Hitachi 51F500 Tweaks

[aud19]

Sorry for posting this because I know I've seen a post on here for Hitachi tweaks before. For the life of me I can't find it though.

Taking delivery of my 51F500 on Sunday and I will be getting it ISF'd in a month or two after it's broken in. In the meantime I'd like to get the picture as good as I can without the ability of doing my own grayscale calibration etc. I have a Video Essentials disc to do the basics but would love more info. ;)

So info on how to minimize/fix the green push or any other helpful hints will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone for your help:)

J.R.

[aud19]

Service Menu anyone?

Tweaks anyone?

...help...?

[Mfusick]

Hitachi tweaks links

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=184842
Red push

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181474
Manual focus

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181475
How to measure resolution with chart by Mfusick

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181535
Little blue button

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=180499
How good can convergence get?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179964
Fixing geometry

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179789
Overscan talk

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179285
overscan and static focus now what?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179288
Picture of overscan and that little blue button

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179289
Picture of the trimpots

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179288
Overscan and sky blue button

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179287
Picture of tv with front panel off

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=177851
Jig screen

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=162558
Manual convergence

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=162956
Overscan old post
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=163148
What is calibration?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=164394
Post

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/brandspecific/hitachi/hitachi_tips.html
KEOHI


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=169148
another overscan post

The color decoder can be modified by the following parameters in the service menu.

RY-PH-4 Phase (Hue)
RY-PH-F Phase (Hue)
RY-PH-G Phase (Hue)
R/B-GA4 Gain (Saturation)
R/B-GAF Gain (Saturation)
R/B-GAG Gain (Saturation)
GY-PH-4 Phase (Hue)
GY-PH-F Phase (Hue)
GY-PH-G Phase (Hue)
G/B-GA4 Gain (Saturation)
G/B-GAF Gain (Saturation)
G/B-GAG Gain (Saturation)

To get into the service menu you press input + power. This can be kinda tricky, you have to release the input button right after you hit the power button.

To get to the above parameters, go up through the service mode menu until you get to the ISF Mode menu... Highlight and Right Arrow...

Page down a few pages and you will see the above parameters...

The 4,F,and G suffixes correlate to the different modes 480I,480P,1080I respectively.

Using the AVIA color bars you can decrease RED push by modifying the the parameters that begin with R. And likewise you can make modifications to the Green portion of the decoder by modifying the parameters prefixing with G.


This is just some of the stuff I found.....

There is alot more if you need it.

[Mfusick]

Manual Convergence for the Hitachi
1) Receive an NTSC signal.
2) Press Magic Focus to begin magic focus
3) Press magic focus again during the magic focus process to get the ‘stop’ screen
4) While stop screen is up, press STATUS or INFO on the remote control (R/C) to bring you to DCAM mode and the service grid (64 point grid)
5) When you first get in here… I believe red is the selected color by default (it is flashing).
6) To choose other colors to converge, use the following buttons on the R/C:
a) “STATUS” - Green
b) “0” - Red
c) “ANT” – Blue
7) Start from the center of the screen and work your way out on one color at a time. I adjusted red across the whole screen to match green. Then I switched to blue, and adjusted that to green as well. After you adjust blue, you may want to go back and adjust some red again… etc. until the convergence looks good.
(a) Use 4, 6, 2, and 5 on the R/C to move the cursor position(dotted lines).
(b) Use thumb stick to move the convergence point color.
** There have been other posts in here to tape together the color filters found in the Avia DVD to help converge lines more easily. I have used this method, and it works well for adjusting to a greater detail. Basically, you put the red filter next to the green and adjust your red to the green line both horizontally, and then vertically. Then you do the same with the blue next to the green. Some people recommended you should be at normal viewing distance. I did mine from just a few feet back from the set. Maybe my eyes aren’t as good… maybe I just felt like it worked better this way. There are some other posts also recommending using binoculars. I think it’s great that people suggest things to make the process easier… but my girlfriend would think I was insane if she saw me with binoculars on the couch adjusting the convergence. I don’t know… whatever works best I guess.
8) I did not adjust the green at all. I use the green as the guide and did not adjust the location of any green point. This is highly suggested unless you have geometry problems.
9) When going along the lines and adjusting, you may run into the problem of getting an ‘S’ curve on the line. You’ll know if you get there. Basically, no matter what you do to adjust the line to be converged, the middle of the line between the points will not straighten out (it bends between the points). To fix this, the manual recommends going to the (7x5) mode which gives you less points to adjust. I had this problem, and the solution worked. There is also another mode (3x3) which gives you even less points. Basically, if the set looks good, you only fine tune it in (13x9) mode (64 point). If you have serious problems, the grids work as:
3x3 – ‘coarse’
7x5 – ‘medium’
13x9 – ‘fine’
10) To get to each of these patterns use the following on the R/C: (only if you need to)
1. (3x3) Press “STATUS” 5 times (only works when DCU is in uncorrected state)
2. (7x5) Press “0” 5 times
3. (13x9) Press “ANT” 5 times
11) If you adjust the 3x3, then you should go to the 7x5, and then the 13x9. You get the point… depending on where you start, work your way up, and always finish on the 13x9
12) When finishing up the 13x9 mode, to get additional ‘grids’ on the edges of the screen, press the PIP CH button on the remote control while in the digital convergence adjustment mode (DCAM). Fine tune the edge convergence as necessary. To exit, press PIP CH again.
13) When convergence is acceptable, press PIP MODE to write data to ROM memory. ROM WRITE? is displayed to alarm system that ROM will be overwritten with new data. Press the PIP MODE button again to write displayed data to ROM.
14) DATA WRITE TO ROM will take approximately 4 seconds and no picture will be displayed.
15) Green dots will be displayed when operation is completed.
WARNING: YOU MUST DO THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO COMPLETE MAGIC FOCUS INITIALIZATION!!! THERE HAVE BEEN MANY POSTS THAT PEOPLE HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITHOUT DOING THIS STEP BECAUSE THEY LOOSE MAGIC FOCUS!
16) Press MUTE to return to convergence pattern, then confirm again convergence is acceptable.
17) Press PIP MODE and then PIP CH to initialize Magic Focus. The initialize operation starts and several windows appear during this operation. It takes about 30 seconds or less.
18) When green dots appear, initialize operation is finished.
19) Turn power OFF.
21) Wait a few seconds. Turn the TV on, and you should have your normal signal. Press Magic Focus button just to make sure the magic focus still works (and that you did the last few steps properly)
Note: I wouldn’t recommend doing any of this unless you have the service manual. There are some things in there that I have not included that you might need. (if something goes wrong during convergence you will get error codes to tell you what went wrong, CONVERGENCE ERRORS pg. 56) Don’t get scared… none of this happened to me… but it’s a good idea to have the manual in case!

[Mfusick]

In the ISF menu there are seperate color and tint values for 4, F, and G.

My default settings were:

Color-4 5A
Color-F 5A
Color-G 5G

Tint-4 45
Tint-F 42
Tint-G 45

I also played around with the RGBOUT0 settings. Switching the values enables each of the CRTs one at a time. The values are as follows:

RBGOUT0 00 (RGB- Default)
RBGOUT0 01 (Red)
RGBOUT0 02 (Green)
RGBOUT0 03 (Blue)

At this point I set RGBOUT0 to Blue and I pulled up the Blue Color Bars on my Avia disk. Then I proceeded to set the Color and Tint levels within the ISF menu. Next, I moved on to the Red Color Bars setting RGBOUT0 to Red and adjusting the RY and R/Bs. I finished it up doing the same with RBGOUT0 to Green and adjusting the GY and G/Bs.

Not only did all of my settings turn out (slightly) different using this technique, but I noticed it certainly was easier to make the adjustments while using the RBGOUT0 values versus using the Avia supplied color filters. I'm fairly certain it allowed for more accurate adjustments as well.

My latest settings are a lot closer to the settings inaka posted way back at the beginning of this post than what I initially ended up with tweaking with the color filters and without adjusting the ISF menu Color and Tint.

Here are my latest settings*.

Color-4 55
Color-F 55

Tint-4 46
Tint-F 42

RY-PH-4 02
RY-PH-F 02

R/B-GA4 03
R/B-GAF 03

GY-PH-4 02
GY-PH-F 02

G/B-GA4 05
G/B-GAF 05

Focus Adjustments:

To do an electronic/mechanical focus, pull up the user menu manual convergence (the dot pattern). Pull the red, green, and blue apart on the center, right and left sides of the screen like I did in the convergence grid picture. Do it at the top because you are going to raise the screen. Remove black panel behind the speaker cover. Turn the electronic focus knobs until to achieve the tightest dots across the screen. For a mechanical focus, you need to raise the screen to expose the guns. To do this take off the screen (make sure you remove the screws at the bottom before lifting) and then put the middle rung hole (picture) of the screen and the top rung of the TV (picture). This will hold it in place and you can see the dots. Loosen the wing nut and turn the top portion of the lens back and forth until you receive the tightest possible dots. The first time you pull the screen off is very difficult. You must lift pretty hard on both sides to break it loose from the fasteners.

Lens Striping:

In most RPTVs, you will notice a little white to red sweep across the screen. This is due to positioning of the guns. To get rid of the sweep, a technique has been develop where you can put tape over the outer edges of the lens rim. I have attached a picture to show my current tape placement. Tape placement will vary for each television. To start, put up a full 100IRE white from AVIA. Look to see if you see excessive red hue on one side (you probably will). Pull off the screen. Place black tape on the outer edge away from the center of the TV on the Red Gun. Put Screen back and check to see if you notice anymore hot spots. There will probably be too much white on the opposite side because of the location of the blue gun (Blue makes white more white). So, you will probably have to put a piece of tape on the outer edge away from the center of the TV on the Blue Gun. Replace Screen- Do you notice any red on the opposite side of the TV from the Red Gun. If you do, then you need to place a piece of tape on the inside of the red gun. Do you notice a green hue on the edges of the TV as a result of placing tape on the other guns. If so, put tape on the on the same side of the green gun as the hue. You will have to play around with the placement of the tape (further inside or just on the edge of the rim) to get it to your liking. You will not be able to fully get rid of the hotspots, but you will achieve a better result.

Overscan adjustment:

Do overscan prior to convergence because this will screw up your convergence and you will have to redo it anyway. Most Hitachi's I have worked with come with 5% overscan on top/bottom and 6% on right/left. You should try to get it to 4.5%. Anything lower and you run the risk of Magic Focus not working correctly. Also, there will be a little bending at the tips of the red that can't be converged properly if you go less than 4.5%. There are two trimpots shown in the attached picture (one Vertical and one Horizontal). Put up the AVIA overscan screen. Adjust the two pots until you have achieved approximately 4.5% all around.

Setting Brightness/Contrast:

Set Brightness with AVIA. AVIA and any other calibration disks are useless for calibrating contrast. They only get you to the maximum contrast setting, not the optimal. The only way to truely calibrate contrast is with a sensor. But, for those without, I would set contrast somewhere between 25 and 35. The lower the better. But, choose what you can live with.


Eyeballing Grayscale:

What is grayscale calibrration? Grayscale is used to calibrate the black and white in the picture. All images are created using a gray backdrop. If you unplug Pr and Pb on your DVD player, you will see a black and white image. The color decoder will then place color on top of that black and white picture. But, the gray is the foundation for your picture. The thing most people don't realize is that gray or black/white are also made of color, various levels of red/green/blue. So, by adjusting the color in the gray, you are also changing the color in your picture.

If you are using AVIA, set Color to 0. AVIA inadvertanty added color to some of the grayscale screens. Put up the gray fields 30IRE and 90IRE, look to see if the gray or white has any additional red or green. If so, you need to adjust the Cuts and Drives. CUTS will reduce/increase color in the 30IRE and Drives will increase/reduce color in the 90IRE. In the Hitachi, I recommend using the Standard or Medium temp values (i.e. R-DRV-M or R-DRV-S). High temp is the master, and Medium and Standard are offsets from High. I have all three calibrated to 6500K and High looks different. I don't know why. Excess blue is very difficult to detect since it only makes gray look more white or less white. Therefore you need to watch several DVDs after calibrating Green and Red to determine if you have too much or too little blue. When watching the DVDs look for two things. Does facial tones, on average, look too pink/purple. If so, you need to reduce Blue Drives/Cuts. If the picture and facial tones look a little orange or yellow, then you need to increase the Blue Drives/Cuts.

Color Decoder:

The R/Bs and G/Bs in the ISF menu control color decoder corrections for Red (R/B) and Green (G/B). There are also RY and GY parameters, but they only make minor adjustments to tint for Red and Green. There is a series of letter and numbers that follow the parameter. The last digit has a 4, F, or G. The 4 is for (composite, ANTA/B), F is for (S-VIDEO, component 480i/p), G is for HD inputs.

To get to the ISF menu: Go into the service menu (Press input, then power (both on the console), let go of input when you see red light), press the joystick up one. You will now be highlighting the ISF menu. Press right on the joystick and you are in the ISF menu. Use RBGOUT0 to turn on one gun at a time. That way you don't have to use the filters and get a more accurate adjustment. Put up the color decoder adjustment screen from AVIA. Then change the R/Bs with the red gun on and G/Bs with the Green gun on.

Put up the AVIA color decoder screen. Set RGBOUT0 to 01 and adjust R/B until the 0% block matches the background. Set RGBOUT0 to 02 and adjust G/B until the 0% block matches the background.

To save the value in the ISF menu you must click the joystick. Otherwise, memory will forget the value when you leave the service menu.

Color and Tint:

Put up the AVIA Color Bar Pattern. Set RGBOUT0 to 03. This will turn the Blue Gun on. Adjust color and tint until they are balanced. Set RGBOUT0 to 01. Adjust the RY value in the ISF menu to balance tint for Red. Set RGBOUT0 to 02. Adjust the GY value in the ISF menu to balance tint for Green.


You may need to repeat the Brightnes through Color/Tint process a few times to ensure everything is accurate.

ISF settings for Hitachi 57TWX20B
Factory Mine 1stAdj 2ndAdj Remarks

RGBOUT0 00
SUB-BRT 81 7F
G-DRV-H 42 38
G-DRV-M 53 47
G-DRV-S 5C 6C
R-DRV-H 2E 26
R-DRV-M 44 3C
R-DRV-S 51 5A
R-CUT-H 7D 88
R-CUT-M 7D 88
R-CUT-S 7D 7F
G-CUT-H 7F
G-CUT-M 7F
G-CUT-S 7F 8D
B-CUT-H 7D 76
B-CUT-M 7D 76
B-CUT-S 7D 87
SUBCNT0 15 05
COLOR-4 5A
COLOR-F 5A
COLOR-G 5C
TINT-4 45 41
TINT-F 42 41
TINT-G 45 41
SHARP-4 20 10
SHARP-A 20 10
SHARP-B 1F 10
SHARP-9 1F 10
SHARP-E 20 10
RY-PH-4 00 06
RY-PH-F 00 06
RY-PH-G 00 06
R/B-GA4 0C 00
R/B-GAF 0C 00
R/B-GAG 08 00
GY-PH-4 02 05
GY-PH-F 02 05
GY-PH-G 03 05
G/B-GA4 00
G/B-GAF 00
G/B-GAG 00
DC-PNT0 00
DC-RAT0 00
DC-LMT0 00
DABLPN0 00
DABLGA0 03
H-POSI 3F
H-POSIH 3F
H-POSID 4A
APRTR-4 01 00 To minimize ghosting set to 00
APRTR-A 01 00 To minimize ghosting set to 00
APRTR-C 00
APRTR-E 01 00 To minimize ghosting set to 00
CLT-4 01
CLT-A 01
CLT-C 01
CLT-E 01
SRT-TR4 00
SRT-TRA 00
SRT-TRC 00
SRT-TRE 00
SRT-FQ4 01
SRT-FQA 01
SRT-FQC 01
SRT-FQE 01
VSM-PH4 06 00
VSM-PHA 06 00
VSM-PHC 05 00
VSM-PHE 06 00
VSMGA4 07 00
VSMGAA 07 00
VSMGAC 07 00
VSMGAE 07 00
VSMGAM4 02
VSMGAMA 02
VSMGAMC 02
VSMGAME 02
CDE-4 00
CDE-A 00
CDE-C 00
CDE-E 00
CLPPHS0 00
HBPPH10 00
HBPPH20 00
DCUBRT0 3F
DCUCNT0 7F
OSDACL0 00
OSDBRT0 02
OSDCNT0 02
DCRRSW0 00
COLORG0 00 01 This gives a more natural red if set to 01
YCGA-0 00
BSP-0 05 00 05 Black stretch point 00=off set from 01 to 07 as preferred for PQ
APL/BS0 00
BLC-0 00
BDL-0 00
BS-ARE0 01
SRTGA-0 10 0 To minimize ghosting set to 00
WPL-LE0 07
ABL-PN0 07
ABL-GA0 05
TYNCG10 00
DYNCG20 00
STATG10 00
STATG20 00
YOUTG-0 00
Y-DTL-0 07
WP-PNT0 07
WP-GA-0 00
HI-BRT0 00
WPS-0 01
BLS-0 00
G-STR-0 02 00 "Green fix" set to 00
BSTRG-0 00
BSTRP-0 00
BSCHR10 00
BSCHR20 00
SCT-SW0 01
BBE-LO 07
BBE-HI 05
AGC 01
SURR 00
OSD-HP 0F
OSD-VP 22
OSDCL12 3F
OSDCL3 49
SMPLING 00
POLLING 0F
START 02
TIMEOUT 05
STATUS 02
WAIT 03
REPEAT 20
HFRQ-N 03
SUBBRTH 7F
M-CONT-H 1F
M-CLR-H 1F
S-CONT-H 1F
S-CLR-H 1F
INPUT1 00
INPUT2 00
SYNCDET 00 01
F-STD 00 01
V-STD 00 01
H-STD 01
NOISE 00
DYGA 09
DCGA 06
VAPGA 00
VAPIN 0B
YHCOR 00
HSYNC-M 26 51
VSYNC-M 23
CSYNC-M 00
HSYNC-S 26 51
VSYNC-S 23
CSYNC-S 00
M-CONT1 0F
M-CONT3 0F
M-CONTD 1B
M-CLR-1 0F
M-CLR-3 0F
M-CLR-D 1B
MTINT-1 07
MTINT-3 07
MTINT-D 07
MTOFF00 00
MTOFQ-0 00
S-CONT2 0C
S-CONT3 0F
S-CONTD 1B
S-CLR-2 0F
S-CLR-3 0F
S-CLR-D 1B
STINT-2 07
STINT-3 07
STINT-D 07
STOFF00 00
STOFQ-0 00
Y-DL1-4 01
Y-DL1-D 01
Y-DL2-0 00
YBLACK4 00
YBLACKD 00
BBLACK4 00
BBLACKD 00
RBLACK4 00
RBLACKD 00
AFCRAN4 00
AFCRAND 00
F-DET4 00
HSEPL-4 00
HSEPL-5 00
HSEPL-6 00
HSEPL-C 00
VSEPL-4 00
VSEPL-5 00
VSEPL-6 00
VSEPL-C 00
DSEPL-A 00
DSEPL-C 00
AFCMD-L 06
AFCMD-3 02
AFCMD-D 02
VMODE-4 00
VMODE-5 00
48ISEP4 00
BANDW-4 02
BANDW-5 02
HDPOSI4 06
HDPOSI5 05
HDPOSI6 00
HDPOSI7 00
HDPOSIK 00




RBGOUT0 01 (Red)
RGBOUT0 02 (Green)
RGBOUT0 03 (Blue)


Hitachi Ultimate red push fix!
After trying the many suggestions for red push correction on the forums, and not being satisfied with the results (pale,washed out colors), I decided that the fix is specific and different for each set.

Here is how to do it: Go into the service menu. Press exit and release when you hit power on the front panel.

Service mode will appear on screen. Scroll down to the ISF mode. Press the right arrow and scroll down to RY-PH-F.
You will be changing the F values ONLY of the color decoder.

Note: you should be in movie mode,with AVIA on screen,contrast etc. all on 50.You will be using the red,Green, and blue bars of AVIA only.

Scroll down till you see RY-PH-F (hue) and RB-GA-F (saturation)

Write down the original settings.Change the settings of red hue and sat. using the red filter and red bars.You will not be able to get them perfect , but look at the bottom rows and try to match them the best you can.

Do the same using the Green filter and the Green bars on AVIA and adjust GY-PH-F and GB-GA-F.
go back and forth a few times and check the blue red and green bars.
the blue bars will probably be right on.

Finally bring the contrast down to 18 , brightness at 50 or 51, tint at 0, and sharpness 0 to 30.
Check the blue bars,they are still probably right on.

Since you changed only the color decoder it will improve everything including cable,sat,dvd,etc.So ONLY do the F values.

Also,Now look at the AVIA color decoder check.It should be dead on for red,green and blue.

My 20b now looks better than plasma with this fix , some manual convergence touch up, and the better black levels of the set.Please let me know if you have any questions.
Xanadu posted some great Hitatchi TV links for me, the one below notes that the 4, F, and G are for 480I, 480P, 1080P, which must go for the other settings having a 4, F, and G in them.

4- ANTA/B, composite, S-VIDEO
F-Component 480i/p, DVI 1080i
G-Component 1080i

I found a parameter tonight that will help reduce ghosting. I mentioned in a post a week ago to set APRTR parameters in the ISF menu to 0. This did help some. The parameter I just found is called STRGA-0. Set STRGA-0 to 0. While doing this, put up the 200TVL resolution screen and watch around the numbers. There is another value you might want to optimize. Y-DTL-0 will transition the ghosting from black to white. Find the optimal point for your TV. Mine is set to 08 (originally 07).

I just changed SRTGA-0 from a 10 to 0, and Y-DTL-0 from a 7 to 4.

I adjusted the APRTR-4 , APRTR-A , APRTR-C , APRTR-E and decided that they were ok on their default setting.

WOW!!, I can now watch CATV without the ghosting, the picture is now much cleaner and clearer. Video Essentials sharpness test now looks better....... I played Saving Private Ryan, the first scene, where the old man walks by the tree, and then the second scene with the large X's on the beach with water crashing in.......I cannot beleave the differance!!, the edge noise/ringing is not noticable at all. Before it was terrible!!

Again,

Thank you very much for the information, and thanks for the links, i will take a look at them tomorrow.

The color decoder can be modified by the following parameters in the service menu.

RY-PH-4 Phase (Hue)
RY-PH-F Phase (Hue)
RY-PH-G Phase (Hue)
R/B-GA4 Gain (Saturation)
R/B-GAF Gain (Saturation)
R/B-GAG Gain (Saturation)
GY-PH-4 Phase (Hue)
GY-PH-F Phase (Hue)
GY-PH-G Phase (Hue)
G/B-GA4 Gain (Saturation)
G/B-GAF Gain (Saturation)
G/B-GAG Gain (Saturation)

To get into the service menu you press input + power. This can be kinda tricky, you have to release the input button right after you hit the power button.

To get to the above parameters, go up through the service mode menu until you get to the ISF Mode menu... Highlight and Right Arrow...

Page down a few pages and you will see the above parameters...

The 4,F,and G suffixes correlate to the different modes 480I,480P,1080I respectively.

Using the AVIA color bars you can decrease RED push by modifying the the parameters that begin with R. And likewise you can make modifications to the Green portion of the decoder by modifying the parameters prefixing with G.

----------------------------------
I found a parameter tonight that will help reduce ghosting. I mentioned in a post a week ago to set APRTR parameters in the ISF menu to 0. This did help some. The parameter I just found is called STRGA-0. Set STRGA-0 to 0. While doing this, put up the 200TVL resolution screen and watch around the numbers. There is another value you might want to optimize. Y-DTL-0 will transition the ghosting from black to white. Find the optimal point for your TV. Mine is set to 08 (originally 07).


Note: On 2001 models, it is located under the FLEX CONT section of the service menu and is called APACON. APACON should default to 1 for NTSC or 480i/p sources and to 0 for 720p/1080i. This appears to be an aperature control, though not vertical like it is part of the line doubler/scaler (because the ghosting seen from turning it up and down goes to the sides, not up and down). According to the service manual, this control is part of the FLEX CONVERTER -- the board that scales 480i/p to 540p or 1080i.

Be sure to run Avia's resolution and sharpness tests with the set in 4x3 mode before adjusting these parameters so that you aren't stretching the pattern horizontally. If you don't run it in 4x3 mode, the resolution indicators will be meaningless since they won't be displayed at their actual frequencies.

STRGA-0 is the parameter, 10 is the value. Change the value to 0.

Hi, I'll be happy to post my before/after settings. Remember, I only tweaked the (F) settings because I was using the AVIA disc with the Panasonic RP82 in 480p, Progressive on. Here's the before/after I got, and just for reference, I have the TWX20B, and these are just the settings on my set, your mileage may vary:

Original Settings (red push way off)
RY-PH-4 00
RY-PH-F 00
RY-PH-G 00

R/B-GA4 0C
R/B-GAF 0C
R/B-GAG 08

GY-PH-4 02
GY-PH-F 02
GY-PH-G 03

G/B-GA4 00
G/B-GAF 00
G/B-GAG 00

New Settings (after adjusting with AVIA; Color is great)
RY-PH-4 00
RY-PH-F 02
RY-PH-G 00

R/B-GA4 0C
R/B-GAF 03
R/B-GAG 08

GY-PH-4 02
GY-PH-F 01
GY-PH-G 03

G/B-GA4 00
G/B-GAF 04 I just thought of something which may help. Since some users have said that the red push in HDTV seems to be more extreme than other settings, that could be because the original settings in my list under the (G) settings are different than those for 480i (4) and 480p (F). Especially if you look at the "R/B-GAG" setting. My original setting shows "08" and the settings for 480i/480p are set to "0C". That's a BIG swing. As Reflex-Arc pointed out, that appears to be the setting for Saturation, so that would also explain the easily noticeable difference in red color saturation for 1080i.

Just bumping that to my revised setting of "03" could change things quite a bit. I'll know more when my HD200 arrives in a few days.
G/B-GAG 00 I'm using component cables for my connection. (DVD is on Video input 2 if that helps.) And the (F) settings (480p) I adjusted, most definitely effected the color for DVD. I only adjusted the (F) settings at first, so I know altering these settings was what disabled the red push on my DVD image quality.



My Factory default settings:
COLOR-4 5A
COLOR-F 5A
COLOR-G 5C

TINT-4 45
TINT-F 42
TINT-G 45

If you look at the numbers above, the color setting for 1080i (G), is different than those for 480i and 480p. That would lead me to believe that this is, along with other possible settings, may be a reason for a difference in color.

I have personally not altered these from the factory defaults, since I don't yet have any 1080i box to test things out with.

Also, people were wondering if the settings for (4), (F) and (G) really were for 480i, 480p and 1080i, respectively, OR, if they were for different input settings. I think I can be fairly certain that they are indeed for the following:

480i = (4)
480p = (F)
1080i = (G)

Why did I come to that conclusion? Well, if you look at the "SHARP" settings in the ISF list sandwiched between these two for tweaking in the list, you'll see the following:

SHARP-4
SHARP-A
SHARP-B
SHARP-9
SHARP-E

There are 5 separate variables to this list. Thus, I'm guessing that THIS is the list for sharpness settings based on inputs. I mean, what other tweak for sharpness would have 5 separate variables? Also, since (4) is listed, and we've guessed that (4) = 480i, it would make sense.

So, in this guess, the (4), (F), and (G) settings should definitely be for the different resolutions, and not the inputs.

Then again, this is just a guess, I'm not an ISF tech, and I got a D+ in Advanced Algebra/Trig, so take my guess for what it's worth
I am happy to report that the suggested tweaks in this thread have done wonders for my DVD viewing experience with my 51GWX20b.

Upon entering the service menu (I nailed it with the first try ) I discovered a very easy to navigate series of options to choose from. As I scrolled through the menu down to the "folder" labled "ISF" I found it a bit interesting that my default settings were identical to those posted earlier in this thread:
quote:

posted by inaka

RY-PH-4 00
RY-PH-F 00
RY-PH-G 00

R/B-GA4 0C
R/B-GAF 0C
R/B-GAG 08

GY-PH-4 02
GY-PH-F 02
GY-PH-G 03

G/B-GA4 00
G/B-GAF 00
G/B-GAG 00



Due to the fact that I do not yet own Avia I went ahead and changed the values for 480p as listed in the same post as the "new Settings":
quote:

RY-PH-F 02
R/B-GAF 03
GY-PH-F 01
G/B-GAF 04



To monitor my changes I used my copy of the Sound and Vision Home Theater Tune Up DVD, Particularly the flashing color bars and the "Red Push Test" chapters. While I was still not able to get the color bars perfect with the new settings and the supplied blue filter, I was able to bring my User Menu color settings WAY up from where I initially had to have it set to reduce the overpowering reds. It jumped from the mid 20's up to the mid 40's!
The Red Push Test chapter was where I noticed the most difference though. For those not familiar with the disk, this test screen displays a close up image of a red sweater along with a yellow tie with instructions to turn down the color settings to a point where the red does not bleed, and the tie does not have an orange hue. Prior to adjusting the service menu settings, the red sweater was almost glowing when I had the basic color settings adjusted according to the blue filter and color bars. The red was so bright that the sweater seemed to be a solid shade of orangey-red, and the tie was definitely on the orange side. Turning down the color as reccomended by the voice over instructions did result in better reds, but at a very noticeable loss in the quality of the other colors.

After adjusting the service menu values the red sweater is most certainly RED, and the yellow is quite YELLOW! Not only that, but I can now see the texture of the sweater and tie themselves without having to turn the color way down. The level of detail was amazing.

When I was satisfied that I had done everything correctly, and had made sure I had saved all my changed settings, I pulled out a stack of DVDs to admire my handywork. The first disk I popped in was "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" and I skipped directly to the chapter where there is a parade of people wearing solid red walking through the streets. This scene used to bug the heck out of me because the reds were so overpowering even with the color set way down. NOT anymore! Those reds were pretty dang near spot on!

Next came "The Shire" chapter of "The Fellowship of the Ring". I realize that this chapter does not exhibit much red, but I have never been happy with how it looked with my color levels set down to compensate for the unruly reds that appear a bit later in the film. Upon viewing this chapter my wife, who was "patiently" waiting for me to finish this tweak session uttered the only sound she had made in at least an hour; "WOW!".

I'd say that was a big Mission Accomplished on my behalf.

Now that I've rambled on for a bit (too long) about this, I'd like to say just a couple more things on the subject.

I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed to this amazing thread, and amphicar770 for starting it in the first place. I have been looking for this information for quite some time, and I could not be anymore happy to finally have it. I'd especially like to thank Inaka for posting his before and after settings. Without owning Avia I would have no starting point to realy get in there and figure things out. Inaka's results have given me a great starting point. I fully plan on purchasing Avia in the near future to further tweak these values for my set.

I'd also like to thank Michael TLV and Mfusic (among others) for all of the great knowledge they have supplied to these forums regarding our Hitachis and more. Keep it coming, guys. We love it!

Finally, Do this tweak at your own risk! You can really do some nasty things to your set in the service menu if you don't pay attention. I have a pretty messed up 20" VVega to prove this. Please write down any values you change before you go mucking about in there.

Now guys, about those 1080i settings....

The color decoder can be modified by the following parameters in the service menu.

RY-PH-4 Phase (Hue)
RY-PH-F Phase (Hue)
RY-PH-G Phase (Hue)
R/B-GA4 Gain (Saturation)
R/B-GAF Gain (Saturation)
R/B-GAG Gain (Saturation)
GY-PH-4 Phase (Hue)
GY-PH-F Phase (Hue)
GY-PH-G Phase (Hue)
G/B-GA4 Gain (Saturation)
G/B-GAF Gain (Saturation)
G/B-GAG Gain (Saturation)

The 4,F,and G suffixes correlate to the different modes 480I,480P,1080I respectively.

Using the AVIA color bars you can decrease RED push by modifying the the parameters that begin with R. And likewise you can make modifications to the Green portion of the decoder by modifying the parameters prefixing with G.

Have two week old Hitachi 65XWX20B that was driving me nuts
with saturated face tones. Yellow-orange blobs despite playing with brightness and contrast.

Made the adjustments as discussed earlier:
RY-PH-F 02 Digital change equivalent 00 to 02 = 0 to 2
R/B-GAF 03 Digital change equivalent 0C to 03 = 14 to 3
GY-PH-F 01 Digital change equivalent 02 to 01 = 2 to 1
G/B-GAF 04 Digital change equivalent 00 to 04 = 0 to 4
Incidentally the complete range is probably 00 to FF = 0 to 255

Huge improvement. Turned set from nearly unwatachable from the cable box (Video 3 w Video,AudioR,AudioL to TV, and on Antenna A which is Cable-PreBox RF) into a really impressive sight. Can now see freckles on faces!

Why Hitachi does not have some kind or user settable
menu for this is beyond me. They could sell a lot more
sets off the floor I would think if the sales person
could demo this as part of the customer menu.


I know all televisions are different, but you are welcome to try my values.

Standard Temp (D65)
G-Drv - 57
R-Drv - 5E
R-Cut - 78
G-Cut - 7B
B-But - 8C

Medium Temp (D75)
G-Drv - 50
R-Drv - 52
R-Cut - 7B
G-Cut - 7C
B-But - 8C

High Temp (9300K)
G-Drv - 49
R-Drv - 40
R-Cut - 61
G-Cut - 5F
B-But - 89

Color 38
Tint -3 from center

For the color decoder values, I used inakas values RY-02, R/B-03, GY-01, G/B-04. I also focused the trimpots to the sharpest possible positions.


Hope this helps.

So I was trying to figure out why it is that my greens are not accurate after I've tweaked the color decoder with Avia. All my other colors seem dead on, but certain shades of green just seem to glow. The color decoder check shows no signs of obvious "push".

Yesterday, as an experiment, I booted up Avia again and went though the basic adjustments for white level, black level, and sharpness. After that I centered my tint and set my color at 50. Then I entered the ISF menu.

In the ISF menu there are seperate color and tint values for 4, F, and G.

My default settings were:

Color-4 5A
Color-F 5A
Color-G 5G

Tint-4 45
Tint-F 42
Tint-G 45

I also played around with the RGBOUT0 settings. Switching the values enables each of the CRTs one at a time. The values are as follows:

RBGOUT0 00 (RGB- Default)
RBGOUT0 01 (Red)
RGBOUT0 02 (Green)
RGBOUT0 03 (Blue)

At this point I set RGBOUT0 to Blue and I pulled up the Blue Color Bars on my Avia disk. Then I proceeded to set the Color and Tint levels within the ISF menu. Next, I moved on to the Red Color Bars setting RGBOUT0 to Red and adjusting the RY and R/Bs. I finished it up doing the same with RBGOUT0 to Green and adjusting the GY and G/Bs.

Not only did all of my settings turn out (slightly) different using this technique, but I noticed it certainly was easier to make the adjustments while using the RBGOUT0 values versus using the Avia supplied color filters. I'm fairly certain it allowed for more accurate adjustments as well.

My latest settings are a lot closer to the settings inaka posted way back at the beginning of this post than what I initially ended up with tweaking with the color filters and without adjusting the ISF menu Color and Tint.

Here are my latest settings*.

Color-4 55
Color-F 55

Tint-4 46
Tint-F 42

RY-PH-4 02
RY-PH-F 02

R/B-GA4 03
R/B-GAF 03

GY-PH-4 02
GY-PH-F 02

G/B-GA4 05
G/B-GAF 05

Movie Mode (for SDTV/DVD "F" Values)

contrast 33%
brightness 48%-51%
color 50%
tint center
sharpness 30%-35%

Sports Mode (for "4" values [in my case all S-video inputs])

contrast 36%
brightness 45%
color 50%
tint center
sharpness 30%

* "F" values were set using a Panny RP62 prog scan DVD player through Component input 1. "4" values were set using the same steps above through a Panny A120 interlaced DVD player on S-Video input 5.

As a result of the above I can now say my set is near perfect as far as colors are concerned. Reds are dead on, and Blues are nice and vivid. But even after all of that, some of my greens are still wacky. Arrrgh.

This leaves me with a few questions. Could the "electric greens" be related to an inaccurate greyscale? Is there something, some step or setting, we are missing using this technique to adjust our color decoders?

I don't want to have to reset everything to the defaults and live with a low color saturation setting's washed out colors just to get my red push under control . Perhaps someone who is ISF trained, or has had some recent ISF work done on their Hitachi can point us in the right direction.

That said, I'm having a lot of fun exploring my first RPTV. It's a bit like tuning a car, isn't it. You just have to squeeze every ounce of performance you can out of it.

Bill

My settings
Original Settings
RY-PH-4 00
RY-PH-F 00
RY-PH-G 00

R/B-GA4 0C
R/B-GAF 0C
R/B-GAG 08

GY-PH-4 02
GY-PH-F 02
GY-PH-G 03

G/B-GA4 00
G/B-GAF 00
G/B-GAG 00

New Settings
RY-PH-4 01
RY-PH-F 00
RY-PH-G 00

R/B-GA4 04
R/B-GAF 00
R/B-GAG 08

GY-PH-4 00
GY-PH-F 00
GY-PH-G 03

G/B-GA4 07
G/B-GAF 00
G/B-GAG 00

These seem to get rid of the extreme push, but they are like nobody elses?
I adjusted the blue with avia with the user controls, which pushed color from 18 to 48.
I then went in to service mode and did the 4 settings with red and green
and then the F settings the same way. Is this the correct procedure? My colors seem alot better.
I posted this over at avs and thought I would archive it here in case any of you buy this set. Scott


Hi, first I want to say thankyou to all the people who have posted here...this has been an awesome source of information and helped me make what appears to be the best tv purchase I have ever made. I spent 10 hrs or more reading your post and I am including instructions for red push and service menu convergence from people here at the end of this post just so it is all in one place for anyone else that wants to buy this set.

I did the red push adjustment immediately and magic focus....I was surprised that geometry looks almost perfect right out of the box and video essentials shows overscan at about 5% ....acceptable to me. I have not done manual convergence yet but after running magic focus there were only a few spots that I could distinguish any color other than white.

I am using dishnetworks 6000 hdtv reciever and I hooked up both component and s-video. during my red push adjustment I used the same values used for "f" for all inputs "4" etc... my settings after this fix and video essential adjustment are
contrast-26
brightness 50
color-50
sharpness-1
tint -default

through component on dish red is still very pronounced but does not bleed at all so I am happy with my settings. I have seen the post about green being lime green and I did notice this tendency and so I went and turned on my old rca cinemascreen and did a direct comparison of colors with the hitachi. the verdict is green is the same color as the rca(westminister dog show on usa network) but it is much more saturated....it looked washed out on the rca in comparison but it was the same color. I feel sure that this is the effect people are talking about.....perhaps if you could adjust only the saturation control on the hitachi it would look a touch more natural on sd channels...but maybe at the expense of hd...something to look in to. having said that its not really objectionable but I would probably tone it down a touch if I could.

I made a pretty significant discovery last night....in my opinion component sd did'nt look as good as s-video sd....more artifacts in the upconversion process....so I had resolved myself that I would have to switch inputs when watching hd vs sd.....which disapointed me because I really wanted to have all tv on one input, so just out of curiousity I changed the dish 6000 to out put 720p......it was amazing....when you do this the tv lets you choose 540p or 1080i conversion....now my sd channels look better through component than s-video. and the line doubler in the set is so good I could not see a difference between my hd channels being upconverted to 1080i or being sent to it in 1080i natively. hd really rocks of course...it is amazing a picture can be so good on a tv so large....truly awe inspiring. I do not know technically why 720p in combination with the hitachi's line doubler would make such a difference but trust me ..its not subtle

on to dvd's I think this blew me away even more than hdtv....I put in starwars attack of the clones and went to the clone factory and the scene where old darth vader is romping in the meadow with the princess and it looked just like hdtv....probably the cleanest most beautiful display I have ever seen on any tv....and this is before I have even done manul efocus or manual convergence.....either I got lucky or the guys at hitachi really have there act together.....I still can't get over this and I have owned the sony xbr800, the rca 38310 and my old reliable rca cinemascreen(analog sorta) plus I visit hi end av stores all the time to see whats new and I have never been so awestruck before...its that good......well thats it....now I am just going to repost the instuctions I stole from here. Scott
.................
red push instructions
Since there seem to be a few folks new to the red push tweak for the SWX/TWX/XWX, (and those
asking me about my settings again in pm), I thought I'd make a quick repost of the ISF
settings I used to eliminate red push on my set.

Anyone can do this, and as long as you write down your original settings, there's really no
risk of messing things up. This also assumes that you have a disc like AVIA, (however even if
you don't have AVIA, you can use this tweak, see below.)

1. Enter the Service Menu
You do this by pressing "Input/Exit" and the "Power Button" at the same time on the front of
the TV. (Not the remote.)

Hint: Hold down the "Input" button, and then press the Power button. When you do, immediately,
let go of both buttons, and the Service Menu will appear.

2. Enter the ISF Menu
Use the joystick on the remote to scroll down until the very last menu selection (on page 3)
which says "ISF Mode". Once selected, hit a 'right' on the remote joystick to enter the ISF
Mode.

3. Write down your original default settings
Write down your numbers for the following settings:
(Red Hue Settings Below)
RY-PH-4
RY-PH-F
RY-PH-G
(Red Saturation Settings Below)
R/B-GA4
R/B-GAF
R/B-GAG
(Green Hue Settings Below)
GY-PH-4
GY-PH-F
GY-PH-G
(Green Saturation Settings Below)
G/B-GA4
G/B-GAF
G/B-GAG

4a. Make Color Adjustments
NOTE: If you don't have AVIA, skip to 4b.

As Mfusick did a great job in explaining, do the following:

Use the AVIA flashing color bars and with the appropriate filter. First select the blue bars
and adjust the color and tint. Then select the red bars and adjust the R/Y and R/B controls.
Then select the green bars and adjust the G/Y and G/B controls. Then start at the top again.
After you complete the above process about 3 times you should have the chroma portion of your
set nailed.

4b. Steal My Settings
"Good artists create. Great artists steal." - Pablo Picasso

I was using the AVIA disc with the Panasonic RP82 in 480p, Progressive on. Here's the
before/after I got, and just for reference, I have the TWX20B, and these are just the settings
on my set, your mileage may vary:

Original ISF Settings (red push way off)
RY-PH-4 00
RY-PH-F 00
RY-PH-G 00

R/B-GA4 0C
R/B-GAF 0C
R/B-GAG 08

GY-PH-4 02
GY-PH-F 02
GY-PH-G 03

G/B-GA4 00
G/B-GAF 00
G/B-GAG 00

New Settings ISF (after adjusting with AVIA; Color is great!)
RY-PH-4 00
RY-PH-F 02
RY-PH-G 00

R/B-GA4 0C
R/B-GAF 03
R/B-GAG 08

GY-PH-4 02
GY-PH-F 01
GY-PH-G 03

G/B-GA4 00
G/B-GAF 04
G/B-GAG 00

I then took the progressive mode OFF on the Panny RP82, and re-checked the AVIA color patterns
in interlaced mode (480i), and the color seemed dead on.

5. Write down your new color settings
Just for the ISF color values listed above.

6. Optional: Repeat the values from (F) to (4) and (G)
If you have HDTV, you can make these adjustments 'across the board' by entering the same
values for (4) and (G), for the values you obtained for (F). I don't think you will have any
issues. I don't.

6. Ensure settings are "locked"
You make adjustments to the numbers by moving the joystick to the left/right. When you have
the numbers you want for each setting, hit "enter" on the joystick, (by pushing it in), and
that will lock in the new setting. Make sure all settings have been "entered" in, and then
turn off the TV.

7. Confirm ISF Settings
Go back into the ISF Mode, and confirm that the new values are displayed for the color
settings above.

8. Re-adjust user control settings for COLOR, etc. With AVIA.
Now that you've corrected your color, you may find that you can bump the COLOR setting way up,
and you wont see red/orange over saturated flesh tones. (Example, my "COLOR" setting in the
user control is set to 46% after the red push tweak.) As always, individual results may vary.

9. Enjoy Reds, Without Red Push
I love this set.


__________________
Mike McGee
Oakland, CA

Regarding the F, 4 and G settings in the ISF menu. I had my set ISF'd last week by Robert
Busch in Northern CA (one of the original ISF Techs who has done work for Lucas at Skywalker
Ranch). Anyway, he did put at 1080i signal generator up on my 57SWX20B and when we did the
color decoder for the 1080i settings, we came up with the exact same settings for 4, F and G.
In hindside, this makes sense to me. The settings are different than what is posted here
because once grayscale was redone, it shifted the colors a bit (not much though). My settings
are as follows:

RY-PH- 02 (4, F, G)
R/B-GA 02 (4, F, G)
GY-PH 01 (4, F, G)
G/B -GA 05 (4, F, G)

Color 5A (4, F, G) - He changed G to match 4 & F
Tint 42 (4, F G) -He changed 4 and G to match F (default value on my set)

B-Cut-S from 7F to 8D

SUB-BRT from 7F to 7C
G-DRV-S from 5D to 6B
R-DRV-S from 56 to 5D
R-CUT-S from 83 to 82

User Menu Settings are:

Contrast 25
Brightness 46
Color 50
Tint Middle
Sharpness 38

These are the settings for MY set. These settings, especially the drives and cuts, probably
won't transfer to other sets. From what Mr. Busch told me, each set is unique in it's
settings. Hope this answers some questions.

Dave

PS The set is much better now than before. My wife complained that the picture was too "dark"
before and that colors didn't stand out. They do now, she noticed right away and thought the
$550 was worth it!


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Garand Jinn
Can someone break down the cuts and drives in the ISF menu? Specifically the H, M, and S
values----and the differences between a "cut" and a "drive"? I have read some general info
about there function (greyscale), but nothing very specific as to what each does...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



EASY---

S= standard color temp control
M= Medium color temp control
H= High color temp control

Drives and Cuts are what are uses to add or take away color and set you grayscale.


Drives= Bright higher IRE part of the image.. like bright whites

Cuts= Darker lower IRE parts of the picture... what you would adjust to remove color from you
blacks or dark scenes.

Everything has a relationship to each other...meaning change one place can effect the
others....


................
service menu convergence
DCAM is the name for the Service mode convergence.

You enter DCAM by setting first in the user menu magic focus to "AUTO" mode and pressing the
magic focus button on the front of the tv set under the lift up lid to start the magic focus
sequence.

Once the magic focus is running....you hit magic focus button on the front of the tv
again.....this gets you a quick "STOP" screen.

Quickly, before it goes away you need to hit either the "INFO" or the "STATUS" button on the
remote control (R/C) to enter the DCAM mode.

DCAM is the name of the service menu convergence system.....


You can do much more with DCAM....and even adjust geometry (green color)

Here is some quick instructions on how to learn DCAM convergence:


Manual Convergence for the Hitachi
1) Receive an NTSC signal.

2) Press Magic Focus to begin magic focus

3) Press magic focus again during the magic focus process to get the ‘stop’ screen

4) While stop screen is up, press STATUS or INFO on the remote control (R/C) to bring you to
DCAM mode and the service grid (64 point grid)

5) When you first get in here… I believe red is the selected color by default (it is
flashing).

6) To choose other colors to converge, use the following buttons on the R/C:
a) “STATUS” - Green
b) “0” - Red
c) “ANT” – Blue

7) Start from the center of the screen and work your way out on one color at a time. I
adjusted red across the whole screen to match green. Then I switched to blue, and adjusted
that to green as well. After you adjust blue, you may want to go back and adjust some red
again… etc. until the convergence looks good.
(a) Use 4, 6, 2, and 5 on the R/C to move the cursor position(dotted lines).
(b) Use thumb stick to move the convergence point color.
** There have been other posts in here to tape together the color filters found in the Avia
DVD to help converge lines more easily. I have used this method, and it works well for
adjusting to a greater detail. Basically, you put the red filter next to the green and adjust
your red to the green line both horizontally, and then vertically. Then you do the same with
the blue next to the green. Some people recommended you should be at normal viewing distance.
I did mine from just a few feet back from the set. Maybe my eyes aren’t as good… maybe I just
felt like it worked better this way. There are some other posts also recommending using
binoculars. I think it’s great that people suggest things to make the process easier… but my
girlfriend would think I was insane if she saw me with binoculars on the couch adjusting the
convergence. I don’t know… whatever works best I guess.

8) I did not adjust the green at all. I use the green as the guide and did not adjust the
location of any green point. This is highly suggested unless you have geometry problems.

9) When going along the lines and adjusting, you may run into the problem of getting an ‘S’
curve on the line. You’ll know if you get there. Basically, no matter what you do to adjust
the line to be converged, the middle of the line between the points will not straighten out
(it bends between the points). To fix this, the manual recommends going to the (7x5) mode
which gives you less points to adjust. I had this problem, and the solution worked. There is
also another mode (3x3) which gives you even less points. Basically, if the set looks good,
you only fine tune it in (13x9) mode (64 point). If you have serious problems, the grids work
as:
3x3 – ‘coarse’
7x5 – ‘medium’
13x9 – ‘fine’
10) To get to each of these patterns use the following on the R/C: (only if you need to)
1. (3x3) Press “STATUS” 5 times (only works when DCU is in uncorrected state)
2. (7x5) Press “0” 5 times
3. (13x9) Press “ANT” 5 times

11) If you adjust the 3x3, then you should go to the 7x5, and then the 13x9. You get the
point… depending on where you start, work your way up, and always finish on the 13x9

12) When finishing up the 13x9 mode, to get additional ‘grids’ on the edges of the screen,
press the PIP CH button on the remote control while in the digital convergence adjustment mode
(DCAM). Fine tune the edge convergence as necessary. To exit, press PIP CH again.

13) When convergence is acceptable, press PIP MODE to write data to ROM memory. ROM WRITE? is
displayed to alarm system that ROM will be overwritten with new data. Press the PIP MODE
button again to write displayed data to ROM.

14) DATA WRITE TO ROM will take approximately 4 seconds and no picture will be displayed.

15) Green dots will be displayed when operation is completed.
WARNING: YOU MUST DO THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO COMPLETE MAGIC FOCUS INITIALIZATION!!! THERE HAVE
BEEN MANY POSTS THAT PEOPLE HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITHOUT DOING THIS STEP BECAUSE THEY LOOSE MAGIC
FOCUS!

16) Press MUTE to return to convergence pattern, then confirm again convergence is acceptable.


17) Press PIP MODE and then PIP CH to initialize Magic Focus. The initialize operation starts
and several windows appear during this operation. It takes about 30 seconds or less.

18) When green dots appear, initialize operation is finished.
19) Turn power OFF.

21) Wait a few seconds. Turn the TV on, and you should have your normal signal. Press Magic
Focus button just to make sure the magic focus still works (and that you did the last few
steps properly)

Regarding the F, 4 and G settings in the ISF menu. I had my set ISF'd last week by Robert Busch in Northern CA (one of the original ISF Techs who has done work for Lucas at Skywalker Ranch). Anyway, he did put at 1080i signal generator up on my 57SWX20B and when we did the color decoder for the 1080i settings, we came up with the exact same settings for 4, F and G. In hindside, this makes sense to me. The settings are different than what is posted here because once grayscale was redone, it shifted the colors a bit (not much though). My settings are as follows:

RY-PH- 02 (4, F, G)
R/B-GA 02 (4, F, G)
GY-PH 01 (4, F, G)
G/B -GA 05 (4, F, G)

Color 5A (4, F, G) - He changed G to match 4 & F
Tint 42 (4, F G) -He changed 4 and G to match F (default value on my set)

B-Cut-S from 7F to 8D

SUB-BRT from 7F to 7C
G-DRV-S from 5D to 6B
R-DRV-S from 56 to 5D
R-CUT-S from 83 to 82

User Menu Settings are:

Contrast 25
Brightness 46
Color 50
Tint Middle
Sharpness 38

These are the settings for MY set. These settings, especially the drives and cuts, probably won't transfer to other sets. From what Mr. Busch told me, each set is unique in it's settings. Hope this answers some questions.

Dave

PS The set is much better now than before. My wife complained that the picture was too "dark" before and that colors didn't stand out. They do now, she noticed right away and thought the $550 was worth it!
WHY HAVE YOUR SET CALIBRATED?
Televisions operate on two basic video signals---the black and white information and the color information. Color is added to black and white to form the final picture, so it is essential that the black and white picture be correct (i.e.--truly black and white) if you want the final picture to show all colors correctly. If there is a touch too much of any of the three primary colors in the mix making up black and white, all colors in the final color picture will influenced. (Remember, there are three color guns--red, green, and blue--which make all pictures, even black and white ones),
The "color" of black and white (actually gray and white) is expressed in a number called "color temperature." While this color temperature may vary from 4500 degrees (Kelvin) to over 15,000 degrees (Kelvin) in modern TV sets, only ONE color temperature is accepted as the industry standard used on monitors when movies are actually made. That temperature is 6500 degrees K, or more specifically, D6500. A set calibrated to this standard will look exactly like the original movie did to those who monitored its making, and all colors will be as true as possible to the original. Setting your set to this standard is what an ISF Calibration accomplishes.
Most TVs come from the factory with a very cool color temperature (way up over 10,000 degrees) calibration. This emphasizes blue, so all pure white scenes will look slightly bluish. Factories do this to squeeze out the most possible brightness to make the picture stand out on the showroom floor. Some sets have several color temperature positions (warm, medium, cool, etc). Almost without exception, each of these misses the mark of 6500 degrees, usually by a considerable amount. Usually the choice is between a picture that is either too bluish or too reddish. Neither is correct and the resulting colors are not accurate. It is not unusual, even on the newest and most expensive high-definition TVs, for color temperature to vary considerably (sometimes from 4000 degrees up to 15,000 degrees) as black turns to dark gray then light gray then white. This may give a bluish look to bright white scenes (too cool) yet a greenish or reddish look to very dark grays (too warm). Sets like this are probably the most annoying to watch.
When your set is properly calibrated, black and white scenes will be truly black and white with no color tint to the dark grays and a naturally warm look to bright whites (patterned after the color of outdoor sunlight). If you turn your color control completely down, the resulting black and white picture should show no "color." Some black and white movies on TV may show a color cast contributed by broadcasting errors, but this will disappear too when the color control is minimized. Most modern sets can be calibrated to track 6500 degrees (called "grayscale tracking") from nearly black up to the brightest whites the set can deliver without overload. When calibrated properly, you can expect the most beautiful and faithful color rendition that your set is capable of showing.
As dark gray turns to black, many sets (RPTVs and plasmas) really resist tracking accurate gray and dark grays seem to insist on having some sort of reddish or greenish color tint. Many ISF techs will strive to get the broad area from 30 to 80 IRE as close as possible to the correct (D6500) color temperature. Technically this is a normal procedure, but one I often find unacceptable. The area just before black is VERY important to the impact and beauty in a picture and it must not have unwanted color. It's also very difficult to measure accurately with a color analyzer. I will take the extra time to get this area right instead of taking an easier and faster path that might measure well but simply won't look as good. "

LIME GREEN UPDATE
OK-

The Green LIME problems...

Here is a fix for it

===========================================
For the green problem and to fix the parameter for the lime greens on the Hitachi; The parameter is G-STR-0. Go into the ISF menu and set the value to 0. This is a very easy adjustment since you're only modifying one parameter (G-STR).

To see the changes put on a footbal game or Golf with some green grass or as a test you should put Lord of the Rings DVD up and freeze on the outdoor hobbit scenes. Change the value from 02 to 00. You will notice a change.

Have fun and happy tweaking
Gambrelw,
I entered your values for the Ghosting Issues on my 57SWX20B and it seemed to make the picture really soft. I needed SVM on to sharpen up the picture. On HDTV though, it REALLY made the picture too soft with both SVM on and off (couldn't see a difference). I changed everything back to default and HDTV looked great again, but cable TV looked like crap. Now I have a decision to make as to where I would rather have it!

Dave

Have you done an electronic/manual focus? If you change STRGA-0 to 0 and turn on SVM. You are defeating the purpose. You are subtracting and adding back edge enhancement.

With some sets, you will need to reduce Sharpness when setting APRTR to 00 because of the increased gain.


DCAM

You adjust the DCUCONT parameter to turn down the brightness of the grid.

I do agree with you on the convergence. Two sets I have done had the demon thing happening. I would adjust a point on one side of the screen and 3 points on the other side would becomes S Curves. The one I did a week ago, I was able to go into the course mode ("0" fives time) hit the VCR button and push the Vid 3 button (Recalculate) and they all popped into place again. I am interested to see if this works on my next demonic Hitachi.


I just changed SRTGA-0 from a 10 to 0, and Y-DTL-0 from a 7 to 4.

I adjusted the APRTR-4 , APRTR-A , APRTR-C , APRTR-E and decided that they were ok on their default setting.

WOW!!, I can now watch CATV without the ghosting, the picture is now much cleaner and clearer. Video Essentials sharpness test now looks better....... I played Saving Private Ryan, the first scene, where the old man walks by the tree, and then the second scene with the large X's on the beach with water crashing in.......I cannot beleave the differance!!, the edge noise/ringing is not noticable at all. Before it was terrible!! Follow this in order. Perform at your own risk. If you don't feel comfortable doing one of the following, please skip it.





========================================



Here is some copy and pasted stuff I have been collecting...

Everytime I see a good post I copy and paste it for reference.


Good luck sorting through this and making sense of it..... but it should give you plenty to start with:D

[aud19]

Ummm...Thanks.... So basically I have to quit my job so I can set my TV up?...haha. I'm almost sorry I asked...

But seriously, I'll have to go through this info and thanks tons for all of it but seen as how I'm getting the TV isf'd in a couple months anyway how much of this stuff are they likely to do then? Obvioulsy they'll set the greyscale and I'm assuming adjust the color decoder for the best results and optimize all the inputs etc. I also assume they'll adjust the geometry and overscan etc. Anything else I should be concerned with in here? Or are they going to pretty much nail it all down for me?

Thanks for all your help :)

J.R.

[aud19]

Originally posted by Mfusick
Here is some copy and pasted stuff I have been collecting...

Everytime I see a good post I copy and paste it for reference.


Good luck sorting through this and making sense of it..... but it should give you plenty to start with:D

Thanks again for the info:) Got my TV on Friday and played with it and watched some movies :P But yes the red push is driving me absolutely freaking batty! Came on line today to get the info on it and the lime green problem. I figure the greyscale etc can wait till I get it ISF'd but I HAVE TO FIX THE RED! (All weekend my girlfriend..."Why are the people so red...can't you fix that?" Ofcourse now she'll be nagging that I'm spending too much time tinkering with the TV...haha...Can't win!!)

Wish me luck!:)

J.R.

[Mfusick]

It should work out good.

Lots or reading first... will help.

This thread is a good place to start

[eujin]

Hey Mike, you really should think about changing that signature at some point! ;-)

[optikill]

Mfusick,

If i might ask you a question - I'm planning on purchasing either the Hitachi S500 (or similar swx if i can find it) or Pioneer Elite. Although, I'm leaning more towards the Hitachi. My question is - What size should I get? My viewing distance is going to be very short for the time being - like 8 or 9 feet. I live in a very small apartment, but soon i'll be out. I don't think I need a 60+ inch, but I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to get close to 60. Right now it would be a toss up between the 51 and 57, keep in mind that my TV room / Living room is about an 11 x 11 or 12 x 12 room at the moment ( IT SUCKS )

Your thoughts?

Thanks,
optik

[Mfusick]

buy a 51"

8x6=48"
9x6=54"

You should be 8.5 feet from a 51" size.

[Shardly]

These tweaks on here have been GREAT!! Thx Mfusick! Im just wondering if I should bother paying the $25 to get the tweaks at hometheaterspot.com. Like will there be even more useful info or is this pretty much all I need? Also, I've got the Sound & Vision home theater tune up disk. Is it worth it to buy the Avia disk as well? Thx for any info.

[Mfusick]

AVIA is worth it.

[Shardly]

Perfect, i'll order the AVIA disk right now. And i'll assume that I shouldn't bother with paying for those tweaks at that other website :) Thx again!

[Marc Alexander]

Originally posted by aud19
Ummm...Thanks.... So basically I have to quit my job so I can set my TV up?...haha. I'm almost sorry I asked...

But seriously, I'll have to go through this info and thanks tons for all of it but seen as how I'm getting the TV isf'd in a couple months anyway how much of this stuff are they likely to do then? Obvioulsy they'll set the greyscale and I'm assuming adjust the color decoder for the best results and optimize all the inputs etc. I also assume they'll adjust the geometry and overscan etc. Anything else I should be concerned with in here? Or are they going to pretty much nail it all down for me?

Thanks for all your help :)

J.R.

It would be a good idea to have your ISF look at all this info before he comes. Many are not going to be familiar with the newer ISF menus on the Hitachi's. Please research your ISF before choosing one as well (just a word of advice). It is best to get one with prior experience on your set (with satisfied customers).

[aud19]

Finally got to the tweaks on the weekend...Wow! The red no longer glows the greens are gorgeous and I was able to set the colour properly, bumped it to 43 I think and tint was 3 if I remember. All the colours now pop off the screen without the neon blooming the red used to have. The TV is now a complete joy to watch. Thanks Mfusick and everyone else for all your help:)

I DID listen to Mfusick and it worked awesome! Hahaha

J.R.

[Succorso]

Yea, please hurry with the s500 tweaks. Mine comes this weekend.

Succorso

[petezero]

Very early tweaking on my S500 got me here (these are using the new user options):

Keeping "color management" at 50 across the board - I tweaked the color decoder with avia (turning the guns off one by one) and got here:

Red: 33
Green: 53
Color: 46 (this is checked w/ the blue gun)
Tint: no change
Temp: Standard
All other video options (SVM, Black, Noise): off

On the top level I set contrast at 40 and brightness at 50 (though I was coming out a bit higher with AVIA, I just didn't want to take it too high). One thing you'll notice with the decoder is that it is tied to the temperature setting - not the video setting. So if you make changes to the decoder - it will cover all your video inputs. If you change your temperature - it will give you a different set of decoder values (the default).

Remember I'm still very new to this, but the colors now look really good! Zero red push and pretty nice greens. I hope to play a lot more to get the settings even better, but this is a nice place to start. My set only has about 20 hours of life on it, so I'm sure it will break in an will require some changes down the line.

Hope all you "S" owners can share your values and experience so we can get an awesome tweak section like Mike and co. did for the swx!

[Mfusick]

I really have not had time to play with the S500 that much.

I still like the SWX better.

[petezero]

give the s500 a chance, i've tweaked it to the point where i find the colors to be better than my xwx (after all the tweaks) - it's not "significantly" better, but I think after a pro-job it may be marginally better. well see :)

[shootnpar]

By doing these tweaks, will the extended warranty be void by performing them?
thanks,
Scott

[bschwarting]

Originally posted by Mfusick
It should work out good.

Lots or reading first... will help.

This thread is a good place to start

Mfusick,

I am getting the Hitachi G500 (I know, I know, I should have got the SWX), but will all these tweaks work for the G500 as well? I hope so!

Thanks,
Ben

[gambrelw]

Yes they will work on the G500.

[bschwarting]

Originally posted by gambrelw
Yes they will work on the G500.

Gambrelw,

Thanks for the info! That's good to hear!

Do you own a G500?

[gambrelw]

Do you own a G500?

No,

But I have calibrated a couple.

Bill

[bschwarting]

Originally posted by gambrelw
No,

But I have calibrated a couple.

Bill

Awesome! How good did they look after calibration?

[gambrelw]

For the price, I think the G500 (along with the F500) looked pretty good. I have seen sets that cost more and looked worse. But, that is my opinion.

Bill

[bschwarting]

Originally posted by gambrelw
For the price, I think the G500 (along with the F500) looked pretty good. I have seen sets that cost more and looked worse. But, that is my opinion.

Bill

I agree! My first HDTV for $1749 isn't bad. Not to mention it has the Hitachi picture clarity.

I haven't seen two ISF calibrated sets side by side, but with what i've seen thus far am very happy with the G500.

Last day of suffering.....going to be delivered tomorrow!

[jimnycricket]

What is "Bump" mean?

Where can I find a good ISF guy in Southern California, anyone?

[Marc Alexander]

Start at http://www.imagingscience.com/

[ntode]

Mfusick. will you be posting specific information on the 51s500 after you get a chance to look at it more closely?

[tdejong01]

Mfusick - thanks for all your outstanding information. I have never owned an RPTV before. I had been doing some research and saw an "open box" 43FWX20B a couple of weeks ago for a great price, but after watching it for a week I thought that something had to be wrong with the set because the picture quality was SO bad. To my "untrained eye" the analog cable was full of fuzz, digital cable had pixels and bleeding and god knows what else, and DVD's and HDTV looked way too grainy... nothing close to a "window" effect. I called CC and they sent out a technician who fiddled around with the convergence a little bit and told me "I've seen a lot of these TV's and this is just how they look. You will have to get used to it or take it back." Well, I knew he didn't know what he was talking about because I had seen a couple of far better projection TV's in people's homes before and this thing didn't even look close. I had several articles and reviews that ranked Hitachi as one of the top RPTV's so I decided to give it one more try (and go bigger!) So, I went back to the store and arranged for them to swap out the 43" for a 51F500... Lo and behold, it was delivered on Saturday and it looked just as bad as the 43"! Maybe even worse!

Over the weekend, I found this forum and started reading (and reading, and reading). It sounds like I can expect even better results when my TV gets > 100 hours, but I went to work anyhow. I adjust the contrast back to about 30%. I went into the ISF and made the "suggested" tweaks to RY-PH, R/B-GA, GY-PH, and G/B-GA. I had no idea what "red push" looked like, but I now I know after seeing the difference this made! I also adjusted the few other parameters recommended to reduce ghosting and the "green tint". Then last night I gave myself a killer headache with 90 minutes of staring at the manual convergence. I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the difference. I would say that I am disappointed by the CC tech's lack of knowledge, but I do not know whether they are ISF certified. I'm not sure if I will ever shell out the big bucks for ISF calibration (its not included in the CC CityAdvantage warranty is it?), but at this point I am very happy with the quality and really glad I found this forum. I went ahead and ordered the AVIA disc from Amazon to hopefully make some additional improvements.

Thanks Mfusick and all the other contributors to this thread! If you are a "newbie" like me and not a "videophile", don't be afraid - these few changes are pretty easy and will make a HUGE difference in the enjoyment of your television.

[Marc Alexander]

Another success story!!! You've been F'd...MikeFusick'd that is!;)

(actually, a lot of folks contributed to the wealth of tweaking info...thanks to all...thanks to Mike for archiving it all).

[dogongt]

is there an archived tweaks thread for the S500 models? or will some of the F500 tweaks apply in the same way? i've been looking, but can't find anything clean and clear......only this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=230157).....do those apply to the S500 series too? i'd like to thank everyone for their help so far too. :cool:

[Marc Alexander]

These apply to the S for the most part, although there are some differences in the letter suffixes for the different sources and the day/night modes.

[gambrelw]

Here are the suffix meanings (i.e. R/BGA3S, R/BGAES). Some of the parameters only have the first letter of the suffix.

First Letter:
3-NTSC
D-SDTV
E-HDTV

Second Letter:
H-High Temp
M-Medium Temp
S-Standard Temp
B-Black and White Temp

Bill

[dogongt]

thanks....that clears up a good bit. gonna look through and make some adjustments (carefully) to the ISF menu tomorrow hopefully. wish me luck.

[deez]

I love this thread!!!

[aud19]

Love the forum...not the thread...lol
;)

J.R.

[tdejong01]

I had my 51F500 calibrated yesterday by Randy Tomlinson of Smyrna/Atlanta.

After about 100 hours of usage (and 100 hours of tweaking? heh... not quite, but it felt like it) my wife agreed that a calibration was in order as long as I would "leave the damn thing alone." Even she noticed that things were looking "too blue" and that dark scenes lacked a lot of detail, so I knew that getting the grayscale dead on was something that I had to do.

Randy spent about 3+ hours on the set and I am very pleased with the results. The grayscale was pretty close on the high end, but dropped way off on the low IRE's and he had to bring up the green a lot. I won't bother posting the settings since every set is different and I had screwed mine up a little by ignorantly touching the intensity trimpots. I think I had the convergence pretty close, but I have noticed a definite improvement from his manual/electronic focus and additional work on the convergence.

The main point I wanted to share with the forum is that he also agreed that the color decoder settings posted here (and verified by me with Avia) were pretty much dead on.

He kept RY-PH at 02, R/B-GA at 03, and G/B-GA at 04... but he did bump GY-PH back up from 01 to the factory default of 02, but I'm sure that is probably a close call and could vary from set to set or based on other conditions like lighting, etc...

He confirmed improvements by dropping the APTR (aperture) from 01 to 00 and decreasing SRTGA-0 from 10 down to 00 to reduce ghosting. However, he said that he did not see improvements changing Y-DTL-0 from 07 to 04 so he restored the factory setting of 07. I forgot to ask him to verify the "green fix", but I am pretty satisfied with my testing that it helps. I have never played with the black stretch point, maybe I will some day (when my wife isn't around).

Bottom line: it was definitely worth it to get my grayscale fixed as well as improvements in focus and convergence (he also helped balance my speaker levels for no additional charge), but this forum had pretty much has all you need for this model Hitachi color decoder! (Of course with the disclaimer that every set could have some differences.)

Some questions:
1) We both noticed that there were several black specks (dust?) visible in the lamps when he took the screen off. He said that this is no big deal and that I wouldn't notice a difference if they were cleaned. Have other Hitachi owners seen this in brand new sets and is it really no big deal?
2) There is a narrow strip of tape on the red gun which was obviously deliberately done at the factory but does not look like the pictures I have seen of lens striping. It is about 1/3 of the way out instead of on the edge. I will try to post a picture if I take the screen off at some point again. Has anyone else observed this and know why they did it? Should I just leave it there?
3) My overall geometry looks very good to the naked eye, except for the furthest edges where the last convergence lines appear *slightly* wider at the top then at the bottom. Randy's opinion was that getting a template to correct this would be a lot of work for something that I probably wouldn't even notice. I don't have a lot of experience with other RPTV's, so I'm not sure how to spot geometry problems in normal viewing. I don't notice anything now, so should I assume geometry is OK?
4) The only further improvement he suggested was doing some Duvetyne lining on the inside, particularly the "lens hood" since the lens area is wide open. There are also some unpainted edges on the plywood. I have found some of the Duvetyne threads on here but didn't see any results yet on the 51F500. Has anyone done this and seen visible improvements in black levels and reducing any "halo" effects?

Thanks to everyone for the assistance of this forum. If you are in the Atlanta-area, I definitely recommend Randy. This is my first ISF calibration, but from everything I read on this forum he helped me out a lot for the base ISF price.

[gambrelw]

1) Yes, I have noticed specs in the CRTs. Usually, I take a couple minutes to remove the top portion and clean the dust/bugs/garbage out if I notice anything in there.

2) Yes, the narrow strip of tape exist on all F500s. It looks like a poor attempt at lens striping. If I were you, I would leave it there.

3) I use a template when calibrating sets. It takes me about 75 minutes to do full geometry and convergence on the Hitachi. Do you notice distortion when the screen pans or skewed lines on DVD black bars or 4x3 gray bars. If so, I think it is worth it.

4) I have seen improvements when using Duve on the Hitachi. The CRT well is quite nasty on reflections. You should at least cover the well.

Bill

[tdejong01]

Bill - thanks again for a very helpful response.

1) What is the benefit of removing these specks? Are they negatively impacting picture quality? If I were to attempt it when I do the Duve on the CRT well, what is the best way to remove them and would I risk messing up anything else like geometry or convergence?

2) OK, I won't touch the tape. I didn't want to anyhow. :)

3) I haven't noticed any distortion with screen pans (unless of course I am in 4:3 expanded... yuck) but I will check out the black/gray bar lines to see if everything looks OK.

4) I plan to keep reading up on the different approaches to Duvetyne linings and creating "lens hoods" a little more and give it a try in the next few weeks. I will post my results. I want to make sure it is removable in case I ever need to have a Hitachi or Circuit City service call.

I just re-read this entire thread to see if there was anything else that I had missed and that I should look at again now that my set has been ISF calibrated. I saw that Mfusick or other users made modifications to these settings but couldn't find explanations of why or how to test whether there were improvements.

SUB-BRT - I have seen several Hitachi owners who have brought this down a couple notches, my ISF tech didn't touch it. I have tested it up and down a couple and it but not sure why I would change it.
SUBCNT0 15-->05 - why?
VSM-PH and VSM-GA all turned off to 00 - why?
H-SYNC turned up a couple notches?

If anyone wants to e-mail me the 51F500 service manual to "tdejong01 @ sprintpcs.com" I could probably stop asking some of these questions. :)

[gambrelw]

1) They are rarely noticable. I just remove them because it's easy and I like make sure everything is done right.


SUB-BRT - I have seen several Hitachi owners who have brought this down a couple notches, my ISF tech didn't touch it. I have tested it up and down a couple and it but not sure why I would change it.

The only reason to adjust these values are to center your user menu controls. I will usually set contrast and brightness to 50 in the user menu and use the service menu to adjust them. Outside of that, there is no difference.

VSM-PH and VSM-GA all turned off to 00 - why?

Setting VSM-GA to 00 will turn of Scan Velocity Modulation. However, you can turn it off in the user menu as well, so there is not benefit in doing it in the ISF menu. Neither fully disable ringing. Usually, I set VSM-GA to 03 and VSM-PH to 07 just in case I want to turn SVM on. VSM-GA controls the Scan speed. VSM-PH will alter the scan speed and the amount of ringing. 07 produces the smallest amount of ringing, but the highest scan speed for dark (a little more distortion in small lettering). You should test them yourself using the needle pulse patterm.



H-SYNC turned up a couple notches?

I have never touched that one.

Bill

[tdejong01]

I watched a few chapters and some HD this afternoon and the colors are beautiful, I only have one visible problem that is irritating me. I'm not sure the official name for it, so I will try to describe it and include a picture. The detail is great (I can see the individual hairs on Gandalf's beard, freckles on faces, etc...) but there is something about the texture to bright objects that just doesn't seem right, especially if there is a lot of blue. The sky looks grainy/sandy, almost as though I am seeing the pixels "dancing" around instead of a solid texture. Here is a screenshot from Chicago (http://home.comcast.net/~tdejong1/Photo36.JPG) from a scene that is very bright and blue. I haven't figured out how to take very good digital photos yet, but I'm hoping maybe Bill or someone else will get the idea of what I am describing? I've played around with all of the user level controls and could not make it go away.

I know that the blue beam is set intentionally wider than green and red, but I see so much blue on my convergence grid (http://home.comcast.net/~tdejong1/Photo37.JPG) that I wonder if this is part of the problem? (This photo is not very good either because I took it at an angle, so you see some green which you do not see when looking straight on.)

[Marc Alexander]

Originally posted by tdejong01
The sky looks grainy/sandy, almost as though I am seeing the pixels "dancing" around instead of a solid texture. I've seen Edge enhancement have this effect on 480p DVD on the S500 but not on HD. Is your SVM off?

For sharpest picture, my recommendations are to focus blue (not defocus)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=269844&highlight=blue+defocus
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230835&highlight=blue+defocus

[Marc Alexander]

I have started a new thread for Hitachi tweak Q&A

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=300466

[Mfusick]

Originally posted by Marc Alexander
I have started a new thread for Hitachi tweak Q&A

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=300466

NICE:D

[ntode]

mfusick,

do you still like the swx better than the s500?

[Mfusick]

Originally posted by ntode
mfusick,

do you still like the swx better than the s500?

It's that feeling like your first real girlfreind. You remember and like better in retrospect than the other ones that come later.

Yes. (not taking away anything from the S500, I would still choose the SWX myself)

[ntode]

Originally posted by Mfusick
It's that feeling like your first real girlfreind. You remember and like better in retrospect than the other ones that come later.

Yes. (not taking away anything from the S500, I would still choose the SWX myself)

I wouldn't tell your current girlfriend/wife this analogy :)

[MadDogMike]

1. Enter the Service Menu
You do this by pressing "Input/Exit" and the "Power Button" at the same time on the front of
the TV. (Not the remote.)

Hint: Hold down the "Input" button, and then press the Power button. When you do, immediately,
let go of both buttons, and the Service Menu will appear.

This doesn't seem to work on my 46F500. Is this the way to get to the service/ISF menu on the F500s too?

[mrbill]

MadDogMike - you do this when the TV is *off*, to get into the service menu. Works on my 51G500 (AFAIK, its a F500 with slight enhancements and an anti-glare screen, are the only differences).

[aud19]

It worked on my 51F500:D

(Ofcourse it took me about 20-30 tries though...:rolleyes: ) Keep trying, you'll get in there.

J.R.

[MadDogMike]

I don't know how you guys do it. Holding the input/exit button, as soon as I hit the power button, the TV comes on just like normal...no service menu.

[aud19]

It really isn't easy. I swear I sat there for what seemed like forever before it worked and I couldn't tell you what I did differently then any of the other times. I guess I just got the timing at just the right millisecond....lol

Keep trying, you will get in! That's an order soldier! :D

J.R.

[padreken]

[i]

Setting VSM-GA to 00 will turn of Scan Velocity Modulation. However, you can turn it off in the user menu as well, so there is not benefit in doing it in the ISF menu. Neither fully disable ringing. Usually, I set VSM-GA to 03 and VSM-PH to 07 just in case I want to turn SVM on. VSM-GA controls the Scan speed. VSM-PH will alter the scan speed and the amount of ringing. 07 produces the smallest amount of ringing, but the highest scan speed for dark (a little more distortion in small lettering). You should test them yourself using the needle pulse patterm.

[/B]

I take it that the adjustable values for VSM-GA in the SWX series correspond with the menu adjustable low-med-high VSM in the menu of the F & S series sets? I've noticed that using the low setting in my friends 51S500 adds a nice degree of clarity to HDTV broadcasts and DVD, and I'd like to be able to do that with my set as well.

These threads are incredibly helpful!

[MadDogMike]

Originally posted by aud19
Keep trying, you will get in!

Got it. A post above said to let go of both buttons immediately once the power comes on. That didn't work for me. I had to hold them both until the menu appeared.

Now that I'm in, the problem is what to do? The link on this thread for the tweak to fix red push is for the SWX series, and is not applicable to the F500 seres, apparently. Screw it, I'll just call Randy Tomlinson. I'm going to get it ISF'ed anyway, I'm not going to take a chance on screwing it up.

[aud19]

It seemed pretty darned applicable on my 51F500. It made a world of difference! The tweaks are the same fot the F500's you just have to scroll through the seemingly endless menu of options until you get to the correct one then change to the appropriate setting and check the picture with a calibration disc.

Regardless of that an ISF tech will mostly likely do a better job than even the most strident tweaker.

J.R.

[MadDogMike]

Originally posted by aud19
It seemed pretty darned applicable on my 51F500.

I was talking about the link to this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=184842

Where it said, "There is an easy way to compensate for red push. It involves just one simple service menu adjustment.

COLORG0 = change from 0 to 1"

I couldn't find "COLORG0" in my ISF menu.

[utstimpy]

how come I can't find any threads like this for my new mitsu 55413? :(

[pillguy]

COLORG0 is in the ISF Mode menu option....about 50 settings down the list.
I believe if you get into the service menu, then hit the menu key a few times, you will get to some settings that start with RGBOUT0=0. Scroll down awhile and you will get to colorgo. Use right arrow to change it to 1, then push in the select knob to save the setting. Hit exit to get out of the menu.

[MadDogMike]

Originally posted by pillguy
COLORG0 is in the ISF Mode menu option....about 50 settings down the list.
I believe if you get into the service menu, then hit the menu key a few times, you will get to some settings that start with RGBOUT0=0. Scroll down awhile and you will get to colorgo.

I have seen the RGBOUTO settings, I'll look again for the COLORG0.

Also, is there such a thing is "White Push?" I've heard the term "white crush," is that the same thing? What I'm seeing is extremely brights. I have contrast & brightness both set at 45%. The contrast looks good with everything, but whites are overpowering.

[asap2006]

45% contrast is for most people too high. Unless you're room is extremely bright, which I doubt since your brightness is at 45, I would lower your contrast, this is what's causing those overpowering whites. As a reference, most of us Hitachi owners have contrast in the 20's, maybe low 30's and some go lower than 20 or even 10.

[MadDogMike]

Originally posted by asap2006
45% contrast is for most people too high. Unless you're room is extremely bright, which I doubt since your brightness is at 45, I would lower your contrast, this is what's causing those overpowering whites. As a reference, most of us Hitachi owners have contrast in the 20's, maybe low 30's and some go lower than 20 or even 10.

Thanks. I had lowered it so far below factory defaults that I thought it might be getting too low. But it does look better with contrast in the low 30s. What are typical brightness settings?

Also, I did find the COLORG0 setting, and that seemed to help with the red push. I have my color setting down at 15%, and it still seems like I could stand to lower it some more. What are typical color settings?

Also, I know I can turn off SVM in the user menu, and I do that for the Movie mode, which I use for the DVD DVI input. Occasionally I think a little SVM might help with my SD Dish feed, but the Hitachi gives it too much. Is there an adjustment in the ISF menu to lower the amount of SVM, so if/when I want to select it on in the user menu, it's not so overwhelming?

[Marc Alexander]

Originally posted by padreken
I take it that the adjustable values for VSM-GA in the SWX series correspond with the menu adjustable low-med-high VSM in the menu of the F & S series sets? I've noticed that using the low setting in my friends 51S500 adds a nice degree of clarity to HDTV broadcasts and DVD, and I'd like to be able to do that with my set as well.

These threads are incredibly helpful! I have done just that in my FWX, set VSM-GAs to 1 to allow me to apply just a low level of edge enhancement.

[Marc Alexander]

I'll state this again. All the tweaks apply to FWX/UWX/SWX20b sets and later (with the exception of VSM being changed to edge enhancement in the S and later models). The ISF suffixes for the S and later series sets changed a bit. All the relevant info is at the beginning of this thread. Please read from the beginning so you don't miss anything.

[pillguy]

Also, I did find the COLORG0 setting, and that seemed to help with the red push. I have my color setting down at 15%, and it still seems like I could stand to lower it some more. What are typical color settings?

You will need to get a calibration disk to set color. Dropping the color that low will not actually help with your reds that much. In fact, it will likely make your other colors (blue mostly) look worse. You will need to set the reds in the SM...with R/B and RY settings...but you need a calibration DVD like AVIA or DVE. The new DVE is about $18....I use it and am happy with the cailbration I get as a result. Again...you really need to do a search for "hitachi" and "tweaks" to learn a bit more about these settings. If you will read Marc's first few posts in the "hitachi tweaks Q&A thread" (link below), you will see a link to Mfusick's hitachi tweaks thread...that will give you tons of useful info.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=300466&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

[Marc Alexander]

Originally posted by Marc Alexander
I'll state this again. All the tweaks apply to FWX/UWX/SWX20b sets and later (with the exception of VSM being changed to edge enhancement in the S and later models). The ISF suffixes for the S and later series sets changed a bit. All the relevant info is at the beginning of this thread. Please read from the beginning so you don't miss anything. Oops, I thought this was the Q&A thread. Should've been in the bed :p

[Mfusick]

Originally posted by Marc Alexander
Oops, I thought this was the Q&A thread. Should've been in the bed :p

It's alright:)

Most new owners really apreaciate the help and advice you offer.

Also- the time to organize tweaks into logical sense in threads.

[Richard66]

A lot of valuable information, especially for a newbie like me, thanks!

I'm having a problem with my new s500, the picture is not very clear even with HD signal, especially the backgroud, have tried to reduce gosting in ISF, but haven't seen much improvement yet, just wondering if anybody can provide detail settings in ISF just for s500? Service menu?

Thanks a lot in advance.

[pillguy]

Richard66,

Lots to read here
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=300466&perpage=20&pagenumber=1
There are many options for you to try to tweak your set. You could read the above and learn to do it yourself, or pay a professional ISF calibrator to make it shine (if you are willing to drop a few hundred dollars). If you go the ISF route, please post the calibrators you are looking at on the forum so the experts here can tell you yey or ney. You have come to the right place. The wealth of information here is incredible.

In just a month, I learned how to remove my screen and focus the guns, remove the glare screen, overscan adjustment, color adjustments in the color decoder, and much more. It is all here. I am very pleased with the outcome....and we have essentially the same set. I think you can be too.

[Richard66]

Guys,

I have a panasonic DVD 65F which has progressive scan function, but after I connect it to my 51s500 through component cable and set up DVD with progressive scan enabled, how can the signal is still 480i but not 480p? the picture is not very good either.

Thanks for your help!

[Mfusick]

because you don't have the 480p setting turned on inside the DVD player menu....

You need to "enable" 480p; Factory default out of the box is 480i

[aud19]

I think some brands/models of TV's also have more than one set of component ins with one for HD and another for only 480i or maybe 480p you could have it plugged in to an input that only allows for 480i. It's kinda dumb, I'm not sure why they do that.

J.R.

[ntode]

Originally posted by aud19
I think some brands/models of TV's also have more than one set of component ins with one for HD and another for only 480i or maybe 480p you could have it plugged in to an input that only allows for 480i. It's kinda dumb, I'm not sure why they do that.

J.R.

This is not the case for the hitachi.

Both component inputs will take 480i and 480p.

[aud19]

Sorry when I first read his post I thought he said his TV was a Panny.. not his DVD player...lol

Sorry

J.R.

[Mfusick]

Hitachi baby... Hitachi!

[aud19]

Yes, yes, I know.... I humbly appologize...lord only knows what went through my head there...lol

J.R.

By the way...just thought I'd mention how much I'm enjoying HITACHI 51F500 since doing the tweaks on here. Watched Lion King a week or so ago....WOW! :D

[kaneboats]

Just wanted to thank all contributors for the wealth of info here and in the related threads, including the Q&A. Your submissions convinced me to go with the Hitachi so I picked the 51F500 and it was delivered over the weekend. I dropped the contrast and tried to get the service menu. Special thanks to whoever suggested to hold both Input and Power down till the menu appears. 30 tries while letting go of both buttons brought me back to AVS to look for another option. It was like striking gold to find the description to hold both down tilll the SM appears.

Once in, I changed COLORGO. This made a huge difference and it went from unwatchable to watchable. I then wrote down all of the original settings. I also did the lime green fix that was suggested. The manual convergence really helped too. I don't have AVIA, but I put in the colorbars on Video Essentials and adjusted the red and then the green. I also made the changes for ghosting.

By the time I got my cable guy out with my new box for HD, the picture looked pretty good. In fact the guy and his helper were in awe of the picture. They guy said he only does HD installs now and it was the best he had seen. I still have a lot to do and a lot to learn but I wanted to thank all for their help with this. Monday Night Football was incredible. Wow! Thanks to all!!!!

[timdgibson]

I've had my 51F500 for almost 2 months now and I love it! After many hours of reading this thread and the other Hitachi tweak threads, I then spent many hours applying these tweaks. I have done everything except manual focus (don't have time right now), removal of screen (have a feeling this could come back to bite me when we have kids) and grayscale (don't have any equip). My set looks great!! Thanks to everyone, esp Mfusick. Surprisingly my set wasn't that bad OOTB. I can notice a difference, but not a huge one. I'm still happy I did everything though.


tim

[bigrig]

Just wanted to add a couple things to this thread.

About the COLORG0 questions, it's under TA1360 in the menu. Press right on TA1360 and then scroll down.

Also, to add to Mfusick's directions for manual convergence, when you initialize the sensors at the end of the procedure, you press PIP CH. Which is called SURF on my 51S700 remote, I assume it's the same for the S500, too.

PIP CH = SURF, that threw me off for a little bit. :p

Matt

[Mfusick]

Originally posted by bigrig

Also, to add to Mfusick's directions for manual convergence, when you initialize the sensors at the end of the procedure, you press PIP CH. Which is called SURF on my 51S700 remote, I assume it's the same for the S500, too.

PIP CH = SURF, that threw me off for a little bit. :p



Yes. Older units called "info" the "status"

And SURF is also PIP CHANNEL.

If you HIT MENU key you can shut off the CRT not being used.

And I think the freeze button allows you a different kinds of control....

Coolest thing with new models S series is that the menu button also allows a transparent screen so you can use a convergence screen from AVIA or DVE.

[Owen]

"Help. I need service manual info to allow me to get my new Australian model 57” HD Hitachi rear pro (C57WD5000) working at its best. I contacted Hitachi Australia and requested a service manual. My request was flatly denied and I was told that there was no way they would supply anyone other then an authorised service agent with a service manual during the one year warranty life of the product. So I have no alternative but to ask for assistance from other Hitachi owners.
Even though my set is an Australian model and looks quite different to the US models, the features are very similar to the S500 model in the US and the menu structure also looks similar.

I need info on how to get into the service menu so I can correct a strong red push, reduce overscan, disable edge enhancement and do a manual convergance.

I am not a noobie, and have done all these adjustments to my previous Toshiba rear pro.
The Hitachi looks like it has a lot of potential for great performance although the default setup is wowfull. I just need to get it tweaked and I will be a happy camper.
So if anyone can give me some information, I would be very appreciative."



I posted this in the S500 owners thread but I thought it may be more appropriate here.

Since that post I have read this thread and tried to get into the service menu in the manner described but it does not work. On my set the power button on the TV is a push-push switch that disconnects the mains power from the set. It is not a touch switch to just make the TV turn on as with the remote. Does the S500 use a touch switch or a real power disconnect switch on the front of the set?

I also tried to get into the manual convergence screen buy stopping “magic focus” and pressing various buttons on the remote with no success.
If I press and hold the magic focus button I can get a "Centre Mode" with a small cross on the center of the screen or a "Static Mode" with a full size cross.
The "Recall" button on the remote will then give me a convergence grid and the "CHI/II” (mono/stereo) button will select which gun is adjusted but I cant find out how to move around the convergence grid. The 2,4,6,8 buttons don’t work.
Has anyone got any ideas.

Thanks,

Owen

[southchandler]

Anyone have any recommendations on the start order for calibration of the Hitachi 57S500. I would prefer not to hunt and peck during calibration because I'm sure some adjustments affect others.

I like my PQ but want to make it the best it can be. The only thing I notice is maybe a little blurry so I think I should start with focus. If I focus should then do a convergence?

If OI do those 2 things what do I need to adjust after that.

Thanks in advance for the information.

Curtis

[bigrig]

Yeah, I'd do electrostatic and manual focus, then convergence. You can do the geometry during the convergence, too, if you're really ambitious.

Then get your brightness/contrast/color dialed in.

That's as far as I've got...I guess the last step is grayscale adjustment, which you need the professional equipment for.

Matt

[bigrig]

Originally posted by Mfusick
And I think the freeze button allows you a different kinds of control....


Oh yeah, I messed around with that the other night. The Freeze button will let you move around the entire grid. Or if you move cursor to a different point, it will let you move the entire line. Kinda cool, not really sure how useful it is...

Matt

[Vhagar]

Mfusick you should edit your post at the top of this forum to include the glare screen removal thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=320580

[Mfusick]

Originally posted by bigrig
Oh yeah, I messed around with that the other night. The Freeze button will let you move around the entire grid. Or if you move cursor to a different point, it will let you move the entire line. Kinda cool, not really sure how useful it is...

Matt

COOl:)

[Mfusick]

Originally posted by Vhagar
Mfusick you should edit your post at the top of this forum to include the glare screen removal thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=320580

Good idea:)

Have a moderator do it...

[rdwalt]

Does the XXS500 have the same overscan adjustment knobs as seen in these pictures of the older Hitachi's? The service manual doesn't say anything about overscan.

[bigrig]

Just use the convergence lines in DCAM to reduce overscan. But yes, I think they do still have the knobs on the circuit board.

Matt

[Marc Alexander]

Originally posted by bigrig
Just use the convergence lines in DCAM to reduce overscan. But yes, I think they do still have the knobs on the circuit board.

Matt Using the convergence lines in DCAM to reduce overscan without a template can cause speed bumps...just a warning. It is generally best not to fool with overscan on a Hitachi...unless you are experienced with such adjustments.

[rdwalt]

How will a template stop speed bumps and what makes it so hard to adjust overscan?

[Marc Alexander]

With a template, lines are spaced to preserve geometry. When making big adjustments to green DCAM, it is very difficult to preserve good geometry by eye. Some people don't notice speed bumps that result from geometry anomolies, but I am very sensitive to them and it annoys me greatly.

[Mfusick]

Originally posted by Marc Alexander
With a template, lines are spaced to preserve geometry. When making big adjustments to green DCAM, it is very difficult to preserve good geometry by eye. Some people don't notice speed bumps that result from geometry anomolies, but I am very sensitive to them and it annoys me greatly.

Our fathers both have the same tv. Hitachi 61SWX10B.

When I rebuilt his geometry after reducing overscan I noticed a very small "speed bump"

It took me about 12 months of minor tweaking when I would visit him before I finally corrected it. No one ever noticed but me... But I am sensitive too.

[bigrig]

Just wanted to report my results -

APRTR-4 01 00 To minimize ghosting set to 00
APRTR-A 01 00 To minimize ghosting set to 00
APRTR-C 00
APRTR-E 01 00 To minimize ghosting set to 00

I tried this the other day, and SD satellite looks much better now, not so blocky. HD is still good, too. :D

Matt

[jim tressler]

[jim tressler]

I got ahold of the f510 service manual - and tried to translate the new commands to the dcam proceedure earlier in this thread - but no luck - I am tired so I am probably missing something simple - I will try again tommrow - if anyone has any words of advice - let me know :)

thanks
jim

[jim tressler]

Just an fyi - here is the text for the manual - for some reason - pressing guide did not interpolate nor did pressing aspect write anything...

Adjustment procedure
(1) Receive any NTSC signal.
(2) Start adjustment at the center of the screen.
(3) Continue adjustment at next closest position.
(4) Adjust center area first, ending with edge sections.
(5) Press GUIDE button to perform calculation
operation. This process will take about 1 second and
no picture will be seen at this time.
(6) After interpolation, check convergence again and
repeat (1)-(5) if necessary.
(7) When convergence is acceptable, press ASPECT to
write data to ROM memory. ROM WRITE? is
displayed to alarm system that ROM will be
overwritten with new data. Press the ASPECT button
again to write displayed data to ROM.
(8) DATA WRITE TO ROM will take approximately 4
seconds and no picture will be displayed.
(9) Green dots will be displayed when operation is
completed.
(10) Push VOLUME down to MUTE to return to
convergence pattern, then confirm again
convergence is acceptable.
(11) Press ASPECT (ROM WRITE) mode, then press to
initialize sensor data positions.
Notes: (1) Display only green for easier adjustment

[Marc Alexander]

Jim, you might have missed the end of this thread (I see you were a participant) - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4295836#post4295836

Originally posted by gambrelw
I calibrated an S715 yesterday and the new remote doesn't work for DCAM. Aspect and Stop were supposed to replace the PIP Mode/PIP Ch buttons (or Surf). I tried all the buttons on the remote and none worked.

I pulled out my MX-500 remote with PIP MODE and PIP CH programmed and it still works.

Bill

[jim tressler]

ahh.. I see.. the service manual is incorrect :) now.. on the mx-500 part - would punching in the preprogrammed hitachi stuff work or would you need an old f500 remote?

thanks

jim

[Marc Alexander]

I believe you need an old remote to program the mx-500. Probably easiest to just by an f500 remote.

[bigrig]

If you get a $20 URC-8811 One-For-All remote from Wal-Mart I think you can program the functions in.

Instructions here-
http://www.hifi-remote.com/ofa/advanced.shtml#non-LCD

And the codes here-
http://www.hifi-remote.com/cgi-bin2/ueic.cgi?TV_0145

Matt

[jim tressler]

thanks matt - with the urc - do you need the jp1 cable or can you punch the codes into the remote itself?

I did find the f500 remote "clu-4324ug" which is "new" - the original was the 4321ug.. Looks like you can directly access the video inputs.. something you cant do with the f510 remote.

jim

[bigrig]

Originally posted by jim tressler
thanks matt - with the urc - do you need the jp1 cable or can you punch the codes into the remote itself?

I did find the f500 remote "clu-4324ug" which is "new" - the original was the 4321ug.. Looks like you can directly access the video inputs.. something you cant do with the f510 remote.

jim

You can punch the code right in, see Step B of the instructions I linked.

[jim tressler]

very nice.. thanks matt.. picked up an 8010 all for one tonite and it works.. so far I have found discrete on and off and a few others - like direct to video 1,2,3.....very cool! unfortunatly I can't find just the pip ch as described in dcam.. its either pip ch up or down.. I will try more tomorrow..

jim

[jim tressler]

well.. I have tried all the codes and cant get pip ch or pip mode to work in dcam.. damn! but at least i did find discrete on and off, direct video inputs and a direct code to get into dcam - now I just need to find an old f500 remote :)

jim

[bigrig]

Maybe try these:

PIP Change (CH?) EFC 186
PIP Mode EFC 231
PIP Freeze EFC 201
PIP Swap EFC 233

[jim tressler]

matt.. those work!! efc 186 is ch change and 231 is pip mode!! works!

thanks!!

jim

[bigrig]

Cool, glad I could help! Now get a JP1 cable and you'll be set! ;)

[jim tressler]

:) - where did you find those codes - on the hi-fi remote list code 231 is listed as digital shift or something..

thanks

jim

[bigrig]

I found it from the device code file at the JP1 group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jp1/files/

[xilinx]

do all of these tweaks work with the f510 as well?

[jim tressler]

xilinx - check this thread out that I started..


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=465457

[c130pilot]

I have the 51F510 series, My question is how do I save the settings under the ISF menu after I make my changes?

Thanks

Kevin

[MFerris]

My 51F500 started appearing "shaky" about six months after it was purchased. It is especially obvious when you turn on the manual focus grid, it shakes up and down. If you disconnect the DVD player, the grid becomes still. Bought new DVD player (needed another anyway, right?) Same problem on the new one. Dealer thought that the interlace was at fault but I know the problem did not previously exist. When I pointed out that the same brand RPTV on his floor had the same problem, he became real interested as he had in fact noticed it himself. He joked that he thought he was the only one who could see it. The warranty repair guy came but could not 'see' anything and left without opening his tool bag. Warranty ran out last month. The dealers contact at Hitachi was not helpful. Any ideas?

Thanx

Mark

[bflatmajor]

can I apply these tweaks to my vx915 director's series set?


Thx

[shredy_us]

I have a Hitachi 43fdx15b. With the convergence setting. I can't figure out how much the grid values represent. My converence is off just alittle bit. So the huge grids that set the convergence don't seem like they help unless your settings are off 6 inches or more. This doesn't seem right to me. Do the grids represent a smaller measurement or are they what you see. Also now I'm stuck in STATIC mode.. I forgot to push the pip button how do I get back to auto focus?

[bigrig]

Static mode - push the blue button on the circuit board inside. And save the settings correctly when you're done next time.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4934284#post4934284

Convergence - just get the RGB lines on top of each other as good as possible, the rest will sort itself out.

Matt

[shredy_us]

When ever there is a scene with a light source coming from behind a non lit darker area there is a cloudy look to it. Smaller bright lit areas on the screen seem to wash out the areas around it. It doesn't happen in all bright scenes only ones that have highly contrasting scenes bright to dark. The black area gets a white grey shadow that really irritating, no matter what I do with the settings I can't iliminate this ghosting or what ever it's called.

I read there is a front cover screen that may be causing this, but I'm not sure I want to tear apart my tv. Is there something wrong with my tv or is this just normal?

Also is there a way of getting the grey HDTV bars to be black? Grey is annoying, why would they have the default set to grey?



shredy

[bigrig]

Yeah, like a halo around bright objects. Some of it is due to internal reflections, some due to lens flare, and maybe some due to the protective screen. If you don't need that protective screen, I'd take it off and see what happens.

I do need the protective screen, but I've got some duvetyne I want to line the inside of the TV with, see if that helps any. Tell you what, if you take off your screen, I'll do the duvetyne, and then we can compare notes. ;)

There is a way to make the sidebars black, it's in the TV menus. Settings, or something like that. It's set to grey to reduce the burn-in difference. It will reset to grey every time you turn the TV off.

Matt

[rdwalt]

Originally posted by bigrig

...There is a way to make the sidebars black, it's in the TV menus. Settings, or something like that. It's set to grey to reduce the burn-in difference. It will reset to grey every time you turn the TV off.

Matt

If the grey bars are included in the DTV broadcast you cannot change them.

[shredy_us]

I'm wondering if taking off the protection screen is worth the hassle? How fragile is the screen without it? I'd hate for something to hit it and break it. You never know... But if the difference is worth it I'll go for it. Is there a blog or site that shows how this is done? The only one I found the pics were no longer available.

As for adding the dark material inside the tv why would one do this?

I love my hitachi, good set but you'd think they figure out a better protective screen design that doesn't shadow.

Also no matter what I do I can't find a way to get rid of the grey bars. I have a time warner HDtv box and there is no setting for that on there. I've tried another fix but all it did was made the menu darker leaving the grey bars nice and bright.

It doesn't make sense that the default would be a bright grey, for one it appears it would burn the screen and two it's distracting and makes dark scenes hard to see.

Is there no fix for this?

[bigrig]

You add the dark duvetyne to the inside of the TV to eliminate internal reflections.

It sounds like your cable box is adding the grey bars. Maybe look around in the HD hardware forum. Or read the manual? :p

For watching SD material, you may need to tell the box you have a regular 4:3 TV. Then the hitachi will add the bars to the side of the incoming signal, and you can select grey or black.

Matt

[rdwalt]

Originally posted by bigrig
For watching SD material, you may need to tell the box you have a regular 4:3 TV. Then the hitachi will add the bars to the side of the incoming signal, and you can select grey or black.

Matt

That is a great tip!

[deez]

cool

[rdwalt]

Originally posted by bigrig
For watching SD material, you may need to tell the box you have a regular 4:3 TV. Then the hitachi will add the bars to the side of the incoming signal, and you can select grey or black.

Matt

Or you can stretch it. :)

Did I say that out loud!? :eek:

Actually Hitachi has a really good stretch mode - 4:3 Expanded.

[shredy_us]

I finally figured out how to set the convergence on my tv. Some one posted the wrong info and we sending me in a circle I couldn't get out of when trying to save to rom. This happened for about 20 mins until I got out of it and then went in and reset the convergence.

However the lower left part of the screen, I couldn't get the red line to line up with all the rest so there is a little dip in the red you can see it when you flip through the channels with cable. Not a big deal the pic looks great other then that line is a little wavey.

Last night I'm watching the simpsons and realise that during the time it took me to just focus the tv a line was burnt into the screen. One of the grids is now a line vertically on the left side of the screen.

It was only on that one screen at any given time about 15 mins.

Now I'm afraid to go back and tweek that bottom red line to straighten it up.

Has anyone heard of this? I'm really bummed cause it wasn't there before I focused the damn thing.;(

Also how do you get the front screen off. I took out all the screws yet the bottom of the Screen is still attached and I couldn't get it off to even try and remove the protective screen.


Also how did using that black material work? I'd like to do something like that or get that screen off the halo is still there.

[rdwalt]

shredy, that really sucks. What did you have contrast and brightness set to when you were setting the convergence? That's really frightening that burn in would occur after only 15 minutes.

[GFletch]

Before doing any extended work with service level convergence, look for this parameter DCUCNT0 or something similar in the ISF menu and lower it. This reduces DCU grid Contrast and will reduce the risk of phosphor burn while working in there. Happy Tweaking

[rdwalt]

It's DCUCONT. But would 15 minutes of exposure be long enough to cause burn in?

[GFletch]

It does sound unlikely. I would think the entire grid would be visible to some degree over the entire screen. But I suppose...some sets do it even when the owner was careful, and some never do it even with constant gaming and station logos. It's a bummer though. Sorry Man.

[shredy_us]

Well the line is faint and the whole grid pattern is now faintly evident when watching shows like the simpsons. I hired a tech to come over and fix the convergence, he said it needed a circut so I paid him 400 bucks. He comes over I never see him put the thing in and he pays with the remote and it ends up exactly like I had left it. The mosts bottom left hand side the red and blue line isn't straight. It's a wavey line. So he gets done after an hour or two and he's all it's close! I'm all looking at a movie and you can't really tell. I wake up turn on the news and there's that stupid red and blue line on the ticker. Now they are giving me heat cuase i want the thing finxed right. Now wouldn't a new convergence circut fix that problem? Anyone know how to fix it?

help!

[bhenning]

I performed a manual convergence adjust and received an overflow error after calibration during the final initialization. I don't think I did anything incorrectly. Possibly a hardware issue? Any hints or tips would be appreciated

[c130pilot]

Hello all,

I have been tweaking the old CRT and I have looked at all the pics regarding the inside of the Hitachi's and none are laid out like mine. So I would guess these are the first F510 series pics in this forum. I have posted the pictures and could someone point out to me the overscan knobs.

Thanks

Kevin

[bigrig]

No pictures?

But that's okay...don't worry about the knobs on the circuit boards. Just pull the convergence lines in with DCAM to reduce overscan.

Matt

[c130pilot]

I have attached the pics but they are not coming up. Any suggestions?

[crescentwrench]

Hello, I have a quick question that is probably covered here and is a dumb fix but I am an absolute newbie to this and while I spend what seems like is going to be years interpreting these posts, I was wondering if someone could advise me on what I have here.

There are horizontal bands of darkness that appear. It seems that if there is a dark object on the edge of a screen with lighter objects towards the middle, the color of the darker object wants to bleed all the way to the other side of the TV. It didn't do this when we were watching it with its setup at the store, so I can only assume that it's something I've done. My tests were a DVD and Xbox since we don't have a tuner yet. The DVD is running on component video cables and the Xbox just has that 3 wire setup, but the problem is pretty much the same throughout. Where is my problem coming from? I will post a link to a pic as soon as I'm allowed.

[crescentwrench]

Okay, here we go. Sorry about the Opie&Anthony spamming on the other board, it's the only thing I recognize :)

link to pic of what's going on with my TV

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v87/crescentwrench/tvpic.jpg

[c130pilot]

hey fellows I have tweaked my f51510 with dcam and all the extras posted my msfusik using avia and dvi disks. I am setting here watching star wars and it looks a little blurry, do not get me wrong the pic is great but still a little blurry. any suggestions? Also what should my basic menu be set at while I do my tweaking, ex. warm hot cold..standard, movie etc..

Thanks

[bigrig]

Crescentwrench, I know I've heard of others with that problem...I forget what causes it, though. I'm not sure that it's a simple fix, some hardware in the TV might need to be replaced.

I'll look around...

Matt

[bigrig]

Hmmm, found these posts by the same guy:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5004965&highlight=streak#post5004965

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB63&Number=686604

Doesn't really come to any conclusion as the solution, though. Maybe post in the Hitachi forum at the Home Theater Spot and see if anyone there has any suggestions...

Matt

[mczolton]

[QUOTE=c130pilot]hey fellows I have tweaked my f51510 with dcam and all the extras posted my msfusik using avia and dvi disks. I am setting here watching star wars and it looks a little blurry, do not get me wrong the pic is great but still a little blurry. any suggestions? Also what should my basic menu be set at while I do my tweaking, ex. warm hot cold..standard, movie etc..

Thanks[/QUOTE]

Are you talking about the new trilogy (Ep I - III) or the original trilogy (Ep IV - VI)? I've noticed that the new trilogy, especially Ep II and Ep III have a slight haze to them on my SWX20B. It almost appears intentional, or a product of the digital process, as I do not see this on strictly film based material.

Mark

[bigrig]

So I finally got ambitious enough to take apart the TV and add the duvetyne material. It wasn't so hard, I should have done it a long time ago! ;)

Here's some pictures -

Before:

http://images16.fotki.com/v271/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1707-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v276/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1710-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v275/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1709-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v278/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1708-vi.jpg


After:

http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1712-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v270/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1717-vi.jpg

http://images16.fotki.com/v277/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1716-vi.jpg


So I just used one piece for the bottom and 2 more for the sides. I had way more duvetyne cloth than I needed, I used less than 2 yds. I'm pretty pleased with the results - the photos below were taken with the same aperture and exposure time:

Before:
http://images16.fotki.com/v276/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1705-vi.jpg

After:
http://images16.fotki.com/v273/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1723-vi.jpg

I also cleaned the dust off the lenses, I'm not sure how much that contributed to the light contamination.

[bigrig]

While I had the TV out, I figured I would try to disconnect the fan in the tuner, also. I took the back off the TV and tried to get to it. It was aggravating, I could see it through the top of the tuner, but I couldn't figure out how to get to all the screws on the tuner to release it from the circuit board!

So after a while I thought "hmm, this metal on top of the tuner is pretty thin". I grabbed some plyers and bent the material out of the way! :eek: I don't know what got into me. :p I was able to put a screwdriver down in there and unplug the fan from the bottom right of the circuit board. Here's a couple pictures:

Here's the top of the fan with the black power cord going to it.
http://images16.fotki.com/v278/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1721-vi.jpg

Here's the tuner reassembled, a little worse for the wear. :o
http://images16.fotki.com/v281/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1722-vi.jpg

So I tried the tuner out for 4-5 minutes, the TV didn't burst into flames, so I think I'm good. :D

Matt

[rdwalt]

Looks like something definitely worth doing. Great pictures. Is the screen difficult to remove and is the S500 the same?

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=bigrig]

I also cleaned the dust off the lenses, I'm not sure how much that contributed to the light contamination.[/QUOTE]


If your set is 3 years old or more, you need to do more than dust off your lenses to get them clean. Your mirror will also be smoky by now, at that age. I recommend professional grade optics cleaning every year.

THERE IS NO DRY METHOD THAT WILL WORK PROPERLY AFTER THE FIRST YEAR OR 2.

You need to get a liquid or foam cleaning agent in there, sprayed onto the lenses, to get UNDER the gritty little particulates, before you CAREFULLY wipe them away.

DON'T let liquid seep down into the lowest border of the lens. It will fog up your internal lenses, there's probably 3 more in there under the one you can easily see.

DON'T scratch your lenses, they are plastic.

DON'T use ammoniated Windex on your front surface mirror. You don't want to be mixing ammonia with aluminum.

Sprayway is best overall choice of foam. Glass Plus is good also, but like any other liquid spray glass cleaner, will seep down into your lower lenses if you are not careful.


Mr Bob

[bigrig]

[QUOTE=rdwalt]Looks like something definitely worth doing. Great pictures. Is the screen difficult to remove and is the S500 the same?[/QUOTE]
Yeah, the S500 should be the same.

Wasn't too hard, I just had to release the wires from their ties on the left side, and unscrew the bottom left sensor to get enough slack to move the screen.

Matt

[LazyBoy1]

[QUOTE=bigrig]While I had the TV out, I figured I would try to disconnect the fan in the tuner, also. I took the back off the TV and tried to get to it. It was aggravating, I could see it through the top of the tuner, but I couldn't figure out how to get to all the screws on the tuner to release it from the circuit board!

So after a while I thought "hmm, this metal on top of the tuner is pretty thin".
...
So I tried the tuner out for 4-5 minutes, the TV didn't burst into flames, so I think I'm good. :D

Matt[/QUOTE]

Have others disconnected the fan or is this a new idea? (I haven't followed the fan issue for a while.) I'd consider doing the same if others have done it and not burst into flames :) Or has anyone disconnected the fan and built a duct to a larger, slower, quieter fan?

I've been in there before (57F700) trying to fix the fan. Getting into the tuner box properly involves disconnecting the two circuit boards (careful with the flimsy connectors!!) and sliding them partway out. If I do it again I'll be tempted to use your technique.

[bigrig]

[QUOTE=LazyBoy1]Have others disconnected the fan or is this a new idea? (I haven't followed the fan issue for a while.)[/QUOTE]
No, I haven't heard of anyone else doing it, I think I'm the guinea pig. I hardly ever use the tuner so I'm not very worried about it.

It's weird when I turn on the TV and don't hear that whine start up! I had gotten so used to it... :rolleyes:

Matt

[mczolton]

[QUOTE=Mr Bob]Sprayway is best overall choice of foam. Glass Plus is good also, but like any other liquid spray glass cleaner, will seep down into your lower lenses if you are not careful.[/QUOTE]

Is this good for the mirror and lenses? Just want to confirm before I got apply some cleaning agent to my baby :)

Mark

[heathuff]

Hey Guys,I found this thread and its great but I ran into a problem and I hope someone can help. I accessed my service menu following the directions provided and that was successful, however after exiting out of it (to my knowledge without making any changes) I can no longer view anything from my cablebox in 1080i. ALl the other formats work fine, but if I switch to HDHBO or INHD (which is broadcast in 1080i) the screen starts to "scroll" vertically very fast and its unviewable. I went into the cable box programming mode where u set up what formats the TV supports, I can set all of them (480i, 480p, 720p) but if i choose the 1080i the screen scrolls and I have to cancel it. So basically the cable box thinks my TV doesnt support 1080i so it converts my 1080i channles to 720p. I went back into the service menu and changed back to factory defaults but the same issue exists with the screen scrolling. Anybody know how to fix this? Any help would be appreciated-thanks.

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=mczolton]Is this good for the mirror and lenses? Just want to confirm before I got apply some cleaning agent to my baby :)

Mark[/QUOTE]


I use both of these on a regular basis - they are the finest products I have found, in my 20 plus years of doing this.

For the mirror you are taking chances if you use anything with ammonia in it. HD mirrors are front surface mirrors, so you don't get the double-imaging you would get with a conventional mirror whose aluminum reflective surface is on the back of the glass - meaning that the aluminum suface itstelf reflects AND the glass surface itself reflects. 2 reflections. Not good for high precision apps like HD.

With a front surface mirror you only get one reflection. But that makes the aluminum available to whatever hits it in the form of cleaning spray. Therefore Windex with Ammonia D is out.

The products I mentioned have no ammonia.

So be careful about the liquid penetrating to the deeper lenses and you should be OK. Even if it does, the lenses can always be taken apart and dried out.

EXCEPT on older Mits's. If that happens on one of those, if you don't remove the entire CRT array, you must remove the lens from the barrel to get at the deeper lenses. Not fun.

This was long ago, tho, and probably not a worry to the intrepid and modern-thinking readers of this site.


DON'T SCRATCH THE LENSES. They are usually plastic and very susceptible to being scratched, and that's permanent. Use ONE careful swipe at a time with your wiping agent, NO RUBBING. I use clean paper towels - I go thru a bunch of them each time as you have to keep using clean ones, and NOT re-using dirty ones - which will not scratch your lens surface as long as they are used wet or at least partially wet, and not dry. And you don't rub back and forth on them but instead just do one careful swipe at a time on the lenses, preferably down to up. On the mirror(s) you can rub as much as you want and will need to, as no gritty particulates gather on the mirror, just the lenses.

DON'T LET ANY LIQUID PENETRATE TO THE LOWER LENSES, OR THEY WILL FOG UP. Once you have sprayed, DIVE for the lowest point on your lens with your absorbent wiping materials and place them there, to make sure no liquid gets down there while you wait for the liquid to go in and suspend all those gritty particulates all over the lens surface. Which have to be suspended in liquid before being moved, for anti-scratch purposes. A slight upturning street-sweeping movement in your wrist will help keep the gritty particulates away from the lens as you gently but thoroughly guide your scrunched-up paper towel over it, very carefully and softly but strongly gathering the now particluate-contaminated liquid, one path at a time over the lens from down to up, usually 3-4 paths in all. You don't have to push on it really hard, and on some units to do so will actually change your focus settings on the lenses. Be thorough, but not forcible.

After it's clean, I breathe on it real good to fog it up again and do the careful single swipe method again, just to get any possible detergent residue off the lens.


I usually have to hit the mirror 4-5 times before it's actually clean enough for me. The first pass always gets things moving, but does not remove much.

You can check it by standing above the field of view of the CRT's light path, and letting bright video material be shot onto the mirrors by the unit being actively in use. The mirrors will show all streaks when you are off axis from the bounce itself. You may not be able to get it all off, with this most primo of viewing counterchecks. But look at it from other views as well, and when the signal to noise ratio is finally adequate, you're done.


After you have gotten the relatively easily available optics clean, look deep into the lenses and see if you can make out a layer of dust in there. You do this by allowing any dust that's in there on the lower lens surfaces to be backlit by the video material being shown - the brighter the better - but again by keeping your eyes out of the light path, keeping yourself from being blinded by the light.

You will see independent little flakes of this and that in there - that's OK, because everything at that point in the light path is out of focus - but a blanket of dust acts as a veil, and is what needs to be cleaned if you see it.

If so, all 3 lenses will have to come out, and both all 3 CRT coolant covers AND the rears of the lenses cleaned. That's twice as many surfaces as if you don't go in under the lenses, so if it needs it, it REALLY needs it.

If you do go in, do it ONE lens at a time! That way you can't possibly get them mixed up. Each has its own INDIVIDUAL focus setting, and if you accidentally get them mixed up, you have to redo your entire focusing setup, which alters the sizing of each image and as a result screws up your convergence.


BE CAREFUL IN THERE. I am availble for private paid phone consultation if you want to make sure to do it the best possible way.


Mr Bob

[mczolton]

Thanks for the update Bob. I appreciate it :)

Mark

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=mczolton]Thanks for the update Bob. I appreciate it :)

Mark[/QUOTE]


My pleasure. You'll like the differences if your set is old enough to really show it.

Another way to KEEP optics clean is to use an ionizer outside of your set in the back where you can't see it anyway. It charges any airborne particulates that are heading to the inside of your optical cavity (to gather on the statically charged lenses) BEFORE they can get in to the set, causing them to get charged and strap themselves onto the OUTSIDE of the set instead. Your set's rear will be more dusty eventually, but your optics inside the set will be less.


I have added a couple of things to my post above, so you might want to read it again, and re-save it as a replacement if you already filed it for future reference.


Mr Bob

[rgearity]

Ok, I spent about 2 hours this morning reading thru this thread (btw: great reference material here - kudos to all of you who contributed over thr years !). My problem - which seems pretty common - is a green tint where there should be black or greys. I have a 53SDX01B, Hitachi, by the way. I am confused because in various postings I have read contradictory opinions such as yes, this problem can be fixed using AVIA, no it's a greyscale issue and cannot be fixed using AVIA, a service tech needs to be called in....yes, it can be easily fixed via the Service Menu, no it can't, etc....

I am certainly no expert like most of the folks here but this seems like something that should be relatively easy to tweak. I have had the set for 4+ years and the green tinting just started recently so I would think that clicking back on the green tinting somewhere would fix the problem but due to all the contradictions I am not sure if this is something I should attempt or not. I just got the AVIA dvd yesterday so I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. Can someone give me the straight poop on this - can I fix it myself or should I just cut to the chase and call a techie in ?

Thanks very much in advance for any assistance / opinions offered !
3

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=rgearity]Ok, I spent about 2 hours this morning reading thru this thread (btw: great reference material here - kudos to all of you who contributed over thr years !). My problem - which seems pretty common - is a green tint where there should be black or greys. I have a 53SDX01B, Hitachi, by the way. I am confused because in various postings I have read contradictory opinions such as yes, this problem can be fixed using AVIA, no it's a greyscale issue and cannot be fixed using AVIA, a service tech needs to be called in....yes, it can be easily fixed via the Service Menu, no it can't, etc....

I am certainly no expert like most of the folks here but this seems like something that should be relatively easy to tweak. I have had the set for 4+ years and the green tinting just started recently so I would think that clicking back on the green tinting somewhere would fix the problem but due to all the contradictions I am not sure if this is something I should attempt or not. I just got the AVIA dvd yesterday so I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. Can someone give me the straight poop on this - can I fix it myself or should I just cut to the chase and call a techie in ?

Thanks very much in advance for any assistance / opinions offered !
3[/QUOTE]


Is this happening on all scanrates? If so, perhaps it would be better to bypass the sm and simply goose the green screen trimpot down just a hair. That would affect all scanrates equally, while in sm you have to choose which scanrate you want to affect, if you use drives or cutoffs.

Yes it is a grayscale issue. No, AVIA is not the best disc to use for grayscale, as its grayscale patterns are not 100% correct. But DVE, VE and SVGHT's are.

If it's in your HD, none of those discs will help you anyway, as the HD has to be independently aligned, on grayscale, separate from the DVD's scanrates.

Unless you do the focus block thing I mentioned above, in which case all will be affected equally.

If you are coming in via component, disco'ing the Pb and Pr and watching it in Y-only will get you empirical b/w on any source material from any component-fed scanrate, without having to worry about your source.


Mr Bob

[bigrig]

[QUOTE=rgearity]Ok, I spent about 2 hours this morning reading thru this thread (btw: great reference material here - kudos to all of you who contributed over thr years !). My problem - which seems pretty common - is a green tint where there should be black or greys. I have a 53SDX01B, Hitachi, by the way. I am confused because in various postings I have read contradictory opinions such as yes, this problem can be fixed using AVIA, no it's a greyscale issue and cannot be fixed using AVIA, a service tech needs to be called in....yes, it can be easily fixed via the Service Menu, no it can't, etc....
[/QUOTE]
Here's another guy with the same question - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=2657645&&#post2657645

Apparently it's grayscale, which AVIA can't be used for. Bill Gambrel suggests the G-Cut. The other "Green Fix" setting in the Service Menu is for real bright "lime greens", so I don't think it applies.

Matt

[muzz]

[QUOTE=bigrig]So I finally got ambitious enough to take apart the TV and add the duvetyne material. It wasn't so hard, I should have done it a long time ago! ;)

Here's some pictures -


So I just used one piece for the bottom and 2 more for the sides. I had way more duvetyne cloth than I needed, I used less than 2 yds. I'm pretty pleased with the results - the photos below were taken with the same aperture and exposure time:

Before:
http://images16.fotki.com/v276/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1705-vi.jpg

After:
http://images16.fotki.com/v273/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1723-vi.jpg

I also cleaned the dust off the lenses, I'm not sure how much that contributed to the light contamination.[/QUOTE]

Thats quite a bit less light spill, but I see the ever present blue Halo!!

Man I hate that.

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=bigrig]So I finally got ambitious enough to take apart the TV and add the duvetyne material. It wasn't so hard, I should have done it a long time ago! ;)



http://images16.fotki.com/v277/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1716-vi.jpg


So I just used one piece for the bottom and 2 more for the sides. I had way more duvetyne cloth than I needed, I used less than 2 yds. I'm pretty pleased with the results - the photos below were taken with the same aperture and exposure time:

Before:
http://images16.fotki.com/v276/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1705-vi.jpg

After:
http://images16.fotki.com/v273/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1723-vi.jpg

I also cleaned the dust off the lenses, I'm not sure how much that contributed to the light contamination.[/QUOTE]


I have been professionally cleaning CRT RPTV optics - top lenses, mirrors, and CRT faces and bottom lenses when necessary - for more than 20 years, and I can unequivocally say that the primary difference you see in the pix above is NOT from the duvetyne, but from the lens(/mirror?) cleaning. I have before and after pix that I show to prospective videophiles - who may not know they are videophiles yet, before they see my pix, but usually become videophiles once they learn the possiblilties - and the hazy glow around any bright object with an ultra dark/black background is due to the contaminants on the lenses, sometimes also under the lenses on the CRT faces.

If you'd like further explanation, see my website below. Go inside and go to the Nuts and Bolts section.

Duvetyne is a good op to do, but it delivers marginal results - that last little niggly 5% of the messiness in the blacks due to bright areas on other parts of the screen, of what's possible to eradicate.

This op is good, but it pales in comparison to spotlessly clean optics, when cleaned 100%, stem to stern.


Your pix, BTW - while impressive - do not show internal reflections, which is what "doing the duve" is all about. For that you should be using something like the pluge pattern in VE, which has 3 relatively dim vertical stripes on the left side and 4 varied light-level boxes on the right side, going from 20IRE on the bottom to 100IRE on the top.

The brightest box, the top one at 100IRE in the upper right hand corner, causes an internal reflection in the opposing corner area katty corner to that top box, at the bottom of the vertical stripes in the opposing lower left hand corner. A before and after picture of that pattern will tell you diametrically how much good the duvetyne has done for your images.

Many DVDPs have screen savers that kick in after it's been in pause for a long time, with lazily bouncing emblems, kinda like the old Pong game. With those if the pic is bright enough you can see the reflections bouncing around in the mirror image portions of the screen, on the other side.

Internal reflections always occur in the opposing portion of the screen across center from the original bright area. Don't take my word for it. With your viewing room dark and the set OFF, shine a flashlight straight into one side of the screen, touching the screen with the flash if you can without leaving any marks. You'll see the internal reflection bounce off the mirror inside, plus the lenses and anything else that's reflective in there - in the before pix you'll see lots of non-blackened out metal - then the mirror again and instantly appear on the opposite side of your screen.

As such, the example used will tell you nothing about internal reflections, because you can't see them when both the primary and secondary images are in the middle, superimposed on top of each other. Impressive in terms of optics cleaning, but since it is in the center of the screen, does NOT address internal reflection issues, where reflections from bright objects in one part of the screen show up in dark areas of the mirror-imaged opposing part of the screen, across from center.



I have done optics cleaning on every fullscale cal I have done for the last 20 years, and have done the duvetyne op maybe 2 or 3 times. My before and afters for optics cleaning, which did not contain the duvetyne op and were shot on a 7 year old Pioneer (whose internal wood was showing and was not even painted black!) - show even greater improvements than yours, before and after.

Good job of doing the optics cleaning, tho!

If you wish to coach me in how to send up my before and after pix to this thread, I would be glad to do so.


Mr Bob

[Mr Bob]

http://images16.fotki.com/v273/photos/4/401442/3125624/IMG_1723-vi.jpg

[QUOTE=muzz]Thats quite a bit less light spill, but I see the ever present blue Halo!!

Man I hate that.[/QUOTE]


Blue typically glows around white objects, but is negligible when set correctly. If you're seeing it at 2' away, you're too close. At that distance, you'll see lots of things you will never see at normal viewing distance. You're hitting your head on the limits of the technology!

However, if you're seeing it at normal viewing distance, your blue focusing needs to be tightened up.

Optical/mechanical focusing should always be the very tightest it can be on all 3 colors. On blue electrostatic focusing at the focus block there is a certain amount of slack allowed, but not too much.

Unfortunately changing your electrostatic focusing on blue also changes the white balance of your grayscale. If there's too much blue in your whites already - typical of factory grayscales - then if your blue focus is a little out, even the allowed amount, tightening up the blue focus at the focus block may get rid of enough of your extra blue to return your pic to a nice creamy white, rather than the garish blue-white so prevalent in typical OOB RPTV grayscales.

Just know that whenever you change the electrostatic focusing on blue at the focus block, you're taking the efficacy of your grayscale in your own hands.

Ideally you will let an ISF grade calibrator do it for you.


Mr Bob

[muzz]

Hey Bob,

The ONLY thing I REALLY dislike about my 57S700 IS the Blue Halo around white objects as shown above, as I am CERTAIN you know, this is much more prevalent the higher the frequency.

I have tightened manual, tried ES and no matter what I do it is still there, and from all the posts I have looked at around the net(and here of course), it seems to be a pretty common occurence ( NOT everyone I guess).

I didn't use your cantilever technique (which seems to be an excellent way of doing it), I actually used White sheets of paper(BIG,designed for tracing floors to make a linoleum jig), that I taped to the inside of the screen housing(not the screen itself), which I found to work very well myself.
I was able to clearly see the difference when rotating the lenses(from the rear of course), yet I still have a Blue Halo, which TBO is not that bad, but it is a bit aggravating, and IMO it shouldn't be there.
I have read alot of the discussions regarding tightening/defocusing blue etc, and I've tried both to no REAL avail......

I WILL say that while this issue is a pita, this set BLOWS away my brother in laws 50V500 LCD, by a very large margin, the depth/richness is just miles ahead..

Everytime I go over someones house that has an HDTV, I come home and just marvel at the PQ of my own unit, and still to this day do NOT regret my purchase of this TV at all.

MY GF, who is NOWHERE near a videophile, has made numerous comments about the PQ difference as well, so all in all, I guess my rig is actually looking alot better than I give it credit for, even considering the blue halo isue.

Thanks for the response,

m

[Mr Bob]

I came up with the Cantilever Technique because putting paper up there involved getting it just EXACTLY right in terms of the throw distance, and who knows what that is when pasting up paper to whatever edges that are available! The CT takes ACTUAL throw distance into account completely, without having to guess.

But of course in your case, the test you did was not for absolute optical focusing, it is for the blue halo.

I would look directly into your blue lens wiith some characteristic patterns going, and see if there's not cooties in your coolant. Pioneer rarely has this problem, but I have seen it in the past. It is capable of causing blooming on whatever color is involved, if coolant contamination is there.

Of course if it is, chances are you'll see a lot more degradation of your blue image than just blooming! Yesterday I repaired a 3 year old Philips HDready 4x3 50", and the entire blue gun was almost invisible because of this, just a huge blue glow, with the green starting up already, the red just fine.

I have seen this before. Sometimes they tint the coolant going in to these CRTs with the appropriate color at hand, and I think they put something in the red that has a side effect of killing off all cooties, because there really is no other explanation. A CRT is a CRT is a CRT, no matter what the color. But in coolant contamination scenarios where they use optical grade ethelyn glycol, as in all Philips products - Magnavox, Sylvania etc - red is rarely ever affected at all, while usually both green and blue are.


Mr Bob

[muzz]

The throw distance difference was the inside frame+thickness of the paper, OOW VERY marginal, as I taped it to the front framing as tightly as I could, against the screen(it took awhile to get it just right).
Regardless, I couldn't get rid of the Halo completely, although I was able to make it LESS obtrusive, and as I stated, this old tech, STILL to this day, looks magnificent otherwise.
YOUR way IS better, but the way I did it worked pretty darn well I think.

My next purchase is going to be a FP @ 720p most likely ( see sig), and this TV is going to make it's way up to the living room(glare screen removed already- spacers taking up the slack, no problems with window glare), and she'll love it for another 5-10 years as well.

I'm betting that the pic of this unit, will NOT be surpassed by anything at the price point stated in my sig, for a long time.

Thanks again Bob, you've always been a great help on here.

m

[buggdog]

[QUOTE=muzz]Hey Bob,

The ONLY thing I REALLY dislike about my 57S700 IS the Blue Halo around white objects as shown above, as I am CERTAIN you know, this is much more prevalent the higher the frequency.

I have tightened manual, tried ES and no matter what I do it is still there, and from all the posts I have looked at around the net(and here of course), it seems to be a pretty common occurence ( NOT everyone I guess).

I didn't use your cantilever technique (which seems to be an excellent way of doing it), I actually used White sheets of paper(BIG,designed for tracing floors to make a linoleum jig), that I taped to the inside of the screen housing(not the screen itself), which I found to work very well myself.
I was able to clearly see the difference when rotating the lenses(from the rear of course), yet I still have a Blue Halo, which TBO is not that bad, but it is a bit aggravating, and IMO it shouldn't be there.
I have read alot of the discussions regarding tightening/defocusing blue etc, and I've tried both to no REAL avail......

I WILL say that while this issue is a pita, this set BLOWS away my brother in laws 50V500 LCD, by a very large margin, the depth/richness is just miles ahead..

Everytime I go over someones house that has an HDTV, I come home and just marvel at the PQ of my own unit, and still to this day do NOT regret my purchase of this TV at all.

MY GF, who is NOWHERE near a videophile, has made numerous comments about the PQ difference as well, so all in all, I guess my rig is actually looking alot better than I give it credit for, even considering the blue halo isue.

Thanks for the response,

m[/QUOTE]

Its funny you posted this...I have had the blue halo issue with my 65s700 since I bought it and while i have gotten used to it, it still bugs me especially on tight vertical patterns...like the espn HD bars. INstead of being grey...it looks like blue and black. Anytime there is tight vertical bars I get this blue fringing that drives me nuts. The rest of the TV is beautiful so Im not sure what to do. I do have a 4 year protection plan on this TV and I was thinking of complaining about the issue and after enough times maybe I can get a new TV but the PQ is so good I dont know if I should give it up or not.

Is there an easy way to fix the blue ringing or do I have to live with it?

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=buggdog]Its funny you posted this...I have had the blue halo issue with my 65s700 since I bought it and while i have gotten used to it, it still bugs me especially on tight vertical patterns...like the espn HD bars. INstead of being grey...it looks like blue and black. Anytime there is tight vertical bars I get this blue fringing that drives me nuts. The rest of the TV is beautiful so Im not sure what to do. I do have a 4 year protection plan on this TV and I was thinking of complaining about the issue and after enough times maybe I can get a new TV but the PQ is so good I dont know if I should give it up or not.

Is there an easy way to fix the blue ringing or do I have to live with it?[/QUOTE]


All lenses of all colors are identical, mechanically. Tho the blue acts a little differently from the red and green on the electrostatic focusing, there's no reason OPTICALLY that the blue should be any different from the red or green on OPTICAL/mechanical focusing. All 3 simply project an image from a CRT's smaller screen onto a much larger screen, just like a slide projector. No difference between red green and blue there. Hence all act the same mechanically.

Same with the electronics. The only thing that is different among the 3 colors is the colors themselves. Electronically, they can all be interchanged, which is actually one of the foremost tests for a bad CRT: to exchange known good electronics at the CRT board to the suspected bad CRT - or vice versa - and see what happens.

Which of course is NOT the issue here...


I need to know how close to your sets you guys are sitting. As I said before, if it's really close up, that's not valid. If you're sitting 7'-9' back and still seeing it, that needs to be remedied. Are you only seeing it on the vertical bars? If so, your astigmatism may be off - that's the electrostatic focusing on the horizontal vs. the vertical. If they are not symmetrical - the astigmatism is off - then one will be on in the same position of the blue trimpot as when the other will be off. And I don't know whether your units have astig magnet sets on the blue. Many sets have that for the red and green but not the blue.

The 510s have a scheimpflug issue that is possible to correct, but not without significant time and energy expenditure, lots of trial and error re-tilting the lens with shims till you get it right. The 510's blue lens is not perfectly aligned at the factory, it's inherent in their design of the chassis bulkhead, where the lenses are mounted. Even with the Cantilever Technique, you can get 2/3 of the screen totally in, on the right side, but the entire left one-third is going to be out of focus.

I have seen this on countless 510s, and NOT on other brands. A couple of guys have actually paid me extra to fix it.

The red and green have no such issue - their design was flawless as to tilt, allowing for perfect focusing all across the screen. But not the blue. They messed up with the blue, resulting in non-linear tracking, from side to side, on the blue focusing, mechanically.


Does any of this ring true?


Mr Bob

[buggdog]

[QUOTE=Mr Bob]All lenses of all colors are identical, mechanically. Tho the blue acts a little differently from the red and green on the electrostatic focusing, there's no reason OPTICALLY that the blue should be any different from the red or green on OPTICAL/mechanical focusing. All 3 simply project an image from a CRT's smaller screen onto a much larger screen, just like a slide projector. No difference between red green and blue there. Hence all act the same mechanically.

Same with the electronics. The only thing that is different among the 3 colors is the colors themselves. Electronically, they can all be interchanged, which is actually one of the foremost tests for a bad CRT: to exchange known good electronics at the CRT board to the suspected bad CRT - or vice versa - and see what happens.

Which of course is NOT the issue here...


I need to know how close to your sets you guys are sitting. As I said before, if it's really close up, that's not valid. If you're sitting 7'-9' back and still seeing it, that needs to be remedied. Are you only seeing it on the vertical bars? If so, your astigmatism may be off - that's the electrostatic focusing on the horizontal vs. the vertical. If they are not symmetrical - the astigmatism is off - then one will be on in the same position of the blue trimpot as when the other will be off. And I don't know whether your units have astig magnet sets on the blue. Many sets have that for the red and green but not the blue.

The 510s have a scheimpflug issue that is possible to correct, but not without significant time and energy expenditure, lots of trial and error re-tilting the lens with shims till you get it right. The 510's blue lens is not perfectly aligned at the factory, it's inherent in their design of the chassis bulkhead, where the lenses are mounted. Even with the Cantilever Technique, you can get 2/3 of the screen totally in, on the right side, but the entire left one-third is going to be out of focus.

I have seen this on countless 510s, and NOT on other brands. A couple of guys have actually paid me extra to fix it.

The red and green have no such issue - their design was flawless as to tilt, allowing for perfect focusing all across the screen. But not the blue. They messed up with the blue, resulting in non-linear tracking, from side to side, on the blue focusing, mechanically.


Does any of this ring true?


Mr Bob[/QUOTE]

Hi Bob,

I am sitting 11 feet back from my set (65s700) and it is clealy seen at this distance on tight vertical line patterns. (ESPN HD bars was my previous example, someones vertical lined or checkerboarded dress shirt is another example, but it is also seen around other objects, but not as obviously.) It only seems to occur on the vertical parts of the picture.

I have tried focusing manually and electrically and neither has fixed the problem.

Lou

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=buggdog]Hi Bob,

I am sitting 11 feet back from my set (65s700) and it is clealy seen at this distance on tight vertical line patterns. (ESPN HD bars was my previous example, someones vertical lined or checkerboarded dress shirt is another example, but it is also seen around other objects, but not as obviously.) It only seems to occur on the vertical parts of the picture.

I have tried focusing manually and electrically and neither has fixed the problem.

Lou[/QUOTE]


If it's only out of focus on the vertical lines and not the horizontal lines, check to see if you have astig magnets on your blue CRT neck. You'll have to pull off the panel down below on the front of the set, to expose the bottom sections of each CRT. It's a sleeve with anywhere from 2 to 6 magnet rings on it, along with the SVM coil. Blue CRT is the far right one as you look in from the front.

As I mentioned, chances are that if you have these magnet ring sets on the red and green, you may not have them on the blue. If you do, they can be realigned for tightest, most symmetrical roundness of the beam spot, which can then be tightly focused by its FOCUS trimpot.


You can check as to whether the vertical aligns with the horizontal or not, using the blue focus trimpot, on the focus block. You'll need a mid light level set of lines in both directions - like the 50IRE AVIA circlehatch grid. Standard crosshairs will be much too bright for this test. The colors need to be separated from each other or isolated for showing just the blue - if you have crosshairs that are shiftable, I'd stagger them diagonally so that the colors separate from each other. Or you can use the proper reg in the sm, I believe it is the RGBout reg.

When fully aligned astigmatically, the tightest focus happens on both the horizontal and the vertical components of an image at the same time on the turning of the blue focus trimpot. When off, there will be one position of the blue trimpot where one - the horizontal - will be tight when the other - the vertical - is loose, and another position on the trimpot where the other will be tight when the one is loose. When not aligned properly, there will never be a spot on the trimpot where both are fully tight. There will be a spot in the turning when one is tight, and another spot when the other is tight. That's misaligned astigmatism, and ne'er the twain shall meet. Sounds like yours is tight on the horizontal lines, but not on the vertical lines.

On a fully aligned set, both horizontal and vertical lines will be tightest at the same time, at the same spot on the trimpot.


BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN CHANGING ANYTHING ON THE FOCUS BLOCK. You do not want to alter the SCREEN trimpot positions, only the FOCUS trimpots, and only the BLUE focus trimpot, if your focus is good otherwise. Shining a flashlight on it from the side will reveal the raised labeling on it.

You might want to tighten up the red and green focus by hitting their trimpots as well, but don't get fancy in there or you may touch/turn a SCREEN trimpot, and if so your grayscale may get hosed. Then you will really need some onlocation professional help on your unit.

BE CAREFUL IN THERE. Don't even BREATHE on the SCREEN trimpots.


Mr Bob

[bigrig]

Muzz - Why not just focus with the screen in place? That's one of the nice things about these sets, you can go through the front and see what results you're getting. Did you do both optical and electronic focus?

buggdog - Blue coloration on tight vertical lines has been noted before: http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=365843

I think he ended up removing or changing some capacitors in the blue circuit? I forget...

Matt

[muzz]

Hey Guys,

I sit 8' away from my 57S700, I'm NOT 100% certain, but I think the halo is on BOTH V and H. I know that tight Vertical bars(HF Hor.) definitely have it, the ESPN HD sidebars are a PERFECT example, those sidebars are supposed to be grey, but mine have a bluish tint, it USED to be much worse, but I manually focused alot of it away.

Yeah Matt, I have done both.
I remember reading that you had this issue B4, or you were trying to troubleshoot someone elses issue.... there were discussions revolving around defocus of blue/tightening etc...

Like I said guys, other than this issue the TV is MINT.

BTW Bob, I know of the magnets on the Yoke that you speak of, I've adjusted those in the past on DV CRTs, but I'd have to look to see if the Blue tube has them... I won't be doing it tonight though, I've been working like a dog, so it's time to relax.

EDIT: I just went to that link Matt, that is what I am seeing, but the shots shown are much worse than my rig.

m

[muzz]

My set has blue on tight vertical bars, Horiz bars seem to be fine.

This thing looks awesome hooked up to an HD-A1, even SD DVDS look great through HDMI.

[mczolton]

[QUOTE=muzz]My set has blue on tight vertical bars, Horiz bars seem to be fine.

This thing looks awesome hooked up to an HD-A1, even SD DVDS look great through HDMI.[/QUOTE]

Glad to hear you are enjoying the HD-A1. I'm holding off for now, but if they release Superman Returns on HD-DVD, I may just dive right in.

Mark

[panlx]

Hi,

I need some help!

I just spend $400 to fix the audio problem and now came the video problem.

My green color is out of convegence and it curves on top and bottom. It hurts my eye to watch two layers of video --one in green and another one some other color (red and blue works fine).

Tried magic focus, did not work.

Read all threads about manual convegence adjust. I can adjust red and blue in any direction as I like using the joystick on the remote control. However, when it comes to green, I can only adjust left or right. I can not move those grids up and down, which is really what I need to do because my problem is the green lines curves up on the top and down on the bottom.

I have a service manual I bought from ebay. I can perform most operations except I can not clear the DCU RAM. The instruction is to use the service switch and I could not locate it even after I took off the front cover.

Any idea? I appreciate your help. Thanks!

TV problem

[bigrig]

[QUOTE=panlx]
I have a service manual I bought from ebay. I can perform most operations except I can not clear the DCU RAM. The instruction is to use the service switch and I could not locate it even after I took off the front cover.

Any idea? I appreciate your help. Thanks!

TV problem[/QUOTE]
The service switch is the "sky blue button". There's a pic of it here - http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179288
(Found in the list of links at the beginning of this thread)

Good luck!

Matt

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=panlx]Hi,

I need some help!

I just spend $400 to fix the audio problem and now came the video problem.

My green color is out of convegence and it curves on top and bottom. It hurts my eye to watch two layers of video --one in green and another one some other color (red and blue works fine).

Tried magic focus, did not work.
[/QUOTE]


From your description - your pic is very poorly resolved, sorry, was it a camera phone took that one??? - the OP IC that controls your green has given up the ghost and needs to be replaced. At which time I would recommend you replace both if you replace one, tho that would double the amount of geometry/convergence you would need to do afterwards.

Sometimes cold solder joints cause this problem, and you should try that first, of course. But when it just snaps out like that, without going intermittent for awhile first, the parts usually just need to be replaced.

When it is intermittent, the longer the unit is run in the bad condition, the higher the chances are of permanently damaging those parts, requiring replacement of them.


Mr Bob

[panlx]

I found the blue button.

However, I still can not move the green line up and down. I can adjust the other two colors any way I want. I can adjust green left and right.

The resolution of my TV is pretty good. It was just because of the picture resolution due to size and file size limit for upload.

Do you have any idea how much the part will cost?

Perhaps I should just go purchase a new TV?

Thanks!

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=panlx]I found the blue button.

However, I still can not move the green line up and down. I can adjust the other two colors any way I want. I can adjust green left and right.

The resolution of my TV is pretty good. It was just because of the picture resolution due to size and file size limit for upload.

Do you have any idea how much the part will cost?

Perhaps I should just go purchase a new TV?

Thanks![/QUOTE]


Whenever you can move a color in one direction but not the other, you know the voltages are getting to the IC correctly, and therefore chances are the IC that controls what's not working, is bad.

See my post above for what to do. Parts run anywhere from $7-35 plus S&H, if you get them yourself. Depends on what they use in there.

It is MUCH more cost effective to simply have that repair done, than to buy a new set!


Mr Bob

[rdwalt]

Hey Bob,
Are you using Sprayway Glass or Plastic cleaner on the lenses and mirror? I see they make both and I know the lenses are plastic.

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=rdwalt]Hey Bob,
Are you using Sprayway Glass or Plastic cleaner on the lenses and mirror? I see they make both and I know the lenses are plastic.[/QUOTE]


I was not aware that Sprayway made one version for each. I have always simply bought and used whatever they put out, without ever looking at which version it might be.


Mr Bob

[rdwalt]

Ok Bob, you're starting to remind me of my wife. :eek: :p

[bigrig]

http://www.spraywayinc.com/glassmirror/glassmirror.html

[Virdago]

Hi There, I hope someone can help me I.

I have a Hitachi 46w500 and I had some convergence issues and followed the tutorial on advanced covergence settings using the magic focus button.

Anyway everything worked great till I got to the part right after you right to the ROM it states that you have to hit PIP MODE and then PIP CH to finish properly. My remote does not have a PIP CH button so I just turned off my set off at that point with the little green dots as nothing else would exit the convergence.

Now I can still manually adjust convergence with magic focus but the auto no longer seems to work nor can I get to the stop screen, when I hit magic focus a second time it just states STATIC MODE and exits.

Can anyone please let me know how to reset it back to normal mode thanks again.

[Mr Bob]

[QUOTE=Virdago]Hi There, I hope someone can help me I.

I have a Hitachi 46w500 and I had some convergence issues and followed the tutorial on advanced covergence settings using the magic focus button.

Anyway everything worked great till I got to the part right after you right to the ROM it states that you have to hit PIP MODE and then PIP CH to finish properly. My remote does not have a PIP CH button so I just turned off my set off at that point with the little green dots as nothing else would exit the convergence.

Now I can still manually adjust convergence with magic focus but the auto no longer seems to work nor can I get to the stop screen, when I hit magic focus a second time it just states STATIC MODE and exits.

Can anyone please let me know how to reset it back to normal mode thanks again.[/QUOTE]


Hitachi has no respect for what is, how it is and when it is. They are often changing the buttons and what they do, on various years of model. You have to have the correct service manual info to know for sure which buttons to press, each year, for each model series.

Unplug your set, wait a minute or 2, then plug it back in. That will reset the micro.


Mr Bob

[Virdago]

[QUOTE=Mr Bob]Hitachi has no respect for what is, how it is and when it is. They are often changing the buttons and what they do, on various years of model. You have to have the correct service manual info to know for sure which buttons to press, each year, for each model series.

Unplug your set, wait a minute or 2, then plug it back in. That will reset the micro.


Mr Bob[/QUOTE]

Thanks alot I really appreciate the help, I figured unplugging it would reset it but it seemed to stupidly simple so I figured I'd ask.

Ill try it again, I have the manual but it doesnt state anything about it Ill keep digging around the net.

[bigrig]

[QUOTE=Virdago]Hi There, I hope someone can help me I.

I have a Hitachi 46w500 and I had some convergence issues and followed the tutorial on advanced covergence settings using the magic focus button.

Anyway everything worked great till I got to the part right after you right to the ROM it states that you have to hit PIP MODE and then PIP CH to finish properly. My remote does not have a PIP CH button so I just turned off my set off at that point with the little green dots as nothing else would exit the convergence.

Now I can still manually adjust convergence with magic focus but the auto no longer seems to work nor can I get to the stop screen, when I hit magic focus a second time it just states STATIC MODE and exits.

Can anyone please let me know how to reset it back to normal mode thanks again.[/QUOTE]
Open 'er up and hit the light blue button on the circuit board on the left. Then do the convergence again, and our remote says SURF instead PIP CH. Then you'll be good ta go.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5035259&highlight=static#post5035259

Matt