LG 50PS11 reveiw??

[joshbarber89]

Hello all. What are some opinions on the LG 50ps11? I can't find any reveiws on this tv but only specs. Some of which is latin to me.

[Neild]

It looked like a winner to me... I almost bought one but wasn't sure I wanted something that big. A little bit plain and limited compared to the PS30 and PS60 models, I think it had only 2 hdmi and 2 component. But it did have vga input which not all base models seem to have anymore. It would have a solid LG panel with the usual nice contrast ratio & colors.

I could be mistaken about some of the features as I found conflicting information on the internet and on the box.

I think this model also includes LG's ISFcc feature. This is a built-in simplified calibration function. This lets even the layperson dial in an excellent video calibration. As most people here know, a calibrated set can look so much better than using one of the usual built-in modes or heaven forbid, torch mode. Calibrators would say this doesn't take the place of a professional job, but to me it lets the average joe get a near-calibrated picture for no extra cost.

Photos suggest the face has a flush glass surface which gives a neat upscale appearance. I also think this model has a swivel stand, again a feature sometimes only included on the higher models of a given line.

So if price, size and picture are your main drivers, and you can switch your inputs with a receiver, might be worth consideration.

[Steve Gyurki]

Bought one before Xmas from Wally-mart. They even refunded the difference when the price dropped three weeks later. One note though, spend some time manually configuring the video settings. Out of the box the contrast was very soft. Also, it was way to bright for our basement. When properly setup it looks great, especially if you have a good source. Watched the StuperBowl and championship games and was quite happy with the picture. Managed to get a tiltable wall mount at The Source for only $49 also.

Steve

[Michael TLV]

greetings

The picture Wizard is not an ISF thing. The ISF part of the TV is the ability to take the expert 1 and 2 modes and lock them out turning them and renaming them as ISF day and ISF night modes.

If you don't lock them and just use it as expert modes, the picture performance is the same.

The Wizard is a nice feature and considerably better than not doing anything at all. The test for doing contrast on the wizard is wrong though. That was a mistake on their part. One ends up setting the contrast too high if you use the wizard.

In the grand scheme of things, the wizard will get people about 50% of the way compared to a professional calibration.

regards

[Neild]

Thanks for elaborating on the ISFccc... here's the official description:

http://www.imagingscience.com/ccc/pdf/ISFccc.pdf

Anyway I guess it's subjective to put a % on how close the wizard gets. To me it's at least 90% as good, Michael is in the business and rates it 50%. The next person might say 75%.

I think if we did a real world test we'd find very small changes between a set done professionally and one done by the Wizard. One might arrive at a contrast setting of 57 and the other at 56 for example. Both might be seen as big improvements over the default of 50, but it would be splitting a hair to say there' s much different between a 56 and a 57.

It is nice that LG seems to allow the home user to do 10 point grey scale on their own, that could potentially save a few hundred bucks.

On my own I used the wizard and then also broke out a couple of calibration discs. The resulting settings were too close to claim any significant difference.

Is someone buying a value priced set interested or able to spend $300 on a calibration? Maybe not. So in the case of this LG set, the budget minded consumer gets 50-99% of the benefit, for free!

[Neild]

Originally Posted by Steve Gyurki

Bought one before Xmas from Wally-mart. They even refunded the difference when the price dropped three weeks later. One note though, spend some time manually configuring the video settings. Out of the box the contrast was very soft. Also, it was way to bright for our basement. When properly setup it looks great, especially if you have a good source. Watched the StuperBowl and championship games and was quite happy with the picture. Managed to get a tiltable wall mount at The Source for only $49 also.

Steve

You mention it's way too bright for your basement... every LG plasma I've ever seen is far too intense in normal mode. So intense actually that it becomes difficult to calibrate a half decent picture. Luckily the solution has been incredibly simple... turn on LG's "low power mode". That brings the level down to something more reasonable and makes calibration a snap. I can't confirm whether the set being discussed (50PS11) still has the low power feature, but if it does, try enabling it and recalibrate.

I've got no data on whether low power mode is harder or easier on the technology or how much power it does actually save. I've used it successfully on many LG's though, with no problems so far.

[Mike Osadciw]

I think if we did a real world test we'd find very small changes between a set done professionally and one done by the Wizard.

Neil, that's an easy generalization to believe, but in practice it is not the case.

As convenient as a wizard can be for a first time set-up, a wizard cannot accurately detect and adjust to your room surroundings. The wizard cannot see or compensate for the rest of the video signal path that is incorrectly set.

There are reasons why we invest in tens of thousands in video test gear.
There are reasons why we spend 3+ hours in a client's home and countless hours of our personal time beyond each job strictly dedicated to the field of calibration.
These reasons are beyond the capabilities of a simple wizard.

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

If you set the contrast according to the wizard, you will clip off 9% of the white detail and potentially induce a discoloration of the remaining white areas that you do see.

Pink whites and losing 9% of the detail is not really such a good thing.

The wizard is better than not doing anything at all. Of course saying that the wizard gets you 90% there means that pink whites and losing detail and grayscale and color management all fit into that last 10%.

regards

[Neild]

Originally Posted by Mike Osadciw

Neil, that's an easy generalization to believe, but in practice it is not the case.

As convenient as a wizard can be for a first time set-up, a wizard cannot accurately detect and adjust to your room surroundings. The wizard cannot see or compensate for the rest of the video signal path that is incorrectly set.

There are reasons why we invest in tens of thousands in video test gear.
There are reasons why we spend 3+ hours in a client's home and countless hours of our personal time beyond each job strictly dedicated to the field of calibration.
These reasons are beyond the capabilities of a simple wizard.

Sigh. I knew even bringing this up might attract calibrators eager to defend their turf.

OK, OK, I concede, you can calibrate a set slightly better than the free and easy wizard.

Taking these four cases:
A) LG TV out of the box
B) LG TV configured using wizard
C) LG TV calibrated by an unpaid 'calibrator' (ie: me, using a spyder or dve type disc)
D) LG TV configured by a paid 'calibrator'

You will see a big difference between case (A) and the rest, but you won't find that much separation between (B), (C), and (D). Sorry for bursting the bubble and challenging the mythos, but current plasmas have pretty decent color and the wizard or a reasonable amateur calibration get you a pretty damn good picture.

You are incorrect in saying that "the wizard cannot accurately detect and adjust to your room surroundings". Actually the person using the wizard application has eyes and IS aware of room surroundings. The settings that the wizard leads them to are doing with room surroundings in force and that *does* take that into consideration.

You are right in saying that the wizard can't fully know how the customer has hooked up their equipment. But it's questionable value to spend calibrator fee just to correct glaring problems such as use of a composite cable. They'd be better off with the store's $80 hookup fee and spending 2-3 minutes with the wizard.