Pioneer 9G Owners Thread - Present & Future

[HDTV1080P]

In late 2012 OLED flat panels might beat the 2008 Pioneer Kuro plasma technology in overall 1080P picture quality

There is a very large possibility that the new 2012 Samsung and LG 55 inch OLED display’s might offer an overall better picture quality when compared to the reference 2008 Pioneer PRO-141FD 60 inch model. The black levels in theory will be closer to the CRT black levels with OLED (maybe even better than CRT).


We will need to wait for a professional review from one or more reviewers to know for sure if OLED is the new King in flat panel picture quality. Perhaps Tom J Norton at Home Theater magazine will do a head to head comparison between the 60 inch Pioneer PRO-141FD and the 55 inch OLED models. The OLED model from either LG or Samsung might become the new King in 1080P flat panel picture quality. Consumer 4K Front Projectors are already on the market and consumer flat panel 4K displays are coming soon. A possible new 4K optical format coming around the year 2016 makes me want to wait until 2016 or later before upgrading. At around the year 2018 the 2008 Pioneer plasma’s will be 10 years old which would be an ideal time for a upgrade in theory. The ideal flat screen display might turn out to be a 4K or 8K OLED display. Maybe Warner one day will do a 16K scan and restoration of “The Wizard of OZ”, and “Gone With the Wind” from 1939. I would also like to see “Ben Hur” with a 16K master scan of the original film negative (All 3 of those movies received an 8K master scan already before being downconverted to 1080P for the Blu-ray release).

4K displays are ideal with large screen sizes of 80 inches and above. Today we have 1080P screen sizes as small as 20.1 inches. Several years from now 4K screens might become more mainstream with screen sizes at 32 inches and smaller. On a 50 inch 4K screen I might have to move my chair two feet from the screen to see the improved picture quality resolution. A 50 inch 8K or 4K OLED computer monitor would be nice to own one day.

A 16K resolution display should offer a good 3-D quality without the need for 3-D glasses.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/samsung011012.htm

[snsguy]

I have a Kuro 500m and I have a problem. I'm not getting black levels l ike I was getting when I first got it. I'm not sure why. Its more like a dark grey. I've tried changing out cables and nothing seems to be changing it. I do notice that when I move the hdmi.cable that connects to he tv from my receiver the clarity comes back but not the black levels. I've tried going from the bluray player to the tv and surprisingly the sharpness dies and it softens.
I have everything going through a power conditioner. When I'm running anything else the same.thing happens dark grey levels rather then black. From what I remember it was as black as the trim around the tv. Am I wrong about that. Has anyone had any issues like this.

SNSGUY

[scweb13]

Originally Posted by snsguy

I have a Kuro 500m and I have a problem. I'm not getting black levels l ike I was getting when I first got it. I'm not sure why. Its more like a dark grey. I've tried changing out cables and nothing seems to be changing it. I do notice that when I move the hdmi.cable that connects to he tv from my receiver the clarity comes back but not the black levels. I've tried going from the bluray player to the tv and surprisingly the sharpness dies and it softens.
I have everything going through a power conditioner. When I'm running anything else the same.thing happens dark grey levels rather then black. From what I remember it was as black as the trim around the tv. Am I wrong about that. Has anyone had any issues like this.

SNSGUY

Did you try the other HDMI input? I had a 500M and now have a 101, and I've never had that happen to me. Did you change anything prior to the change in black levels?

[snsguy]

Originally Posted by scweb13

Did you try the other HDMI input? I had a 500M and now have a 101, and I've never had that happen to me. Did you change anything prior to the change in black levels?

Thanks for getting back to me. Ya I changed it between the two inputs and no change. This has been going on for a while nowhere. I did find that one of he wires in the outlet was loose but that didn't fix the problem. I noticed that when I had to change that out the tv softened again and isn't as sharp.

SNSGUY

[saprano]

Originally Posted by snsguy

Thanks for getting back to me. Ya I changed it between the two inputs and no change. This has been going on for a while nowhere. I did find that one of he wires in the outlet was loose but that didn't fix the problem. I noticed that when I had to change that out the tv softened again and isn't as sharp.

SNSGUY

A few in this thread experienced the same change in black levels-

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1361871

Some only have the red tint problem, some have both. But i've read some using the red tint fix to lower their black levels back to where it was.

Search the thread. Really good info in there.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by snsguy

I have a Kuro 500m and I have a problem. I'm not getting black levels l ike I was getting when I first got it. I'm not sure why. Its more like a dark grey. I've tried changing out cables and nothing seems to be changing it. I do notice that when I move the hdmi.cable that connects to he tv from my receiver the clarity comes back but not the black levels. I've tried going from the bluray player to the tv and surprisingly the sharpness dies and it softens.
I have everything going through a power conditioner. When I'm running anything else the same.thing happens dark grey levels rather then black. From what I remember it was as black as the trim around the tv. Am I wrong about that. Has anyone had any issues like this.

SNSGUY

The OPPO BDP-83 sometimes has a handshaking issue and will give you gray blacks. If you turn on the OPPO BDP-83 last the blacks will be deep instead of turning it on first. The newer OPPO BDP-93 does not have that issue when handshaking with the Pioneer. Now if the black level issue is on all TV programs from cable and/or satellite then the issue is with the Pioneer monitor most likely.

[snsguy]

Thanks for your responses guys. It is happening on every source. I was trying some stuff out and I did notice that both HDMI ports are loose. I pushed up on the hemisphere cord that was going into the port on the tv and the sharpness came back. Seems like a loose port. The black levels still didn't come back. They do some but only some. Do you think its a simple saudering of the ports back onto the board? If so do you think that could also be what causing the black level issues? Could it just be the information through the HDMI. cable just isn't getting through all the way?

SNSGUY

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by snsguy

Thanks for your responses guys. It is happening on every source. I was trying some stuff out and I did notice that both HDMI ports are loose. I pushed up on the hemisphere cord that was going into the port on the tv and the sharpness came back. Seems like a loose port. The black levels still didn't come back. They do some but only some. Do you think its a simple saudering of the ports back onto the board? If so do you think that could also be what causing the black level issues? Could it just be the information through the HDMI. cable just isn't getting through all the way?

SNSGUY

Running a 1080i component video output from the OPPO BDP-83 into the Pioneer monitor will answer your question.

[scweb13]

You can also try a HDMI/DVI adapter and the DVI input.

[snsguy]

Well, I don't know how but I decided to switch the Hdmi cord around and put the end that was in the tv in the receiver and the end that was in the receiver into the tv. Clarity is back now where it was when we first bought the tv. Not sure how that worked but it did. I even tried moving some stuff around in the back to see if it would go away like it did before and it's stayed. I moved those cords and changed them out I don't know how many times and nothing worked. The only thing I didn't try. Blacks are still not well, black. They are a little better but not sure why they aren't black like when we first got it. It's weird because the bottome of the screen has more of a glow to it then the rest of the screen. I did change some of the calibration settings and it looks much better. My wife even came in and said "that is why we bought this tv." I'm going to try some more stuff and see if I can get them back again. It's almost like the software is telling the tv that it's at an aging point before it's actually there. I did read in one of the links that you guys provided over at AVS. It said that there might have been a firmware update for such a problem with the 500m and 600m. Problem is it's out of warranty. I'm going to keep working at it though. I'll keep you guys posted. I'm getting my blacks back dang it!

SNSGUY

[snsguy]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

Running a 1080i component video output from the OPPO BDP-83 into the Pioneer monitor will answer your question.

Originally Posted by scweb13

You can also try a HDMI/DVI adapter and the DVI input.

I think I may try both of those suggestions just out of curosity just to see if the blacks get any better. Thanks guys!

SNSGUY

[HDTV1080P]

If the HDMI port or ports became damaged and are loose, then you would need special equipment and skills to handle surface mount components. The equipment can run several thousands of dollars to repair boards that use surface mount components.

Almost 100% of electronics that use surface mount technology is thrown away when damaged since it is too costly to repair things at the component level. Pioneer made their plasma screens so that there are several different circuit boards that plug into one another. Kind of like a motherboard on a computer in away.

So if the HDMI jack was damaged a Pioneer technician or regular consumer can order a replacement board and fix the problem. Placing the Pioneer display flat down on a flat bedroom bedspread will protect the screen while one can unscrew the back of the display.

You can purchase the service manual and parts directly from Pioneer for your KRP-500M. See following link:
http://parts.pioneerelectronics.com/model.asp?modelNum=KRP%2D500M

Someone on EBAY is selling a KRP-500M input board with all the HDMI ports for $124.22 or best offer.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pioneer-KRP-500M-Main-Tuner-pt-ANP2231-A-VLC-LN-/120796464212?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c2007 c454

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

In late 2012 OLED flat panels might beat the 2008 Pioneer Kuro plasma technology in overall 1080P picture quality

There is a very large possibility that the new 2012 Samsung and LG 55 inch OLED display’s might offer an overall better picture quality when compared to the reference 2008 Pioneer PRO-141FD 60 inch model. The black levels in theory will be closer to the CRT black levels with OLED (maybe even better than CRT).


We will need to wait for a professional review from one or more reviewers to know for sure if OLED is the new King in flat panel picture quality. Perhaps Tom J Norton at Home Theater magazine will do a head to head comparison between the 60 inch Pioneer PRO-141FD and the 55 inch OLED models. The OLED model from either LG or Samsung might become the new King in 1080P flat panel picture quality. Consumer 4K Front Projectors are already on the market and consumer flat panel 4K displays are coming soon. A possible new 4K optical format coming around the year 2016 makes me want to wait until 2016 or later before upgrading. At around the year 2018 the 2008 Pioneer plasma’s will be 10 years old which would be an ideal time for a upgrade in theory. The ideal flat screen display might turn out to be a 4K or 8K OLED display. Maybe Warner one day will do a 16K scan and restoration of “The Wizard of OZ”, and “Gone With the Wind” from 1939. I would also like to see “Ben Hur” with a 16K master scan of the original film negative (All 3 of those movies received an 8K master scan already before being downconverted to 1080P for the Blu-ray release).

4K displays are ideal with large screen sizes of 80 inches and above. Today we have 1080P screen sizes as small as 20.1 inches. Several years from now 4K screens might become more mainstream with screen sizes at 32 inches and smaller. On a 50 inch 4K screen I might have to move my chair two feet from the screen to see the improved picture quality resolution. A 50 inch 8K or 4K OLED computer monitor would be nice to own one day.

A 16K resolution display should offer a good 3-D quality without the need for 3-D glasses.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/samsung011012.htm

I said it somewhere, long ago, I'll "upgrade" my 9G Kuro's when OLED is good to go. I might wait a gen or two for the bugs to be worked out a little before buying multiple 50"+ displays. I will however get a gen1 smaller then 50" , I just don't want it from Samsung.... OLED should blow away our O'l 2008-2009 Kuro's (if it's done right that is... )

I remember a number of years ago when the first little OLED displays were out for everyone to see & they were gorges. I can't wait for a perfected 100"+ OLED

Thanks for the info.

[sarge1976]

Hi guys, lately I have had the upgrade bug. I decided that I want to sell my calibrated 600M and get something else. I think I may have a buyer for it but now comes the hard part, what to replace her(600M)with? I have always wanted a 151 or 141, (there were none available when I purchased my 600M) and I tend to see more 141's for sale then 151's.UPDATE: I may have just found a decent priced used 141 with 3000 hrs on it however, I just read that you can't put side speakers on it. Is that true? Is there a way that I could put a set of speakers from a 151 on it and some how power them?Does the 141 even have screw holes on the back to accept speakers? I'd really like to jump on this deal for the 141 since these deals don't last long. I have always read that this panel produces the best black levels out of all of the 60" Kuro's, and buying this will keep me satisfied until something better is available. The reason I am trying to figure out how to put speakers on the 141 is because my wife doesn't want to have to turn on the whole home theater just to watch TV, otherwise it wouldn't bother me. So if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks

[sarge1976]

Originally Posted by snsguy

I have a Kuro 500m and I have a problem. I'm not getting black levels l ike I was getting when I first got it. I'm not sure why. Its more like a dark grey. I've tried changing out cables and nothing seems to be changing it. I do notice that when I move the hdmi.cable that connects to he tv from my receiver the clarity comes back but not the black levels. I've tried going from the bluray player to the tv and surprisingly the sharpness dies and it softens.
I have everything going through a power conditioner. When I'm running anything else the same.thing happens dark grey levels rather then black. From what I remember it was as black as the trim around the tv. Am I wrong about that. Has anyone had any issues like this.

SNSGUY

Hi SNSGUY,
Have you ever had your 500M professionally calibrated? I was thinking if you didn't maybe having someone tweak your set might bring the deep blacks back. I have a 500M in our master bedroom and I have not (knock on wood) noticed any issues. However, I have had my Kuro's calibrated annually just to keep the picture in top shape. The picture on my 600M tends to change after about 8 months of viewing. Anyways, I just figured I'd suggest that as a possible fix

[saprano]

Hey, sarge.

Maby you can do what this guy did and buy side mount speakers?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1059491

[saprano]

Sarge, where did you get that shelf for you BD's? I currently need one badly.

[TheFactor]

Hey Sarge long time no see ..hope all is well.Wish I had the extra money I'd buy your display.

[scweb13]

Originally Posted by sarge1976

Hi guys, lately I have had the upgrade bug. I decided that I want to sell my calibrated 600M and get something else. I think I may have a buyer for it but now comes the hard part, what to replace her(600M)with? I have always wanted a 151 or 141, (there were none available when I purchased my 600M) and I tend to see more 141's for sale then 151's.UPDATE: I may have just found a decent priced used 141 with 3000 hrs on it however, I just read that you can't put side speakers on it. Is that true? Is there a way that I could put a set of speakers from a 151 on it and some how power them?Does the 141 even have screw holes on the back to accept speakers? I'd really like to jump on this deal for the 141 since these deals don't last long. I have always read that this panel produces the best black levels out of all of the 60" Kuro's, and buying this will keep me satisfied until something better is available. The reason I am trying to figure out how to put speakers on the 141 is because my wife doesn't want to have to turn on the whole home theater just to watch TV, otherwise it wouldn't bother me. So if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks

Sarge, the 141 and the 600M use the same panel so the black levels should be the same. Both will have slightly better black levels than the 151.
There aren't many differences between the 141 and 600m. The 141 has two more HDMI ports, the ISF doesn't require a patch and the parts are hand picked. It doesnt have the built in amp for the side mount speakers like the 600M, so the only thing you'd really gain is the two extra ports. But the Elite badge on the front would go nice with your receiver.

[sarge1976]

Hi guys, good to hear from you all