LG 50PK350

[theo12]

Really pleased for you Maxx.

Having a bit of session myself this afternoon, Casino Royale looked very good.

Interesting to find out what AEJim has to say once he has had a crack at calibrating it. I wonder if the software and meter are affordable, being able to calibrate the set at anytime would be useful, especially as I have heard that sets need calibrating according to the number of hours used.

Anyway enjoy your new toy, I bet you won't sell it but keep it as a back up !!!!

 

[AEJim]

theo12:
Really pleased for you Maxx.

Having a bit of session myself this afternoon, Casino Royale looked very good.

Interesting to find out what AEJim has to say once he has had a crack at calibrating it. I wonder if the software and meter are affordable, being able to calibrate the set at anytime would be useful, especially as I have heard that sets need calibrating according to the number of hours used.

Anyway enjoy your new toy, I bet you won't sell it but keep it as a back up !!!!

Well the meter was about £100 (next day delivery free with new Amazon prime thing - just buy something and cancel the "prime" bit so you don't have to pay

) - the software is all free from various sources as mentioned in other threads here. I think it will take a little figuring out - the instructions and disk supplied were a little on the focus-on-as-many-languages-as-poss-with-minimal-information side...

Kicked out tonight as girlies are coming over so hope to give it a look in the AM...

 

[Anonymous]

maxflinn:AEJim:Congrats Max, just a tip for you guys that I forgot - if you go playing with settings don't touch the "Black Level" one, it's on low as default but once you move it to high it causes a bit of a bug that messes with the colour balance even when switched back to low. The only way to fix is to reset the settings for that picture mode and redo any settings you had. It's not drastic but if you're trying to get the best pic it might make it harder!cheers jim ill stay away from the black level so, this is a fine tv, what a bargain? its not got the deepest blacks, but they are deep enough, and it does produce a lovely natural picture with sd (upscaled by my humax) and hd, i dont see any motion processing on it, ie 100hz? which is fine as motion is very good, im well impressed

How does motion compare to the V20

 

[Anonymous]

mrb1972:
maxflinn:AEJim:Congrats Max, just a tip for you guys that I forgot - if you go playing with settings don't touch the "Black Level" one, it's on low as default but once you move it to high it causes a bit of a bug that messes with the colour balance even when switched back to low. The only way to fix is to reset the settings for that picture mode and redo any settings you had. It's not drastic but if you're trying to get the best pic it might make it harder!cheers jim ill stay away from the black level so, this is a fine tv, what a bargain? its not got the deepest blacks, but they are deep enough, and it does produce a lovely natural picture with sd (upscaled by my humax) and hd, i dont see any motion processing on it, ie 100hz? which is fine as motion is very good, im well impressed

How does motion compare to the V20

well i havnt watched much 50hz stuff, blu-ray motion is fine, but then it was mostly good on the v20 too. ill have a look at some tv and a few dvd's this evening and see what its like, so far though, the motion is fine with everything ive seen

 

[Anonymous]

theo12:
Really pleased for you Maxx.

Having a bit of session myself this afternoon, Casino Royale looked very good.

Interesting to find out what AEJim has to say once he has had a crack at calibrating it. I wonder if the software and meter are affordable, being able to calibrate the set at anytime would be useful, especially as I have heard that sets need calibrating according to the number of hours used.

Anyway enjoy your new toy, I bet you won't sell it but keep it as a back up !!!!

cheers theo..

im gonna give casino royale a spin myself now

 

[Anonymous]

Max,

I've read on Amazon reviews that a common complaint is light reflection on the screen during daylight viewing, so is this a big issue compared to the Panny?

Is it also correct that the Freeview is not HD?

Would this set be okay from 3m distance for both SD & HD (I know WHF in their latest 50" Supertest stated over 3m - say around 3.3m - so what is your opinion for real-life viewing of this tv?)?

Thanks Max

Pauled

 

[Anonymous]

hi pauled..

the screen is quite reflective, more so than the panny, but its fine in my room, i normally have the blinds 70% closed..

however ive just opened them fully, and even though the tv is in front of the window, i can clearly see my reflection in it, under these conditions this could prove to be annoying..

as far as distance goes im 3 metres away and i think the sd is excellent, upscaled by my humax, its not far off the v20's imo..

you only get freeview hd from the 590 model up..

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Max.

My TV will be on a wall directly facing a window, although curtains drawn during daylight. So I don't have your same problem I think. Additional light coming from windows at the front of house (the 'L' shape of my living room) but to one side of the TV by about 4m, so maybe not such a big issue for me?

Do the higher spec LGs have the same reflective screen?

My current 37" Panny (HD ready), although not as bright during daylight compared to night viewing, it is not an issue with reflected light.

It is always a problem trying to assess a tv in a showroom compared to real-life home viewing, although I don't see any way around this....

Cheers and happy viewing.

Pauled.

 

[AEJim]

Hi Pauled,

The LG's all have the same reflective panel except for the top of the range PK990 at £1200 which has a better filter. I have two large french doors at a right-angle to mine and it does not cause me a problem - if you have a window opposite it can certainly be an issue!

Personally with any plasma, since they don't have the bold picture of an LCD, I would have two settings to cover day and night viewing. If you looked at the next model up (PK 590) it has two THX modes for exactly that - as well as the HD Freeview and extra connectors. The 350 is better suited to those who use just Sky etc in that respect and want a basic but good screen.

 

[se7en]

This a question for AEJim and Maxflinn am thinking of buying the LG 50PK350 although i know it hasnt got the deepest of blacks im more concerned about Image retention on the pk350, due to gaming on the screen.... Your thoughts on this please?

Also was thinking about the samsung Ps50c6900/7000 your thoughts on this also please?

Many thanks

 

[Anonymous]

cant see any image retention on mine..

id be looking at the c7000 rather than the c6900 if i was interested in a samsung plasma, same tv's apart from the black filter thats on the c7000, that ive read gives much better blacks...

 

[se7en]

Cheers for that Maxflinn i might just forget the samsungs(for 3d) and go with the lgpk350 or pk590 (due to thx modes and freeview hd plus 2 hdmi extra), or do the pk350 settings for picture get pretty close to thx modes on pk590.

Also for gaming how do you think the screen will fair?

 

[Anonymous]

not sure about the settings, or wether its good for gaming, ae jim may do..

 

[Anonymous]

You wrote;

And after my (rejected) Philips 47PFL7404's woeful clouding, it's good
to see a screen that has no issues with backlight-bleed or grey-ish
edges during dark/night-set scenes.

Let me comment that the 7404 is last years model -there is a huge difference between last year and this year 7000 model. Baught one ( 7404) for my mom last year, and for the money its excelent.

But please note that this years 7000 model uses the new UV2A panel from Sharp, which is much superiour to last years panel used in the 7000. Comparing this years plasma with last years LCD isnt realy fair, especially taking the speed of development within the LCD technology into consideration.

Ass to the reflection talk - the 7000 performs perfectly without any reflections even in bright daylight, with a callibrated static contrast ratio well above 4.000:1, where the plasma is below 2.000, thus doubble contrast ratio on the LCD - this has significant influence on the picture quality !

Just my comment,

 

[Anonymous]

PeterHerz:
You wrote;

And after my (rejected) Philips 47PFL7404's woeful clouding, it's good
to see a screen that has no issues with backlight-bleed or grey-ish
edges during dark/night-set scenes.

Let me comment that the 7404 is last years model -there is a huge difference between last year and this year 7000 model. Baught one ( 7404) for my mom last year, and for the money its excelent.

But please note that this years 7000 model uses the new UV2A panel from Sharp, which is much superiour to last years panel used in the 7000. Comparing this years plasma with last years LCD isnt realy fair, especially taking the speed of development within the LCD technology into consideration.

Ass to the reflection talk - the 7000 performs perfectly without any reflections even in bright daylight, with a static contrast ratio well above 4.000:1, where the plasma is below 2.000, thus doubble contrast ratio on the LCD - this has significant influence on the picture quality !

Just my comment,

sixth replicant was simply comparing his new tv with his old one, how is that unfair ?

 

[AEJim]

se7en:
Cheers for that Maxflinn i might just forget the samsungs(for 3d) and go with the lgpk350 or pk590 (due to thx modes and freeview hd plus 2 hdmi extra), or do the pk350 settings for picture get pretty close to thx modes on pk590.

Also for gaming how do you think the screen will fair?

Hi Se7en,

The 350 Expert mode settings come pretty close to the THX ones on the other models so I wouldn't worry too greatly about that, however if I was buying a screen with the intention of many hours frequent gaming then I'd pick an LCD every time.

Despite all the advances in plasma technology image retention is still an issue, the LG's are susceptible to it - it's usually minimal and goes pretty fast but most channels with bright white logos that cause most noticeable IR have ad breaks whereas games may be on screen for far longer. I've seen on other forums that even people with the latest Panasonic plasma's have had serious IR, possibly screen burn so it seems none are totally immune.

For games it still makes most sense to go for LCD, the bold colours and contrast seem to suit gaming well. Response times are no longer such a big issue and in many cases the LCD's seem to be outperforming the plasma's on that front too.

 

[se7en]

Thanks AEJim,

Im really torn between the quality and black depth of plasma screens for watching HD footage and Blu Rays, and the colour and lack of image retention, screen burn that lcd/led tvs bring.

Id say the most ill play games for in one period is around 3-4 hours, and i watch alot of films. Most typical we be a 70/30 split in favour of films. I have a sony 40w4500 connected to ps3 in another room, so should i leave that as main games tv?

Question is really, Should i get a plasma for mainly film watching and few hours gaming. The LgPK350 is really looking good at the minute or would there be a suitable lcd or led tv with excellent plasma blacks or near that.... instead.

 

[AEJim]

se7en:
Thanks AEJim,

Im really torn between the quality and black depth of plasma screens for watching HD footage and Blu Rays, and the colour and lack of image retention, screen burn that lcd/led tvs bring.

Id say the most ill play games for in one period is around 3-4 hours, and i watch alot of films. Most typical we be a 70/30 split in favour of films. I have a sony 40w4500 connected to ps3 in another room, so should i leave that as main games tv?

Question is really, Should i get a plasma for mainly film watching and few hours gaming. The LgPK350 is really looking good at the minute or would there be a suitable lcd or led tv with excellent plasma blacks or near that.... instead.

Hey Se7en,

The black levels on the latest LCD's can be very decent indeed, don't write them off! I think most games would be ok on the 350, though input lag is supposed to be around 50ms which may or may not bother you. Very few games have the old static image for long periods you used to have, loading screens etc tend to break all that up and the offending areas are usually semi-transparent in any case - it's probably no worse than channel logo's or football info bars to be honest. You will definitely get IR but it should go fairly quickly, trying calibration this morning I could see the outline of windows I was using for 5-10mins at a time...

Tried a quick calibration this morning, basic settings are pretty good. I improved them a bit on the 2-point calibration, found I could get a very smooth midrange but it pushed blue too high at the top end and red to high at the bottom (visibly so) so had to sacrifice a little of the smoothness. Still pretty off in areas and plenty I could improve with more time (it was 6:30am!) but just based on that I think at least a 10-point calibration will get much better results. Software was playing up when I tried that unfortunately, kept freezing, so will have a go at the next available opportunity! (I need the Missus to have an evening out!)

Visually in comparison to the other settings I posted the image looked a little more natural though a touch "clean" on whites which I expect is the blue at the top end - fleshtones did look a lot more natural and this was most obvious in scenes with a sunset style lighting, usually the skintones tend to blend with the background a little but after calibrating they retained their natural colours while the background looked largely unchanged. Still plenty I can improve as gamma and colour temp are quite off, I'm starting to get it though

 

[se7en]

Hi AEJim,

Cheers for your answers i will be going shopping this weekend and the Lg PK350 is near the top of list still, i think the more natural picture for HD and Blu rays that plasmas tend to give will be what im after.However i will look into samsungs 46c7000/8000.for 3d and led alternative. Anything else as a standout tv to look at? With your calibration are you losing any fine detail/ and with dark detail in the blacks?

Many thanks AEJim

 

[Anonymous]

i have to say, im so impressed with this tv, it really is an unbelievable bargain.

id say its easily better than my old g10, its no v20, but its much closer to it than i would have thought.

im currently watching "district 9" on blu-ray, using the standard preset with noise reduction off, and the images are just lovely, and to think it only cost me e200 to trade up from my 46g10? amazing really.

fair play to ae jim for highlighting this set, its a cracker

 

[AEJim]

No worries Max, I'm just glad you're enjoying it!

Se7en - I'm still working on the calibration - have some things nailed but other aspects need work, something I'm enjoying sinking my teeth into when I get the time though! The overall colour balance looks far better when it's right, skin tones look more real while background colours still have their pop. I can't comment much on shadow/highlight detail as that's what needs work, I can get the RGB levels almost spot on but my gamma is all over the place, looked into how to fix that though so hopefully get some time this week to perfect it! I can see why it's a specialised job now...

 

[Anonymous]

i have some settings if anyone would like to try them? they work best with hd, it looks stunning on my tv..

expert 2

energy saving off

just scan

contrast 92

brightness 50

h sharpness 35

v sharpness 35

colour 50

tint 0

in expert control...

dynamic contrast off

noise reduction off

gamma medium

black level low

colour gamut standard

colour filter off

colour temp warm

red contrast -4

green contrast 1

blue contrast 2

red brightness -7

green brightness 3

blue brightness 3

colour management system is left as is

have a gander and see what you think?

 

[6th.replicant]

PeterHerz:
You wrote;

And after my (rejected) Philips 47PFL7404's woeful clouding, it's good
to see a screen that has no issues with backlight-bleed or grey-ish edges during dark/night-set scenes.

Let me comment that the 7404 is last years model -there is a huge difference between last year and this year 7000 model. Baught one ( 7404) for my mom last year, and for the money its excelent.

But please note that this years 7000 model uses the new UV2A panel from Sharp, which is much superiour to last years panel used in the 7000. Comparing this years plasma with last years LCD isnt realy fair, especially taking the speed of development within the LCD technology into consideration.

Ass to the reflection talk - the 7000 performs perfectly without any reflections even in bright daylight, with a callibrated static contrast ratio well above 4.000:1, where the plasma is below 2.000, thus doubble contrast ratio on the LCD - this has significant influence on the picture quality !

Just my comment,

It "isnt realy (sic) fair" to compare a £1000 Philips 47in TV, launched autumn '09, with a £590 LG 50in, which was launched spring '10? Hardly a yawning chasm is development terms.

Then again, my '07 Panasonic 42in PDP had no issues with backlight bleed/clouding, nor did its predecessor, a '04 Samsung 32in LCD. But the '03 26in LCD prior to the Samsung did have backlight bleed/clouding issues. Who made the 26in LCD? Philips. Plus ‡a change.

So, after seven years, I'm so glad to hear that Philips has perhaps overcome its problems with backlight bleed/clouding with its '10 range.

Oh, and let's not forget the 47PFL7404's other flaw (IME) - headache-inducing motion blur.

 

[Hendy00]

First post in ages and i've come across exactly what i needed to see. (Also glad my account hasn't been deleted.

Cheers for the settings Max.

So is this a keeper for you?
I had a good look (but not a demo) at both this and the 590 today and my 1st thought was Huge beasts!!! but pretty. I plan to get a proper demo on saturday so hopefully i could be sitting in front of one of these this time next week

Don.

 

[Anonymous]

Also first post in ages. I have just received my new LG50PK350 TV and first viewing it looks very good. I have noticed that on the Expert1&2 modes, contrast is set to 80. I seem to remember that it is wise to run in the TV for around 200 hours at a lower contrast. When I put it down to 50, the picture seems a bit washed out. I haven't tried it with BluRay yet, but will do later. Do I have to persevere with 200 hours of washed-out pictures before upping everything to some of the numbers posted by AEJim and maxflinn or should I just go straight ahead with them. I do not want screen burn on my new TV!! Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Graham