ first and foremost. 

Once price and pq clash, sometimes if not most of the time, the former is often the priority for people, sacrificing the latter ...

If I can't get a flat panel with good PQ, I'd rather have a CRT.

[axn8882003]

Got the Hitachi 42PD8900TA last December. Php145,000.00.

[dB10]

If I can't get a flat panel with good PQ, I'd rather have a CRT.[/quote]

ditto

[jvm]

For me, it's PQ first and foremost. 

If I can't get a flat panel with good PQ, I'd rather have a CRT.

The very reason I went for a plasma too.

[jvm]

There's only 1 variant of the THX Optimizer, and it's the one included free in THX certified DVD discs, that's why I referred to it as a zero expense solution.  The THX Optimizer's test patterns include only the most basic ones.  I only need brightness and tint test patterns, so it's more than enough for me.

I don't go into the service menu.  It's very dangerous.  I read in a U.S. forum about this guy who accessed his Panasonic service menu just to check the number of hours used.  After exiting the service menu, he immediately noticed clay faces on the unit despite the fact that he never adjusted any service menu setting.  If you mess up service menu settings, it's possible that even an authorized technician would not be able to fix it.     

Finalize settings after the 100 hour break in period.  If you calibrate before the completion of break in, the picture will still change, so you will have to recalibrate.     

On my Panny, adjustment scales are 0 to 100.  My permanent settings are:

1. Brightness = 46.  Test pattern on THX Optimizer indicates 44, but I increased setting 2 notches up to slightly increase black level shadow detail.

2. Color = 28.  Test pattern indicates 33 to 35, but I reduced color to minimize "Red Push" (oversaturation of reds despite correct saturation of other colors).  Even the best LCDs naturally have a much worse red push.  Plasmas naturally have more accurate colors with very minimal red push.

3. Tint = 54.  Same as test pattern result, 4 clicks above midpoint toward green.   

4. Contrast = 46.  Trial and error lang, no test pattern used.

5.  All processing modes off.

Hindi naman masisira kahit adjust nang adjust ng settings. 

After you get it right, you won't need to readjust unless you encounter a DVD that's obviously incorrectly mastered.   DVDs are mastered with standard calibrations, and I would estimate that about less than 1% of them are incorrectly mastered.

We have approximately same level of settings. But still I will try using the THX Optimizer.

What movies are THX certified? Might buy one.

[barrister]

THX Optimizer ko ay from Pirates of the Carribean and Star Wars, both Region 1.  Meron din siguro sa Region 3.

Eto pa:

The R3 version of Titanic (3-disc) has a THX Optimizer.

[dips15]

For me, it's PQ first and foremost. 

If I can't get a flat panel with good PQ, I'd rather have a CRT.

Yes, but if you want DVD viewing for a hometheater experience, you'll have to go widesceen.  Unfortunately, there are no widesceen CRTs available locally except for Samsung slimfit (which a lot of people are complaining about) and the pier TVs (which really is a crap shoot on how long it will last plus it is really a pain moving a 32 inch CRT TV). 

[staind01]

does the THX Optimizer come with blue, red and green filters to adjust Saturation and Hue? or a sample yellow strip to compare the yellow with? just curious kasi how you'll adjust these settings without the filters as basis/guide.

[jvm]

THX Optimizer ko ay from Pirates of the Carribean and Star Wars, both Region 1.  Meron din siguro sa Region 3.

Just tried it during my lunch break. Even the p-dvd of Pirates have it.

I ended with the following settings:

- Brightness: 0 or 50% of the scale
- Contrast: 0 or 50%
- Color: -10 or 25%
- Tint: 0 or mid point, not based on THX since I don't have the needed color filters
- Sharpness: -15 or 0%

I little higher than my usual. It may also be because I did it in the middle of the bright day.

[jvm]

does the THX Optimizer come with blue, red and green filters to adjust Saturation and Hue? or a sample yellow strip to compare the yellow with? just curious kasi how you'll adjust these settings without the filters as basis/guide.

For color saturation you will need a sample color of magenta or cyan. But without it, just look for the red color. Then look for color bleeding. The red should be as red as possible without bleeding.

For the Hue or Tint, I also don't have the required filters, so I just set it to mid point, balance between RED and GREEN, as long as the skin tones are acceptable to me.

[axn8882003]

Guys, I went to Glorietta yesterday for the appliance exhibit and went to Hitachi booth. While inquiring about the newer models, one the the salesperson approached me and started "Sales talking". I told him I already got my 8900 from Listening room. He then showed me a letter apparently from Hitachi Japan stating that The Listening Group is not an authorized dealer and service center since September 2006. He said that the warranty is not from Hitachi but from Listening Group only and will not accept units sold by Listening room. What gives here? Please enlighten me. Is this true? Where can I have my Hitachi serviced in case it broke down?

[staind01]

Guys, I went to Glorietta yesterday for the appliance exhibit and went to Hitachi booth. While inquiring about the newer models, one the the salesperson approached me and started "Sales talking". I told him I already got my 8900 from Listening room. He then showed me a letter apparently from Hitachi Japan stating that The Listening Group is not an authorized dealer and service center since September 2006. He said that the warranty is not from Hitachi but from Listening Group only and will not accept units sold by Listening room. What gives here? Please enlighten me. Is this true? Where can I have my Hitachi serviced in case it broke down?

you'll have to ask the Listening Room. 

warranty claims is the problem with grey or parallel units. so better buy from authorized dealers instead so you'll have peace of mind just in case.

hopefully, nothing goes wrong with your unit so you won't need to claim anything.

g'luck!

[dB10]

Guys, I went to Glorietta yesterday for the appliance exhibit and went to Hitachi booth. While inquiring about the newer models, one the the salesperson approached me and started "Sales talking". I told him I already got my 8900 from Listening room. He then showed me a letter apparently from Hitachi Japan stating that The Listening Group is not an authorized dealer and service center since September 2006. He said that the warranty is not from Hitachi but from Listening Group only and will not accept units sold by Listening room. What gives here? Please enlighten me. Is this true? Where can I have my Hitachi serviced in case it broke down?

when did you get your unit? did they (Listening Room) make any representation that it was factory warrantied? does your receipt indicate any warranty details? its an open secret that LR also sells grey units.

[axn8882003]

Got it December 2006. They said it had a one year warranty. Just present the receipt.

[dips15]

Got it December 2006. They said it had a one year warranty. Just present the receipt.

Yup its pretty much true.  The warranty will be honored by the Listening group.  Don't worry about it, they have been in the business long enough and we haven't heard anything really negative about their service.  Just relax and enjoy your TV. 

[barrister]

Guys, I went to Glorietta yesterday for the appliance exhibit and went to Hitachi booth. While inquiring about the newer models, one the the salesperson approached me and started "Sales talking". I told him I already got my 8900 from Listening room. He then showed me a letter apparently from Hitachi Japan stating that The Listening Group is not an authorized dealer and service center since September 2006. He said that the warranty is not from Hitachi but from Listening Group only and will not accept units sold by Listening room. What gives here? Please enlighten me. Is this true? Where can I have my Hitachi serviced in case it broke down?

Yes, it's true.

Listening Group's TVs are parallel imports.  Pero hindi ka naman nila lolokohin.  If you ask, they'll tell you that the unit was directly imported and was not sourced from the authorized Philippine distributor.  The warranty will not be recognized by the authorized distributor, but it still has a 1-year store warranty, which means that it's the Listening Group that will perform the repairs.

Ok lang yun dahil iyan talaga ang industry practice for appliance sales.  Ang masama, kung pareho lang ang presyo nila sa authorized retailers.  Pero dahil sobrang baba naman ng presyo, e di OK na rin.  Hindi naman fake 'yan, hindi rin reconditioned second hand ---  brand new talaga, parallel import nga lang.

At least we have a choice.  Overpriced kasi masyado ang SRP ng flat panels sa Philippines, kaya nga maganda ang negosyo ng grey market.

Ang difference lang talaga, warranty by authorized service center vs. store warranty.  Siyempre mas maganda ang authorized service center warranty, pero dahil sobrang layo talaga ng presyo, Ok na rin ang parallel import.

Where can I have my Hitachi serviced in case it broke down?

Either sa Listening Room or Hitachi service center.

Sa Listening Room, 1-year warranty.  Kung sa Hitachi service center, walang warranty, pero sa tingin ko, they will still accept it for repair --- bayad ka lang ng regular price.   I find it hard to believe that Hitachi will refuse to repair it merely because you bought it from the Listening Group.

[dB10]

Got it December 2006. They said it had a one year warranty. Just present the receipt.

if they did not make any false representation with you then all is fine, better ask people who have dealt with them in terms of warranty and service, some of the members of this forum might be regular costumers or may know someone personally.

[barrister]

Just tried it during my lunch break. Even the p-dvd of Pirates have it.

Sabi ko sa yo, e.  It's the zero expense option.  That DVD should be called the "Pirated Pirates" disc    .  I've seen that disc, and the Optimizer is exactly the same quality-wise as my R1 POTC. 

For color saturation you will need a sample color of magenta or cyan. But without it, just look for the red color. Then look for color bleeding. The red should be as red as possible without bleeding.

Distinguish between tint and color.   Cyan and magenta are for tint/hue; red is for color/saturation.

For the Hue or Tint, I also don't have the required filters, so I just set it to mid point, balance between RED and GREEN, as long as the skin tones are acceptable to me.

You're referring to this pattern, which requires THX blue filter glasses:  http://www.thx.com/home/dvd/optimizer/colorTint.html

Even if you don't have the THX blue filter glasses, the THX Optimizer has a low tech test pattern for tint:http://www.thx.com/home/dvd/optimizer/monitorPerf.html  Just use the color bar:  magenta and cyan blocks for tint; red block for color.

The problem is when you don't know how cyan and magenta should look like. Assuming that your computer monitor is correctly calibrated, they should look like this:



M for magenta; C for cyan.  Tint adjustments:  (a) Magenta: set too high becomes reddish; set too low becomes bluish; (b) Cyan: set too high becomes bluish; set too low becomes greenish.

Those who have a background in photography and Adobe Photoshop are familiar with cyan and magenta.

... I just set it to mid point, balance between RED and GREEN, as long as the skin tones are acceptable to me.

That's right.  Without test patterns, skin tones are the correct guide for setting tint.

[parak]

Hi, I bought my Pioneer 427-XHDG last January. Paid 180k at SM appliance in bicutan. Also bought 490-K upscaling player from pioneer. For me, sulit yung bayad ko sa kanya despite the steep price of pioneers. My standard DVDS are now very crisp and I am also watching TV shows from the US at Hi-def (720p) (you can do this with your computer but i cannot discuss here on how to do it).

A lot of research and test viewing went into this purchase. 9 months in the making. For me, mas prefer ko talaga plasma over LCD when it comes to movie viewing. Maybe for computer uses mas ok siguro LCD, but then again the reason why i bought a widescreen tv is to primarily watch movies.

[barrister]

Grabe ang mahal!

Pero grabe din ang ganda ng picture sa panel na yan.   

CONGRATS!!!

[dB10]

congrats on the pio experience! pre pa pm naman ng secret mo sa hd channel  i have the same model as yours and i have to agree that its truly worth every centavo, malayo sa iba ang performance nya, malinis and screen.

[Mouldingo]

Yes, it's true.

Listening Group's TVs are parallel imports.  Pero hindi ka naman nila lolokohin.  If you ask, they'll tell you that the unit was directly imported and was not sourced from the authorized Philippine distributor.  The warranty will not be recognized by the authorized distributor, but it still has a 1-year store warranty, which means that it's the Listening Group that will perform the repairs.

Ok lang yun dahil iyan talaga ang industry practice for appliance sales.  Ang masama, kung pareho lang ang presyo nila sa authorized retailers.  Pero dahil sobrang baba naman ng presyo, e di OK na rin.  Hindi naman fake 'yan, hindi rin reconditioned second hand ---  brand new talaga, parallel import nga lang.

At least we have a choice.  Overpriced kasi masyado ang SRP ng flat panels sa Philippines, kaya nga maganda ang negosyo ng grey market.

Ang difference lang talaga, warranty by authorized service center vs. store warranty.  Siyempre mas maganda ang authorized service center warranty, pero dahil sobrang layo talaga ng presyo, Ok na rin ang parallel import.




Either sa Listening Room or Hitachi service center.

Sa Listening Room, 1-year warranty.  Kung sa Hitachi service center, walang warranty, pero sa tingin ko, they will still accept it for repair --- bayad ka lang ng regular price.   I find it hard to believe that Hitachi will refuse to repair it merely because you bought it from the Listening Group.

Hinde daw fair yung binigay na treatment ng Hitachi Dealer sa mga small specialize dealers like Listening Room. Mas malaki daw binibigay na wholesale discount sa mga big appliance stores kaya di pantay ang kinikita nila. Might as well beat them at their own game...

[Mouldingo]

My 1st plasma Hitachi 55" Plasma 55PMA550 (1366x768)



My 2nd plasma Panasonic 65" TH-65PF9WK (1920x1080)

Coming Soon, Home Theater by TheaterWorks 

[staind01]

My 2nd plasma Panasonic 65" TH-65PF9WK (1920x1080)

Coming Soon, Home Theater by TheaterWorks 

wow!!    panood naman!! 

[dB10]

oo nga panood naman, dala kami ng popcorn at drinks

[barrister]

Wowowee! ... Pa-utang naman!   

[jvm]

...That DVD should be called the "Pirated Pirates" disc    .  I've seen that disc, and the Optimizer is exactly the same quality-wise as my R1 POTC.

LOL

Distinguish between tint and color.   Cyan and magenta are for tint/hue; red is for color/saturation.
 

You're right, I got it mixed up. In the absence of the color filter required for the TINT adjustment, I used the color bar with the cyan and magenta, and at the same time, I was also looking at the RED.

[staind01]

i suggest that you guys invest in a Home Theater Calibration Tool like Avia, VE, etc. not only do they calibrate the video to +/- 5% of the optimal settings but they calibrate the Audio as well!!  you'll need a Sound Level Meter for the latter though but these are affordable anyway considering the money you've put into your HT.

just my 2 cents.

[jvm]

i suggest that you guys invest in a Home Theater Calibration Tool like Avia, VE, etc. not only do they calibrate the video to +/- 5% of the optimal settings but they calibrate the Audio as well!!  you'll need a Sound Level Meter for the latter though but these are affordable anyway considering the money you've put into your HT.

just my 2 cents.

Better yet, borrow from someone who have it.  I was able to borrow a DVE from akyatbundok way back, when there were still regular listening sessions at his condo. And I used the Sound Meter from our plant .

[pchin]

My 2nd plasma Panasonic 65" TH-65PF9WK (1920x1080)
Coming Soon, Home Theater by TheaterWorks 

Holy Moly..it's a HT paradise!! More to come... If only I can get my hand even on a 50" I'm already in dreamland 

i suggest that you guys invest in a Home Theater Calibration Tool like Avia, VE, etc.

Doh..almost forgot I have the Avia, etc...hmm...this weekend I'll get busy again calibrating my HT gears