LG 50PK550R Owner's Discussion Thread

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Ok, I'll clarify few things on the problems so that potential PK550 buyers can stick to or change their decision.

The green pixel is annoying to me but may not bother casual viewers. It is tough for me to explain unless I show it to you.

First problem:
Consider a very nice contrasty picture with good amount of blacks and whites (or set against any other light color). Say a shot of the night sky with some people faces in the foreground. Such shot is exactly where those damn (can't abuse) green pixels are prominent. It will be fluttering all over the character's faces and lighter shades.

Imagine having a fine green (very fine as in pixels) veil over a nice picture. The problem is exactly that. It takes away from the blacks that Plasmas are famous for.

Second problem:
There are no advanced calibration options. I have given good amount of rant to LG on this miss. The only 50" full HD model can't be calibrated? In this matter Panasonic has to be lauded. Hats off! That they produce full HD 42" panel is commendable. In fact Samsung is better as they offer color management although with it's own set of issues.

Now, it does not mean picture settings on LG can't be adjusted. It can be but not properly calibrated to get the best of blacks, natural colors and contrast.

So if these 2 problems does not bother you much, go ahead with the purchase.

 

[dotMac]

Shreeps/Balabala

These issues with the 50PK550 are precisely why I avoided the model. Plus my requirement for better sound. I picked up the 50PJ560 last week. I'd say, if you're not too particular about full HD, you can just pick up the 50PJ560 for 3k less and enjoy. Frankly I never found any difference in picture quality between a HD ready panel like the 560 and a full HD panel like the 550. I played the same content on both the models and checked from a distance of about 10-12 feet.

---Venkat

Venkat is spot on. Infact, I was considering the HD Ready Plasma a year back as the price gap between FullHD and HDReady was lot more. This year as the gap was little, I went ahead with FullHD. I intend to use this TV for at-least 10~15yrs from now and by then 1080p (or even 4K) content would be more prevalent. I know many would laugh at this

Venkat is right about the little difference at viewing distance of 10-12 feet.
FullHD definitely gives more detailed pic. This detail is visible only on a high quality 1080 content. An upscaled video(or a BDRip) simply would not have the detail.
Also the detail that FullHD content adds will not be visible at 10-12 feet. For a 50" inch TV, ideal viewing distance is between 5 ~8 ft. Beyond that human eyes cannot pick the detail a FullHD TV generates.
Refer this chart :

 

[shreeps]

Thanks Shaiju, Venkat and dotMac.

dotMac: I want to go in for a full hd because of similar reasons. I dont plan to upgrade the TV for quite some time and also plan to watch BR discs.

Venkat: Are you sure the PJ series doesnt have the problem described by Shaiju?

Shaiju: I understand what you are trying to say. The issue you observed may or may not be a big deal for me. However, I wont know that till I actually buy the tv and start viewing content on it. I just dont want to take a chance that *if* I notice the problem *and* I dont like it, then I dont want to have to run behind LG for a replacement or firmware patch. Let them fix the issue and then I can take a purchase decision. Any idea if the 60PK550 also has the green pixel issue?

 

[dotMac]

First problem:
Consider a very nice contrasty picture with good amount of blacks and whites (or set against any other light color). Say a shot of the night sky with some people faces in the foreground. Such shot is exactly where those damn (can't abuse) green pixels are prominent. It will be fluttering all over the charatcer's faces and lighter shades.

Imagine having a fine green (very fine as in pixels) veil over a nice picture. The problem is exactly that. It takes away from the blacks that Plasmas are famous for.

Hi Saiju,
Can you post link to any PIC for which this issue pops up(and probably your settings). I would like to see it in my TV with older firmware.
Also is this affected by brightness settings like before?
Do you think LG has screwed it and made the PQ worst? Or is this less irritating that the old issue?

Others,
Anyone got the new firmware?
My colleague has ordered the same TV. He was OK with Green pixel issue in old firmware as he also could not see it beyond 5 ft. He got it for 61K. But dealer has told him that it would take 2 weeks for the TV to be delivered. So waiting for his TV to see the improvements myself.

By the way, I was trying THX optimizer II from Pixar's Cars DVD. The preview video of Cars was simply awesome. :thumbsup: If DVD video(480p) was this good, BluRay will blow me away I guess
Anyways, animated movie generally look better than usual once.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

shreeps, not seen a demo of 60PK550 but if it has the same problem it will be more visible due to size.

Have an update call in next hour. Am sure LG must be playing dart with my name

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

doctMac, well they have made it bit worse from what I have seen so far. Yes, it is similar to the changes in brightness points. Will try and post pictures.

THX optimizer II from Pixar's Cars DVD. I have one too - where is the optimizer, in the menu?

 

[VSG12777]

Venkat is right about the little difference at viewing distance of 10-12 feet. FullHD definitely gives more detailed pic. This detail is visible only on a high quality 1080 content. An upscaled video(or a BDRip) simply would not have the detail. Also the detail that FullHD content adds will not be visible at 10-12 feet. For a 50" inch TV, ideal viewing distance is between 5 ~8 ft. Beyond that human eyes cannot pick the detail a FullHD TV generates.

Thanks DotMac. Regarding the "Is Full HD 1080p Worth It" issue, DotMac you're spot on there. Try sitting at 5-8 feet with a 50 inch TV and your eyes are gonna be strained like anything. You can't watch for long at this distance. It's just too close. And this means, in short, that since most of us sit further than 5-8 feet away for a 50 inch TV (and correspondingly less for a smaller TV), we automatically lose the benefit of 1080p. So what's the point? And when I tested at the shop, I seriously could NOT make out a difference. I was standing at about 10 feet or so. So my point was, why pay 3k more for 1080p where the difference was not visible to me, and for a TV which did not have good speakers? The answer to this question made the decision easy regarding the 50PJ560. I am sure I will trade in my 50 inch plasma and go in for something bigger in 2-3 years.

Thanks Shaiju, Venkat and dotMac.

dotMac: I want to go in for a full hd because of similar reasons. I dont plan to upgrade the TV for quite some time and also plan to watch BR discs.

Venkat: Are you sure the PJ series doesnt have the problem described by Shaiju?

Hey Shreeps

Yes as far as I can see, my PJ560 does not have such issues like green pixels, banding and what not. Or maybe, my eyes are just unable to pick out these defects. It could be either. Between 50PK550 and 60PK550, the issue is a possibility on the 60PK550 as well, since it's just a larger version of the same panel. There is also a possibility that the issues are non-existent on the 60PK550. Could be either!

---Venkat

 

[spyral]

So I finally got my PK550 a couple of weeks ago...been playing around with it, tried everything I possibly could including SD and HD cable, PS3 games, HD rips in regular .avi and .mkv formats, Blu Ray movies etc. Im absolutely loving the TV. I havn't had much chance comparing the TV with other similar machines but my dad has a couple of LCD's and this thing smokes them.

Yes, there is an issue with the green pixels, infact I see both green and red pixels. However, the only time I have seen this issue popup when Im streaming SOME videos off my PC and after a little while of playing PS3 games. From regular viewing distance its not even visible. So even though it bugs me, makes very little difference in reality. I'll be doing some more testing to determine exactly when it happens. Have also setup a visit from one of the LG engineers.

I've read about the firmware on the forum and am waiting to see how things change once its implemented. Got the dealer also keeping an ear out for me and he will update me as soon as he knows more.

Honestly though its really not a big deal and all this effort is more for mental satisfaction than anything else.

Ive only seen banding once at the start of the FF Advent Children Blu Ray when it displays the FBI warning. Not a big issue also.

The only negative really is the speakers. Very weak and not front facing. Certain videos at high volume also cause a high pitch buzz from the speakers which I'll have the engineers check.

Bottom line, at this price, there really is no other option unless you want to compromise size. Pair it up with a decent sound system and your all set.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Will post if I find out anything about fixes for the pixel issue.

 

[dotMac]

doctMac, well they have made it bit worse from what I have seen so far. Yes, it is similar to the changes in brightness points. Will try and post pictures.

:sad:

THX optimizer II from Pixar's Cars DVD. I have one too - where is the optimizer, in the menu?

If you have the Cars DVD, you must be able to access the optimizer through the root menu of DVD.

In case there you cannot find the THX Optimizer in your DVD, it could be that the optimizer is available only on the US region DVD. I managed to get just the Optimizer(abt 167 MB ISO). Click the link on my previous post and that may lead you to my source.

The optimizer has Video and Audio calibration tools. Go ahead with Video and then choose Basic. The preview I mentioned is shown as a part of last calibration step(named "Final Test") in Basic calibration steps. This sample clip also has a great 5.1 sound

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

spyral,

Welcome to the proud owner's club. Yes, you will love this display.

 

[dotMac]

Try sitting at 5-8 feet with a 50 inch TV and your eyes are gonna be strained like anything. You can't watch for long at this distance. It's just too close. And this means, in short, that since most of us sit further than 5-8 feet away for a 50 inch TV (and correspondingly less for a smaller TV), we automatically lose the benefit of 1080p. So what's the point?

Viewing distance is very subjective. And I think we Indians do sit a lot far from the TV sets than its required. I have visited handful of houses in US. And every one has their couch right about 5 ft from the TV and mostly center of the couch aligned with center of the TV. I think in India, when it comes to home decorum, the placement of couch is governed by "where is looks best in the room" rather than "which is the ideal distance to watch TV"
Believe it or not, I was made to watch my 21" TV from same distance as I am not watching my 50" PDP :lol: And even if I get a 100" TV that wont change.
Why? My sofa looks good if its that far. (I am working on convincing others in my family to push my couch nearer to TV )

And I believe that a well calibrated TV would not cause fatigue to our eyes even when viewed at 6 ft. I once had a 30" Apple Cinema Display(God.. I miss it) right within 1 ~ 2ft and it was perfectly OK. And I used to sit in front of it for whole 8 hrs. I could not have done with old CRT. This is just my thought.
And I did watch couple of HD content from abt 5 ft in my PK550. These were short term viewing though. Max 30 mins.
So will I be sitting at 5ft? No for now. Because mostly I am viewing SD content at this stage. And my TV is not well calibrated. But I am considering it to view HD content once I get my TV calibrated. Apart from higher quality it also gives more immersive experience. Again just my opinion and I don't have scientific backing

 

[dotMac]

So I finally got my PK550 a couple of weeks ago...been playing around with it, tried everything I possibly could including SD and HD cable, PS3 games, HD rips in regular .avi and .mkv formats, Blu Ray movies etc. Im absolutely loving the TV. I havn't had much chance comparing the TV with other similar machines but my dad has a couple of LCD's and this thing smokes them.

Congratulations Spyral!!! :clapping:
Do post some pics of your setup when time permits.

Honestly though its really not a big deal and all this effort is more for mental satisfaction than anything else.

The only negative really is the speakers.

Bottom line, at this price, there really is no other option unless you want to compromise size. Pair it up with a decent sound system and your all set.

I agree with your assessment. As I had a HTiB, sound was not a concern at all. My opinion is that a TV should deal with Video and not sound. Sound can be improvised to the required level by getting dedicated audio hardwares like HTiB/AVR etc.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

dotMac, agree with your last statement. A TV should do what it is supposed to do - display great pictures and decent sound. It could be used as gaming monitor for some.

I remember days when some CRT had inbuilt DVD players. Few others had games. Now we have DTH (Videocon anyone?). They are just failures (IMO). TVs stream off the internet, plays multiple media formats, have 2 USB ports (I understand 3/4 HDMI) and the list goes on. The frills are bonus (that you pay for!) and you maybe be well off with a media player to do the job.

I would rather get individual hardware components that excel - AVR, media player, BR player, speakers, HTiB, etc. Without saying one should have the inclination and money to indulge.

Btw, it's time to revise the list of owners. And so many owners and no pictures?

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Anyone disagree with this post?

http://www.hifivision.com/television/10613-lg-50pk550r-owners-discussion-thread-39.html#post160042

Let's make it easier for people who are considering the PK550.

 

[balabala]

That was very helpfull Shaiju
Waiting for some confirmation that LG is done with the firmware update

 

[viveknath]

No comment from there end so far... will check with them by Saturday....

 

[shreeps]

Apologies for being OT but can any of you guys let me know the available 60" plasma models by LG. The only one I know of is the LG60PK550. Do they have any 60 inchers available in the HD Ready lineup?

Also, any comparable 58" options by Samsung?

 

[VSG12777]

Shreeps, the LG 60PK950 has already been launched with an MRP of around 170k, and a final dealer price of around 108-110k. This is a fully loaded model, has a Tru Black filter (saw it on display at an electronics fair recently and blacks were terrific), Wifi, Bluetooth, 4 HDMI inputs, 2 USB ports and so on. It is of course full HD. 60PK550 is also full HD like the 50PK550, and there is no other difference apart from the size. The 60PK950 is a fully imported TV, and is made in Korea.

There don't seem to be other options in that size, except maybe for a 65 inch Panasonic plasma, which would have a stratospheric price tag as usual and beyond reach for most of us.

Hope that helps.

---Venkat

 

[shreeps]

Shreeps, the LG 60PK950 has already been launched with an MRP of around 170k, and a final dealer price of around 108-110k. This is a fully loaded model, has a Tru Black filter (saw it on display at an electronics fair recently and blacks were terrific), Wifi, Bluetooth, 4 HDMI inputs, 2 USB ports and so on. It is of course full HD. 60PK550 is also full HD like the 50PK550, and there is no other difference apart from the size. The 60PK950 is a fully imported TV, and is made in Korea.

Thanks for the info Venkat - thats great news. But are you sure about the dealer price? Profit margin of up to 60k? Need to go through some online reviews and specs as well before I convince myself to stretch my budget

There don't seem to be other options in that size, except maybe for a 65 inch Panasonic plasma, which would have a stratospheric price tag as usual and beyond reach for most of us.

Hope that helps.


---Venkat

Yes it does. Thanks. I am really looking for the most value for my buck. My viewing distance is slightly more than 13 feet so I am trying to get the biggest screen size that possibly fits in my budget. I had more or less decided on the LG50PK550 or the Samsung 50C550 however seeing a couple of 60" displays at the showrooms has made me greedy . So its back to the drawing board and budget calculations I guess.

 

[idlebrain]

@VSG12777: How is HD Picture in 60PK950? I couldn't find any display piece here in Hyderabad but will get delivery by order which is costing here as 1.37K which is carrying Made in Korea tag.Most of the reviews are negative on HD aspect comparing to Panny.
I saw 60PK550 on display, I felt Ok not completely impressed with HD from 5ft. distance.

Thanks
Satya.