AKAI PT5492 (Page 2)
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Jason | Those of you who purchased the 5498 - Are you still happy with it's performance? If my local Sam's gets them back in stock, I am probably going to go get one. I certainly can't find anything comparable for the price anywhere else! |
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Charles | Jason Wait for a minute. I visited the sams club site a week ago and saw a panasonic 51 HDTV 4:3 that was loaded with extra features. It is 3 inches less than the AKAI but it was listed as $1299. But the product disappeared. HAve not seen it since. Check your local Sams club to see if they carry it. Best buy and circuit city carry the panasonic PT51HX42 for $1799. |
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| Samsung Model: PCL5415RX retails @ Best Buy for $1699 is the exact same TV as AKAI PTH5498. JAson reffered to the 5415R the 5415RX is the same as AKAI. Go to www.BestBuy.com |
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Robert | I have had the PTH5498 Akai HDTV for weeks now.I have more than 200 hours put into it and I have it ISF calibrated with the SVM/VML terminated.All I have to say is "WOW" and I mean "WOW" the picture you see in Sam's isn't even the full potential of this Samsung clone. One recomendation though, for DVD you must have a progressive scan player for good quality image.An interlaced player will leave some dark scenes with horizontal lines and banding, a progressive player rids you of this problem and gives you the best quality. And about the warranty, it does come with a toll-free number on the certificate and they are very helpful and will find you a certified tech to repair your system.I know this because I thought the banding lines on my tv from the dvd was the fault of the tv but to my dumb intuition it was the player and I needed a progressive player.Also with the number you can select finding a tech on your own and ordering parts/service manuals. So I recommend this 54" HDTV for sure! |
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John | Robert, Do you know if the SVM/VML can be terminated via the service menu, or did the technician need to manually disable it? |
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Robert | It's inside the service menu. I asked the same question while watching him calibrate the tv.It IS in the service menu and it's under "Picture" option and inside there it's under the abbreviation "VML" on the third row and not SVM but it's the same thing just different abbreviation.It's default is on 2 but to disable it turn it down to 0 and you'll notice a great improvement and SVM will be terminated.To save the changes push the add/erase button under your pip/vcr panel on the top of the remote. |
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| I've had my 5498 for three weeks now and love it. No problems. Robert, John: I hope I don't embarass myself but I'm not hooked on phonics. What is SVM/VML and what does it accomplish? Thanks, Andrew |
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Robert | Scan Velocity Mod It was technique idea to scan the image over and over on top of itself in a way to make it improve sharpness and detail, but in fact it does worse by ruining your image.All ISF techs disable this function first thing when they get into calibrating your set or sometimes the last step they follow but it's always done if applicable. In the PTH5498 like some Samsungs and Panny's it's called VML, which is the same thing just different abbreviation.If you disable this in the service menu and watch a dvd you will notice a "huge" difference just with this disabled and experience a clean digital picture. Cheers, Robert |
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Robert | In fact here's a GREAT expample of what I mean right here at this link of what SVM is and does and how much better it is to rid of it: http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/learnabout/svm.html |
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John | Awesome! Thank you so much Robert! That link is a great resource for a lot of info! |
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Preston | How many sets ofcomponent video inputs does the pth5498 have? |
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| I searched and researched and, shopped, and learned, and shopped!!!!, and researched, and BY far without a doubt, if you are going to by a HDTV over 36", there is no better value than the Akai 54" HDTV I bought the Akai 54" @ sams for 1299 W/ screen protector! WOW AWSOME prog scan dvd player works fantastic with it, and it is sooo light compared to my 36" tube tv that It replaced, I sit about 14 feet away from it, and it is "in your face huge!" I do not reccomend going with this TV if you are going to sit 6 feet away from it, it would not do the tv justice. Incredible picture, and fantasticly light TV 160 lbs maybe??? |
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| Not to be too precise, but it weighs 154.32 lbs. I wish I was at home at the moment to watch it. The space shuttle is fixing to launch and this flight there is a camera mounted on the external fuel tank up above the cockpit of the shuttle. It will be activated 15 minutes prior to lift off and will transimit approximately 15 minutes into the flight. If it works, you should be able to see the external rocket seperation and the the external tank separation. Soon after that it will basically destruct as it falls. Evidently the camera/power suppply/transmitter is in one package. I'm stuck at work but have access to the interenet pixelated image. Getting back to the 5498 and to the post by Robert, thanks for the info and the very informative link. I would have never known about any of the available "fine" tuning. For the price, this set is awsome. I know awsome is used frequently to describe this set and I cannot think of a better word. If it holds up, then it is a fantastic buy. |
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Robert | It's great to meet other owners of the 5498 and see that you enjoy it as much as I. I myself have a small dedicated home theater room and I sit 8.6ft away from it and the image quality is amazing. |
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| To Preston: you asked "How many sets of component video inputs does the pth5498 have?" The standard 2 on the rear, one for dvd and the other for an HD set top box or either way around and etc.Both inputs are 480i/480p/1080i formats. |
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John Demchak | I just bought the Akai 54" hd set from Sam's yesterday. Right out of the box convergence was very close, regular standard broadcast from an antenna looked great, and DVD's looked great from my cheap, $99, Oritron player. I thought I was gonna need a progressive DVD player, but it looks good enough. The Oritron has component vidio, but is not progressive scan. If you compare the rear jack panel, the remote and the owners manual with the Samsung you will see that they look the same. I'm a little confused about what combination of size & aspect ratio settings to use on the tv and on my SIR-T150 HD box. For years, I couldn't stand the lousy pictures on standard rear projection tv's. HD has made large screen tv a reality for me. |
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| If anyone is interested, I was at Sam's Club yesterday and saw that they have an Akai Progressive Scan DVD player for $99.00. It "looks" nice. A slim line design. I don't know anything about the features other than it listed a bunch of different CD formats that it can read. |
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Tony | Thanks for link robert! good info |
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| I have found out that the Akai DVPS-760 Progressive Scan DVD at Sam's Club does not have ASC-3 5.1 output. Mainly the Toslink or as some call it, the lightpipe. My surround sound system is driven with the optical connectors. The lack of optical seems to be a shortcoming (even at $99.00). It was stated that this unit has coaxial output. |
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| Robert, How do you get to the service menu on the 5498? Thanks |
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| Service Menu: Power "off" the TV and then hit the buttons in the following order mute, 1, 8, 2, and then Power "on" and once the projection turns on you should be faced with a new menu if not do that over again and make sure the power is off.Use the volume and channel buttons to navigate and change vaules. NOTE: once you do this any settings you already done, such as picture and the time will be reset every time you enter the service menu.Make sure you write down ALL info you have done already and make sure you write ALL settings you see once in the service menu,You do this at your own risk.If you want to make a change but to be safe just change the VML setting to "0" and hit the add/erase button to save then power off to exit, turn back on the tv and reset your picture and etc settings back and notice a truer picture. For a 56 point convergence, it's the same as the Samsung except this time the power is left on to punch in the code.Remember with this menu to exit you hit the "S.Mode" button.You can find the instructions at the link below but I reccomend if you're skiddish on doing any advanced tech service to your tv, call an ISF calibrator after you've broke it in(100 to 150 hours): http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/brandspecific/samsung/samsung_convergence.html Also if you want a progressive player i do "not" reccomend the Akai if you want the best possible picutre DVD has to offer IMO.The price is nice for the Akai dvd player but you "get what you pay for".I would reccomend the Panasonic RP62 for 169$ at Best Buy and 179$ at Circuit City.Even better is the Panasonic RP82 but it's only available online for retail 229$ but you "can" find it for 199$ if you search.Those Panasonic's I mentioned also do "not" have the infamous chroma bug like 90% of all the other progressive players.The Chroma bug is when seeing colors like for exaple the Toy Story logo with the blue outline, the blue outline would have many horizontal wavy lines known as the chroma bug, or the red buttons and blue Zorg sign in The Fifth Element.MOre info and a link is below. Akai makes great tv's but they are still behind on good image quality dvd players, it's not so much the player as it is the chipset they use.I would highly reccomend Panasonic's line of progressive players since they do not have this bug and they use the very awesome Sage/Faroudja Chipset for awesome progressive image quality.The RP62, RP82, and RP91 have been proven not to have the bug as so as a few others which you can find a small list of older players without and with the bug at the link below: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_8_2/dvd-benchmark-special-report-chroma-bug-4-2001.html Cheers, Robert |
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| Robert, You have been the source of a wealth of information. Thank you for sharing. Coincidentally, I was looking at the Panasonic RP62-S at Best Buy today. As you stated, it was priced at $169. Again, thanks for the service menu setup and the heads-up on DVD's and the Chroma bug. Andrew |
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Anonymous | We just got the PTH5498 and I only have one question. Does anyone else have a problem with the Remote? I always have to use the buttons on the tv set it self. For some reason I cant get the remote to move the cursor. I would check the manual but we didnt get one. Please email be at messina6@hotmail.com if you know how to fix that problem!! Thanks- |
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| Make sure you're not pushing down on the joystick and only moving it like you would one on a control panel for say a game console.Only push down the joystick in the center position for the "enter" option. Also make sure you have "brand new" batteries in it and not batteries you think are new.They must be right out of the box and be the same brand.Most remotes will not work under used battery conditions, this is usually the most overlooked problem with remote controls. You should have got a manual book with the TV, it's in the same bag as the remote and a huge book at that with 2 sides, one in english and spanish on the other. If you think the remote needs replacing, first think of your options.If you have a nice home theater set-up or you you use a lot of components like dvd, vcr, sat box and etc.Go with a master universal remote, but they do run around 199$ but are great so that you only use "one" remote for 4 to 5 components and can turn them all on at once with one button.Or if you want to stay out of the price range call the warranty number that came with your certificate.If you can't find it the number is:1-888-697-2247 and go through the options for tech-support and they'll take down your info and let you know how they can help you out by replacing the remote or where it can be fixed under warranty. And one last thing, make sure and push the button on the right side of the remote labeled "MODE" ands hit it until the TV light on the remote is lit (it's red) or the TV screen says "TV" as the option.This happens to me sometimes when using a remote with universal options and the mode button is accidentally pushed and it's trying to operate something else other than your TV itself. Cheers, Robert |
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| We purchased the PTH5498 yesterday. Got it set up and it was working fine. We never completed setting up the clock and never set the timer (at least we didn't set it on purpose). Turned the set off to go to dinner, came home, and now it won't turn back on. We've tried the remote and the front panel. The timer light is lit. We disconnected the power last night and left it overnight, hoping it would reset itself, but when we turned it on this morning the timer light is still on and the set won't turn on. Anybody have the solution? |
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| If you just got it, and it's stil not coming back on....... there's only one solution. Return it, take it back. Grab your receipt and take the set back and return it for a new one.Not all sets are perfect when delivered by their trucks because they have no shocks and the RPTV sets always have a rough ride being delivered to their store.It's not a common problem among RPTV's but it does happen occasionally because of their bumpy ride.Usually when you buy one at electronic stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.)and have it delivered they run it through checks to make sure this isn't the case before leaving it in your home.Unfortunatly with Sam's you have to do the work of checking them and returning it, but for the price it's not so bad. Before you take it back, unplug all connections.Make sure you set it back to "Ant A" or "Ant B" for regular programming and check for the white noise(snowy screen).If you get that or a blue screen then turn off the set re plug back in your other components, s-video connections, sat, dvd etc.Turn back on the set hit your tv/video button and select the signal that's on.If still nothing, then call Sam's and tell them you're bringing it back for an exchange because that one won't turn on.Sometimes Sam's needs proof so don't be surprised if they want to make sure it doesn't work and they try to get it to come on in the store, they are just picky about exchanges but they will do them.If you want to double proof the exchange call Akai tell them your problem and tell them you want to exchange it and this way if Sam's calls them, Akai will already have your report on file for the return of their product under the warranty. Last note would be unplug the set for a half hour and then plug it back in but this rarely works.So best bet is to return it for a better one before the 30 days are up on your receipt. Best of Luck, Robert |
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| Just for anyones information, the Akai's are back on Sam's Club Web pages. Both the 5492 and the 5498. They are both listed for the same prices they previously were. They also are listing a Panasonic 51" HDTV. They call it HDTV, not HDTV ready or HDTV monitor. It is also $1299.00. At the very bottom of the description there is the note that to recieve DTV you must have a Set Top decoder. Seems to be a little bit of a deceptive add. I've had my 5498 for almost 4 weeks. Still love it. I have been re-watching all my videos on a new Panasonic DVDRP62 progressive scan player that I got from Best Buy for $169. A lot of features and excellent "chroma bug" free image. Thanks for the heads-up Robert. I originally bought a Samsung 421m but had to take it back because it was plagued with the chroma bug. If anyone is interested, I wrote my comparison in the dvd forum. |
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| I bought the PTH 5498 at Sam's. They somehow lost the owner's manual. I have it hooked up and it looks great but, I know I'm not utilizing all the features and have no way of finding out. Sam's said they would "try" to locate a manual. Don't think it's going to happen. Can anyone help with a copy of the manual or where I can get one?? Thanks. |
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Charles | Tom Email AKAI at customercare@akaiusa.com Give them the model# which is PTH5498 and they should send one to you. |
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| As noted in by the customer care address that Charles gave in the previous message, Akai now has their US website up and running (for what it is worth). They have a few bugs to be worked out. Some of their product descriptions do not match the product they are describing. Case in point, they describe the 5492S as having a 43" screen. They do not have a listing for the 5498. They now have a 5598 widescreen that lists "Samsung" features. By this I mean they list the features and use the name Samsung. There is an FAQ section that answers some questions on the warranty, plus pdf downloads of the warranty. They also list new products that are coming out from Akai. The website is at: www.akiausa.com Andrew |
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| If anyone cares this is how my PTH5498 settings turned out after calibration. Only things touched in the service menu was VML set to "0".This rids of the scan velocity modulation.Also so was the geometry which fixed the overscan problem but this should take experience in doing this or an ISF tech,Unless you love being risky make sure you have a calibration disk like Avia or Video Essentials to do this.Another one was the convergence in the service convergence menu.You already have a manual convergence menu in your regular setup options but they only allow you to converge 9 points of the screen when there are 56 that need to be aligned. Regular settings for Picture are (note my panny rp62 also has the black level enhancement set to "darker" which give the more film quality/digital look so the settings below may not always work out well for others) Type: Custom Color: Warm (you need it warm so you do not cause burn-in and this creates the 6500k temp for the right color never choose cool or normal they are hot colors and creates burn-in RPTV's fast) Contrast: 14 (you need this low for no burn-in and to get the right 6500k light and rids of your worry for burn-in) Brightness: 49 Sharpness: 39 Color: 76 Tint: 55X45 This may not look good on others but seeing it's the same models (PTH5498) you can try these out and see if it helps put your picture into the right direction.Now you must know that the image will be a darker image but it replicates the look of film and gives the dvd's and hdtv a great stunning look of depth which the creator/director indented on their material to look.Anyone who likes to have a bright picture should note you will have burn-in alot quicker because the brighter picture creates aggravated video noise, being that majorly of contrast and sharpness.Also brightness should never be over 50 or it will create too much video noise. *Burn-in: the effect static images of tv broadcast station logos in the bottom of the screen, video games, dvd menus(non animated), letterbox black bars and etc being left on the screen for long periods of time causing the phosphorus of color to burn the image into the screen leaving the logo or letterbox bars there for the rest of the life of the TV.Setting your contrast, brightness, and sharpness to NTSC standards (calibrating the TV) will eliviate this problem. *Q: Why don't RPTV's already come pre-calibrated? A: They are only made to look nice in brightly lit-up stores for the display area.Once you buy it, the calibrating is up to you. *Do not have an ISF tech, or yourself calibrate a tv in the service menu(geometry and convergence) until the TV has broke in past 100 to 150 hours of time. *Disable the VML/SVM at anytime you want. *Enjoy it! Cheers, Robert |
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| just bought my 5498. Love it.... only one problem I ran into tonight. i hooked up my dvd with component cables and its blue. i mean almost a total blue tint. set the convergence thats okay. checked the cable connections everything looks right. any ideas.... |
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| Make sure you check the convergence in the service menu, the 9 point convergence won't do much of anything, the blue could be off everywhere else on the screen.Because this is ususally what 90% of the problem tends to relate to. If you done this, another question.Is this only with your component cables?If so it could be the cables are wrong, I'll explain that later.Also check your Tint settings and if your feeling risky try checking the HUE setting in your service menu and the setting labled BDR(Blue Drive).If can get to the back of the tv check through the vents that the green gun is lit as well as the red. Now about those cables.Make sure your blue wire is connected right and that all component connections are in their designated color coded inputs and outputs.Component cables carry three cables, brightness/sharpness(green), colors with red(red), and colors with blue(blue), seems your blue is hooked up wrong or the red cable isn't working/responding. And don't just look at the color on the wire, look at that color and then follow that cable all the way until the other end to make sure it is also the same color.If it is still correct, then switch your blue and red cable.It may be that they didn't color them right, some low end companies do this from time to time which is aggravating to the consumer that now you may have a blue end but the other is actually red or green. Also try switching bewteen component video 1 and component video 2 inputs.If both inputs do the same after all the chekcing of the cables there's one last thing to see.Is your dvd player a prgressive scan player?If not that can be a problem since these sets have a thing for not displaying interlaced players correctly.Another thing, is your dvd player coneected through a reciever or a vcr?If so try connectin directly into the tv, Macrovision can cause this and/or the picture fading in and out because it think's it's being recorded and it's protecting itself/the dvd. Last but not least make sure the TV is getting clean power.And by that I mean a surge protector that filters out electrical noise.I've heard of some transformers and applicances causing discoloration to a tv because it's causing alot of noise in the line.It's always best to have it plugged into clean power source so you get the best possible picture. If all this fails, then I'm afriad you need to call Akai and get info on who can fix your set under warranty or take it back and get another one. Best of Luck, Robert |
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| Robert, By keying in Mute, 1, 8, 3 I got into the 56 point convergence mode. My question is, is it red or blue? Or, is this more of a focus type setup. I noticed after lining things up here, that when I went back to the standard 9 point convergence, that a problem I was having in the upper right was solved. The problem was that the cross was distorted to the left at the top portion of the cross. It is now a perfect cross. Even though the 9 point convergence was set, there were definite anomolies in some of the 56 points. I notice when navigating to the convergence points in the 56 point mode that the focal point (cursor, four blocks, whatever the term) jumps every other grid, but when I make adjustments, it appears to also adjust the portion skipped. I did this for each grid I had access to that appeared bad. The first time I just exited the menu and the settings were not retained. I did it again and this time pressed add/erase. The cursor jumped to the center and then back out towards the upper left quadrant. Did it switch from red to blue at this point. Nothing seemed out of line so I did not adjust anything on the second phase. The picture looks good. I have also set the vml to 0 and toned down the contrast, brightness and color in the custom setting and also set the color to the warm mode. DVD's appear as if they are acutally projected from a film projector on to the screen. The colors are fantastic, rich and deep. I really don't know how to describe it except that it looks great. After watching a 'letterbox' movie, is it wise to watch something full screen for a while in lieu of back to back letterbox to prevent phospor burning? Thanks for all your info. Andrew |
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| I have been considering purchasing the Akai PTH5498 from Sam's for several weeks. This site has been a great help - but I am hesitant to pull the triiger for 1 reason. We only have cable at present with little hope of sat. connection soon. A post above scared me. Will my cable look good or not on this TV ? We have a very large great room so space is not an issue. If it will be all blurry I will get a tube in the 36" range like the Sony Wega. Any suggestions / impressions ? Thanks, Jerry |
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Charles | Jerry The key is, how far you are from the TV to relation to your room size. Sitting at least 12ft away from this TV will be great with regular cable. Since most of the comments on this sight have been quite positive, I would seriously think about the purchase. The comments from robert about doing service menu adjustments will really help. Also DVD's will look great on this TV. Buy the Panasonic RP62-S at Best Buy for $169. It is progressive and will really make a differnce. Better signal strength with satelite and digital cable will improve the picture, but this TV will grow with furture plans you have including HDTV. Remember, there are TV's out there now that provide an upconversion to improve the NTSC analog signal for a clearer picture on regular cable channels. They tend to be more expensive. The question you need to ask yourself is: Can I live with this TV for the Price I bought it for: the answer should be yes. Remember, Sit at least 12FT away. |
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Anonymous | I have the 5498. I dont see scan lines wih NTSC. There must be some kind of up conversion or deinterlace going on in the 5498. My cheap DVD (not progressive)connected to component video in,looks great.You may not need a progressive scan player.I think the 5498 converts it to progressive. I have a SIR-t150 HD box. With the box set to 1080i everything is displayed in a 16:9 format. It's like my 4:3 tv has a widescreen tv traped inside. |
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| Jerry, I have a fairly small living room and am only about 10 feet from the screen. It looks great with most of my satellite channels. The quality varies with the channels. I use Dish Network and I believe, according to the popularity and cost of the channel, determines the bandwidth they use. Some channels are very pixelated when others are not and this is with the same signal strength. Most of the premium movie channels are excellent. Some of the channels that come with the basic package are not so great. Dark scenes some times are blotchy almost like a paint by number set. This also occurred on my 32", it is just amplified on the large screen. It's not the TV's fault. Now where I was pleasently suprised is with my antenna reception. It looks great and I am 50 miles from any signal source. (I live out in the sticks). I also, as someone else mentioned earlier, do not see the scan lines. This was a major concern of mine to start with because all older large screens looked terrible to me. With the proper tweaking this unit(5498) is excellent. On a side note, I emailed customer support at customercare@akaiusa.com and asked them why the 5498 was not on their web site. They said it is a newer model and they have not got to it yet. They are in the process of listing it. I was suprised that I got a response within about 12 hrs. I have since emailed them back and sent them a link to this forum. I told them it might be good PR if they introduced themselves. We'll see. I would hope that they would not come on strong about the tweaking we are doing and say it voids warranties because they know its got to be done. |
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| Remember to always let your tv warm up 45 minutes to an hour before messing with convergence or service menu options, when the guns are cold they will be off until they warm up and set back into their saved converged positions.After full convergence you need only check it ever 2 weeks to fine tune it. Do the convergence while in Component video with your dvd player on and progressive mode on to get the perfect convergence in progressive mode for your dvd quality/HDTV.TV broadcasting convergence may seem off after being perfect in progressive mode but it's not too bad, but the dvd/hdtv is perfect which is what counts for me. OK about convergence when you press add/erase and it jumps to the center it's saving your setting. To change guns you press the following keys: 7=red 8=green 9=blue When you press a number move the convergence and you will notice you have changed color guns. Now to change to individuals hit +100 then 0 and then Pre-Ch then 0 again.You will see that you are now changing between blue and green guns "only" which means that's the only one's you will see.The rules to convergence is do this until you see the "Green" lines only, green gun is only on.Line up your lines correctly using Sound & Vision or Avia using the cross hatch pattern to make sure your convergence is perfect.After you set the gree gun now hit +100 to go back to the previous menu of convergence with more than one gun on.Now hit 0 and/or Pre-Ch buttons until you see a dingy yellow color and not the main white/yellow one.This dingy yellow menu of convergence is the green and red guns on.With this menu press 7 and now line up the red with the green to make all the lines of convergence this yellow, leave no traces of red.Now hit the 0 or Pre-Ch again to get a purple/magenta convergence menu, and now press 9 to operate the blue gun.Now line up all blue with the purple lines so you don't see blue(or much of it blue leaves a blur since blue focus is always not perfect) and so you don't see red either.After doing this hit 0 or Pre-Ch again until you get the main screen again, the white/yellow menu you first saw when opening this menu, this is all three guns on.Now make any adjustments to the red and blue you can find to fine tune.Remember once you did the green gun first do not move it ever again, you want to line the red and blue with the green.Now that youy've done this very time consuming part you have converged your tv and remember to hit add/erase.At ANY TIME you don't like this and want to back out, hit 3 and it goes back to the previous settings you had saved. Now the box/cursor jumping every other grid is normal because you can't do every grid or you would sitting there for a day trying to get all the lines perfect.This keeps the grid spaced so that each grid efrfects the other and lines the other up with it, so think of every time you make a move of the convergence the other side will be moving to.Every adjustment effects another line of convergence but just takes patience in getting each one done, going back and forth between all the grids until they all are set. Note when watching normal programming you will notice convergence is off but you can't have the progressive picture with the dvd same as the normal interlaced programming, they never will match up since one is 480i and the other is 480p.The programming in 480i will be close but never perfect, you want your dvd to be perfect because this is where your best quality comes in, not in broadcasting unless you have an hdtv set top box then the dvd and hdtv programming would be the same and perfect.And afer doing all that don't go into the "manual" convergence again, it only does 9 points that can mess up your hard work. Now about burn-in with letter box movies.If you have your settings of contrast/brightness/and sharpness calibrated properly you need not to worry about this.Contrast should be low, brightness should be under 50% even 49% is fine or 50% just not more than that.Sharpness should be no more than 40%.Make sure above all your color temp is on WARM, this is a cool 6500k temp for your tv.Most mistake COOL for bing a cool temp but it's actually a very hot temp as well as the normal setting, you want to make sure you have WARM selected. And you're definatly right Andrew, it gives it that film appeal the director wanted you to see.It has allot of depth and not so video implied after you calibrate the settings.It gives you the feel of your own movie theater, instead of just the "watching a movie on tv" feel. If you have done all that, the letter box movies won't bother your tv.But always switching up your programming from full screen to letterbox is always wise but don't be too paranoid once you have the correct settings.Watching a widescreen movie for about 10 hours a day would/could cause burn-in, but a few movies a week aren't going to do any harm.I watch a movie or 2 every night and all my dvd's are in widescreen format.I can't stand having the sides of the director's artwork cut off unless it's TV programming, that I can stand. To Anonymous: You're right the TV does have progressive scan, but that doens't mean interlaced dvd video is now progressive it just means it is still 480i with a bit of a quality push but artifacts will show up.Lines, banding, and interlaced jaggy lines will show up.To have a progressive video image from dvd you have to have a progressive scan player that outputs the image into 480p and processes the iamge before it's composed in the tv through it's line, you will notice the difference and so will your tv.Interlaced video put through the tv's progressive scan keeps it from looking like regular tv broadcasting.Progressive scan through progressive scan tv gives you an awesome picture. If you don't like watching hdtv programming in 16:9 you have a aspect ratio button to squeeze the image so that the black bars are gone and the video is full screen.(note this does stetch the image like anamorphic video but this doesn't work for progressive dvd, it's locked)*Press Aspect button once for 1:77/1:85 programming press twice for 2:35.1 programming. About distance from the TV: Well it's 54", if you watch widescreen programming it's a 50".You should always be 3 times the distance diagonally of a tv.54x3 is 162 inches(13.5ft) of distance you should be.BUT if you're watching HDTV programming or progressive 480p dvd movies it's only 2 times the distance because scan lines are not noticable in progressive and HDTV.Which would have you sitting like I am, at close to 9ft away. THX recommends 7.9 ft away but that's too close, I would prefer 9 ft for HDTV/dvd progressive and 13ft for normal tv broadcasting. Cheers, Robert PS> Other service menu convergence menu keys: These aren't really needed excpet for maybe the first one, others are for your reference. Under the PIP/VCR Panel use the PIP "channel" buttons(up and down) to move the grid up or down as the key arrows are to measure the convergence(remember to put it back in place) of the top box and bottom since you can't see the offscreen convergecne for these two areas but do not make the very out side lines at the very end of the grid line up, remember they're not noticable this is only to measure the convergence space for the second line from the top and from the bottom. "Locate", resets back to previous settings while showng you a brief view of the offscreen convergence for 3 seconds. "Scan" shows you the bending of convergence and resets the settings. "5" shows you the center convergence corsses for a breif second "1" TV default(looks bad eh?), hit 3 to go back to your previously saved settings. "2" Factory default(looks just as wose huh?), hit 3 to get away from this one as well "3" Previously saved settings(you could have guessed that one eh?) There are more but they can damage your tv if messed unproperly with, so I won't mention those, they're not needed. |
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| Well, we did it. We purchased our PTH5498 from Sam's on Sat, Oct 19th. I have played with it some and so far the whole family is impressed - although I believe we will be spending as much time in the next few weeks moving furniture around as watching tv in an attempt to find that "perfect" arrangement for my wife. Thanks Charles, Robert and Andrew for the advice and tweaks. My impressions after 2 days. This TV is huge - and was a breeze to set up. I was amazed at its weight (or lack thereof). My 2 kids (10 and 7) and I had no problems getting it to where it belonged without much difficulty (with some prior planning). Most of our cable channels are pretty clear - and man was Lord of the Rings awesome in HD ! With our sound system we felt like we were there ! With all due respect to Gandalf "It certainly did pass" ! Sam's was literally packed - and no one could help me with extended warranty info - other than to tell me I could come back later. Is this in-house service or would I have to pack the beast up. Is the warranty worth it ? Opinions anyone ? Thanks, Jerry |
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Derrick Miles | Sorry for those wanting info on the Big Screen, but this is for those looking to get the $300 27" Flat Screen. Let me just say that I have never had a problem with this thing for the 8 months I have had it. I have a very similar $450 (Best Buy Cost about $600 retail) Toshiba 27" Flat Screen and when hooking a computer up via S-Video the Akai blows the socks off the Toshiba when it comes to quality. Everything else is pretty much the same. I wouldnt waste my money paying twice the amount (nearly $600) for a Sony. If you want a nice 27" flat screen this is the one. If you got $600 to spend find something bigger and better. The only flaw to this unit is the amount of inputs. 1 Component, 1 S-video, and 1 Composite. There is one more front Composite but it shares sound channels with the S-Video input? Good Luck |
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| Jerry, I purchased the Sam's extended warranty for the Akai 5498. I beleive it was 3 years for $139.00. The extended warranty states that if the factory warranty was in home service then the extended is also. Akai warranty is in home. Keep in mind that the extended warranty does not start until the factory warranty ends. That means the the three extended is 3 years beyond the original. Also, the extended warranty covers some items not covered in the factory warranty. It does not spell everything out, but the extended warranty says it covers failures due to NORMAL wear and tear. It also covers lightening and surges in the power. The factory warranty does not cover lightening or power surges, so if you do have a power surge or a lightening strike, pray that it happens AFTER the factory warranty has expired...then Sam's extended warranty will cover it. Enjoy your TV. I too just watched Lord of the Rings...fantastic with the Surround Sound. My wife finally gave up on arranging the furniture. As you said, and I previously said, this thing is huge. One does not have a lot of options on placement in anything less than a very large great room. I must admit, I did set mine up to point directly to MY favorite easy chair. Ironically my surround speakers are pretty much centered around MY favorite easy chair. Can't figure out how that happened. Andrew |
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Jason | You guys are scaring me a little with all of the talk about service menu adjustments, voiding warranties, setting convergence, etc. Is this set a good choice for someone new to projection TV's? Is it fairly easy to use out of the box? |
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| Jason, It's kind of like buying a new car. It runs great right off of the showroom floor. Then you decide you want a little more speed or performance (better picture) out of it. You know a bunch of shade tree machanics (I use this term respectfully) who have a good knowledge of little tricks or adjustments you can make to the timing, fuel mixture, etc., that makes it much faster. Well something could break and some A.Hole dealer says, "I see you made these modifications and that caused your problem so it is not covered under the warranty". Most of the time, the dealer won't even know you made any modifications unless you really screwed something up. That is a chance you take. The Akai functions great right out of the box. If you like the way it looks, don't make any changes. Once you do some of the adjustments mentioned in this forum, you won't want to go back. They are major differences in the viewing. Some of the tweaking recommended will actually prolong the life of the tubes by preventing pre-mature burning or etching on the phosphorus coating. I imagine this applies to all RPTV's on the market. They are set up to look good on the showroom floor but is brighter than necessary for home use. Robert knows more about this. Back to your last question, it is very easy to use right out of the box. Andrew |
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| Glad to hear you enjoy your set Jerry! Hope any tips we gave help you out in giving your tv a long lasting beautiful life. To Jason: This TV is perfectly fine right out of the box, all rptv's/tv's are.The only thing is, to get the "best" absolute picture it can produce, advanced tweaking always comes in and this is for EVERY tv set you buy, even tube tv's need calibration.TV settings out of the box are for it to look good out in the store for display and the bad thing about that is in a brightley lit store they have the contrast always at 100, which kills the TV. If you're not sure about doing advanced settings to your tv, just stick with the basics.That would be making sure you turn down the contrast below 40, Brightness below 50, and sharpness below 40.Doing those little things right there will ensure your tv's lifespan twice of what it would be if the those settings were never properly done.Why is this?Becuase setting those high create video noise which in turn damages the CRT/Projection guns of any tv which techs call this "TORCH MODE".For color and tint I reccomend getting a calibration disc for the fine tuning on that such as "Sound and Vision:Home Theater Tunr Up" Dvd roughly 15$(for beginners) and the "AVIA" roughly 36$ (advanced calibration) dvd. The only thing that would be benifit beginners in advanced service menus is to turn of the VML/SVM.Everything else just put off until you're ready.And remember, if you never want to do these settings on your own let you tv get a good 100 to 150 hours of break in time.Then call up an ISF certified tech to come to your home and he can do it for you, though this will cost roughly about 500$ to 700$ depending on the set and calibrations needed but they never really are higher than 550$.Why do they cost so much?Well for one they have a training degree for this, it's a special needs service it's not like they get calls every day for this, and their equipment alone for measuring the grayscale cost from 2,000$ to 10,000$.And after they leave you'll be telling yourself it was definatly worth it. If you need help finding one go to their website and find a ISF tech near you at the link below: http://www.imagingscience.com/ Cheers, Robert |
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| Robert, Who carries the calibration dvd's you are referring to? Andrew |
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| No problem Circuit City carries the "Sound and Vision" one for 15.99$, it would be in the 'Special Interest' section.If you can't get that one there or they can't order it for you.Then go to Amazon's website for 14.99$ here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005TRZA and 19.99$ directly from the source here: http://www.dvdinternational.com/home_theater_tune_up.htm You can get the Avia dvd for 35.96 (which is great considering it's 49.99$ retail) at DeepDiscountDVD and FREE SHIPPING!: http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=IMA005867 Sam Goody (mall store) used to be known of carrying the Avia dvd but they charged full retail of 50$, so I highly reccomend getting that one online at the link above. Both discs are great, S&V is great for beginners and AVIA is great for beginners as well but also includes advanced patterns and tweak information for the enthusiast.I own both and both are very useful since S&V includes new patterns of bandwidth that AVIA doens't have but will be on AVIA:Pro.S&V even includes 8 dolby demos you see in the theaters, plus the THX demos, and a DTS music demo.So Both would be the best investment IMO and both are made with Ovation Software's patterns. Avia:Pro is supposed to be released by 2003 Avia's website is here: http://www.ovationsw.com Robert |
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| Robert, You will probably be one of the few to understand this. I was in "mute, 1, 8, 3" last night. While there I accidently hit number one. The display was almost psychedelic, but scarred the crap out of me. Thought I had messed up. Thank God for number 3. Andrew |
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Tony F | Robert & Andrew, thanks for all the help, I use 90% of the info you post, and it all helps!!! I just wanted to add, that I buit a "Back deck" for the TV, since I placed it in a corner, upagainst two, flagstone walls, there was no place (or room) to put up shelves. And even though my room is huge, I did not want to waste space, by placing an entertainment center around it, and pulling it away from the wall. So here is what I did (I know you are all frugal buyers like myself...SAMS club enough said!!) I purchased some 3/4" thick pine and cut it 45 7/16 (i think) long, and then on each side I went back 9" before making a 45 degree angle on each side, ... It might be complicated to picture, but its basicly a triangle, then i cut off the point in the back, I drilled three 2" diam holes in the center to put all those wires for cable box, dvd player, home theatre wires, down.... then I one leg on the back of it like a 2x6x 5?", (as high as the tv)spraypainted it a silver color, close to the color of the TV. then I took some of that "speckle" paint, it was a grey, silver black color, and I went over it to give it a textured look. I placed it behind the tv in the corner, pushed the tv back in place so that the front of the shelf rests on that lip right behind the 6 9'16" top of the TV set. and then proceeded to feed wires up thru the holes, Belive it or not, it is Very sturdy (I did plan on adding extera support, but it does not need it at all!) It looks Fantastic, I has people over last night for MNF, and they could not belive how nice the shelf looked, they all asked where I bought it. Point of the story: Wood cost: 14.50 Pine piece + 2x6 piece for support L bracketconnecting leg to shelf: 1.50 grey spraypaint: 3.00 Speckle coat paint: 7.00 TOTAL COST: 26.00 Man it looks fantastic!! |
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| Tony That sounds interesting. I too, have my set in a corner. Something like you describe should take away thay monolithic 2001 Space Odyssey look. If you have a digital camera, how about attaching a photo to the email link on the left side of this message. Thanks |
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