LG 50PK550R Owner's Discussion Thread

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Call received yesterday from LG HO with stockist, dealer and couple of other guys in conference. I can contact HO directly if there are any more issues. Hmm, well that's a nice restart.

Re. the settings
1) I can put across suggestion (and frustration) to Sapanarya (one who called to resolve "all" my issues)
2) Contact ChadB. Anyone willing to take the first step?

Some of you must have found picture settings on AVSF. Posting it here...

Aspect ratio: Just scan (for allowed sources else 16:9)
Contrast: 73-80 (i prefer 78)
Brightness: 51-54
Color: 48-51
Sharpness: 40-50 for SD. 45-50 for HD.
Tint: 0
Color temp: W30
Dynamic: Off
Gamma: Medium
Black level: Low
ISM orbiter: On (believe all of us are still in break-in period)

I found these settings to be very good. You can adjust anywhere between the range.

Can't wait for the new display.

Tata Sky HD up and running. :yahoo: Those HD channels are "wow!". Time to change my signature.

 

[viveknath]

Shaiju SALUTE ))....great we have a LG HO in loop ....couldnt get better than that....

man still waiting to get a damn tata sky box.. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

any chance we can ask about software/ firmware update to see expert view..wishes are horses now

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Tata SKY HD takes max 5 days to install (at least in Mumbai) and 24 hours post activation for HD channels to start showing. Even SD channels appear a bit sharper and distortion free. The very slight improvement maybe due to HDMI connection. Worth the wait and money.

Oh and yes, the contrast 73-80 setting is not to be followed during break-in. I was just trying out some setting. Don't get your baby burned

Will definitely speak with them today, maybe register a consumer complaint / feeback for R&D.

 

[bnsbhat]

I have given up all hope of getting Tata Sky HD STB befoe World cup finals and accordingly buying Plasma HDTV. Will defer purchase till mid Aug by which time EPL starts. Thanks to you all for the invaluable inputs.

 

[dotMac]

I stumbled upon this : DisplayMate for Windows

It is (supposedly) a highly acclaimed calibration software but requires a Windows PC though.
I am sure some of you guys would have already tried it

I will be trying it this weekend. But problem is that my PC has only VGA out and not DVI/HDMI. And in PK550, most of the video settings get disabled for VGA connection
So I am not expecting to get anything groundbreaking. But in case any of you have a PC with DVI/HDMI out, then you may get better result.

PS : They have got more professional calibrations products too. Link : Professional DisplayMate Products
And those with DVI out would need a DVI-HDMI dongle.


Regarding ChadB :
I am in if the cost is nominal. So I dont want to commit now and they withdraw if the price seems too much. Anyone can give me a rough idea about the cost involved?
And I dont think he can give us any calibration settings as it depends on individual room ambience. I guess he personally visits your home and calibrates the set. Not sure though.

@Saiju :
U seems to be in touch with some high profile guys
As the iron is hot now, why not try to bend the iron if it can.
Can you ask the manager for a firmware that will enable the european settings. Or in the worst case the method to go into the service menu.
If we are lucky, we may get it :yahoo:

I am feeling envy after seeing this :

Those lucky guys have even got the Bluetooth.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Thank you for the links. Haven't read in detail but looks useful.

I can keep the new set and give feedback in next couple of days. Will surely raise the concern / request for CMS, Expert Mode, Picture Wizard.

Planning to send out an email feedback. If anyone (Sri, Mannu, Venkat, doctMac...) have feedbacks I can push that through as well.

Our feedback should be two fold:
1) solve our issues
2) help LG in overall customer satisfaction

Then it is a win-win situation.

Pray for the best.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

New display installed.

Brand new piece. Think my older one had volume issue. This one sounds better on similar channels.

Now for the green dancing pixels. Very much there on this one as well. Damn damn damn LG die!

AVS forum user *MaDJiK* says, "This is not a plasma problem, only LG." Hmm, wonder how LG will respond tomorrow when I call.

I have asked the service guy who came along for the advanced menu option, if there is a firmware update on the way. Said he will check.

Something must be done.

 

[Mannu]

Well what do you know, the green pixels have appeared on my screen as well, brightness above 54 and they start appearing, right now i have kept it at 47, and they are not there, but once it goes above 54 they start appearing. I wonder if exchanging the set will do any good. i am a good 80 hours in the break in period, but surprisingly they wern't there before, i wonder why they appear now.

Well on a good note, i have had some progress regarding the mode enabling via service menu thing, i had contacted quite a few people regarding this, and i have got one positive reply who says that he know how to do it and can guide me through it, but i am still apprehensive, i am already talking with him to see if he is the real deal, but still too early to say anything, i will update if i do get to enable them.


Shaiju do let me know what LG people say about this, i am also putting an official complaint today, lets see what could be done regarding this.

 

[frankmehta]

So the green dancing pixels problem is deeper than we thought! So sad they had to MAR the TV and kill such a VFM offering. I am now outing the LG out from my list of probables. I don't want a set that has a problem from day one.

 

[Mannu]

Well every display comes with problems with it's own, you won't find any which has none, even kuros have their own set of problems, it's deciding what you can live with and what you cannot.

Also the green pixels start appearing at around 54 but to be honest i don't think i will go above 50 anyhow, this set does not buzz, does not have any bad pixels or dead pixels, it's appearance is very sleek and elegant, looks good on my wall, the PQ is awesome, it has some great black levels, it handles 24P playback like a charm, no stutters at all, SD content is very much watchable and better than what i saw on other displays, and 50" at 65k is great VFM so i think the pros outweigh the cons, plus i am getting close to enabling the expert modes in this display, so for me it's a keeper for sure

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Agree with Mannu. This is very good display except for the green pixels. Some notice others don't. Other than that are we discussing any issues with buzzing, judder, bad color, sub-standard picture quality? No don't think so.

Minor problem with IR. On the old set, that was almost reaching 100 hrs, the IR was almost non-existent. I started watching with contrast set to 78. Colors were much vivid, picture had "pop" and the extra "warm" picture feeling (read yellowish) reduced.

With my new one I notice one stuck / dead pixel. Whereas there were none on the old one.

Hmm, not a perfect world that we live in.

Having said all this I have to start the chase with LG once again tomorrow. :sad: :annoyed:

 

[dotMac]

@frankmehta

I second with what Mannu has just said. I would recommend you to have a look at the TV in case any of your friends have it in their home. Home demo is best in case you are going for a Plasma. My TV looks way way better than a Panasonic Plasma in the showroom. (Again showroom environment is subjective).

About the green-pixels :
Note that the VIVID setting itself uses the Brightness of 50. And I have barely went above 45. And even at 55, the pixels done bother at regular viewing distance.

Anyway, PQ is something which is very personal. But don't ignore the TV with an impression that this TV is totally flawed. As of now there are many satisfied Users here, but do check this place in case we find one.

 

[illusion_heart]

Shaiju / Mannu, is it possible for you to guys to post pics of this green pixel problem that you have witnessed. i had almost made up my mind on buying this one. looks like i will have to wait for the extra cash to pick up the panny 50V20 finally...

 

[dotMac]

Folks,
Anyone got your electric bill after the TV installation? Just curious about the bump in the bill.
I had to empty my well and thus my water pump was ON for a very long time this month
Also my wife added an owen/electric cooker to her lab which would also be drinking a lot of fuel. So cannot get the exact consumption of the TV

 

[Mannu]

Shaiju / Mannu, is it possible for you to guys to post pics of this green pixel problem that you have witnessed. i had almost made up my mind on buying this one. looks like i will have to wait for the extra cash to pick up the panny 50V20 finally...

Well i have made a video of it and uploaded it on youtube, it is shot from very close range almost adjacent to the screen, the pixels aren't visible from the average viewing distance, but still it is a problem for sure, other than this i do not have any qualms with this display and this too is mangeable by keeping the brightness level below 54, for me it kicks in at 54.

YouTube - LG 50PK550 R Dancing Green Pixels

 

[frankmehta]

just downloaded the user manual of this tv, and I would say, by far, this is the only plasma that allows out of the box playback for .mkv full HD files. Impressive!

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

This is way better than what I witnessed on the previous display. My current one seems to be more like your Mannu. It is a problem no doubt.

Not my video but what mine looked like:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/12378292-post23.html

 

[Mannu]

But this is why i say it is a keeper for sure, it has an amazing PQ, this pic i took with my cam on manual setting with everything turned off, no vivid contrast, no brightness adjustments, this is pretty close to what i actually see ISO 100, f 2.8, bracketting off, it was taken from less than 5 feet away, the brightness level on the display while taking this pic was set to 47(gren pixels kick in at 54), so u can see why i say i won't be going beyond 54 anyways, also while critically examining the pic do keep in mind that it was shot when the played content was moving, also i am still in the break in period with contrast as low as 60

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

Good one.

Btw, take off that sticker, you show-off

This one is a keeper for me too if the green pixels do not become worse as in the video (not Mannu's video but the one I posted). Will call LG to get rid of the lone stuck/dead pixel (don't know if it's stuck or dead). Maybe it's just a speck of dust.

 

[illusion_heart]

Well i have made a video of it and uploaded it on youtube, it is shot from very close range almost adjacent to the screen, the pixels aren't visible from the average viewing distance, but still it is a problem for sure, other than this i do not have any qualms with this display and this too is mangeable by keeping the brightness level below 54, for me it kicks in at 54.]

Looking at the video, it really is a big turn off. What actually is bothering me now is that post your burn in period will the problem aggravate or remain the same when you jack up the contrast. Even if it remains the same it sure is going to be a nuisance factor while watching.