6 replies to this topic

[Goobatron]

Well, I've had the NEC for a couple of days now and got through 20 or so hours of viewing and thought I would share my intial impressions.

Picture quality -

DVD (Pioneer 466 Progressive via fair quality component cables).  Impressive. most impressive.  Just watched "The House of Flying Daggers".  This is certainly a good choice to give the screen a workout.  The clarity and colour depth is awesome and the screen handled the fast moving images very well.  Certain sequences nearly have a 3d quality to them - hard to explain without seeing it.  Have viewed a few other sections of other DVD's (Black Hawk Down, Star Wars Trilogy, etc) and was a very happy camper   Haven't noticed any judder (it's set to 60hz out of the box), but I really have nothing to comapre to. If it's there, it's not bothering me.  No solarisation/posterisation/clayfaces/false contouring that I have noticed (and I've been looking !).

DTV (Samsung H550F via Jaycar DVI cable).  HD programs and content are a thing to behold.  May have been better off with an AUSID, but with nothing to compare against I was mightily impressed.  HD programs like LOST and The 4400 were to my eyes outstanding. Not visible artifacts or anything that shouldn't be there.  SD programming varies from great to OK, depending on the quality. Like they say, crap in, crap out. I was fully expecting to see major solarisation on poorer quality broadcasts. I may have seen this once or twice, but it was so fast that I wasn't concerned.  Can't wait to see the AFL tonight to see how it performs.  Like above, I haven't noticed any judder - it's probably there, but not obvious to me.

Foxtel (Analog foxtel via el cheapo composite leads) - I was fully expecting this to be utter rubbish, but it's actually quite watchable.  The NEC seems to handle poor quality input much better than my previous Samsung plasma (in fact, I'd almost considered ditching Foxtel when I had the Samsung).   Maybe will stick with analog for a while before I decide either to go digital or get rid of it.

Asthetics - Make no mistake, it's a very simple unit with a basic stand and no real frills like brushed aluminium or the like.  However, it's minimalist look fits in well with my existing gear and decor.  It's a pretty simple unit.  If I get close enough, I can hear the fan/s, but not at a normal viewing distance.

Menu/Manual/Remote - All pretty basic.  If you value menus and manuals with lots of colour and pictures and such, you might be best looking somewhere else.  The remote is quite useable, if not a bit spartan.  It does the job.  NEC class this as a commercial display and it's quite obvious they haven't given alot of thought to user friendliness. Personally, I don't find it an issue.

Sound - Dunno, didn't buy the speakers  

Downsides - I've definately seen blacker blacks, but I don't personally have an issue with it. As Glenncol and others have mentioned previously, image retention is an issue.  This scrared the hell out of me when I first saw it as I thought I'd burnt the display! Any image retention I've had seems to go away after a few minutes.  Not a big problem, but something to be aware of. Lastly, yes, I have a dodgy pixel, or maybe just a dodgy subpixel.  It works most of the time and only seems to blink a little when going to a lighter colour.  I didn't see it at all during "House of Flying Daggers" and I think that it has actually started responding better as the screen burns in.  It 's certainly not stuck on certain colour or dead and it's not viewable from normal distances - but I know the little bastard is there!! I really just need to stop looking for it as it's not a big issue and as some have mentioned before, sometimes they just go away.

Summary - A great display for what is a pretty good price.  I paid $4400 for it and you'd be hard pressed to find a better unit under this pricepoint.  Lastly, I would like to thank everyone on this forum for their help and guidance.  I've learnt heaps and without you, I would have found the whole buying experince much harder.  There certainly are many pitfalls in the world of plasma displays and I really wonder how Jo Average can ever really make an informed choice in this area without help.  On the other hand, without the forum I probably wouldn't have gone looking for dodgy pixels - my wife thinks I'm mad with my nose pressed up to the screen and looking at a completely white image

[Goobatron]

Just a quick postscript....

That little dodgy pixel got the better of me.  Once I knew it was there, it's amazing how these things seem to gnaw away at you..

I lodged a warranty call with NEC about 1 weeks or so after getting the unit and fully expected to argue my case. Well, the guy came over, saw the problem and without a further hassle, 2 weeks later I have a new unit.  I know others haven't been so fortunate with NEC (or other brands for that matter), but I have nothing but praise for their great customer service.

[glenncol]

Goobatron, on Jul 29 2005, 01:00 PM, said:

Well, I've had the NEC for a couple of days now and got through 20 or so hours of viewing and thought I would share my intial impressions.

Picture quality -

DVD (Pioneer 466 Progressive via fair quality component cables).  Impressive. most impressive.  Just watched "The House of Flying Daggers".  This is certainly a good choice to give the screen a workout.  The clarity and colour depth is awesome and the screen handled the fast moving images very well.  Certain sequences nearly have a 3d quality to them - hard to explain without seeing it.  Have viewed a few other sections of other DVD's (Black Hawk Down, Star Wars Trilogy, etc) and was a very happy camper  Haven't noticed any judder (it's set to 60hz out of the box), but I really have nothing to comapre to. If it's there, it's not bothering me.  No solarisation/posterisation/clayfaces/false contouring that I have noticed (and I've been looking !).

DTV (Samsung H550F via Jaycar DVI cable).  HD programs and content are a thing to behold.  May have been better off with an AUSID, but with nothing to compare against I was mightily impressed.  HD programs like LOST and The 4400 were to my eyes outstanding. Not visible artifacts or anything that shouldn't be there.  SD programming varies from great to OK, depending on the quality. Like they say, crap in, crap out. I was fully expecting to see major solarisation on poorer quality broadcasts. I may have seen this once or twice, but it was so fast that I wasn't concerned.  Can't wait to see the AFL tonight to see how it performs.  Like above, I haven't noticed any judder - it's probably there, but not obvious to me.

Foxtel (Analog foxtel via el cheapo composite leads) - I was fully expecting this to be utter rubbish, but it's actually quite watchable.  The NEC seems to handle poor quality input much better than my previous Samsung plasma (in fact, I'd almost considered ditching Foxtel when I had the Samsung).   Maybe will stick with analog for a while before I decide either to go digital or get rid of it.

Asthetics - Make no mistake, it's a very simple unit with a basic stand and no real frills like brushed aluminium or the like.  However, it's minimalist look fits in well with my existing gear and decor.  It's a pretty simple unit.  If I get close enough, I can hear the fan/s, but not at a normal viewing distance.

Menu/Manual/Remote - All pretty basic.  If you value menus and manuals with lots of colour and pictures and such, you might be best looking somewhere else.  The remote is quite useable, if not a bit spartan.  It does the job.  NEC class this as a commercial display and it's quite obvious they haven't given alot of thought to user friendliness. Personally, I don't find it an issue.

Sound - Dunno, didn't buy the speakers 

Downsides - I've definately seen blacker blacks, but I don't personally have an issue with it. As Glenncol and others have mentioned previously, image retention is an issue.  This scrared the hell out of me when I first saw it as I thought I'd burnt the display! Any image retention I've had seems to go away after a few minutes.  Not a big problem, but something to be aware of. Lastly, yes, I have a dodgy pixel, or maybe just a dodgy subpixel.  It works most of the time and only seems to blink a little when going to a lighter colour.  I didn't see it at all during "House of Flying Daggers" and I think that it has actually started responding better as the screen burns in.  It 's certainly not stuck on certain colour or dead and it's not viewable from normal distances - but I know the little bastard is there!! I really just need to stop looking for it as it's not a big issue and as some have mentioned before, sometimes they just go away.

Summary - A great display for what is a pretty good price.  I paid $4400 for it and you'd be hard pressed to find a better unit under this pricepoint.  Lastly, I would like to thank everyone on this forum for their help and guidance.  I've learnt heaps and without you, I would have found the whole buying experince much harder.  There certainly are many pitfalls in the world of plasma displays and I really wonder how Jo Average can ever really make an informed choice in this area without help.  On the other hand, without the forum I probably wouldn't have gone looking for dodgy pixels - my wife thinks I'm mad with my nose pressed up to the screen and looking at a completely white image

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This review would ahve been better in the review section

[Sway]

Goobatron, on Aug 22 2005, 08:02 PM, said:

Just a quick postscript....

That little dodgy pixel got the better of me.  Once I knew it was there, it's amazing how these things seem to gnaw away at you..

I lodged a warranty call with NEC about 1 weeks or so after getting the unit and fully expected to argue my case. Well, the guy came over, saw the problem and without a further hassle, 2 weeks later I have a new unit.  I know others haven't been so fortunate with NEC (or other brands for that matter), but I have nothing but praise for their great customer service.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Haven't heard of too many problems with NEC.  I was very happy when they replaced my 9mth old XM3 because of a line of dead pixels.

Sway

[Goobatron]

Sway, on Aug 23 2005, 09:13 PM, said:

Haven't heard of too many problems with NEC.  I was very happy when they replaced my 9mth old XM3 because of a line of dead pixels.

Sway

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There seemed to be a few NEC owners on the forums with dead or faulty pixels. Having said that, the more I learn the more I realise that all panels have issues with dead pixels - the difference is just how willing each manufacturer is to replace screens with only one or two dead ones.

Anywho, they were fantastic with my replacement, all smiles and no arguments whatsoever...

[Groover !]

Hey do any of the Nec Plasma owners have the Ausid box hooked up to it ?

[delbz]

Goobatron, on Aug 23 2005, 10:28 PM, said:

There seemed to be a few NEC owners on the forums with dead or faulty pixels.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep - I'm one of them.
NEC's service was quick and friendly till they confirmed that two pixels were stuck - then they just ignored me. The retailer sent them a letter too, but they weren't budging.

Still love the plasma though!