LG 50PK790 - Settings/ISF Calibration?

[admin_exported]

Current tv is the Samsung LE40A656, and I'm looking to move to a 47" or 50" screen while maintaining similar (or better) image quality. Budget is about 900 pounds. I've considered the following:

LG 50PK790 - Good reviews, but I am concerned about reports of short-term image retention (plus Richer Sounds fellow mentioned there is a major issue with Sky box recorder retaining the symbols or some such thing in the lower left hand corner permanently...so he pushed me away from plasmas all together)

UPDATE: Purchased the LG and so far am happy with it. Does anyone recommend ISF calibration on this particular TV?

 

[Anonymous]

Bueller?

Looks like it will be either the Panasonic S10 (729) or the S20 (999). Comments/opinions/suggestions before I make a call?

 

[Anonymous]

So, I purchased the LG 50PK790 and so far am very pleased with it. I am currently running it in THX-certified cinema mode. Are there any recommended customised settings?

 

[Cookie Monster]

Hi,

I was lucky enough to get a 'play' with a new Samsung 50" 3D TV for £1,500 in Comet the other day. Screen is plasma but looks like an LCD. I was very, very impressed and have been trying to talk the wife into letting me convert the garage so i can have one. Appreciate that it may at first be a little out of budget but give it 3 months and that price will be much lower and future proofed too.

Also, have the Philips 42PFL7404 and love it.

Regards,

Cookie Monster

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for the suggestions! So far, I am quite pleased with the LG 50PK790. Small caveat...black level, while good, is not quite up there with the Panasonic plasmas...

Does anyone recommend an ISF calibration for this TV?

 

[Oldboy]

I have been looking at this for my Panny G20 (fantastic tv btw) but from the research i have done the THX mode is pretty close straight out of the box to the ISF standard or at least it is on the G20 i'm not so sure about the LG. There will be differences between panels of course so calibration is recommended but my concern was the cost of getting an ISF engineer out, i was quoted between £250-£350. I paid £900 for the tv so can i really justify that ammount just to calibrate it? I'm not sure right now but in the meantime i tried a THX calibration disc setup and the results were good, i know it's not as accurate as a proper calibration but it looks good to me.

Dosen't stop me wondering how much differance a proper ISF calibration would make to the image so i'm still tempted, i just have to justify it to myself now lol

 

[DJEPSON]

Oldboy, I was looking at the 60" LG, but put off by the image retention problems, are you saying that they dont appear that much of a problem with your set ?

 

[Oldboy]

DJEPSON:Oldboy, I was looking at the 60" LG, but put off by the image retention problems, are you saying that they dont appear that much of a problem with your set ?

All i can say is that with my 42G20 i have seen absolutely no examples of IR through any source, recently i have been putting it through it's paces with extended gaming sessions and even under these conditions i haven't seen any IR atall. I looked at the LG PK590 before i bought the G20 and when i done a little research i found that they suffered from a little IR but it was reported to lessen over time, i'm not sure what model you are looking at but it's best to do a little research before you buy or start a thread on here as i'm sure one of the forum members bought a 50" plasma recently (sure it was AEJim).

I had similar concerns before i bought a plasma as i had lcd before i switched but i've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the G20, no IR or flicker but a little phosphor trailing which is now disappearing by the day as the panel beds in. That's another thing about plasma screens, be prepared to give them at least 200hrs to reach optimum performance was the advice i received. The G20 is a fantastic tv and i appreciate it more every day, i couldn't be happier with it

 

[Anonymous]

I have read that the THX Cinema setting on the LG, while pretty good out of the box, is not as accurate as the Panasonic's version. I'm not willing to make the leap and get it calibrated unless someone with an LG PK590/790/990 can attest to some measurable increase in picture quality...

Glad to hear you're enjoying your G20

 

[Oldboy]

That was exactly my concern as it is alot of money to spend if you are only going to see a minimal improvement in picture quality, the value of getting an ISF engineer out to calibrate your screen when it only cost £900 in the first place is questionable at best. If only there was a more affordable alternative.....

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, feels like a catch-22...one thing I noticed (finally!) is that there is some image retention...though less than expected. In case the image retention begins to be a problem, does anyone think that the Panasonic TX-50G20 (or S20) is a measurable improvement (aside from deeper blacks)? Or shall I just expect the image retention to improve over time?

 

[AEJim]

Hi Oldboy/Cheekiermonkey, I would say the calibration is worth it - I haven't had it done yet (apart from non-light meter tweaking with a test disk myself) but if you look around for reports on the PK550 (US version) you can find the results of a guy called "Chad B" in particular are very impressive indeed!

I have the next model down (PK350) which is supposed to have slightly better blacks due to having edge enhancement that can be turned off (unlike the higher models) but no THX mode or internet - but there is an alleged firmware update in the works to allow this on your screen - whether or not that ever surfaces is another matter entirely.

 

[Anonymous]

Good to know! Are there any ISF calibrators that come highly recommended in the West/North London area?

 

[AEJim]

Here's the complete UK list

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http://www.imagingscience.com/dealers.php?search=United%20Kingdom