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Pioneer Kuro - worth repairing?


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I have a ~13-year-old 50" Kuro that has a large black blob appearing on the screen (centred on the middle/upper part) when the TV is turned on. In the space of a couple of minutes, the blob shrinks and goes away. The initial size of the blob is a lot bigger than when it first started appearing several months ago. I guess that at some point, it will no longer go away.

 

What are the prospects for repair?

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Guest thathifiguy

I dare say the costs would be almost prohibitive.

 

I never thought there would be a good replacement for Pioneer when plasma manufacturing came to an end, but these days OLED tv's are just brilliant, with even better blacks than what those old Kuro's were capable of, not to mention all the modern conveniences.

 

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if it dies it dies I think. given 10 years plus old.... done it dash id suggest. if mine goes bung... no signs it might... but if it does. i will just replace.....

 

the oleds seem to be getting to point of being worth successor....the good ones are mighty pricey though ! 

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35 minutes ago, betty boop said:

if it dies it dies I think. given 10 years plus old.... done it dash id suggest. if mine goes bung... no signs it might... but if it does. i will just replace.....

 

the oleds seem to be getting to point of being worth successor....the good ones are mighty pricey though ! 

We say that, but what was a 60" Kuro worth?

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4 minutes ago, SLE355 said:

We say that, but what was a 60" Kuro worth?

it actually worrying in that the top OLEDs are getting back upto price premium kuros were over run of mill. I dont mind if these new things last 10 years+ like the kuros are... if its rubbish that only lasts a few years then its not good value...

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On 21/06/2019 at 9:24 AM, thathifiguy said:

never thought there would be a good replacement for Pioneer when plasma manufacturing came to an end, but these days OLED tv's are just brilliant

I don't agree. OLED, still has significant limitations. Not all owners are concerned about them but they are there.

 

Not all Pioneer Kuro's where crated equal, the high end G9's where well ahead of any G8. The base model 50" G8 pioneer was actually very ordinary so many new TV's would be a viable replacement depending on usage.

Having said that, LG's OLED panels have inherent defects that can't be intolerable for discerning viewers, no matter how good the blacks. If owners don't notice, good luck to them.

For viewing low quality sources OLED is significantly behind even a low to mid range Plasma IMHO, many LCD's can do a better overall job.

 

If you don't view in a dim to dark room you would be better of with a decent LCD IMHO.

Edited by Owen
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Guest thathifiguy
On 23/06/2019 at 12:28 AM, Owen said:

I don't agree. OLED, still has significant limitations. Not all owners are concerned about them but they are there.

 

Not all Pioneer Kuro's where crated equal, the high end G9's where well ahead of any G8. The base model 50" G8 pioneer was actually very ordinary so many new TV's would be a viable replacement depending on usage.

Having said that, LG's OLED panels have inherent defects that can't be intolerable for discerning viewers, no matter how good the blacks. If owners don't notice, good luck to them.

For viewing low quality sources OLED is significantly behind even a low to mid range Plasma IMHO, many LCD's can do a better overall job.

 

If you don't view in a dim to dark room you would be better of with a decent LCD IMHO.

I had an LX509 for six years, the last gen flagship.

 

OLED's are better.

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Would power consumption be comparable between the new OLED's and my 50" Kuro - Noticed the other night at JB hifi how thirsty for power the new OLEDs are! Must say though picture is outstanding!

 

Edited by FAP911
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Just now, FAP911 said:

Would power consumption be comparable between the new OLED's and my 50" Kuro - Noticed the other night how thirsty for power the new OLEDs are!

they're still light emitting... and yes larger in size you go, the light you want them to emit....with HDR and all... the more power they guzzle :D 

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On 24/06/2019 at 10:58 AM, thathifiguy said:

OLED's are better.

Thats a matter of personal opinion and preference, and is also affected by what we view and under what lighting conditions.

While OLED may well be preferred by most people for many reasons it has defects that I can't and wont accept. (I don't own a Kuro by the way so I'm not just sticking up for what I own.)

 

The biggest reason to ditch a 50" Kuro IMHO is to get a bigger screen. Size really does matter and any comparison between a 60" plus TV and a 50" is pretty silly, the bigger screen is "better" every time IMHO.

I would take a mid range 65" LCD over a 50" Kuro without hesitation.

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Guest thathifiguy
15 hours ago, Owen said:

Thats a matter of personal opinion and preference, and is also affected by what we view and under what lighting conditions.

While OLED may well be preferred by most people for many reasons it has defects that I can't and wont accept. (I don't own a Kuro by the way so I'm not just sticking up for what I own.)

 

The biggest reason to ditch a 50" Kuro IMHO is to get a bigger screen. Size really does matter and any comparison between a 60" plus TV and a 50" is pretty silly, the bigger screen is "better" every time IMHO.

I would take a mid range 65" LCD over a 50" Kuro without hesitation.

I'm not anti-LCD either, I have a 49" LED LCD with FALD that is very impressive and a great set for the mancave.

 

The original OLED I replaced the KURO with, wasn't perfect (2nd Gen LG EC930T). It did some things better, a number of other things not so well.

 

The OLED I use in my main room now though is outstanding and a clear and obvious step up. 

 

Edit; Back on topic however, I still suggest the OP look at newer alternatives rather than repairing.

Edited by thathifiguy
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  • 4 weeks later...

I’ve owned a number of Pioneer plasmas over 12-14 yrs and they have been exceptional for picture quality and they have lasted way beyond my expectations.  That said if they fail then parts , especially main boards are

nearly impossible to get and in general not worth repairing. Incredibly there are so many still out there working... amazingly well designed and built.

Last year I retired my PDP LX 609 Kuro to my second tv area and have been enjoying a Panasonic 65” OLED in the main viewing area. The room is well lit during the day and daytime viewing is not a problem ( Pana OLED is 1000 nit panel) and I run it on close to standard contrast and brightness.  I’ve calibrated it using ISF standards and have had to tweek

only slightly.  

As far as power usage is concerned I can guarantee my 60” Kuro definitely uses more power but that said so does my drinks fridge.

It is worth noting that the senior Pioneer engineers from the Kuro period all moved to Panasonic after Pioneer panel division folded and many are still there today.  Much of what we see today in the way of OLED coming out of Panasonic is linked to these engineers and it certainly shows in the quality of the images on the Pana panels.

No question in my mind , and after watching OLED for the past year,

that they produce outstanding images.  I believe these are truly worthy

replacements of the legendary Kuro’s.  Only time will tell if they last as long.

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I've enjoyed reading the responses as I too am in a similar situation.  I love and use a Pioneer 50MXE20 with a Kramer video processor, connected via DVI and stereo audio.  The Kramer has many features, one that supports the Pioneer is it's two HDMI inputs.  From these I can decode the audio into analogue out and video to DVI, which works well on my Pioneer as it supports HDCP and a very wide range of video formats.  The sound quality of the two matching Pioneer speakers still gives us a thrill and have to restrain myself from talking further about the beauty of a Pioneer plasma.  

 

Unfortunately a few days ago it refuses to show any video input, rather only the OSD is displayed.  At first a re-connection of cabling solved the problem so I moved on and life was good etc.  I turned it off and came back a few hours later, again no video is displayed, only the OSD.  Hours of troubleshooting later and reflecting back on the phases of grief by Kubler-Ross, I swap out the bedroom TV and hate every second of watching the blurry LCD.  To ease the pain I start google searching and find a UK spare parts supplier with all 50MXE20 parts on clearance.  

 

For seven pounds I ordered a replacement video board which appears to be serviceable, and at that price if it's not the video board then I'll have to rationalise the loss of the TV and hunt down a replacement.  
 

No video display is hopefully better than a black blob (as per OP) so wish me luck.  

 

 

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On 24/06/2019 at 10:58 AM, thathifiguy said:

I had an LX509 for six years, the last gen flagship.

 

OLED's are better.

Actually the last gen flagship Pio was the KRP series.

 

Have compared my twice calibrated 10 year old KRP 500M with latest Oleds.........

 

OLED's are still bigger.....?

 

As the OP owns neither...…...my recommendation would be to dump his 6th gen anyway.

Edited by JohnL
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Guest thathifiguy
30 minutes ago, JohnL said:

Actually the last gen flagship Pio was the KRP series.

 

Have compared my twice calibrated 10 year old KRP 500M with latest Oleds.........

 

OLED's are still bigger.....?

 

As the OP owns neither...…...my recommendation would be to dump his 6th gen anyway.

I think you'll find that was the commercial version of the same panel.

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8 hours ago, thathifiguy said:

I think you'll find that was the commercial version of the same panel.

No, actually it's a step up from the LX range.

 

KRP stood for Kuro Reference Panel.

 

All Pioneer concentrated on with this range was best possible PQ which actually included some 10th gen tech.

 

The (even more expensive)!!!!) panel was sold "barebones"........not even an onboard HD FTA tuner..... plus you also had to buy the speakers and stand separately.

 

The absolute pinnacle of plasma tech at the time. 

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Guest thathifiguy
7 hours ago, JohnL said:

No, actually it's a step up from the LX range.

 

KRP stood for Kuro Reference Panel.

 

All Pioneer concentrated on with this range was best possible PQ which actually included some 10th gen tech.

 

The (even more expensive)!!!!) panel was sold "barebones"........not even an onboard HD FTA tuner..... plus you also had to buy the speakers and stand separately.

 

The absolute pinnacle of plasma tech at the time. 

Will have to take your word on that. 

 

I was working in the industry and had a lot of hand on with Pioneer panels at that time.

 

I recall the KRP panels being basically the same panel minus the HD Tuner, but can't find anything to support either of our opinions.

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