Akai PT46DL10 - review (will have updates)

[Mazgazine]

Ok This will get edited as I know more of it.

Primarily I 'm going to be using this 46' beast as a monitor - so I'm going to be focusing on compatibility and sharpness at strange resolutions.. :D

Ordered from Futureshop.ca - currently using the 30day moneyback as a trial time.

First update - short

any normal device (an xbox, gamecube, dvd player etc), runs great. The visual quality even upclose looks good. Though the only weakness is the height you need to face the screen, but thats a problem with all projectors..

I was Xbox media center and when I switched it too 720P it looks fantastic! wow.

The biggest technical problem is this weird curve that happens from the middle to the left side, it curves the picture down - as though the whole screen was tilted. I'm gonig to call Akai service and futureshop to rectify this.

The computer stuff! Wow, I'm totaly blown away - Even on the VGA it runs almost any resolution. Even though it will be distorted in some way - you can actively adjust any settings with powerstrip or by changes refresh rates and watch it change without loosing the single. This television even seems to handle refresh reates up to 70hz!

I'm currently running near-perfect at 1024x768.
1280x960 works but doesn't have the sharpness of 1024x768 - still currently adjusting everything.

Please post replies with resolutions you want me to test, and I'll try'em out.

The curve issue I mentioned earlier will hopefully be fixed - I'm exchanging this one with another one.

UPDATE: I added my signature - so you can see exactly what I have -

[Mazgazine]

Well this sucks....

I got my room moved around so the TV was the right distance away from me, and I plugged in the xbox again and tried to play Chroniclas of Ridd1ck. I noticed something horrible about the visual quality.. this thing can't do FPS's at all.. Its really really ugly..

When you spin around at normal or fast speeds - (like 30-45 degrees a second) the screen splits into the 3 colors and moving and static objects begin to blur. Static images look fine. but when your panning the screen its freakin awesome. Its very hard to notice on fast moving games like Burnout 3 and Super Monkeyball 2, but when you have slower paced games like Pikmin 2 or an FPS like timersplitters. This tv can't handle it at all..

The one portion of this TV I have not tested yet is the DVI connection, I will try it out when I get the cable in (probably monday or tuesday) and try it. But I will be taking it back after that.

Anyone planning on playing Halo or an Xbox360 on this better watch out.

[staticdust7x]

this tv is a 100 percent crap the apect ratio isnt rightm and the color is washed out, advice to people looking at this is save youre cash and by a mitsubishi or hitachi

[kennethpruett]

this tv is a 100 percent crap the apect ratio isnt rightm and the color is washed out, advice to people looking at this is save youre cash and by a mitsubishi or hitachi

Yea right!
Seems you have a grudge and just posted to every AKAI thread you could.
I and alot of people here have had great success with the product line.
Go troll somewhere else.

Kenneth

[ranjy]

Did you keep this TV? What are your thoughts on it now?

I bought one from Costco on Tuesday, really liked the look of it, plus it came with a stand so that was a bonus :) But I am currently having some issues with it...

1)As mentioned on other posts on different boards, there are 2 lines (artifact) near the bottom of the screen...one seems to be a reflection issue where it is only noticable from certain angles. The salesman at Costco warned me about this by showing me the display model, apparently his boss bought the TV and had the issue, BUT his boss called the Akai warranty number and they came and fixed it for free. I talked to their technical support yesterday and faxed him my information this morning,

2)The second is a purple line all the way along the very bottom of the screen. This second one only comes up when I am watching TV on my HD input (I believe component 2). If I swtich to a different input, turn on that machine, and then switch back to my TV, then most of the time it dissapears (may take a couple of times).

3)When I shut the TV off, the LED's on the front immediately goto Red/Blank/Red, which is for cooling down. During this time, the TV looks to be in standby, where it is still sending power to the screen (so it glows), but no signal comes thru...the problem is that when the LED's switch to Red/Blank/Blank (off state), the glow is still there...this would definitely shorten the life of the TV.

I will let you know an update on these once technical gets back to me.

As for the TV itself, I am happy with the HD quality, I watched Lost last night and it looked brilliant!

If anyone knows the code to access the service menu I would appreciate if they passed it on to me...I tried pressing mute-1-8-2 then turning it on, but it did not work.

[ranjy]

...
I will let you know an update on these once technical gets back to me.
...

Technical called me today...it was someone else that I haven't talked to yet. They said to either return the unit and get a different one, or I could wait 6 - 8 weeks for a service person to come and fix it, since the part needed is on back order. Since moving the TV to Costco and back is no easy chore (I had to rent a cargo van to bring it), I decided on keeping this and waiting for service. I faxed them my information and will now wait for a service call...

[ranjy]

So it's been a full week now, here are some more thoughts and observations on this TV:

-HD Quality is extremely good, I'm quite happy with it. One problem though is that I cannot find the service menu for this TV...I want to get it calibrated but can't without the SM...I plan on asking the technical guy when he comes, but if anyone knows I would appreciate the answer

-My 'workaround' until the TV is fixed for the stand-by issue is to have it plugged into its own power bar, and whenever I turn the TV off and the lamp has cooled down, to simply hit the reset button on the power bar to kill the power and bring it back a second later...crude, but it works

-I could not get my Bell Expressvu 9200 (Dish Network 942 in the states) remote to work with this TV, I literally sat there and scanned thru 400+ codes to no avail, so I gave and up and I bought a Harmony 880 remote on Monday. That remote is very impressive, still have to master it but it does everything beautifully.

-I've used all other inputs (minus DVI) and they all look good, only issue is my purple line when watching Component 1 at the bottom...

[ranjy]

Akai called me today and gave me the name/number of the local warranty retailer. I just got off the phone with him...

-He has heard of the first two issues (lines/artifacts) and said those will take 1-2 hour to fix

-The lamp staying on he has to look into...

Will give an update once I hear back from him...

[ranjy]

Will give an update once I hear back from him...

Repair guy came over on Monday, April 10th...

He said the lines were easy to fix, would order the part needed...as for the lamp staying on, there is an issue with the power supply, but that part is on back order (roughly 2 months)

[Jason O.]

Just got this brand new TV from Costco in March 2006, hooked it up for first time yesterday. Two main problems;

1) That purple line at the bottom of the screen shows up on my component 1 (sometimes), going to try component 2 tonight.

2) It looks like I have a bad pixel on my screen (right in the middle), makes for really annoying viewing. It's a white dot that never changes color and never goes away. I called AKAI customer service and they said there is nothing they can do about it, because it's just one pixel. Not a big deal to them, but this is a brand new TV with a white dot right in the center of the screen. Not satisfied. Anyone have any recommendations?

Jason

[ranjy]

1) That purple line at the bottom of the screen shows up on my component 1 (sometimes), going to try component 2 tonight.


See my post #5 for current workaround. The warranty guy said it was an easy fix, but they are waiting for a part on back order for another issue before the fix it.


2) It looks like I have a bad pixel on my screen (right in the middle), makes for really annoying viewing...Anyone have any recommendations?
Jason

I believe every manufacturer has this policy regarding dead pixels.

Jason - Does your TV shut off properly (Post 5, bullet 3)?

[Jason O.]

Jason - Does your TV shut off properly (Post 5, bullet 3)?

Ranjy - My TV shuts off fine to my knowledge, The fan and screen shut off, then the lights go red and all is quiet. No problems, just the dead pixel and purple line. I have left a message for AKAI technical support but then called back when I was at work and I missed their call. My only concern for service is my location, I'm not sure how much luck i'll have in New Brunswick. I'll keep checking the thread, Later.

Jason

[ranjy]

Repair guy came over on Monday, April 10th...

He said the lines were easy to fix, would order the part needed...as for the lamp staying on, there is an issue with the power supply, but that part is on back order (roughly 2 months)

Got a call from the warranty place yesterday (Monday) and the repair guy came after work today. Took an hour and he replaced something in the TV, turned it on, and right away:

1) The reflection (white light) seemed to be gone
2) The purple line at the bottom is gone
3) The power lamp shut off once we turned the TV off, but only the first time. Next 2/3 times it stayed on like before.

So the question is do I keep it and just unplug it when I'm done, or return it and get a new TV, since this one is now out of stock? Not sure yet, I love the TV so have to wait and see...

[oman321]

I'd return it, and get something more reliable. Not knocking the brand, just if you've had to deal with this many issues already what happens when Costco isn't willing to take it back.

[AkaiNot]

I will pay for the service codes, I need to set the vertical position for the PC mode, the bottom of my screen is up 2 inches. I called AKAI but my set is out of warranty and the local repair shops don't make house calls for less then the price of a new TV. The model is PT46DL10, the HD picture is fine, I use a myHD card plus the DVI add on in my PC as the HD source. :grandpa9: People use to have pride in thier job, now it is just greed....