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kostas
02-04-2008, 10:35 PM
Hello,
Some 4 year ago I bought this Pioneer plasma TV, and since day one I was forced to push the user contrast adjustment to minimum possible, brightness to 8 (from total of 30) and color to -28 (from -30,30) to get a resonable image.
At the time I searched the internet for this, but except some reviews I got nothing. Now I get back to this adjusting problem and maybe there is more information about it.
As I learned, Pioneer pushes up this controls for marketing reasons, to compete with other displays in stores with abundant neon light.
Unfortunately, this TV has no user accessible pre-adjustment menu (integrator menu).
The integrator menu (service menu) is accessible through a serial interface RS232C, that can be set up for different speeds through this method:

With TV off, push 'Home menu' for 1 sec, then turn TV on from remote.
A simple 'integrator menu' comes on, and with left and right arrows, several speeds for the serial can be selected.
A speed of UART Select <=>9600-232C is a common good setting to choose. (9600,data: 8,parity: none, stop bits: 1, flow control: none)

With a computer (laptop) set up with a serial communication program (Hyper Terminal) and a null modem serial cable connected to the Media Receiver back serial connector, characters can be send and received from Media Center.
The settings of the Hyperterminal connection would be 9600, data: 8, parity: none,stop bits: 1,flow control: none.
Emulation: VT100.
In properties: ASCII setup: echo typed characters locally.


I was able to get from internet several command strings
(ex: Volume up: '$02**VOLUP1$03' - where $02 and $03 must be sent as 1 char codes.
In Hyperterminal one would type: <ALT 0 on number pad and 2 on number pad, ALT release>**VOLUP1<ALT 0 3>)
<> will not be pressed they just show above the sequence ALT,0,2 and ALT,0,3 to be pressed in.
Power OFF:
'$02POF$03' - again, $02 would be typed as ALT and 0 then 2 then ALT released, $03 as ALT and 0 then 3 then ALT released.

but I could not find the ones I am interested in:
- Pre-adjustment of contrast (such as user menu can be set to middle)
- Pre-adjustment of brightness (such as user menu can be set to middle)
- Pre-adjustment of color saturation (such as user menu can be set to middle)
- How many Hours functioned until now
- How many start/stops it had.

I would be grateful if someone could have a look in the service manual for this plasma TV and post here the codes, especially for contrast, brightness and color.
I am afraid that several years from now, there will be no interest what so ever for this old model (with a beautiful image!) and I will be completely stuck with the adjustments.

- Please help! Thank you,
kostas.

smcnally
02-05-2008, 05:43 AM
All manufacturers do this, it isn't a "bad practice" of Pioneer alone. Unless I'm missing something, you will not find any settings that will force the user menu contrast and brightness settings to be centered when it is at proper levels. Why does it matter so much to you anyways if they are centered? That's like saying that you want the volume knob on your stereo to be at the exact middle point when your music is at the most comfortable listening volume.

kostas
02-05-2008, 11:01 AM
PDP 4340HD + Media Receiver PDP R-04U

First, thank you Steve (smcnally) for taking the time to respond to my question.

I want those menus centered because:
1. The contrast is still to high even when kept at minimum
2. At this setting, if I push brightness higher than 8, the level of blacks tend to suffer, and when I turn the brightness down, the lighter parts of the immage are to dark
3. I have no control over the color. The only step that reproduce human skin color well (enough) is -28 (out of -29 (I think) =minimum user setting)
Anything above means way to much color and -29 is black and white.

I was told by a friend of mine that used to work in the business (he does not have the user manual for this model) that a service adjustment must exist that will determine the position of the user control and the sensitivity of it.
I know, the examples I gave in my first post were about volume control, and power off, but similars command could be sent through the RS232 to adjust factory settings for contrast, brightness and color level and amplification.
I have learned that any setting has to be first noted down, and then changed, just to be able to revert to the initial setting.
I have found somewhere a posting of a poor soul that messed with his high end TV factory settings and now he did not have a picture to watch that bad it was. So I know to be carefull.

To refer to the volume adjustment knob of a stereo equipment example, the reason would be to have more adjustment available and more finer steps. (The eye is way more perceptive than the ear - at least in my case)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Therefore would anyone be so nice to give me the commands for this contrast, brightness and color service adjustments or at least to point me in the right direction?
Thank you for reading this,
kostas

Ghost
02-05-2008, 11:56 AM
Some video manufactures (especially now-a-days) have these settings done in firmware - there is no service menu to adjust it. Others have used a deeper or 2nd service menu to access these control, which the entry to is rarely known outside of Japan. It is very rare to see these adjustments made over RS232, what you see is just the adjustments you get in the user menu - so I highly doubt service level adjustment for brightness, contrast, color, etc... will be avaliable via RS232.

On the Pioneeer - I'm pretty sure there are service level adjustments that you can do for those settings. However I don't have a service manual in front of me right now for that model. The service manual is easy to get - either purchased from Pioneer or from an online service manual provider. I would strongly recommend getting that before making any changes (they only cost a few bucks - $10-$40).

Although the color decoder is usually off in TVs from the factory, having to bring the color down to -28 seems a bit extreme. What are you using to make the setting determinations you are coming up with?

kostas
02-05-2008, 12:58 PM
Ghost,

I apreciate your time in posting the reply. I will try then to get the service manual to find those commands for service settings. Even though I could not find it listed anywhere yet on online manuals websites.(I have google-ed it for several days now)

I was using ATSC HD PBS transmissions, commercial DVD's and Bell HD channels (when I had them).
For the color setting, I was trying to make the human skin to look - human :-), grass to look like the real grass.
I have not used special DVD's for setting the colors, brightness and contrast.
I would declare myself very happy just to be able to bring those controls where they belong to.

Ghost
02-06-2008, 12:51 AM
I just found my info on access to the service menu for that model. I don't know if it works or not, I've never calibrated that model. I also have a note that is different from this.
(From a powered OFF state) press: Left, Up, Left, Right, power on. This gets you into the service menu.
My note has something about pressing 'display' and waiting 3 seconds.
You will HAVE to have a service manual (or cheat sheet from someone - I don't have one for that model) in order to navigate the service menu.

Now. The issue at hand -
You CAN NOT adjust things just by looking at some TV stations. If you don't have any test DVD's at all - go get some. You HAVE to have some kind of test patterns, or your just chasing your tail; and you're not going to get it right.
2nd note: Since you obviously don't have any test equipment at all to do this properly. And don't seem to have a lot of experience at it either. I would suggest you don't fool around in the service menu at this time.

Get some test DVD's that have tutorials on them and play around in the user menu some first. Read up on good video practices. Then maybe play around in the service menu some later.

You could always hire someone to calibrate your TV for you as well - it will cost a couple hundred bucks but the person will be bringing the 'thousands of dollars' in test equipment it takes to do with high accuracy (well beyond what you can do with test DVDs and only a few years of experience).

avophile
02-06-2008, 06:37 AM
Now. The issue at hand -
You CAN NOT adjust things just by looking at some TV stations. If you don't have any test DVD's at all - go get some. You HAVE to have some kind of test patterns, or your just chasing your tail; and you're not going to get it right.
2nd note: Since you obviously don't have any test equipment at all to do this properly. And don't seem to have a lot of experience at it either. I would suggest you don't fool around in the service menu at this time.

Get some test DVD's that have tutorials on them and play around in the user menu some first. Read up on good video practices. Then maybe play around in the service menu some later.

You could always hire someone to calibrate your TV for you as well - it will cost a couple hundred bucks but the person will be bringing the 'thousands of dollars' in test equipment it takes to do with high accuracy (well beyond what you can do with test DVDs and only a few years of experience).
The Ghost speaketh sooth.

You will not help matters by futzing with the service menus without using proper test instrumentation.

DVD test discs are a decent way to get started adjusting the user controls for contrast, brightness, tint, color and sharpness, but this should have been done the first time you turned your set on.

If you want your TV properly set-up, and to see if there are any other issues that need to be addressed, you need to bring in an ISF calibrationist.

You will find listings for ISF trained dealers who will properly set up your display here:

http://www.isfforum.com/Find-a-Calibrator/ISF-Forum-Calibrators.html

http://www.imagingscience.com/isf-trained.cfm

Drop them a line, or we'll sick Ed on you.

K&J
02-06-2008, 07:15 AM
Drop them a line, or we'll sick Ed on you.


I didn't realize Ed Traveled much further than his girlfriend's "boobies"
would allow. Canada may be out of his boundaries..

Sorry Ed, Had to.

Special-Ed
02-06-2008, 07:36 AM
I didn't realize Ed Traveled much further than his girlfriend's "boobies"
would allow. Canada may be out of his boundaries..

Sorry Ed, Had to.


i feel the love

James Scarbrough
04-25-2008, 09:47 AM
The DVI input that the media receiver connects to is a standard one. According to Pioneer, you can toss the media receiver and use a 3rd pary switcher/scaler. I like the DVDO products, but almost any scaler will give you more options to adjust the image.

I'm not sure, but I believe the audio was carried over the M20 connector. The DVDO products will allow you to split out the protected HDMI audio via TOSLINK or SPDIF and run it to a receiver. This will only work for PCM, DD, and dts. The newer formats are higher bandwidth and will not work with TOSLINK or SPDIF