LG 50PK550R Owner's Discussion Thread

[dotMac]

Can anybody give detailed information on following terms in simple language?
Temporary Image Retention
Colour Wash
White Wash
Break in process
Break in slides
Calibration

I know there is already information on this in this thread. But quite difficult to understand for newbies like me.

Let me give it a try :
PDP : Plasma Display Panel

Temporary Image Retention :
PDP's in principle works like a tube light. PDPs are made up millions of pixels where each are like mini tube light. The pixels contain phosphor just like tube lights and when energy is applied(electrons hit the phosphor), they glow. The more energy applied the brighter it glows.
That is the more you increase the brightness/contrast settings in your TV, the higher energy will be relayed to pixels.

Back to TIR. How it occurs on a plasma?
You may have observed that tube light glow faintly after you turn it off. It gradually fades until it glows off. Same is with PDPs. Generally the fade off time is very small.
If all content in the screen keeps changing the intensity keeps changing and thus all is well.
But if the screen displays a bright object for extended period of time, the pixel accumulates enough energy that it does not turns off as quickly as expected. Then those pixels glows for extended period which appears as a ghosty image.

This is TIR. As the name implies this phenomenon is temporary. It will fade off.

TIRs are unavoidable in plasma. It happens even in CRTs !!!

If its temporarily why should anyone care?
Though TIR in itself is not a problem, it points to a bad usage. That has to do with the aging process of Plasma pixels. A TIR indicates that you are unevenly aging the pixels which is bad in a long run. So avoid TIR would also mean that you are evenly aging the pixels.
You need to understand break-in process to understand aging.

Subtopic : Orbiter
Orbiter name of the ISM (Image Sticking Minimization) technique used by LG in their PDPs.
Enabling this is recommended. It keeps shifting the entire content so that the pixels get to show different color/intensity even when the screen is constant. As you may note this not always effective. But better use it then not.

Colour Wash
White Wash
These are various techniques that ensures that all pixels are glown with certain intensity to remove the residual charge caused during TIR.

So if you see a TIR on your screen and it is bothering your view, run one of these.

If I am not wrong, TIR if left for sometime will go off and hence there is no need to run any of these unless it is bothering your view. I would like others to correct me if I am wrong on this.

Break in process
Break in slides
Rather than me explain this. I would highly recomend the once who are interested about this to go through this link Plasma Break-In Images

Briefly, phosphor in new PDPs generate lot of intensity as they are virgin. (Just like a brand new tube light is very bright and it dulls as it ages). Now it also emits lot of heat. I read somewhere that you can feel the heat new the PDPs for first 100 hrs. This initial period where phosphor matures is called the break-in period. After this period they stabilize and emit constant energy.

Why Break-in period is famous?
It is at this time where Plasmas are susceptible to get a burn-in (aka Permanent Image Retention). But read in many places that burn-in is a thing of past. Refer this study.
But I can see one definite drawback. If high intensity content are viewed at this time, you will end up aging the plasmas unevenly and thus harm your display in a long run. So advice is to lower the contrast/brightness during the
break-in period.
Break in slides are special set of images that when set as slideshow ensures that all the pixels are uniformly aged in a soothing manner.

I had it running for an hour daily until last week or so. My wife has taken over the TV since last week. :indifferent14:

Calibration
The PQ(Picture Quality) in a PDP is effected by its environment. This is also true for LCDs. The light ambience in a room, the direction of incident light all affects the picture quality.
Calibration is a process where you fine tune the TV settings to display best in once home environment. You may have to calibrate for day light viewing and night viewing individually.
Calibration can be done using electronic equipments or just by setting what looks best for you.

Hope this helps.

Please correct me if I am wrong in any aspect. I am also a fresher when it comes to display technology.

 

[dotMac]

I would always see a image of the channel i last watched beforw switching off the TV....
Hence i was worried and asked you guys to reply quickly

The virgin PDPs show a lot or TIR. Dont worry. It lessens as it ages.
Generally I run the break-in slides before turning off and thus TIRs goes off.

Do ensure that you lower the settings all around 50 and turn off dynamic contrast. And dont keep static content for long. Keep Orbiter ON. That should be it.

Dont overuse Whitewash as it glows the pixels in highest intensity.

 

[VivekM]

Let me give it a try :
PDP : Plasma Display Panel

Temporary Image Retention :
PDP's in principle works like a tube light. PDPs are made up millions of pixels where each are like mini tube light. The pixels contain phosphor just like tube lights and when energy is applied(electrons hit the phosphor), they glow. The more energy applied the brighter it glows.
That is the more you increase the brightness/contrast settings in your TV, the higher energy will be relayed to pixels.

Back to TIR. How it occurs on a plasma?
You may have observed that tube light glow faintly after you turn it off. It gradually fades until it glows off. Same is with PDPs. Generally the fade off time is very small.
If all content in the screen keeps changing the intensity keeps changing and thus all is well.
But if the screen displays a bright object for extended period of time, the pixel accumulates enough energy that it does not turns off as quickly as expected. Then those pixels glows for extended period which appears as a ghosty image.

This is TIR. As the name implies this phenomenon is temporary. It will fade off.

TIRs are unavoidable in plasma. It happens even in CRTs !!!

If its temporarily why should anyone care?
Though TIR in itself is not a problem, it points to a bad usage. That has to do with the aging process of Plasma pixels. A TIR indicates that you are unevenly aging the pixels which is bad in a long run. So avoid TIR would also mean that you are evenly aging the pixels.
You need to understand break-in process to understand aging.

Subtopic : Orbiter
Orbiter name of the ISM (Image Sticking Minimization) technique used by LG in their PDPs.
Enabling this is recommended. It keeps shifting the entire content so that the pixels get to show different color/intensity even when the screen is constant. As you may note this not always effective. But better use it then not.

Colour Wash
White Wash
These are various techniques that ensures that all pixels are glown with certain intensity to remove the residual charge caused during TIR.

So if you see a TIR on your screen and it is bothering your view, run one of these.

If I am not wrong, TIR if left for sometime will go off and hence there is no need to run any of these unless it is bothering your view. I would like others to correct me if I am wrong on this.

Break in process
Break in slides
Rather than me explain this. I would highly recomend the once who are interested about this to go through this link Plasma Break-In Images

Briefly, phosphor in new PDPs generate lot of intensity as they are virgin. (Just like a brand new tube light is very bright and it dulls as it ages). Now it also emits lot of heat. I read somewhere that you can feel the heat new the PDPs for first 100 hrs. This initial period where phosphor matures is called the break-in period. After this period they stabilize and emit constant energy.

Why Break-in period is famous?
It is at this time where Plasmas are susceptible to get a burn-in (aka Permanent Image Retention). But read in many places that burn-in is a thing of past. Refer this study.
But I can see one definite drawback. If high intensity content are viewed at this time, you will end up aging the plasmas unevenly and thus harm your display in a long run. So advice is to lower the contrast/brightness during the
break-in period.
Break in slides are special set of images that when set as slideshow ensures that all the pixels are uniformly aged in a soothing manner.

I had it running for an hour daily until last week or so. My wife has taken over the TV since last week. :indifferent14:

Calibration
The PQ(Picture Quality) in a PDP is effected by its environment. This is also true for LCDs. The light ambience in a room, the direction of incident light all affects the picture quality.
Calibration is a process where you fine tune the TV settings to display best in once home environment. You may have to calibrate for day light viewing and night viewing individually.
Calibration can be done using electronic equipments or just by setting what looks best for you.

Hope this helps.

Please correct me if I am wrong in any aspect. I am also a fresher when it comes to display technology.

:thumbsup: detailed and point to point explanation. Thanks. This will help many. Are there any YouTube videos available regarding this?

 

[VivekM]

Any more things about which a PDP owner should know before and after buying?
what precautions a PDP owner take after buying.
Do's and don't s?

 

[VivekM]

For how much hours should we run break in slides? How one would know that his PDP is successfully breaked in? Brightness contrast levels should be at what level during breaking slides?

 

[VivekM]

Found good YouTube video which expains image retention problem.

YouTube - Got A New Plasma TV? Break It In Properly! - HD Nation Clips

 

[VivekM]

Do PDP manufacturers run break in process before installation?
I read somewhere that some customers received PDPs with 100 to 200 hour usage.

 

[bhupinder511]

Found this deal on ebay... but the seller has listed pk550 as HD ready?? Resolution = 1024 x 768 pixels

I guess its a mistake....

eBay India: LG Plasma 50'' 50PK550R MRP 78990 Free Shipping(promo) (item 180549616355 end time 18-Sep-2010 20:04:41 IST)

 

[dotMac]

Any more things about which a PDP owner should know before and after buying?
what precautions a PDP owner take after buying.
Do's and don't s?

Once you have zeroed in on a model, you need to ensure that you dont get a used PDP. Some dealers use the TV we booked as a display piece so that they can attract other buyers. They generally keep very bright settings which can harm the PDPs in a longer run. So you may not want to get those used pieces. I had mentioned clearly to the dealer the moment I booked that I am not going to accept the delivery if the package is opened before it arrives to my home.
During delivery, ensure that the box is never laid down flat. It MUST be upright.
Once the delivery arrives check anyone had unboxed the TV which would indicate a use.
For LG PK550, the box will have three white plastic strips on them which need to be cut for the box to be opened. The box will have 4 large staples, two on either side. The must be intact. Next the panel will be covered in a plastic wrap to remove which they have to peel off a sticker that damages the plastic. So if its re-wrapped, it must be already damaged.

Next when the TV is being installed by LG technician, some will go for laying it flat to fit the stand or wall mount. Again insist that it has to be held upright all the time.

Check this Image for a proof that TV can be installed without laying it flat. As you can see, the technician is installing the wall brackets with TV standing upright.

[Hold a TV upright is important for TV of size 50" or above. The reason is that the PDPs is a sheet of glass. And it is one* glass sheet. If you lay it flat down, there wont be anything that supports the massive glass and the stress could very very minute fractures internally. The PDPs have the pixels inside the glass and thus the fractures could harm the pixels
1* : Modern sleek PDPs have one glass sheet, while older bulkier panels had two].

For how much hours should we run break in slides?

The more you run during the initial break-in period the more evenly the pixels will age. But avoid running the TV continuously long(like 10~12) hours.
For every 5~6 hrs it may be a good idea to give it a break.

How one would know that his PDP is successfully breaked in?

You never know.
For initial 200 hrs, the phosphor is most immature.
After 1000 hrs, its totally mature.

Brightness contrast levels should be at what level during breaking slides?

Minimal settings is the mantra. I used to set all controls to 45. 45 ~ 55 should be ok.

Do PDP manufacturers run break in process before installation? I read somewhere that some customers received PDPs with 100 to 200 hour usage.

I am not sure of that. The QA department may run random tests on the delivery line and that PDPs might have that usage. And I would assume that the figure of 200 hrs that everyone suggest would have taken that into consideration.

Found this deal on ebay... but the seller has listed pk550 as HD ready?? Resolution = 1024 x 768 pixels

I guess its a mistake....

eBay India: LG Plasma 50'' 50PK550R MRP 78990 Free Shipping(promo) (item 180549616355 end time 18-Sep-2010 20:04:41 IST)

I guess there is Thailand model with same name that comes with a HD Ready panel. But Indian once are FullHD.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Guys,

I refrained from posting since last couple of weeks as I was busy with work but kept the talks on with LG. The LG techs came over to my place today. They spent 5 hours adjusting picture -green pixels, blacks and brightness. The adjustments are both internal and through service menu. I played couple of reference blurays while they did picture adjustments. Also showed RGB settings YouTube video.

If the changes are implemented then (trust me) the already good picture will rival the best around. So the wait will be worth every nano second. There will be no firmware update but an engineer will make required changes. Blacks will improve and contrast will be better. All this effort to make sure PK550 is the best we own.

More updates coming soon...

 

[VivekM]

@dotMac
Thanks for useful post.
Only 1 thing is not clear to me.
Regarding break in slides-
We should not run break in slides more than 5 hours.
And after 1000 hours it gets mature.
Does it mean that we should run break in slides for 5 hours daily, untill 1000 hours completed?

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

VivekM,

The break-in slides can be run whenever and to whatever length required. I doubt there is any scientifically proven single duration. Also break-in is required only to age phosphors faster so that the set can be calibrated faster.

This is what I did - run break-in slides every night, that's about 7 hours, for 10 days. Then I really did not feel the need to continue as it offered no special improvement as compared to running in the TV by normal viewing.

Break-in procedure is overrated and can mislead that it is a required process. Just keep the suggested settings (contrast between 50-60) for first 80-100 hours and do not leave a static image too long. Follow these simple instructions and everything should be fine.

 

[VivekM]

Samsung PN50C550 Review

LG 50PK550 Review - LG 50" 1080p Plasma TV 50PK550

According to above two reviews-
50Pk550 Picture quality rating- 86

50c550 Picture quality rating- 90.5

Any comments?

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Samsung PN50C550 Review

LG 50PK550 Review - LG 50" 1080p Plasma TV 50PK550

According to above two reviews-
50Pk550 Picture quality rating- 86

50c550 Picture quality rating- 90.5

Any comments?

Well, that site is a bit of a joke. Why would anyone calibrate let alone watch TV with contrast set to 98? There are no problems with PK550 as the site mentions. I don't own a Samsung C550 so can't comment on it.

And with the picture changes that LG engineers did today with my set, it's great!

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Does anyone have contact of honeynownow? I mentioned his dead plasma problem to the senior tech and he wanted to get it resolved immediately. A name like honeynownow really doesn't help All I could remember that he is from B'lore.

Btw Viveknath and Srinivas, he mentioned about you guys asking for the firmware update. So I guess you are famous at LG

 

[Kittu]

Does anyone have contact of honeynownow? I mentioned his dead plasma problem to the senior tech and he wanted to get it resolved immediately. A name like honeynownow really doesn't help All I could remember that he is from B'lore.

Btw Viveknath and Srinivas, he mentioned about you guys asking for the firmware update. So I guess you are famous at LG

hey common now his id is "heynownow" (I know it sounds like he is in some kind of rush ) it sure is not honey-now-now .

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

hey common now his id is "heynownow" (I know it sounds like he is in some kind of rush ) it sure is not honey-now-now .

Oh yes! Now why did I do that? What was I thinking?

 

[VivekM]

Hey,
I got quote of 62k for 50pk550 today. Is it good price?

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Good price. Is that after bargain? PM me you number and I'll try getting a better deal.

 

[heynownow]

hey common now his id is "heynownow" (I know it sounds like he is in some kind of rush ) it sure is not honey-now-now .

Thanks for the clarification Kittu...even though "honey now now" is not an inaccurate option. I end up saying that a lot when I argue with my dear wife. So it's like "Honey! now.. now will you please listen to what I have to say?" <while dodging a projectile>