Akai PT4298HD
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Gombo | Has anyone purchased a Akai PT4298HD? They are at my local Costco for $999. It has an awesome picture and will fit perfectly in my tv room. Anyway, I can't seem to find any info on this model. I'm the type of person who has to do research before I buy and there is no data here. Is it true that they use Samsung components? Does Akai only sell to Costco and Sam's Club? |
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| I was at Costco/Sam's club today and have the same questions. If you get any info, please keep me in the loop. |
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| I just bought this TV from Costco yesterday. According to the guy in Costco - Akai and Samsung are actually the same company (just different marketing brands). I've only had the TV for a day but I'm very impressed with the color and clarity of the image, the crisp sound, the overall look of the TV, and the ease of use. |
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Gombo | Ash, how much did you pay for your set? No problems yet? What Samsung model is this similar with? |
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Greg Ottria | This is the same as the Samsung model. I also purchased it for $999 and it's a great entry level into HDTV world. Below is the link to the Samsung site showing the TV and specs. I have had no problems with my unit, other that trying to set the thing up. http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?prod_id=HCM4216WX%252fXAA |
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| I just bought the Akai TV from Costco also. Setted it up and everything. But i was wondering what your settings are for the picture because when i watch TV, its not as clear as i hope. I tried the fine tuning or something but its not working as well. But when i play games on it, it looks great. Its just the watching tv and movies that isnt that clear. |
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Anonymous | I purchased the TV from Costco last weekend. It's been working fine, but it wasn't as clear as the display in the store. I noticed the picture is sharper when I put in a DVD or tune into a digital station HBO/CMAX. For $999 I can't complain. |
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Anonymous | We too have been looking at the same tv at Costco. My question is...while looking at the tv from the side (not straight on since some of our furniture is angled), we couldn't really see the picture. Same thing when standing or crouching. Do you need to be sitting directly in front when watching a projection tv? |
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Gombo | I was wondering what this TV looks like while watching normal TV. Are the bars distracting? Does it have a 4:3 mode for regular TV. In DVD mode at Costco the picture looks pretty good. |
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Lance | Here's a link from the Akai website: http://www.akaiusa.com/products/pt4298hd.htm I saw it today in Costco as well and will be buying one in a couple of weeks when I move (If they still have them). I guess you really can't go wrong. Costco has a lifetime return policy on all merchandise (except computers which can only be returned within 6 months). |
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| goto www.akaiusa.com for info. |
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| Talk about a crash course in what it means to be "HDTV ready"! Here's my viewing experience with the Akai television (mostly very good). I purchased this television for my Mom a couple of days ago and would agree that the picture quality is quite good except in modes where the standard composite inputs are used, including the built-in tuner (sometimes looks alittle fuzzy and/or pixelated). Out of concern, I went to another store and looked at their setup, and the picture quality was better because they had connected a remote tuner through the television's component video inputs. As this is an "HDTV ready" television, it's really much happier displaying material formatted for higher-quality displays, and may even make standard material look alittle worse. Most new DVD players, for example, have component video outputs that break the video signal into pieces that allow for a higher-quality image, which this television displays nicely. Most VCRs on the other hand do not have component video outputs, and so the television has to try to reformat the video signal to match its HDTV-ready format. Sometimes it's okay, and sometimes it's not so okay. It hadn't occurred to me that the built-in tv tuner for this television works on the same principle as the vcr's tuner, and so sometimes the tv has trouble making a spectacular image from its own tuner (not digital). This might explain my experience and that of others describing less-than-perfect video quality on standard local broadcasts. Not horrible, just not as nice as the store display might have been or as nice as with DVD's. Since I'm not quite ready to take the full HDTV plunge (a minimum $300 investement in an HDTV tuner), I searched for DirecTV receivers that have component video outputs, and Samsung, RCA and Philips all have models for under $100 that have these higher-quality video connections. I think I'll be getting the Philips box, as it has 2 sets of video inputs that should allow me to plug a VCR into it, and get the benefit of the component video connections while watching tapes. For people without DirecTV or digital cable, I suspect the only solution to get improved video quality for local stations is to buy a VCR with component video outputs, and these tend to be a bit expensive. I also compared the Akai features to that of the current Samsung model (HCN4226W), and the only differences I found (aside from their color) were that the Samsung model includes the DVI (Digital Video Interface) connection, as well as an additional set of component video inputs. Also of note, I bought the Samsung model TR4226N stand for the television, and it fits perfectly, however the stand is painted a darker shade of silver than most of the Akai television (there's a patch of darker silver on the front of the Akai that the stand matches). Since I needed a place to stack the video gear, this was a small concession. These stands seem to be in short supply, but I was able to find one at Circuit City: |
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| I went to Costco, got impressed with HDTV for price and size . I am in a fix whether to buy or not . Appreciate current users to share their satisfaction level . Thanks to Bret Scott for detailed info . R S RANA |
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Paul Nishiyama | I too bought this at Costco a few weeks ago without knowing very much about HDTV. After purchasing I began looking at other HDTV's from $1000 on up and got a pretty good schooling on how this new technolgy works. Bottom line, you are not going to find another HDTV for under $999 that displays 1080i natively (w/o converting it to 480P). Yes there are incremental improvments as you go up the price ladder but value per dollar just doesn't equate to me. For the price this is an excellent buy. But remember to take full advantage of this set you need to have high quality signals both from your HDTV converter (1080i) and your DVD (480P). If you are thinking of buying this set to watch standard TV and VHS tapes, I'm afraid you'll be terribly disappointed. Also this set take some time to get the calibration correct. The 3 pre-set color modes are worthless. Buy a calibration DVD and start from there. It took me about 2 weeks of contant tweaking to get the color where I was satisfied, so don't get discouraged. |
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| What is a calibration DVD? I too am impressed by the PT4298HD available at Sams Club. And what a price- $999. Thanks in advance for the info |
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Paul Nishiyama | Calibration DVD's are available at Best Buy and other retail electronic stores. They take you through a set of test patterns to help you calibrate the color on your TV. I personally bought the one made by Soundvision. But I have heard that the one made by Avia is really good as well. |
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Gilbert Honjos | I was thiinking about this TV also. I will be watching standard TV about 90% of the time. I have two little kids who have a ton of VHS tapes. Should I stick with my 36" Wega? If only I were a bachelor........... |
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Kevin | I also bought this TV from Costco, bought the stand from CC, and also watch standard cable TV most of the time. I have a couple questions. Every time I turn the TV on, it resets the aspect ratio to "wide". I prefer the "panaramic" setting. When I use the menu button on the remote to set my preferences to "panaramic", it does not keep the setting when the TV is turned off. Things like the color choice are kept. Does any one know how to set this to stay on? It is a pain to have to go to the aspect button on the remote every time the TV is turned on. My second question deals with DVD letterboxing (bars on top and bottom). Even with a widescreen version of a dvd, Scorpion King, I still get the bars. This negates the advantage of using a 16:9 TV. I use component inputs from my Mintek dvd player. This is not a progresive scan player. I tried to use the DVD aspect ration choice on the remote, but this chops off some of the picture. (The subtitles in "Triple X" could not be seen) Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks |
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Gilbert Honjos | Keven, How does it look in panoramic mode? Does the screen look distorted at all? I don't think I can buy this set unitl I see regular TV on it and most stores are not willing to do this. |
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Kevin | Gilbert, To me it looks fine in panaramic mode. My wife says the people look a little squashed, though I do not see it. In wide mode, they do look distorted. |
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Lester Shui | "If you are thinking of buying this set to watch standard TV and VHS tapes, I'm afraid you'll be terribly disappointed." Is the quality worse than other rear projection sets or are we comparing it to direct view TV's? I only will be watching about one DVD per week so I'm concerned about the quality of non DVD stuff. |
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Paul Nishiyama | Lester, what you lose with a regular signal is sharpness. My 32" analog TV had a sharper signal on regular channels. I would only recommend buying this if you plan to watch DVD's and HDTV. For instance we used to watch about 1 DVD a week as well. But after buying this set I subscribed to Netflix and now we are watching 3-6 DVD's per week. We cost justified this by cancelling a couple of premium channels through our cable provider. |
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Paul Nishiyama | Oh and about compared to regular projection tv's, in my opinion the wide ascpect ratio tends to make the quality worse when compared to a traditional projection TV. |
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Kevin | In my case, the analog TV now has a sharper signal. This could be because my previous TV was a 12 year old 46" Sony rear projection. The reason we bought the Akai was that the Sony was dying. Anyone have any suggestions regarding my earlier post? |
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| I am satisfied in watching on this t.v. in any aspect ratio. I don't see any distortion or abnormalities. Picture is clear and crisp. The only problem I have is that when I watched abc channel 7, there is a green edge line on the face of the people on television, but this only happens on channel 7. I am not sure if this is due to the outdoor antena that I am using. Will this improve if I have a hd cable set up? Will there be a problem on the 42" akai T.V.? I don't know..I need help on this one..Thanks. |
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Anonymous | I have digital cable. Will this eliminate a lot of the problems that are caused by "standard tv" or at this point is digital standard? |
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wirejaw | Anthony G: You can manually fine-tune seperate channels-- I saw it somewhere in the manual. Might be convergence or something. Anonymous: I have digital cable too and it displays a great picture on my Akai. However, I just got the HD reciever box from my cable company (Comcast, which currently supports 3 channels in HD (HBO, SHO, and some Mariners games). Problem is I'm not getting a picture. The box is hooked up to Component Input 2, using the 5 different cables for HD (2 audio and 3 video), and I'm not getting any picture at all when I switch over to Component 2, just a green screen, and I can't change channels. Anyone know about this? |
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| If anyone knows how to program the remote for the Dish satellite system I would like the help. the remote is AKAI BP59-00026 |
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Chris | Purchased this TV last night. Overall it produces a great picture from a progressive scan DVD player. However, we have two big issues. Watching Fifth Element (opening desert scene), we noticed three brighter spots vertically centered across the screen; Red, Blue and Green - spots cast by the CRTs no doubt. The other issue is a green tint no matter how much red we add to the picture (well, if you add lots of red it goes away, but then it is too red). We have manually adjusted the convergence (the auto-focus feature is pretty worthless),adjusted the color to around 30, brightness to around 40 and contrast to 60. No adjustments seems to decrease/increase the spots on the screen. Any help? |
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Anonymous | I bought the AKAI two months ago. Have not any complaint. The DVD looks great, however I can not see any difference between a 480P input and 480i. I used the component 1 input which is (480i, 480p and 1080i) tolerant. Does anyone notice a significant improvement in video quality in progressive mode? |
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wirejaw | My TV "stretches/warps" the display upward from the left side of the screen to about three inches inward. It's noticable when I'm watching something that has a straight line across the bottom of the screen, like the scrolling news bars on news channels, letterboxes, etc. Anyone else have this problem? |
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| I bought this unit today and can NOT get the component video to work, I have 2 sets of cables I have tried, as well as 2 different component sources. With the DVD player hooked to component 1, I get an all red movie. When I plug it into component 2 I get a really distorted screen. THANKS anyone who can help. (I only use the 3 video component cables, I have a different reciever for audio). thanks |
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Christopher M. Bruton | hello |
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Anonymous | I purchased the Akai PT4298HD from Costco 5 days ago. I paid 999. I purchased the Samsung model TR4226N stand for 99 from Circuit City. I have BellSouth digital cable over S-video. I think the picture is close to any other tv like this. Good but not HD. My old (non-prog) DVD player has the same pic. I have a prog-scan DVD player on order. Want to see the pic from it over component. Anyone have ideas on best way to get HD programming. Other cable companies have it? I'm in Atlanta. Satellite. Over-the-air / set-top HDTV tuner with antennae? I am happy with the tv so far and think it a great value. You can return it to Costco for any reason within the warranty period. Manual convergance a must. I have the Avia DVD on order. |
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Anonymous | Bought this set yesterday, watching regular cable. Picture is a little flattened but very clear. As someone has pointed out it took a while for the system to be clear like a couple of hours, so do not rush back to CostCo to return yet! I am going to call cable company for the HDTV to see how much difference it will make. Cannot wait! |
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Anonymous | My pt4298hd keeps jumping back into Wide mode everytime I turn it off. I have it set to Panoramic in the Setup screen; I want this to be the default. Any ideas? |
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| Purchased this TV last night, after much research. It is manufactured and dist by samsung. Great TV right out of the box looked good, no problems to report. needs some adjustment after break in period. With the DVD player problem, make sure your DVD player is set to widescreen as you will only get a green/red screen if it is not. you may have to go into you DVD setup through a regular yellow video cable to display on your tv, then switch back to component and it should work just fine. Also make sure you have the cables hooked up to the 480I 480P 1080I input...cable or sat into the other. I must say that this TV has one of the best streches for regular SD programing i have ever seen. |
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Anonymous | For Kevin: with regard to having black lines even in wide mode: There are many aspect ratios used for movies so not all of them will fit a 16/9 screen exactly. For example: my computer video card lists 16/9, 1.85 to 1, and 2.35 to 1 as aspect ratios for playback |
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Kevin | Thank you for the additional information. |
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Chris | I posted on 8/05 about having hot spots on the screen. I exchanged for a new over the weekend at CostCo. So far, looks really great. I will tweak it tonight with the Essentials setup DVD. When playing a 4:3 DVD in progressive mode into the 480P components on the TV, the image appears stretched to fit the screen. According to the manual, in 480P mode the TV displays whatever signal it gets - it doesn't attempt to format the image. Does anyone know for sure - I would guess the TV is doing "something". On a side note, Fry's advertised a 1-day special, $999 for a 46" "famous brand" projection TV. Anyone know what it was? |
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Gombo | I guess I started a good thread here. The best part about buying a TV from Costco is that they won't screw you on a extended warrantee since they don't have them. Costco normally has a lifetime return policy. Do you think they will only offer the factory warrantee on their sets or will they take it back after five years from now for a full refund? |
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Anonymous | I purchased this PT4298HD from Costco about 2 1/2 weeks ago. everything looks great, including the pictures and colors, until 3 nights ago the tv just went dead completely while we were watching. Have tried everything on the manual, nothing worked. Called AKAI, made the arrangement through their repair subcontractor, they came in 2 days later and found out no part were available. To make the situation worse, no one knows when the part will arrive, including AKAI, after I called them direct, the service rep from AKAI told me it may take longer than 10-15 BUSINESS DAYS (it's from Korea), still no one knows, in the mean time I have no TV,I was advised to return the unit to where I purchased it, he sounds like he does not care for the company he works for, he even cancelled my service order without my permission. The problem here is that Costco does not deliver. Just want to let you guys know and be aware that this thing could happen to anybody. I thought in order for the company to do business successfully they should have all the spare parts ready. |
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Gilbert | That's the beauty of Costco. Take it back and get a brand new one. I will never buy another TV from a retail store. If it break two years from now they will give you a full return and you can upgrade. Try doing that at Circuit City or Best Buy. |
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Anonymous | I agree with Gilbert. But, I was at Costco the other day and it seemed to me that the changed their return policy. It is now 30 days on merchandise. And 6 months on computers. This has raised a concern expecially if these akais are breaking. I really want this tv. And for the price you can't beat it. But if they have a record of breaking. I might fork up a few hundred and purchase a name brand. Such as the Sony model. Are not upgrade at all and wait for the plasma tv's to come down in price. Overall I want the tv. But I can't afford to loose a thousand bones. CB..... |
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| Does anyone know how the picture is with Dtv using S-video? Thanks. |
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| I bought the AKAI 42" HDTV one week ago. It is working fine so far. Sound is superb and picture is beatiful with HD digital channels. I have to connect to COMCAST digital subscription ($14.99/month) and the convertion box $4.99/month to get the the High Defination channels. Still doess not know how to get two picture on the same screen and somehow my DVD player does not yield high quality pic, guess either I did not configure it right or the player is old. Any tips on how should to configure? |
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| After reading all the opinions here, I bought a Akai PT4298HD for US$999 at Costco on August 17. I connected DISH satellite TV, a VCR, and a PlayStation 2 via component, and a Panasonic Progressive Scan DVD player via RGB component. The picture from the satellite received is excellent, much better than I expected. Playstation and even the old VCR look good. I expected the DVD picture to be the best, but so far it is good but not excellent. Maybe I did something wrong. Unlike others who posted, I have neither glare from the LCDs inside nor color or focusing problems. The automatic "perfect" focus works like a charm. The only thing that takes getting used to is finding the right aspect ratio mode. Picking from 4:3, movie, panorama, wide, DVD, zoom etc. Movie and wide stretch most standard TV pictures too much, panorama often works, zoom fills the wide screen but cuts off from the top and bottom. All in all, I love this Akai. Great picture, sharp and bright display, all those inputs and modes--an excellent value. And the box even fit into a minivan. |
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Anonymous | Does anyone know if Costco will sell out of these? or will discontinue selling them? |
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| Anonymous, You want it, you should harry up. New model comes out daily, I would not bet on that this AKAI model will be there for long. It is a great product and great bargain! |
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Anonymous | I will hurry up. Thanxs |
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Sean | Problem - - Turned the TV on this morning and the Blue was all distorted. Checked the convergence and when i did, noticed that the upper left blue cross hatch was almost completely off the screen along with the one to the right of that. Curved Blue line from middle of screen bending down. Can't correct the convergence. pull cross hatch back on screen but when it get almost into place it "snaps" and totally dissappears. Called costco and they will take it back but this is the second TV that this has happend to. wondering if anyone may know what is causing this. |
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JAS Unregistered guest | Hey Steve, I've had the tv for a week and twice or so I've heard the cabinet settling after I turn off the tv...but I recall my old 27' tv would do the same once and a while. I don't know about it popping loud though then again I've only had the tv for a little while. But I'll keep tabs on it and let you know if anything comes up. I have a question for all, has anyone removed the anti-glare protective screen on their own without any problems? I'd greatly appreciate to hear if anyone has and can explain the process. JAS |
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New member Username: Steve_leePost Number: 7 Registered: 12-2003 | OK, whats up with this board? It seems like all the posts between August 22, 2003 and February 03, 2004 have disappeared, or am I the only one that sees this? |
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Unregistered guest | Steve, Must be magic, the posts during the period mentioned did indeed disappear. Hope they return for there was some valuable information in the posts for it to do the vanishing act! |
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Perry Unregistered guest | I started HDTV shopping acouplel weeks ago and also went to Costco. It souds like the Akai is a very good deal. It seems many of the image and compatibility issues are not specific to this Akai TV but more likely might be problems encountered with hooking up to any new wide projection HDTV. Is this correct or does the Akai have some real issues that spending $600 more on a Sony will negate? |
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JAS Unregistered guest | Hey Perry...this is my opinion...I hope it helps I've only had the tv for two weeks and even with me getting a bad one the 1st time (which only was because the store sold me an open box item not a new one) the tv is great. I have my Pioneer VSX-D912 Receiver connected to the 2nd set of component inputs (480p/1080i) and the 1st set of component inputs (480i/480p/1080i) with my XBOX. My Panasonic S25 Progressive Scan DVD player is connected to my receiver and plays in 480P without a problem. It all works great... I've only had to adjust the brightness due to the Custom settings being somewhat already tuned correctly when I used a Video/Audio calibration DVD (Everyone should have one of these or borrow one from a friend like I did). As some people have said the Panoroma mode doesn't stay set as default after you turn the tv off or when you switch between inputs. It reverts back to Wide everytime you turn it on or change inputs but it isn't really bothersome since I only use it when watching cable tv which I already scheduled for an appointment to get HDTV through my cable provider. Besides it only takes 2 pushes of the 'Aspect' button to go to Panoroma mode and that is to watch just normal 4:3...the rest of the time I'm in 'Wide' for my XBOX and DVD's. My only problem is getting used to the anti-glare protective screen it really takes away from the clarity because you can see the picture very clear and sharp when I play my DVD's and XBOX but you see this overlay ontop which looks grainy because of the anti-glare protective screen. I've seen one without the anti-glare protective screen and it looks AWESOME!! I mean really clear and sharp like a computer monitor. So if your eyes don't really notice the anti-glare protective screen...go for it man...you can't beat the deal As for myself, I'm probably going to return the tv because of the anti-glare protective screen really bugging me and looking at some other tv's that have a less or not at all noticeable anti-glare protective screen (Maybe one that offers an easy removeable option). But if someone knows how to remove the anti-glare protective screen or maybe get it replaced with a better one I'd keep the freaking tv because it is AWESOME!! JAS |
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HTKevin Unregistered guest | It's a shame that so much of this thread is now missing. I have a favor to ask. Could the person who posted the instructions they used to remove the blue edging/line on the left side of the screen during panaramic mode please re-post those instructions. I remember it required going into the service menu, but I do not recall the selection or setting used. Thanks. |
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Unregistered guest | HtKevin To eliminate the blue edge on the left side of the screen go to the Service Menu (Mute-182) and increase the "H-Shift" value in the "Deflection" sub menu until you no longer see the blue line. The default setting on mine was 31 and I increased it to 37. (big thanks to the person who originally posted this info!) |
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HTKevin Unregistered guest | Thank you Jim. I will try it this weekend. |
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JAS Unregistered guest | So I finally broke down and decided to explorer the screen area for removal. After 30 mins of taking screws off I finally got to the screen and was able to remove the anti-glare protective screen which by the way is taped to the screen but as soon as I put everything back together and powered it up...IT LOOKED FREAKING AWESOME!! Everything worked the way it was suppose to work no problems with any functions. I tell you the clarity and sharpness is just GREAT!! I wouldn't recommended anyone doing it unless they are comfortable with taking things apart and are very patient and organized. So I'm keeping the TV now and waiting for my HD cable box to be hooked up on Tuesday...I'll let you guys know how that goes. =) Viva Akai!! JAS |
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Unregistered guest | JAS - I bought the 55" version of this TV at Costco and I'm going to set it up tomorrow. I'm intrested in getting the anti-glare filter off of the screen. Could you give us a few pointers on the best way to do it without ruining anything? |
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Riz Unregistered guest | Silly Question Can someone please instruct me on how to set up the PIP (picture in picture). Is it possible to do with a cable box and dvd player only, or do i need a vcr as well? Also, does anyone have the comcast HD receiver? If so, does it replace the original cable box or is it an additional box? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. |
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AznKnight Unregistered guest | Now i'm getting interested in removing the antiglare screen also. I was wondering if it was hard to do and does it void the waranty in any way. |
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New member Username: SlidermanPost Number: 5 Registered: 12-2003 | Riz, If you have standard broadcast cable, all you need to do is connect the incoming RF cable to the ANT A input and take another RF (Coax) cable, connect one end to ANT A OUT and take the other end and connect it to ANT B. This hook up will give you the ability to watch two different channels via PIP. You can also connect a DVD player or any other video signals to the Composite or S-Video inputs and enjoy PIP with these video signals BUT you cannot watch signal source from Components Input, Akai does not support Components Input in PIP mode. Frank |
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JAS Unregistered guest | hey dave, I'll tell you how I was able to go about removing the anti-glare protective off of my 42 tv but first this following note cuz I don't want to be responsible or liable... IMPORTANT NOTE: I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IN WHAT YOU TRY DOING WITH YOUR T.V. IT WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY Okay, now that I have mentioned that...this is how I went about it. The tv has 3 front pieces. The top piece is the screen (1), the middle piece is the speakers and buttons area (2), and finally the bottom piece that has that Realflect emblem (3). I started with the bottom piece first. To make it easy on myself I elevated the tv on the sides as well as in the back, I used my old 2 inch thick Cisco books (Nothing higher than 2 inches just enough to remove the bottom piece without any weight being placed on it). On the back of the tv their are arrow marks that perfectly show where the screws are. There are 4 screws to remove 2 on each side, I also had to keep in mind the a/v inputs at the bottom right. Now here is the tricky part, the top of that bottom piece has 3 places where it is held in by fasteners which I gently used some force to pop it out. Once I had it popped out, I swing the left side out to the right like a door so I wouldn't pull any of the wires for the a/v inputs then I leaned it against the tv so that it wouldn't fall over. The next piece is the middle speaker section. I removed another set of 2 screws on each side as well some screws that I saw after uncovering the bottom piece (Couldn't miss them they had those arrow markings again). This piece only has 1 fastener to pop out. I had to keep in mind that the tv control button were on the right side which meant wires, so to not stretch them or pull them out, I let that piece hinge down like pickup tailgate onto a box that happened to have the right height that it held the piece up instead of the piece dangling from the wires. Now, it was time for the screen piece. This one had a set of 2 screws on each side, and 3 on the top as well as some screws that I saw after uncovering the middle piece. Man you gotta love the arrow marks to show you the way!! Now this is where I had to be real gentle because there are some wires that go to the bottom right corner of the screen. So again I hinged this down like a tailgate on a pickup but since I had to worry about those wires not stretching or pulling off I let it lay on top of my kitchen chairs (I got lucky that the chairs had the right height where it kept it high enough without pulling on the wires). With the screen laying down flat on my kitchen chairs, I could see 4 brackets with wires on it holding the screen in place. I gently removed the screws and the brackets with the wiring to the side of the tv so to be out of the way when I removed the screen. The screen is made up of 3 parts. The front piece is the anti-glare protective screen (1), the middle piece the dark ribbed textured material (2), and the back piece is just a clear plastic screen (3). To remove the anti-glare protective screen, was simple...this is funny too but they just taped the anti-glare protective screen to the other 2 parts of the screen on all 4 sides, they were just sandwiched together. I just cut the sides and then I was able to remove each of the pieces easily, I made sure to be very careful not to dirty or smudge the ribbed or plastic screen parts (Even had a microfiber cloth for sunglasses to give it a light wipe thru). I put the ribbed texture piece first and the clear plastic screen behind it then screwed everything back together. Boy it was a little tedious but VERY WELL WORTH IT!! Especially when you have a nice clear sharp picture without any weird texture grain showing up from the anti-glare protective screen. To tell you the truth that anti-glare gave me more glare cuz I don't see any glare or reflections now. How ironic to call it an anti-glare screen... And that is my story... JAS |
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Anonymous | I recently noticed that when the image is very dark, the TV has a vertical band which is several shades lighter than the rest of the image. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it possible that this is a convergence issue? Thanks. |
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JAS Unregistered guest | So I finally got my new HD cable box from Time Warner today...I have to say "DAMN, HD programs looks GREAT ON THIS TV!!" I placed the anti-glare screen over the screen and it just takes away from the clarity and sharpness. I'm watching the NJ vs PHI hockey game on HDNet channel and it freaking looks so realistic...as well as DiscoveryHD channel has some killer programs as well. What you have to realize is that even though the channels are in HD...the programs that they run have to be filmed in HD to actually have an HD program be displayed to its full potential. I was watching the movie Daredevil on HBOHD and it was nice and clear in 16:9 aspect (DVD clarity) compared to watching it on the regular HBO channel which isn't real clear in a 4:3 aspect (Videotape clarity) but it stills lacks the realistic life like clarity which I see more in the programs that run on DiscoveryHD. I can't wait til everyone is implementing HD and filming things with HD in mind. What else can I say but this tv is GREAT!! You can't beat the price and the performance it provides compared to others. (Only con is that I had to removed the anti-glare protective screen to really get the full potential of the tv, I wish they used a better anti0glare protective screen) thumbs up!! Viva Akai and HD!! |
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spacemonkey Unregistered guest | how can o solve convergance problems. it keeps resetting to a blurred image |
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Amit Unregistered guest | I posted a question earlier as well. The post has disappeared. I got the digital cable from Comcast now. The quality did improve but I still get tons of snow on cerayin channels like USA, TNN. Any idea how to remove this snow? |
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New member Username: ToasterPost Number: 10 Registered: 01-2004 | is this still available at costco? |
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blz85 Unregistered guest | Is there anyway way to make the screen go fullsize while watching tv? i have it setup using comcast HD connecting with component cables and it says function not allowed.What are the other ways i could do this? |
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Steve2526 Unregistered guest | After reading these reviews and others, I bought the Akai from Costco. WOW! Right out of the box with Comcast HD cable the picture is superb. DVD is too. One question -- does anyone know the IR code # for the remote so I can program the number into my universal remote?? |
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New member Username: TpfaganPost Number: 1 Registered: 02-2004 | Ok, I bought this tv about 6 months ago based on research and as much information I could dig up about this HDTV monitor. I must say that I have been pretty happy with it. Howver I had a problem with the picture flickering - on all inputs - so I took it back to Costco and exchanged it for another one. It's been about 10 weeks and it's starting to happen again. When I look into the back of the TV, I can see Blue and green flicker and almost turn off. They both then come back on and then it looks normal for a few minutes then starts to degrad again. Has anyone else had a problem with screen flickering or losing colors? |
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JAS Unregistered guest | I've never experienced the flickering. Maybe that Costco had a bad batch?? You never know. FYI...So it has been over two weeks after the removal of the anti-glare protective screen and everything is still working great...Plus, watching HDTV on it is awesome people! =) JAS |
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Unregistered guest | Tim, From reading the board I sometimes wonder about the quality control of Akai. Seems like there are way more problems with these sets than there should be. I had to return my first one due to color and focus problems but the one I have now is excellant, for the money can't be beat. Neither of two I've had tho experienced any flickering problems. Maybe you should return it once more and hope for the best. Doesn't get any easier for returns then at Costco and when you do get a good set it will be well worth it. Sorry couldn't be of any more help. |
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New member Username: MarmadukePost Number: 1 Registered: 01-2004 | I noticed on several posts that it was necessary to purchase a stand for the 42" AKAI. From looking at the illustration on the shipping box, one would surmize that a stand was included. NO STAND included.....true/false ? |
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New member Username: SlidermanPost Number: 6 Registered: 12-2003 | Melvin - True. No stand included with the TV. Frank |
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Unregistered guest | Melvin, I bought the Samsung model TR4226N stand from Circuit City and as an earlier post mentioned it fits perfectly. Sells for about a hundred bucks but don't buy it thinking you can store all your video gear underneath. Just isn't enough room for cable box, DVD, tape and surround sound amp but sure looks better than setting the TV on a couple of old beer cases! ;-) |
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Unregistered guest | Frank, As you mentioned in an earlier post to set up PIP I connected the incoming RF cable to the ANT A input then a cable from ANT A OUT to ANT B. Not sure how I individually switch channels on the two screens so I can watch two different programs at the same time. Any words of wisdom? |
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New member Username: SlidermanPost Number: 7 Registered: 12-2003 | Jim, How to change channels in PIP mode depends on which tuners you are using. To watch standard analog broadcast from cable, you would use the dual built-in tuners and connect the coax cable (from cable outlet) to ANT A, then connect a short separate coax cable from ANT A OUT to ANT B. Now use the TV Remote as you normally would to change channels for ANT A input. To change ANT B input channels, you would use CH "UP ARROW" and "DOWN ARROW" that are hidden under the hinged covered portion of the Remote. If you are watching Digital broadcast with an external tuner (receiver) then you would need two of these tuners in order to watch two different channels in PIP mode at the same time, and you can't use the Components inputs for connections (you can use either RF, Video or S-Video) since the Akai TV does not supports PIP when using Components inputs. If you have an analog broadcast available along with your digital broadcast, perhaps you can get by with only one digital tuner and feed the analog to the ANT A or ANT B input. Hope this helps. Frank |
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Riz Unregistered guest | Has anyone else tried removing the anti glare screen? Any problems? Also when watching DVD's the dark colors are sometimes pixilated. Any suggestions or comments? I have a Panasonic progressive scan(purchased from costco) which is connected via components. When I watch the same movies on my friends Sony Hi-Scan HDTV along with sony dvd player,it looks perfect. Is it the tv or the dvd player? |
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Pat T Unregistered guest | Riz, re: DVD or TV. I had a integrated Panasonic progressive scan DVD/receiver surround system (purchased at Costco). DVD picture was just OK. Swapped this for a low end Sony Dream system (DVD/receiver) and the DVD picture was definitely improved. My $.02 ? => DVD player |
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Riz Unregistered guest | Thanks for the input Pat T, I going to purchase a sony dvd player this weekend and test out your theory. Luckily my condo is built above a bestbuy (both a blessing and a curse). |
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Unregistered guest | Question... Playing Pearl Harbor on the old non-progressive DVD looked pretty good but since the machine was getting long of tooth and I wanted a VCR I purchased a combo unit with progressive scan DVD. Pearl Harbor still looked great (actually looked great on both DVD players)and tapes were so-so but that is to be expected. Last nite I rented "Intolerable Cruelty" (chick flick I know guys but have to do that for our wives once in a while;-) Anyway, rented movie didn't look that good. I tried a few others DVDs but all looked pale to Pearl Harbor. Question... are some DVDs better quality that others to the point where it is that obvious? Or is Pearl Harbor reproduced that well? Thanks for your help. |
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New member Username: OlehippPlacerville, CA Post Number: 1 Registered: Mar-04 | Just trying to set up Akai to Comcast HD, notice that watching basketball games the close up shots are PERFECT, but when they pan to show half court, the images of the players are fuzzy, even in HD. Anyone else notice this, or have idea to correct??? Also, what is name of audio/video calibration DVD??? |
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New member Username: MarmadukeBirmingham, AL Usa Post Number: 2 Registered: Jan-04 | For calibration DVD, try www.ovationmultimedia.com |
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Deb Unregistered guest | I hve also purchased this tv and am unable to program either my digital cable remote or a universal remote to activate the tv. Is it my remotes or teh tv?? |
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Pat T Unregistered guest | John, re: "Comcast HD, notice that watching basketball games the close up shots...." Sorry to confirm that I've noticed the same thing. Half court shots are fuzzier but still better than non-HD (switching between HD/non-HD ESPN channels) but not as clear as the close up shots. |
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Unregistered guest | On the question about the universal remote: The normal Akai code won't work. Program it as if it's a Samsung television. That worked for me. Akai makes Samsung's TVS for them, btw. |
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New member Username: Steve_leeFremont, CA United States Post Number: 8 Registered: Dec-03 | You're close, actually Samsung makes the Akais. |
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anthony chiu Unregistered guest | My tv has no picture just a blue screen does anyone know what to do? |
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New member Username: MarmadukeBirmingham, AL Usa Post Number: 3 Registered: Jan-04 | Anthony Chiu: turn your VCR on. |
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anthony chiu Unregistered guest | I have the akai tv and i have 3 in one combo thing and when i wanna watch tv all the channels are blank. None of the channels work and everything else works(DVD,VCR) but my tv channels are not showing can someone tell me what to do? |
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RayHill Unregistered guest | Hi Guys, Costco Canada just got the sets in and I am tempted to get one. From what I've read so far it seems it is only worth getting if you've got HDTV, is that right? I've just moved in to a rented apartment and don't think I'll be getting digital feed until a buy a house. Just wanted to get your insight as to whether or not it would be a good decision to purchase the TV for regular cable? |
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JeffC Unregistered guest | Hi all. I just got one of these from Costco yesterday. I've noticed that the color seems to shift from normal to really blue, to really red, to really green while watching. Almost like tuning each color way up one at a time. Does this sound like an adjustment or a bum set? Thanks |
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HTKevin Unregistered guest | Ray-I purchased the tv last summer. I do not have HDTV or even digital cable. I have plain old analog cable only. I feel it would be a good decision to purchase even if you only have regular cable. For me, the picture was improved and I am very happy with it. |
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Drock Unregistered guest | The normal Akai code won't work. Program it as if it's a Samsung television. That worked for me. Akai makes Samsung's TVS for them, btw. Does anyone know the Samsung code to make the tv work with a comcast remote control. |
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drock Unregistered guest | Sorry Does anyone know the Samsung code to make the tv work with a comcast remote control. |
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DebP Unregistered guest | We took the glare screen out( took about 1 hour) and it makes a huge difference. The only question is can we wipe down the black textured screen when it gets dusty? |
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New member Username: DavePost Number: 1 Registered: Mar-04 | http://www.akaiusa.com/products/pt4298hd.htm bought one today |
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Steve1972 Unregistered guest | What are the prices at Costco that everyone is seeing these days for this tv? |
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JC Unregistered guest | Forget the Akai. BB is blowing out the Mitsubish WT-42313 for $1080. No offence but it is one of the best RP CRT sets made today. It also has a DVI port that the Akai doesn't have. They will be gone soon so act quick. JC |
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RT Unregistered guest | Canadian Costco price is: $1499.00 They had lots of them at my local store as of today. |
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Aether Unregistered guest | Here in Maryland they're back to $999 after the brief pre-Superbowl "instant rebate" that brought it down to $899. |
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Unregistered guest | Went to Costco tonite (4-7-04)and they now have a 47 inch Panasonic for $999 so they permanently lowered the price on the 42 inch Akai to $899. The Panasonic looks great but doesnt have the anti-glare screen. I realize from earlier posts there are those who do not like the this feature (I seriously was considering removing the anti-glare after reading JAS post) but now that I have seen the Panasonic with a reflective viewing surface next to the Akai I can really appreciate the anti-glare. The room I have my Akai in has many windows and makes for lots of reflections so for my situation the Akai is best. I will have to admit tho the 5 inch diagonal viewing surfce does make a huge difference in how big the screen appears. Didn't think it would but again when side by side you can really tell the difference. |
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BJ Unregistered guest | I agree. Get the Mitsubishi 42313. It's a steal of a life time. |
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Andy M Unregistered guest | I agree the Mit is a great looking set but it is to big. I have a limited depth I can deal with and the Samsung/Akai is only 18" deep and the Mit is 25" deep. |
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Anonymous | For those of you that have removed the anti-glare screen: are you still able to clean the screen? Also, has anyone successfully put the anti-glare back in - or can you estimate if it would be possible to put it back in without any difficulty? |
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Unreg991 Unregistered guest | Does removing the anti-glare screen improve the viewing angles? |
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D Unregistered guest | I was looking at the Akai 42" HDTV projection at Costco for $899. I noticed Costco now has a 47" Panasonic HDTV for $999. I cannot find this model on their website and they haven't responded to e-mails for specs on the model. Also, BJ's Warehouse has a 47" Daewoo HDTV for $999 and Sam's Club has a 45" Zenith HDTV for $949. Now I'm really confused. Does anybody have any of these models other than the Akai that they would recommend? I noticed that the Panasonic, the Zenith and the Daewoo have 2 component video jacks while the Alai only has one and no interface device inputs which the other 3 brands have. Is this a plus for the other brands I mentioned? Thank you. Your advise will be most appreciated. |
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New member Username: MarmadukeBirmingham, AL Usa Post Number: 4 Registered: Jan-04 | COSTCO....Panasonic PF-47WX54 $999.99..Looks Great! |
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jondough Unregistered guest | A local Costco has a 55" Akai floor model marked down from $1299 to $999 which made me think twice about buying the Philips Cineos which is what I want until they get it right. Is this a good buy? Seems pretty fantastic! I have a 52" 10 yr old Philips and really want to upgrade [months ago!] Should hold me over for a year or so.... |
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Unregistered guest | My husband and I are looking on buyng a television this weekend and checking on two great televisions. One of the TV is Akia in Costco and and the other one is Sony Vega 36 inch. Which of the two do you think is worth buying? Can one of you recommend give us an idea? I would appreciate your inputs on this. Thanks. |
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Unregistered guest | I was all set to buy this 42'Akai HDTV Monitor from Ultimate, as it seemed to be a very good deal. However, on the way to Ultimate. I stopped off at Circuit City, just to see what they had. They had marked down all their Samsung 42" HDTV Monitors HCN4226W to $996.50. I went to Ultimate and they had the Samsung model next to the Akai Model. Sitting side by side, the Samsung looked a tad bit better. I asked the Ultimate people if they would honor the Circuit city price. They checked on the internet and Circuit City had this listed as $1399 the same price they had listed. Since, this was not in a Circuit City ad nor on their web site. They would not match. So, I went back to Circuit City and purchased this model instead. Since, Samsung owns Akai and these two models are identical basically. I felt more comfortable going with the Samsung name. Not sure if this clearance price is nationwide or not?? |
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Aether Unregistered guest | Circuit City was blowing out the Samsung model because it's now carrying the very same Akai model at the $999.99 price. |
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chucklor Unregistered guest | anybody notice a vertical line in the middle of the screen when it is black? |
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New member Username: YomamaPost Number: 1 Registered: Jun-04 | I see that the Akai pt4298hd has a pc input...has anyone used this ? |
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Talon Unregistered guest | Bought one of the Akais at the weekend for $899 from our local Costco. Very nice. Picture is a little grainy on Antenna but not horrendously so. Controls are easy to use. My wife loves it (I wanted a smaller TV but she wanted this one) DVDs look good just on AV,but I am going to get a component cable and see how that looks. PS2 looks nice as well. Has anyone tried the S-Video input? What is the picture like? One word of warning, this is a big TV and Costco dont deliver. Make sure you can fit it in your car. We had to take it out of the box to get it to fit. It is also a 2-3 person lift to make sure you get it into the house and in place without breaking it, or yourself. Enjoy |
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Anonymous | We lost the remote for our AKAI PT4298HD TV. Can somebody let me know how to order replacement remote? I checked www.akai.com and there is no telephone contact information. Also, what is the model number of AKAI PT4298HD's remote? We never cared for the remote model number when we had it. And the manual does not mention the remote model number. Appreciate your help. |
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Bill Unregistered guest | I just bought the AKAI PT4298HD TV yesterday from Circuit City and have two questions: 1.) Does anyone have an answer to the question (that has been asked before) of how to make the TV permanently remember the switch from "Wide" to "Panoramic" after it turns off? 2.) I watched a DVD on it and noticed that the Aspect kept on adjusting during the movie. And the quality of the picture was not as good as I had hoped. Any suggestions on how to fix this problem? Thank you for your help. |
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Talon Unregistered guest | Bill What type of connection do you have from your DVD? AV? S-Video? or Component? S-video is beter that AV(Yellow, Red, White Phono plugs) and Component is the best. Not sure why it flicks size during a movie. I have seen it do that during commercials but it should stay steady during a DVD, although I thought it did it a few days ago when I was watching a DVD but put it down to me accessing the menu screen. Personally I now usually watch movies in Panoraminc mode or Wide. One thing I did notice though is that when you use the component inputs the audio does not appear on the monitor out audio connections on the rear. So if you want to connect to an external amp and speakers you cant use that output. (Unless I am just doing something stupid!) |
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New member Username: YomamaPost Number: 2 Registered: Jun-04 | Anonymous- If you cant find a replacement remote, try Samsung's site as their HCN4226W is 95% the same as the Akai (Akai doesnt have a DVI connector) and the remote is identical from what I remember from comparing both units side by side @ Circuit City http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?prod_id=HC N4226WX%2fXAA Bill- I also would like to know how to keep the aspect ratio set after the unit has been turned off...I have found nothing in the manual or on screen settings to do this, and is quite annoying to have to change it back everytime...I also like the Panorama mode. Has anyone connected an HD tuner this this unit, as I am ready to purchase one for OTA. |
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New member Username: YomamaPost Number: 3 Registered: Jun-04 | You can also try http://www.akaiusa.com/contact.htm for remote replacement info. |
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Bill Unregistered guest | Thank you for your reply, Talon. I think I was using AV, but what is Component? Are they special wires I have to buy? I'm about to have HD cable installed and am hoping the picture will improve. Does anyone have suggestions for how to optimally adjust the picture (contrast, color, brightness)? Does pressing "Perfect Focus? do that? I just want the TV picture to look the way it did in the store...thanks. |
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New member Username: YomamaPost Number: 4 Registered: Jun-04 | What do those that have this model think about the black level of the picture. I really dont see a very deep or true black...it gives a greenish tint to black. ALSO... was anyone mislead by CC website, or Akai's for that matter about the features that they show this model has but in fact does not. Those being: 1) Optical digital audio output 2) Coaxial digital audio output 3) L/R speaker terminal 4) Center speaker terminal 5) Surround L/R terminal 6) Headpone jack 7) PC input 8) Integrated rack 9) Side by Side PIP mode 10) Dynamic Black level expansion ALL of the above items are advertised to be features on this model on Akai and Circuit City website. Seems like ALOT of inaccuracies to me. I sent an email to Akai from their website, but of course it was returned for delivery failure. Bill- Component video will give you the best picture quality...you will need to purchase these unless your DVD player came with them. Walmart has a decent Philips brand for $10. |
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Talon Unregistered guest | AV Connection has seperate Left and right audio connections and one (Composite) video connection S-Video has the same audio connections but now has a dual video feed (on the same cable) one for Chrominance (colour) and one for Luminance (Brightness) you need an S-Video ouput from the DVD player, VCR, Cable box or whatever and plug it into the S-Video connection on the rear. Use the Audio Inputs for AV1. Component Video splits the video down into 3 signals with a seperate cable for each. Again you need a device with a component ouput which you connect to one of the component inputs on the rear of the TV. If you didnt get the cables with the VCR or DVD then you will need to buy them. They can be expensive, Monster Cable have some at around $50! I am not convinced you need the fancy ones but you shouldnt get a cheap one either. As for the picture I used to use the Perfect Focus but the other night I set up the convergence manually and discovered that Perfect focus wasnt "perfect" It isnt too difficult to do (I have had experience setting up profesional projectors so this was a no brainer for me) and I think the difference is worth it. What I also discovered is that the default settings for Brightness and Contrast are too high, I took these down to around 35-40 and got a much nicer picture. It will also help extend the bulb life. To get a picture like they have in the store you need a 1080i HD video feed connected via component input 1. Anything else is gonna look fuzzy. |
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Anonymous | Did anybody try universal remote with PT4298HDTV? Is it easy to program universal remotes for this TV? Any recommendations? I am looking at SONY RM-AV3000. Thanks, |
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New member Username: YomamaPost Number: 5 Registered: Jun-04 | I have this one http://www.ofausa.com/remote.php?type=URC%206131 It is very easy to program and controls nearly any device. I like it because it will work with Directv Tivo. Less than $20 |
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Bill Unregistered guest | Thanks for your responses. I have bought a Component cable for my DVD player and see great picture, but I now hear no audio. Do I need a different cable for audio? Anyone else experience this problem? Also, when I was removing the green component cable from the TV, the metal it was attached to came out from the TV. I put it back in the TV, but I can't tell if it's still functional. The component cable seems to have trouble fitting in the TV, which is why it was tight and pulled it out of the TV. Does anyone know if I should be worried about that? Thanks. |
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JAS Unregistered guest | Well, I haven't visited the forum in a while but it has been about 6 months now since I've had the tv and it is still looking great with no issues (Even with me removing the anti-glare protective screen). By the way, HDTV is just awesome...I still can't get enough of it, wish there were more channels. For the guys...all I have to say is "Bikini Destinations" ROCKS in HD!! So my new edition to my entertainment center is the Home Theater Master MX-700 universal remote control...an awesome remote...check out the site... http://www.universalremote.com/htm/mx700/index.html By the way, if you want more information on universal remotes...check out the following site...great reviews (and more!!) http://www.remotecentral.com/ I hope everyone is enjoying their Akai... Don't forget to share the knowledge...VIVA AKAI!! JAS P.S. - Bill don't worry about the green component cable unless you are having color problems (Did you buy it from Costco? You can always get a refund). About the audio...hmmm...how did you connect the DVD player audio? Did you use the A/V composite out from the DVD player to the A/V input on the TV. |
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Unregistered guest | I bough mine from costco like 6 months ago. The setting for Wide and Panorama view, even if I take it off the Wide, when i turn the TV off, it resets the settings???Can someone help. Also for the best picture, what do you guys have it set as? Thx |
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nene Unregistered guest | I bought mine two days ago, I have basic cable for now, can't wait to go digital....so far it's been good...the only problem is that I hooked up my DVD player via component and I see no colors....the hole picture looks blueish...does any one know about this problem????? |
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New member Username: YomamaPost Number: 7 Registered: Jun-04 | Adis, Unfortunately there is no way to keep user settings for this function, as I also was perplexed about this on one of my posts early in June after I bought this model. That was just one of numerous issues I had with this TV, and why I returned it to CC and exchanged it for a Panasonic with a bigger screen, more features, for less than I paid for the Akai after adding a HD STB. |
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New member Username: Lateralus77Post Number: 1 Registered: Aug-04 | Ok, I bought this TV back in Jan 04 and just recently have started having problems with the component 2 connection. I have component 2 hooked up to my Yamaha receiver (monitor out) and than my DVD player and cable box are hooked up to the receiver. But when I go to watch DVD's I don't get a picture. But I get a picture with my cable box via component. I tried hooking up three different DVD players and four different sets of component cables, but still nothing works. Think it's a problem with the TV? When I hook the DVD player up through component 1 output I recieve a picture. |
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HTKevin Unregistered guest | Ryan, Component 2 is ONLY for progressive scan. Component 1 is for interlaced OR progressive scan. Your DVD must be set to progressive scan to even get a picture on component2. I found I had to set my DVD player to progressive scan on component1. (So I could see the settings on the screen.) I then switch the component cables to Component2. Since the DVD player is now set to progressive scan, the picture appears. |
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icemann Unregistered guest | Bought this TV from Costco yesterday. For those living in British Columbia (not sure if this is Canadawide), they are currently taking $150 off the $1399 price (after taxes) until this Friday, so it's a great deal nowadays! Good picture watching regular TV on it, awesome picture watching DVD's in progressive scan! Only problem is the sound! There's a lot of background static, almost like the speakers are blown. When I put the TV's sound through my entertainment system, the sound is fine, so I'm sure the TV's speakers are defective. It's just a simple matter of getting an Akai techie in to fix them, or just exchanging it at Costco (which would be a real pain, so I'm hoping the first alternative works!). Not too keen on the fact that the aspect resets each time I switch the input or turn on the TV, but it's not a huge deal. Menu system is easy to navigate, and the picture is clear and easy to adjust depending on what you're watching. Despite the sound, I'm pretty happy with this TV. This is my first 16:9 HD-compatible TV I've bought, and I feel that I've made a good purchase. |
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JButler Unregistered guest | I have a question about the anti-glare screen. I got the 47" from Costco and the very front screen is textured. Is that the anti-glare screen? |
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New member Username: OnlineadPost Number: 1 Registered: Aug-04 | i purchased mine from costco in 1/04 for $999. bought stand at circuit city for $99. lots of glare in the room so i never even considered removing anti-glare screen (from the reports i've read, i wouldn't attempt to do this for several obvious reasons.) connected to cablevision's HD service, which is pricy but of great quality and service. HD channels are flawless, digital channels great, and the rest are very good. Connected a progressive scan DVD player and the playback is like being at the movies. naturally, items like this improve in quality and decrease in price over time. so, if you can get this model for $899 or less, i would highly recommend. |
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Anonymous | Do the Akai 42" HDTV rear projection TVs have a fixed audio out for hooking up a home theater system? Can you turn the speakers completely off and run them through you home theater receiver and hook it up to a hdtv digital cable box? I have been thinking about getting an Akai 42" for our den but the guy at CC said you could not do what I asked above. I would appreciate any answers you can give me. Thanks <>< |
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icemann Unregistered guest | Response to anonymous post above (https://www.ecoustics.com/cgi-bin/bbs/show.pl?tpc=2&post=132815#POST132815): Yes, it has fixed audio out. I hooked it up to my home theatre system, and all I do is turn my TV volume all the way down (don't use mute as it displays mute on the screen) and the sound comes out just fine through my theatre system. Hope that helps. |
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New member Username: BamavaderPost Number: 1 Registered: Jul-04 | THANKS TO ICEMANN ABOUT AKAI TV? <>< |
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Unregistered guest | I bought the Akai 42" PT4298HD a few minutes ago. My picture quality is horrible! Much worse than my 8 year old 27" RCA. Any advice? |
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Anonymous | We decided against the Akai because CC sold out of it and we purchased the Samsung 42" at Sears. Looks to be very similar to the Akai, which has been mentioned before but probably a better brand of TV. thanks... |
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RW Unregistered guest | I researched quite a bit and thanks in part to your posts here, decided to get the Akai this past weekend. So far it seems great...of course there is the wide/panorama thing, but I already knew that before I bought it. The picture isn't fantastic with analog cable, but it wasn't on my (too big for the new living room) 53" Sony either. Must be the cable since it is snowy and stuff. DVD's look good on a cheap Panasonic HTIB system (non-prog) using S-Video (don't ask me why I packaged my Comp cables when I sold the Sony). Getting ready to hook up a better DVD and sound system, so I may be back with some questions. Paid $899 at CC, $99 for the stand at Ultimate since CC was sold out. |
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AJ Unregistered guest | I bought the Akai from CC for 899. 2 days later the sale was over and the price jumped back to 1199! In my opinion, for the money spent, this is the best HD TV on the market right now. At only 17.5 inches deep its one of the slimmest CRT tv's out there. Compare this with a like sized plasma and there is NO comparison, especailly when considering the price. The contrast ratio, black levels, color saturation, brightness, all outdo plasmas by a long shot. Also, plasmas in this size are still very expensive, ususally 2000 plus, and thats only for an EDTV,(much higher for a true HDTV set) which cannot dislplay the full High Def resolution (1080i,720p) They may be thinner but will not last near as long as a CRT based set. I have a 7 year old 46" RCA CRT that is STILL going strong! I've had an HD box and a progressive scan dvd player (480p)for a while now hooked through a XGA projector. Although the pictures are beautiful, XGA resolution cannot show every detail of HD. Since my projector is LCD based, my contrast ratio isnt all that high and my black levels are ususally more grey than black..BUT..on this Akai set, you can see the strenghth of CRT's. Hands down, outside of a picture tube, CRT's produce the best video period, surpassing the best that DLP, LCD, or plasma can currently offer. Bottom line, if you're in a budget, and don't need a super large picture, but still want to be on the cutting edge of current televison technology...this is your set!...just be sure to use a HD box and/or a progressive scan dvd player to really see how this set can perform. |
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Vadim Unregistered guest | MOST IMPORTANT about this TV: You CAN'T put it on carpet!!!!!!! Ventilation grill on the bottom will be blocked so find a board to put it on if you have carpet floor. I usually don't read manuals but you can find it there if you look hard. |
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Moi Unregistered guest | That (and proper viewing height) is why you buy the stand. |
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Moi Unregistered guest | That (and proper viewing height) is why you buy the stand. |
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icemann Unregistered guest | Hey all. Just following up on my original post for those still thinking of buying this TV. I've had it for a little over a month now, and now that I've pretty much gotten used to it and how it works, I love it! I originally had problems with the sound (sounded like speakers were blown), but I simply exchanged it at Costco and it sounds great now. I've propped it up on a 2 foot stand giving it the perfect viewing height. Here are some of the things I like about it: - I like how the Cinema aspect automatically adjusts the screen to fit newer TV shows being broadcasted in widescreen (like Nip/Tuck, Enterprise, etc). It takes a few seconds to adjust, but it works. - Watching DVD's in Progressive Scan mode look absolutely awesome on this TV. - When the cable signal is strong (I recently had my cable company come over and adjust it), the picture watching regular TV looks great. What I don't like about the TV: - The aspect reverts back to Wide mode whenever you switch the input or turn the TV off (nothing can be done about that). - The "universal" remote is not so universal for me. I have a JVC VCR and home theatre system, as well as a Motorola digital cable box, and the remote does not work for ANY of them! - In PIP mode, the main screen is stuck in Wide aspect, and you cannot change it. - It's not as rich in features as most other rear projection TV's. My friend bought an RCA one that's slightly bigger, and it has a lot more features like side-by-side PIP, more aspect ratios, etc. However, he paid several hundred more dollars than mine. Overall, I'm still very happy with this purchase. You get a real bang for your buck with this one, if you're not looking to spend a lot of money on this type of TV. |
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AZRob Unregistered guest | Does anyone know of a good TV stand for the AKAI 47" projection TV model #PT4799HD? Bought it at Costco today for 949. Thanks. |
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AZRob Unregistered guest | Does anyone know of a good TV stand for the AKAI 47" projection TV model #PT4799HD and where to purchase? Bought my TV at Costco today for 949. |
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Unregistered guest | I've had this tv for 2 days now and for some reason, when i turn it on, it wouldnt come on immediately. The sound would go on and off for about 5 mins and then the screen comes on, comes on and then shuts off, a few mins pass and then it stays on.Now it wont come on at all. I think it might be in standby because the timer light is blinking. has anyone had this problem. I dont want to go through the hassle of exchanging it if theres something i just need to change with the settings. |
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TWICE Unregistered guest | Anyone notice a grainy, gauze-like quality to the 42-inch Akai RPTV's picture? Is this the anti-glare screen? Any way to correct this, short of removing the screen? |
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bozo2 Unregistered guest | Okay I read through the whole board hoping to find a similar problem? I am using a new progressive scan DVD player.. And the Akaia 42". I bought the TV so I could watch the Lord Of The Rings WITHOUT the black border bands. For some reason on my set when playing a DVD with composite cables (which cost a small fortune) the aspect button does not work & there are two black borders top and bottom of screen just like the old set I had. I have the DVD Player set to widescreen and have tried a different player as well also tried both composite connections on back of TV. ALSO if I USE the lower quality S-Video the Aspect Option becomes available. Please let me know if the same problem exist elsewhere BECAUSE I am thinking about returning to Costco. Thanks for your help! Regards, Bozo  |
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ax77 Unregistered guest | bozo2, I take it you're talking about the component video input (Y,Pb,Pr) not the composite video input. I'm waiting to receive my new progressive scan dvd player, so i haven't had a chance to use the component video yet, but from what i've read the problem you speak about is normal. When using the component video inputs the aspect option is unavailable. I think it mentions it in the manual. My question is, when you use the component input, what aspect does the tv default to? Is it wide mode or dvd mode? I will be very disappointed if its anything other then dvd mode. Kinda defeats the purpose of having a 16:9 screen. The black border bands you talk about maybe due to the particular format that movie was made in. Not all dvd's are made in the same format, in fact there are many different formats used. for example there are some dvd's that will take up the entire screen when i set the aspect to dvd mode and there are others where even in dvd mode, you will still see the black bars. usually you can fill up the entire screen by using the zoom aspect but that cuts off the sides. |
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New member Username: IanmcPoulsbo, WA USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Oct-04 | I was just in Circuit City and I am considering buying the AKAI 4298HD projection TV. I've been against buying projection TV's in the past but this one looks really good. Its a nice price and size (42 inches) at $999. I've also seen it at Costco where they had it facing the door one day and despite the fact that the sun was shining right on it, the image on the screen looked really good. A very clear image. I am interested in buying this TV mainly for watching films on DVD and playing my XBOX. Does anyone here have any comments about how this TV performs for video game playing? |
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AJBLAK Unregistered guest | Bozo2, dont take back your tv! Its not the problem. First of all, when your tv is receiving images from your component inputs (NOT composite), you will not be able to make aspect ratio changes. This is standard for a lot of HD ready sets. Secondly, the reason you still see bars at the top and bottom is because LOTR was filmed in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Many newer movies are filmed in this ratio because the producer believes it gives a more panoramic view of their movies. While it does provide a great picture it will ALWAYS produce top and bottom bars or ANY tv..UNLESS you have a set or dvd player where you can zoom the image, but even then there is a loss of resolution or even image loss when you do this. I have A LCD home theater projector that natively projects in 16:9 (widescreen) with a 92in screen, and I still suffer from the same problem! The only aspect ratio that effectivley fills a 16:9 screen without any bars is the 1.85:1 ratio. There is now way to get around it. Personally, I prefer the 1.85:1 ratio, but its not as prevalent as it used to be. I hope this helps! |
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DIS-SATISIFIED Unregistered guest | THIS TV IS JUNK, HAD SINCE JULY , HAS BEEN FIXED 2 TIMES AND NOW THERE ARE SPARKS COMING OUT OF TV. FIGHTING WITH CORPORATE TO GET SITUATION SOLVED. NO LUCK YET. THE PRICE IS NOT WORTH IT. I WOULD NEVER BUY THIS BRAND AGAIN |
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Anonymous | One thing I can't believe has not been mentioned yet: this tv displays 1080i, 480p, and 480i. It does NOT display 720p. Has this been a problem for anyone? My xbox is the only thing I have that can do 720p,so I tested it out. The image on the screen was mostly green, with two small images of what I was supposed to see bouncing around. I was thinking nof signing up for hdtv from comcast, anyone know if much of their stuff is in 720p?? |
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Unregistered guest | Hey All- Quick question about this tv( I have one too). I have my dvd and my x-box connected to the two component video sources. their l/r audio cable can produce sound from the tv speakers, but it does not come out through the tv's audio output. This seems strange since the audio from the rca, coax, and s-video inputs all actual make it out from the tv's audio output. is this normal? |
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AJBLAK Unregistered guest | Even if a source is broadcasting in 720p, the tv should upconvert that signal to 1080i. I have ESPN HD which uses the 720p format but I can still see it because it automatically upconverts to 1080i. I have an XBox hooked up to it also. You need to change your Xbox settings to accept everything, 480p, 720p, and 1080i, then make SURE you have it hooked to the right inputs. Only one set of the inputs will accept 480i, as well as 480p, and 1080i. You have to hook it up to this as the Xbox only boots up in 480i. As far as the person with the audio issues, the video inputs, no matter what, will only transmit video. Sound will come out the tv if you have the rca inputs for the xbox plugged in. The only way for sound to come out anywhere else is to plug the xbox audio inputs into another source such as a receiver or some powered speakers. It seems strange that people have issues with this TV. It does exactly what its supposed to do...and at the price you cant beat it. |
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Mr Sharps Unregistered guest | In regards to Ajblak: 1st, you are right it is a great tv. and the price is unbeatable! 2nd. I understand that the video cables only transmit video. The cables I am using on my x-box and dvd have 5 plugs: R,G,and B for video, and RCA L and R for video. No matter how much you enjoy the tv, you'd have to admit that it is inconsistent to have RCA L and R trasmit to the tv, but not the tv's output jacks when matched with component video; however, when matched with Component Video, the same audio cables transmit to the tv speakers and output jacks. Bare minimum, this should have been pointed out in the manual. Unless my the tv that I bought is a defective version. ... Which is what I am trying to figure out, is my tv defective, or is this behavior by design? |
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mr sharps again Unregistered guest | In regards to Ajblak: 1st, you are right it is a great tv. and the price is unbeatable! 2nd. I understand that the video cables only transmit video. The cables I am using on my x-box and dvd have 5 plugs: R,G,and B for video, and RCA L and R for video. No matter how much you enjoy the tv, you'd have to admit that it is inconsistent to have RCA L and R trasmit to the tv, but not the tv's output jacks when matched with component video; however, when matched with Component Video, the same audio cables transmit to the tv speakers and output jacks. Bare minimum, this should have been pointed out in the manual. Unless my the tv that I bought is a defective version. ... Which is what I am trying to figure out, is my tv defective, or is this behavior by design? |
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icemann Unregistered guest | This is in regards to the posts by Bozo2 and ax77 about the black borders. I also have LOTR DVD, and I also get the black borders when watching it on this TV. AJBLACK has the right idea about this, LOTR was filmed in 2.35:1 ratio which will not take up the entire screen on 16:9 widescreen televisions. Only movies in 1.85:1 ratio will do that. ax77 is partially right when he says that using the component inputs disables the ability to change aspect ratios. If you set your DVD player to "Interlace" scan mode, and hook it up through Component1 (there are 2 component inputs), you will be able to change the aspect ratio. The only time you want to do this is if the movie you are watching is in 4:3 aspect, or FULLSCREEN mode. If you don't, the movie will be stretched sideways, and everybody will look "fat" (lol). When renting or buying a DVD movie, look at the back and read what ratio it is filmed in. If the DVD movie you are renting or buying says "Anamorphic Widescreen" on the back, then you will want to set your DVD player to "Progressive" scan mode. You can still watch it in "Interlace", but you will not be able to enjoy the benefit of progressive scan. Basically, that means the image will be resized to fill the entire screen (unless the movie is in 2.35:1 ratio, you'll still get the black borders) and you won't lose any quality. In fact, it's way better than interlace. If the movie does not say anamorphic widescreen, but it is in either of the two ratios, set your DVD player to interlace and use the "DVD" aspect ratio. If you don't, the image will be stretched sideways and you'll get large black borders. Many of the newer DVD's (within the last 4 years or so) have the anamorphic widescreen feature (LOTR has that feature). Here's a summary of what to do depending on the type of movie you want to watch: Movie in 4:3 ratio - plug your DVD player into either Component1, S-Video, or the regular RCA inputs, set it to "Interlace" scan mode, and use the 4:3 aspect ratio on the TV. Movie in 1.85:1 ratio, NO Anamorphic Widescreen - plug your DVD player into either Component1, S-Video, or the regular RCA inputs, set it to "Interlace" scan mode, and use the "DVD" aspect ratio on the TV. You WON'T get the black borders. Movie in 1.85:1 ratio, WITH Anamorphic Widescreen - plug your DVD player into Component1, and set it to "Progressive" scan mode. The ability to change aspect ratios will be disabled, but you WON'T get the black borders. Movie in 2.35:1 ratio, NO Anamorphic Widescreen - plug your DVD player into either Component1, S-Video, or the regular RCA inputs, set it to "Interlace" scan mode, and use the "DVD" aspect ratio on the TV. You WILL get black borders, but not nearly as much as watching it on a regular 4:3 TV. Movie in 2.35:1 ratio, WITH Anamorphic Widescreen - plug your DVD player into Component1, and set it to "Progressive" scan mode. The ability to change aspect ratios will be disabled, and you WILL get black borders, but not nearly as much as watching it on a regular 4:3 TV. As I said, there are two component inputs on the back of this TV. All these situations will work if you use Component1. Component2 will ONLY work if the DVD player is set to progressive scan mode. This, I believe, is meant for High Definition cable and sattelite boxes, but will work for DVD players in progressive scan mode. Whew! Hope this all helps. To understand all this stuff about aspect ratios, widescreen, and so on, check out this site. It tells you everything you need to understand about the various aspects, widescreen vs. fullscreen, etc. |
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ax77 Unregistered guest | Mr Sharps. the audio out issue you speak of is normai. it actually states it in the manual the the monitor out/audio out does not function on component 1 and 2. I know it doesn't make sense. |
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Mr. Sharps part 3 Unregistered guest | ax77 - thanks, must have missed it in the manual |
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mpvienna Unregistered guest | I just bought the floor model PT4298HD at Costco for $749...plus 5% tax. It's in the back of my SUV ready to go home tonight. Seems like a good deal as long as the floor model didn't suffer any while turned on at Costco. |
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icemann Unregistered guest | I've posted here a few times boasting about how much I like this TV, but now there is something happening that I didn't notice before. I'm not sure if it was doing this when I bought it and didn't notice, but I notice it now. Whatever I'm watching, when there is white text (or white object) with a dark background, the white "bleeds" to the right. I've tried using the Perfect Focus feature, but it doesn't seem to help. Does anyone else have this problem? And if so, you have any idea how to fix it? I'll try fiddling around with the picture settings (contrast, brightness, sharpness, etc) and see if that works, but in the meantime, I just wanna know if anyone else has this problem. Otherwise, I still love this TV! |
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Anonymous | About 4 month ago I bought AKAI PT4298HD TV from Costco. It was working fine until this morning when we lost the picture. There is a clear voice but no picture on all channels including VCR/DVD. I checked all the wires and connection but no success. Does anybody know about this problem? What is the solution? |
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Unregistered guest | I bought the tv about 3 months ago, and the other day the picture when out for a second and came back up. this happened twice while watching from different sources. I hope its not a sign of things to come. It hasn't done it since. Has anyone had any success with warranty repair for this tv, just in case. |
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Unregistered guest | I just picked one up at Circuit City for $699!!!! It was originally suppose to be the PT4299HD but they discovered they were out of stock after I paid so they gave me the PT4298HD, it is suppose to replace the PT4299HD?? So far so good, just debating on cable or dish and what DVD play to buy??? |
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Anonymous | In the service menu, there is are different things I don't what they are for. What is burst screen, and why is there an option to turn DVI on or off, Why!! |
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Anonymous | In the service menu, there is are different things I don't what they are for. What is burst screen, and why is there an option to turn DVI on or off, Why!! |
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Curt in AK Unregistered guest | My PT4799HD will not Self-focus. I get a service menu that has deflection highlighted but I am unable to do anything with this menu. Is there a code to access this menu? How do i adjudt the deflection on the set?? Thanks, Curt in AK. |
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Unregistered guest | Hi, The Akai 47" projection TV is at Costco (San Diego) for $929 (including stand). Question: I checked on a site that shows that I am close to HD signals. I have a UHF/HD antennae -will I need a separate HDTV receiver or does this TV have a built-in HDTV tuner? TIA, Neil |
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Unregistered guest | I purchased the PT4298HD set about a year ago from Costco for $899 and the picture resolution is great when using DirecTV. Unfortunately, I have had a few irritating problems. I do not want to return the set to Costco, however, because all equivalently priced HD monitors (including the PT4799) only have a single tuner (i.e., NO PIP). My major issue with the set is that the top half of the screen (from about 2/3 of the screen to the top) bows. The bow is noticeable at all times, but extremely noticeable when, for example, a score bar or a "info screen" is placed at the top of the screen. The bow is such that if one could draw a straight line across the screen from about, say, 5 inches down from the top, there would a 1 to 2 inch upward deviation at the center of the screen. I've tried messing with the deflection on the service menu, but I can't seem to change the screen enough to make the bow go away without seriously affecting other aspects (i.e., the side of the picture). Any suggestions? Is there a manual adjustment in the set? |
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