[mike infinity]

EDIT: UPDATE March 10, 2005

I finally got around to updating this post. Notably, I have changed the fix for vertical banding using the correct adjustments in the service menu.

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I know that there may not be a huge number of 50v500A who browse and post here, but I am hoping to see some input from others on this thread.

Remember: service menu options should not be altered hap-hazardly. And it is possible for you to void your warranty by fiddling with it. You have been warned. When in doubt...don't bother fiddling with these things. FYI: I am NOT an expert, or a professional calibrator...but I enjoy doing things for myself when I can. But do not take my words as gold in terms of advice.

Its also a good idea to write down all service menu settings that you are conisdering changing before you change them. You will certainly forget the settings if you casually change them without paying attention to what they were to start with. I'm not taking responsibility for any problems encountered with your set because of suggestions posted here.

EDIT: Vertical Banding Fix:

1. Enter the service menu by putting the TV to a blank input and shutting it off. Then hold the input button ON THE SET while turning the power on (on the set works fine). You should see the service menu as the set warms up. Don't worry about the low quality appearance of the text...this is normal.

2. This LCD Drive menu has a 'STRIPE' for vertical banding and a 'STREAK' for horizontal banding (looks like ghosting). Select STRIPE and a test pattern will appear. There are actually ~15 patterns that correspond to low/mid/highlight levels on each colour chanel.

3. Cycle through all of the ~15 test screens and adjust the value up or down until VB is eliminated on each screen. Slight adjustment to any value produces either light (too high) or dark (too low) vertical banding. The goal, then, is to properly 'center' each value to eliminate all banding.

I adjusted mine...and the good news is that this completely eliminated any VB. The torture test was an undersea documentary with lots of blue and gray midtones and flat areas of colour. Zero VB (where I had very faint light bars before).

NOTE: I also left the VREF setting increased by 10% as it seems to improve contrast.

WHILE STILL IN THE SERVICE MENU, you can switch to a live input to see your results. DO NOT PRESS ANY OTHER BUTTONS ON YOUR HITACHI REMOTE WHILE AT THIS TIME because you can unwittingly change service menu options without knowing it.

-If you are happy with your setting, switch back to the blank input, and exit the service menu.

- Now you can go back to other inputs and fiddle with your user menu settings and re-calibrate.

OTHER NOTES:

1. turn off black enhancement. This crushes blacks and compromises detail. It also leads to noticable rapid changes in brightness that appear as flickering in parts of the image on some media.

2. Turn the sharpness control off. My hitachi needs no edge enhancement and produces a sharp image without it. Turning it on only removes detail around otherwise well-defined edges.

3. fix the red push in the user menu colour decoder section. I had to bring my red control to about 38%.

4. put the picture up as high as you like...the hitachi does not blow highlights with picture at 100% like some sets do (the panny LCD for example)...and does not suffer burn in or wear at 100%. Use the brighness control to set black level (bring it down as low as you can without losing details in the shadows). This will maximize contrast. I find that a setting of 45%-50% brightness and near 100% picture is very contrasty with lots of punch and no loss of details.

5. Turn off noise reduction...it removes detail, costs sharpness, and removes almost no video noise at all.

And, most importantly, post your comments and suggestions here so we can benefit from your experiences.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[MarcD]

Mike,
As a 50V500A owner I appreciate your effort and input. I do see faint vertical bars and may try your tweak if I don't chicken out. However I will definitely try your other recommendations.

MarcD

 

[casscarr2002]

Mike...hmm, had a buddy in london named Mike Flynn a long time ago.
Anyway, just out for curiousity sake, I tried to tweak the VS810 using the VREF settings listed above by you for the v500, as I see very clear vertical bands. My factory setting was "89". I lowered it and nothing happened at all, I increased it, yet nothing again. ah well, it was fun either way.

 

[mike infinity]

My factory setting was "89". I lowered it and nothing happened at all, I increased it, yet nothing again. ah well, it was fun either way.

You should have noticed a change in the brightness and contrast at least, even if there was no change in the vertical banding.

If the problem is particularly bad, I doubt this fix will work. The 42v515 I tried (which had a factory setting of 89) was plagued with vertical bars. The fix made little to no difference.

As I mentioned in the other thread you posted, I believe the reason it works on the 500A is because the problem is minor to begin with. I also mentioned that after 30+ days I don't see any vertical bands at all anymore (the fix didn't eliminate the problem...just made it almost invisible). It looks like regular use seems get rid of the rest.

Cheers,

Mike Flynn

 

[tommy99]

I'm not sure if this is vertical banding. I have the 50v500 - a week old - and was watching Huff in HD when I noticed I can see the outlines, slightly but were still there, from when I have watched 4x3 programs on SD. They did not fade during the show.

Is this normal when watching some HD programs (a technical thing to do with the transmission) or something else. I have not checked with a DVD yet to see if they are still present.

I have not seen any other post anywhere about this. Thanks

 

[mike infinity]

and was watching Huff in HD when I noticed I can see the outlines, slightly but were still there, from when I have watched 4x3 programs on SD. They did not fade during the show.

Very odd. That shouldn't be a TV-related issue. First because LCDs don't have burn in problems and second because any kind of fading problem would show up for extended periods not on a new TV (but again, there shouldn't be any on LCD).

You can check it by watching other HD broadcasts. If you don't see the problem on anything else, then you know its not your TV.

And as you indicated, you can also try widescreen DVD.

Cheers,

Mike Flynn

 

[mike infinity]

AVIA settings

While all sets should be calibrated individually, it appears as though many of us are getting basically the same settings. Here they are (from memory...sorry if its out of order):

Main Menu

mode: Day
contrast: 100%
brightness: 43-51% depending on the broadcast. 51% for most DVD.
colour: 38%
Tint: +3 steps toward green
Sharpness: 0%
colour temperature: medium
contrast mode: Dynamic
black enhancement: OFF

Sub menu:

Colour decoder:
red: 45%
green: 55%


Noise reduction: OFF
User colours: OFF.

Notes:

-The only setting I change according to broadcast is the brightness (43-55% typically). Adjust it until you are happy with black level (but not crushing black)
-Some broadcasts seem to push yellow (and give unnatural green tones to the foliage, etc). I will turn on the user colour and tune down yellow a bit (40%).
-Some broadcasts push red more than others. You can adjust the colour/red control accordingly.
-Some people prefer more/less colour saturation. Use the colour control (and not the decoder) to get your desired level.
-If you have 2 preferred sets of settings, program the 'day' mode for one and the 'night' mode for the other for quick access on each input...a GREAT feature.

The bottom line is that these Avia settings are not written in stone. The best way to proceed is calibrate using avia, then tweak the settings until your own eyeballs are happy.

Cheers,

Mike Flynn

 

[mike infinity]

Just a quick note to say that I have updated the first post.

Enjoy.

Mike Flynn

 

[xboi]

yellow smudge

when i tried these settings on my 50v500a i has a yellow smudge on the lower right hand corner.. when i do a wipe on the screen (white).. does anyone else get this?

 

[mike infinity]

I am bumping this thread because I've had a couple of requests for the information. Any chance someone can put a sticky on it?

Cheers,

Mike Flynn

 

[Falagard]

Lamp time (hours)

I have a 50v500a.

I've read you can get the lamp hours from the service menu. I've accessed the service menu, but the menu scrolls off the bottom of the screen. I can move up and down in the list and it will "page" to a new set of options on the menu, but some of them are still getting cut off.

I see an option for "Reset Lamptime" which I don't want to do, but the option below it is cut off - I think I can barely read "Time" from the cut off text.

Does this happen to anyone else (the cut off menu)?

Should I change it to any particular input before accessing the service menu? I've put it to Video 2 and unplugged everything from Video 2 inputs.

Is the next item in the list the lamp time?

Clay

 

[sixpack255]

pink side panels on 50v500

I just recently developed this problem, and I appear to be getting an overabundance of red-the grass is not greener on my set. I also may have inadvertantlly changed some values in the service menu. Will the "factory reset" check on the service menu restore the original values? Does anyone have the list of original values. Thanks.

 

[57]

There are no "original values" - each TV is unique. See the Digital Home FAQ on "Service Codes" (under Help).

Someone's settings, or the service manual settings may get you in the ballpark if you are lucky.

 

[RNAChemist]

If you "recently developed" the problem then "inadventantly" changing values in the service menu is not the problem. Anything you change in the service menu would happen right away.

 

[CamG]

I recently starting having a similar problem with my 50V500.
It has developed a red circle about the size of a large pizza during very dark scenes in a movie or when the screen is black because there is no input selected. During normal viewing it is not noticeable.

I have 4 years left on the warranty so I am thinking of calling... just waiting to see if it gets any worse...

 

[sixpack255]

re; pink side panels

I have 4100 hrs. on the lamp and some suggest that the pink and red cast is due to the start of failure of the lamp(per google input). You seem more knowledgable re 50v500. Do you think ther is a "tweakable" solution?

 

[sixpack255]

I have 4100 hrs. on the lamp and some suggest that the pink and red cast is due to the start of failure of the lamp(per google input). You seem more knowledgable re 50v500. Do you think ther is a "tweakable" solution?

 

[RNAChemist]

I have 4100 hrs. on the lamp and some suggest that the pink and red cast is due to the start of failure of the lamp(per google input). You seem more knowledgable re 50v500. Do you think ther is a "tweakable" solution?

No!

I have heard that the red ring is from dust or oil or something on the lens. DOnt try to tweak problems like this is in the service menu you may really mess up the tv.

 

[CamG]

Can I void my warranty by going into the service menu ?
I just want to check the hours on my lamp, but not if a tech can tell that I have been in there and suspect that I messed around...

Thanks
Cam

 

[sixpack255]

pink screen problem solved-for now

If you "recently developed" the problem then "inadventantly" changing values in the service menu is not the problem. Anything you change in the service menu would happen right away.

The problem with the pink screen was solved by re-initializing the INIT-Memory on the service menu by selecting and push right on the select button, and holding there until the box was checked-about 2-3 seconds. The original silver sides returned and the balance of color returned to normal-hope it lasts.