Found deal on Kuro KRP-500M not sure what to think

[snsguy]

So I'm in the market for a new plasma tv cause I'm sick of LCD's. I found this but not to sure what to think about it. http://e-bigsave.com/default/televis...asma-tv-1.html
I've never heard of them and I'm a little suspicious. I would like to get a Kuro KRP-500M but they seem to be hard to come by at $2000 mark. It's either that or the Panasonic V10 50 or 54. I want to get the best deal but it seems to be hard to find any of these without paying a big price. Any help would be appreciated.

SNSGUY

[davidxiphoid]

Seems kind of sketchy. I could find nothing on them in the search i did other than they have a store in England, the other in California. I don't see any BBB verified tags on their site, and no info on them at the BBB site as well.

[lojack1976]

Well, I took a look at their site and they accept credit cards and paypal as forms of payment so at least you would be protected. They also provide a customer service number and they have a California address as well as a location in the U.K. They appear to be pretty legit. Most scam sites only accept bank transfers as payment, and that's always a red flag. I also did a Pronto.com search and they come up in their store search. Like I said, you would be protected if you use credit card or paypal.

[snsguy]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

Well, I took a look at their site and they accept credit cards and paypal as forms of payment so at least you would be protected. They also provide a customer service number and they have a California address as well as a location in the U.K. They appear to be pretty legit. Most scam sites only accept bank transfers as payment, and that's always a red flag. I also did a Pronto.com search and they come up in their store search. Like I said, you would be protected if you use credit card or paypal.

I emailed them some questions and I'll see what comes out of it. I'm seriously considering the Panasonic 54 V10 right now. They are getting hard to find to and I need to jump on one soon cause this tv will gone a few weeks. The hesitation for the Kuro is that I can't find it anywhere to take a look at it. Also this company concerns a me somewhat and feels like it might be a gamble. With the Panasonic it's gotten great reviews itself and I can get it in a 54" and it is compatible and working with 24 fps which I will use. But the Kuro is still appealing with all of the fantastic reviews it's gotten. Is it better than the 111 model or the 5020? Also some sites state the 500M is an LCD not a Plasma.

SNSGUY

[davidxiphoid]

I did find this, but it doesn't come with a stand.

http://www.electronicexpress.com/pro...source=froogle

still under 2G's but don't know if they charge tax, and the shipping would probably push it over, but at least the company seems legit.

Like Lojack said, the other place might be ok. Just seems weird that I can't find ANY reviews, positive or negative on them.

[SeanMF]

Originally Posted by davidxiphoid

I did find this, but it doesn't come with a stand.

http://www.electronicexpress.com/pro...source=froogle

still under 2G's but don't know if they charge tax, and the shipping would probably push it over, but at least the company seems legit.

Like Lojack said, the other place might be ok. Just seems weird that I can't find ANY reviews, positive or negative on them.

Looks like the 500m's are getting snatched up also as 2 months ago they could be had for around $1500-1700. I paid $1500 from Beach Camera. It's an awesome plasma. I had to upgrade my projector because the pq I got from my pioneer spoiled me. Get it while you still can!

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by snsguy

I emailed them some questions and I'll see what comes out of it. I'm seriously considering the Panasonic 54 V10 right now. They are getting hard to find to and I need to jump on one soon cause this tv will gone a few weeks. The hesitation for the Kuro is that I can't find it anywhere to take a look at it. Also this company concerns a me somewhat and feels like it might be a gamble. With the Panasonic it's gotten great reviews itself and I can get it in a 54" and it is compatible and working with 24 fps which I will use. But the Kuro is still appealing with all of the fantastic reviews it's gotten. Is it better than the 111 model or the 5020? Also some sites state the 500M is an LCD not a Plasma.

SNSGUY

The 54" V10 is a good choice if you can't get a 500M, but the 500M is the best set you can get. The 111FD and the 5020FD are excellent sets that are also better than the V10, but not quite as good as the 500M. Some sites do incorrectly list the 500M as an LCD, but it is indeed a plasma. I think they mistakenly do this because its actually a monitor and not a TV since it doesn't have an integrated tuner.

You can always spend a little more and buy it from the other site that davidxiphoid posted since that is a known legit site. Like he said the stand isn't included, but you can get a cheap wall mount on ebay for around $25 shipped brand new, or you can buy the table top stand which is going for $125-$200. There are two on ebay from Cleveland Plasma for $125 right now.

All I can say is get the KRP-500M if you can, because they are getting very scarce and I guarantee that if you get anything else you will regret not going for the 500M when you had the opportunity. I know I would. My 500M is by far my favorite piece of my home theater. Everyone that comes over is in total awe of this set, and nearly everyone I know wants to replace their TV after seeing mine, and that's no B.S. I had one friend come over and see it for the first time yesterday, and all he could talk about was how much better my set is than his XBR4. I turned the lights out and he nearly crapped on himself when he saw how deep the blacks are on this set. I also find myself randomly saying "damn this looks good" on a regular basis when I watch movies, and I've had this set since August.

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by SeanMF

Looks like the 500m's are getting snatched up also as 2 months ago they could be had for around $1500-1700. I paid $1500 from Beach Camera. It's an awesome plasma. I had to upgrade my projector because the pq I got from my pioneer spoiled me. Get it while you still can!

You my friend are totally correct about being spoiled by this set. I plan to eventually go projection when I buy a house, but I know I'm going to spend a pretty penny to get great blacks. None of the budget projectors can get anywhere near the blacks of the 500M...I mean not even close. My hope is that LED projectors will be available and reasonable by the time I am ready otherwise my only other hope will be a much improved and very large plasma from Panasonic, Samsung, or LG and it remains to be seen if either of these companies will match the Kuro much less offer much larger sets for reasonable prices. Maybe there will be an affordable 85" from Panasonic in 2-3 years.

[snsguy]

Originally Posted by davidxiphoid

I did find this, but it doesn't come with a stand.

http://www.electronicexpress.com/pro...source=froogle

still under 2G's but don't know if they charge tax, and the shipping would probably push it over, but at least the company seems legit.

Like Lojack said, the other place might be ok. Just seems weird that I can't find ANY reviews, positive or negative on them.

That's funny. I saw this at 7 am when i refreshed it in the Google store when I was searching and guess what.....I live in Nashville. So i called them up and all they had was one left in the warehouse, an open box, and one in store on display that has been there for about three months because it was a brand new store. So the wife and I drove over to Spring Hills, about twenty minutes from where we live, to check it out. They had the 500m left and an older elite model both for $1999 the Elite had pretyy large scratches around the frame but the 500m was about 8 feet up so no one could touch it. They got a ladder out so I could check it out and everything looked fine. No scratches and it;s in perfect condition. Only thing was that it had some sticker residue from the tag which we thought was no biggy to get off. So we talked them and the only way we would take it was if they would give us ten days to make sure it was working in good order with no problems. He agreed and they got it down for us. So we are now the proud, at least that we know of, owners of a Pioneer Kuro 500M. They didn;t have the stand and we thought why pay $200 for a stand that just hodls the tv when we can spend an extra $100 for an entertainment cabinet with a tv mount on it. Wala!! Kill two birds with one stone. So while the wife is sleeping I've been out all afternoon searching for one which I finally found one at a place called hhgreg. So I now need to find the strength to put the stand together and the tv mounted. I got about two hours of sleep last night and have a lot to do setting everything up tonight. I'm really hoping it's worth it. From what I saw in the store I think it will be. I just need to make sure there isn;'t any burn in. Which there shouldn;t be considering the had a bluray playing constantly on it full screen and the images were always changing. But I want to make sure. So thanks everyone for the input! I didn;t get to read any of it until now. Question, considering the break in time is pass, I can start calibrating right away right? Any suggestions where I can get some user settings for the time being until I can do some myself? Any other suggestions or advice would be good also since we never have owned a plasma before.

SNSGUY

[MongoToo]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

Well, I took a look at their site and they accept credit cards and paypal as forms of payment so at least you would be protected. They also provide a customer service number and they have a California address as well as a location in the U.K. They appear to be pretty legit. Most scam sites only accept bank transfers as payment, and that's always a red flag. I also did a Pronto.com search and they come up in their store search. Like I said, you would be protected if you use credit card or paypal.

I'd stay away. I wanted to order the Pro-111FD but they replied with this: "We are sorry for the inconvenience caused but in this period because of
the credit card fraudulent activities we are not allowed to process credit
card payments outside UK. We can receive your payment via Bank Transfer."

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by MongoToo

I'd stay away. I wanted to order the Pro-111FD but they replied with this: "We are sorry for the inconvenience caused but in this period because of
the credit card fraudulent activities we are not allowed to process credit
card payments outside UK. We can receive your payment via Bank Transfer."

Well, that's a sure sign of a scam. No credit card or paypal means its a ripoff artist.

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by snsguy

That's funny. I saw this at 7 am when i refreshed it in the Google store when I was searching and guess what.....I live in Nashville. So i called them up and all they had was one left in the warehouse, an open box, and one in store on display that has been there for about three months because it was a brand new store. So the wife and I drove over to Spring Hills, about twenty minutes from where we live, to check it out. They had the 500m left and an older elite model both for $1999 the Elite had pretyy large scratches around the frame but the 500m was about 8 feet up so no one could touch it. They got a ladder out so I could check it out and everything looked fine. No scratches and it;s in perfect condition. Only thing was that it had some sticker residue from the tag which we thought was no biggy to get off. So we talked them and the only way we would take it was if they would give us ten days to make sure it was working in good order with no problems. He agreed and they got it down for us. So we are now the proud, at least that we know of, owners of a Pioneer Kuro 500M. They didn;t have the stand and we thought why pay $200 for a stand that just hodls the tv when we can spend an extra $100 for an entertainment cabinet with a tv mount on it. Wala!! Kill two birds with one stone. So while the wife is sleeping I've been out all afternoon searching for one which I finally found one at a place called hhgreg. So I now need to find the strength to put the stand together and the tv mounted. I got about two hours of sleep last night and have a lot to do setting everything up tonight. I'm really hoping it's worth it. From what I saw in the store I think it will be. I just need to make sure there isn;'t any burn in. Which there shouldn;t be considering the had a bluray playing constantly on it full screen and the images were always changing. But I want to make sure. So thanks everyone for the input! I didn;t get to read any of it until now. Question, considering the break in time is pass, I can start calibrating right away right? Any suggestions where I can get some user settings for the time being until I can do some myself? Any other suggestions or advice would be good also since we never have owned a plasma before.

SNSGUY

Well congrats! I doubt that you will see any burn in on that set. I don't even get retention on mine. Pioneer's orbiter works extremely well. As for settings I got mine off of avsforum in the owner's thread. There are several different settings posted by various ISF calibrators. I myself used the Elite-Home settings which worked out great for me. To be honest most of the settings have very minor changes because these sets are near accurate right out of the box. Again...congratulations on the big score!

[davidxiphoid]

SNSguy congrats! that's pretty sweet that you were in driving distance. a big plus =) I have had no burn in issues at all with my 5010, and the pq is SUPREME! the KRP 500 is supposed to be even better. enjoy!

[snsguy]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

Well congrats! I doubt that you will see any burn in on that set. I don't even get retention on mine. Pioneer's orbiter works extremely well. As for settings I got mine off of avsforum in the owner's thread. There are several different settings posted by various ISF calibrators. I myself used the Elite-Home settings which worked out great for me. To be honest most of the settings have very minor changes because these sets are near accurate right out of the box. Again...congratulations on the big score!

Originally Posted by davidxiphoid

SNSguy congrats! that's pretty sweet that you were in driving distance. a big plus =) I have had no burn in issues at all with my 5010, and the pq is SUPREME! the KRP 500 is supposed to be even better. enjoy!

Well I've been busy with the new Kuro and all I can say is why didn't we have a tv like this before. This is the kind of tv I thought we were buying. The colors are amazing and picture is so clear and smooth. You can actually see what's going on in an action sequence with normal motion blur rather than a fake sped up screen that smears and stutters constantly. We are finally seeing our bluray collection come to life. This is an awesome tv. The bad news is we took it back to Electronic Express because there was a massive amount of burn in across the screen. There were actual light brown burn marks where ever you saw white and darker burn marks when there was black, and the occasional weird graphic added to the movie at any given time. But all is good because we ordered ourselves and brand new one this morning. After seeing what this baby could do we were reluctant but in agreement that the extra money to get a brand new one is worth it. We want a tv that will last a long time and this one deffinetly will. It should be here by the end of the weeks so all we need to do is just wait. But I will have to start the burn in process whcih means some more reading around the forums. Thanks guys. We will enjoy it once it gets here and we did while we had one. Lojack where did you find the Elite-Home settings. I went through a lot of pages but it was hard to find actual settings? There's a lot more talking going on in those threads and not so much posting of their own settings.

SNSGUY

[nugent]

Originally Posted by snsguy

Well I've been busy with the new Kuro and all I can say is why didn't we have a tv like this before. This is the kind of tv I thought we were buying. The colors are amazing and picture is so clear and smooth. You can actually see what's going on in an action sequence with normal motion blur rather than a fake sped up screen that smears and stutters constantly. We are finally seeing our bluray collection come to life. This is an awesome tv. The bad news is we took it back to Electronic Express because there was a massive amount of burn in across the screen. There were actual light brown burn marks where ever you saw white and darker burn marks when there was black, and the occasional weird graphic added to the movie at any given time. But all is good because we ordered ourselves and brand new one this morning. After seeing what this baby could do we were reluctant but in agreement that the extra money to get a brand new one is worth it. We want a tv that will last a long time and this one deffinetly will. It should be here by the end of the weeks so all we need to do is just wait. But I will have to start the burn in process whcih means some more reading around the forums. Thanks guys. We will enjoy it once it gets here and we did while we had one. Lojack where did you find the Elite-Home settings. I went through a lot of pages but it was hard to find actual settings? There's a lot more talking going on in those threads and not so much posting of their own settings.

SNSGUY

This is exactly why I personally would NEVER buy any sort of open box/display/customer returned plasma set.

I am sure you will be pleased with the minty fresh new one in the box!

[snsguy]

Originally Posted by nugent

This is exactly why I personally would NEVER buy any sort of open box/display/customer returned plasma set.

I am sure you will be pleased with the minty fresh new one in the box!

I am sure we will be. And I do agree, buying an open box or display unit isn not smart for this tye of purchase or really any large electronic purchase. We have deffinetly learned our lesson about that one.

SNSGUY

[Drew664]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

Well congrats! I doubt that you will see any burn in on that set. I don't even get retention on mine. Pioneer's orbiter works extremely well. As for settings I got mine off of avsforum in the owner's thread. There are several different settings posted by various ISF calibrators. I myself used the Elite-Home settings which worked out great for me. To be honest most of the settings have very minor changes because these sets are near accurate right out of the box. Again...congratulations on the big score!

Could you post a link to this 'Elite Home' setting? I'm using D-nice's, and it's almost too black, lol (such an awesome TV ). And snsguy, I'll try and find links for you. Most likely will have to edit this post though.

Found it.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...09&postcount=9

[scweb13]

Elite Home's settings (slightly different than D-Nices even though D-Nice cal'd Elite Homes 500M and 600M)
500M settings
600M settings

[snsguy]

Originally Posted by Drew664

Could you post a link to this 'Elite Home' setting? I'm using D-nice's, and it's almost too black, lol (such an awesome TV ). And snsguy, I'll try and find links for you. Most likely will have to edit this post though.

Found it.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...09&postcount=9

Originally Posted by scweb13

Elite Home's settings (slightly different than D-Nices even though D-Nice cal'd Elite Homes 500M and 600M)
500M settings
600M settings

Awesome!!!! I'll have to wait and use those after the 100 hour break in. I found some D-Nice settings for pre 100 hour break in. I guess I'll be using those until the 100 hours are up. How often should I be running the video pattern for preventing burn in? How long should I have the tv running and such during the break in time? Is there some special method? They already sent out the tv today and the freight company has picked it up and on route. i can't wait!!!!

SNSGUY

[snsguy]

Originally Posted by snsguy

Awesome!!!! I'll have to wait and use those after the 100 hour break in. I found some D-Nice settings for pre 100 hour break in. I guess I'll be using those until the 100 hours are up. How often should I be running the video pattern for preventing burn in? How long should I have the tv running and such during the break in time? Is there some special method? They already sent out the tv today and the freight company has picked it up and on route. i can't wait!!!!

SNSGUY

I got the 500M a couple of days ago and all I can say it's awesome. There was a big difference between the one that we got that was on display to this brand new one. I couldn't even use pure mode on the display unit because it was so blurry from burn it and image retention. This new one is so clear. We haven't been able to watch a lot cause I decided to make the break in disc and run it before we do any longer watching. I'm siked about it though. Luckily I already had most of the stuff hooked up and ready to go before it arrived. Now we just wait.... but no staring because the colros on the break in disc are blinding.

SNSGUY