rscott4563
Standard Member
Yes this is another one of those help me setup my plasma threads, sorry..
Questions at bottom of post..
I'll first give a little run down of my initial impressions:
Wow was the first thing I thought, it was bigger than I imagined, bigger than it looked in demos and in store, even though I'd measured the size against the wall it still suprised me in person.
Heres a link to my original thread with pictures of its arrival and inital setup.
And heres a link to my "get your plasmas out" thread.
I got it from Ken (Ivojo) who was great to deal with and provided a great service, well recommended to anyone looking for a new purchase, but also lots of thanks to Joe (@ TMF) in particular for all his help.
It came with just the scart board (I didn't actually want it but it comes free so I'm not complaining!) and I'm using the built in PC input, all of my sources go through my Lumagen Vision, but I also take the passthrough RGB from my JS-rgb2s-video converter directly to the scart input board. This lets me compare NTL (scart) with NTL via Lumagen RGBHV, I can even do a split screen of both at the same time, and to my suprise the direct scart connection is as good as the Lumagen connection (admittedly I haven't setup the Lumagen at all yet, but it is doing the deinterlacing).
I'm sitting approx 8.5 feet from the screen and this I was told by many would be too close, especially with SD sources, well I can say definitively that this is not too close, I'm using the output of my Tivo (which degrades the NTL signal slightly) and it looks great even with channels like Disc H&L or UK Gold.
Initial DVD performance is stunning, going through the Lumagen but not setup yet, so I've got very high hopes for what it will be like when its been properly setup and calibrated. I've got a very good component to vga cable and so will be trying the direct DVD to plasma connection to compare once everything is setup.
Black levels are really good, although not pure black so I think I made the right choice over the Pioneer, as if the blacks were any lighter I think it would bother me.
The only thing thats annoying me at the moment is the noise, this is a combiniation of the PSU noise and the fan noise, the fan noise is the most annoying, its not very loud but its the tone of it that makes it noticeable, why on earth they couldn't fit two good quality silent fans to a £5000+ display baffles me, I've bought completely silent fans for my PC for less than a £5, has anyone had a go at replacing them, or are they meant to turn off when its not hot (I could turn the heating off to try and get them to turn off?).
Anyway I'll be back with updates to my findings as I get some more time with my new toys!
Now back to my questions...
I've tried searching but can't really find what I'm looking for, so...
My equipment is as listed in my signature, I'm feeding the Lumagen with DVD & XBOX via component and NTL/Tivo via s-video and then outputting to the plasma with RGBHV via the PC input.
Hopefully StooMonster, Joe (TMF), Grodon, Jase (I know you said you were ordering a panny 6 and lumagen, have you got it yet?), Loonatic (Lee), and anyone else who has a panny or lumagen or both will be able to help.
Heres a brief run down of my initial questions:
1) How do I get the plasma to display what signal its receiving, i.e. the resolution, I can get the V & H refresh rates displayed but not the actual resolution?
2) What would be a good guide line for my initial contrast, brightness, sharpness, mode, powersaving settings etc?
3) When inputting a signal using the Lumagen what would I set it at for standard Pal, 575/576/625 etc?
4) I know its going to vary person/setup to person/setup but what have people found to be the best input resolution/refresh for DVD and Sky/NTL from the Lumagen?
5) How do you calibrate contrast using DVE Pal on a plasma, with my CRT it was at the highest level before blooming occured on the white box, but with the plasma there is no blooming no matter how high it goes?
6) Anyone got any information on some of the Lumagen settings which aren't covered in the manual, such as genlocking, macrovision count offset, etc. Is there a complete list of menus and there uses?
7) Anyone got any information on any special menus on the plasma, i.e. ones which would tell me the incoming signal details, hours used etc?
Thats about all for now!
But I'm sure I'll be back to add more as I get more into the setup process, I will be getting Gordon in to calibrate but I'll be waiting till I've completed my setup for the forseeable future, probably be adding a DVI input from either a HTPC or a new DVD player in the next 2 months so will wait till then to get everything calibrated together.
Thanks in advance for all your help, it really will be appreciated.
Cheers
Ryan
Questions at bottom of post..
I'll first give a little run down of my initial impressions:
Wow was the first thing I thought, it was bigger than I imagined, bigger than it looked in demos and in store, even though I'd measured the size against the wall it still suprised me in person.
Heres a link to my original thread with pictures of its arrival and inital setup.
And heres a link to my "get your plasmas out" thread.
I got it from Ken (Ivojo) who was great to deal with and provided a great service, well recommended to anyone looking for a new purchase, but also lots of thanks to Joe (@ TMF) in particular for all his help.
It came with just the scart board (I didn't actually want it but it comes free so I'm not complaining!) and I'm using the built in PC input, all of my sources go through my Lumagen Vision, but I also take the passthrough RGB from my JS-rgb2s-video converter directly to the scart input board. This lets me compare NTL (scart) with NTL via Lumagen RGBHV, I can even do a split screen of both at the same time, and to my suprise the direct scart connection is as good as the Lumagen connection (admittedly I haven't setup the Lumagen at all yet, but it is doing the deinterlacing).
I'm sitting approx 8.5 feet from the screen and this I was told by many would be too close, especially with SD sources, well I can say definitively that this is not too close, I'm using the output of my Tivo (which degrades the NTL signal slightly) and it looks great even with channels like Disc H&L or UK Gold.
Initial DVD performance is stunning, going through the Lumagen but not setup yet, so I've got very high hopes for what it will be like when its been properly setup and calibrated. I've got a very good component to vga cable and so will be trying the direct DVD to plasma connection to compare once everything is setup.
Black levels are really good, although not pure black so I think I made the right choice over the Pioneer, as if the blacks were any lighter I think it would bother me.
The only thing thats annoying me at the moment is the noise, this is a combiniation of the PSU noise and the fan noise, the fan noise is the most annoying, its not very loud but its the tone of it that makes it noticeable, why on earth they couldn't fit two good quality silent fans to a £5000+ display baffles me, I've bought completely silent fans for my PC for less than a £5, has anyone had a go at replacing them, or are they meant to turn off when its not hot (I could turn the heating off to try and get them to turn off?).
Anyway I'll be back with updates to my findings as I get some more time with my new toys!
Now back to my questions...
I've tried searching but can't really find what I'm looking for, so...
My equipment is as listed in my signature, I'm feeding the Lumagen with DVD & XBOX via component and NTL/Tivo via s-video and then outputting to the plasma with RGBHV via the PC input.
Hopefully StooMonster, Joe (TMF), Grodon, Jase (I know you said you were ordering a panny 6 and lumagen, have you got it yet?), Loonatic (Lee), and anyone else who has a panny or lumagen or both will be able to help.
Heres a brief run down of my initial questions:
1) How do I get the plasma to display what signal its receiving, i.e. the resolution, I can get the V & H refresh rates displayed but not the actual resolution?
2) What would be a good guide line for my initial contrast, brightness, sharpness, mode, powersaving settings etc?
3) When inputting a signal using the Lumagen what would I set it at for standard Pal, 575/576/625 etc?
4) I know its going to vary person/setup to person/setup but what have people found to be the best input resolution/refresh for DVD and Sky/NTL from the Lumagen?
5) How do you calibrate contrast using DVE Pal on a plasma, with my CRT it was at the highest level before blooming occured on the white box, but with the plasma there is no blooming no matter how high it goes?
6) Anyone got any information on some of the Lumagen settings which aren't covered in the manual, such as genlocking, macrovision count offset, etc. Is there a complete list of menus and there uses?
7) Anyone got any information on any special menus on the plasma, i.e. ones which would tell me the incoming signal details, hours used etc?
Thats about all for now!
But I'm sure I'll be back to add more as I get more into the setup process, I will be getting Gordon in to calibrate but I'll be waiting till I've completed my setup for the forseeable future, probably be adding a DVI input from either a HTPC or a new DVD player in the next 2 months so will wait till then to get everything calibrated together.
Thanks in advance for all your help, it really will be appreciated.
Cheers
Ryan