drummerman:
I wonder though, after reading your description of the demonstration you gave to staff, if you're just very susceptible to any kind of after image, no matter how short? Don't get me wrong, your set may well have a fault but I have never heard of IR problems on 9g Kuros other than one bloke which was gaming for days on end and fell asleep over it a couple of times. - I might also add that watching any set in complete darkness will show any defiencies. Most tv's are not perfect, this one included plus it is better for your eyes to have some sort of ambient lighting.
Trawling owner forums near and far, it really is not a problem with those screens and RS staff seem to think likewise with yours.
If you are convinced that your set has a fault write direct to their head office. I am sure they won't ignore your requests.
They say the 'run in' period is 200 or so hours. To be honest, mine does'nt look different after a few hundred hours more but apparently the unstable phosphor will settle/burn in so this may make a difference.
Out of interest, what are your thoughts on the tv other than the IR, if you can overlook that?
Well, me and RS both agreed that I would give this Pioneer another 2 weeks before thinking of replacing the set. I can also notice the green and yellow flashes known as Phosphor trails that sometime appear on the screen. I also have asked numerous Kuro owners and been on numerous forums, about the level of IR I am having with my set. They were baffled, and said that they had never known or witnessed the amount of IR I have seen.
The IR aside, it is still without doubt a quality set. I stuck Cars on yesterday afternoon, colour reproduction was the best I have seen on any flatscreen. Imagery looks more natural unlike LCD and any other Plasma I have seen. I have the Denon 2500BT feeding the 5090 and seriously, I doubt you could beat this set up in terms of detail and colour reproduction. I haven't even fully calibrated the set yet either. IMO, despite my whinging so far, it is the best Flatscreen you can buy. I have a range of films that are quite Dark though, Hellboy 2, Dark Knight, Underworld 1 & 2 and many others, that is when the IR really annoys me. However, in low ambient light the IR isn't that bad, it is barely unoticeably. I mean really, nigh on 2k, this set should be perfect.
Drummerman, also the reason I am bit down, is because I have actually seen 2 other 5090 models and they both showed no IR. Also do you have a Planet Earth? I was wondering if you would do a little comparison for me.