Information for service menu, SVM, etc for Philips 30PW850H (1 Viewer)

[oryan_dunn]

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General Service Menu Information
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it took lots of digging to find this info but I finally did. Here is a site that has really good information on accessing the service menu of Philips TV's

http://home.tiscali.nl/m.majoor/index.htm

http://www.freelists.org/archives/te.../msg00575.html

There are tables submitted by users that list the defaults for their model. Most of the models listed are not american though. To access the service menu on my Philips 30PW850H, i press 0 - 6 - 2 - 5 - 9 - 6 - Status/Exit.

Here is a more specific link to the service menu page:

http://home.tiscali.nl/m.majoor/tv__...nment_mode.htm

I've taken the time to map out the service menu. The values next to each entry are either the defaults or mirror options that are set in the user menu. I would appreciate any feedback as to what the options stand for. Particularily, how to turn off scan velocity modulation. Thanks.

Service menu main screen:
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HRS: 04CB SWID: EM1U21-1.1

ERR: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OPT:254 56 254 254 224 0 0 0

CLEAR ERRORS >
OPTIONS >
AKB ON
OPC ON
TUNER >
WHITE TONE >
GEOMETRY >
SUPER WIDE >
4:3 >
SMART SETTING >

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OPTIONS >
SBNP ON (Auto Standby No Picture)
CVI ON (Component Video Input)
C169 ON (Compress 16:9) - I think only used on 4:3 sets
E149 ON (Enhance 4:3) - I think only used on 4:3 sets
SMCK ON (Smart Clock)
AV3 ON (AV3 input)
CBFL ON (Comb Filter)
IPIX OFF (Incredible/Inteligent Picture) - Can be enabled, but will just toggle contrast+
IPMU OFF (Incredible Picture Via Menu Item) - If enabled, will put an option under the user menu -> Picture labeled contrast+. Seems to have a similar affect to what Dyanmic Constrast does.
VDBY OFF (Virtual Dolby) - Can be enabled and turned on in the user menu under Incredible Surround
PLST ON (Program List)
SOSD ON (Smart OSD)
BLMU ON (Blue Mute)
PIPC OFF (PIP Control)
PIPT OFF (PIP Tuner)
PIPF OFF (PIP Freeze?)
W4X3 ON (4:3 mode for widescreen tvs? )
W169 ON (16:9 zoom for widescreen tvs? )
VSLC ON (Verticle Slicing)
SURF ON (Surf Feature Available)
CCAP ON (Closed Caption)
TIME ON (Timer Feature Available)
AAVL ON (Automatic Volume Leveler Available)
FUNN OFF (Fine Tuning Menu Item)
SPKC ON (Speakers)?
VCBK ON (V-Chip Block Unrated Menu)
VBNR ON (V-Chip Block No Rated Menu)
BNUM ON (Numberics Displayed In Menu)
ROTI ON (Rotation/Tilt)
TMWIN ON (Timeout for Digit entry on=5sec off=2sec
AOUT ON (Audio out? )
INCF OFF
APC ON
PAGC ON
WSCR ON
VSR OFF
CTSP OFF
AKBL OFF
LTI OFF
(these indicate what hardware is in the tv and should not be messed with)
OB1 254
OB2 56
OB3 254
OB4 254
OB5 224
OB6 0
OB7 0
OB8 0



TUNER

IF-PLL OFFSET 79
AGC 20
2ND AGC 25


AFA 1
AFB 1



WHITE TONE

NORMAL RED 22
NORMAL GREEN 20
NORMAL BLUE 20
DELTA COOL RED 0
DELTA COOL GREEN 3
DELTA COOL BLUE 7
DELTA WARM RED 0
DELTA WARM GREEN - 5
DELTA WARM BLUE -15
CATHODE DR 15
BLACK LVL R 6
BLACK LVL G 5

The Geometry, Superwide, 4:3 have separate values for 480i,480p, and 1080i.

GEOMETRY

VER.AMPL 20
VER.SCOR 20
VER.SLOPE 52
SERV.BLK OFF
HOR.SHIFT 25
HOR.BOW 32
HOR.PARALLEL 35
EW.WIDTH 14
EW.PARA 16
EW.TRAP 33
EW.UCORN 20
EW.LCORN 16
VER.SHIFT 32
VER.ZOOM 25
VER.SCROLL 31


SUPERWIDE

VER.AMPL 20
VER.SCOR 20
VER.SLOPE 52
SERV.BLK OFF
HOR.SHIFT 25
HOR.BOW 32
HOR.PARALLEL 35
EW.WIDTH 15
EW.PARA 16
EW.TRAP 33
EW.UCORN 20
EW.LCORN 16
VER.SHIFT 32
VER.ZOOM 25
VER.SCROLL 31


4:3

VER.AMPL 20
VER.SCOR 20
VER.SLOPE 52
SERV.BLK OFF
HOR.SHIFT 25
HOR.BOW 32
HOR.PARALLEL 35
EW.WIDTH 14
EW.PARA 16
EW.TRAP 33
EW.UCORN 20
EW.LCORN 16
VER.SHIFT 32
VER.ZOOM 25
VER.SCROLL 31


SMART SETTING

PERSONAL

MOVIE BGT 32
MOVIE COL 32
MOVIE PIC 64
MOVIE SHP 56
MOVIE TINT 0
SPORT BGT 39
SPORT COL 37
SPORT PIC 84
SPORT SHP 70
SPORT TINT 0
WEAK BGT 36
WEAK COL 31
WEAK PIC 75
WEAK SHP 14
WEAK TINT 0
MULTI BGT 39
MULTI COL 37
MULTI PIC 89
MULTI SHP 70
MULTI TINT 0

I have yet to list the geometry in the 480p and 1080i modes. In either 480p or 1080i, the geometry, super wide, and 4:3 are all the same since the set locks the screen format in those modes.

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How to adjust sharpness for the component inputs, specifically when displaying 480i material.
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Well, I personally have thought that the HD quality of the set is amazing as well as the progressive picture. So my biggest reason for adjusting this set was to make the 480i picture as good as can be. This wasn't too hard for most of the set, but 480i component looked absolutely horid. Every thing was really jaggity and just nasty looking in general. I noticed that all of the smart picture modes had a high sharpness setting, except for weak signal, and that helped out the jaggedness, but the colors really sucked, so started my adventure to adjust it so it looked good.

I got the color set how I wanted them, so I only needed to adjust the sharpness. Following this, it is also possible to adjust the tint on the component inputs, but I didn't feel the need to, so I am not 100% sure that this will actually change anything.

On the component inputs, if you want to change the sharpness, here's how I did it:

1. Get your personal picture set to how you like it. You'll want to write down the values so you'll have them. This is important becuase later on, you'll be able to adjust the sharpness and see the results in realtime, instead of having to save and turn off the set etc.

2. After you write these down, enter the service menu (062596 Status/Exit) and change to the component input you want to edit by closing the service menu (Status/Exit) then hit AV until you get to your input and then reenter the service menu (Status/Exit).

3. Go to the smart settings, the last option, and in that menu, choose a setting to modify. I chose the weak signal but any would do. You'll want to write down the numbers for the setting that you are going to change so you can reset it later on if you want. Now, put in your values that you set in step one to the setting that you choose.

4. Now hit the Menu Button, then Status/Exit, and turn off the tv at the set. Then turn it back on with the remote. (This is just to get the settings to be saved, it worked for me, but I know others have tried hitting "3" or just menu, but I don't know, do what works for you).

5. Now set the TV to weak signal (or whatever you chose to edit) and reenter the service menu and change to your input (Step 2). Now go back to the smart settings, and go to the one you edited and change the sharpness. You should see the sharpness changing in realtime. Set it to what you want and save by repeating step 4.

6. Now back in the TV, the way to get the sharpness to apply to your Personal setting, change to the setting you edited, then enter the user menu and just move the brigtness slider down then back up. Since I set the settings of the weak signal to what I wanted, I only needed to move it then back. After you do this, exit the user menu and hit the picture button. You should notice that the sharpness is now what it was on the setting you edited.

All of that just because Philips didn't include a sharpness control for the component inputs. I am assuming that this will work on HD sources as well, although I didn't try it.

As far as the Tint, I didn't try editing it, but assume it would work the same way, if it worked. Since component should have already good color balance, this shouldn't need to be edited and it may have no effect on the component inputs at all.

The Dynamic Contrast is only able to be changed on sources that are 480i, including component. My progressive scan DVD picture looks really good, as does my 1080i HD picture. After seeing what Dynamic Contrast does to the other sources, it does not look like it is turned on for the 480p or 1080i signals.

Now that I have got this set up with the sharpness on component input (for me, Sharpness at 0 looked the best), this set looks amazing. Playstation 2 and Gamecube that are not widescreen, but progressive, had me gloomy, cuz this set would strech them, and the 480i looks worse since the edges were so hard. Softer edges is what progressive appered to help the most with. My progressive DVD picture looked more film like than the interlaced output. After adjusting the sharpness of the component inputs for 480i, games that have progressive and non-progressive, look strikingly similar. This is a very good thing, since games that have progressive but not widescreen look bad streched, so now I can use the 480i mode and use the tv to set the ratio at 4:3. After I got this all configured how I liked, it was almost as if I had a new TV. I know it was just adjusting the sharpness, but after living with it set way to high, it looks much better. Interlaced DVD play aproaches that of the progressive output; lines seem smoother, not as jagged as before. They are still more jagged than the progressive output, but at viewing distance, you can't tell. In fact, one time after switching back and forth between progressive and interlaced and my gamecube and ps2, I went back to my DVD and was watching it and decided to put it back in interlaced mode for more testing. So I stopped the movie, and entered the setup for my DVD player and I was stunned that it already was in interlaced... fooled me.

As with all things in life, your milage may vary, but adjusting this brought this set to a new level for me. I no longer feel the need to buy a new DVD player that has pillarboxing for 4:3 movies in progressive mode.

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Information on Scan Velocity Modulation
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I was just messing around with my TV (30PW850H) and adjusting via the service menu, but in my doing so, I also paid a little more attention to the options in the regular menu. I have been on the lookout for a way to turn off Scan Velocity Modulation since the day I got the set, and I was just turning stuff on and off and adjusted the Dynamic Contrast. I couldn't remember exactly what SVM was supposed to do or how you knew it was turned on, so I looked it up on the internet, and came across this definition:

scan velocity modulation - TV feature; a circuit that increases the speed of electrons to their respective phosphor dots. Often produces an artificial "hard edge," which is why it should be switched off for sources such as DVD and HDTV. Used in professional projectors as a form of dithering to reduce the visibility of scan lines. Also called velocity scan modulation or, generically, edge enhancement.
(cnet.com)

This seems to be what Dynamic Contrast does as when you turn it on, edges seemed to be affected just like the description above. Is it possible that this option actually controls the SVM of the set? I'm not extremly knoledgeable on the inner workings of TVs, but this seemed logical. I have always had this option off as it seemed to make the image too crisp and detail is usually lost in the process (another thing I have heard SVM does). Opinions from the rest of you (or facts if you are postive about this)?

I was just on the philips uk site and under a description for their TVs, I found this:

Scavem : Dynamic Scavem
Dramatically improves overall definition and contrast without any discoloration or blurring.

Seems like the Dynamic contrast may be the way to turn it off.

The HD and 480p inputs don't exhibit the effects that turning on Dynamic Constrast for 480i sources, so I don't think that it is enabled on those inputs, which is very good.

EDIT: SVM can only be disabled via cutting a wire inside the tv. Even though this set does have SVM, it seems that in comparison to other sets, the HD Sanyos and Panasonics, that SVM is comparable to their low setting.

Hope this information helps Philips TV owners here. This material is from posts that I have written on other forums, but decided to share here, since probably not everyone visits every forum on the internet.

Ryan

PS. Philips has some really kick a$$ tvs over in the UK. In particular, there is a 32" widescreen that is black but encased in wood with "sapele veneer". It looks really cool. The model if you are interested in looking is 32PW9586

 

[DanielT]

hi. i wanted to ask you about your 850h. were you ever able to try it out against a Philips with the PixelPlus feature? I am debating on these and the differences between the pixelplus models and the more basic 850h. Ive seen the 850H and where it seems to perform flawlessly in a field of entry level TVs I am curious how it stacks against the 9819 or other pixelplus model. then wondering if the sony 34xbr910 revised tube model is superior to these or only marginal difference.

 

[oryan_dunn]

In HD, the Pixel plus and Digital Natural Motion have no effect. So for HD sources, the sets will preform very close to each other. For NTSC, those featers i've heard will make a big difference, although no stores around where I live carry the 9819s. The sonys have a better HD picture than the Philips, but the difference isn't worth the price difference for me. If you still view lots of older NTSC material, then the 9819 may be the way to go. If mostly DVD's and HD, then I'd say either the 850H or if you think it is worth it, the sony.

 

[paulManos]

I have this tv and found this forum. My question is: How would I adjust the actual horizontal width of the "widescreen" setting. whenever I play dvd's in widescreen format, the tv cuts off an inch or so from each side of the picture. Which setting would I use to shrink the width to accomadate the actual size of the screen?

 

[oryan_dunn]

Unfortunately, that setting cannot be adjusted in the service menu. It definitly sucks, as I must have vertical overscan to leave the aspect ratio of the picture unchanged. I've heard that the horizontal amplitude is adjusted via a control inside the set that controls how far the electron beam sweeps, which makes sense. They should have had that controlled electronically, in which case the menu option would be HOR.AMPL