LG 50PK550R Owner's Discussion Thread

[dotMac]

Thanks dotMac. Can you please point me to the post/thread that talks about it in detail. I will ask the LG service guy to bring the service remote.

All the info you need about PK500 are embedded in these 80+ posts in this thread
And the 12th post details the configuration of programmable remote.

If you are looking for exact menu item for getting usage hours, Shaiju had detailed it some times back. It might be few posts backwards.

 

[nishant80]

All the info you need about PK500 are embedded in these 80+ posts in this thread
And the 12th post details the configuration of programmable remote.

If you are looking for exact menu item for getting usage hours, Shaiju had detailed it some times back. It might be few posts backwards.

Searching within a thread of this size is time consuming (And I was being lazy!). Thanks for the link. I will work my way from there.

 

[Mannu]

The TV got delivered today at 10:34 IST (Am I happy? :yahoo. So, one more name added to this group. I had been silently following this thread since the last few months. A big thanks to all for their inputs on this set.

Why I chose 50PK550?
- 50" screen Size.
- Less than 65K in price (I got it for 67K that includes the cost for an extra year of warranty from Croma - this set is way costlier in blore than pune/delhi/mumbai)
- Full HD plasma with a thin frame and more than avg PQ.

My first impression is - WOW !

I had concerns about dancing pixels and line bleed as many guys here have pointed out. My set has no such problems (touch wood ). I hooked the TV to PS3 and Airtel SD DTH. The PQ looked decent with SD content. But hold on, from whatever I have seen till now, HD signals from PS3 blew me away. I played 720P and 1080P videos, they all looked flawless. I downloaded the dark knight teaser poster (1920X1080) that has lot of blacks on it to check the dancing pixel issue. Kicked up brightness to 100 - no dancing pixels. Zoomed the image (PS3 allows that) to a very dark portion - still no dancing pixels. The manufacturing date on the set is 10th Aug 2010. Maybe it has the latest FW.

Have few questions for fellow members:
- How do I check the firmware version?
- How do I check the usage hours?

Thanks everyone again !


A note to the moderators:
It will be great if an option is given to download the entire thread for offline viewing. avsforums has this option for threads and it is mighty helpful.

COngratulations on your new purchase, i haven't been on this forum for quite some time now.

I am posting regarding the line bleed, i am sorry to say this but line bleed will be there, i got my 550 replaced 4 times, and everytime when the set was new i used to get excited since their was no line bleed, but after some time, when the phospors age a bit, line bleed is gonna show it's ugly face, it's not a problem with the display but it's actually a problem with the technology, right now you can't see it since the phospors are new, line bleed is an inherent problem of the plasma technology so don't get upset when you start to see it at a later stage.

Also green pixels problem is there, it's just that you might not be able to see it right now, try these settings, on standard mode put contrast to 70 and all other settings at 50, gamma at medium and blacks at low, rest all is of, now run a channel that has a letter box movie running and change brightness from 45 to 55 range, and at the edges of the black bars you will surely see the green pixels within that range.

As far as usage is concerned i have no idea, for seeing the version of the software i would say that you call an LG Tech, do not venture into the service menu on your own.
Once again congrats on the new purchase.

 

[nishant80]

COngratulations on your new purchase, i haven't been on this forum for quite some time now.

I am posting regarding the line bleed, i am sorry to say this but line bleed will be there, i got my 550 replaced 4 times, and everytime when the set was new i used to get excited since their was no line bleed, but after some time, when the phospors age a bit, line bleed is gonna show it's ugly face, it's not a problem with the display but it's actually a problem with the technology, right now you can't see it since the phospors are new, line bleed is an inherent problem of the plasma technology so don't get upset when you start to see it at a later stage.

Also green pixels problem is there, it's just that you might not be able to see it right now, try these settings, on standard mode put contrast to 70 and all other settings at 50, gamma at medium and blacks at low, rest all is of, now run a channel that has a letter box movie running and change brightness from 45 to 55 range, and at the edges of the black bars you will surely see the green pixels within that range.

As far as usage is concerned i have no idea, for seeing the version of the software i would say that you call an LG Tech, do not venture into the service menu on your own.
Once again congrats on the new purchase.

Thanks for ruining my short-lived joy

I read up that line-bleed is inherent to plasma tech but the newer generations have it very less and hence thought that mine is a 'new' one. I guess I will live with that even if it appears later (no other option!).

Will try the settings you mentioned and update on dancing pixels.

dotMac pointed me to the right post about the service menu, looks like I need to settle down with the smaller issues first before venturing into that area.

Going to call Airtel DTH cust care to ask to upgrade my SD box to a HD one

 

[heynownow]

Here's a pic of My PK showing the champions league in HD. Tata Sky rocks!!!...Airtel Sucks!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jDoB2FMf-1LwMELvjuT2X-cEC-J_19LVCP1FvfFcGS4?feat=directlink

 

[nishant80]

Here's a pic of My PK showing the champions league in HD. Tata Sky rocks!!!...Airtel Sucks!!

I guess you forgot to paste the link.
"Airtel sucks" is a strong statement in my opinion. Can you please lay out the parameters on which you judged?

 

[Mannu]

Thanks for ruining my short-lived joy

I read up that line-bleed is inherent to plasma tech but the newer generations have it very less and hence thought that mine is a 'new' one. I guess I will live with that even if it appears later (no other option!).

Will try the settings you mentioned and update on dancing pixels.

dotMac pointed me to the right post about the service menu, looks like I need to settle down with the smaller issues first before venturing into that area.

Going to call Airtel DTH cust care to ask to upgrade my SD box to a HD one

hyeah:You are Welcome, the newer generations plasmas of panasonic have it very less, but the LG 50Pk550 has it prominently.

As far as entering the service menu is concerned, that post is also mine which I copied from avsforums, now why i was advising against doing it on your own is also at the bottom of the post, moreover it will cost you nothing plus save you any future trouble to call in LG, using the LG service remote, it's only a matter of 2 or 3 clicks, but either way it's your choice at the end.

I wouldn't rate Airtel as a very good DTH service provider for many reasons

Based on the format the signal is sent on airtel, number of transponders, and the difference of cost, TATA Sky is by far the best DTH service provider, if you want proof of the same then you can try searching the DTH section for the above following criteria and you will get your answer.

I Hope you Enjoy the display to it's fullest potential. :clapping:

 

[heynownow]

I guess you forgot to paste the link.
"Airtel sucks" is a strong statement in my opinion. Can you please lay out the parameters on which you judged?

Simple...maybe I'm unlucky, but its like they have a personal vendetta against me. They have been screwing me for the last 2 years for both their mobile and their DTH services. If I go into the details, it will be quite sizeable.

ALl I can say is that they are a nefarious company, who value short term profitability over customer satiffaction and their own long term reputation. Also they engage in deceptive industry practices and epitomises corporate hubris whilst being grossly incompetent at the same time.

-Without prejudice

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Totally agree, TataSky rocks big time.

They must have been slow with HD but far better than other players in terms of CS. I felt NatGeo started showing air-stripping effect last month, called the engineer and he agreed that the channel was being tested and next day NatGeo was back to perfect. So they acknowledged and acted upon the problem. Oh yes, I too did suffer from Airtel's bad mobile operation.

 

[nishant80]

Simple...maybe I'm unlucky, but its like they have a personal vendetta against me. They have been screwing me for the last 2 years for both their mobile and their DTH services. If I go into the details, it will be quite sizeable.

ALl I can say is that they are a nefarious company, who value short term profitability over customer satiffaction and their own long term reputation. Also they engage in deceptive industry practices and epitomises corporate hubris whilst being grossly incompetent at the same time.

-Without prejudice

Hmm...I see your point.
Did some lookup myself to compare Tata sky HD and Airtel HD. One big advantage Tata is offering is that they are playing 5 channels in HD (NGC, DC, showcase, star plus, showcase and star cricket) whereas Airtel is beaming only one (NGC). I wonder why Airtel is so much behind in the HD space!

 

[shredder]

Airtel are bumbling nincompoops. It should be a matter of great shame to them that an event for which they are the major sponsors cannot be beamed in HD in their own set-top boxes, while TataSky is doing so. I got an Airtel set top box thinking that they would gradually add HD channels aside from NGC HD, but till date they have not done anything.

 

[nishant80]

Also green pixels problem is there, it's just that you might not be able to see it right now, try these settings, on standard mode put contrast to 70 and all other settings at 50, gamma at medium and blacks at low, rest all is of, now run a channel that has a letter box movie running and change brightness from 45 to 55 range, and at the edges of the black bars you will surely see the green pixels within that range.

I tried these settings to check the problem of dancing green pixels. My regular viewing distance is about 8 feet and I did not see this problem at that distance. Moved closer to 4 feet, still no problem. Moved to 1 feet and trying to see the different dark parts on screen, now I can see it and I'm like 'nooooooo it cannot happen to me' (wifey has been staring all along, she is now suspicious that I have lost my mind!)

But then I realize that I am standing too close to the TV (1 feet is insane). I move back and become happy again since this problem is not noticeable at 'normal' viewing distances hyeah:

Couple of questions for fellow members:
- Do you notice this problem from 'normal' viewing distances?
- Is this problem going to increase? (Inputs from owners using this set for more than 2-3 months would be valuable)

 

[Kittu]

I tried these settings to check the problem of dancing green pixels. My regular viewing distance is about 8 feet and I did not see this problem at that distance. Moved closer to 4 feet, still no problem. Moved to 1 feet and trying to see the different dark parts on screen, now I can see it and I'm like 'nooooooo it cannot happen to me' (wifey has been staring all along, she is now suspicious that I have lost my mind!)

But then I realize that I am standing too close to the TV (1 feet is insane). I move back and become happy again since this problem is not noticeable at 'normal' viewing distances hyeah:

Couple of questions for fellow members:
- Do you notice this problem from 'normal' viewing distances?
- Is this problem going to increase? (Inputs from owners using this set for more than 2-3 months would be valuable)

Do go any further you may see the circuit boards behind the panel

Sit back Relax and Enjoy

 

[heynownow]

Airtel are bumbling nincompoops. It should be a matter of great shame to them that an event for which they are the major sponsors cannot be beamed in HD in their own set-top boxes, while TataSky is doing so. I got an Airtel set top box thinking that they would gradually add HD channels aside from NGC HD, but till date they have not done anything.

Yeah and it's all the more despicable if you consider the way they were pimping the Saif-Kareena HD ads. This clearly highlights that they consider their customers as chumps. I mean are we really that naive to put our implicit trust in their hallowed red & white logo that we will overlook their incompetence and downright douchebaggery. Also their "DTH" services are a sham I have not once been able to order a movie on demand from Airtel. I ordered my 1st HD movie (Once upon a time in Mumbai) from Tata Sky and it worked like a charm in all it's HD glory. If the Commonwealth Games happen (right now, a big if) I'm postive it will be beamed in HD on TS and Dish, but not on Airtel. Clearly Bharti took the plunge into a business it had no frikking idea how to run.

 

[heynownow]

Moved to 1 feet and trying to see the different dark parts on screen, now I can see it and I'm like 'nooooooo it cannot happen to me' (wifey has been staring all along, she is now suspicious that I have lost my mind!)

I pretty much solicited the same response from my wife, doing pretty much the same thing you've described. She actually told me "Honey, you might need some medical help" :lol:

 

[mymandarin123]

LG PK550 Power Consumption

I performed a few power consumption tests on my set today, on an average the TV seems to consume 1 unit of power for every 7-8 hours of operation in the max energy saver mode.

The test was carried during the viewing of a mix of SD and blu ray rip content. All picture optimization elements set at 50. More details on the energy meter used for testing .

 

[illusion_heart]

I had the opportunity to check out the 60" 550 yesterday, was amazed at the sheer size of screen. The plasma had a normal bezel and there was no glass end to end hence no reflections considering i was in the showroom with so many panels and overtly bright lighting..was playing SD reception from Big TV...

Looked back at the panel, was sporting a made in korea tag, manufactured in July 2010. My expectations grew and was expecting the US menu options but was let down big time...no expert modes or any other options, menu was smilar compared to 50".

Didnt feel like probing in any further..... price displayed on the screen was somewhere around 1.3k...am sure can get a better deal from small multibranded showroom (fairdeal) across the street.

Also sitting few screens apart was the 60" Pk 950....this one was really like a mirror as it has the end to end glass face...didnt even go close to check..

Any forum members interested in checking out these panels can visit SOny Mony in vile parle (W), SV road.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Saturday is gone and it IS a boring Sunday. Might land up at Sony Mony.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Was watching Hangover BR and the picture is amazing. Consumed by work and hardly any time to tweak the set.

Ordered my second lot of BR from Amazon.us. Can't wait to try The Dark Knight.

Panel must have completed ~200 hours. IR is still there but fades away much faster.

 

[reynoldmaben]

Hello Friends,

Last week, i purchased a cable VGA to HDMI to connect my laptop (dell Inspiron) to pk550. Connceted the VGA pin to my laptop and HDMI pin to the HDMI3 port, nothing appread on the screen except "No Signal" i taught it was a fault with the cable and had it exchanged but even with the new one there is nothing being displayed on the screen. Can sombody out here help me with this, i guess im missing out on something.

Reynold