Hello all,

My PN50A650 will be here Tuesday. I am replacing a 3 year old Magnavox 720p DLP. She's been a great TV but the lamp is startin to die and I have been wanting to go Plasma for sometime.

My main question has to do with what to do when I first hook it up. I looked around in some threads but didn't find what I was looking for. Either that, or the stuff is buried too far in the longer threads. I know *how* to hook it up, I mean, so I'm looking for more along the lines of customization info.

Should I go into the menu and change anything right away? I'm not familiar with the 'pulldown' stuff, and I think I read in a review on CNET that I need to enable a couple things in order to get the upscaled picture to fit the whole screen.

So any settings that are considered 'optimal' for this model of TV would be much appreciated. Or, point me in the right direction where I can find some.

EDIT -- I'm also reading about the burn-in on some of the threads here and now I'm getting pretty damn nervous. Can I get an official word on what I should do exactly the first few hours (and first couple of days) of the TV being on? I see mention of this burn-in DVD but not sure where to get it exactly, does it come with the TV?

Ciao!

Do a forum search for 'break-in dvd'. When you hook it up, it will ask you a few set-up questions, and take the TV out of 'vivid' mode. I don't about 'pulldown' stuff, but you can change the aspect ratio of the TV around - I watch pretty much just 16:9, or 'just' scan - but in 'just' mode there is no pixel shift, so I would stay away from that for long-term viewing until your tv is a couple of hundred hours in. I played the break-in disc a bit, but mostly just watched full-screen TV. Settings vary from tv to tv, but usually contrast b/w 78-88, cell light 10, brightness around 50 (I'm at work and my memory is not great). Do a google search for 50a650 calibration settings, and you'll find some starting points. I never really worried about burn-in or IR, and played PS3 and watched letterboxed movies right from the start, and never had any issues - but that was my experience and may differ from yours. I really would not worry, and just enjoy. I have a channel called 'Frame' in HD, and it just scrolls HD photos of landscapes and stuff with no logos - may help with break-in as well. Also read through the master burn-in thread on this site. have fun.

Mine arrives this week too. I've found these tips for the 550, so maybe not that different from the 650.

http://reviews.cnet.com/9602-12576_7-0.html?messageID=2510662&tag=mncol;txt


For a completely darkened room via the HDMI input with a 1080p, film-based source. Your settings may very depending on source, room conditions, and personal preference.

--Picture menu

Mode: Movie
Cell light: 8
Contrast: 91
Brightness: 55
Sharpness: 0
Color: 48
Tint: G49/R51

--Detailed settings submenu

Black adjust: Off
Dynamic contrast: Off
Gamma: -2
Color space: Auto
Flesh tone: 0
Edge enhancement: Off
xvYCC: Off

--White balance submenu

R-Offset: 25
G-Offset: 25
B-Offset: 25
R-Gain: 29
G-Gain: 25
B-Gain: 23

--Picture options submenu

Color tone: Warm2
Size: Just Scan
Digital NR: Auto
DNIe: [grayed out]
HDMI black level: [grayed out]
Film mode: [grayed out]
Blue only mode: Off


--Setup menu
Entertainment: Off
Energy saving: Off


The Samsung PN50A550 (would think the -650 does too) includes a specialized mode designed to make it easier for "AV device measurement experts," as the user manual puts it, to adjust the color control. Happily, anybody with a pair of eyes and access to a standard color bars pattern qualifies. Here's how to set it yourself.


1. After you've set up the other controls to your liking, get a color bars pattern onto the Samsung's screen. Your best bet is to use the SMPTE color bars pattern from a disc like Avia or Digital Video essentials. Or, if you're watching TV, you can wait until late at night when they show test patterns.

2. With the screen paused on the bars, navigate to the following menu:

Menu>[Picture mode; typically Movie]>Picture Options>Blue Only Mode>On

The screen will become entirely blue.

3. Go to the color adjustment:

Menu>[Picture mode]>Color

4. Look at the big blue bars on the far right and far left of the screen. Move the color control all the way up, then all the way down, and notice how the bars change in intensity. To set color correctly, you want to have both of those large bars match the intensity of both of the smaller, horizontal blue rectangles directly below the bars as closely as possible. It won't be perfect, and usually a setting around 50 is where you'll want to be.

5. Go to the tint adjustment:

Menu>[Picture mode]>Tint

Do the same thing, this time paring attention to the other two large blue bars to either side of the center black bar, and their intensity compared to the corresponding smaller blue rectangles directly below. Again, you'll probably end up near the middle of the range.

6. You'll notice that color and tint are interactive; moving one control also affects the intensity of the other control's corresponding bars and rectangles. The ideal end result is to have both sets of bars match their small rectangles in intensity as closely as possible.

7. You're done setting color. Return to the Picture Options menu and turn Blue Mode Only Mode off to return to full-color viewing.