Pioneer 9G Owners Thread - Present & Future

[HDTV1080P]

Some Pioneer EBAY pricing info (and authorized dealer info)

It is getting harder to find Pioneer 2008 plasma models in stock at both retail and mail order companies. I just wanted to mention some new awesome prices I have seen on EBAY.

First a disclaimer
Quote from Pioneer website

"Pioneer does NOT authorize any of its dealers to sell new products on eBay. Pioneer's agreements with its dealers prohibit sales on eBay. Accordingly, Pioneer does not offer its limited manufacturer's warranty or rebates for products purchased from any dealers on eBay."

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/FindStore/Buy+Pioneer+Products+on+the+Internet

I have seen dealers on EBAY that advertise that they are an authorized Pioneer dealer in the EBAY listing for new Pioneer screens. If that is true then these Pioneer dealers are in violation of their Pioneer agreement. These EBAY dealers sometimes have organized connections with distributors and will give customers a receipt from their physical retail store location so the customer can get the 2 year Elite warranty or 1 year standard Pioneer warranty.

The following link is a list of Pioneer authorized mail order Internet dealers. Unauthorized Pioneer Internet dealers sometimes have a retail store and will purchase Pioneer products from a Pioneer distributor and provide the customer with a receipt from their retail store so that the customer can get the 2 year Warranty or 1 year warranty. Also technically Pioneer does not authorize Pioneer Elite products to be purchased over the Internet. Some authorized Pioneer Internet dealers get around this issue by having the customer call them over the phone for mail order sales when the customer wants to purchase an Elite product. They use a retail store to purchase Elite products since Pioneer only sells Elite products to retail stores that have a showroom to display the product. There have been authorized Pioneer Elite distributors that have even dropped shipped products like Elite plasma screens when the customer purchases the product from some online dealers. In this economy I have seen authorized Yamaha distrubtors and other companies strech the rules on who they sell products to. There are several ways mail order companies are able to purchase products from authorized distributors for just about any brand of product. One of the reasons why so many Internet companies are selling several brands and models of restricted products that are not suppose to be on the internet is because some authorized distributors decides to break the rules and start selling products to these companies in order to increase sells. Also sometimes some authorized distributors will following the rules and only sell some restricted brands or models to retail stores and it is the retail store that breaks the agreement and starts selling products on the Internet. Once and a while there have been some companies that sell stolen products on EBAY or over the Internet. These so called companies usually go out of business very soon due to legal reasons or change their names several times a year.



Authorized Pioneer Internet dealers link below
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/FindStore/Pioneer+Home+Audio+Video+Authorized+Internet+Deale rs

Maybe Pioneer would have done better financially on their plasma line if they did not have all kinds of restrictions on who can purchase and sell Elite products. I understand the restrictions are there to protect retail stores, pricing, and to give customers a chance to experience the product in a retail store. With so many customers today purchasing products over the Internet after reading reviews some consumer electronics companies are changing their dealer agreements with resellers to allow Internet sells in order to sell more products.

At one time one could find a $7,000 PRO-141FD for slightly under $3,500 at mail order companies. Now a new PRO-141FD is going for around $4,400-$5,000+ even at EBAY. The $6,500 PRO-151FD model can be found on EBAY for under $4,000 sometimes.

** New Low prices on the PRO-101FD and KRP-500M (prices are for factory new models) **

There are some EBAY dealers selling the $5,500 PRO-101FD's for under $2,300 plus shipping charges. This is an excellent deal. The $200 KRP-TS02 Table Stand is selling for around $149.99 on EBAY.

There is a dealer on EBAY selling the Pioneer KRP-500M that is including a free $200 KRP-TS02 Table Top Stand for a total price of under $1,500 plus shipping.

Again as mentioned before Pioneer does not allow any of its authorized dealers to sell products on EBAY. At this point since most retail stores are out of screens mail order and EBAY are the only option for most. Most dealers on EBAY claim they will get you the 2 year or 1 year warranty on the Pioneer product. The way they do this is usually by providing a receipt to their physical retail store. One can click on the following link to verify if a retail store is authorized to sell Pioneer products.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/FindStore

[sarge1976]

Very Good Info! Thanks

[TheZoof]

Just for the record... I think my KURO is finally broken in. I can really see the difference in the blacks/detail compared to other times...

I just watched Batman Returns and wow is that a transfer... spectacular blacks.

Anyways.... finally a proud KURO owner.

[sarge1976]

Hey Guys, I am having some serious buyers remorse with the 50" G10 I bought on the 3rd, I really wanted this open box 5020 they had for $1100 but the day I went to buy it some A-hole bought it that morning so I settled for the G10. I was on BB's website and saw they have 5020's for $1999 and I really want to get one before it's too late. The thing is, the delivery guys threw the box to the G10 away and do you think BB will let me exchange the G10 for an "Available Online Only" item? I feel like if I don't get this 5020 I will always regret it I realize I will have to add some extra $ towards it but I don't really care at this point

[okbarshabazz]

Ok, so I've had my Elite Pro-111fd for about 4 months now, and I have 2 issues:
1) I have (1) "static" red pixel on the middle of the screen &
2) I have the "ESPNHD" logo burn in/image retention in the lower right corner

Now, I have had a Fujitsu plasma for almost 6 years now and never a problem. I know the Elite is an amazing set, but I assure you that I don't abuse my tv. i.e. I always watch in "Pure" so the settings are properly adjusted, I gave the tv the proper "break-in", and I don't carelessly leave images (such as the ESPN logo) on the screen for long periods of time. Pioneer claims that they don't cover single pixels becoming static, and I know they don't cover image retention/burn-in.

So I post this because I have tried several things to fix it to no avail, including: running the video pattern, doing a "white wash", and even the *JScreen Fix* program... I have heard good things about "Pixel Protector" but it seems that it is much of the same generic screen shots...

has anyone else experienced either of these issues and fixed them? does anyone have any suggestions?? it's like those two flaws are the only thing I can see now... it drives me crazy! Please Help Me!

[sarge1976]

Ok, I just tried doing a mock purchase on BB.com and it says "Delivery Not Available" in your area WTF?, does this mean the 5020 isn't available? I wonder if they would ship the set directly to my local BB store? This sucks, I was already to exchange my G10

[sarge1976]

Originally Posted by okbarshabazz

Ok, so I've had my Elite Pro-111fd for about 4 months now, and I have 2 issues:
1) I have (1) "static" red pixel on the middle of the screen &
2) I have the "ESPNHD" logo burn in/image retention in the lower right corner

Now, I have had a Fujitsu plasma for almost 6 years now and never a problem. I know the Elite is an amazing set, but I assure you that I don't abuse my tv. i.e. I always watch in "Pure" so the settings are properly adjusted, I gave the tv the proper "break-in", and I don't carelessly leave images (such as the ESPN logo) on the screen for long periods of time. Pioneer claims that they don't cover single pixels becoming static, and I know they don't cover image retention/burn-in.

So I post this because I have tried several things to fix it to no avail, including: running the video pattern, doing a "white wash", and even the *JScreen Fix* program... I have heard good things about "Pixel Protector" but it seems that it is much of the same generic screen shots...

has anyone else experienced either of these issues and fixed them? does anyone have any suggestions?? it's like those two flaws are the only thing I can see now... it drives me crazy! Please Help Me!

That really sucks man, I don't know what to tell you but I'm sure somebody on here will have some answers. I jusy noticed some IR tonight on my G10, all I did was run the Audysee setup on my Onkyo 805 and and I got the graphics stuck on my screen. I did the proper break in procedure as well.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by okbarshabazz

Ok, so I've had my Elite Pro-111fd for about 4 months now, and I have 2 issues:
1) I have (1) "static" red pixel on the middle of the screen &
2) I have the "ESPNHD" logo burn in/image retention in the lower right corner

Now, I have had a Fujitsu plasma for almost 6 years now and never a problem. I know the Elite is an amazing set, but I assure you that I don't abuse my tv. i.e. I always watch in "Pure" so the settings are properly adjusted, I gave the tv the proper "break-in", and I don't carelessly leave images (such as the ESPN logo) on the screen for long periods of time. Pioneer claims that they don't cover single pixels becoming static, and I know they don't cover image retention/burn-in.

So I post this because I have tried several things to fix it to no avail, including: running the video pattern, doing a "white wash", and even the *JScreen Fix* program... I have heard good things about "Pixel Protector" but it seems that it is much of the same generic screen shots...

has anyone else experienced either of these issues and fixed them? does anyone have any suggestions?? it's like those two flaws are the only thing I can see now... it drives me crazy! Please Help Me!

You might be able to exchange or get a credit from Pioneer if it has a very noticeable pixel permanently fixed on the screen. If the pixel is very bad and viewable from several feet back Pioneer might replace or credit you for the panel under the 2 year warranty. You will have to contact Pioneer for more details. Did the static pixel on the screen just start happening or did it start doing this from day one?

Here is a quote from the PRO-111FD owners manual on page 133

"In rare cases, some pixels can be permanently switched off, or on, resulting in either a black or colored pixel permanently fixed on the screen. This effect is common to all plasma displays because it is a consequence of the technology.If the defective pixels are visible at the standard viewing distance of between 2.5 and 3.5 meters (8.2 feet and 11.5 feet) while viewing a normal broadcast (i.e. not a test card, still image, or single color display) please immediately contact Pioneer Customer Support (USA) or Customer Satisfaction (CANADA). See inside back cover for contact information. If, however, the faulty pixels can only be seen close up or during single color displays then this is considered normal for this technology."

I installed a Pioneer PRO-141FD for a family member that watches news programs like Fox News HD channel all day long that has a stationary logo. After the first day or two there was a little bit of image retention from the Fox News logo. I ran the video pattern for an hour that cleared up any image retention. I then activated the "Orbiter Mode 2" setting that prevents burn in by shifting the image on the screen very slowly over several minutes. After the Orbiter Mode 2 was activated there has not been anymore problems with this family member watching Fox News all day long on a PRO-141FD or PRO-101FD. See page 56 in the PRO-111FD manual to turn Orbiter on mode 2. I also have the Pioneer set for Dot by Dot mode for all 16:9 and 4:3 viewing (4:3 viewing should be limited to a few hours).

If you are watching ESPN all day long you can place the Pioneer in game mode that will lower the brightness and offer even greater protection from stationary logos. I use to do the game mode but found that the Orbiter 2 setting is all that is needed.

The Orbiter 1 setting does not work for Dot by Dot Mode. Orbiter 2 setting works for all available screen modes and works very good to prevent burn in.

If you run the Video Pattern twice and place the Pioneer in Orbiter 2 mode 100% of the time and after 2 weeks you still see the ESPN image burned in on the screen then possible the Pioneer you own might have a burn in that can not be fixed. I wish the Pioneers would all ship with Orbiter 2 turned on because some videphiles like to use Dot by Dot setting that matches 1080I and 1080P signals pixels to the exact same amount of pixels in the original signal with perfect original screen ratio. The problem is when Dot by Dot is turned on the Orbiter 1 settings are disabled and there is no screen protection turned on to prevent burn in for stationary images. The Orbiter 2 mode is a more aggressive setting that shifts the screen image even more and also works with all picture settings.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by sarge1976

Hey Guys, I am having some serious buyers remorse with the 50" G10 I bought on the 3rd, I really wanted this open box 5020 they had for $1100 but the day I went to buy it some A-hole bought it that morning so I settled for the G10. I was on BB's website and saw they have 5020's for $1999 and I really want to get one before it's too late. The thing is, the delivery guys threw the box to the G10 away and do you think BB will let me exchange the G10 for an "Available Online Only" item? I feel like if I don't get this 5020 I will always regret it I realize I will have to add some extra $ towards it but I don't really care at this point

If you had the original box to the Panasonic G10 and original receipt you could return the Panasonic G10 if it has not been more then 30 days. Since you do not have the original box for the G10 Best Buy might not allow it to be returned. You could always talk to the store manager and see if you could return the G10 with a restocking fee or something.

When I had a white glove delivery once for a display the guys wanted to take the original box and throw it away. I told them that I want to keep the original box and they let me keep the box. I wanted the original box just in case there was a problem and I needed to return the display and if I every moved I would have the original box to ship the display.

These white glove deliveries that retail stores and some mail order companies offer for displays they want to throw the box away so that customers can not return the product to the store or ship it back to the mail order company. Once the original box is gone customers need to deal with the manufactory most of the time for warranty repairs. One might be able to get a retail store to exchange a TV within 30 days but to get them to return it without a original box is difficult.

[sarge1976]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

If you had the original box to the Panasonic G10 and original receipt you could return the Panasonic G10 if it has not been more then 30 days. Since you do not have the original box for the G10 Best Buy might not allow it to be returned. You could always talk to the store manager and see if you could return the G10 with a restocking fee or something.

When I had a white glove delivery once for a display the guys wanted to take the original box and throw it away. I told them that I want to keep the original box and they let me keep the box. I wanted the original box just in case there was a problem and I needed to return the display and if I every moved I would have the original box to ship the display.

These white glove deliveries that retail stores and some mail order companies offer for displays they want to throw the box away so that customers can not return the product to the store or ship it back to the mail order company. Once the original box is gone customers need to deal with the manufactory most of the time for warranty repairs. One might be able to get a retail store to exchange a TV within 30 days but to get them to return it without a original box is difficult.

I have the reciept but not the box. I am also a "Premier Silver" Reward Zone member which gives me 45 days to make returns. I don't get why BB's website is telling me delivery is not available in my area? I'm wondering if I could have a 5020 shipped to my local store from the warehouse or not Tomorrow I am going to BB to find out because I really want a 5020 if they are still availble.

[fuwa]

Originally Posted by sarge1976

I have the reciept but not the box. I am also a "Premier Silver" Reward Zone member which gives me 45 days to make returns. I don't get why BB's website is telling me delivery is not available in my area? I'm wondering if I could have a 5020 shipped to my local store from the warehouse or not Tomorrow I am going to BB to find out because I really want a 5020 if they are still availble.

When I bought my Kuro I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend that much money on a TV and I asked the BB salesman if there would be a restocking fee if I returned it. He said there would be no fee with the box so it would follow that they do take the TVs back w/o the box but charge a restocking fee.

You may want to check a thread on AVS forum site about the new Panasonics losing some of their black levels just after a few months. I think they were talking about the V-10 but this may also apply to the G-10.

[okbarshabazz]

HDTV1080P,

Thanks so much for your response, and all of your advice!
I never knew about the orbiter 2 because I watch everything in dot by dot, and that was precisely the reason that I didn't use the orbiter!

and the quote from the manual was EXACTLY what I repeated to Pioneer... I even measured exactly where the pixel was located on the screen (to justify primary viewing area) as well as the exact distance I was seated from the tv where the pixel was clearly visable. Pioneer was awful in this regard as they basically tried to tell me that "pixels are supposed to fail."

oh well...

[sarge1976]

Originally Posted by fuwa

When I bought my Kuro I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend that much money on a TV and I asked the BB salesman if there would be a restocking fee if I returned it. He said there would be no fee with the box so it would follow that they do take the TVs back w/o the box but charge a restocking fee.

You may want to check a thread on AVS forum site about the new Panasonics losing some of their black levels just after a few months. I think they were talking about the V-10 but this may also apply to the G-10.

I was thinking that since I would be "exchanging" the G10 for another set it wouldn't be a big deal but if I was asking for my $ back I could see them trying to screw me with a restocking fee. I didn't hear about the V10's losing their black level , Damn! I'm gonna have to look into that. I wonder why Thanks

[sarge1976]

I just got back from my local BB,the dork told me that I have to call the 1800 # for BB.com and order the 5020 that way. Well I called the # and they told me it is not available in my area , I don't know what to do now. I want to return my G10 because of the Black level problem, but what should I get to replace it? A 500M maybe? they seem plentiful but then I have to track down a stand and speakers. Damn!

[sarge1976]

Well I said F-it and pulled the trigger on a 500M with a stand and speakers from Valueelectronics.com Now I have to take this G10 back to BB.

[gtmorgan23]

Originally Posted by sarge1976

Well I said F-it and pulled the trigger on a 500M with a stand and speakers from Valueelectronics.com Now I have to take this G10 back to BB.

how much did all that run?

[sarge1976]

Originally Posted by gtmorgan23

how much did all that run?

$2100, not too bad I think

[sarge1976]

Originally Posted by fuwa

When I bought my Kuro I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend that much money on a TV and I asked the BB salesman if there would be a restocking fee if I returned it. He said there would be no fee with the box so it would follow that they do take the TVs back w/o the box but charge a restocking fee.

You may want to check a thread on AVS forum site about the new Panasonics losing some of their black levels just after a few months. I think they were talking about the V-10 but this may also apply to the G-10.

You were right! People with G10s are losing their black levels for no apparent reason. Damn, there is pages of people having this problem over at AVS. I'm getting rid of this TV Thanks to BB's Reward Zone "Premier Silver" program I have 45 days to return it or I'd be screwed

[sarge1976]

Originally Posted by gtmorgan23

how much did all that run?

Damn! I just looked at your HT gallery, Nice . You have 3 5020s! I have been looking high and low for a 5020 and you got all 3 for $3K! do you want to sell one

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by sarge1976

You were right! People with G10s are losing their black levels for no apparent reason. Damn, there is pages of people having this problem over at AVS. I'm getting rid of this TV Thanks to BB's Reward Zone "Premier Silver" program I have 45 days to return it or I'd be screwed

There were all kinds of professional reviews about that brand and model having an unwatchable flicker at 48HZ now I see many people mentioning like you said that the black levels are not as good when it ages after a few hundred hours or so. It's too bad Pioneer still does not make plasma screens. They were the performance leader with the best build quality. Higher quality products generally cost more money. It's too bad Pioneer was not able to make a profit on the screens over the last 3 years. They were not charging enough for the screens to cover the cost of the multi millions of dollars spent on research and development of the Kuro technology. Also when one charges more for a display they will sell less screens. On top of that they had all kinds of dealer restrictions on who could purchase and sell the Elite screens that limited the Elite models to limited locations.