AKAI PT5492
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| AKAI PT5492 (Page 1) | Admin | 51 | ||
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| AKAI PT5492 (Page 6) | Richard Bell | 50 |
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| Has anybody purchased an Akai PT5492 54" projection tv at Sam's Club for $999. If so, is it any good? |
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John | Thanks for the replies. I don't think it is the fault of my dvd player. The image that looked clear and focused from the 27 inch tv at 6 feet should not look fuzzy and unclear around 12-13 feet(We have moved the couch back). It is completely unfocused. Also, as I stated above, I am already using component cables that I just recently purchased. S-video and composite inputs were previously tried to no avail. All 3 inputs look identically unfocused. This has led me to think that the calibration might be off. I will try to get the avia or s&v disc and see if setting up convergence could help. I will let you guys know what happens. |
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Anonymous | The 5498 is very similar to the Samsung PCL5415R but they are not exactly the same. The 5498 does not have a surround sound decoder or the PerfectFocus auto convergence feature. There may be other differences. The PTH5498 service manual text refers to Samsung models. |
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Jeremy & Candice | can anyone help with the steps i should take if setup of my new 5498 i just got it home any help would be appreciated Thanks Jeremy & Candice |
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| Hey, Anonymous!! Are the differences in the Akai and Samsung products major? I.E., enough of a difference to keep you from purchasing the Akai PTH5498 over the Samsung? Thanks. RBell |
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| RE: Anonymous and rbell Yes the Samsung PCL5415R is near the same but the PCL5415RX(Samsung) is the exact same product as the PTH5498(Akai) with no diffeences and Best Buy did carry the PCL5415RX at a $1799 price tag. RE:John And the convergence may be an issue, but as many of these sets I've seen I've never heard of the dvd player being fuzzy unless it was that of the players fault.That and it not being up to par on the resolution.That articale may try to rule that not all movies benifit from the 480p but I know for a fact it makes difference on a 54" RPTV for all movies. RE: Jeremy & Candice Read up above for all tips and steps on what to do.Only adjust the regular picture settings with an Avia or S&V dvd for beginners and turn off VML in the service menu.Then after a good 100 to 150 hours of the TV being worked in, then begin the 56 point convergence and the service menu options. Robert |
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Anonymous | Any recommendations on surround sound systems for the 5498? How do they work if the 5498 does not have a surround sound decoder? |
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| Robert, Anonymous! Thanks for the help! I'm still 'sitting on the fence' on making a decision to purchase - but I am getting close! RBell |
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Aiwa 5.1(dolby/dts/prologic) - AV D77 approx.$300-$400 Panasonic 6.1 (dolbyex/dtses/prologic2) - PAN SAHE200S approx. $499 Harmon Kardon 7.1 (dolbyex/dtses/prologic2)- HK AVR525 approx. $999 Robert |
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| I got the HDTV version of the akai from sams club for christmas...great...great, thus far...do you all suggest the extended warranty. |
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John | Robert: Thanks for the info. I wasn't able to pick up Avia/S&V disc so I opted to test out a progressive scan dvd player. As you had predicted, the dvd player was the culprit behind the fuzzy image. I can finally make out the shine on the actors' eyes. I am going to place an order for a calibration disc to get rid of the smearing of the reds on screen. For now, the focus is where it should be. If in doubt of your dvd player's picture quality, I would definitely recommend going for the progressive scan upgrade. I had a quick question about hooking up sound for the 5498. I hooked up the dvd player to composite input 1 and plugged in stereo inputs from dvd player to tv. I plugged monitor out(for audio) from tv to my stereo receiver. When I play dvd movies, the sound does not come out through my receiver speakers. For all of the different inputs like vcr, cable, and dvd through composite inputs(RCA)/S-video, I can hear sound from both my tv and the receiver speakers. How come I can only hear out of my tv when it's connected to component? Has anyone else tried this? I know I should hook up dolby digital for best sound, but I don't have the budget for a while to do that... Any info would be appreciated! terry: I don't think the extended warranty is worth it. From what I hear, 5-6 years are what most people expect to get out of these tv's. Since 1 year is already covered, and most defects are found within this first year, it should not be worth it to buy the warranty. |
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| I have had PTH5498(Akai) since August. It is great. Now, I have HDTV cable set up by Comcast. However, I have lost my manual, and I have only managed to get it to HDTV setting once (the Football National Title Game!). What did I do to lose the HDTV setting? How do I set it back? The guy at Sams Club said to change the 'Aspect Ratio', but that doesn't appear to work. When I have the TV set to Component2, the image is widened beyond the screen edge and overlaps. |
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terry brown | is there any problem with playing video games on the akai big screen....I know about images burning ..but other than that what is the opinion of the other akai owners.... |
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ADAM LEACH | ROBERT: YOU ARE VERY HELPFUL TO ALL OF US AND WE WOULD ALL LIKE TO THANK YOU! DID YOU WRITE DOWN ALL THE SETTINGS YOU PUT IN YOUR SERVICE MENU,IF SO WOULD YOU PLEASE SHARE WITH ME. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW EVERYTHING YOU DID IN THE SERVICE MENU AND THEIR SETTINGS. I KNOW THIS WONT WORK ON ALL TELEVISION SETS BUT TO JUST START TRYING THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO US YOURS BECAUSE YOU ARE VERY INTELLIGENT ON THIS. THANK YOU SO MUCH |
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| Terry: image burning is discussed above by other owners of the akai tv, but I will try to summarize to save you time. Robert was helpful to point out that many of the items on display such as health meter, score box, and status bar are always a danger for screen burns. Although 1-3 hours of gameplay should be ok, constant exposure to the same display is not recommended. In other words, when you are putting a game on pause, it'd be wise to switch the tv to regular antennae reception to act as a screensaver. The issue of image burning is not only caused by video games. I know of other RPTV owners that are concerned by the network channels that have their logos on the bottom left/right of the screen. Adam: I also share your feeling of thanks to Robert. I just wanted to say that it is internet etiquette to turn off caps lock. Caps lock is often saved for purposes of shouting/arguing. -John |
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| just a quick question .... would there be a difference in picture quality between a progressive scan DVD player vs. an HDTV broadcast?? which would give me a better picture on the Akai 5498????? i keep hearing that HDTV is awesome but is it better than a first run hollywood DVD using a p-scan dvd player into the 5498?? please any info on this.... i am trying to get the best possible picture.... thanks, reid |
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| Could someone please help? I just moved and cannot find the remote to my AKAI PT5492. I have tried the weblinks customercare@akaiusa.com and I'm unable to bring up the site. Any help is appreciated. Lillian |
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| RE: John I believe the monitor out is for only coaxial connections right? If you want audio to come out of your receiver then the audio must be directly connected to it and not the TV as I've mentioned before. RE: Keith Shultz The HDTV setting is in your HDTV receiver not the TV.If hooked up by component cables to the TV the TV is now ready for the HDTV to be input through.If you lost the HDTV reception you may have adjusted the format in the set-top box receiver for your HDTV channels.Make sure you have 1080i format selected to get the HDTV format to work correctly. RE: Adam Leach Yeah, keep off the caps lock button for one, lol! I'll try to type up my list in the service menu for what I have, later on.Do remember that what my setting are could ave a different effect and maye not the same on your set, all sets are made with the same parts but not operational in the same matter once plugged in.I have them all written down but not typed in my cpu.So look for this later on. RE: Reid Piazza DVD players with progressive scan can format up to 480p for 95% of models.More high end models can try to push for 540p, but not always a compatible resolution.HDTV of course will be the best, it has a resolution of 1080i, and it's like looking through a window.The resolutions can vary by station but the most used is the 1080i.There is also the 480p but as well as 720p too, which if most TV's cannot ustilize the 720p it will convert it or your set-top box will convert it to 1080i. So your answer would be yes, HDTV is better than DVD's at this time, but that will change with the red laser and blue laser battle for HD-DVD which we should see as a marketed product in another year or so once they figure out if they will use one format, 2 or even 3.The realistic point is that it maybe 2 formats which will mean 2 different players or one player that's expensive that uses both lasers.But at this time the best quality is HDTV and D-VHS, yet D-VHS is nothing I care for.I want to get away from VHS not for it to stick around and plus the features for D-VHS are horrible and are only good for recording HDTV programming.I myself will wait for HD-DVD.  RE: Lillian Granderson Call their tech line and ask to order another remote from their office.Or go invest in a great universal remote.You can contact Akai at the following number: 1-888-697-2247 Robert |
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| Robert Thanks for the info. My remote is on its way. Lillian |
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adam leach | robert i would really appriciate it if you did write them down for me. i know that each television is differt but as for a start i think it would be helpful to me. and sorry for the caps being on my wife keeps the caps on for some reason.thanks again |
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John | Robert: I believe the monitor out is composite(RCA). Is that same as coaxial? Lil: Did you have to pay for the remote? If so, how much was it? My dad is paranoid about breaking the new remote, and he's making me use universal remotes to save the new one. Very ANNOYING. =) |
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| RE: John Being that it's through the composite(RCA) connection one would think that it would allow all audio to pass from the monitor out.Although due to Macrovision and copyrighted material on a DVD if you read in the manual for the 5498 on page 1.4 it says "Connect to the audio/video input jacks of a recording VCR.NOTE:The monitor out does not operate in DVD or DTV/HDTV mode".This is common now that with so much security on piracy with movies and etc that the monitor out is only supposed to be that for a VCR to record programming and that is why the DVD won't output due to the fact it won't allow it.You will need to connect the audio from the DVD to your audio receiver direct. Robert |
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| Picture: RDR 20 HUE 5 LTI 1 RCO 50 GDR 20 RYR 2 VML 0 GCO 40 BDR 11 RYB 10 VMD 0 BCO 25 RCT 11 GYR 10 DCT 2 BPO 0 GCT 30 GYB 5 DPF 2 BWD 0 BCT 23 GAM 10 HPF 6 SBT 13 SHP 3 VPF 6 CON 7 SFO 3 VPO 5 COL 10 POV 3 VPI 20 Geometry: VS 64 PAM 70 HSP 138 VA 117 UPC 128 OFS 0 VL 128 LOC 128 VSO 57 VSC 128 HEH 0 VAO 10 VE 0 HS 86 HAO 20 HA 94 VAN 128 PPH 128 VBO 128 Option: BYTE0 60 BYTE1 43 TV Manual Settings: Type Custom Color Warm Contrast 14 Brightness 46 Sharpness 35 Color 77 Tint 57x43 Those are my service menu and manual menu settings on my PTH5498. Robert |
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adam | robert first of all i would like to thank you on the settings you have given me. i know it must of taken a while. second is there a service manual for what all those codes mean if so where can i find one and do you know the price. third and finally which ones are the ones you haved changed. i really do appriciate all you have done as all of us can say in here you are truly a genuis to all of us and we thank you very much |
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| Thanks for the reply to my previous question! Everyone is so helpful on this board! I have another question.... is the set top box available for rent from the cable company?.... is this just a "digital" cable box" or a special HDTV box? my cable company is ATT Broadband... (and I live in a very rural area in California) not sure if this matters... thanks, reid |
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| I am in the process of purchasing a new dvd player...great deal ..the maker is cyberhome...progressive scan....player..with the 5:1 direct connections in the back...it that a good feature or not....would appreciate feedback..thanks.. |
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Jason | John Gayleard: The Samsung widescreen TV that I wrote about was in Knoxville, TN at the Sam's Club on Walker Springs Road - (865) 694-2168. I don't know if they still have any - it was the first time that I had seen it in the store. Hope that helps! |
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Mark Bryan | Does anyone have a 42" Akai Plasma Monitor? I am told that it is the same as a "Samsung SPL4225K Flat Panel Television". What do you think of the Akai? |
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Kelley | Hello all. I was wondering what kind of arrangement most of you were using for placement of your home theater receiver and cable boxes, dvd players, vcr, etc... Are you leaving them on top or something else? thanks |
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Anonymous | Mark Bryan- FYI, I have read up on the Samsung Plasma. It also being private-labeled by Gateway. Check out this link: http://www.gateway.com/home/digital/tv/index.shtml |
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| RE: Adam Call Akai for the service manual.Most of the settings once you select them to change the hex values it will sometimes give a longer abbreviation of the selected code.Most are actually easy to understand, VA is vertical alignment while VS would be vertical size.SHP is sharpness while SBT is sub-brightness.Con=contrast.COL=color.RDR is red drive or GDR green drive as RCT is red cut, GAM is gamma, OFS is off-set and so on etc. RE: Reid Piazza Yes I have heard that cable companies that offer HDTV rent out HDTV cable boxes.I know for a fact that Time/Warner Cable does this for their customers.Best to call up your cable provider and ask. RE: Terry Brown Never heard of Cyberhome products.They may be an inexpensive company the likes of Apex. RE: Kelley My receiver as well as the dvd player and other equipment is on a HT rack which is placed on the top of an amoire that holds all of the movies and music I own. Robert |
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telmd | Finally made the decision and purchased a 5498 yesterday. Have it all set up and looking nice. Had one question though.... At the present time i'm using an Apex for my DVD viewing pleasure will be upgrading to a Progressive scan in the near future.. My question is in the meantime what is the best way to bring video into the TV... The apex has s-video, componant and composite out's. Would using RGB's give me any better picture than using S-video or is that one of those trial and error type things. Also I hear alot of talk in hear about the panasonic Progressive scan dvd players... Will they play VCD & SVCD's... Thanks in advance. |
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Ron | telmd- I just picked up the panasonic rp62[on Roberts advice] at best buy for 129.99 [179.99-50.00 instant rebate]. Robert- I'm down between the akai and the panasonic pt47wx42 widescreen. Bj's wholesale club is selling the panny for 1199.00. Most of the hifi "experts "say go with the widesreen. What do you think I should do? |
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Anonymous | telmd Video connections in best to worst order 1,best, Component video. (I'm not sure where true RGB fits into this, but it's either equal to or better than component. 2, S-Video 3, Composite 4, worst, RF channel 3.4 John D |
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| RE: Ron The Panny is a 47" diagonal screen size for widescreen movies/16:9 programming and approx 31" of 4:3 programming.With the Akai, widescreen movies/16:9 programming will be at 50" of diagonal screen size and 4:3 at 54".What seems more plausible? The only thing to think of is, if you want to invest in a widescreen model now, or later.I myself can wait until later, but it's all up to you just read what I said in the beginning of this reply. Robert |
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John Gayleard | Jason, Thanks for the info. regarding the Samsung widescreen at Sam's Club. Take care |
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Ian | I just bought a 5498. I think its focused in properly. On centain stations it does better than others. I noticed close up shots are sharper than distant ones. Can you help me get the best focus possible out of my Akai. In simple terms so I can do it myself and not have to fork over cash. Thanks. |
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| *Just picked up a Akai Progressive Scan DVD player From Sam's Club. I believe it is a brand new model (Model # DVPS7000) Because I never saw it there before.... It was $89.00 + Tax! *Well- I brought it home and hooked it up to my new Akai 5498 (Via the RCA Component Video connectors) and I CANNOT TELL the difference between the Progressive Scan (480p) and Interlaced modes (480i).... The Picture -INFACT *seems "slightly" Sharper in Interlaced Mode 480i!!!! I have switched from Progressive Scan mode (480p) to (480i) about 100 times and have spent several hours trying to figure it out!! I even thought I might have gotten a bad unit and returned it for another one. Same Result! Does anyone know if it is this unit?? I did hear earlier not to go for the Akai DVD Players....(from Robert) MY PICTURE IS WORSE in Progressive Scan (480p) than it is in (480i) I thought I would notice a "slight" difference" with progressive scan?? Any help will be MUCH Welcome!!! Thanks, Reid * I used to have a Toshiba (also from Sam's for $89.00 (480i) DVD player and the picture on that was a little better than this Akai Model # DVPS7000!!!! |
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I do hope you didn't connect the player with RCA's from the component.You must purchase component cables consisting of RED/GREEN/and BLUE cables.RCA's will defiantly not give you the picture you're after from component outputs/inputs.
Return that Akai dvd player. And note that you won't see a difference in any progressive player retailed at under 140$.The line is "You get what you pay for" and Akai or Apex dvd players are not good.Buy yourself a player with a good, yet reasonable price tag like the Panny RP62/RP82/XP30 and you will get your difference in quality. See when it comes to a TV quality can be bought at a good price because TV's are more demanded to have good picture and Akai is doing god in that market.Now with dvd's you have so many in the market to sell them cheaper to get those VHS consumers to change over at a more inexpensive rate, and in doing this you get bad quality manufacturing and parts and bad on Akai for doing so.Hell, my friend bought an Apex dvd player and the dvd tray fell off on the second day of use.With dvd players it's the more money the more quality in picture, chipset, firmware, and resolution plus the addition of less bugs in the system.Now I'm not saying go out and spend money on a $1,500 dvd player because of the price but whenever you see these players for less than $150 you are asking for bad quality and the more expensive the players get the more in awe the quality is.I've only seen maybe 3 players around $115 that were decent but still not great.The good progressive Panny's are gonna run from $179 retail and on up to $300, but "you get what you pay for" and that's a great difference compared to the "cheap" marketing tools of players people are getting sucked into. When it comes to dvd progressive technology you need to pay more for the better chip that produces the better picture and produces a happy consumer.You pay way less, you get a cheaper chip and so to speak a "cheaper" picture.Dvd players, speakers, and surround receivers are the one's you can't get good quality from buying off cheap, they are the bigger investment in the price ranges. Robert |
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| Does anyone know where to get parts for the 5498 besides directly from the manufacturer? I have acquired one with a broken screen. It seems to work just fine I just need a screen and some cosmetic trim. Thanks |
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Dave | Craig,you really don't need the screen shield.With it off you won't get any glare. |
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| DID IT !! Got mine 2 weeks ago (AKAI PTH 5498) thanx all for the info and support no problems - awsome but my dvd sucks only decent with s-vid... *Info on remote (in case you have not tried this) mine works awsome - did not program it! just hit the MODE button on the side until "cable" is displayed (should scroll through tv, dvd, vcr, and cable modes) and you should be able to key in channels, use channel up/down and the volume should function too (works with my cable box , dvd, vcr without any setup at all!!!!!) must be set to "TV" to use menu and other functions- let me know if i'm just lucky... thankx for the crucial info (ROBERT) T-Rull |
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| Robert - Thanks for your advice!!! I will be returning the Akai DVD player..... And no - I was hooking up the DVD player with special component cables consisting of RED/GREEN/and BLUE cables..... I am now researching a Panasonic DVD-CP72S Is this as good as the RPseries?? Also I would like to know if the Akai 5498 is made buy Samsung.... and/or is there a Samsung equivilent? Thanks, Reid |
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| RE: Craig H As Dave said don't fret if that's the glare screen that is cracked, it's even better with it taken off and that's one more step closer to "video nirvana".Meaning if you take that reflective screen off you won't have to "watch yourself" watching the tv. RE: Reid Piazza The Akai is made by Akai, I have heard they are owned/bought out by Mitsubishi but I have seen nothing or heard from Akai that confirms this.But they are made by Akai in Calif. and use Samsung parts.The Samsung company do have an equivelant model in their series which is the PCL5415RX, and note that's with an "X" at the end of the model#.If it's not it's a completely different Samsung TV with diferent features such as "perfect focus" and etc resulting in a different model and more expensive TV.The PCL5415RX has all the same features and functions as the Akai PTH5498. If I'm not mistaken the DVD-CP72S is the same as the RP82 but it has a 5 dvd disc tray tuntable. Robert |
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| I bought the PTH5498 from Sams club this weekend (Jan. 12, 2003), and I love it!!!. It took a few tweaks, but the picture now looks good while playing my VHS tapes, especially those recorded in SP mode. I also have an APEX DVD player, and It looks great using RCA composite outputs. I am using optical outputs for sound from my DVD player into my Sony DTS/Dolby pro Logic reciver / decoder and I get true 5.1 channel independent sounds from my five speaker setup including a 60 watt subwoofer for Radio Shack. I was watching Lord of the Rings, and I thought someone was knocking at my door when it was really coming from the movie. I prefer to use the "mild" setting on the AKAI PTH5498 while watching VHS tapes, and "standard" while watching cable TV, or DVD. |
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| Thanks, but I have pieces missing. I really need a screen. |
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| Thanks for the input Robert..... Have a quick question for anyone who could answer.... Would my TV picture in HDTV be better using a satellite sytem such as Dish Network DirecTV *or Terrestrial (indoor or rooftop antenna) I have been told by a couple people who work at TV stations that even though each method would achieve 1080i (given the station/broadcast is broadcated in 1080i) that the picture and reception would be better with a good antenna rather than a satellite..... Anybody wish to comment?? thanks, reid |
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| RE: Reid
This is quite true, but with the sat boxes today they cannot provide the local channels you would want and that would cause them a problem.So they have it where you have 2 boxes, one is for OTA and the other is your sat box.So getting a sat system would mean you get their 3 or so channels by sat in HDTV and the other box uses an antenna and picks up your local HDTV programming.And from what I've seen DirecTV even intergrates the local channel guide into your HDTV sat guide as well so that you don't have to worry about the hassle of 2 systems running a program guide.So in way the people you talked to are right, but in this case you can have both ways.They probably meant that if you only sat programming you're only going to receive HDNET, HBO, or Showtime HD and so far only Dish Network carries the Discovery HD Theater in their package and with sat you also have to deal with compression in their signal.As they said you still achieve 1080i but not as good as the OTA signal can be depending where you are located from your local channel's HD tower. Robert |
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| Does anyone know how to set up the picture in picture on the 5498 to be able to view different channels with Dish Network. When I attempt to change the channel both the PIP and the tv switch to same channel. I hope this isn't a stupid question...Thanks |
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| Robert - thanks fot your help.... just curious if you have seen an HDTV broadcast on the Akai? Is it any good? also wanted to know if you have listened to DVD-Audio (a few Panasonics have it -RP-82) and if so- how does DVD-Audio compare to DD 5.1 or DTS?? Much different or very similiar? just picked up the DVD-audio version of Fleetwood Mac's Rumors and heard the 5.1 mix but cannot hear the DVD-Audio mix cause I do not yet have A DVD-Audio player -- (looking for the panny RP-82 but cannot find it anywhere - heard it was discontinued) Thanks, Reid |
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telmd | Jason B, I don't think it's posible to use Dish with PiP unless you have two recievers or the reciever you are using is a dual tuner reciever which i'm not sure if Dish has. But from what it sounds like you are trying to do there is no way to make PiP work with just the Dish Ird alone.... I have Directv and cable and PiP will work that way between the two different signals. |
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| Hi! Does anyone know if Sams Club still has the model for approx. 1300 that was HDTV ready? Thanks! John |
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| John - Yes they Do!!!! In my area at least! They just lowered their price to 1274.... Go there and see or call them!!! It is a good TV!!! thanks, reid |
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Anonymous | can anyone tell me how to hook up my big screen that has two tuners and I use a digital cable box.I cant get pip to change channels |
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RE: Reid $1274 is a great deal. Consider that when the PTH5498 was first released last June 2002 it retailed for $1999.00 I've also read that Akai is in production to make an HDTV tuner/receiver in the future which will be great considering the market right now of competitors are running them at $460.I can bet Akai would have a great bargain on their's if it's released this year. RE: Anon I'm not much on PIP but this sometimes means you need to get a PIP kit for the cable box if it supports it. Circuit City carries one by Monster Cable for under $34.95.I do suggest asking around for more opinions about PIP from people who are more skilled in that feild, but I just don't use it. Robert |
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Gerry Q | I have an Akai PTH5498 TV. Everything seems to be working fine except for one thing - I cannot get the CH "channel" setting on my menu screen. I jumps right over the top between the "sound" and "function" settings. This is true using both the remote control and the menu button on the set. It worked when I bought the TV a few weeks ago, but not since then. Any suggestions on how to fix? Thanks |
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| Gerry Q This happened to me when I got a new cable box (using the HDTV connections - 1080i auto disableded it) think of any video input/setting changes you've made since it worked last ??? Reid you can get the RP-82 at crutchfield.com for 229.00$ ... they carry many pany's no chroma bug looks like the rp82 is worth it - many sweet features My HDTV pic is SWEET & CLEAN (but shrinks the display size a bit, measured 47" diag. Does this happen to everyone else??? ) - I had to bundle my power cords together and wrap them in copper tape to get all the noise out of pic - seperated as far as possible from signal cables - got monster surge unit also T-Rull |
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| T-Rull - Crutchfield is out of the RP-82 - I called them last week and they said that it had been disontinued..... I have done searches all over the net and cannot find one!!!! Anyone know where I can find one? Also - it the same chip (sage) used in the Panasonic DVD-RP62K as the RP82??? What set top box are you using for HDTV on your Akai? Also - Are you recieving signals OTA (over the air) via an old fashioned antenna? Thanks, Reid |
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| Gerry Q - I noticed the same thing re: the channel settings. I figured it would because the channels aren't being used. If using a cable box via RCA or any connection other than standard, you can't use the channel settings in the menu. JOhn - Not sure where you are, but check with Sam's to see if any are on order. I waited two and half weeks for one to come in, and I have 4 Sam's Clubs in a 20 mile radius. I paid $1299 + Tax. Has anyone had problems with a snowy picture on their PTH5498? I'm running standard RCA cables to transfer the video signal. I fugured an S-Video cable would be better, but it wasn't. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. |
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| RE: Gerry Q It's because you haven't chosen to view the RF channels.Go to tv/video menu and choose ANT/CABLE then once you do that the CH menu is available.Also in that menu you can rid of the snowy pictures to change them to blue screens. RE: Reid Yes the RP82 has the sage chip and was picked fav dvd player of the year from most forums.There's a catch though, the player is discontinued and is hard to get ahold of as you have now found out and most places that DO carry it jacked the price up.This player was only retailing at 189 to 199 and now it's as high as 249.Most stores that say they have it turn up saying it's backordered but in fact when they get their backorder back it will tell them it's been discontinued.The next version is the RP85 due out this year which I plan to get if it's a great step up from their previous achievement of the RP82.So anyone who can grab the RP 82 go for it but I myself already have the RP62 and will wait for the RP85.Onecall.com was the last place that had some RP82 open box buys but are now all gone.Dont' fret, the RP85(the new upgraded RP82) is on it's way this year. Robert |
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| Reid - sorry about the panasonic RP82 lead just got a catalog a few days ago and it listed it as "new item"? I will also wait for the RP85 (hopefully not to long) Panasonic.com has great info/specs on their dvds a must when shopping + comparing My cable box is a Scientific Atlanta (Explorer 3100HD) - not sure if its any good or not - 1080i is nice but I don't think it has a 480p mode which i'd like to see (would rather have full screen) no antenna yet - *** Does anyone have a box that switches to 480P mode - does it actually switch the output to 480p?(you can see the mode it's in by hitting "display" key)- is it full screen? i have time warner digital cable. *** |
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| RE: T-Bull Why would you want to downconvert to 480p though? 1080i is the higher resolution for HDTV other than 720p.480p is the lowest HD scan rate above the regular 480i and is the highest scan a dvd can produce for now.For fullscreen HD signal you need to change the TV format on the HD set-top box.Not all HD set-tops will allow fullscreen viewing though since the future is 16:9 and out with the 4:3.Also note you are not able to use the aspect key to stretch it fullscreen for progressive modes on in interlace such as the 1080i or 480i. Robert |
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| Hi... I just bought an AKAI CFT2791 27" Flat Screen TV at my local Sam's Club. Beautiful picture!!! When I was playing with the demo model in the store I noticed that I could "manually" change the picture size from 4:3 to Zoom to 16:9. When I took one home, unboxed it and tried it, I was unable to change the picture size "manually" to 16:9. It only gave me 2 options: 4:3 and Zoom. I verified that my model is indeed a CFT2791 and the box even said 4:3 - Zoom - 16:9. I called customer support and they thought that maybe Sam's Club was broadcasting a channel in 16:9 and this feature only shows up when the broadcast is 16:9. Does anyone buy that???? Can anyone help? Thanks!!!! |
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| # Robert # It's T-Rull not T-Bull  Page 2.8 in the manual shows the cable box set to 480P (Wonder Why????) (Best Quality Full screen mode for this set !) Thats Why I watch cable sports mainly (not a movie buff - I do like true fullscreen mode too though.) For me the best config is Full screen Cable and quality DVD - I would not recommend the Panny DVD-RP62 to anyone (most people are in my sit. paid 150+ for current DVD - why pay 150 more just for progressive feature - you know you'll want future technology along with it soon (DVD-A ect...) 1080i is nice (nice) but for me 480p would be better - I sit 13 - 16 ft away from my set and I want full screen cable. We are now in a high tech world... and it's up to the cable provider to suppot all worlds ! will all have WS sets in future-NO Warner cable is sending HD cable via 1080i , then why don't they offer true widescreen with it?? They should be at 480p now and go to 1080I when they offer true widescreen (if they ever can! - this is not a format issue!!!!!!) at least on old programs 1080I input from cable in widescreen STILL HAS THE SIDES CHOPPED OFF!! = 0 Benefits - color density = small (0 benefits if you control the noise + sit at a decent distance) (my noise is the same with both sources) cable vs HD = the box sends the noise through - again I achieved great noise reduction through my EMI shielding of any a/c power cable/source close to input cables (the highest source of interference) not power cables - most (new) sets have new world A/C input supply's and DC supply section filtering - that do the same/more filtering as any external device can do!. my 79.00$ monster surge/line conditioner helped about 0 % after comparing display with/without it - before EMI shielding was done - noise was on sig inputs!) so all cable HD (1080i) viewing results are in a lesser screen size (obviously on widescreen sets too -sides will also be chopped) Called Time Warner to investigate 480P/1080i mode boxes and they said they did not offer that mode (duh?) I brought up my point of view and the lady finally gave me to a "system engineer" to help because they were real short on techs - he said that they are now considering offering the more versitile cable boxes because of the high demand but could not verify anything as of now (hmmm ... ) what happens when you try to go cheap? the story continues... _ _ _ - - - _ _ _ - - - _ _ _ - - - _ _ _ Don't try to sell someone on what you have bought to justify your purchase - This forum is for sharing info not opinions - if you share an opinion others will take it or leave it. I take this lightly and you should do the same. This is the Akai PTH5498/2 Unbiased Forum... not the Roberts world forum T-Rull |
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| whozeee, when you changed to 16:9 at sam's was it cable/sat TV or from a DVD Player (I know Sams uses dvd to make pic look better) try it with a widescreen dvd movie ??? just a suggestion T-Rull |
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| T-Rull... I believe it was a Satellite feed. All their TVs had the same picture. Thanks.... whozeee |
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telmd | To the enlightened ones out there.... I have had my 5498 for about 3 weeks now and love it. I wanted to know if anyone is using or has tried running satellite, cable box or any other analog video signal through a line doubler then into the tv. Was wondering if it would make any difference to the picture. thanks in advance |
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| Does anyone know if the Faroudja shipset in some of the Panasonic players is the same as the Sage chipset or different? looking at a Panasonic DVD-CP72 and just wanted to know if my picture will be as good as using a Panasonic RP-82??? thanks, reid |
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| RE: Reid Find your answers and more here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=5d0a07ebcf632611e527e7bc5f8ace34&threadid=213472&highlight=DVDCP72 RE: T-Rull Sorry about the mistype, I hadn't noticed I had typed "T-Bull" until after I had check up on this thread my apologies it wasn't on purpose I can assure you.
I don't need anything to justify my purchase, I was happy with it when I made the purchase.I don't try to sell anything only share the facts on the Akai set and what is best in the price range for the best quality to get out of it.Also not to mention how to set the TV up in order to get the best picture quality for movies by NTSE and SMPTE standards of hometheater.You state you are not a movie buff and like your fullscreen so please don't fire at me about topics I have no interest in dealing into, I'm dealing with those who want it for home theater purposes.I only reply to those who want help and advice on this set and the things we have been talking about in this thread to get the most out of the set for the best price. What would I get out of doing this, imaginary comission?LOL!No I do this to help other owners of the AKAI PTH5498 set and the products that would help this set inpeticular.You cannot find any info on this set on other sites, do a search on google and this thread is all you find for information about it and owners of the same set.Hell, I have 2 businesses to run in the day and it's nice to shoot opinions on the products I deal with allot when I have the free time to relax.I don't like to hold back knowledge I have about something that is hard to find when I could help so many other people out.If it didn't help that inpeticular person, at least it helps out another that was going to ask the same thing. I apologise if you found offense to anything I may have asked you.I only asked why you wanted 480p when it's a lesser quality resolution than 1080i.No need to get upset it was only a simple question and meant no quarrel on opinions about it being fullscreen or not. Robert's World? Nice ring to it, lol! I'm kidding. I don't tell people buy this or buy that only what would perhaps better help them or fix their problem dealing with this set or hometheater.Fixes don't work for everyone but do work for some, and it never hurts to take advice. You said it yourself, take it lightly. So let's keep this about the AKAI, not debates.  TO: ALL Now for you AKAI owners or peeple interested in the comopany that wanted to know more about the company.... I received an article that was a press release for the PTH5498.It includes the development on the APH future of retail and marketing and also the background of when it was founded and etc. Enjoy:
Akai, being known for being available at Sam's Club is now also available at Costco Clubs as well. Robert |
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telmd | Robert, Thanks for that bit of info. |
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| has anyone here used the Onkyo brand of progressive scan dvd players. if so how are they and does anyone know if they have the chroma bug in their chip set. Thanks, Baltazar |
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| Hey Robert aka Roberts World Forum I wanted to thank you again for your "recommendations"/opinions on this form. Based on your info, I purchased the Panny RP62. I had a Zenith 5 disc inaterlace and it is great on anolgog 32". I moved both up to the bedroom. At first I did not stick to your recommendation based on your experience, and purchased a Samsung Progressive, and it was obviously plagued with the video anomolies of the "chroma bug". The Panny made all the difference in the world. I would much rather hear the recommendations/opinions of one who has actually purchased and used the product they are recommending as opposed to recommendations/opinions based on hearsay. I don't want to bash anyone on this forum. Each of us have different experiences and results and I come back here often to learn anything new. I have even offered recommendations/opinions based on my experiences and not what I have heard. Now, I have a question to anyone with the 5498. I have my satellite receiver going to both my S-Video and my Video1 input. My S-Video goes through my surround system and it must be turned on to utilize the S-Video input. I also utilize the "lightpipe" connection for my sound. My Video1 input is direct from the Satellite receiver and also has my R/L audio inputs so I do not have to turn on the Surround sound. My problem is, unlike all the other video inputs, when I turn off the source, the video input option is not displayed on the screen. If I have the 5498 set to S-Video input and there is no signal, then "SVIDEO" is displayed in green and jumps around the four corners of the display. As I said, this does not happen on Video1. A couple of times, because of the brain cells I destroyed in my younger years, I have turned the Sattelite off, gotten distracted and forget to turn the 5498 off. The next day I turn the sattelite on and instantly have a picture because the 5498 was already on. There is no front LED to indicate the unit is on. This is a lot of typing for one silly question, but does anyone else have this problem and is there any chance of damage to the 5498 for leaving the unit on all night? |
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| Robert... thanks for the link! Cool! Just wanted to ask you (if I havent already) Have you seen 1080i on the Akai 5498?? Do you have HDTV?? Thanks, Reid |
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jameal ahmed | Hi every one |
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jameal | Any one know the best way to connect vcr,dvd and satelite to your tv. |
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| Robert, You are correct in saying there are no other websites to find information on the Akai. I've been looking for days and finally ran across this one. We're considering purchasing very soon and after much research have settled on the Akai. There are 2 models available at Sams... Analog and HDTV Ready. If we won't have a high definition signal coming into the home, what would be the difference between the two models? (We are on a local cable service that doesn't have HDTV signal and satellite is obstructed.) Thanks, Robin |
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adam | why doesnt the pt5492 have the vml listed in there service menus. i know the pth5498 has it.i had the pth5498 for our living room and just went out and got a pt5492for our room. why doesnt it have vml in the service menu or is it a different abbrev. for it in there |
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| RE: Andrew Nice to see you back around. RE:Reid I myself don't have HDTV in my home yet I'm still waiting on the receivers like Samsung T151 to keep ocming down in price(they were $479 last month and are now $399) but my friend who has the same 5498 does have it and it looks amazing to my eyes. RE: Robin Depends, your cable provider will most likely upgrade soon to offer HDTV to their customers.Some are being slow about it but most are already being able to provide HDTV now.Or you can purchase an HDTV OTA tuner for your local area anywhere from $399 to $599 at Best Buy.You can either buy an analog which will have to have a tuner in 2007 convert the HDTV signal later on in the years or spend the few hundred more for a set that when you get the tuner you'll getr the HDTV signal as it's meant to be received.As I've stated I tell no one what to buy and what not to but that's the way i see the situation.Take it on how you can see it as I have. But I would go for the HDTV because why downgrade to a soon be obsolete product in the next 4 years when you can upgrade now is how I've seen it. RE: Adam VML is for HDTV's like the PTH5498.The PT5492 is an analog set and therefore cannot utilize such a feature. Robert |
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| Thanks, Robert. I'm planning to buy within the next few days. Sams Club is an hour drive from my house so I'll have to call first and make sure it's in stock. I'm going for the model you recommended. You're right... it makes more sense to buy it now. I just want to thank everyone that's participated in this forum with the opinions and comments on the AKAI. Since the death of my husband last year, I've been left to research these things myself. If not for the experiences and knowledge of others that I've found here, I'm sure I would've been suckered into settling on a much more expensive model with nothing more to offer than the AKAI model does. As long as you guys will be patient with me for a little while longer, I think I can purchase and set up a reasonable home theater for my family, with your help. By the way. I'm still cracking up at the "Robert's World" comment made a few messages back! That's too funny! It's obvious to me why we're all addressing our questions to him. He's done his homework and knows the full capabilities of this product. I'm just grateful to have access to the experiences of others. Thanks! |
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Ed | Does anyone know anything about the akai cft3090 widescreen analog television they have at sam's. I'm looking into buying one and haven't heard anything about it. The main thing I'm worried about is the viewing modes since it is a widescreen. I messed with the tv a little at sam's, but the remote wasn't there and I found no way to switch viewing modes in the menu. I don't know if I overlooked it or if it is on the remote. Any help would be appreciated. |
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| Ed.... I also looked at the CFT3090 at Sam's. I ended up buying the AKAI CFT2791 27" flat screen. The speakers (sound system) on the 27" TV was better. The CFT3090 only had like 4watt speakers, whereas the CFT2791 had 10 watt speakers. Also when watching a 4:3 channel on the CFT3090 you have to stretch it to watch it in 16:9. Everyone looks fat. It you watch a lot of 16:9 channels or movies, then the CFT3090 is probably the way to go. I thought for $150 less, the CFT2791 was a lot nice flat screen TV which has great verticle compression of 16:9 pictures. Good luck with decision.... ...Whozeee |
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| Hi i'm thinking of buying the Akai PTH5498 what i want to know if it is better or worst than the other projection tv's i've looked at like the rca 61" P61939 or the 55" magnavox 9P5544C thanks for any help you can give me on which big screen to buy. i want one that will last for years and years thanks again BRIAN |
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Terry | Greetings All! I've had my 5498 for about a month and a half and must say I am enjoying it very much. Robert, you have been a tremendous help! Now for the question: I entered the 54 point convergence screen and noticed that when I hit buttons 7, 8, and 9, the grid color changes...I'm asuming this is the alignment of the individual guns? Also, I've gotten to other screens that show diferent colored overlayed grids and although I slightly aligned what I could, I have not noticed any appreciable difference in picture quality. Robert, does the Avia S&V disc run you through all these different modes to align the various screens/grids? Any input is appreciated. |
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| WELL YOU ALL TALKED ME INTO IT SO I HOPE YOUR RIGHT. TONIGHT I AM GOING TO SAM'S AND BUY A HD5498!!!!!!!! |
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TELMD | You shouldn't be disappointed in your purchase. I bought one last month and have been quite happy with my purchase so far. I ordered the Sound & Vision DVD and did the setup and the picture from the TV and the sound from my Theater system is excellant. I have had numerous people see the TV and can't believe how low they are priced for the quality that you get. Like it has been stated you definatly want to go in and adjust the contrast. I went by a friends house last last. He has had his TV for over a year now and never knew to adjust the contrast. We went into the picture properties and sure enough contrast has been on full blast the entire time. So be sure to make that adjust to extend the likespan of your TV. |
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| Well I finally bought a PTH5498 at Appliance Depot for $789.00. My question is how well is the Picture Quility with Derect TV Sattlelight? Or should I just Hook it up to Cable? and has any one hooked there's up to a Sony Dream Machine Surround and DVD, if they have how is the Picture and sound? Mine won't be delivered untill the 14 of Feb. |
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Telmd | Donna, Was that purchased new? I have mine running Directv through the S-Video and the picture looks good. I also have my DVD player an Apex using S-video. Both are running through a Pioneer Home Theater reciever then out to the TV. The picture from the DVD player is alot better than the Directv but Directv is still very much watchable. I have cable running through coax and that picture is noticeably worse (but still watchable) than the signal coming in through s-video. |
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| Yes, it was purchased new, It was a one day only sale they usally sell for $999.00 at Appliance Depot. |
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DAVE | DONNA R U SURE THATS THE PTH5498?FOR THAT PRICE IT SOUNDS LIKE IT MAY BE THE PT5492S WITCH IS NOT HDTV,ITS ANOLOG.CHECK THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE TV IT SHOULD SAY HDTV 1040i.IF U DID GET THE PHT5498 FOR $789 U STOLE IT. DAVE |
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| Hi, Does anyone have any advice (postive or negative) to apply to the purchase of Akai analog model# CFT3090 30" Pure Flat Color Stereo TV. Saw it at Sams for $495 and liked the 16:9 format, but unsure about the lack of s-video input. How does the Y/G/B connection compare? Curious because primarily it'll be used to watch dvds in widescreen format. All/Any thoughts or comments provided would be much appreciated!! |
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| Well, Dave I guess I stole it. Because it is a PTH5498, Gosh I guess a Blind Squirrel doe's find a Acorn once in awhile. (LOL) One more question, What kind of cables should I use for my Surround and DVD. I know there can be quite a difference in performance depending on what cables you use. |
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Telmd | Donna All I can Say is WOW!!!!!!! I believe that they made a mistake when they sold it to you for that price thinking they were selling you a 5492. I can not believe that they would be selling them at a regular price for 999.99 while Sam's is selling them for right under 1300.00. That was a definate steal. BTW what city is this located. |
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| I just purchased a PTH5498 from Sam's Club and thought this looked like a great place to ask about something that's been bothering me about it. I was very impressed with the picture just looking at it. Poking around in the menus, I came upon the convergence adjustment (totally new to RPTVs). The thing that's troubling me is how blurry the alignment things are at the corners. Is this normal? I was tempted to try the advanced convergence (Mute183), but was afraid to mess with it. Any insight? Normal for RPTVs? Thanks. |
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| Does anyone know how the PTH5498 handles 720p? I know it cannot display 720p in its native resolution. Does it upconvert it to 1080i or (gasp!) downconvert it to 480p? I have heard that there are some HDTV sets that actually downconvert 720p to 480p which would mean it's not an HDTV resolution anymore. I don't think I've seen this subject addressed in this forum so far. I sure hope that it upconverts 720p to 1080i, because ABC broadcasts their HDTV signals at 720p and several XBOX games are being made at 720p as well. Does anyone know for sure? |
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| RE: Terry TO align the grids start with the green first and get it all straight.Avia ca help for reference but not exact.The go with red on green(align the red to the already line green) then blue on red(align the blue to the aligned red). RE: Donna You stole that TV. LOL!! That is a steal of a bargain that you got. RE: Denethor First off I like the name you gave, you seem to be a LotR fan like myself. Also if it's aligned bad in corners I'm afriad the advanced convergecne is the only way to rid of that problem.I had the same thing and when watching Amelie or StarWars:Episode One it gave bad colors in the lower right-hand corner but the mute183 menu fixed this.Just go find my guide in this thread and follow step by step, and before you hit add/erase to save it but are unsure about what you did always press 3 to go back to the last save. RE: Kevro It's supposed to upconvert to 1080i.This is usually done in the set top box settings but from what I understand if not it upconverts the picture in the TV.I have yet to see one(any set) that downconverts and if there is that company has no buisisnes making tv's to downconvert 720p to 480p, hehe. Also Xbox is making 1080i games as well, so far they have only one and that's a good start. Robert |
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Jason N. | I was just at Sams Club last night and saw the PTH5498 for the first time. From standing 4 feet in front of it to being 70 feet away this picture truly impressed me. I work at an EMC (electro-magnetic compliance) lab where I test the newest technology ready to hit the public markets and I would personally put the PTH5498's quality up against any other TV. And for the price, I'll take it over any plasma box. Robert - (and others!) thanks for all the info. I'm sure I'll be posing my own questions here in Robert's World Forum any day now... |
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Jason N. | Oh - I forgot to ask. Robert, what would you say are the cons for the PTH5498? Thanks - Jason |
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Anonymous | I would like to know if the PTH5498 has component video inputs (blue/green/red)? I have a sony NS700P progressive scan dvd player ($300 list) and am considering getting 2 of these tv's (one for me, one for mom). Thanks... |
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| Well I have been shopping around for the past week or so for a big screen TV and well the first thing that I see is My pocket book running for the door, by the time I catch the darn thing I come to my sences and start to wonder is it worth it (of course this is not something that encourages stores sales staff), believe it or not it's my wife that wants the big TV, Looking at the WEB I have learned quite a bit about what to look for in TV's, the big three options that were a must in projection were 3 line digital comb filtering, CRT, multi line or whatever modulation and excuse me one more thing picture warmth cool warm and i guess hot the recomondation for longevety purposes was the warm setting, just walking around sam's club the other day I see an AKAI? thinking cheap imitation of a better TV untill I look at the toshiba sitting next to it and well hmm then I remmember the quality I had seen at Circuit city, My pocket book is still in my back pocket this is encouraging, I just happened to cross over this forum trieng to look up info on the AKAI brand and seeng the AKAI webb site wasn't very encouraging I must say, but after reading these reviews I find that with the exception of having the light up remote this tube has every thing that the other site (wish I could remember which one it was) said You wanted in a big screen, it even made it a point that the last thing You should be looking for in a set like this is Surround sound (Get a good receiver and some speekers if you want surround) I do have a question to Robert however, looking at curved lines on the screen I noticed something that is hard to describe somewhat of a distortion if you could call it that but thats the only way I can describe it, do you know what causes it (if you even know what Im talking about) and can that be fixed or tuned somehow? |
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| RE: Jason N. Cons? Only cons so far are the normal problems with RPTV's and that is having to take it upon yourself or hire an ISF tech to calibrate your set, but this goes for all sets.other than this I really can't think of any for the time being other than it's ditribution happens to be only Sam's Club and Costco where delivery is not an easy aquirement. RE: Anonymous
All HDTV sets have these connections so that would be a Yes, they have the typcial 2 sets of component inputs.One to be used for DVD and the other for your HD set top box. RE:Kirk Hillman Curved lines(which are supposed to be straight) can be caused by convergence 90% of the time.If you set the convergence up more nicely and straight it can be cured.If this is not the case then it would be geometrical and a fine tweak in the service menu via geometric setings would cure it there.But I would bet on it being convergence which seems to be a problem with every RPTV that is marketed, and then shipped on a truck that gives it a nice bumpy ride to give you the slightly messed up quality.But it can be fixed. Robert |
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| No I didn't think You would understand what I was saying but hey that's ok I have a hard time understanding what I say half the time,what I am saying is like well a curved line of say a car or the outline of a white plate on a dark table (maybe vise versa) or graphics that are used in media that kind of thing. |
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| I got my PTH5498 last week and so far I am totally impressed! I have turned off the VML thanks to the instructions on this forum and am waiting on my AVIA disc ($37 from Amazon.com). At first I thought my Component 2 (HDTV) input was bad because it would not output my XBOX properly. The service tech at Akai informed me that while the XBOX GAMES are progressive and 480p, 720p or 1080i, the XBOX MENUS & "dashboard" are 480i. So, if you have an XBOX and want to take advantage of the latest 720p & 1080i games, you'll have to live with the messed up menu screens. (although I hear there is a "hack" that will make the XBOX dashboard & DVD movies progressive.) Once the game is loaded everything is fine. In fact, I am amazed at how awesome even the 480p XBOX games look! Progressive scan DVDs with my new Panasonic RP62 are incredibly film-like! Couldn't be happier! NOTE: Concerning the protective screen...My PTH5498 has an "anti-glare" protective screen that almost has a "matte" type finish rather that a "glass" like finish. My unit was manufactured Dec. 2002. The unit on display at Sam's was manufactured in July 2002 and had the "high-gloss" glass like protective screen. I wonder when this change was made. I much prefer the screen that came on my newer TV. I've been telling many people that the Akai PTH5498 is the DEAL OF THE CENTURY! |
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KennyKO | Hi Robert and everybody else, Let me add to teh chorus of thanks to Robert for your advice. I found this BB and the postings made me decide to buy the PTH 5498, about two weeks ago. Still haven't invaded the service menus and tried to align the guns, but I will do that soon. I'm a little concerned about screwing something up. Anyway, I thought I would add a tidbit of info regarding the good chip in Panny DVD's. The EMail they sent me follows: Thank you for your inquiry. We have listed below the Panasonic DVD players that have the FLI2200 (Sage/Faroudja chip). Sage Faroudja FLI2200 DVD-CP67 DVD-CP72 DVD-RP56 DVD-RP62 DVD-RP82 DVD-XP30 DVD-XP50 SC-HT95 SC-DT300 Sincerely, Representative 26 Panasonic Customer Call Center |
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Anonymous | I have set my 5498 brightness, contrast and color controls using the Sound & Vision setup DVD. This works pretty good for DVD,s but for TV, I keep having to set the brightness higher because the darker parts of the picture are crushed into black. The brt ends up at 53 for DVD,s and 56-60 for tv. I seems that the brt setting is ending up a little high. Current settings: con 19, brt 54, shp 42, col 30, tint 55g,45r I'm wondering if the service menu gamma setting is what I need to tweek? VML is the only thing i've changed in the service menu so far. 2nd question. Someday I would like to dig into this thing and make sure the electrical and optical focus is right on. The service manual is not very clear on this. Doesn't even tell how to take the covers off. Refers to using some kind of screen jig. Has anyone else tried electrical and optical focus adjust? John D |
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| Does anyone know for sure whether the PTH5498 does the "ANAMORPHIC SQUEEZE" on DVD's that are ANAMORPHIC or ENHANCED FOR 16x9 TV'S? I have my Panasonic RP62 set to display DVD's letterboxed and they look phenomenal going through the Component 1 progressive input on the PTH5498. But I read over at Home Theater Spot that the Samsung clone (PCL5415RX) does NOT do the squeeze. I do know that when I play anamorphic DVD's through my current setup, they are not at all stretched. I'm just hoping that the PTH5498 is actually taking advantage of the enhanced resolution that anamorphic DVD's offer. Kevro |
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Anonymous | Kevro Mine does not do the anamorphic squeeze. If I do not set my progressive Cyberhome DVD player to letterbox, anamorphic DVD,s are displayed on the full 4:3 screen and the image looks squeezed horizontally. (People look skinny) With the player set letterbox it looks pretty good. I figure if people are displaying anamorphic DVD,s on large front projection systems which may be 100" or more, maybe letterbox is OK for 54". At least that's what I tell myself. JohnD |
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| Need to thank you all for posting your experiences with the PTH 5498. Been looking for awhile and might not have decided to go for it if not for comments. Went from a 20 year-old, 25" working RCA to this. I think I arrived in heaven. Add me to the list of satisfied owners. |
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| This page and you people are incredible!!! I have been looking at and researching HDTVs for a couple of months now and a friend just called about 20 minutes ago from a Sams Club to tell me about the PTH5498. I immediately got online and this is the second sight I came to (after Akai's dismal site.) This is the set I've been looking for. I'm four days from a family vacation to Florida and even my wife agrees that we should go ahead and go for it. At $1278 it's a bargain! But I'd loved to have gotten Donna's deal. Thanks for all the info folks and I'll write back in a couple of weeks to let you know how it all goes. |
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Anonymous | Rob, Don't feel too bad. At $1278 you got it for less than most of us. Re: Donna, don't believe it. |
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tim | what is the mute183 menu and how do i access it and the other hidden sevice menus. any other tips would help. tim |
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| Just wanted to drop back in and express my appreciate for this forum (and Robert in particular). I received my Sound & Vision DVD the other day and followed the instructions provided on here to use the mute183 menu to correct the geometry problems and convergence. I wasn't able to totally eliminate all problems, but I feel much better about my TV now (was worried something was wrong before). Having gone through the different tests/optimizations, I do have a few new questions. 1. The instructions for the contrast test screen were a little vague. They said to adjust it to eliminate "bloom" around the bright square. Is there any more definitive way of setting the contrast using the S&V test patterns? 2. In the guide posted on here for using the mute183 menu, it was suggested that the crosshatch test pattern from S&V be used for the service convergence menu, but as soon as I went into mute183 mode, the crosshatch pattern was no longer visible. What am I looking for when using the crosshatch pattern? Should I still be able to see it while in the advanced convergence mode? 3. Lastly, using the brightness optimization pattern/test, My brightness ended up around 60 or 65 to have the left line totally hidden and have the edges of the right line just barely visible (S&V again). This is well over what many of you on here say to set it to extend the TV life. It has been repeated on here to keep the brightness below 50, but the test pattern definitely doesn't work like they say it should at these settings and everything is way too dark when trying to watch DVDs or TV. Should I stick with the below-50 or assume that the test result is correct for my TV? Thanks again! |
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| I have been looking at the akai product and was reluctant to purchase. It seems everyone is satisfied with the quality of the set. It appears to be several hundred dollars cheaper than anything I have looked at. I checked Sams last night(kingsport TN) it was 1272.94. I think I will buy one very soon. Thanks for all the info. |
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David C | First I would like to say thanks to all that have posted here about the 5498 HDTV. I purchased mine the weekend after Christmas(2002)based on this forum and I have been very happy with it since. Thanks Robert for all the info on tweaking the set. I ordered the S&V DVD yesterday and ordered a Panasonic RP62 today. It is time to tweak this thing into specs. If it gets any better I don't know if my eyes will even know it or not, the picture is so good. I will post after going through the set-up and adjustments and let you know what I think then. Thanks again to all! |
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| Well after reading all the forum posts here, I am on my way tommorow to pick up a 5498 at a local Sams. Does anyone have a disc image of the S&V DVD or is this a purchase item. Thanks |
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Anonymous | i JUST PURCHASED THE 5498 and also agree that the picture is sharp and well worth the $1272. My only gripe is that i cannot get the universal remote to control the akai dvd player. the manual doen't even have a code for akai dvd. also the codes for other dvd players do not work. so much for buying same name products to maintain compatability. Also has anyone used another universal remote to operate the tv? My replay tv remote doesn't recognize any of the akai or samsung codes for tv operation. If anyone has found a brand of universal remote that works let me know. thanks |
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| Okay I got the pth5498, and I am new to big screens and HDTV so bear with me. First off I have been reading this forum, and all the info has been great, and I am trying to use it all. Robert I have been trying to get into the service menu to shut off the VML, but the system to do it you posted is not working for me. Also I don't have an add/errase button on my remote. The 1080i , 480i and s-video that you guys are talking about, is that just pertaining to DVD hook ups or can you hook your cable box up to those. Right now I just have the regular cable wires hooked up to the TV. Please help! |
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| Re: Universal Remotes... I purchased a low-end Phillips/Magnavox universal learning remote from Wal-Mart (model PM620GB)for $16 that controls up to six devices. None of the included codes work with the Akai TV or my Apex DVD, but since it's a learning remote, I just program the keys manually. Even in situations where the codes work, sometimes they assign the buttons oddly, so it's nice to be able to change them. |
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dave | I did use universal remote from dish network to control Akai 5498 but it did not work with Akai manufacture code. Universal remote work with Samsung code and I am able to use samsung code to control Akai 5498 |
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Rick Bell | I plan on purchasing the Akai 5498 at Sam's after having read this board for about a month. However, I was hoping to buy it under Sams' occasional "6 Month Interest Free" program they usually offer from time to time on the Sam's Credit Card. This would REALLY make the 5498 attractive. Does anybody out there have any idea when we might expect this promotion again? Thanks in advance! |
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| I have a question, I have a little bit of ghosting on my new 5498. I is there a setting to adjust this? |
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| Re: Denethor When in the advanced mode for convergence hit the "Disply" button to look at the pattern on the dvd again.You have to line up the green straight across and up to down then red then blue.View the first 3 pages or so of this thread to get full explanations.Look at the pattern on the dvd to see if any color lines are lenaing or bent out of place where they should be all colors converged together should make a straight and clena pattern form the dvd. Also so not use the brightness pattern on the dvd in the first section it has been proven wrong.Use the pattern in the ADVANCED pattern section on the last page called the pluge pattern where you have the contrast bars to the right and the swaying brightness to the left. By Contrast is at 14 and Brightness is at 47. Re: Everyone else As I stated before never buy a TV expecting their so called "universal" remote to work anything or everything becuase they won't, that's why they make universla remotes that are 150$ becuase they DO work everything.And yes I have a universal remote and it controls the TV fine from a Samsung code. Re: Bryan The 108i/480i hookups can be hooked up by cable as long as you have component outputs from your cable box.Call your cable provider for more info on the box. Robert |
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| how do I get a S&V DVD? |
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Bryan | to get into the service menu is it mute 1,8,2 or mute 1,8,3? Also is there anything else you have to do to get into the service menu once you turn the TV back on? I have tried this, and nothing is coming up once I turn the TV back on. |
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| I've just purchased the 5498. I won't recieve it for about two weeks, leaving me plenty of time to get all necessities to make it work best with my current equipment. With my Dish Network 501 Receiver, Pioneer VSX-D510 Surround Sound Receiver, and Philips DVD/VCR combo, what cables etc will I need for the best possible quality sound/picture? I really have no clue so any help would be much appreciated. |
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big poppa | can some one help with custom pic settings for the 5492 |
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big poppa | can some one help with custom pic settings for the 5492 |
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| Seems some aren't looking in the archived pages of this thread.So once again here's some most requested answers to the most frequent questions of the Service menu/convergence/where to buy S&V or AVIA dvd's:For 56 Point Advanced Convergence: For S&V or Avia DVD's: Robert |
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| Has anyone tried to get the PTH5498 to do a vertical "squeeze" on anamorphic DVD's? I know that the set automatically does the squeeze on 1080i material via the component2 input, but how about 480p DVD's via component1? I have read on other forums that some of the Samsung 4:3 sets have something in the service menu that will enable the squeeze to be accessed using the standard remote (ie, not having to get into the service menu EVERY time you want to do the squeeze). If not, I would imagine it could be done by getting into the serivce menu and adjusting the vertical size until you have a 16:9 aspect ratio, but will this throw off other settings? Would everything be back to normal if the vertical size was reset to its original value? I don't have a problem with the "inconvenience" of getting into the service menu to do this, but not at the expense of messing something up to the point that setting everything back to default doesn't help. Don't get me wrong. I'm extremely pleased with the way this set looks with widescreen DVD's, but I can't help but want to see what it would look like with the 33% higher resolution that anamorphic DVD's offer! Supposedly the difference is quite noticeable, and on a 54" set I believe it would be. Plus, isn't it true that all CRT's are actually 4:3 anyway? If so, widescreen sets are just using 4:3 CRT's with the vertical size adjusted to fit the 16:9 aspect ratio. Sorry if this post confused anyone. I'm just curious |
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Dan | Hey Robert, I'am going to buy a big screen soon. But I'am looking at Samsung pcl5415r and Akai pth5498 is one better then the other or are they about the same? The only reviews I can find on the samsung are not the greatest, but it has the auto convergence system and perfect focus.Do you think that makes it better or easier to set up.Please let me know what you think.I'am not worried about price difference and I like what I see about the Akai,But I'am worried set up. |
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Mike H | Thanx to everyone that has contributed to the sum total of knowledge about the 5498....I purchased ours this weekend and am very haapy w/the decision! However, the FIRST 5498 gave me that "old sinking feeling"...after turning it on and attempting to do the manual convergence via the "normal" remote method, we ran into a problem....the first setting (Red) calibrated fine, but the other (Blue)would not operate...in addition, the picture appeared somewhat convex (or concave?)...we called the Akai warranty number and got a helpful CSR, who regretfully informed us that the problem was not "user-fixable" and that we would have to have an authorized Akai service representative come to the house and repair!............BUMMER! On second thought, the next day, we returned it to Sams Club and exchanged for another (but not before having it removed from the box, plugged in and checked!)and everything worked perfectly when we got it home... The only thing I can contribute (after 48 hours of prideful ownership!) is that my DVD player is a three-year old middle of the line SONY model, that DID have component video output.....I bought some "monster" cables (from Radio Shack @ 39.95), connected it and put on "Lord of the Rings" and if the video output is noticeably better from a progressive scan DVD player, it will probably be wasted on me!....the picture/ sound (I have a four year old Pioneer Dolby ProLogic home theatre system w/Infinity speakers & sub-woofer) was most impressive! Once again thanx to everyone (especially Robert)...this BB definitely help sway me into trying the Akai HDTV 5498...and we are very happy about it! |
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My Panny RP62 does fine. And the Akai does do the squeeze and if it does not then it's the fault of your dvd player.
The 5415R is not the same.The 5415R has a 3D y Combfilter.The 5415X is the same for the exception that the Akai is cheaper in retail price.Be sure if you get the samsung that is better that it has the R in the model code and has the 3d filter, the X in the code has the regular digital comb like the Akai. Robert |
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| Robert, Concerning the squeeze...I am not referring to a DVD players ability to display a letterboxed image. Yes, my RP62 does that fine as well. Like I said in my earlier post, letterboxed movies look good, but when a DVD player is set to show an anamorphic DVD letterboxed on a 4:3 set, one out of every 4 scan lines is eliminated to get the black bars, therefore you are losing appx. 25% of the potential resolution. If a TV can do the squeeze, it utilizes ALL of the scan lines and vertically compresses (squeezes) the raster down from 4:3 to 16:9 without throwing away any scan lines, hence displaying the absolute best resolutioin that can be extracted from the DVD. As of now, I know of only 2 ways to accomplish a vertical squeeze on the PTH5498: 1) Upconvert the 480p DVD signal to 1080i via some type of scaler, which the TV will automatically squeeze to 16:9 2) Get into the service mode and reduce the vertical size of the image from 4:3 to 16:9. I just don't know what other geometry might be adversely affected by doing this. (I talked to a rep at Samsung yesterday, and he told me "you can't do it." It's almost like they get defensive when the average "joe" want to mess around in the service menus.) The Samsung SIR-T165 set-top box will allow you to input a 480p DVD signal and it will upconvert it to 1080i. That's probably what I'll end up doing. Bottom line: If a 4:3 set can't do a vertical squeeze, then the benefits of having an "anamorphic" or "enhanced for widecreen" DVD are not being realized. |
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CRYSTAL JONES | I'm trying to find out the same thing. That's the best price I've found but I'm not familiar with the Brand. |
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Anonymous | Hey I just bought the Akai 54" HDTV and Im looking for a good 3 piece entertainment center to put my stereo into like a wall unit with a light bridge, so far the ones I have seen on line are either a small fortune, or chiep pieces of junk, does anyone know of a good online store that would have one at a good price? |
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| hey sams has a big screen tv entertainment center thats looks great with the 5498 they have one on display at the sams club here in augusta ga its 498.00 solid wood and it expands up to 60 in after reading this great page im goning out on sat and buy a 5498 i cant wait ill let yall know the results randy |
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Anonymous | planning on picking up the 5498 in a week or so. just wondering if there are other progressive scan dvd players you could reccomend besides the panny rp62. also are the 2 component inputs identical? and who has used an xbox or gamecube with this set, does it amaze with pro scan? thanks |
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Kirk H | Well I finaly bought one of these HDTV sets and brought the thing home Myself, it realy wasnt that hard to do, My wife thinks Im nuts for not paying the 40 bucks to have it delivered, but it iritated me that they would only deliver the thing during the week, the weekend was reserved for there Buisiness members what ever that means. The interesting part is the speed at which these sets are leaving the store, last weekend I went down to My local SAMS to see if the TV had the new anti glare screen and it did, so I figured that I would buy it this weekend and well they did have 9 but they are history, so I had to take a ride to another store that had 3 left and someone was walking out the store with one of them. The point is these TV's are getting scarse fast, before You waste your time taking a trip down to SAMS to pick one up for yourself call and ask if they have any left in stock, and thanx for the settings robert Im going to use them when I finnaly set up My TV. |
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| I have the XBOX and it sure does amaze with progressive scan. In fact I just picked up Dragon's Lair 3D, which is the first ever 1080i video game. It is unbelievable! I can't wait for more HD games to be released. There are a few 720p games as well for XBOX, and the rest of the games can all output 480p with HD-ready sets I believe. Even at 480p the games are a huge improvement over 480i. With my 55" Toshiba that I replaced with the Akai, I had a really good S-video connection which I thought yielded an excellent picture for XBOX. I was totally blown away by how good the 480p looked on my new set! NOTE: The XBOX logo that is on the screen when changing discs and the "dashboard" that is accessed to change settings, etc. is NOT progressive scan. It looks scrambled when connected to the PTH5498's Component 2 input (480p/1080i). Don't worry though, because once the game loads, everything will be right. |
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| Thinking of buying a Akai 5498. Does it have a strech mode so that when viewing HD 16:9 black bars can be avoided? |
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Kirk H | What is a panny rp62 and who makes it, I just baught the akai 5498 and I don't think that I have a progresive scan DVD Player it's just a plane jane Sony I bought about a year ago but it does have the Y, CB, CR, connections and the picture is crystall clear with no signs of this ghosting stuff that a lot of people talk about, also My PS2 looks awsome on the TV even though it uses regular RCA jacks for the hookup. I do have to invest in the cable HDTV though I have a regular satelite dish right now and man it can't hold a candle to my DVD player it's almost anoying, the only real complaint I would have of this thing so far is the remote, it looks realy cheap and pathetic, does anyone have a sudgestion on a programable Universal remote that would go well with this TV. Thank You. |
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| quote{What is a panny rp62} For the term Panny we mean Panasonic.So what you would look for is a Panasonic RP62.If the model has RP62S(S=silver case)RP62K(K=black case).The most common though is the RP62/RP62S(both silver) and the RP62K has to usually be ordered direct seeing as many stores only carry the silver model. quote{Does it have a strech mode so that when viewing HD 16:9 black bars can be avoided? } In 1080i yes, in 480p no.it's called the "Aspect" button and in any interlace mode you can stretch the picture 2 times large and move it up and down to your specifications.Progressive uses a different scan which locks the aspect button from being used, which would only be relevant to a dvd progressive player but for zomming inon those just have a dvd player that has a zoom feature.As for HDTV in 1080i or regulat TV broadcast in 480i it stretches with no problem. For remotes go for the pronto series or the Sony tochpad learning remote which can be programed to learn or upgraded but these remotes run in the 130$ to 250$ but it's the price you pay to be able to actually control everything. Robert |
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Kirk H | Well Im still currious about what is this ghosting effect that everyone is talking about because I have no idea, My picture is completely clear and no bluring at all |
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| Hey folks, I wrote a couple of weeks ago about my wife giving the go ahead to get the 5498 just two days before we left for Florida on a family vacation and I said I'd report back to all of you. Well, the local Sam's did not have the unit when I got there so I drove to the next closest store and low and behold...two left. Loaded it and brought it home myself and sat up til the wee hours of the morning playing. Fantastic! Robert, thanks so much for sharing your indispensible knowledge. Your tweaks and info made for a easy setup experience although I have to say, the unit worked pretty damn fine right out of the box. Advice to anyone reading these posts though: read all the previous posts and use the advice given by so many, particularly Robert's. They will make a pleasant buying experience with the 5498 even better. You will not believe how enjoyable a television can be. The week I spent in Disney World was fun, but I'll admit that I couldn't wait to get back home and fully set up my home theater. Is that pathetic or what? |
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| I have the AKAI CFT2791 27" Flat Screen TV, too. Its a good flat-screen TV for the price ($350). However, I noticed that it tends to shift the brightness on dark scenes. It almost appears as if its trying to "auto-iris" the image; brightening the screen. For example, a black screen with white text: when the white text is on, the black screen is BLACK. When the white text dissolves off, the black screen becomes not as black. Another example of this fluctuation is in the beginning of the Lord of the Rings when Gollum is in the cave eating a fish. As the camera tilts up, the screen is in a constant state of brightening/darkening. This happens no matter what setting the TV is in (standard, custom, zoom, 4:3, etc.) This only happens when there is a dark scene. If its happening other times, it isn't noticeable. I'm not overly concerned, as its not a constant problem. But I was wondering if anyone else had this issue with this model. |
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Joe | Question: I have the Akai 5498 HDTV. I recently purchased a nice Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound receiver. I currently have four speakers (I know that I need a subwoofer). I have two speakers in the front (beside the TV), two speakers in the rear (beside the couch), and would like to use the TV as the center speaker. The manual says that to use the TV as the center speaker, I should connect a digital coaxial cable from the "center preout" on the receiver to the audio input on the TV. Is this a different kind of cable? It is only one output (not different ones for different colors, etc.). Where does it connect to the TV? Also, when I connected my rear speakers to the "surround speakers" outputs on the receiver, I did not hear anything. This may b/c I just had it on TV, as opposed to a DVD> |
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| does anybody has any information about AKAI television with serial no.:4517476 model no:fp82f7rapve if somebody has any information regarding that please contact me here,d_111@rediffmail.com. i need the remote for that TV |
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Dan | I just wanted to say anybody looking for panasonic (panny)RP62 I just ordered one at www.Tweeter.com brand new in box with free shipping till march 10, 2003 for a total cost of 99.99 By the way Robert,I got the AKAI 5498 passed on the Samsung pcl5415r didn't care for some of the reviews i saw on the samsung. So thank you for the information your a great help keep it up.Already put vml setting on 0. AKAI 5498 is great !!!!!!!! |
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| I am planning in picking up the 5498 this weekend. I was wondering what the size of the TV is IN the box. In a previous post it was stated that it was.... ________ This is roughly the the TV "IN" the box's dimensions: L: 30.23 W: 50.96 H: 60.17 The TV itself "OUT" of the box is at: L: 23.50 W: 46.00 H: 55.00 ________________________ But the dimensions above that state 'in the box' are the same that the AKAI site gives for the dimensions for the TV. The AKAI site does not state if those are for in the box or out of the box. If the 'in the box' dimensions above are correct then is should fix in my truck (90 full size bronco). But if its actually bigger that it won't. Could some one confirm the sizes for me? Thanks in advance. I can wait to get this TV, I've printed this entire forum and will be using many of the suggestions for fine tuning it. Thanks Crispy |
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Dan | Crispy, In the box is: L:30.23 W:50.96 H:60.17 I still have box, and I just checked it to make sure. |
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Crispy | Ok I have a question after reading some of the posts above. Please clear this up for me if I'm wrong. I hope I don't confuse anyone because I am. On the tv (5498) there are two main inputs (I know there is more but I am just talking about the main ones). One for 480p/1080i, I would assume this is for the HD set top box and one for 480p/480i which I would assume is for a DVD player. It is also my understanding that DVD players are only capable of doing 480i/480p. I have read that some people are using the 480p/1080i inputs for there DVD player. Why do this when you won't benefit from it? Also, some of these DVD players are in the form of Xbox or Playstation2 (which I have). Do the game systems use 1080i? Is there only one input for 1080i? I plan on buying this unit this weekend and would love to know what most people have hooked up and where. I have digital cable, VCR, DVD player (playstation2) which I might buy an additional DVD player w/progressive scanning so I will have two DVD players. Please let me know your recommended inputs for each device. Thanks Crispy PS. Thanks for confirming the box size of the unit. It's good news that it will fix in my bronco. |
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| Hi Crispy, A progressive scan DVD player requires a 480p input. Either "Component 1 480i/480p" or "Component 2 480p/1080i" will work fine. It's true that DVD players only put out 480i or 480p. There is no advantage to hooking a progressive scan DVD player up to the higher bandwith Component 2. Some people may do this if they do not yet have anything that is putting out a true HI-DEF signal (720p or 1080i), but once they do they will obviously need to utilize Component 2 for the HD source. The DVD players in both the XBOX and PS2 are 480i. They are NOT progressive when playing movies. The XBOX games are HDTV compatible and there are currently both 720p and 1080i games out for it. Plus, almost all of the games on XBOX can be output at 480i and look gorgeous. For this reason I have my XBOX on Component 2 and my progresive scan DVD player on Component 1. I recently picked up "Dragon's Lair 3D" for XBOX. It is a 1080i game and it looks incredible! PS2 does not support HDTV games. I'm not that concerned that the PTH5498 only has one HD input because there are very good component switchers available to deal with that need as it arises. See the one at this link... http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/interfaces/switches/inday/inday.html |
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Kevro | Correction: In my last post I MEANT to say... "Plus, almost all of the games on XBOX can be output at 480P and look gorgeous." Going from 480i to 480p on XBOX is even more dramatic than going from 480i to 480p on DVD's! It really is that good! |
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Crispy | Thanks guys for all the feedback. I'm just trying to get some things straight before I get the unit and hook it all up. I rather do it right the first time. Ok, I have another question. I currently have my cable (cox digital cable) going from the wall to the box set top to my VCR to my TV all using the coax cable. Should I keep the same configuration? Is the coax (AntA input) 1080i? Right now I use my VCR as the middle ground to connect my TV\VCR\Surround sound system. Should I continue doing so? I don't know if I will lose anything/resolution by doing so. My DVD player (PS2 right now but planning on buying a progressive one) will be hooked up to Component 1. Sorry guys for all the questions. Thanks again for your help Crispy |
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| Has anyone heard of the new Panasonic DVD-S55S Digital Remastering Progressive Scan DVD Player?? It looks pretty good from what I can tell... $129.00 @ Amazon including Shipping - not out yet... Just want to know if it has the same chip as the panny RP62?? Anyone Know about this DVD player and its abilities next to the RP62? Robert? Thanks, Reid |
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| First of all I am a 50 year old novice at this. So dont hurt me too much. Because of you guys I decided to take the plunge and picked up my 5498 two days ago. Very nice indeed. If I may, I have three issues which dont seem quite right and I know you will be able to help with. 1. I see no noticable difference when the "sharpness" is run from low to high. None at all. 2. When the 5498 is first turned on the screen is blue, then green, then full color. I would say this takes approximatly 2-3 seconds before it is full color. 3. How in the world do you hook this thing up to a surround system. There is nothing in the manual that came with the 5498. Thanks so much. |
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Anonymous | I AM CURIOUS ABOUT THE 54" AKAI PROJECTION TV(PT5492) ANY ONE HAVE ANY INFO ON IT? |
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jimbo | My folks bought the PTH5498 from Sam's last weekend, hooked it all up and it's working fine, but the remote is a pain to use. They're having trouble figuring it out. Also it seems flakey. You push certain buttons and it works the first time, but others you push and push. Paricularly the small thumb switch in the middle of the channel/volume selection. Also we were hoping the remote for the TV would control the Direct TV SAT, but doesn't seem to and vis versa. On the previous TV they had the SAT remote would control the TV. Anyone have any words of wisdom for me? |
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telmd | Roland, As far as the sharpness I have not played with mine so I can't answer that one for you. With regard to the Blue, green screen mine does that. I am assuming that it is the CRT's firing up Blue first then the green then the red to give you the true color. As far as hooking the surround sound up. All your audio should run straight into you Home theater receiver(HTR). If you have cable tv/ant running into the TV then you can run that audio out of the line out on the TV into the Line In of your HTR. DVD, Sat, Cable Box(that has audio outs) should be ran directly to the HTR. |
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Anonymous | Re. Remote center joystick button. On mine I have to pust the button from the side to use the direction function. If the button is pressed down, even a little, the up, down, left, right won't work. Also the remote has to be pointed low at tv. Sharpness control: I don't see a change either with a standard tv picture, but with a dvd setup disk it does change. John D |
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Roland Marr | Thanks for the info....where can I get or download a setup disk? |
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| just brought a akai PT5492S,having trouble connecting both direct tv satellite and local antenna. i'm using and A B switch box, i'm not clear as to how to program the set to accept both satellite and local channels. also having trouble programming satellite remote control to work with set. what is the satellite signal considered (IRC,HRC,STD,ANT)for direct tv. both direct and local channels are working, if only one is connected at a time. presently using the coaxial cable on set but would like to use the connections that it came with (white,red,yellow). set up was working with previous big screen i had. would appreciate anybodys help. |
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| I found a website that sells the Akai pt5498 for $1125 + free shipping in the USA!!! If you send a cashier's check you save an additional $20! This is no joke! I found this on ebay and it is a regular business. The website is www.bigscreenexpo.com If you buy a pt5498 from Greg please mention my name (Rhonda Parton) |
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George | Does anyone know how I can get a copy of the service manual for the Akai Pt5498? I like to understand what each parameter change does to the geometry, and what the default picture settings should be. Also, there are two manual trimpod adjustments behind the front cover, One is focus, not sure what the one below that one does, fine tune or tilt? |
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| Hey Ronda, Heck of a website. Thought I bought my 5498 at Sam's for the best price in town. Wrong!! Could have saved over $200, and, not given the state more sales tax money to waste. If these guys can do it with TV's, there must be other websites out there that do just as well with other stuff. What say anybody? P.S. Way to go, Ronda. |
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| George, I got the service manual for the PTH5498 through Akai's customer service # 1-888-697-2247. They will direct you to another company that sells the manuals. I got mine as a PDF file on a CD-ROM for about $20 plus shipping. Now, here's the problem... While the service manual does help identify what all of the 2-character acronyms stand for (VA=vertical size), etc. and other things like convergence and various schematics, it does not offer much assistance as to a lot of the other finer details. I realize that their thinking is that no one should ever need to mess with this stuff. For instance, I am no technician, but I am convinced that somehow in the Service "Options" menu, there is probably a way to set it up so that you can use the "aspect" button on the remote to go from 4:3 to 16:9 on 480P material. Currently, the aspect button only does this with 1080i material and I cannot understand why. There are various settings for "BYTE 1" and "BYTE 0" that could be changed, but the service manual does not even begin to describe what the different settings mean. I would imagine that most service technicians would be clueless as well. I would love to find information that describes in detail exactly what the Akai/Samsung "option bytes" do. I don't want to just go in and arbitrarily change these settings back and forth because I don't want to mess anything up permanently. |
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George | Thank you Kevro for the Tip, I'll call that number. Does anyone know what the manual knob adjustment under each gun does. there are two facing out to the front, after you remove the bottom front cover. I know the top one does focus, not sure about the one below that one. |
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| For all of you out there that seem comfortable, and are brave enough, with fine tuning the 5498, do you feel that you have noticably improved the performance. For us less bold, do you think it is worth it for us to try ourselves? I think many of us are so impressed with the set as is that I wonder if we would see the difference like you guys. Also, has anyone switched from cable (Adelphia is a big rip-off where I am) to satelite and noticed any improvement. |
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| i am considering buying the 5498 at sams i understand that it should be the same tv as the PCL5415RX by samsung. on the spec for the 5498 it says 1000 lines of res, the samsung says 1080, is there a diffrence? Is the specs for the samsung and the 5498 truly the same? thanks |
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| I was looking at the 5498 at Sam's Club's website and then did a yahoo search and came up with this website www.instepentertainment.com. They advertise the 5498 for $899.99 including S/H with a one year warranty. They also advertise the 5492s for $699.99 including S/H (shipping and handling) with the one year warranty. As they say sometimes when something seems to be too good to be true you get skeptical. Their website says that these are brand new sets in the box, not refurbished models. I wanted to know if anyone had ordered the 5498 from anywhere else other than Sam's Club? Am I taking too big of a risk ordering from that website what sounds like a great TV? The site says that they offer these prices because they look for distribution closeouts and clearances and liquidations, and the sets are brand new in the box. I'd appreciate anyone's advice, I don't want to get ripped off or buy the set with only a one year warranty when I could purchase the set for the extra $380 and then purchase a 3 year warranty and have a little more peace of mind. So help! |
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| gregory smith: I bought mine at Sam's club, so no specific experience with the place you mentioned. I would definitely check out their return policy to make sure they don't charge you a restocking fee or anything if there's a problem. Also, I'd come up with a question as a reason to try calling them to see how easy they are to get ahold of. One very big thing to consider (no pun intended) is the size of the unit. Even if the company offers free S/H, if the unit should be defective and have to be returned for any reason, you could be out some serious cash in return shipping unless they cover it (most places don't). |
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| Something is gotta be fishy with these websites. No way someone can sell anything legitimate for a third less than Sam's. If I am wrong then shame on me. Earlier post from Rhonda mentioned bigscreenexpo.com as a sourse for 5498 at $1125. Now I wonder if even that site is legit. |
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keyur | help-- I tried to connect my progressive scan dvd player in "component 2" and it does not work. the manual states that it should be able to accept a 480p input. i called the repairman and stated that only dtv can be connected to "component 2" not dvd player. Is he correct or is my set broken? has anyone else tried progressive dvd player on component 2 and worked? to greg s, sams club has a very low overhead, their invoice is a little less than $1100. shipping a tv that large easily cost at least $150 dollars. therefore getting a hdtv new or refurbished for $750 is unbelievable. don't gamble your grand away. |
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| well i tryed to reach the folks at http://www.instepentertainment.com/ I have not been able to get a person and there is no message on there voicemail service. I would say it is a little fishy. |
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| This online shopping stuff that was first brought up by Rhonda is really intreging. I know nothing about these sites other than the too good to be true prices. Problem is that maybe they are true. Anyone know anyone who has purchased a major item and been stiffed? Are you protected if you use a credit card? |
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| I just received my 5498. I got it from Greg at http://bigscreenexpo.com/ I'm extremely pleased with it, and saved hundreds over Sams Club. Highly recommended!!!!!!!!! |
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Dustin | I have a 5498 TV but the remote controler appears to be PT5492's. The remote works but can not navigate online menu so I can not change input sources and so on. Is there any cheap alternative/replacement for the remote? Will a universal remote work? I was told the remote of 5498 from Akai costs about $56 that is way too expensive for me. I would appreciate it if anybody gives me advices. Thanks. About the cheap online TVs, is it possible that the TV sources come from so called matrix programs? see http://www.expo4less.com/ http://gogidget.com/ Maybe the supplers occupied good spots so that they have TVs for sale as more and more people attend the games. The sources will not be reliable though. It is a pure guessing and it is probably wrong. |
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| Man... I just bought the PT5498 54" and it is out of this world.. I think my SAMs club membership just paid for itself... the picture is outstanding.. I didnt see anything out there to touch it for the price... |
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| I'm pretty happy with mine as well, but I do have a question. It seems that any orange or red pictures are too red and everything that is blue is too blue. Even white things have a bluish tint to them. Can anyone help? I've adjusted the red & blue convergence as instructed in the manual. Is there anything else that can be done to improve the picture quality without getting in over my head? |
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| Robert, I went into the mute 183 convergence and hit 1 and 2. I read that this was original factory and tv settings earlier in this posting. I messed with the settings in 1 a 2 some. I probably got back out with 3 but I'm not sure. Could I have messed the settings up and if I did how do I fix them. Also to anyone interested I have the Samsung Direct TV HDTV receiver and the channels broadcast in HDTV are AWESOME!! |
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| Robert, I decided to use your settings in the service menu. Unfortunately I did not write the old settings down! These settings do not work well with component 2 hdtv receivers. In fact they are pretty bad they scrunch the picture on top and right side with color lines! Is there a way to get the factory setting back? If not did you write the geometry and picture setting down? If not is there anyone out there who can write the setting in the service menu down for me? Any help would be greatly appreciated! PS the settings look great on the S1 Video. Wierd. |
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| Robert or anyone else who can help. In regard to the above posting I found the factory picture settings in a prevous posting but I cant find the geometry factory settings. I know they can be differant for individual sets but like an idiot I didnt write mine down before changing them and I would like to try the factory settings from some one elses factory geometry settings in the service menu. Please help! |
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Anonymous | Has anybody messed with gamma setting? I am have to set brightness too high to keep darker areas of picture from being all black. John D |
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| Hello all, I just picked up my PT5492S at sams club. after taxes a bit more than 1K. I want to set the vml off, and i folowed the postings and got into the service menu, but i cant find the VML. I looked under the picture setting but it is not there, nor is SVM. also a few other things. looks like the dvd input to the TV is RGB and 2 audio outputs. My apex dvd dosnt come out with rgb. It is only 2 chanels of audio and 1 yellow for video. The dvd also has an S-video out. i hooked up the dvd to the vidoe 1 in, rather than the dvd input. the dvd plays ok this way, but was wondering if i would be better off with the s-video out, or just buy a new DVD with the RGB outs so dvd on the remote jives with the dvd. I also have a problem with scan lines a bit. I believe that this may be from me only setting 8-9 feet from TV, but is there a way to reduce this? I am running an Atlantic Sceintific digital cable on the TV side if this makes a difference. Thanks in advance. Mark B Pittsburgh, Pa |
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| Bad News...The AKAI PTH5498 does NOT upconvert 720p to 1080i. It does not recognize that resolution. I tried running a 720p XBOX game and it was a NO-GO. Apparently, many of the HDTVs from other manufacturers have the same problem. I think that stinks. 720p is being used by ABC & ESPN. The good thing is that all of the set-top boxes & HD satellite receivers can output either 720p or 1080i. Obviously, the TV manufacturers were counting on that. XBOX, however outputs HD games at whatever resolution they were programmed at. (of course you can always view them at 480p, but why should I have to view them at a sub-par resolution when I'm supposed to have an "HD-READY" TV.) As much as I love my PTH5498, there are 2 glaring deficiencies I have found so far: 1) NO vertical squeeze for anamorphic DVD's 2) NO support for 720p, a MAJOR HD resolution. One way around these 2 problems would be an outboard scaler that would take my 480p DVD's and 720p XBOX games and upconvert them to 1080i (the TV automatically "squeezes" the image to 16x9 widescreen when it senses a 1080i signal). Does anybody know of a product for a REASONABLE amount of money that will do that? Thanks, Kevro |
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Dave | Mark,the pt5492s is not a hdtv like the pth5498 therefore you will not find the vml. it is only in hdtv's. |
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| I've had several people email me lately regarding my 5498 purchase from Greg at http://bigscreenexpo.com/ I love my TV, and yes it was brand new. I was extremely nervous but it was worth the wait. Some of the other sites I've seen posted look a little flaky and I don't think I would have had courage to send money to them. My advice - Go to the bigscreenexpo site and save a lot of money on a quality product. Remember that it takes several weeks for the TV to arrive, so don't get nervous. Greg does not currently have the Akai listed on his web site, but I would email him at support@bigscreenexpo.com and see if he has any available. Please tell him I sent you because I have a family member considering purchasing a big screen and if I send traffic his way, maybe he'll give me even a better deal next time around. GREAT PRODUCT - GREAT PRICE - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Feel free to email with any questions. |
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| I've already posted this once, but got no help... My picture is great, but It seems that any orange or red pictures are a little too red and everything that is blue is too blue. Even white things have a slight bluish tint to them. Can anyone help? I've adjusted the red & blue convergence as instructed in the manual. Is there anything else that can be done to improve the picture quality without getting in over my head since I've never messed with anything like this before? Any help is greatly appreciated. |
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Anonymous | Anybody home? |
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Anonymous | Everyone is so happy about the AKAI they don't know what to post!! |
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| What the heck. Sure I'm not the only dummy here. Can anybody explain in dummy terms the downside to a 4 X 3 set vs 16 X 9. |
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Anonymous | The only downside to 4X3 in my mind is when watching a widescreen video you have the black bars on the top and bottom. which is not an issue for me because I watch more regular tv programming then I do DVDs. -crispy |
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| If that is the only downside then I agree with you. Could care less about black bars. Wonder though if we lose some clarity or resolution by not using some "lines"? Earlier post referred to a "squeeze" of lines during HD. |
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| Yes, if a 4x3 TV cannot squeeze the image down to 16x9, then you will not be able to view DVD's in anamorphic mode. This is where the film is transferred to DVD with everything "stretched" vertically. On a 16x9 set, the image is automatically "sqeezed" back down to where it should be, thereby utilizing all of the available lines of resolution. Most 4x3 sets are not able to do this vertical squeeze. On my PTH5498, I tried squeezing the image down in the service mode. I was able to squeeze it down, but not enough to get the oval on my test DVD to become a perfect circle. It was close. Even if it could squeeze it all the way down, it would be a pain to have to get in & out of the service mode every time I wanted to watch an anamorphic DVD. There is some potential good news on the horizon concerning this issue. Some manufacturers will soon be putting out inexpensive DVD players that upconvert the 480P signal to 1080i. The 5498 automatically squeezes 1080i images to 16x9. Only problem right now is that the upconverted DVD output may only be digital (DVI) for copyright reasons. Obviously we need the component outputs to put out the 1080i for this to work on the 5498. As good as letterboxed DVDs look on the 5498, you can bet your bottom dollar that you would see a noticeable difference with the 25% increased resolution of an anamorphic DVD. |
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| Re: the stretching, thanks. Think I'm finally beginning to understand this stuff. Assume that even with set limitations, future HD broadcasts will be as sharp on 5498 as a $3000 Mitsubishi 16 X 9? |
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| David, Personally I think any differences between the 5498 and a $3000 Mitsubishi with future HD broadcasts will be minimal or negligible. The real differences will arise when 1080p becomes available and you start comparing HDTV's with 9" guns vs HDTV's with 7" guns. That's when the differences will be substantial I think. Kevro |
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| I have the Akai PTH5498 and I am having a bit of problem. I have my DVD player hooked up to Component input 1. It works with no problems. I tried hooking up my DVD recorder to Component 2. The screen is huge on component 2. Is there a setting or something I missed. And yes they are plugged into the correct jacks. Please help |
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| Rich F., The Component 2 input will ONLY recognize 480p and 1080i signals. If your DVD recorder is outputting 480i, it will basically appear scrambled on Component 2. If your DVD recorder is Progressive Scan (480p), then make sure that it is switched to output 480p and not 480i. Otherwise, if your other DVD player is progressive, put it on Component 2 and your recorder on Component 1. Kevro |
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Anonymous | I am having problems with my focus with the PTH5498. Tight shots are fine, however wide angles seem to be blurry. I use direct TV (non HDTV) using the S-video and audio to A\V however wide angle sporting events are blurred, any suggestions. |
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| Anonymous, Amazing the few number of posts recently. Except for Kevro, who has a wealth of info, not much input from any of the "regulars". I also have focus issues. Just switched to satelite and expected dvd quality picture. Beautiful reception and color but not real good focus. A past post, I think from Robert, touched on focus but so far have not searched for it. |
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John Lee | Not sure how much this is going to help but I had a blurry/out of focus problem with my dvd player. What I did to fix it was buying a progressive scan dvd player. Since you're saying that it is a non-HDTV receiver for satellite, I would think that could be the source of the problem. Maybe you can somehow get a digital receiver to test out things. |
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John E | Has anyone on this board bought anything from www.instepentertainment.com?? Looks like they have some incredible deals but I'm a little nervous about the set up. |
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Anonymous | re satellite picture quality. My DishNetwork picture is not as sharp as the best of my off the air channnals. My cheap nonprogressive DVD player looks great. I can't tell if my cheap progresive DVD player is any better. PTH5498 JohnD |
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| John E, You are right. almost unbelievable deals. someone earlier bought w/o any problems from bigscreenexpo.com but for more $. if i hsd not already bought my set i would try instep but use credit card. john d, same here |
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David Cleary | What does eveyone use to clean there screen saver? Thanks |
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Terry H | Hi all. While viewing, I have a noticeable "light" of "whitish" fully across the top of the picture viewing area...especialy noticeable if viewing a dark scene. It's almost as if teh picture colors aren't reaching the upper-most portion of the screen. Any suggestions to adjust or correct this are appreciated. |
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David Cleary | It has been almost a week since I bought my PT5492S and I cannot believe that I had a 25 inch TV for all these years. Man was I missing out. Anyways the TV is GREAT!!!!!! The color is excellent and the sound is great. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a RPTV the price was the best I could find for a TV of this size. |
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| I am building a new house & I am impressed with the Akai PTH5498 from Sam's ($1273). Is it a "take out of the box & enjoy" tv or do I have to do alot of adjusting? I just bought a theater system by Pioneer at Sam's and plan to use it. The Playstation2 is on a 32" tv in the game room. Is this a good deal for the price? Any info would be appreciated. |
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Ozzie | Where can I find a manual for my PT5492 ? |
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| I bought a Hitachi Home theater nad tried to connect it to Akai PTH5498. I got into some problems: 1. How do I make the TV sound come through the six speaker system of the Home theater? Is this possible at all? 2. How do I use the 1080 component Video connection? Can I connect it to the Home theater that can do 525? 3. Do I need a set top box to make full use of digital channels? If so, how do I get one? |
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Anonymous | Duane Sinquefield - The Akai PTH5498 is a great value for the money. I did a lot of comparison shopping before I purchased my Akai. Some have great pictures right out of the box. I only did basic brightness and color tuning. You can purchase a 'sight & sound' DVD which will teach you how to do some fine tuning to really bring out the best in this tv. I have the DVD but have no used it yet. You should wait until you have 100 viewing hours before fine tuning with the DVD. I'm just lazy and have not done it yet. Belive it or not i would take some time and read all the posts here, yes that's right all. Some great, valuable information has been shared on this forum. you won't be sorry. -Crispy |
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Jay D | If you want a 5498 better hurry.. Sam's pulled them from the website (which they have done before) but this time they are not ordering more, they are replacing with an unannounced model. I had to go to a Sam's across town to find one that still had it. The picture is great. |
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| Terry H, I have the same fuzzy gray/white area at the top of my screen. I have not done the fine tuning with the Sight & Sound DVD to see if it would help. I noticed no one else has answered your posting. I'm looking for the same answer. Crispy, I have read all the postings on this site and the other 'Akai part two'. Great stuff. I only wish there was this much information for all of the items I was looking at purchasing. I purchased my 5498 a few weeks ago. When I went in the clerk told me that they had not been moved off of the receiving dock yet and I would have to wait till morning to get one. They said they received 5. I am a business member so I returned the next morning at 7:00am. When I walked in the door there were two of them near the exit marked sold. I was upset that no one told me the night before that I could buy one for pick up the next day. Anyway, to make a long story short, I got the second to last one and they were all gone by the end of that same day. They have since received two more shipments of 5 and each have only lasted a day. I wonder how much this web posting has helped??? Thanks to all who have contributed!!! glove |
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| First, wanted to say Thanks to all for the information here. It had alot to do with convincing me to go ahead and take the plunge, so I am now the new owner of a PTH5498, courtesy of my nearby Sam's Club. Also, based on information here, I've gone ahead and picked up a Panasonic RP62 to go with the 5498. It is hooked to the component 1 set of plugs, and I definitely see 480P when checking "DISPLAY" while watching a DVD. Holding my breath now, waiting for the Samsung SIR-T151 now in transit. I'm in the Houston area, supposedly within range of some 10-12 OTA Digital stations, including HD on PBS, NBC, CBS, and ABC. So, there you have my current, and future setup. The question I have is about entering the Service Menu. I've gone through this, and other threads, and it sounds like "power off, then hit mute, 1, 8, 3, then power on" should put me into the Service Menu, correct? I've tried this, several times, but it never does anything but turn the set on. All I'm interested in doing in the Service Menu is disabling VML. Any ideas, pointers, would be appreciated. Thanks! |
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Anonymous | Why does the Akai web site list the 5498 as: PTH5498 54" DIGITAL Ready Projection TV? I thought it was listed as HD ready before?? -Crispy |
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Dave | Rudy you need "power off" mute 1,8,2"power on". Refer back to page5 Robert Dec,7 2002. |
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| Thanks Dave... I had tried the "power off, mute, 1, 8, 2, power on" in addition to the "power off, mute, 1, 8, 3, power on" earlier, but that didn't work either. Since I'm still not able to get to the service menu, I'm beginning to feel a little dumb about this. Maybe it's all a moot point anyway, because the picture on this box extremely nice, even with VML on. Last couple of questions about getting into the service menu: 1) I've tried running the "power off/ power on" from both the remote and the button on the system itself. Aside from unplugging the system, is there some other way of powering off/on the unit? 2) Are the "mute, 1, 8, 2/3" buttons supposed to be entered sequentially or in some combination (i.e. hold down mute while hitting 1)? Thanks Again... |
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| Haven't been in here in a while but as for the 16x9 squeeze trick, it can be done but it's a pain in some ways. You'll have to redo the geometry settings, and redo the entire convergence alignment for all guns.Also geometry settings need to be simliar in the svideo/ant a or b as well so that the ocnvergence doensn't make those look smeared and dull.Also a covering of the top 5 1/2" of the TV will be needed to cover the white line of overscan of the projection, or do a lenstriping which means having to go inside the TV and striping black tape across the overscan line but I find myself being more comfortable with just a black blanket to to cover the top 5 1/2" of the screen.If this is not done the overscan lines on the dvd's and especially tv programing will drive you nuts. ::WARNING:: This will make your 5498 a 50" widescreen 16:9 tv and only should be done if you feel comfortable with changing the settings on your tv and remember to WRITE the settings down FIRST before changing them so that you may go back to your original 4:3 settings.After this is done change the setting on your dvd player and cable box to "16:9" and not "4:3".All enhanced for widescreen dvds will look better than before with a good progressive scan player now that the resolution is of that in which the dvd was intended for from it's software.Any dvd that is NOT enhanced for widescreen simply turn the progressive off and hit the aspect button on your tv remote once to bring it to it's original ratio. NOTE THAT SETTINGS MAY NOT BE APPROX CORRECT ON ALL MODELS AND MAY NEED FINE ADJUSTMENT WITH A GOOD CALIBRATION DISC WITH THE ANAMORPHIC TEST PATTERN. ::GEOMETRY:: VS 63 for component1&2 / 80 for s-video&ant VA 10 for component1&2 / 45 for s-video&ant VL 128 VSC 0 VE 0 HA 73 PPH 255 PAM 35 UPC 97 LOC 255 HEH 0 HS 84 VAN 128 VBO 115 HSP 138 OFS 1 VSO 57 VAO 10 HAO 20 I won't be able to answer any questions for a good while due to me being so busy here latley.So please take this info as is and I will return one day to give a link to a website I'm planning on building that houses all the information on how to calibrate and tweak this 5498 set. ENJOY!! Robert |
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| Instead of a site housng the information I instead made a PDF file with the basic advanced information and calibrations for this set. I probabaly won't be back again for some time. So by all means enjoy the file! You can grab it at the link below: http://www.geocities.com/vampiere.geo/AKAI_PTH5498_SETTINGS.PDF Kind Regards, Robert |
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| Nevermind that link, geocities won't allow the linking to the file. Use the link below from now on: http://www.nocturne.cc/dls/AKAI_PTH5498_SETTINGS.PDF Robert |
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| I know you've heard it before but here it is again, THANK YOU ROBERT!!! |
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| To any else who might have a problem entering the Service Menu on the PTH5498... Not sure if it's just a quirk of my box, but I've been able (finally) to get to the Service Menu using "power off, mute, 1, 8, 2, power on", but only after having selected the "Component 2" input prior to the "power off". Make sense? I mean I had to "power on" the system and then select "Component 2" as the video input. Then I did the "power off, mute, 1, 8, 2, power on" and that put me directly to the Service Menu. The reason I figured this out was because the Samsung SIR-T151 OTA HDTV Receiver I've been waiting for showed up the other day. Hooked that puppy up, to the Component 2 input, played with things a bit, then powered off for the night. Got a chance to return to things last night and thought, what the heck, let's try "mute, 1, 8, 2" one more time. Lo and behold, there's the Service Menu you all were talking about. Anyway, so VML is now set to 0, and I'm a happy camper. Now, if any one out there is on the fence about an OTA HDTV receiver, or for that matter any type of HDTV receiver, the only thing I can say is GO FOR IT... Aside for some very minor 9 point convergence tweaks, and setting the manual settings to my personal preferance, this combination Samsung SIR-T151 and PTH5498 produces an absolutely stunning picture. Felt hyp-mo-tized by the PBS loop and even ended up watching Jay Leno last night, just because the picture was so ridiculously nice. Heck, even the SDTV picture was far superior to the Directv, 32" JVC tv combination I have downstairs. Anyhow, there you go... |
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| rudy, robert, anyone, does vml at 0 and/or the hdtv receiver improve non-hd broadcast, also? should a regular shmuck attempt the vml change? rudy, how much for the receiver? |
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| Hi David, I was able to pick up the Samsung SIR-T151 through Amazon.com for $294.00, and that included free shipping. EBAY had quite a few new, used, and refurbs available as well. I did look around a bit, and think this was a pretty good price for a new unit. As far as disabling vml, once you get into the service menu, it's really very simple. The instructions Robert has posted are right on the money. Someone else please speak up if I'm off base here, but I'd guess that unless you're viewing the unit through either 480p or 1080i feeds, disabling VML would not be that noticiable. Anyhow, there you go... |
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| robert..the settings you listed are for an optimal pic or what... |
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Mike | We have a AKAI PTH5498 and when it is in Normal 4:3 mode, there is a black box which blocks the entire pix. Pressing the Aspect Ratio button zooms it and the black box dissapppears. Any ideas on how to get rid of the black box in normal mode. |
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| RE: MIKE Usually only happens with HDTV boxes when they are transmitting non-hdtv channels to the TV. New boxes don't have this problem but the older ones that do you need to use the s-video connection and switch the tv/video the s-video and view the non-hdtv channels that way and it should rid of the problem. RE: terry brown Those settings are for making the 5498 into a 50" 16:9 tv so that anamorphic dvds are displayed at they're correct resolution resulting in a more stunning picture than before and less shimmer/flicker bugs as in 4:3 mode as less scan lines are being used. The settings in the PDF file are optimal settings for calibrating the TV although since every model can differ you still need to adjust them on your own with a calibration disc but those settings in the file are close enough to get you on the right track if not the settings that you may need. Robert |
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| Updated picture calibration with grayscale correction in the PDF file and added reference information with links.Remember the settings may not affect your set, it is for your reference material only. http://www.nocturne.cc/dls/AKAI_PTH5498_SETTINGS.PDF Robert |
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telmd | Robert, Nice to see you back in the House. Thanks for the PDF File, great little reference guide. Added my own page to it to right down my original settings. |
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wes | Could someone please comment on the pany S35 DVD? Specs look very close/same to the RP62. CNET.com review compared the two units with the 62 slightly better in some fine details but they were somewhat impressed with the 35's performance. Different chip(s)? $99 cost is attractive. Thanks |
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wes | Found the RP62K for $99 (new) @ Howards in S. CA r |
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| Can anyone tell me where I can get a owner's manual for a 2002 Akai PT5492 television, need one real bad. s. Pomeroy akai |
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Anonymous | Shelia, Just download it from Akai's web site. http://www.akaiusa.com/products/pt5492s.htm Crispy |
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| For anyone out there wishing to add an HDTV receiver to their lineup, I have a Samsung model SIR-T151 HDTV receiver for sale. Comcast just started offering HD service through cable in my area so this receiver is no longer required. It does not have the remote, but does include a powered indoor antenna. This has given an AWESOME picture on my 5498 for the past few months. I am looking at $250 OBO shipped for everything, or would entertain a trade for a Playstation 2...feel free to E-mail for more info. -Scottie Scottie91@aol.com |
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Jay D | Sams just lowered the price to $999 for the 5498!! Damn I already got mine... |
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Tom B | False alarm on the $999 price for the 5498. I just checked the Sams store in Fountain Valley, CA. Price is $1272. The $999 is at samsclub.com and there is a $250 delivery charge... |
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| I AM VERY CLOSE TO MAKING A DECISION ABOUT PURCHASING THE AKAI PTH 5498 FROM SAM'S. I WAS TOLD BY 2 DIFFERENT SAMS LOCATIONS THAT THIS UNIT IS BEING DELETED FROM THEIR STOCK. THEY WILL BE BRING IN A NEW ITEM. I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS FROM AKAI. WHEN THEIR INVENTORY IS OUT THEY WILL NO LONGER CARRY. I WISH I KNEW WHAT THEY WERE BRINGING INTO STOCK TO TAKE PLACE OF THE PTH 5498. DOES ANYONE KNOW? I PRESENTLY HAVE A SURROUND SOUND AUDIO/VIDEO RECEIVER BY RCA MODEL # RV-9935/RV9970. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THIS WILL WORK WITH THE AKAI PTH 5498. ALSO HOW WILL IT WORK WITH A REGULAR VCR? I WANT TO PURCHASE A VCR/DVD PLAYER LATER. ANY SUGGESTIONS? Sorry about the caps. I will change next time. |
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Anonymous | Friday, June 27, 2003 - 10:53 am -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- any one having this problem? it has done it 3 or 4 times until last night. last night it happened several times in a row. looking through the right side grid I could see a spark in the mid-section of the "gutts" took the back off this morning, but could see no burned "gutts" it seems to happen only at night. love the thing other wise. July 8, 2003 The left hand projector, which I think is the red one has a red cable running to it. It makes a bacon frying sound sometimes and then will shoot a spark from the end of the cable to the frame that the projector is mounted on. We've only had the tv for about 4 months, model PTH5498. Just wondering if anyone is having similar problems or have any suggestions. Thanks! John |
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| I was informed today that Sam's will not carry the AKAI PTH 5498 once stock is depleted. In September it will be carried by Costco, Bestbuy Sears, etc. I believe it is already at Costco. Does anyone know how much Costco is asking? I wonder if it will be cheaper or higher at the other stores? I hope so I need someone to deliver this unit for me. The Sams in my area does not have someone that will deliver at an extra charge. |
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Sam | Bought the tv today and was receiving excellent picture until i pressed pip. Now I have no picture after pressing tv/video. I can't access the channel menu. The cursor skips right over the channel selection. Can anyone help me figure this problem out. I have everything running through my receiver. The tv is connected to the digital cable box by s-video jacks. I don't run any thing to the ant. jacks. The tv was working fine just as my 36 inch direct view was viewing the cable through s-video 1. Help!!!! |
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sam | never mind. it was a faulty cable. thank goodness because i'm really enjoying this tv. |
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sam | does this tv have 3:2 film correction? |
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david nassif | sam, fyi. robert, rudy, few others in past posts have great knowhow here. sure they can help |
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sam | thanks david!!! |
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Anonymous | Has anyone had their PTH5498 turn off by itself and not turn on until it is unplugged and plugged back in? My set did it 6 times today. it is about 7 months old. It had done this only once or twice before. |
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Anonymous | Why when I first purchased my akak pth5498 is was specified as a HD ready tv (says it right on the tv) and now the akai web site says it's digital ready?????? |
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sam | It's a HDTV. That's what it was, is and always will be. The web site has weird stuff about all of their televisions each time they update. Don't worry, enjoy your purchase. |
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wes | Anyone have a problem with component #2 input? Scene overlaps, it is distorted and is larger than normal - looks like the image is shifted and about 1.5 times larger than normal. Also, with a video source connected to component #1 there is very poor isolation between 1/2 i.e. you can see a faint image from component # 1's image on component # 2 screen. Component # 1 input performance is good. I just noted this problem when I hooked up a seperate DVD last night. |
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| Wes, It is because you are either feeding the component #2 input a 480I or 720P signal. That input will only recognize 480P or 1080I. Anything else will look distorted/scrambled. I'm not sure why stuff on the other inputs faintly shows on comp #2 when nothing is on it, but I do know that it's nothing to be alarmed about. Mine does that too. Component #2 looks great with 480P or 1080I. Kevro |
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David Cleary | I have a couple of questions. 1) what does everyone clean there screen with. I have the PT5492S and my little fella touches the screen some ties and want something good for cleaning. 2) the component inputs for the DVD could you also hookup a hd receiver for a sat and get hdtv or no?(why not if anyone knows.) Thanks |
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| I HAVE A SAMSUNG PCL5415R TELEVISION .AND THE VOLUME BUTTONS IS SHUTTING DOWN MY TV .IT FREEZES THE POWER BUTTON SO I HAVE TO UNPLUG IT FROM THE WALL AND PLUG IT BACK IN AGAIN THEN IT'S OK UNTIL I USE THE VOLUME BUTTONS AGAIN .COULD ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME ? THANKS MUCH |
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Anonymous | I get a sharper picture with DishNetwork connected via composite than S-Video. I have tried several s-video cables. I upgraded my Dish receiver so it's not due to the receiver. I think my 5498 tv has a degraded s-video input. Anybody else have this? My DVD is connected to component 1 and looks great. If I use the Dish receiver(6000u) through component2, HD is great, but if I zoom a SD 4:3 picture to full screen it's no better (maybe worse) than from the composite input. My convergance is not good when the 1080i is zoomed to 4:3. When I tweaked the 16:9 convergance it seems to have screwd up the zoomed convergance. JohnD |
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Denethor | Anybody know if it's possible to keep a video image on the screen in the advanced convergence menu/area? I'd like to keep some test images up (from a configuration DVD) while doing the convergence, but as soon as I go in using Mute183, the video signal is replaced with the convergence grid. Any way to keep the video signal in the background? Thanks. |
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