57 Comments

1. Hello, I would just like to thank you for the 2018 run of PMCv2 boards, I missed out on the last run and have previously resorted to the Mironto DIY solution with an Arduino board.
   I am glad to hear the profits will go to a good cause, and also for supporting us to use our perfectly capable sets for a bit longer helping to sustain the environment.

   From Sweden

2. My 65V10 USA model has improved the black level substantially.
   I checked the black level using Spears and Munsil 1st edition blu ray. It looks great.
   I then checked the end credits of any blu ray movies.
   Before the chip installed, the end credits of the movies would look more grayish. Now the top and bottom of the letterbox black bars is the same as the black background of the end credits.

3. Thank you Audiadane. Good job. Incredible, my old V10 knows a new youth.
   The contrast is of course better, but the colors are also more beautiful, the set was a little faded before and now more punchy.

   Essential….

4. I moved on to a Samsung SUHD tv a year ago but my Panny 58s1 is still in my office rocking the PMCV1. Props to anyone who is still using a plasma as their main TV when Tech is clearly improved. The difference is shocking with Ulta Hd but the Panny’s black level still is up there with my Sammy.

5. Had mine Installed since the first version came out. My 2009 TV still looks great, no problems. Highly recommend.

6. Hi Dane,

   Just wanted to report that my p54s1 reached its first 150 hours of PMCv2 usage. Your device worked perfectly by resetting the black level. Thank you for this awesome piece of engineering. Take care.

   T Le

7. Sir or ma’am,

   I just want to give you a big thank you for for the PMC V2. I just installed it on my 54G10 and wow what a huge difference. My TV has 1000s of hours on it and the V2 makes the black level look good as new. I’d forget how good it looked originally as its been about 8 years since it had its first voltage change. Thank you so much for developing such a great product.

8. Purchased this product January 2017 for my 2009 46″ G15 with 5800 hours. I was expecting a nice change in black levels but this is way beyond anything I could have imagined. The picture looks stunning now. All I see is inky black with the other colors popping out. I couldn’t be happier with the product and the speed of shipping. A pleasure doing business with you. Thank you.

9. My TH-50PZ85U looks incredible thanks to the pmcv2. Install was a breeze and the blacks look incredible. Hard to believe a 2008 TV still looks this good. Get yours now before there all gone!

10. Installed the PMCv2 tonight on my Panasonic S1 50 inch. I’ve had this TV since it came out and was a frequent poster on AVS Forum about this TV. Love it. I am reluctant to go 4K right now because I can’t afford an OLED. Still not a fan of LEDs.

    My Panny was starting to really show the effects of the black level issue and I finally purchased the PMCv2. I do not regret it. Very simple to install and use, noticed the difference right away. Why did I wait so long?

    Either way, this helps extend the life of my S1 for hopefully a few more years before OLEDs come down more. 50 bux? Yeah worth it. Thanks Dane!

11. Installed on my P58S2 today. Installation was very simple and the instructions are great. The label or sticker covering my access port wasn’t very obvious but I figured it out thanks to the great pictures on the site. After installation, the green LED flashed like the instructions said it would. The light on the front of the tv was on but no picture as the instructions stated may happen but I was unable to just turn off the tv and turn it back on. I had to unplug the tv completely and plug it back in. When I turned the tv on again the lights reacted like the instructions said it should so I believe that the installation was successful. I will definitely recommend it to everyone I know that has this set. Audiodane has made this fix so simple for anyone to do and save their plasmas from being replaced. I know he saved mine!

12. Hello Audiodane,

    I want to thank you very much for your great invention.

    I have plugged the pcmv2 into my New Zealand TH-P50VT20Z with awesome success!

    Your device has reduced my TV black level from footlambert 0.015 to 0.006, that s great.

    I wish to give your product a five star rating for great instructions, shipping time and packaging. Above all a great product that has brought my TV back to life.

    I will share the link with any persons in NZ with plasma TVs of this age.

    I have also taken before and after pictures which tell the story. I will try to post them to you.

    Thanks again

13. I received the PMCv2 today for my Panasonic 42″ PX80U. I bought one of these sets new in 2008, sold it, then bought another one (used) with about 10,000 hours on it a few months ago. I absolutely loved the new set I had but the used set didn’t have the inky contrast I was expecting. Did some research, found you, and, long story short, thanks for bringing my current TV back to life. It looks fantastic!

    I especially appreciate how nicely packaged the unit is – can’t beat a true plug and play application.

14. Finally received my package today. It made it all the way from Alabama to London in around three days and then decided to stick around and see the sights for a couple of weeks, enjoying our farcical postal service on its way up to Manchester.

    Anyway, the results are fantastic. Installation was as simple as can be and the improvement was instantaneous. This morning I played through some Uncharted 4 on my Panny V10 and those underground tombs and catacombs were looking inky black. Blu Ray looks superb too. Deep blacks are absolutely crucial for some my favourite sci-fi – Alien and Bladerunner to name but two – and I’ve been trying to get them looking decent on LCD sets for years now. I picked up this plasma 2nd hand for peanuts a few weeks ago – it’s getting pretty long in the tooth now but thanks to Dane’s device it still smokes the more expensive/modern LED sets I’ve owned.

    All-in-all, it’s a great little product and the service was top notch. Many thanks, Dane.

15. This thing saved my TV.
    I had allowed my Th58pz800u to remain “unfixed” for about 7 years.
    I never thought the MLL rise affected me, and any change was just my memory.
    I was so wrong.

    There are no words to fully express what Audiodane has done for me.

16. What a fantastic product! I just used the PMCv2 on my TCP50V10 and I couldn’t be happier. The results were instantaneous and dramatic! It feels great to look upon the TV now and think to myself how great the picture quality is rather than how washed out and bright the black levels are.

    I should note that my installation didn’t go quite so smoothly. I had a loose cable connection on the PMCv2 side which resulted in unexpected LED feedback (continuous alternate flashing of green and red).

    Dane was quick to respond and helped me troubleshoot and identify the problem. So to any future purchasers out there, double check all of the connections prior to proceeding to ensure they are tightly in place. Thank you again Dane for your prompt and excellent assistance!

17. I have just fixed my third Panasonic, this time a P42U2 with the PMCv2. The results are dramatic: MLL before 0.016; after 0.006 ftL. Dane is also a fantastic guy to deal with!

18. I just installed the PMCv2 on my Panasonic S1 series plasma and the results were outstanding! I had forgotten how much the black levels had risen; it is like we have a new tv again!

    Thank you again for investing the time and effort to help support the Panasonic plasma owners.

19. Just received the device and 5 minutes later I’m experiecing a new TV!
    I have a P50VT20E, the device was easy to install and the result is amazing.
    Thank you very much!

20. Being in the UK it took a while for the device to arrive but as it came just before Christmas I still had to wait for a few more days to fit it (just in case something went wrong with the TV …boy would I have been in real big trouble if no TV over Xmas lol).

    Found it easy to fit and installation went OK but would have preferred some means of fastening board to back of TV rather than just dangling by its wires. Initially I wasn’t sure whether it had made much difference on my 2009 TC-P50G10B (5,500 hours) especially as I had been thinking my black levels had been OK anyway and wondered if I had just wasted £50.

    However it must have been the programme I was watching when I first switched it on as when I changed over to another channel I could now see a real difference with really deep blacks. Even the wife has noticed the change and commented that the colours also seem richer as well. Hopefully the TV will keep going for a few more years as I can’t see point of changing now until 4K /HDR broadcasts become more commonplace and OLEDs available at sensible prices.

    Thanks for the time and effort you have spent developing this and making it so easy to restore the TVs quality.

21. Works like a charm. The black came back on VT20!

    USPS delivery to Canada was a bonus – Canada Customs let through without me paying taxes (13%) and no brokerage fees from UPS or Fedex.

22. The installation was simple and the unit performs precisely as described.
    It is most satisfying to once again observe the panel stepping down the black level
    on the startup screen in two stages, as it did when new.
    The difference in black level is dramatic and very pleasing.
    Well done, Dane.

23. Hi,

    I just successfully got your pmc v2 working on my 2010 thp50v20a using the alternative method. I have to start my TV that method to get it to start so I removed the accessory after a successful reset.

    It works perfectly on my th42px70a, there was good improvement. I’m happy to try any other things to get it to work on v20 if you’ve got any ideas.

    Very happy however! Thank you 🙂 🙂

24. I have 50VT20E with many thousands of hours since my purchase 5 years ago…..The blacks were very bad with very aggressive black rising (shame to panasonic). Watching films was unbearable. After attaching audiodane’s magical pmcv2 the blacks became inky again! The picture now is simply staggering with colors pop out again! The true black is really the most important thing for a great tv. I can’t thank enough audiodane for his great little device!

25. Just received my PMCv2, plugged it into my g15 plasma and got my old t.v. back. I had gotten so used to my crappy black levels that I forgot how great this old plasma can look. My black levels are back to new again! Thanks Dane! I appreciate all the effort that you put into this, the best $60 I’ve ever spent!

26. TH-P65VT20A

    Hello from Australia. The device arrived well packed and undamaged.
    Installed PMCv2 #2-057 last night with no problems using the non-USA procedure. The black level has visibly improved.

    To provide some measurements of the changes I performed a calibration run before and after installation using a DVDO Test Pattern Generator and a i1D3 colorimeter profiled to an i1 Pro and CalMan software – with a 40 minute warmup before the measurements.

    0% Black Level changed from 0.0049 fL (0.0167 cd/m2) to 0.0038 fL (0.0130 cd/m2). This increased the on/off contrast ratio from 8824:1 to 11072:1
    It should be noted that the greyscale balance changed also from an average dE2000 2.04 before to 4.37 after. The change is evident across the greyscale generally as a decrease in blue.
    The colorchecker avg dE increased from 1.74 to 3.12 with the greatest change evident in the greyscale.
    The greyscale will need recalibration for the reset levels which I hope to do tonight.
    I expect I will be able to decrease my brightness setting now.
    Note that the VT20 black level rise was less aggressive than in the earlier models which should show a greater improvement.

    Thankyou for a great product in which you have obviously invested a lot of time and effort . Very happy with the improvement.

27. Received the PMC v2 this week and it works great with and brought new life to my TC-P54S1. Blacks are now as I remember they were the first time I brought the TV home.

28. Today I recieved the pmcv2. This evening I installed it on my tx-p42v10e and the black level went from grey to black.
    The colour pops again. It was easy to install plug and play.
    Now for the dutch.
    Vandaag heb ik de pmcv2 ontvangen voor mijn plasma, het installeren was makkelijk werkte vanzelf. Het verschil is dag en nacht. Beeld is weer perfect. Een echte aanrader.

29. I have a 2009 G10 that is still working. The addition of the PMCv2 has made my TV look better than new. THANKS!
    TC-P54G10

30. My PMCv2 arrived today and was installed. Visually, the difference is night and day. I finally have my blacks back. I have both a 50S1 and a 46G1, and have only installed the PMCv2 on the S1. Going back and forth between the two really illustrates how bad the blacks were before being reset. I plan to rectify this soon, with a second PCMv2 for the G1. Thanks Dane.

31. I’ve had the PMCv1 for a while now, and it works great.
    TV model is on the ‘probably supported’ list; TX-P46Z11. I can verify that it absolutely works. I will mail some photo’s later on.

32. Received and installed my pmcv2 today on my 50g10. What a difference! My tv is back to looking brand new. The contrast and brightness controls actually do something again. I was able to dial in an awesome picture just using the simple setup guide on a pixar bluray. Thank you so much!

33. Just received and installed the PMCv2 on a TC-P42S1. Easy install, no problem. Definitely worth it for me. My ‘black’ had lightened into a purple/grey, now much better. The new black isn’t inky, but it never was – the S1 panel was their intro line. I’m guessing the sweet spot for this product is the G-series from 2009/10 – lot better black to return to + likely many hours on it /lot of fading. Overall, ++ process from Dane. Would buy again. Thanks.

34. My 50v10 has been a beauty to watch since installing the PMCv1. One of the best seen improvements has been with viewing football. Before the install, the picture was always rather dark and I had to watch under the game mode setting to brighten things up without distorting the color too much. Now football, and other things of course, can be watched under my calibrated Custom mode setting giving a picture that is almost 3D-like. You are a good man and have done our community a wonderful service. Hope this new year brings you and your family much joy.

35. My PMCv1 just did its first 150hr reset. Had to turn TV off and back on. Everything looked gorgeous. Blacks are black!! I am so happy. if your still on the fence and looking at reviews to make your final decision, the wait no more. when DANE gets is refresh orders…jump on it you will NOT be disappointed.

36. Got my PMCv1 a few months back. I watch concerts a lot on my TC-P54V and the black level is amazing now.

    Thank You for the hard work!

37. My PMCv1 just did its first 150hr reset. Scared me for a moment when the tv didn’t light up, until I realized what happened and re powered. I am still very pleased with the v1. TV is better than I ever remember, even when it was new.

38. All good with TC-P46PZ80 (2008 model). Verified by i1Display Pro measurements that MLL was reduced by .006 ft-L with no negative impact. Install was a breeze too.

39. Model TCP50X1
    Can’t say how happy I am with the PMCv1. Pictures (with my camera) don’t do the change justice. After all this time I had wondered if I made the rising black levels to be worse in my head, but I could see the difference immediately (I installed it at night so I could see the change) after I installed the device.

    And for feedback of Dane and the buying process…
    Simply outstanding. Once I learned about the device it was close to release. I told myself not to get my hopes up because it might still drag out for a really long time, end up costing 5x as much, take 4 weeks to deliver, etc.
    To my delight the device came out at a very reasonable price point, was delivered super fast, and works like a charm.

    So Dane got anything else to sell?

40. Another mega-thrilled PCM user. Installation (on a 2009 G10) could not be easier and my tv looks great. I can’t show you any proof because I’m WAY better at looking at pictures than taking them, but this little critter will easily rate as the best bang-for-the-buck purchase of 2014.

    Years from now, post-apocalyptic hunter-gatherers will sit around their fires retelling the legends of the now-extinct enchanted screens of the gods, known as “The Plaz-mas” and of the time when the Plaz-mas were threatened and started to weaken. But then a brave hero – Dane of Aw-doe – rode from the south wielding his enchanted board of wonder – the “Peace of M” and did save the Plaz-mas.

    And songs of praise and wonder will be sung.

    Thanks, Dane.

41. Hey there. A message from the Netherlands. Bought it on 14-10-2014. Received it today 24-10-2014. Installed it without any problems on my panasonic 42V10 (2009 model). I also had a huge gray field over the black. After the installation of this device the LED was blinking green and after the turn off/on action my screen went back black. I first thought my screen was off but it was on. haha .What a difference!

    I can recommend every person with a pan to use this! One word. WoW.

    For the Dutch readers:
    Gekocht 14-10, ontvangen 24-10. Na installeren op de 42V10 (2009 model) en de kleine setup van het apparaat en de restart van de tv verdween de grijze waas over het zwarte scherm. Het mooie diepe zwart van deze tv is weer terug! Heb je een pana, mijn inziens kopen! Is t geld echt waard! Wat een verschil!

42. I installed Dane’s device on my 2009 TC-P50G10 about a week ago. It was like being teleported back 5 years to when the TV was new. Frankly, even though I was painfully aware of how poor the black levels had become, I didn’t realize how much they were also affecting the contrast and color saturation. Now I remember why I was so happy with this TV when I first bought it! While the reset blacks are not as inky as the most recent Panasonic plasmas, they are still excellent and once again on par with my old CRT in the kitchen, LOL. The only downside? All the hours I’m now spending stuck in front of the TV re-watching all my favorite blurays… 😉 Dane, thanks a million!

43. Got mine a week ago, installed immediately with no problems, but I wanted to observe for a few days after installation to get an idea of the result with various types of programming. I must say that overall I am quite pleased. In a dark viewing environment, black pillar box bars didn’t *completely* disappear, but are definitely darker than before. In a normally lit room, room light reflection on the screen hides this slight residual completely. I am thinking about a “don’t-it-yourself” recalibration to see if I need to reset brightness and contrast. I have 6222 hours on my 54V10.

44. My panel’s service hours as of yesterday afternoon were 22,547.00, with 6365 “turn ons”. My TC-P65V10 (Serial #MG92040325 ) arrived from Cleveland Plasma on August 29, 2009. We hefted it up into my built-in entertainment center on August 30 and it was put into service. Exactly 1,872 days later it’s been turned on an average of 3.40 times per day and powered up for an average of 12.04 hours per day. YIKES!

    As per your advice I was able to angle the panel just enough to squeeze my fat head and one hand back behind the set, remove the service connector cover and install the PMCv1 (c), plug it back in to wall power and observe the LEDs. All went well, though I did “panic” for a few moments when I powered the panel back on and had no display. I simply cycled power on the panel and was immediately STUNNED with the picture quality.

    Seriously – I really have no words for just how much better the picture is on my panel. If I didn’t know better I’d swear that someone slipped a brand-new panel into my entertainment center! The picture is quite simply better than I ever recall. Gonna have to re-watch some of my favorite blu-rays now!

    Huge thanks to clktmr, MARKONE, and mironto, and especially to you, Dane, for automating and simplifying the fix.

45. I have a 2009 Panasonic TC-P46S1. My black levels have been restored and the tv “pops” again. The unit is pretty simple to use and install. Still hard to believe we have a fix to the rising black levels. If you understand what rising black levels means then $60 for a fix is very reasonable. If you don’t understand that’s ok, you’ll still benefit because once you see the before and after pics you’ll be pleased how much better the picture looks.
    Thank you Audiodane.

46. One of my major complaints due to the decreasing black level effect was that for watching sports, I’d use my eye-ball calibrated Game setting because the professionally calibrated Custom mode was somewhat too dark and didn’t exhibit enough punch for my friends. Well, with the addition of the long awaited black level fix (PCMv1), I now have a sports picture that not only delivers beautiful, real-life, 3-D-ish images (which it always did), but now has some punch to it…Not the “big-time, digitalized”punch one sees with LCDs, but rather a more realistic punch…like the sun came out from behind the clouds.

    Furthermore, bringing the black level back to normal also brought an unexpected benefit. When watching sports prior to the PCMv1, be it on Custom or Game mode, there always was some slight blooming on the white player jerseys. Now the blooming is gone and I didn’t even have to make any changes in the TV’s settings…WOW!

47. My TV: TC65V10

    I have had mine for about a week, and I am still floored as to the results. Though there was always the DIY solution, if there is a way to mess something up I will find it. Dane’s device is simple to install (in all honesty, I expended more thought on how to open the service door without breaking it), and it operates precisely how the install guide describes. When I first bought the panel and then found out about the MLL problem right after the return window was up (literally, about two days), I was already researching my next TV (pretty sad, really). Now, I have the TV picture I originally paid for, and it is like a new display. And that is an awesome thing, in light of the fact that plasma displays are disappearing, and I love the PQ (nothing yet comes close, IMO). Thanks, Dane!

48. I have a 2009 TC-P50G10 which I love to watch movies on. Over the last couple of years I noticed the black levels becoming brighter and brighter. I don’t have any tools to measure these levels but it was clear to my eye that something was off.

    To that effect I found the various threads on AVSForum. I was going to attempt the DIY method but I have little free time and I can be lazy! 😛

    Anyways I heard that Dane was working on the PMCv1 and I have been patiently waiting for its availability. I finally bought one last week and I can’t speak highly enough about it! The black levels on my TV are great!

    Once again I don’t have any tools. I only have my eyes and it looks great! My wife never noticed the issue before and I didn’t tell her that I purchased and installed the PMCv1. It has been in for almost a week now and just yesterday she asked me what I did to the TV because “it looks alot better for some reason”.

    Buy the PMCv1 it passes the wife test! 🙂

49. Got mine yesterday. Worked perfectly! The black level is back! Very visible difference before and after. When the TV turns on you actually see the black level drop after the initial start. I haven’t seen this happen in years and almost forgot how nice the black level was. Thanks again for all your hard work. This is worth every penny.!

50. Received PMCv1 via US Postal mail.

    Item was packed in a padded envelope…the envelope appeared to be in good shape with no bends/rips etc. PMCv1 was also protected by STATIC bag inside the envelope. An instruction sheet on how to install it was in the packing envelope too. Observation: PMCv1 is very small as compared to the looking at it on a close up web site screen picture. This is not a bad thing. I just did not think to compare it to something else in the pictures for size reference. It’s actually a benefit since this allows the PMCv1 to fit into the TV panel port area after installation.

    Following the instruction sheet, I unplugged my 2009 Panasonic TC-P50G10 TV from the power source and removed the access port cover on back of TV. Actually the hardest part of this whole process was removing the access port : ) . The PMCv1 plugged into the access port connector with no issues. I restored power back to the PANY and watch the LEDs of the PMCv1 perform its pre-checks. After LED went to solid green, I turned on TV … waited (no image appeared, which was expected via the instructions)… then turned TV off and back on. The TV came on and was able to view the screen for the first time.

    I do not have any special equipment to measure MLL, Contrast Ratios or Blackness levels. All I have is my eyeballs. The change in black levels was instantly observed. Now, in the dark, I cannot see where the letterbox black bars begin from the edge of the TV benzel to the video picture in the middle of the screen… NO GRAY letterbox bars. It’s been such a long time since I have seen this.

    Thanks to audiodane for making a device that is simple to install and self updating. Plug it in and forget it. It works!

51. I purchased for my V10 set and installed as directed. The blacks do seem to pop out more. My wife also thought there was a change. So very pleased with the performance. Once downside that I only found out once I got the unit is that it cannot be used for another set. My parents also have a V10 and my logic was to buy it and reset both sets. However the directions say you cannot use it on any other set. Is there not a way I can reset their set once?
    Manny

    [DANE] As the instructions point out, the PMCv1 stores data from your TV the first time it resets your black levels in case something goes wrong and you need to undo what it did. Moving it to another TV after that time is not recommended because if a problem occurs on the new TV and you try to undo it, the PMCv1 will use the values from the previous TV (that were stored the first time), which may not help (or could even make any problems worse).

52. Product used on TC P50X1.

    Successfully implemented. Looks great.

53. Got mine yesterday, went through the easy to follow instructions, plugged the bad boy in and presto……perfect!

    TV looks brand spanking new. Really appreciate all the efforts Dane

    Thank you.

54. Made my day when I saw the package in the mail yesterday!

    65 inch V10, Hooked up, lights worked exactly as described, with the green now constantly on.

    I THINK the blacks look black-er…..but I’m not sure if it’s the placebo effect…. I took a couple iphone before and after photos and can’t see a noticeable difference. Probably from the lack of picture quality and not the PMCv1. Used the WOW Disney blu-ray “black” screen to take the photos.

55. My 54inch V10 reset perfectly. The black is back.

    Other than having to turn it on and then off one time there was no other setup or menu steps required.

    Thanks for all the hard work.

56. Works great for Model TCP58S1. Awesome to have the inky blacks back. Money well spent and I referred my father in law who quickly ordered his today for his TCP65S1.

    Thanks again. You are the best.

57. My TV: TC-P54V10
    Mine PMCv1 arrived in the mail today. Plugged it in and turned the TV ON. Reset successfully!

    Three observations/questions:

    1. As Dane described in the instructions, after the reset, the green LED was blinking once every few seconds. After the TV is turned OFF, the green LED is now constantly ON. Turn ON the TV again, and the green LED keeps constantly ON. I assume it is correct? It only blinks in the cycle when it is resetting?

    [DANE] Yes- once the PMCv1 has done its job and the TV turns off, the LED will become constant.. When you turn on the TV and no resetting is necessary, the LED will also remain constant. It only blinks when it resets the TV.
    

    2. After the reset, the TV was ON and it still showed the normal image. But it went into the initial “select language” screen. Press return and it went back to normal.

    [DANE] Yes, because you unplugged the TV to install the PMCv1. The same screen will appear anytime the TV is turned on after being unplugged (e.g. moving the TV to another room, power outage, etc).

    3. Using the “Vol-” for 3 sec, “Info”… method, the clock still shows 8440 hours. I assume this is a different clock and is not reset by this procedure?

    [DANE] Correct; the service menu timer is not the same as the black level timer. The service menu timer will continue keeping track of the “real” age of the TV.

    As I could not wait for the evening, I reset the TV without taking a “before” picture. But in any case, the black level is a lot better now.

    Thanks again and again for Dane’s efforts.

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