Getting a used Kuro, should I?

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

So, the G8 were only 720p?

How is it?

Pioneer started making native 1080P plasmas in 2006 (7th generation). 100% of the 2008 9th generation plasmas are 1080P plasmas. In the year 2007 (8th generation) plasmas, some models were 1080P and some models were slightly better than 720P. For example the Pioneer PDP-5080HD has a native resolution of 1365 x 768P and true 720P is 1280 x 720P. The Pioneer PDP-5080HD will accept a 1920 x 1080P 24Hz signal and display it on the screen at 1365 x 768P at 72Hz using cinema quality 2-D triple flash technology. Back in 2007 the 720P (768P) quality of the Pioneer plasmas outperformed the picture quality of all 1080P LCD screens in the issue of deep black level and overall picture quality. Only the Pioneer plasmas with 1080P were better in overall picture quality since they added extra resolution detail to the picture quality when one sits close enough to the TV screen to see that added resolution.

[MachineGod]

I have the TV all set and the picture if great and everything is working smoothly... except for the speaker. I am having serious trouble with the speaker. I connected the wires the way they are supposed to be (I am pretty damn sure anyway) and when I turn the tv on all I get is a constant loud snowy sound from both the left and ride side. I dont know what to do, can anybody help? I checked the manual and havent found anything for this kind of problem. Its really annoying because everything else was going perfectly

[antennahead]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

Pioneer started making native 1080P plasmas in 2006 (7th generation). 100% of the 2008 9th generation plasmas are 1080P plasmas. In the year 2007 (8th generation) plasmas, some models were 1080P and some models were slightly better than 720P. For example the Pioneer PDP-5080HD has a native resolution of 1365 x 768P and true 720P is 1280 x 720P. The Pioneer PDP-5080HD will accept a 1920 x 1080P 24Hz signal and display it on the screen at 1365 x 768P at 72Hz using cinema quality 2-D triple flash technology. Back in 2007 the 720P (768P) quality of the Pioneer plasmas outperformed the picture quality of all 1080P LCD screens in the issue of deep black level and overall picture quality. Only the Pioneer plasmas with 1080P were better in overall picture quality since they added extra resolution detail to the picture quality when one sits close enough to the TV screen to see that added resolution.

I have the PDP-5010FD, 1920 x 1080 pixels.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by slimdude

You have to be very careful when you're cleaning a plasma screen, and different manufacturers recommend various instructions on how to clean their own particular product. I've located the owner manual for you to upload to give you instructions on how to clean the screen, in case the seller didn't include the manual with purchase. It can be very informative overall. Just click on "Manuals & Brochures" to upload the manual. The cleaning instructions is on page 8.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...sma/PDP-5080HD

Sorry I did not see that you already located the owners manual. That's what I get for not reading the entire thread.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by MachineGod

I just got the TV and brought it home. Nothing seems wrong with it so far but it had a few smudges on the screen. One part of the screen almost looks like it has grease or something on it. It came with cleaning cloth. Is there any special trick to cleaning the screen?

You could try using a damp soft cloth with water only on it to get stuff off the screen.

The Pioneer PDP-5080HD does not require an external HD cable box rental from the cable company. There is a cable card slot on this model with generic TV guide feature. Cablecard rentals are only like around $3.99 a month and they allow one to watch all or most of the encrypted channels that one subscribes to like HBO, Showtime, Fox News, CNN, etc. This is a old 2007 model so only one way MPEG-2 encrypted channels and in the clear channels are supported. MPEG-4 channels, interactive cable companies TV guide, and video on demand are not supported from the cablecard.


Here is a link to a PDF instruction manual for the Pioneer PDP-5080HD.


Owner's Manual

[MachineGod]

Okay this is really weird. The speaker is fine when I'm using my cable (Verizon Fios), the sound on this is great btw. But when I go to Netflix or Amazon Prime every movie and show has nothing but that loud snowy/ buzzing sound. I get my streaming services through my PS3, and the even weirder thing is games and BluRays and everything else on my PS3 is fine. It's literally just my streaming services. Amazon Prime is literally so bad I dont even have to put a movie or show on to hear this terrible distorted sound, as soon as the main menu opens it starts and goes constantly. Anybody ever had anything like this?

[HDTV1080P]

There is nothing wrong with the Pioneer speakers if the sound quality works perfectly fine with Blu-ray discs and Verizon FIOS cable. The problem is with the streaming service. Try the same streaming device on another TV to see if the audio problem exists. Also, check the audio settings for the streaming output device.

[MachineGod]

It's my PS3, and no it doesnt happen on other TV's because I just had another TV in my room prior to hooking this up the other day and nothing like that ever happened and I used Netflix and Prime frequently. Also I just got 2 weeks free of Hulu and that even works fine. After I saw Hulu work I got happy and tried Netflix again to see if the problem just went away on its on... but nope. Its really annoying and very weird and Ive never seen anything quite like it.

Why the hell would sound be perfect on everything including Hulu which is a streaming service, but become horribly distorted and produce nothing but a loud and constant electrical buzzing sound? I cant figure and I dont know what to do but I got to fix it

[HDTV1080P]

The 2007 Pioneer PDP-5080HD plasma TV will accept both a PCM input and up to a 5.1 Dolby Digital input over HDMI (All PCM and Dolby Digital audio signals will be downcoverted to 2.0 stereo since the speakers are a stereo system and not a surround sound system. Optical output will still pass 2.0 PCM and 5.1 Dolby Digital to legacy older A/V receivers.

This might be where the problem is. Netflix uses 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus now. Back in 2007 Dolby Digital Plus was not available, according to information online which needs to be verified, I think Dolby Digital Plus did not start launching until around 2008, and Netflix added several years later. The problem might be that if you are bitstreaming from the PS3 then Netflix Dolby Digital Plus signal might not be compatible with the 2007 Pioneer plasma. Try changing the PS3 to internal decoding all audio to PCM and that might solve all your audio problems since the PS3 will convert all audio to PCM.

[MachineGod]

Thanks man! I figured it out by going to the audio setting. As you can probably tell I am no audiophile, I dont know much about sound settings etc. but what you said helped. Thanks again

[MachineGod]

After using this TV for a little over 3 days, and playing with calibration... it is without a shadow of a doubt the best TV I have ever owned. Its absolutely beautiful and its colors and contrasts are stunning. It does annoy me a little that its 768p and not 1080p (cant imagine how the 5020 or even higher end KURO's look) but I only really notice any screen door effect right in front of the screen. I'm not even that far from it in my room where I normally sit and I dont notice and forget, it just looks brilliant. Of course it does depend what content I am watching. Sometimes with some TV channels Ill see more pixles than others. With Blu Ray Ive watched The Martian and Interstellar (Criterion Mulholland Drive is next!) and even up close I barely saw pixles. It is probably the best set ever below 1080p, and I know it beats a few higher res sets because the other day I was in Best buy and saw some Samsung SUHD and it looked sharper than the 5080 but the color and contrasts was much more flat.

There is however one problem I am having that is starting to bother/ worry me a little, and its not the resolution, its what this set is most infamous for and thats its Blacks. Its not that they arent good, they are great and BY FAR better than any other TV Ive had. But in absolute darkness there is a slight problem and I dont know if its normal. In total darkness, in either full black screen or in images and scenes that have tons of shadows and black after a few seconds I begin to notice a slight purplish violatish hue/ glow radiating deep in the "black". It isnt at noticeable under minimal lighting conditions and the blacks absolutely look fantastic and contrast against the colors and picture brilliantly. On that note, this plasma is one of the brightest Ive ever seen and has a great anti glare screen and Ive had very little if any problem with bright lighting. But back to what I was saying, the purple/ violate glow isnt noticeable with minimal (or any, obviously) lighting and even in pure darkness its not very noticeable when there isnt too much but still is black or shadow in the image and in those scenes it looks brilliant in darkness. Even in very dark scenes that take most of the screen it takes a few seconds to notice, but eventually I always do unfortunately...

I tried playing with the calibration (been doing that for days) and it hasnt helped, and Ive tried researching it and all Ive found so far is one guy on AVS who commented in a thread that on his KURO 111FD he could see a slight purple hue and glow coming from within the blacks. Nobody ever responded to it. Is this normal for a Plasma? If not is there anything I can do about it? Would a calibration disc help me out (I was gonna ask for some recommendations with those anyways) or a professional calibrator? Is it just a sign the set is almost 9 years old?

Besides all that, and not being 1080p, I love this set and will be keeping it for a while no doubt.

[MachineGod]

On Craigslist I recently saw somebody in my area pretty close to me selling the ELITE KURO 111FHD for a listed price of $950. The ad says the set it in near perfect condition with no scratches on the frame and no dead pixels or burn in. It also apparently has no red tint and has about 23,000 hours on it.

I literally just got my 5080HD a month and a half ago and I've enjoyed the hell out of it, but I was thinking of getting the 9G ELITE because I cant imagine how great it must be. I really would love a full 1080 Plasma (one of the very top ones ever made, too), and I have a friend who already said he would buy my 5080. My 5080 has really brought my electric bill up a little more than I thought it would, how is the 111FD by comparison in power consumption? Better or worse? Also how does the brightness compare to the 5080? I know 1080p Plasmas are usually dimmer than 720p Plasmas, but if its not a huge drop I can live with it for I know it will be better in just about every way

I am really considering this, although I did really want to get the 55B6 when it comes out because I really want OLED and it seems LG has greatly improved all the issues this year but even so OLED isn't as reliable as the top Plasma sets like this and the motion still isn't as good and may not ever be.

[HDTV1080P]

Good deal on a used Pioneer plasma.The Pioneer PDP-5080HD uses a maximum of 371 watts (23 watts standby), and the Pioneer PRO-111FD uses a maximum of 436 watts (0.2 watts standby).

Good review to read

http://www.soundandvision.com/plasmadisplays/pioneer_elite_kuro_pro-111fd_plasma_hdtv_fo#bTTjJoFIJYQ13dyo.97

[saprano]

Originally Posted by MachineGod

My 5080 has really brought my electric bill up a little more than I thought it would

How? Even running it all day wouldn't make your bill go up $50 at the end of the month. Over a year, yeah.

How much did it change if you don't mind me asking?

[MachineGod]

It's about an extra 25 dollars. I know there is no way the KURO did all of that but I figured it could be a good chunk. I just went from a 24 inch Vizio LED to a 50 inch Plasma and I know Plasma is not known for energy efficiency. I don't pay all my bills myself I live with my grandparents but I have to give them money every month and my grandmother really complained about the bill this month.

There is something else it could have been, I have these grow lights downstairs and I know those brought the bill wayy up when I first got them but Ive had those almost 6 months and we haven't seen a bill quite this high yet. I guess they still could be the culprit

[MachineGod]

So is 900 for a used 111FD with around 22 thousand hours on it sound like a good deal? the person also says there are no scratches on the set, and no sign of the red tint.

[HDTV1080P]

Sounds like a good deal. Maximum life is 60,000+ hours. A brand new 55 inch OLED display is selling for under $1,800 on Amazon now. Of course OLED might only last 30,000+ hours. If going the OLED route in the future I would definitely get a 4K Ultra HD version.

[MachineGod]

Yeah that's the choice that's killing me. Get one of the ultimate Plasma sets or get an OLED... that is the question. I was just looking at LG OLED's in Best Buy the other day, and aside from the perfect blacks I was not that impressed. I didn't think it looked bad or anything, but I wasn't as blown away with the colors as I have been with my 5080HD (cannot imagine how great the colors on the 111FHD are).

I do wonder if it's just the combination of the intense lights at Best Buy combined with the fact that they probably don't have it calibrated to anything that would be considered "reference" or ideal by anybody who gives a **** about picture quality. The 9100 is the only one they were playing an actual movie on (Age of Ultron). They has the 65 inch 9500 on display elsewhere and that one looked a little better to me but they were't playing any real content just cgi demo stuff on it. What mainly surprised me with that was the 4K Resolution. I mean from a distance it might as well be 1080p but I was quite impressed how standing right in front of the damn screen and there is virtually no screen door effect. My 720p (or 768, whatever) 5080 is just 50 and from close enough it has pretty damn obvious SDE. I imagine the 111FD SDE isn't much of a problem, if one at all, so either way its a good upgrade is resolution for me. But for a 65 inch tv to have next to no SDE with my face practically touching it is very impressive imo. The pixles are so damn small and the clarity of the picture and lack of visible artifacts up close was great. Besides the resolution though I wasn't that much more impressed over the 9100. the blacks are amazing and the colors beat any LED but I like the colors on my Kuro better. I also saw some slight motion bluring on both sets, something I don't have the best eye for but since going Plasma I have been able to point it out more on other sets. Before I really could only see it on the very worst LCD's and old ones from years ago.

All that said I really feel like if I got an OLED (especially a 4K one) in my room it would impress me a whole lot more, I don't know if it would improve it enough to make me like it better than a KURO but I really wish I could get a demo in my room to play around with for a little but. This is something I am just going to have to decide myself. I have really grown to love Plasma and would love even more a 1080p one with even better blacks, but I have been waiting for OLED since I first heard of it in 2008 and now I can get it. The fact that it's LG does make me lean a little more towards the KURO. LG has got better in recent years with reliability and picture quality but they are still behind Sony and Panasonic in build quality, never mind talking about the Pioneers which is probably the best built flat panel made.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by MachineGod

I was just looking at LG OLED's in Best Buy the other day, and aside from the perfect blacks I was not that impressed. I didn't think it looked bad or anything, but I wasn't as blown away with the colors as I have been with my 5080HD (cannot imagine how great the colors on the 111FHD are).

The HDTVs that are on display at Best Buy and other local retailers, have not been properly nor professionally calibrated by a certified ISF Technician to receive the optimal picture quality. The display models are taken right out of the box, plug into a power strip and play on torch mode. To see what an HDTV is suppose to look like, it must be calibrated by a certified ISF technician, or using a calibration disc. An ISF calibration is more extensive and accurate because of its ability to professionally calibrate the external and internal video circuitry with a computer, that's use specifically for ISF calibrations only, that a DIY calibration disc is not capable of performing, which is why a ISF calibration is expensive.

[MachineGod]

Yeah that's pretty much what I thought. I am sure if I got it in my room I myself could tweak it enough to get it looking better than that. But I wont ever get a chance to do that unless I buy one, so I have no idea if I would prefer the look of a calibrated OLED or a KURO.

Most likely I am just going to go with the used KURO, and perhaps just get an OLED tablet to help satisfy my OLED urge and desire. The tablets are RGB OLED too instead of WOLED which is better imo.

Can anybody tell me anything about the peak brightness of the 111FD? Does it get as bright as the 5080HD or close? I have always been surprised how bright my 5080 is after hearing how relatively dim Plasma tends to be and going by how dim my friends old one used to be. Then I looked it up and found 1080p Plasma is usually the one that can be too dim and that concerns me a little