Originally posted by rob63
Is there something to adjust the position of the picture on the screen, knid of like you do with a PC monitor?
There is no adjustment. What you are seeing is cause by the lenses and is present in most rear projection TV sets.

Thank you "ht".
BTW...where do I go to find the access codes to get into the service menu?

Originally posted by rob63
Thank you "ht".
BTW...where do I go to find the access codes to get into the service menu?
This clip also includes the steps to change the gamma setting. I don't know if that's a good idea with your particular set.

Originally posted by millerwill
htwaits: Is it possible for you to give a step-by-step 'idiot proof' protocol for going into the SM and making this gamma change? I've never been into the SM and have always been nervous about the idea. But you sound like it's worth it. (Have a 6163.)
Can one idiot protect other idiots? ;)

Here are the "enter-SM" instructions for the HLN sets. They are the same for a HLP set but the contents of the SM and navigation keys are different. I haven't checked all the navigation instructions myself.

Find Samsung Firmware Version:

The firmware version installed on any set is recorded on the first page of the SM. There is a long ID number at the bottom of the page. The last three digits (HLN) or last four digits (HLP) are the firmware version of your set.

Remember that in any dealing with Samsung you are not supposed to know your firmware version.

Record your User Settings for "Picture" before you enter the SM. The HLP sets will revert to factory defaults for the UM when you exit the SM.

Instructions for accessing the Samsung Service Menu:

Anyone using these suggestions should know that the only change I have ever made to the SM is changing GAMMA from the default value to zero. I have never "messed around" in the SM. Remember that there is no reset function. If you see something that looks like one don't use it.

I can recommend, without any reservations, recording all original SM settings before making additional changes.

****** Thanks to LCH. 09/02/2003 ******

Turn Melody off in the user menu (allows entering the Service Menu from power On state without using a lamp cycle).

With the set ON, press Power-Mute-1-8-2-Power in quick succession.
(If the set is already off, just do Mute-1-8-2-Power )

The service menu should appear for the input you were viewing before keying the above sequence. Be sure to give the set enough time to complete the process(30-60 seconds).

While in the service menu, you can change inputs with the TV/Video button to view the SM for other modes.

Use the CH up, CH down & select keys to navigate the Service Menu. Press MENU to return to the main Service Menu after viewing individual functions.

Later, you will use the VOL(+) & VOL(-) keys to change the SM values.

" ... when you access the SM on the HLPxx63 (probably all HLP models), the directional arrows around the "Enter" button control navigation, not the volume and channel buttons ..." MacGyver1970.

To Exit the SM, power off. Leave it off for several(30) seconds. (until all cooling activity is complete)

Example steps to change GAMMA on a HLP5063 with firmware version 1011 and a build date of May 2004:

The SM main menu looks like this.

1. DDP1011 (The GAMMA setting is here.)
2. GM1601
3. DNIe
4. FLI2310
5. CXA2171
6. Vsp9437
7. Upd 64083
8. CCA
9. SP Actuator
10. OPTION (The tally of hours of lamp operation is in this menu.)

Ver: T_ATLNUS_1011 (this is the firmware version)

First record user menu entries for "picture" and enter SM.

Steps from the main SM.

1. Select DDP1011 using the directional arrow keys -- up and down.
2. Enter DDP1011. I used the right arrow key but maybe the "enter" key will work too.
3. Select GAMMA using the up or down arrow key.
4. I entered GAMMA using the right arrow key, but the "enter" key may also work.
5. I used the right and left arrow keys to change the value of GAMMA.
6. I used the up arrow key to return to the DDP1011 menu. Again, the "enter" key or "menu" key might do the same thing.
7. I returned to the main SM with the "menu" key.
8. Power off and wait for a full shut down to save entries that you have changed in the SM.

9. Power on after about 30 seconds and enter your user menu picture settings.

This change to GAMMA makes "some" owners happy. I feel that after setting GAMMA to zero and setting brightness with the DVE DVD that the details in dark scenes were improved. To really get the most out of our set I am getting an ISF calibration done by SethS.

As of 12/14/2004:
Mode = Cinema
contrast = 90
brightness = 45
sharpness = 0
color = 48
Digital NR = OFF
DNIe = OFF

Enjoy.

Thx again ht.

I must tell you, I can finally relate to the excitement in tjk's posts from back in November when he hooked up his 4674.

I just finished watching my first episode of "24" in true HD and it was awesome! It took a long time for me to pull the trigger, and I'm glad I finally did.

(My kids are all bugging me to watch dvds they haven't watched in months)

The 4674 fits great in my cabinet and is the only set that would allow me to maximize the limited space available.

Thanks to all of you here for your insights.

Originally posted by rob63
Thx again ht.

You're welcome.

rob63

your kids have the right idea!! watch those movies and "24" and stay out of the service menu!! :D

Originally posted by Mike K
I have not had my 4674 for very long. I did connect my laptop (Mac) just to test my pictures from a slide show perspective. I thought the pictures looked great, but didn't take much time to really analyze the picture but would be glad to do so. I haven't seen your other responses but have not read through this entire thread - waay too long. Would you describe for me the problem or point me to your other discussion? Mike, and others,

(1) The Focus issue is here (2 posts, with photos):
HLPxx74W Focus Problem (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5264748#post5264748)
The test: View black text on a white background... check left and right extremities of the screen.

(2) The Internal Reflection issue is here (4 posts, with photos):
HLPxx74W Internal Reflection Problem (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5291673&highlight=the+infamous+Internal+Reflection+problem#post52916 73)
The test: Place a white box in the middle of the screen on a black background... check the center of the screen for a donut-shaped reflection that becomes larger as you move the box to the right (or down).

Turn the lights off for these tests.

Gary

Originally posted by mismatched
rob63

your kids have the right idea!! watch those movies and "24" and stay out of the service menu!! :D

mismatched,
I know you're right. I have to control my "tinkering" impulse. It just seems that many people here adjust the gamma to improve dark scene appearance.
I will try to leave well enough alone and just look at Avia.

rob63

You're right also that the gamma correction has been an issue. With the expertise of htwaits and others (especially those with the same Sammy) I would think that you should be safe if your target the gamma adjustment and don't mess with anything else!! And do write all setting down as you go in case you alter something by accident..

Let me know how it goes as I have been tempted to adjust the gamma also. I chickened out and will spend the $300-400 for a pro ISF job in the next month....

m

Originally posted by GSB
Mike, and others,

(1) The Focus issue is here (2 posts, with photos):
HLPxx74W Focus Problem (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5264748#post5264748)
The test: View black text on a white background... check left and right extremities of the screen.

(2) The Internal Reflection issue is here (4 posts, with photos):
HLPxx74W Internal Reflection Problem (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5291673&highlight=the+infamous+Internal+Reflection+problem#post52916 73)
The test: Place a white box in the middle of the screen on a black background... check the center of the screen for a donut-shaped reflection that becomes larger as you move the box to the right (or down).

Turn the lights off for these tests.

Gary

I wanted to see a side by side image comparision of the focus issue you've pointed out.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=5264824&fullpage=1

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=5264748&fullpage=1

I notice that the white pixels are not defined in the 'side image' that you say isn't focusing well.

I notice on my HLP5674 that all of my pixels are uniformly defined across my screen. Is this the case with yours, which would make your camera out of focus.

Note that I'm not saying that the image on the HLP is not focused on the set - it could very well be, while still having well defined pixels (e.g. not having a true 1:1 but a very close and as you get to the edges it's trying to make the best fit, causing a blurring.)

Now as far as the Big White Box on a Black background is concerned. Do you really ever have this scenerio when using the HLP as a monitor or watching movies? I personally never have to this extreme. Admittedly the set has some minor internal reflection issues which only show up during a very dark sceen w/ a bright light sources (small circular shape about 4" across in the middle of the sceen) This is a bit annoying, but I have not seen a Microdisplay RPTV that does not show this symptom to one degree or another. It's something that I've come to live with as it happens infrequently and is nowhere near as glaringly obvious as your demonstration of the issue.

Best Regards,
Chad

Originally posted by c1courtney
I notice that the white pixels are not defined in the 'side image' that you say isn't focusing well.

I notice on my HLP5674 that all of my pixels are uniformly defined across my screen. Is this the case with yours, which would make your camera out of focus. My white-pixel definition turns to mush on the far right side. It has nothing to do with the camera, because on the far right of the picture, you can see the edge of the screen in sharp focus. I am also using a DVI graphics card with perfect 1:1 pixel-mapping (1280x720).

Now as far as the Big White Box on a Black background is concerned. Do you really ever have this scenerio when using the HLP as a monitor or watching movies? In the "Napoleon Dynamite" dance scene (white T-shirt on a black background), a rapidly expanding and contracting donut showed up whenever he moved to the right of center.

...I have not seen a Microdisplay RPTV that does not show this symptom to one degree or another. It's something that I've come to live with as it happens infrequently and is nowhere near as glaringly obvious as your demonstration of the issue. The "Napoleon Dynamite" scene was just as bad as my demonstration.

My old HLN, which was pretty bad for Internal Reflections, did not show a donut like this one does!

Gary

I'm wondering if the Optics on your set isn't messed up (and not the design itself.) I recall looking at the 4674 in the store and one of the things I did was look at the pixels across the screen to see if they were consistant. They appeared to be consistant (as I expected to be the case.)

I'll have to take some snapshots of my screen - left, center and right and post them.

I'll also have to rent 'Napolean Dynamite' and check out the dance seen and see how bad this is on my HLP5674W (not sure when I'll get around to doing this though.)

CCourtney

I THINK that once upon a blue moon I tried my PS1 with my old HLN617W set and it seemed to track ok. Don't hold me to that though. I know I hooked up my buddies PS-2 to one of the component inputs and the picture was so dark and horrible that I was glad to give it back. I don't remember any lag with that either, though.

Regs,
Jeff

Ok, I got a HDMI cable today and hooked it up to my SA83000 STB. Previously i had component going from STB through my Yamaha RX-1400 AVR to the Sammy 4674. I had the STB set to passthrough. I have to be honest here... I dont see a real difference between the component and HDMI cables. I do however have a question. Will the HDMI cable only work with digital signals?

My analog signals are gone. I suppose i could put a splitter on the cable comming in the house and hook it directly to the TV. What have you guys done? Or am i missing a setting on the STB that will allow an analog signal to pass through HDMI?

Thanks for any responses in advance

Craig

In the past I've seen you guys mention a source for cables that are cheaper and just as good as Monster. Could someone direct me to a link or let me know where I should look for this?

Also, my apartment occassionally suffers from blown circuits and I lose power. I want to be sure this doesn't damage my tv. What surge protector/power strip would you recommend?

Thanks.

Originally posted by GSB
My white-pixel definition turns to mush on the far right side. It has nothing to do with the camera, because on the far right of the picture, you can see the edge of the screen in sharp focus. I am also using a DVI graphics card with perfect 1:1 pixel-mapping (1280x720).

[B] In the "Napoleon Dynamite" dance scene (white T-shirt on a black background), a rapidly expanding and contracting donut showed up whenever he moved to the right of center.

[B] The "Napoleon Dynamite" scene was just as bad as my demonstration.

My old HLN, which was pretty bad for Internal Reflections, did not show a donut like this one does!

Gary

Here's a pic from the right side of my screen w/ a light blue background. As you can see the pixels are well defined. I think you may have gotten a set w/ defective optics.

Also I rented Napoleon Dynamite. I didn't watch the movie, but I went to chap 18 where the dance scene you talked about is located and watched the scene. I saw only the faintest hint of a lighter area in the center of the screen and that was only for a split second at two different points in the during the dance routine. I've got a 25MB AVI file if you'd like me to e-mail it to you (sorry I don't have that much space on any of my websites to dump the file)

CCourtney

Originally posted by dtooch
In the past I've seen you guys mention a source for cables that are cheaper and just as good as Monster. Could someone direct me to a link or let me know where I should look for this?

I like this one:

Blue Jeans Cable (http://www.bluejeanscable.com/)

Also, my apartment occassionally suffers from blown circuits and I lose power. I want to be sure this doesn't damage my tv. What surge protector/power strip would you recommend?

This is a large thread with a lot of differing viewpoints.

Surge Suppressor and clean power? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=277384&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)

Originally posted by c1courtney
Here's a pic from the right side of my screen w/ a light blue background. As you can see the pixels are well defined. I think you may have gotten a set w/ defective optics.

Also I rented Napoleon Dynamite. I didn't watch the movie, but I went to chap 18 where the dance scene you talked about is located and watched the scene. I saw only the faintest hint of a lighter area in the center of the screen and that was only for a split second at two different points in the during the dance routine. I've got a 25MB AVI file if you'd like me to e-mail it to you (sorry I don't have that much space on any of my websites to dump the file) CCourtney,

Thanks for your response, I do appreciate your looking into this. Your right-side pixels look pretty good, so there must be something wrong with my optics.

I'll have to pass on the AVI file though... I only have dial-up, with a 10MB restriction.

Thanks again.

Gary

Originally posted by calcraig
Ok, I got a HDMI cable today and hooked it up to my SA83000 STB...I had the STB set to passthrough... I dont see a real difference between the component and HDMI cables.
With HDMI connecting my 8300HD to my 4674, I am able to select P.Size:Expand which gives me lesss overscan and more picture. Other then that, I'm also hard pressed to see better PQ.
My analog signals are gone...am i missing a setting on the STB that will allow an analog signal to pass through HDMI?
I disabled the stretched 480 modes, set the 8300's video out to Fixed, and get all my analog channels at 720p. I think they look awful, though, and I'm dying to get a Dish HD DVR. But that's another story...

Has anyone come across any exceptional deals on these tvs? In light of the new models coming out this summer I didn't know if prices were starting to fall for this model. I am looking to make a purchase within the next week or two and would love to be confident that I am getting a fair deal.

Well, TVAuthority (an AVSforum sponsor and the place I purchased my 5674 from), just lowered the price to $3295 via the AVSForum members only link. Pity I bought it from them *before* they lowered the price, but I must admit I've thoroughly enjoyed it for those 2 months...especially the Superbowl :)

Hi folks,

What's the current verdict on using a PS2 with the 5674? Is it laggy as with the 63-series? Do progressive scan vs. non-progressive-scan games differ in this regard?

Thanks,

nj

Originally posted by Lampei
Well, TVAuthority (an AVSforum sponsor and the place I purchased my 5674 from), just lowered the price to $$$$$ via the AVSForum members only link. Pity I bought it from them *before* they lowered the price, but I must admit I've thoroughly enjoyed it for those 2 months...especially the Superbowl :) Please remember, we try not to post prices here out of respect to the great sponsors that support this forum.
You may want to edit your post. If you want to share a price, it may be best to do it by private message.

Originally posted by Harplayr
Please remember, we try not to post prices here out of respect to the great sponsors that support this forum.
You may want to edit your post. If you want to share a price, it may be best to do it by private message.

I thought you were allowed to post pricing for stores that are AVSForum sponsors (my reason for posting it) and as TVAuthority is a sponsor, wouldn't that be promoting AVSForum?

I had my HLP4674W delivered by TVauthority last week and so far I am very happy with the set. I haven't noticed any issues with smudges, stuck mirrors or video-game lag yet. I wish that SD looked a little better, but that isn't really this set's fault.

I did have a problem playing RE4 on my Gamecube connected through component cables. Since the game is letterboxed, I wanted to zoom the picture to fill out my screen, but this doesn't seem possible with progressive-scan turned on. When I disabled progressive-scan, I was able to zoom the picture. I really didn't notice that much difference with it off and there wasn't any noticeable lag, so it's not really a big deal.

I recently purchased the Panasonic S97 DVD player. I have it hooked to my set through HDMI and set to 720p output. I've been a little disappointed with the PQ so far. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I thought I would get a better picture going all digital and with the native resolution of the set. I popped in "The Incredibles" DVD and I instantly noticed a lot of noise in the blue background of the Disney intro screen. The noise was also noticeable in several other scenes. I haven't fully calibrated my set yet with the new DVD player, so that could be part of the problem.

I am curious to here other peoples's experiences with this DVD player and their DLP. I'm beginning to wonder if I should have paid the premium for a Denon 2910.

Try the DVD in 480i over component video and see what you think.

I rented The Incredibles on Tuesday and I use a 480i signal (the HLPxx74 does a great job of upconverting and de-interlacing the video.) The only thing I thought was of poor quality was the menu screens which had lines which were very jagged. The New THX intro and the Walt Disney Castle w/ Blue Background were exceptional.

I've been considering an getting an Upconverting DVD Player, but I haven't because of the quality level of the DVDs at 480i over component have been much better than expected. Note that I've got some older DVDs w/ not so good compression that don't look spectacular, but I believe it's the DVD and an Up Converting DVD player isn't going to make it significantly better.

With that said, I'd like to get some feedback from people w/ HLPxx74s and HLPxx85s on what they think of DVDs w/ 480i vs upconverted 720p

CCourtney

PS: My 2yr old boy (3 in May) absolutely loved the movie.

Originally posted by vpn75
I am curious to here other peoples's experiences with this DVD player and their DLP. I'm beginning to wonder if I should have paid the premium for a Denon 2910.

I have the Denon 1910, running at 720P.

I'm extremely pleased with the image. On close ups of people's faces, you can see every pore and hair. At times, the closeups could almost be mistaken for HD. I'm also getting great color results, with great skin tones, and acceptable dark scene performance (although that could always be a little better).

I'm sorry to hear that you're not happy with your Panasonic. I think you have a right to expect a lot from DVDs on this TV. It's not like HD, but, IMHO, the image should impress you and wow non-videophiles. If you're not getting that level performance, after tweaking with DVE or AVIA, you might want to consider another player.

Originally posted by vpn75
I recently purchased the Panasonic S97 DVD player. I have it hooked to my set through HDMI and set to 720p output. I've been a little disappointed with the PQ so far.
Have you checked out your DVD player in this thread?

Panasonic DVD-S97S Reference / FAQ / Brain dump (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=463025&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)

The first message has a summery of all the information in the thread.

Originally posted by htwaits
Have you checked out your DVD player in this thread?

Panasonic DVD-S97S Reference / FAQ / Brain dump (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=463025&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)

The first message has a summery of all the information in the thread.

Thanks, I'm working my way through the thread right now :)

I picked up my 5674 yesterday from SEKO freight. It was supposed to be delivered on the 16th, but when I didn't hear from them, after I took off from work, I called and they said they were backed up and couldn't deliver til the next day. My son and I drove the 15 miles to pick it up. Purchased from TV-Authority as well as Samsung 841 DVD player and DirecTv HD receiver with Tivo. Delivery of these items were on schedule. Haven't had time to really play with the set. Just hooked it up to my old dvd player and still had a great picture. Leaving to go on vacation tomorrow, so won't be able to fully set up set until next Friday. Talk about bad timing, but I got the great AVS pricing from Cammy at TV-Authority. This is a beautiful set.
Those of you who haven't purchased yet and are afraid to use TV-Authority, don't be afraid. I was, but I read up on the company and talked to Cammy, who will set your mind at ease with no pushing. Great service and always a phone call away. If you can't reach her and leave a message, she will call you back, sometimes within minutes if it's during her working hours.

Did I say this set is beautiful!

James

I now have my samsung STB hooked up via DVI to my 5674w and have set to "expand", but I notice there is a very thin sliver of a line of brightness on the outer left side of my screen. It is as if the picture needs to be shifted ever so slightly to the left. I don't know if this describes it well enough for everyone to understand. Has anyone ever experienced this and can it be corrected?

Originally posted by buc18
I now have my samsung STB hooked up via DVI to my 5674w and have set to "expand", but I notice there is a very thin sliver of a line of brightness on the outer left side of my screen. It is as if the picture needs to be shifted ever so slightly to the left. I don't know if this describes it well enough for everyone to understand. Has anyone ever experienced this and can it be corrected?
Your STB should have controls to adjust the location of the image.

Thanks for the tip! Worked like a charm! It is now gone and I can enjoy watching NCAA bball now and quit worrying about it. Thanks so much again.

You're welcome.

Originally posted by c1courtney
I've been considering an getting an Upconverting DVD Player, but I haven't because of the quality level of the DVDs at 480i over component have been much better than expected. Note that I've got some older DVDs w/ not so good compression that don't look spectacular, but I believe it's the DVD and an Up Converting DVD player isn't going to make it significantly better.

With that said, I'd like to get some feedback from people w/ HLPxx74s and HLPxx85s on what they think of DVDs w/ 480i vs upconverted 720p CCourtney,

I, too, am very impressed with DVD over a 480i component connection to this TV. The Faroudja chip in the TV does a great job. When properly calibrated, the picture quality is excellent, except for a few flaws introduced by the analog connection and the D-A and A-D conversion.

However, I decided to try an upconverting player, and I have been delighted! It isn't quite a night-and-day difference, but I would not even consider going back to 480i.

The fully digital upscaling has distinct advantages:
1. The picture is definitely sharper, and the level of detail is excellent. Well-recorded DVD's look simply stunning.
2. Better results in flesh-tones, and less banding in graduated colors or grayscale ramps.
3. The connection is entirely noise-free. For example, in "Shark Tale", the colors in the animation are rock-solid... no noise whatsoever. By comparison, a component connection introduces a considerable amount of noise, visible with the same material.

On the other side of the coin, fully digital upscaling has some disadvantages:
1. All the flaws in the source material become glaringly obvious, including transfer/compression noise, film grain, edge enhancement, and macroblocking (an artifact of heavy MPEG2 compression). Badly recorded, or heavily compressed movies can look worse than before, only because an analog connection tends to soften the flaws with the dithering effect of noise and other inaccuracies.
2. Macroblocking, in some scenes, can be exaggerated by a bug in the Faroudja processor.
3. The Faroudja lip-sync (video delay) issue rears its ugly head from time to time, unless the manufacturer has specifically taken steps to work around the problem.

It is extremely important to calibrate your display to the new player, using the full range of the contrast ratio. That goes a long way to reducing artifacts to an acceptable level.

I picked the Oppo DV971H DVI player, because, for $199 MSRP, it has ALL the right hardware, including the excellent, and super-fast, Mediatek MPEG decoder and the Faroudja processor. The player has its flaws, but they seem to be fixable with firmware. OppoDigital has already issued the first firmware upgrade, and we are expecting another soon. The upgrades can be done yourself.

The Panasonic would be a close second for me. It currently has fewer firmware issues, but their choice of MPEG decoder chip is unfortunate.

Gary

Gary,

Thanks for the feedback. I've tried to get this kind of feedback a few times in the DVD portion of the forum with little feedback and less detail.

So as with everything there are advantages and disadvantages.

I will probably hold out on getting another DVD player until BlueRay or HD-DVD wins out. Then I'll get one w/ Upconvertering capabilities for my old DVDs. Unless of course I hit the lottery for $200M then I just go nuts and buy everybo... err... I better not say what all I'd do I might be held liable :D

CCourtney

Has anyone looked at the specs for the new 4677 series. I may be wrong, but they look to be about the same except the new one has an hdtv tuner and maybe some more inputs. Overall dimensions and picture specs look the same.


I hope this is true, because that means my 4674 is still up to current model performance spec.


-mike b

Originally posted by mike9186
... and maybe some more inputs. Overall dimensions and picture specs look the same.

They should look the same because they are the same except for fewer inputs -- no DVI or VGA according to the spec sheet.

There does seem to be a digital audio out connector on the rear panel illustration but I didn't see it in the specs.

For those who live in the S.F/San Jose CA. Bay area and are interested the Samsung sets have been dropped in price big time. Check out the Fry's GoodGuys and Magnolia HiFi stores. I know because I paid close to full pop :-( for my 46" Love the TV though. :-)

A couple hundred off regular price at Goodguys.com doesn't seem that great of a deal on HL-P5674W. I've seen much bettter price reductions on Ebay and searching Nextag.com.

Originally posted by VideoNavi
A couple hundred off regular price at Goodguys.com doesn't seem that great of a deal on HL-P5674W. I've seen much bettter price reductions on Ebay and searching Nextag.com.

but you will likely NOT get a factory warranty and having a local guy to take care of you in case something does go wrong is worth a couple 100$ easy!! Called piece of mind knowing who you are dealing with!! Ebay is fine for a $500 camera (with authorized warranty) but a $3000-4000 TV????

Originally posted by fibreKid
For those who live in the S.F/San Jose CA. Bay area and are interested the Samsung sets have been dropped in price big time. Check out the Fry's GoodGuys and Magnolia HiFi stores. I know because I paid close to full pop :-( for my 46" Love the TV though. :-)

FibreKid - I wrote you a PM

I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth the money to invest in ISF calibration for my Samsung HLP4674. I'm currently using a Motorolla HD DVR connected via DVI, the latest Samsung upconverting DVD player connected via HDMI, an XBOX connected via component, and PC via RGB/VGA.

I just ordered Avia, and I'm willing to test my luck making changes in the service menu. (after recording default levels)

The picture issues that I'm interested in addressing include screen geometry/pincushion, (known issue w/4674) color levels, greyscale, contrast, etc.

My assumption is that ISF calibration is less important on this set than others since the single DLP chip design negates the need for convergerce.

I'm interested in getting feedback from single chip DLP owners that have performed their own service menu calibrations, or that have hired a pro. For those that performed their own calibration, I'm interested in learning whether I should invest in any test equipment. (color charts, meters ect.)

Thanks in advance for your help!

I'm interested as well, as I have the 5674 and have an ISFer coming in a week or so. I got a good price, and I'm just excited to get the most out of the set, well beyond my own attempts with a DVD.

Originally posted by Colbyr
I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth the money to invest in ISF calibration for my Samsung HLP4674. .....

My assumption is that ISF calibration is less important on this set than others since the single DLP chip design negates the need for convergerce....

Thanks in advance for your help!

It all depends on your satisfaction level and your particular set. There are those of us who are so satisfied with our xx74's PQ that an ISF calibrations seems like an unneeded expense.

Then again, there are owners who were blown away with how much better their sets looked after a professional ISF calibration.

Finally, there are those of us like myself who love the present PQ of his 5674 via Comcast and via a 3910S Denon DVD player, but yet believe that a terrific ISF calibrator will TOTALLy blow me away!!

I bet this helped alot!! :D :rolleyes:

mismatched

Well, as luck would have it, I now have a dose of remorse - not because there's anything wrong with my set - I love the 4674. I got the 4674 for space constraints - now I'm moving next month and I've got plenty of space - so much so that there's a front projector in my future somewhere. In the meantime, I want a 5674. Anyone know the best way to trade up? Unfortunately, while I certainly liked TV Authority's service, this is the drawback of not buying locally - nowhere to trade in. Where's the best place, if any, to sell? Ebay? Audiogon? Would love some suggestions.

In case anyone is interested, my set is 6 months old with 3 mo. extended warranty from Samsung - has zero problems - no smudges, dead pixels, audio delay, or any of the other stuff folks love to complain about. All original packing materials as well. PM me if interested.

Originally posted by tjk
Anyone know the best way to trade up?
I don't know of any local dealers that do trade-ins. ;)

Prices are going lower now so that helps and hurts at the same time.

Someone suggested that I use Yahoo (local) rather than EBay if I sold my set. I would definitly want to sell it locally so I wouldn't be involved in shipping and could sell it "as is" after a great demonstration.

Originally posted by htwaits
I don't know of any local dealers that do trade-ins. ;)


Except the guy you were lucky enough to deal with;) , and skilled enough to negotiate with.

My point was basically that if you want a $600 to $1K upgrade on a product you purchased 6 months ago, there are a lot of dealers who would work with you if they sold you the original product. You wouldn't get what you paid, of course, but it would help offset a decent portion of the new set. The store can sell a 6 month old TV as an open box item and they still make a profit, plus they sell you a new set.

Not saying dealers should do that, but some will. It's not like I haven't enjoyed the 4674, and I knew when I got it that I'd be house hunting in the spring, just looking for a viable solution. Someone out there could get a good as new TV at a darn good price.:)

"Help you get bigger"

not going to touch that one! :D

Originally posted by tjk
Except the guy you were lucky enough to deal with;) , and skilled enough to negotiate with.

That was before the sale and after sending him several customers. :)

The store can sell a 6 month old TV as an open box item and they still make a profit, plus they sell you a new set.

Sure. That's also what made my deal work. In fact with the price changes I got a small refund which I applied to an improved extended warranty. Unfortunalty I didn't get the HLP5674 with a "seven element" color wheel. :rolleyes:

Someone out there could get a good as new TV at a darn good price.:)

Look for someone local who will appreciate that. Stay small until you find the right person.

this is probably covered,but this is 91 pages long, i just brought home my hlp 5674w, , looks pretty nice without setting anything,
one thing, there is a kind of shimmering or grain or something if you look real close, is that just part of having a bigger tv? my 50 inch lcd didnt have that, this is dlp is that the difference? i suppose i will get used to it,
i'll have to try the calibrating dvd if i can find one online

swenjj -
Congrats on joining the owners group ---

Some call what you are seeing the green swarm -- most dlps have some level of this -- in general it probalby means your brightness it set too high. The factory presets are designed for bright show rooms so they are definitely not optimal. At lower brigtness settings this will become much less obvious. Also the first 40-100 hours of use the bulb color will settle in to it normal pattern. Most of us noticed the picture improves dramatically after one to four weeks of use.

(Lots of posts about best settings and break-in period earlier in this thread).

Originally posted by Colbyr
I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth the money to invest in ISF calibration for my Samsung HLP4674. I'm currently using a Motorolla HD DVR connected via DVI, the latest Samsung upconverting DVD player connected via HDMI, an XBOX connected via component, and PC via RGB/VGA.

I just ordered Avia, and I'm willing to test my luck making changes in the service menu. (after recording default levels)

The picture issues that I'm interested in addressing include screen geometry/pincushion, (known issue w/4674) color levels, greyscale, contrast, etc.

My assumption is that ISF calibration is less important on this set than others since the single DLP chip design negates the need for convergerce.

I'm interested in getting feedback from single chip DLP owners that have performed their own service menu calibrations, or that have hired a pro. For those that performed their own calibration, I'm interested in learning whether I should invest in any test equipment. (color charts, meters ect.)

Thanks in advance for your help!

I'm of the opinion that ISF cal is going to do little beyond my use of DVE on the set. I may be wrong but I'll never find out because I don't intend to have it ISF Cal'd.

There's nothing you can do about pincushion on the DLP RPTVs as they're fixed optics and unlike CRT you can't just change the sweep of beem to fix it.

Convergence is one of the biggest items I'd consider getting an ISF cal for. This is an item that can frustrate the best of people in trying to calibrate a TV. However, this is a non-issue w/ a single chip DLP RPTV.

That leaves a few things. Color, Brightness, Contrast, Screen positioning.

With DVE you can get about as close as your going to get w/ Color. Due to the color wheel you'll never get a perfect color match but you can do it so that you get a pretty damn good colors. My blue and red color match well with the DVE color filters but the green leaves a bit to be desired. I believe it's a combination of the poor green color filter in DVE and the 6 seg color wheel not able to represent greens as well. Anyway I'm quite happy with the color calibration.

Brightness and Contrast are pretty good w/ DVE settings (Looks right on target when viewing INHD and HDNET broadcast test patterns after setting up w/ DVE test patterns.)

The one thing I found on my HLP 5674 when viewing the overscan patterns was the my picture was shifted to the right and shifted up (This was on DVE and on Broadcast test pasterns provided by INHD and HDNET.) This was fixed in the SM by setting the positioning from V:30 H:60 to V:31 H:63 (excuse me for just using V and H as I don't recall what exactly the SM labled these as but it was somthing along the lines of Vertical and Horizontal Position) I've got somewhere around 3% overscan and the Vertical was off by about 0.5% and the vertical was off by about 1.5%

CCourtney

Chad,

One thing to keep in mind. The DVE overscan pattern is actually flawed and should not be used to center your picture. I believe either Guy Kuo or resident expert Cheezmo may have mentioned this in the past. Use the Avia overscan pattern to center the picture if you have it.

I'll see if I can dig up the actual post/website that talks about this.

Regs,
Jeff

Ok I lied...

Here's the actual text that talks about it from over on another forum.

>>>>>>>
I have compared Avia / DVE overscan patterns on the same DVD player and have found DVE to be 1/2% high on the screen in regards to AVIA. In other words, the centers of the 2 patterns do not agree. Since in my case the overscan on my set was done with an external grid, and AVIA is in agreement with the grid, I have to give AVIA the nod as the most accurate screen positioning.

Joe Kane was very nice to respond to me when I questioned this, and he supplied a couple detailed responses (which are in a thread on this forum titled "DVE response (Joe Kane) on....."). It essentially boils down to the fact that there are no standards for screen center in the NTSC broadcast specifications, hence each DVD maker determines screen center based on what they consider correct.

Therefore, IMHO, you can use AVIA or DVE if you wish, however do not expect to have a spot on setup, it will vary between DVD's, and between players. If you want a more nearly correct TV setup you should use an external reference, ideally a signal generator, or for all of us that cannot afford one of those, an external grid.
>>>>>>>

So just keep that in mind. You can use whichever one you want... but it might not jive with all material.

Apologies for putting words in other people's mouths. :)


Regs,
Jeff

I purchased back in December the HLP4663W and just now I'm resolving my issues with it. Constant video-lag on game consoles and other assorted lip-sync issues, the usual... so I went through the whole process with Samsung, then the local tech (QualityTV - "oh, this is unfixable"), and then back to Samsung.

Long story short, they're offering me an "upgrade" to the 74-series (HLP4674) for 200. My question is, should I take it, or will I still notice in that model this VERY annoying lip-sync/video-lag issue? THe lady over the phone claims that it will, but I'm not quite going on her word so easily after they didn't call me back on two occasions. She was pretty nice though! ;)

Anyway, I purchased it at CC with a 4 year protection plan and I'm assuming that doing this would not roll over to the new model? I'll probably call Samsung up and ask, but I assume others were/are in the same situation. :\

-Tom

my 5674 doesnt have any lag on xbox that i noticed last night, but that is with the high def pack ,

Originally posted by swenjj
my 5674 doesnt have any lag on xbox that i noticed last night, but that is with the high def pack , Well I use the hi-def pack and notice on 480p games where it lags. Sudeki is one that comes off the top of my mind. Sounds promising, I guess we'll see what others say about it. Thanks. :)

Jeff,

Thanks for the post. I did notice that on INHD and HDNET test patterns that the image was slightly off, maybe by 1/2% percent, on the vertical axis after using DVE to do the centering. I figured that this was due to my SA8300HD DVR and my DVD player differing slightly which appears to be the case.

Another thing to note though is that the THX Optimizers circle pattern test (with two outlining rectangles) is perfectly centered after I made the adjustment w/ DVE overscan test pattern.

I think I'll still try and find a copy of Avia that I can borrow and recheck everything and Calibrate to it and then I can report both sets of numbers.

BTW, has anybody observed any effect from the 'Sharpness' control on their Sammy DLPs. The only place I've tried it is during the test patterns and I see absolutely not difference between 0 and 100.

CCourtney

Originally posted by Draco355
Well I use the hi-def pack and notice on 480p games where it lags. Sudeki is one that comes off the top of my mind. Sounds promising, I guess we'll see what others say about it. Thanks. :)

I haven't noticed any lag with the XBOX games I've played so far. I even tried RE4 on my gamecube in 480i and didn't notice it there. Maybe it is more prominent in certain games. I was under the impression that games that support 480p don't suffer from this problem.

Chad,

My understanding was that the Sharpness only has an effect if the DNIe "feature" is engaged. Since this reprehensible (IMHO) "feature" is the first thing I turn off on these sets... Sharpness has zero effect.

I'll try to test out this theory again tonight if I get a chance. I still haven't tried the 480i vs. DVI thing yet... but I'll try to do that as well.

Regs,
Jeff

Originally posted by vpn75
I haven't noticed any lag with the XBOX games I've played so far. I even tried RE4 on my gamecube in 480i and didn't notice it there. Maybe it is more prominent in certain games. I was under the impression that games that support 480p don't suffer from this problem.
Hmm, I'm pretty sure it was in 480p, and I'm pretty sure it felt very soft/delayed in the controls. On the GC with regular composite in RE4, is there anything noticeable with lag? We don't have the component cables available to us at all for the GC so watching my friend try to aim was rather heartbreaking. Poor ashley. *grin*

[Edit: Also, the best way to test this lag was with Super Smash Bros Melee, that was god-awful and disgusted everyone trying to play it.] :(

I've been researching for a couple of months and just received my 5674 last week (many thanks to all the info on this forum!). The set is amazing and it is very nice to be on the other side of these threads as an owner. I'm so overloaded with work I don't have the time to dedicate to tweaking just yet, but have had a few weird issues I'm curious about.

I have an SA 8300HD DVR connected via HDMI. Using the 8300 remote programmed to turn on the TV at the same time as the 8300, the 8300 sometimes turns on and then immediately off. Is this an HDCP handshake issue due to both starting at the same time? Could this be avoided with a Harmony remote? Where can I find the SA 8300 code to program the Samsung remote (no SA cable boxes are listed in the Sammy documentation) to see if that would solve the problem?

The 8300 can output all formats and I thought this would be a good thing because the TV would do the processing. When I'm set up this way and change from one channel to another where the output signal changes the TV screen goes black and the speakers pop. It's as if it can easily handle the signal type change. It does work sometimes, but not reliably. Would this be improved with component cables? For now I'm just having the 8300 output at 720P so my wife and kids don't encounter the issue (don't want anyone upset considering the $ spent!)

Thanks!
Charlie

Originally posted by Iceblade
Chad,

My understanding was that the Sharpness only has an effect if the DNIe "feature" is engaged. Since this reprehensible (IMHO) "feature" is the first thing I turn off on these sets... Sharpness has zero effect.

I'll try to test out this theory again tonight if I get a chance. I still haven't tried the 480i vs. DVI thing yet... but I'll try to do that as well.

Regs,
Jeff

That makes perfect sense since the first thing I do is turn off DNIe.

It also makes sense that they'd want an adjustable bias factor for the 'non-uniform processing' (adaptive filtering) that DNIe does to make the image more 'natural' looking.

CCourtney

Charlie,

Which remote do you have with the SA8300HD. Most cable companies are giving the Atlas DVR/PVR 5 device remote with it but there is not a specific remote for the SA8300HD box itself http://www.timewarnercable.com/Media/68/FAQ/documents/AtlasDVRManual.pdf

I personally don't like the 'Master Power Key' feature on this remote because then you have no individual power control. I use my Kameleon 9960 remotes macro to power everthing on. I wonder if on that remote it starts resending the sequence if you hold the power button down to long (and thus the DVR gets it twice on occasion.) BTW, both of these remotes are 'JP1 Remotes' and can be reprogrammed significantly beyond simple learning. Check out http://www.hifi-remote.com/jp1/help/index.shtml if you're interested.

Another possibility is if it only does it late at night. Most cable companies have the SA8300HDs come on late at night to run diagnostics and do some cleanup. I wonder if your DVR isn't actually on and when you hit the macro it's toggling the power of the DVR to off.

CCourtney

I have the SA AT8400 remote from TWC which makes me think I have some HDMI issue. The Master Power Key feature worked great with the old TV via component (never tested the Sammy with component). If I do just want a single device to turn on or off I press that function key and then the power button within 3 seconds (nice override feature). FYI: My 8300 has the Passport firmware if that matters to anyone.

This problem is anytime. I have the 8300 only display time if it is on so it's easy to tell it's status although it seems to have more functionality now with HDMI (the time shows and then disappears and only part of the display is lit when this happens like it knows something isn't right). I plan on turning off the master power feature and powering on the 8300 with the TV on and off to determine a real pattern.

Thanks for the link, I guess a new remote isn't out of the question. I also posted something in an 8300 thread and they also recommended JP1 remotes.

Any thoughts on the signal switching popping and black screen?

Thanks,
Charlie

Originally posted by c1courtney
Charlie,

Which remote do you have with the SA8300HD. Most cable companies are giving the Atlas DVR/PVR 5 device remote with it but there is not a specific remote for the SA8300HD box itself http://www.timewarnercable.com/Media/68/FAQ/documents/AtlasDVRManual.pdf

I personally don't like the 'Master Power Key' feature on this remote because then you have no individual power control. I use my Kameleon 9960 remotes macro to power everthing on. I wonder if on that remote it starts resending the sequence if you hold the power button down to long (and thus the DVR gets it twice on occasion.) BTW, both of these remotes are 'JP1 Remotes' and can be reprogrammed significantly beyond simple learning. Check out http://www.hifi-remote.com/jp1/help/index.shtml if you're interested.

Another possibility is if it only does it late at night. Most cable companies have the SA8300HDs come on late at night to run diagnostics and do some cleanup. I wonder if your DVR isn't actually on and when you hit the macro it's toggling the power of the DVR to off.

CCourtney

Not sure about the blank screen and poping issue. I've seen some temporary blank screens w/ my 8300HD but no signal popping when changing channels (all audio is done on my receiver and not my TV BTW) The only time I get popping its when some TV stations transistion from commerical to commerical that are broadcast in Dolby D. I assume thats because the TV station doesn't keep a constant digital audio feed going and the partial data at the end/beginning of a commerical ends up making a short POP/Crackle. It's only certain stations that this happens on (and only on stations w/ Dolby D)

We use SARA here instead of Passport, but I don't think that would cause the set to go off. Nor can I think of a logical reason why a DVR would go off due to bad communication over HDMI (now my TV will go off after a number of seconds if its not getting a signal.)

If you decide to get a new remote I'd avoid the Kameleon 9960 that I bought. The back lit / multi-view coolness factor wears off fast and if you don't disable the motion sensor it will go through batteries like swiss cheese. There Hifi Remote 'JP1' forum has good suggestions. I only use my Kameleon for the macro's now that I've got the Atlas 5 which doesn't support real macros, but has been reprogrammed to support all of my equipement very well.

CCourtney

Originally posted by NCCharlie
I plan on turning off the master power feature and powering on the 8300 with the TV on and off to determine a real pattern.
It must be a feature of the 8300 with HDMI because after deactivating the master power feature it is repeatable. With the TV on the 8300 always turns on and stays on (although it gives me a big ugly black section where the menu usually is- changing channels or calling up the menu clears this). With the TV off, the 8300 only partially comes on (based on the front display). There does seems to be a time variable at work as well because once it is really on and I turn off the TV, the cable box will turn on and off normally if the time off hasn't been too long.

I guess I'll turn on devices individually or switch to a component cable. Does the signal switch over component cables work better than HDMI? I'd play with the cables a lot more, but the 5674 only has ~.5" clearance on the sides of my built-in and I don't have easy rear access (which is why I bought it!).

Charlie

Are you using HDMI or component with your 8300? I guess I may have to go get a new DVD player to have a use for the HDMI cable ;)

Originally posted by c1courtney
Not sure about the blank screen and poping issue. I've seen some temporary blank screens w/ my 8300HD but no signal popping when changing channels (all audio is done on my receiver and not my TV BTW) The only time I get popping its when some TV stations transistion from commerical to commerical that are broadcast in Dolby D. I assume thats because the TV station doesn't keep a constant digital audio feed going and the partial data at the end/beginning of a commerical ends up making a short POP/Crackle. It's only certain stations that this happens on (and only on stations w/ Dolby D)

We use SARA here instead of Passport, but I don't think that would cause the set to go off. Nor can I think of a logical reason why a DVR would go off due to bad communication over HDMI (now my TV will go off after a number of seconds if its not getting a signal.)

If you decide to get a new remote I'd avoid the Kameleon 9960 that I bought. The back lit / multi-view coolness factor wears off fast and if you don't disable the motion sensor it will go through batteries like swiss cheese. There Hifi Remote 'JP1' forum has good suggestions. I only use my Kameleon for the macro's now that I've got the Atlas 5 which doesn't support real macros, but has been reprogrammed to support all of my equipement very well.

CCourtney

i posted this on the Denon 2910 thread. Thought I would post it here as well: I recently hooked up a 2910 to my samsung 5674 with analog(for SACDs and DVD-As) and optical. After doing some reading on this thread I decided to take the suggestion of some and run dvd soundtracks thru the analog 5.1 as well so the Denon's DACs would be utilized rather than my 6 yr old Pioneer receiver. The only problem: I have audio sync issues when playing movies this way. Is there something I can do to correct this? If not I will just use the optical link, as there is no sync problem with this connection.

Originally posted by NCCharlie
Are you using HDMI or component with your 8300? I guess I may have to go get a new DVD player to have a use for the HDMI cable ;)

I've tried it with both. I typically leave it on component though as it makes it easier for my wife who is HT Challenged so it's easiest to let my Audio Receiver do the switching on component video. And the image quality does not improve significantly between component and HDMI even on stations like INHD (where I'd expect to see the most dramatic differences.)

I haven't experienced the issue you described over HDMI or Component.

CCourtney

Originally posted by NCCharlie
It must be a feature of the 8300 with HDMI because after deactivating the master power feature it is repeatable. With the TV on the 8300 always turns on and stays on (although it gives me a big ugly black section where the menu usually is- changing channels or calling up the menu clears this). With the TV off, the 8300 only partially comes on (based on the front display). There does seems to be a time variable at work as well because once it is really on and I turn off the TV, the cable box will turn on and off normally if the time off hasn't been too long.

I guess I'll turn on devices individually or switch to a component cable. Does the signal switch over component cables work better than HDMI? I'd play with the cables a lot more, but the 5674 only has ~.5" clearance on the sides of my built-in and I don't have easy rear access (which is why I bought it!).

Charlie

Ok, so it does appear to be something do to the HDMI. With that being said, I believe the 'master power key' feature turns all the components on almost simulatenously. The Macro on my remote has a 1/2 sec delay between actions and I turn the TV on, then the receiver, then the cable box. So the TV is on at least one second prior to the cable box. This delay could allow the HDMI of the TV to be active prior to the Cable Box comming up and looking for communication over HDMI.

CCourtney

It could just be my set. It turned itself off last night and then again this morning and gave me the dreaded 3 blinking lights. I turned it back on and noticed the colors degraded (like looking at a PC set to 256 colors). The remote and all the buttons on the side wouldn't work so I had to unplug it to get it shut down.

It's less than a week old and hopefully Tweeter still has some new ones. I'm waiting for a call from their rapid response team

Oh the joys of hi-tech toys!
Charlie

For what it's worth, I had an issue getting my Harmony remote to turn the Sammy on (off was fine) and the Harmony would not select the DVI input for watching a DVD.

When I hit the "Watch a Moive" button on the Harmony 659, it would turn the Sammy on, power up the Dennon 1910 but never switch the input.

The cure was to use the discreet code for DVI-3, not DVI-1 like you would think. This can be changed on the Harmony website under your account pretty quickly and easily too.

Here is post about it..
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=523217

Here is an excerpt-
I had an issue with the 659 not turning on the Samsung (it woudll turn off though) and the web site walked me though it and I was able to fix that. However when I hit the "Watch a Movie" button, the 659 would never select the DVI input that my Denon 1910 that is hooked up to on the Sammy HLP5674W.

I called their tech support, got thru quickly and it was very helpful. Most companies seem to be driving to Chat or email support, so I was shocked to see a number I could call. I got a hold of a guy named Harry that walked me though it and we found that even though the 5674W only has one DVI input, that Samsung refers to it as DVI 3 or in othe words, the single DVI uses the deiscreet code for DVI 3. So once we told the 659 to use the discreet code DVI 3 and not DVI 1, even though there is only on DVI input on the Sammy, it worked great.

Hope this is useful, Matt

If I wanted to hook up a PC to my 5674, would I be able to use the DVI slot (I know some TVs won't accept a PC DVI connection) or would I have to use the VGA port?

Originally posted by Burkhardi
I called their tech support, got thru quickly and it was very helpful. Most companies seem to be driving to Chat or email support, so I was shocked to see a number I could call. I got a hold of a guy named Harry that walked me though it and we found that even though the 5674W only has one DVI input, that Samsung refers to it as DVI 3 or in othe words, the single DVI uses the deiscreet code for DVI 3. So once we told the 659 to use the discreet code DVI 3 and not DVI 1, even though there is only on DVI input on the Sammy, it worked great.[/i]
Hope this is useful, Matt [/B]Harmony has one of the best customer support teams I have come across. They have helped me on several occasions.

You will get the best results using the DVI port. If you use the VGA connection then the input will have to be converted to analog first. Both will work.

Originally posted by htwaits
You will get the best results using the DVI port. If you use the VGA connection then the input will have to be converted to analog first. Both will work.

Great! Thanks.

Originally posted by htwaits
You will get the best results using the DVI port. If you use the VGA connection then the input will have to be converted to analog first. Both will work.

I was able to hook up my PC to my DLP quite easily through DVI. When I set the picture to Expand mode, i noticed that there was still some overscan. It screwed up my HUD a little in Half-Life 2. I find the text easier to read in Expand mode, but there is less overscan in Wide PC mode. I guess I'm not getting exactly 1280x720 in Wide PC. Can anyone confirm this?

Originally posted by vpn75
I was able to hook up my PC to my DLP quite easily through DVI. When I set the picture to Expand mode, i noticed that there was still some overscan. It screwed up my HUD a little in Half-Life 2. I find the text easier to read in Expand mode, but there is less overscan in Wide PC mode. I guess I'm not getting exactly 1280x720 in Wide PC. Can anyone confirm this?

When set 1280x720p Expand on DVI you are 1:1 pixel mapping but overscan loses part of the screen.

When set 1280x720p Wide PC you are scaled using the WidePC controls so you fit on the screen but you lose 1:1 because of the scaling.

When set 1280x720p Wide (regular Wide) you are not one to one and there is more overscan than in the Expand mode.

If you search around you should find some discussion somewhere about setting video card settings such that you have a smaller desktop area but still output 1280x720 so that you can maintain the 1:1 pixel mapping. I'm not sure if it is on AVS Forum, or if you'll have to resort to Google, though.

Originally posted by Cheezmo
If you search around you should find some discussion somewhere about setting video card settings such that you have a smaller desktop area but still output 1280x720 so that you can maintain the 1:1 pixel mapping. I'm not sure if it is on AVS Forum, or if you'll have to resort to Google, though.

OK, thanks. I did play around a bit with some custom-resolutions, but couldn't find one that really fit my display. FYI, I have an Nvidia 6800 OC graphics card.

I'm also curious what sort of keyboard/mouse setup those of you with HTPCs are using. I'm in desperate need of a wireless solution.

This is for those interested:
As I'm sure all have seen Samsung no longer has the link active on their site for the HLPxx74W models and now list the latest HLR models HLRxx77W model listed. I wanted to inform those looking that the HLPxx74W model is no longer shipping and the HLRxx77W models is to replace that model. IT DOES STILL HAVE THE ULTRA SLIM BEZEL for those wanting to know for those hard to fit spaces.
We are to have a small delivery arriving real shortly on these models and have special AVS powerbuy pricing as of today. For all of you interested please contact me directly at the information provided below to discuss more details on these models differences and similarities.
Here is some of Samsung links for these models for you to read on:

HLR4677W: http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=HLR4677WX%2fXAA

HLR5677W: http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=HLR5677WX%2fXAA

Cambryn :)
cambryn@tvauthority.com
1.888.286.5353 ext.520


If anyone has any questions on this model please feel free to post and we will answer it to the best of our knowledge :)

It sounds like those who want a great HTPC set with DVI + HDMI + VGA who are like me in a area that will never have cable available had better start scrambing to find the remaining HLPxx74.

(BTW Cambryn your prices on the new sets at TVA look great!!!)

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
It sounds like those who want a great HTPC set with DVI + HDMI + VGA who are like me in a area that will never have cable available had better start scrambing to find the remaining HLPxx74.

(BTW Cambryn your prices on the new sets at TVA look great!!!)

Is this because the HLR version coming this summer won't have a DVI port?

And can anyone send me a private message about pricing they have seen for these tvs? Thanks

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
It sounds like those who want a great HTPC set with DVI + HDMI + VGA who are like me in a area that will never have cable available had better start scrambing to find the remaining HLPxx74.

(BTW Cambryn your prices on the new sets at TVA look great!!!)

Where is the log in for AVS pricing? I used to have a link to it but not anymore.

click here to view our latest models: http://www.tvauthority.com/avs-forum-members-only/avs-forum-members-only.asp

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
It sounds like those who want a great HTPC set with DVI + HDMI + VGA who are like me in a area that will never have cable available had better start scrambing to find the remaining HLPxx74.

(BTW Cambryn your prices on the new sets at TVA look great!!!)

Jeez, from reading the specs, it does sound like they dropped the DVI and didn't pick up a second HDMI. I'm glad I picked up my 4674. I love having two digital inputs. I assumed everyone would be following suit and adding a second one. Maybe the specs are not correct and there is another one. I hope so for the sake of any of you future buyers.

It is said have hdmi, and it appears on samsungs site to not have the DVi posted on there....There is ATSC/Cable card in this model

I ordered the HL-P5674W on Sunday from TVA and just found out that it has to be "upgraded" to the HL-R5677W. I was sad to hear it as I really needed the two digital inputs. :( But, I guess there isn't anything I can do about it. I wasn't planning on ordering my tv for a month or so, until I saw that Sammy pulled the 74 info off their site. I knew the transition to the 77 was imminent so I ordered sooner than later trying to beat out the 77s, but I was too late. I guess there are some pluses. It's a newer model, hopefully some other bugs might be worked out of it (smudging and such) and I get a hd tuner (but I really didn't need one of those).

Greg

It has a second digital input but it is for Cablecard only!. It also drops the VGA port which is useful if you quikly want to hook up a laptop or other PC without DVI.

(Actually I guess it has three digital inputs if you count the built in ATSC tuner -- I think you can use both Cablecard and OTA as two inputs??).

I needed one of the digital inputs for my cable box, but I have to use the cablebox instead of using a cable card as it's a HDTV DVR cable box. I gotta have my DVR capabilities. :)

Greg

I'm sorry to hear about our order. It has happened to a few of our customers (including mine) and all we have had to offer was some 5 star program returns opened boxed brand new models to them or upgrade to the HLRxx77W. I'm glad that they have kept the general idea of this model, even with a few limitations on this model but also some nice upgrades. Even the delivery trucks of this model that we were to recieve were turned around and never arrived to our warehouse. We did not know of this and called all of you that feel short of this last minute notive delay.

Originally posted by gregorykai
I ordered the HL-P5674W on Sunday from TVA and just found out that it has to be "upgraded" to the HL-R5677W. I was sad to hear it as I really needed the two digital inputs. :( But, I guess there isn't anything I can do about it. I wasn't planning on ordering my tv for a month or so, until I saw that Sammy pulled the 74 info off their site. I knew the transition to the 77 was imminent so I ordered sooner than later trying to beat out the 77s, but I was too late. I guess there are some pluses. It's a newer model, hopefully some other bugs might be worked out of it (smudging and such) and I get a hd tuner (but I really didn't need one of those).

Greg

An idea I have mentioned to those wanting the other digital connection option is the Gefen switcher HDMI that will allow you 1 in and then get 2 out with substaning that digital quality and you can get a switcher cable to DVI on the other end....just and idea....

Yeah, Kirk told me what had happend. He said it happend so quickly with no warning. I'm glad I chatted with you guys today to find out what happend. I was just checking in to see when my tv was going to ship when I found out what was going on.

I will consider a digital switch box.. but the problem is that now I have to pay extra for switching capabilities. Before with the 74 I would have been able to do it for no extra cost. :(

Greg

There is one other fly in the "thin bezel" ointment. According to Steve Panosian at Samsung USA there will only be 1,000 sets built. I don't know if that's per model or total. Samsung seems to have been backing out of this line of development since some time last summer. Maybe it involves the "bottom line". ;)

Someone suggested a possible explanation for why the DVI port just disappears when CableCard is added. Using the DVI input for CableCard allows the company to avoid an expensive redesign. The 1080p sets are redesigned anyway so they will have two HDMI ports and CableCard input. It's a theory. :rolleyes:

I have had lots of people email and PM me today. I wanted to let you all know that I will not be in the office tomorrow but you can PM me as much as you want or email me on questions, etc. I will be out of town but have full access to responding back to you in the great powerbuy time...thanks for your emails and PM and please dont delay contact me now and I will get back to you as soon as possible!
thanks!

For those of you in the SF/SanJose Bay area CA.
Fry's Electronics still has the HLP4674 on clearance and they have dropped the price another 100.00 from last week.

No motive for me here, I got mine last Nov. and I paid alot more. No I didn't get it from Fry's.

I just confirmed that Ultimate Electronics in the KC area has them in their stores. I read that someone else saw them on their site, but they weren't sure if they were carried in their stores. I just went to one of the stores and saw them. I didn't ask how many they had in stock. The price was $200 more than I am paying for mine from TVS. For $200 I can buy an hdmi switchbox so there is really no point in me getting a 74 from there. I might as well stick with my 77 that will be on it's way soon. (I hope).

Greg

Yup same thing happened to me I was placing an order from TV authority and was told that they were out of stock. Time to rethink things.

Originally posted by nozlep
Yup same thing happened to me I was placing an order from TV authority and was told that they were out of stock. Time to rethink things.
Magnolia in California, Oregon, and Washington still had some two days ago -- at least Northern California did.

The production run seems to have been a small one, but maybe other upscale big chains still have some.

This may seem an odd question but I thought I would ask anyway. When watching sporting events in HD the PQ is stunning. Basketball, Hockey, Football all look great. On close ups you can see every pore in their face, every follicle of hair. However, when they go to long range zoom shots there is definitely a loss in clarity. The players have a fuzziness around them etc. I am sure many of you have noticed this.... I guess I am just curious as to why this is. Any comments?

Originally posted by fibreKid
For those of you in the SF/SanJose Bay area CA.
Fry's Electronics still has the HLP4674 on clearance and they have dropped the price another 100.00 from last week.

No motive for me here, I got mine last Nov. and I paid alot more. No I didn't get it from Fry's.

What an incredible resource this board is!

Thanks to fiberKid's post, I just invoked my 60-day price protection at Good Guys for a nice $300 credit back on my 4674 (bringing my price down to the current Fry's price). After some minimal resistance, Good Guys was great about giving me the price protection and even called Fry's to confirm the price, since I didn't have anything in writing that would prove it.

Were it not for this board, I wouldn't even have bothered to shop around to find a way to invoke my price protection, because I thought the price I got initially was so excellent.

Thanks to fibreKid and the rest!

Originally posted by calcraig
This may seem an odd question but I thought I would ask anyway. When watching sporting events in HD the PQ is stunning. Basketball, Hockey, Football all look great. On close ups you can see every pore in their face, every follicle of hair. However, when they go to long range zoom shots there is definitely a loss in clarity. The players have a fuzziness around them etc. I am sure many of you have noticed this.... I guess I am just curious as to why this is. Any comments?
I think there is still a shortage of HD cameras so they mix SD camera with scaling which results in a degraded image. I'm pretty sure that's the case for NFL football.

Originally posted by htwaits
Magnolia in California, Oregon, and Washington still had some two days ago -- at least Northern California did.

The production run seems to have been a small one, but maybe other upscale big chains still have some.

I live in Savannah Georgia so no Magnolia here. There is a store here in town that I can probably still get one but when I checked last month the price was $4100 including tax but not delivery or extended warrantee. That's why I wanted to get the unit from TV Authority. I called One call today and they still has the 5674s but no returns on the tvs, at all.

Experts

Is this unusual for a model that seems as nice as the XX74s to be "pulled" so quickly?? Should we 74 owner's be concerned? Or simply happy!! :)

Originally posted by mismatched
Is this unusual for a model that seems as nice as the XX74s to be "pulled" so quickly?? Should we 74 owner's be concerned? Or simply happy!! :)
According to Steve Panosian, Samsung only intended to ship 1,000 HLPxx74 units and will only ship 1,000 HLPxx77 units. He didn't make it clear if that meant 1,000 of each size or 1,000 all together.

If you recall, they had to change their minds to ship any HD2+ sets in the thin bezel case. It would be interesting to know the "real inside" story.

I expect the HLN467, HLN567, HLPxx74, and HLPxx77 sets will all perform in a similar way given their identical casing and similar internals. :)

P.S.;

Samsung should have pasted a "Limited Edition" label on the "74's" and "77's" models -- in chrome! :D

limited number of chips?? Color wheels?? Man, I am glad I am not in that business! Designing a stable "buisness model/strategy" must be sort of stressful!!!

I am curious if the firmware for the new model will be backward compatible for the 74 series. They are basically the same as the new 77 series.

-Mike B

Originally posted by htwaits
P.S.;

Samsung should have pasted a "Limited Edition" label on the "74's" and "77's" models -- in chrome! :D

oooohh-- a collector's item no doubt. Except I threw away the original packaging!! :mad:

Originally posted by mismatched
oooohh-- a collector's item no doubt. Except I threw away the original packaging!! :mad:
I think that if you don't have the box it reduces the collectors value about 75%. :rolleyes:

I don't think Samsung's heart was in the HD2+ chip for some reason. Everyone else did a HD2+ table top set with better color wheels, while they seem to "be" the HD3/xHD3 camp. Maybe they know something that we don't.

Originally posted by mike9186
I am curious if the firmware for the new model will be backward compatible for the 74 series. They are basically the same as the new 77 series.

-Mike B
I'm not sure what being "backward" compatible would mean. There are probably some changes for the HD tuner and CableCard -- at least some added discrete commands.

I think Samsung just is using the 74...77's to tide them over until the 1080p sets come out. If they produced too many.... then they would have to put back the release of the 1080's while they reduced their inventory of 74...77's

As a current owner of the HLP4674W and a previous owner of the HLN467W I can say the guts went through some major tweaks. Picture quality in the low light scenes is vastly improved in the HLP. After multiple runs with AVIA I was still getting clay faces in low light scenes. I don't have that problem with the HLP. Also one thing I noticed is that if I tried to turn the color all the way down to turn a color picture to BW I couldn't quite do it. The HLP doesn't have this problem either. From the outside unless you look at the back it's almost impossible to tell the two apart. I for one feel lucky to own an HLP4674, I use the DVI connection. But as a friend put it to me yesterday. "So you waited 6 months to get it and 4 months later it's obsolete, that sucks". Well what can I say, welcome to the digital world.

Originally posted by fibreKid
But as a friend put it to me yesterday. "So you waited 6 months to get it and 4 months later it's obsolete, that sucks". Well what can I say, welcome to the digital world.
Your friend's use of the word "obsolete" is incorrect. ;)

When 480i, 480p, 1080i and 720p source material is no longer available then your TV will be "obsolete". You may not live that long or it may be worn-out sooner. :D

Originally posted by calcraig
I think Samsung just is using the 74...77's to tide them over until the 1080p sets come out. If they produced too many.... then they would have to put back the release of the 1080's while they reduced their inventory of 74...77's

quick question: If there is a 720p signal coming in, will a 1080 tv look better than a 720? Or do you have to wait until a signal for 1080p is available to take advantage of that tv set?

Originally posted by htwaits
According to Steve Panosian, Samsung only intended to ship 1,000 HLPxx74 units and will only ship 1,000 HLPxx77 units. He didn't make it clear if that meant 1,000 of each size or 1,000 all together.

If you recall, they had to change their minds to ship any HD2+ sets in the thin bezel case. It would be interesting to know the "real inside" story.

I expect the HLN467, HLN567, HLPxx74, and HLPxx77 sets will all perform in a similar way given their identical casing and similar internals. :)
Samsung never intended to ship only 1,000 HLPxx74W units. The 74 Series was not a limited series.

The HLRxx77W is a limited series. Steve Panosian said they will only make "about 1,000 of each size, depends now on the new models".

I'm assuming this means that if there is a delay in the new 68/78 Series, then they might make more 77 Series so that they have something to sell while those other sets are delayed.

According to Steve, this is the "real inside" story:

"issue is competition, new product cost down strategies. TI isn't spending more resources developing the new gen DMDs. All of this spells the Ultra Slim bezel HD2+ product becomes a great TV that wasn't cost effective to continue.

The product is coming so late in the life cycle, it is no longer economical to make it."

Originally posted by Administrator
Samsung never intended to ship only 1,000 HLPxx74W units. The 74 Series was not a limited series.

Sorry I got that wrong.

Did they wind up only shipping 1,000 units for each screen size or did I mess that up too?

Originally posted by htwaits
Did they wind up only shipping 1,000 units for each screen size or did I mess that up too?
Yes, about 1,000 units for each HLRxx77W screen size. As mentioned, they may make more if there are delays with the newer models...

Originally posted by Administrator
Yes, about 1,000 units for each HLRxx77W screen size. As mentioned, they may make more if there are delays with the newer models...
I was asking about the "74's". I thought there was information about how many of those were shipped, but it seems I was probably mistaken.

Originally posted by htwaits
I was asking about the "74's". I thought there was information about how many of those were shipped, but it seems I was probably mistaken.
Sorry, I misunderstood... There was no production limit for the 74 Series. They shipped more then 1,000 of each HLPxx74W screen size. I don't know the exact number that shipped, but it was not a limited series like the 77 Series will be.

The only reason the 74's are now discontinued is because they were transitioned to 77's to include the tuner/cablecard.

Originally posted by Administrator
I don't know the exact number that shipped, but it was not a limited series like the 77 Series will be.
Thanks for clearing me up. :)

Now for a translation of Steve's other comments.

"... new product cost down strategies. TI isn't is spending more resources developing the new gen DMDs."

Syntax and typos aside, I read this to mean that Samsung and TI are pushing to get costs down, and that TI is not planning on developing a new generation of DMD chip. As far as DLP chips are concerned, this years crop will be it for the foreseeable future. Any improvements will have to come as a secondary benefit of cost savings.

Originally posted by htwaits
Syntax and typos aside, I read this to mean that Samsung and TI are pushing to get costs down, and that TI is not planning on developing a new generation of DMD chip. As far as DLP chips are concerned, this years crop will be it for the foreseeable future. Any improvements will have to come as a secondary benefit of cost savings.
He might have been talking about just this year... But I guess time will tell.

If they are not going to be developing newer DMD chips, hopefully they will continue to include improvements such as "DarkChip3" and "Fast Track Pixel" to the current chip architecture.

If "this years crop will be it for the foreseeable future", that might be a good reason for them to not want to talk about what chip is in each set anymore...

Originally posted by Administrator
If "this years crop will be it for the foreseeable future", that might be a good reason for them to not want to talk about what chip is in each set anymore...
That possibility had "crept" into my "cranium" too. :rolleyes:

Well, it's to bad about the limited edition 74's, but I for one am glad I pulled the trigger.
I am loving my 4674 and especially in HD. NCAA looks great as well as some of the other programming. My DVD player never looked so good. I didn't realize "Finding Nemo" could look so good.
I hope it continues to perform as it has. The only major adjustment i have made so far was tweaking the Gamma down to 0. it seems to have had a positive effect on some of the darker screens in movies and on shows.

Originally posted by rob63
Well, it's to bad about the limited edition 74's, but I for one am glad I pulled the trigger.
I am loving my 4674 and especially in HD. NCAA looks great as well as some of the other programming. My DVD player never looked so good. I didn't realize "Finding Nemo" could look so good.
I hope it continues to perform as it has. The only major adjustment i have made so far was tweaking the Gamma down to 0. it seems to have had a positive effect on some of the darker screens in movies and on shows.

I agree. It made me nervous to spend this much on a TV when technology moves so fast. But the 74 series is great!!! I can't think of any other TV on the market I would trade it for. As far as the new 77 series, I would prefer to keep what I have. I prefer to keep my DVI and VGA port over the internal tuner and cable card. I think these items should be standard but not at the expense of losing my extra connectivity.

And if my TV becomes obsolete in 3-4 years, my extended warranty will have to come up with the parts or give me something new! I hated spending the money but if you get a reliable service plan it is worth the money for peace of mind.

Originally posted by htwaits
Thanks for clearing me up. :)

Now for a translation of Steve's other comments.

"... new product cost down strategies. TI isn't is spending more resources developing the new gen DMDs."

Syntax and typos aside, I read this to mean that Samsung and TI are pushing to get costs down, and that TI is not planning on developing a new generation of DMD chip. As far as DLP chips are concerned, this years crop will be it for the foreseeable future. Any improvements will have to come as a secondary benefit of cost savings.

I'm not sure I totally follow. Does that mean that they will likely use the HD3 chip in future sets for the regular retail market and the new 1080p sets will be the new high end markets? Thus eliminating the HD2+ chip over time.

I have a question. Does anyone here know of anyone at Samsung that I can contact to about my POS HLN567.

I originally bought a HLN467 which had bad internal reflection and A/V sync issues right out of the box, but held off on doing anything until Samsung had time to figure out fixes, but about 6 months into it, the color wheel started to sound like a table saw and I had no choice. After talking to the Samsung repair guy who basically told be that he had to swap out two boards and the light channel, I decided to call my friend who works at Tweeter to see if he could do anything (since I read that later production runs may have solved these issues). He gave me the number to Tweeter's Rapid Response team and they agreed to replace the TV, in fact, I spent more money and upgraded to the HLN567.

However, right out of the box the display had the same sync and reflection issues as the HLN467 but not to the same degree. I decided to live with it, until month 9, when the color wheel went again. Tweeter agreed to replace it with a different manufacturer and then backed off. They sent their tech out to fix the color wheel and the sync issue though the guy never did anything with the a/v issue.

Unfortunately, now when I watch moves and the scene shifts from dark to light, I get a one inch slightly different shaded black band running along the top of the letterbox. Moreover, if it is an active light scene, I can see the reflection of the scene in the letterbox.

I have called Samsung numerous times. The offered to send a Samsung tech out which I accepted though at this point the only solutions in my mind that I could live with are 1) Money back or 2) A swap for a new model which may just continue to have problems considering my experience with Samsung. I work for a high tech company that does business with Samsung and have asked one of the VP's to call his contact at Samsung Korea and see if he can help me out.

Frankly, I find it mind-numbing that two new sets have not had a color wheel last longer than 9 months. That Samsung can't seem to get the a/v sync right. I am not going to be happy calling Samsung or Tweeter every 6-9 months to come out and fix my color wheel when the design of that color wheel is the issue. According to the Samsung tech the new wheel's though 6 segment is mechanically different for the very reasons stated above.

Can any one help ? Please send me a PM if you know of anyone that can help me with this. I have spent way to much time waiting for delivery people, techs, making phone calls, and writing letters for me to ever be happy with this display. Hell, I told my fiance that she is lucky that the color wheel didn't go out during the Super Bowl because I would have thrown the TV from our Balcony and would have had to spend the money that I bought her engagement ring with on a Plasma. Thanks for any help

Wow. Sounds like I pulled the trigger on my 74 just in time. The combination of the HD2+ chip and the thin bezel design is what sold me on the set.

As for the Ultimate Electronics store in KC still having 74's in stock - if you want one, move quickly (and probably look into a third party warranty). Ulimate is going bankrupt, and all of their KC stores are being closed as part of the bankruptcy reorganization. I had heard this was imminent, and that's one of the reasons I bought from TVA instead of locally. I wasn't convinced that the UE warranties would be honored after bankruptcy.

Originally posted by mchuckp
I'm not sure I totally follow. Does that mean that they will likely use the HD3 chip in future sets for the regular retail market and the new 1080p sets will be the new high end markets? Thus eliminating the HD2+ chip over time.
All I understand it to mean at this point is that TI is cutting development money for new generations of DLP chips.

The 720p HD2+ chip may become too expensive to compete with the 1080p xHD3 chips, but that's nothing but speculation on my part. ;)

I have been running a Denon 2910 with my 5674 but until last night I had yet to watch an entire movie. While watching Shrek 2 with the family I noticed some problems with the picture that ruined my viewing experience. In darker scenes and areas I saw what I can best describe as greenish "blotches" moving around. Even on Shrek's face I was able to see this. I got out the Avia disc today to finally try to calibrate but I saw the same blotches or splotches on that disc as well. I don't know if this is whats considered to be macroblocking, but if it is I won't keep the player if I can't do anything about it. My firmware is -5. I put in Shrek on my old panny xp30 via component and the problem disappeared. I thought that the 2910 via HDMI was supposed to give my display the WOW factor, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I love the audio capabilities of the 2910 but I am not going to keep a $700 player for subpar video. Can anyone give me any advice at all. My 30 day window for return to Crutchfield is soon approaching. If I have to hook up the xp30 and wait on HD DVD then I guess I will be patient and start saving my $ up.

buc18.

Not that this is particularly helpful to know, but my Denon 1910 gives me the Wow factor in spades. Watching the new Incredibles DVD was a tremendous pleasure. I certainly would have assumed the 2910 would be at least as good (plus superior audio), so maybe your unit is bad?

Good luck figuring this out.

Originally posted by buc18
I have been running a Denon 2910 with my 5674 ...
Go to the DVD Player forum right away. You may not have your DVD player configured correctly. I doubt seriously that it's a model 2910 problem. It may be a defective unit, but I would check out configuration before I came to that conclusion.

ok. It's off to the dvd forum....hopefully I can post some positive results. Thanks for the responses.

Well, from the responses received from the 2910 forum it seems that they have determined that the 2910 and the 74 samsungs are not a good combo. I was informed that macroblocking and digital artifacts are inherent with this combination. Supposedly some dvds exhibit it worse than others. Obviously I noticed it on Shrek 2.
Jeff: for what its worth I had someone tell me that its much worse with the 1910. So feel fortunate that you are happy with yours. Maybe i am cursed with too critical of an eye. Oh well. I will try a few more dvds and see what I think before I decide to return.

buc18,

I don't know how long you have owned the 5674, or how many hours you have on the set , but don't throw out the 2910 if you have light use on the Sammy and have not done AVIA, DVE, or had the set professionally calibrated.

I own both, have migrated to v-7, had my 5674 professionally calibrated by a very good ISF tech, have monitered the DVD forum 2910 owners thread for months, and have not seen any comments on that thread saying the 5674/2910 combo is not a good match. Unless I missed something.

If ISF is a no-go, then you need to get v-7, and then get into the 2910 numerous picture tweak memory modes. It really is a nice player and can be dialed in for a superb picture.

In fact, I too ( in all honesty) inserted Shrek 2 as my first disk with this 74/2910 combo and initially thought I had made a big mistake. Yet after ISF, it was like night and day.

Granted, I lost my light engine ( and am still awaiting a second replacement- out of stock I am told for 3 weeks !!!), but even with the new replacement ( this one has a 3" globe defect from the DMD inner protective glass, we guess) the picture with some 2910 tweaking is superb.

Once I get my 2nd LE, I will have the ISF come back for a tune-up. But for now, I have tweaked the 2910's picture adjustment modes and the image is quite nice.
MB is not an issue for me now. Perhaps v-7, perhaps enough hours on the 74. Either way Shrek 2 is a pleasure to watch. Like my positive opinion here, take a negative posters opinions of the combo with a measure of "let me find out myselfism". You have < 30 days with CField so it's a tough call.

Good Luck,

Brian

I now have my Sammy 4674 Display and my Panny 97S DVD Player and am ready to calibrate the units myself using the well reviewed DVE Program.

My question relates to the three different versions of DVE (2003 Edition):

1. NTSC
2. PAL
3. HDTV

Obviously, as I live in CA in the USA #2 is not the one....so which one should I get, the NTSC or the HDTV. My guess would be the HDTV version, as that is what I have?

Please let me know, as I am anxious to order this fine tool and get started tweaking my units!

HDTV

Originally posted by buc18
I was informed that macroblocking and digital artifacts are inherent with this combination. Supposedly some dvds exhibit it worse than others. Many DVD's are recorded with macroblocking, an artifact of heavy MPEG compression. The heavier the compression, the worse it can become. Macroblocking can be faintly seen with any good player/TV combination. Analog players mask it a little with the dithering effect of analog noise. But fully-digital upscaling players show it off in all it's glory. Added to that, a bug in the Faroudja 2310 chip (used in many upscaling players, like the Denons) enhances macroblocking when connected to TV's with insufficient bit-depth, like DLP's. Even when properly calibrated, these TV's introduce a small amount of banding or "false contouring" because of their 8-bit processing. Changing the player for another Faroudja player may not help... although some are worse than others.

Maybe i am cursed with too critical of an eye. Oh well. I will try a few more dvds and see what I think before I decide to return. My eyes are very sensitive to artifacts too. Macroblocking always bothers me when I see it, and it surprises me how many disks are recorded with it. I blame the recording studios for over-compressing movies to make way for hours of mindless "special features".

One thing is for sure, though... fully calibrating your DLP/player combination can go a long way to suppressing those artifacts.

Gary

Thanks for the responses everyone. After reading your replies I am going to see how much of a difference a calibration disc will make. I only have the Avia though, and it is not the Pro version. I have 10 days to return to Crutchfield and I really don't want to go that route. But in comparing the XP30 and the 2910 and not seeing that much better picture with the Denon(with the artifacts,etc.), I don't think the audio alone is worth $700. At least not to me anyway. I will fire up the player this evening after work and see how it goes. At least you guys are giving me hope! By the way, I have had the 5674 long enough for the bulb to break in.

One last thing....how do i get v-7 and what kind of improvements should you expect over the v-5 that I now have?

The latest article posted on the AVS home page is a Denon 2910 review. I haven't read it yet but you might find it helpful.

Originally posted by buc18
Jeff: for what its worth I had someone tell me that its much worse with the 1910.

This makes me a bit scared to see Shrek 2. I don't want to train my eye to be bothered by something I haven't noticed before.

Oh well. Watched Notting Hill last night and was, again, very impressed with the 1910. Great skin tones, amazing detail on closeups, good dark scenes.

Originally posted by JeffNebraska
This makes me a bit scared to see Shrek 2. I don't want to train my eye to be bothered by something I haven't noticed before.

Oh well. Watched Notting Hill last night and was, again, very impressed with the 1910. Great skin tones, amazing detail on closeups, good dark scenes.

I had the 1910 for a few weeks and saw minimal macroblocking with my 4674. It was there and noticeable on some movies but didn't bother me much. I got rid of the 1910 for the Samsung 941. I felt they had a comparable picture but the Sammy didn't have the "green push" like the 1910. Of course the Sammy has a whole new set of downfalls that the 1910 didn't have but I don't know if any scaling DVD player that has zero issues.

As far as not using a 2910 on a 74 series, that is ridiculous. I've read numerous posts from this forum of people who have used this combination and are thrilled with the results. I do think there is a bit of tweaking to do. For the gentleman who had a big issue with quality on his, it has to be a manufacturing issue or calibration issue. I don't think I have read anything negative about the 2910 on this series accept for minimal macroblocking and maybe a slight "green push" that appears that can be adjusted out.

Originally posted by mchuckp
I felt they had a comparable picture but the Sammy didn't have the "green push" like the 1910. Of course the Sammy has a whole new set of downfalls that the 1910 didn't have but I don't know if any scaling DVD player that has zero issues.

Agreed on both counts.

The green push is fairly apparent on DVE, but rarely bothers me when I'm watching a movie. That meets my standards for a $200 player.

Given the price, and the otherwise great picture, I'll tolerate a bit of neon grass.

After spending two months, of what little free time I have, reading this entire post, I had decided the 4674 was for me. The unit fit perfectly in my entertainment center, has all the connections I need, the HD2+ engine, and (due to recent price drops) fits my budget. TVA had a great price on the unit along with phenomenal service.

Neil, you have a great team with Cammy, Ken and Aaron, to mention a few. I was hooked after Cammy spent about 6 hrs chatting and proceeded to either answer every question or called Samsung (while chatting) to get the answer from the horse's mouth. I was very impressed and determined to give TVA my business. However, since I was dragging my feet, it appeared I missed the boat. When I called last Monday to pull the trigger, I realized the 77 series was my only choice with TVA. It is unfortunate Samsung pulled the last shipment back to the factory to make the "upgrades".

What is Samsung thinking? If this unit is intended to cater to the higher end market (not avail. in large chain stores), why add features that videofiles don't need. Just about every videofile has moved to a DVR (cable or sat) and will have no need for the cable card slot. Likewise, the ota tuner will be useless as one is supplied with the sat companies and most local hd channels are included with hd cable service (in my case). If these features are added to a model (pre-engineered) without degrading the current product, great! But, if it means using the current input circuits and leaving only one digital connection, and no SVGA, you must be kidding. I realize the internal ota tuner is mandated for 2006, but dropping both the dvi and SVGA is absurd.

Let me get off my soapbox. While I was unable to be included with the rest of the happy customers of TVA, I did a little research and found the unit (IN STOCK) for a comparable price. I purchased the 4674 from OneCall and it should arrive Wed morning.:D Hopefully, I won't become a member of the dreaded 3BL gang. I'll keep you informed.

I just received mine about five minutes ago from Ultimate Electronics. And sure enough, it's dicked up. I don't know if this is common, but on the left side of the screen there are four horizontal lines about four inches long (two thick in the center, and two thinner ones on the top and bottom). I first thought it was just dust on the outside of the screen or a reflection, but it seems to be a reflection from inside the screen.
If the screen is on, you can't really see them. But the left side of the screen seems to be pretty messed up when it's on as well. For instance in 4:3 mode, the right side of the screen is a razor cut line, the left side is fuzzy, green and the pincushion is terrible. I think I read on here that there isn't a way to fix the pincushion either.
So I already called them and they are bringing another this weekend.
If it is messed up, I am going to give up on this big screen idea for a while.

Does anyone have discrete codes for the 5674? or point me in the right direction? thanks

Bellaireroad, check here
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=412475

I just got my new HL-R5677W from TVA yesterday, so far I am quite happy with it. I have only had one issue, which is an a/v sync issue with my Panny S97 DVD player so far. I havn't got my cable box setup yet, Time Warner is supposed be here this morning with that. The problem is not audio before video it's the other way around. I think If I gathered correctly the old a/v sync issues with the older Sammy DLPs were audio before video due to video processing slowing the video down. I am running my S97 audio via optical cable to my new Yahama reciever I picked up yesterday and the video is going out via HDMI straight into the tv. Is it normal for receivers to slow audio down? Luckily, the S97 came with a video delay option. I had to max it out at 100ms to get it to sync properly. So hopefully it doesn't get worse cause I won't be able to slow it down anymore. I have plans to get an HDMI switching receiver when they become reasonably priced, so that might help sync issues since video would also have to go through the receiver too. I just wanted to ask if this was normal or not.

Greg

Originally posted by AVoholic
After spending two months, of what little free time I have, reading this entire post, I had decided the 4674 was for me. The unit fit perfectly in my entertainment center, has all the connections I need, the HD2+ engine, and (due to recent price drops) fits my budget. TVA had a great price on the unit along with phenomenal service.

Neil, you have a great team with Cammy, Ken and Aaron, to mention a few. I was hooked after Cammy spent about 6 hrs chatting and proceeded to either answer every question or called Samsung (while chatting) to get the answer from the horse's mouth. I was very impressed and determined to give TVA my business. However, since I was dragging my feet, it appeared I missed the boat. When I called last Monday to pull the trigger, I realized the 77 series was my only choice with TVA. It is unfortunate Samsung pulled the last shipment back to the factory to make the "upgrades".

What is Samsung thinking? If this unit is intended to cater to the higher end market (not avail. in large chain stores), why add features that videofiles don't need. Just about every videofile has moved to a DVR (cable or sat) and will have no need for the cable card slot. Likewise, the ota tuner will be useless as one is supplied with the sat companies and most local hd channels are included with hd cable service (in my case). If these features are added to a model (pre-engineered) without degrading the current product, great! But, if it means using the current input circuits and leaving only one digital connection, and no SVGA, you must be kidding. I realize the internal ota tuner is mandated for 2006, but dropping both the dvi and SVGA is absurd.

Let me get off my soapbox. While I was unable to be included with the rest of the happy customers of TVA, I did a little research and found the unit (IN STOCK) for a comparable price. I purchased the 4674 from OneCall and it should arrive Wed morning.:D Hopefully, I won't become a member of the dreaded 3BL gang. I'll keep you informed.

Glad to hear you found one!

When I read the specs on the new model, I couldn't believe they had to ditch the extra connections. They really needed to design a new TV to add these connections. I am glad I didn't wait any longer on mine. The extra digital connection was the deal maker for me with this TV. Now it is like the other models on the market in that respect.

I've had mine since early December and the only issue I've had is with an occasional audio synch issue. I say it very rare and usually doesn't last very long. In the 4 months that I have had it, I have seen it probably less than 10 times and usually only for a few seconds.

I have no regrets at all about buying the 4674!!! Sammy DVD players is another story and another thread. I will NEVER buy a Sammuy DVD player again!

Originally posted by gregorykai
The problem is not audio before video it's the other way around. I think If I gathered correctly the old a/v sync issues with the older Sammy DLPs were audio before video due to video processing slowing the video down.
Some AVR's have the ability to delay audio -- maybe your receiver has some delay inadvertently added.

Re 5674 availability

I just received mine which was shipped from the distributor in Denver.
FYI they had 4 left as of 3-31-05.

Based on my satisfaction w/ 4674 (in Austin) I ordered the 5674 due to the inputs and the perfect size to fit the opening in our new home in Colorado.

Gregorykai:

I had posted earlier (can't recall, it may have been in the Panny 97S thread?) about this "Time Delay" feature and got little response, even though, per my own testing, it corrected the well known sync problems many owners have.

The thing that struck me, however, is your statement in your post:

"Luckily, the S97 came with a video delay option. I had to max it out at 100ms to get it to sync properly."

Reading about the sync problem, as explained by some real "A/V HEADS" here on AVSFORUM, the consensus was that ALL the sync problems were caused by the delay applied to the VIDEO signal by all the upscaling/downscaling/interlacing/deinterlacing etc that has to be done to the vid signal vs the audio signal. This was especially the case with the Faroujda (sp?) processor as it seemed to really twist the vid signal around in circles before releasing it to your display.

Therefore, the sync problems posted about here all seemed to be related to the Audio being heard BEFORE the associated Video could be seen. Naturally, this is most noticeable while watching "talking heads" or seeing the face of an actor speaking, as you hear what they say BEFORE you see their lips move to form those words.

When I first noted this problem while playing a DTS Encoded DVD, I used the same "Time Delay" function you did on my Panny 97S...after some experimenting, it took a 60ms delay, in what I believe to be the audio signal, to bring things into sync with the video.

This is VERY strange? I realize that this function is listed in the "Operating Instructions" under the "Video Tab" Section, but it doesn't make sence to me that it would be designed to hold up the video vs the audio...it is the video that gets all that processing that slows it down, not the audio?

Will, someone who has both of these units (Sammy HLP XX74 & Panny S97) test this out and let us know just what this function is designed to do?

To me, is seemed like the answer to being able to run a $300 (discounted) Denon 1705 A/V Receiver rather than having to pay 3X that for a high end unit with a built in "AUDIO" delay feature!

Does anyone know where the sensor is that receives the IR signal for the remote on the 4674?

I looked around a bit on the front of the unit and was not able to find where it was located.

Thanks,

Kris

Originally posted by KGD_007
Does anyone know where the sensor is that receives the IR signal for the remote on the 4674?

I looked around a bit on the front of the unit and was not able to find where it was located. It's not located on the front - its deep inside, next to the projection lens. The IR from your remote passes through the screen, bounces off the mirror and onto the sensor.

Gary

Could I mount an IR emitter to the back somewhere that would "see" the internal sensor?

Thanks for the quick answer.

Kris

Originally posted by KGD_007
Could I mount an IR emitter to the back somewhere that would "see" the internal sensor?
I couldn't find a good location on my 4674, but this workaround works for me:

Get an IR repeater (eyeball/blaster) from Radio Shack or somewhere. Put the IR emitter next to the eyeball, and put the blaster in the back of the room. When the emitter puts out IR, the eyeball gets it, sends it over RF to the blaster which reliably beams it as IR into the 4674's screen.

I was worried that my cable box might get "doubles" -- blasts direct from the emitter and also from the repeater -- but I haven't run into any problems at all. It works perfectly for me.

Originally posted by KGD_007
Could I mount an IR emitter to the back somewhere that would "see" the internal sensor?

Thanks for the quick answer.

Kris

Sorry to but in, but what are you trying to accomplish exactly? More info may help us help you?

I am using an MX-850 remote with the RF base station. I use the IR emitters on all of my components so I do not have to point the remote at any of the equipment. I find that this makes macros and other commands much more reliable. I can also then use the remote in other rooms.

I was thinking I could put one of the emitters inside the TV by using the access door for the lamp, but I am not sure where to put it in there as I do not know where the IR sensor is. I may end up just opening this door and holding the emitter at various locations inside there to see if a can find a location that works.

Kris

Originally posted by KGD_007
I am using an MX-850 remote with the RF base station. I use the IR emitters on all of my components so I do not have to point the remote at any of the equipment. I find that this makes macros and other commands much more reliable. I can also then use the remote in other rooms.

I was thinking I could put one of the emitters inside the TV by using the access door for the lamp, but I am not sure where to put it in there as I do not know where the IR sensor is. I may end up just opening this door and holding the emitter at various locations inside there to see if a can find a location that works.

Kris

On my HLP5674W the reciever is on a little IC board in front of the round lens. Don't touch the lens or try to clean it (someone posted that using camera cleaning paper/sheet will scratch it).

You will see the little square IR detector and it points at the mirror on the rear of the Samys housing. So it gets the IR codes from bouncing off the mirror. You may be able to remove the IR board and add (make your own) a longer cable to mount the IR board outside the TV where you want it. I will have my Sammy pulled apart again later this week and will look furhter into this. I am an electroics Tech by trade. Send me a PM via this site of you want to talk about this further and I'll try to help.

Thansk for the explanation, that now makes sence.

Or put the emitter inside and point it at the rear mirror and it will bounce back to the receiver I bet.

Reagrds, Matt

Matt,

Thanks a lot for your help here. I will try mounting it inside and pointing toward the mirror. I definitely do not want to try and mess around with any of the existing wiring or boards as I can live without the emitter if I need to.

Kris

Thank you for your help on the remote control sensor unit.

One final question for the group here. I got my 4674 at one of the Fry's Bay Area stores (CA). The saleman told me that the unit was returned because it did not fit a customers cabinet and was only turned on for a few minutes. As such, I did get a very substantial discount off the retail price (close to 4 figures, hope I am not breaking a rule here with the price; although, probably doesn't matter much since you can't really buy these anymore). Anyway, the picture looks really good on both the Comcast HD DVR and my DVD player both via component cable. (I also have a 65" Mit rear projection, 42" Plasma and a 17" LCD, all HD and the Samsung looks as good if not better than any of the others.) I thought I would confirm what the sales guy told me about the hours on the unit and went into the service menu to check the hours on the bulb. To my surprise it was 180 hours! I purchased a 3 year warranty (cost about 10% of the discounted purchase price), which I am debating whether to keep.

So given all that:

1) Should I keep the TV? I have 30 days to return it.

2) Should I keep the warranty? I have 30 days to cancel that for a full refund.

I am inclined to keep the TV and cancel the warranty, but thought I would get some input here.

Thanks a lot for all your help.

One last point to anyone that has purchased one of these. Buy a good programmable remote. I have the MX-850 and love it. It is programmable on my PC and even my 5 year old daughter can watch dvd's, dvr, or regular cable with out help from anyone. I have always been a fan of the MX remotes starting with the MX-500's years ago. I can't begin to count the number of remotes I have tried in the past before the MX remotes. I currently have two MX-850's and one MX-800 and they are by far the best money I have ever spent on my home theater.

Kris

Originally posted by KGD_007
I thought I would confirm what the sales guy told me about the hours on the unit and went into the service menu to check the hours on the bulb. To my surprise it was 180 hours!
I never count on any information I get from Fry's. :rolleyes:

You seem to have lucked out. 180 hours is nothing but the set may have been returned for some other reason. Keep the extended warranty. I think you must have gotten a pretty good deal.

thing is if the warranty gets you even one light bulb change it is usually paid for right there, does it cover that?

Did Fry's warranty include the bulb? Many of the other vendors warranties do such as BB and Magnolia.

Hopefully, it was Just someone trying it out most of the month. At least 180 hours probably means it wasn't the store demo model but I have had some strange surprises from Fry's.

Right now a grand off might not always be the best deal as this is now a discontinued model if you find another store with it -- with Fry's you have 30 days (or is it 15 on tvs) for returns to see if you find a better deal (you can even use your Fry's receipt for price matching if you want while you are looking). If you can find a match with a warranty with bulbs and a real new set with zero hours you really won't lose out, and if you can't you can still return the warranty if you want or you can keep it all.

I promised almost a month ago, when I posted about the arrival of my 5674, that I'd post a picture of my setup. It's not a great picture, but it does give you an idea of both the height issue I raised and also why the 5674 was the PERFECT television for my situation:
http://www.ajritz.com/images/hometheater1.jpg

All of the components, except the XBox, are in the office that is next door to the entertainment center. I was able to run most of the cables through the small space between the finished wall and the foundation wall. I get IR signals to the components via an X-10 Powermid (with which I've been VERY impressed, BTW). I've still got lots of decorating to do, but now I'm usually too busy enjoying video goodness to bother with putting things up on the walls and the like :)

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
Right now a grand off might not always be the best deal as this is now a discontinued model if you find another store with it

Any suggestions on where to pick up this discontinued set (either 4674 or 5674) at a good price in the bay area (or online)? many thanks. :)

I mentioned earlier that I got mine at Fry's. Didn't expect that they would carry this model, but asked and they did. The only one they had in the Concord store was the returned one that I purchased. I did not ask about any of the other stores, might be worth a call. There price was substantially less than I was being quoted from Magnolia and the Good Guys.

Kris

Originally posted by KGD_007
I mentioned earlier that I got mine at Fry's. Didn't expect that they would carry this model, but asked and they did. The only one they had in the Concord store was the returned one that I purchased. I did not ask about any of the other stores, might be worth a call. There price was substantially less than I was being quoted from Magnolia and the Good Guys.

Kris

thanks Kris. i sent you a pm.

My HLP4674W settings get reset every time I enter the Service Menu. Does this happen to all 74 Series owners??

Here is my detailed thread on this topic: (I can't post a link yet.)
avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=528821

Please reply to that thread to help me out with this. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!!

It happens on all Samsung DLP's as far as I know.

looks like the costco's in my area are finally getting the hlp5674 in stock. now i'm debating whether to return my toshiba 46hm84 and get the hlp5674. it's quite a jump up in price, but i like the form factor and increased size. however, i have two issues i'm currently debating:

(1) the viewing distance from the main couch is about 8.5 feet. is that way too close for the 56"? i know this is probably very subjective, but i'm just trying to get a gauge of the actual viewing distances of people with this set.

(2) i'm wondering whether it might be better to wait for the new samsung hlrxx67 (720p models) or hlrxx78 (1080p models). this one probably can't be answered except by waiting for and actually seeing the the new sets, but i was wondering what people's thoughts were, especially for those you who decided to buy the hlpxx74/77 sets recently. the biggest question i have is what effect the large increase in contrast ratios will have on the new hlrxx78 sets.

your thoughts are always greatly appreciated. thanks!

aircasper, I believe you are in the Bay Area. Which Costco will have these in stock? Do you know if they will also have the 4674?

As far as viewing distance, I have a 65" Mit in my living room from a viewing distance of about 14' and would never be satisfied with a smaller screen. I also have the 4674 that is 10 to 12 feet and would not mind a larger picture.

At 8.5' the HD and DVD material would be great, the SD won't look so good. On my 46" DLP, the SD material starts to look OK at about 10-12 feet, and looks fine beyond that.

I would base you decision more on how the unit will look in the room with the picture off. If the unit does not appear to take over the room, then I would go with the 56". This TV should last quite a while and within another year or two you should be able to watch most sports and prime time in HD. If you watch alot of SD cable programming you might want to consider the 46" as I don't expect huge picture improvements in the near term. DVD's will look great, even from 9', on the 56" screen.

Kris

thanks Kris. i saw the 5674 at the mountain view costco last night, which probably means it's at most of the bay area costco's (e.g., sunnyvale usually has everything the mountain view store has). no sign of the hlp4674 model, however.

the 5674 would fit perfectly on our ikea entertainment stand, although it might sit a few inches too high. i like the thin bezel form factor, which goes a long way in convincing the mrs. that we should upgrade from our toshiba 46hm84. SD cable on the 46" toshiba is just okay - i've gotten used to it over the past month or so, but generally don't watch SD cable anymore. i'm sure the SD cable would look much worse on the 56" samsung, but then again, HD would look great on such a large set. hmm, seriously debating the choice right now. just don't know whether i'd be making a mistake given the new samsung models coming out this year. decisions decisions. :)

Just saw the HLP5674c at the Almaden Costco in San Jose last night (for hundreds less than what I paid :(). I'm guessing the "c" is for Costco. But why?

I'm having a couple of strange problems with my 2 month old 5674.

First, on occasion when I turn on the set I get a green screen. The screen won't change even if I change inputs. It's only happened a few times, but the only fix has been to unplug and plug back in. I did notice that some others have had a similar problem and was wondering whether anyone knows of a fix.

Second, on occasion when I switch inputs all I see is a black screen. The only fix for this is to either disconnect and reconnect the inputs or switch to a different input and then switch back (although this doesn't work all the time). It has happened on a few of the inputs so it is not related to any specific input. Has anyone else experienced this?

Finally, on one of my inputs (PC), last night when I switched it was discolored for about 45 seconds and then straightened itself out and was fine. Seemed a bit strange.

I have Samsung coming out later in the week, but was wondering whether anyone had any thoughts about what could be causing these problems. Do you think the problems are all related to the same thing or am I just unlucky enough to have a unit with multiple problems? Thanks.

I think this is a cable or Discovery HD issue, but wanted to ask here in case my HLP-5674 can overcome it. I have TW cable fed via HDMI. I have noticed that there is a about a 1-2 second pulse on Discovery HD when watching most scenes. The brightness seems to slightly change from darker to lighter in a very rythmic way every second and a half. This is the only channel that noticeably does this. I've done some web searching and am not alone so I know it isn't my tv (thankfully since my first 5674 died in a week), does anyone know a fix? It does this with the STB on 720 and 1080.

Thanks,
Charlie

Cheezmo, I sent you a PM on the availability of an HLP5674 in Dallas.

Originally posted by RMSko
I'm having a couple of strange problems with my 2 month old 5674.

First, on occasion when I turn on the set I get a green screen. The screen won't change even if I change inputs. It's only happened a few times, but the only fix has been to unplug and plug back in. I did notice that some others have had a similar problem and was wondering whether anyone knows of a fix.



This one I've seen a couple times (on my 4674 connected to, primarily, an HD TiVO): what I've done to fix it is cycle the HD TiVO's output from 720p through 1080i, 480i, 480p, then back to 720p. It appears that, for whatever reason, once in a while the 4674 gets confused about what's coming down the HDMI cable and can't figure it out until the signal changes. Then it's fine. It's done this two, maybe three times since I got it in mid-February.

Scott

Originally posted by sdolson
This one I've seen a couple times (on my 4674 connected to, primarily, an HD TiVO): what I've done to fix it is cycle the HD TiVO's output from 720p through 1080i, 480i, 480p, then back to 720p. It appears that, for whatever reason, once in a while the 4674 gets confused about what's coming down the HDMI cable and can't figure it out until the signal changes. Then it's fine. It's done this two, maybe three times since I got it in mid-February.

Scott

Thanks. I do have the HD TiVo, but what doesn't make sense is that the green screen exists regardless of the input; i.e., I have the HD TiVo input through HDMI, but even if I switch to component or PC, the green screen remains. That would suggest that it is not a TiVo issue, wouldn't it?

Originally posted by GSB
It's not located on the front - its deep inside, next to the projection lens. The IR from your remote passes through the screen, bounces off the mirror and onto the sensor.

Gary

Are you sure about this? I thought the sensor needed to pass through the "button" on the speaker grill. When I cover that button, the remote doesn't work.

Originally posted by RMSko
Are you sure about this? I thought the sensor needed to pass through the "button" on the speaker grill. When I cover that button, the remote doesn't work.
Which model do you have? I believe GSB is right about the 74 Series... It's inside, next to the projection lens.

All other HLP sensors are outside on the speaker grill...

Originally posted by NCCharlie
I think this is a cable or Discovery HD issue, but wanted to ask here in case my HLP-5674 can overcome it. I have TW cable fed via HDMI. I have noticed that there is a about a 1-2 second pulse on Discovery HD when watching most scenes. The brightness seems to slightly change from darker to lighter in a very rythmic way every second and a half. This is the only channel that noticeably does this. I've done some web searching and am not alone so I know it isn't my tv (thankfully since my first 5674 died in a week), does anyone know a fix? It does this with the STB on 720 and 1080.

Thanks,
Charlie

I noticed this before on my old Sony HDTV. This was back when I was using the Motorola 6412 STB. After upgrading to the Sammy HLP4674W and Motorola Moxi box, I am not noticing that problem anymore. I have heard other people mention seeing this on DiscoveryHD, so it is probably some combination of the display and the broadcast that is causing this. I'm not sure what role if any the particular STB you have plays in this.

Originally posted by RMSko
Are you sure about this? I thought the sensor needed to pass through the "button" on the speaker grill. When I cover that button, the remote doesn't work.

My whole speaker grill is covered including the button. The sensor is indeed inside and the signal goes through the screen.

Originally posted by vpn75
I noticed this before on my old Sony HDTV. This was back when I was using the Motorola 6412 STB. After upgrading to the Sammy HLP4674W and Motorola Moxi box, I am not noticing that problem anymore. I have heard other people mention seeing this on DiscoveryHD, so it is probably some combination of the display and the broadcast that is causing this. I'm not sure what role if any the particular STB you have plays in this.

I see this on the Discovery HD channel as well.... Especially the Sunrise Earth show. I have the 4674 with a SA83000 box. I assumed since i do not see the fluctuations on any other channel that it was an issue with Discovery.

Originally posted by calcraig
My whole speaker grill is covered including the button. The sensor is indeed inside and the signal goes through the screen.

My 74 was a replacement for my 63 and I just remembered that it was the 63 button that I covered which prevented the remote from working. It appears that the 74 is different, which is good because I also would like to cover the entire speaker grill so that all you see is the screen. The only thing that may not look great is that then the silver bezel would show around the top and the sides, but not the bottom. Also, it wouldn't be able to be flush because the base of the set protrudes a bit further out than the rest of the set. How did you deal with these issues? Could you post a picture of your setup?

Originally posted by RMSko
My 74 was a replacement for my 63 and I just remembered that it was the 63 button that I covered which prevented the remote from working. It appears that the 74 is different, which is good because I also would like to cover the entire speaker grill so that all you see is the screen. The only thing that may not look great is that then the silver bezel would show around the top and the sides, but not the bottom. Also, it wouldn't be able to be flush because the base of the set protrudes a bit further out than the rest of the set. How did you deal with these issues? Could you post a picture of your setup?

Unfortunately you caught me at a bad time...i am moving so the tv is out of the entertainment center. The reason I originally purchased the 4674 was the thin bezel. It fit perfectly in the entertainment center I already had. You can see about 1/16" of the right and left side bezels...but thats no big deal to me. I handled covering the speaker area buy purchasing 1/8" oak paneling and staining it to match. You are correct about the base protruding so there is a slight gap between where the bezel face meets the entertainment center. i am eventually going to pad the back of the entertainment center lip to fill the gap but you know how that goes.... when i find the time! *grin* looking from straight on from 10' away which is where I sit... you wouldn't know there is a gap at all. Also...as the bezel is angled I wont be able to entirely remove it from sight while looking at the set from side angles. Ill be more than happy to post pics in a couple weeks when the move is done.

Craig

Originally posted by RMSko
The only thing that may not look great is that then the silver bezel would show around the top and the sides, but not the bottom. You could use a high-quality black electrical tape to cover the silver bezel. High-quality, because the cheap stuff can leave a sticky mess when removing it.

Gary

Originally posted by RMSko
Thanks. I do have the HD TiVo, but what doesn't make sense is that the green screen exists regardless of the input; i.e., I have the HD TiVo input through HDMI, but even if I switch to component or PC, the green screen remains. That would suggest that it is not a TiVo issue, wouldn't it?

My suspicion is that it's not a TiVO issue, it's an issue on the 4674 side where it can't figure out what type of a signal is coming in via the HDMI port (I've only seen it happen when the 4674 was listening to the HDMI port when it started up). Cycling the signal sent down the HDMI wire seems to allow the TV to figure out what it's being sent. It's almost as if the TV thinks it's getting a 480i/480p/1080i signal when it's being sent a 720p signal, and the break when the signal changes from 720p to 1080i gives it a chance to correct the mistake. Whether this is what the problem REALLY is or not, I've no idea, it's just a guess based on the behavior.

Scott

Originally posted by calcraig
Unfortunately you caught me at a bad time...i am moving so the tv is out of the entertainment center. The reason I originally purchased the 4674 was the thin bezel. It fit perfectly in the entertainment center I already had. You can see about 1/16" of the right and left side bezels...but thats no big deal to me. I handled covering the speaker area buy purchasing 1/8" oak paneling and staining it to match. You are correct about the base protruding so there is a slight gap between where the bezel face meets the entertainment center. i am eventually going to pad the back of the entertainment center lip to fill the gap but you know how that goes.... when i find the time! *grin* looking from straight on from 10' away which is where I sit... you wouldn't know there is a gap at all. Also...as the bezel is angled I wont be able to entirely remove it from sight while looking at the set from side angles. Ill be more than happy to post pics in a couple weeks when the move is done.

Craig

Thanks. I'd love to see the pics once you get settled. Good luck with the move.

been looking for hd2+ chip in sammy, waited too long. local tweeter has floor model for 2400 w stand! fantastic price. question is, would love to know if anyone believes if these sets take too much abuse to purchase. tweeter will offer bulb replacement for free for 1 year, plus 30 day no question asked return . worth it nor not?

oops, forgot to say it was 4674. sorry

Originally posted by jbinbi
been looking for hd2+ chip in sammy, waited too long. local tweeter has floor model for 2400 w stand! fantastic price. question is, would love to know if anyone believes if these sets take too much abuse to purchase. tweeter will offer bulb replacement for free for 1 year, plus 30 day no question asked return . worth it nor not? I am in the exact same situation. A local dealer has a floor model HLP4674 for a decent price. My questions are:
[list=1]
Is there a way to see how many hours are on the set (bulb)?
Is there a manufacture date on the set and are there any dates that are significant (either good or bad)?
Is there anything else I should watch out for when buying a floor model?
There is a 5 year extended warranty for $299 (does not inlcude bulb) available. Is it worth it?
[/list=1]

Jay

Jay, what I have found out so far is that floor models accumulate lots of hours, the bulb will probably have to be replaced quite a bit ahead of sched. (tv is on for 12 hrs a day for 5 months in my case, which is 1500 hrs. This is 1.5 yrs of useage for me). So factor $200 into cost, or in my case, they will offer free bulb replacement for 1st yr.

I am interested in your questions 2,3. 5 yr $299 warranty sound like a no brainer!

Originally posted by jbinbi
Jay, what I have found out so far is that floor models accumulate lots of hours, the bulb will probably have to be replaced quite a bit ahead of sched. (tv is on for 12 hrs a day for 5 months in my case, which is 1500 hrs. This is 1.5 yrs of useage for me). So factor $200 into cost, or in my case, they will offer free bulb replacement for 1st yr. I just found out on Samsung's web site that the bulb is covered by the Manufacturers 1 year warranty, so the dealer is not doing you any favors. Good luck.

Jay

Well, I received my 4674 from OneCall about 1 week ago. As Murphy would have it, the unit arrived at the same time a tornado was passing by. Fortunately, the driver was cool enough to hang out until the weather calmed down before pulling the TV off the truck. The unit itself is beautiful. Other than numerous post and advertising pics, I had not seen the unit myself until I opened the box. I took a chance ordering the unit online based on the pic quality of the 5085. It was a good roll of the dice. I'll post some pics of the unit as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, I have been suffering through SD for a week until Charter came out last night to hook up my HD service. WOW! She looks good. I had anticipated splitting the signal before my STB to input an analogue signal for SD content, but the SD quality pass through over DVI actually looks better (not great, just better). The digital channels with less compressions look good, and the HD channel are just amazing. All of this is over a cheep DVI cable supplied with a Dell monitor. My AR Master Series DVI cable should be here in a few days. We'll see if that makes any improvements.

If you are considering purchasing a unit, and willing to buy online, try OneCall. I believe they have a significant amount in stock. While the return policy kind of sucks, the ext warranty picks up the slack. The ext warranty covers EVERYTHING the manufacturer's 1yr warranty covers. This includes the bulb! Yes, my bulb is covered for 4 additional years

anybody been to costco lately-- i looked at the sign for 2 minutes and it said 5674

Originally posted by ener50
anybody been to costco lately-- i looked at the sign for 2 minutes and it said 5674

buy 10 of 'em and resell!! :D

Originally posted by jerndl
I am in the exact same situation. A local dealer has a floor model HLP4674 for a decent price. My questions are:
[list=1]
Is there a way to see how many hours are on the set (bulb)?
Is there a manufacture date on the set and are there any dates that are significant (either good or bad)?
Is there anything else I should watch out for when buying a floor model?
There is a 5 year extended warranty for $299 (does not inlcude bulb) available. Is it worth it?
[/list=1]

Jay

1.) Power - 1 - 8 - 2 - Mute - Power will get you into the SM
Go to 10 Options and you'll see the menu with the Lamp Life in the lower right hand corner.

2.) I don't believe there is. Only issue to be concerned about is smudges (Samsung will replace Screen if you got them.)

3.) Besides salesmen - No

4.) If it's the RM45000 then that's about the going price.

CCourtney

Hi, I am a new member and have just registered. I bought the hlp4674 about a month ago and with my family have enjoyed this dlp.
I have found that these units are still available on eBay and at some outlets such as the monitor outlet could not post link.
I am not that picky and so I can’t find any faults other than widescreen in SD on DirecTV. I use 4/3 for viewing and it looks good that way. I will continue to monitor this forum since it has so much detail. Thanks Paul D.

If this was discussed before I apologize but I couldn't find it.

It seems when this product was originally released it had a 3000:1 contrast ratio.

But now when I look on specs on the web they say it has a 2000:1 contrast ratio.


Has something changed since the original production of the unit?

3000:1 was quoted almost 10 months before release at CES (using TI marketing specs for the HD2+). 2000:1 was what was said when the product was released (probably based on Samsung's real observations as implemented with the final light engine.

Yup - here in San Diego Costco has it at that price as welll. It's a good deal, I'd say! (Even though it's always risky to say so with technology).
I've been happily owning a 5674 since last December, bought it for several hundred more at tweeter after they stuck the special price for the 4674 on it by mistake, but still expect my $200 HD activation rebate so no, I did not start crying too hard when I saw that :) .
Don't mean to be a party pooper, but I wonder how you deal with it if it breaks down, though - I know costco is notoriously easy on returning TVs and "stuff", but what if you don't want to? Do they offer an extended warranty like Tweeter does?
After integrating, calibrating and - yes - loving it, it might be sad to have to exchange it for a different model after the samsung warranty expires.


Originally posted by ener50
anybody been to costco lately-- i looked at the sign for 2 minutes and it said 5674

Anyone seen the 4674 in Costco? Last time I was there only saw the 5663.

HLP5674 Has Replaced HLP5063 - Problems!

Hi,

Samsung emailed BB to let them know they should exchange or replace my HLP5060, it is being junked out, unsolvable audio sync, banding, and electrical sparking/popping noises and green spark lines going across the screen.

The HLP5674 replacement was delivered yesterday and is very dark in the shadows, darkish browns and blacks and dark grays run together and don't have detail.

I have set the gamma to zero but that didn't help the blacks/darks, it did help the blown out highlights in the skin tones.

Is there a fix for this. I don't want a service person just turning up the brightness and blowing out white and telling me everything is OK. I haven't had much luck with the Samsung service people that have been sent out.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated

Thanks!

Sorry, I inadvertently posted this and it came out as a new thread elsewhere so I added it in here.

Originally posted by neeande
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated

Get the DVE calibration disk from Amazon and check out this thread for calibration advise.

How to use calibration disks' test patterns (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=318977)

Htwaits,

I have the Avila disk, will that work (didn't get a chance to use it after work last night)? I will order the other one but want to contact Samsung or BB ASAP. I'm worried that I will need a high brightness setting on this set and be wearing out the lamps too quickly on this set, or worse, not ever be able to get good detail in the blacks. Have you (or anybody) heard of this problem being common or easily fixable?

I'm a bit gun shy having had all the problems over the last three months with the other Samsung TV, it was a nightmare until we finally got it resolved, with many phone calls and scheduling service calls.

Thanks!

The brightness setting will not affect how long the lamp lasts. The lamp is always running at the same "brightness". The brightness control just affects digitally what input levels get mapped to what percentage of time the mirror reflects the light to the screen vs. away from it.

If you can't correct things by setting the brightness and contrast levels appropriately with Avia, you may need a service call.

Originally posted by neeande
I have the Avila disk, will that work?
What Cheezmo said. :)

Good luck.

Htwaits, Cheezmo, thanks very much!

I will order the DVE disk from Amazon and use the Avia disk on the weekend. If I need a service call after the Avia, do you think it will be a difficult fix, I haven't had much luck with the service people that came out to fix the HLP5063?

Thanks again

I just got a SA 8300DVR (charter), and tried HDMI/HDMI cable into a 5674. (The 8300 only has HDMI output - no DVI). The cable box has a setup routine that lets you see which resolutions the TV can accept. the 5674 will see 480i/480p/720p/and 1080i over component, but only 720p/1080i over HDMI.

Is this normal? Is it the HDMI standard, or is it the Samsung?

Also, I can eliminate the 480 resolutions in setup, and select <auto dvi> in the menu. Then the stb will pass through 1080i/720p and upconvert 480 to 1080i.

If this is a quirk with the Samsung, would using a HDMI to DVI cable allow the Samsung to see 480p/480i/720p/1080i?

Thanks

Originally posted by bellaireroad
If this is a quirk with the Samsung, would using a HDMI to DVI cable allow the Samsung to see 480p/480i/720p/1080i?
A partial answer is that Samsung's HDMI/DVI ports will accept 480p/1080i/720p but not 480i.

I don't believe that lack of support for 480i is a hardware limitation of the HDMI/DVI port, because the SIL9993 HDMI Decoder used in the HLPxx74W supports 480i. See product data sheet http://www.siliconimage.com/docs/SiI-PB-9993.pdf

Didn't say it was.

I just found it interesting Samsung's choice was not to support 480i on HDMI. Not that you were saying it was a hardware limitation.

OK

Has anyone out there taken advantage of the Samsung/Comcast Promotion and received their $200 VISA Debit card?

If so, have you used it? Which stores/vendors? Can you use it at multiple places until it is spent down?

In reading the terms its use seems rather restrictive and/or I am confused again.

thanks Thread

mismatched

Just saw the 5674 at Costco in San Jose for $300 less than it was 2 weeks ago, plus it includes a matching stand! And it looked better than all of the other rptvs, lcds and plasmas there...at least that's what I'm telling myself :)

Well, I've had my second light engine (LE) replacement for my 5674 ( after waiting 4 weeks for the second replacement !!!!) and so far so good.

The set has been running for over 2 weeks and the quality is far superior to my original set purchased from TVA. If you have tracked this thread then you know my initial replacement had a defect which projected a 3" circular globe on the right middle side of the display. A small full moon "death star", of sorts. We guess that the DMD's glass protector /encasing piece had a blemish which was magnified as the "death star" globe.

The tech had a hassle with Samsung when he required they send a new LE and not a refurb. Seems the first replacement Samsung sent was a refurb which was sh** out of the box. Enough to piss one off when the manufacturer sends refurb crap when warranty is involved. But not surprising.

My tech told me he had to literally demand Samsung send a new LE. His comment was that Samsung strongly resisted and that if he wasn't such a strong territorial rescource for Samsung's field service in the area that they would have blown him off and sent a refurb. Thus I had to wait 4 weeks.

But the new LE had Korean script writing ( with some English) wedged into a slot on the LE so we were confident it was new.

After 2 LE's, I can say that I am now satisfied with the display. It is probably the best 5674 set I can expect seeing that it is end of life. My chassis is late 2004 but my LE is early March 2005. And my lamp is new.

But the Samsung quality issue lingers and as long as I own this set I will have the prospect of the other shoe dropping again. And if Samsung sends me another email about how I like my new set I will simply send off another blistering bash of their quality. I swear the more I crapped on them in the email surveys, the more surveys they sent me -- sadistic people this Samsung marketing group ;)

But the set looks good now.... so I temper my responses.

BOK

Originally posted by mismatched
Has anyone out there taken advantage of the Samsung/Comcast Promotion and received their $200 VISA Debit card?

If so, have you used it? Which stores/vendors? Can you use it at multiple places until it is spent down?

In reading the terms its use seems rather restrictive and/or I am confused again.

thanks Thread

mismatched

I sent in for this promotion as well. The website said 8 weeks for delivery. I called them and they told me it takes a full 14 weeks despite what the website said. Today is 14 weeks for me. If I don't see it tomorrow, I will call them again.

If you don't know, you can check the status of your rebate at: www.checkmyrebate.com

Mine is still showing as "Pending Final Audit".

As far as what you can use it on, I assumed I can use it anywhere VISA is accepted. I did not see any restrictions on it.

Originally posted by mismatched
Has anyone out there taken advantage of the Samsung/Comcast Promotion and received their $200 VISA Debit card?

If so, have you used it? Which stores/vendors? Can you use it at multiple places until it is spent down?

In reading the terms its use seems rather restrictive and/or I am confused again.

thanks Thread

mismatched

Got it. I don't know exactly how long it took but somewhere around the 8 weeks advertised.

It's just a $200 Visa card. Use it anywhere you can use Visa. Call the 800 # on the back to check your balance as you use it.

Very easy and very nice. Not exactly the same as a $200 check to put in the bank, but if you use it for something you would buy anyway (e.g., groceries) then it really isn't that different.

ok guys I guess I overreacted to the crap on the back of the agreement. And I had recalled reading that a while back many retailers were not accepting Visa Debit cards because their fees were too high. Apparently that has been resolved and I got my first latte at Pete's using my $200 card.

Sweet. Makes paying 10% off the original list price for the 5674 a bit easier to swallow!!

Originally posted by mmccking
Just saw the 5674 at Costco in San Jose for $300 less than it was 2 weeks ago, plus it includes a matching stand! And it looked better than all of the other rptvs, lcds and plasmas there...at least that's what I'm telling myself :)

costco has a very good price on this set. i was at costco last night comparing the various sets they have on display. one thing i couldn't help noticing was that the sony 50" lcd rear projection they had on display had a much sharper/clearer picture than the 5674. i tried adjusting the settings on the 5674 but could never achieve the same sharpness and clarity as the sony. i was a bit disappointed because i've been debating whether to pick up the 5674 and really like the overall design. both sets were being fed the same signal through component video cables. i suppose there could've been something wrong with the cables, etc., but frankly i doubt it. don't get me wrong. the 5674 has a very nice picture when viewing it by itself, but for some reason the sony had the sharper/clearer picture at my local costco. :confused:

Originally posted by digilight
Yup - here in San Diego Costco has it at that price as welll. It's a good deal, I'd say! (Even though it's always risky to say so with technology).
I've been happily owning a 5674 since last December, bought it for several hundred more at tweeter after they stuck the special price for the 4674 on it by mistake, but still expect my $200 HD activation rebate so no, I did not start crying too hard when I saw that :) .
Don't mean to be a party pooper, but I wonder how you deal with it if it breaks down, though - I know costco is notoriously easy on returning TVs and "stuff", but what if you don't want to? Do they offer an extended warranty like Tweeter does?
After integrating, calibrating and - yes - loving it, it might be sad to have to exchange it for a different model after the samsung warranty expires.

Oh man, which Costco did you go to? Did they have the 4674 in stock as well?

My Costco only has the 5663. Does it vary by area?

Portland stores also have the 5674 in stock with the stand for $1200 less than what I paid at Thanksgiving... (and I though I got a great price then).

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
Portland stores also have the 5674 in stock with the stand for $1200 less than what I paid at Thanksgiving... (and I though I got a great price then).

welcome to the real world of electronics' price declines! Heck you got one of the nicest sets around period. enjoy and done sweat the past!!! :D

I am looking to purchase a 56-61" DLP TV. I have been researching and looking around. I was so close to getting a HL-P6163W. I was shopping and looking at prices and then I realized it was two generations old. I had no idea about the DLP tech....anyway to make a long story show...I was about to buy it online with the stand even after I the DLP lesson on the forums. This week I saw the HL-P5674W in Costco for $2800 with a stand. I'm not set on Samsung but I am trying to keep it under $3200 with a warranty and I need a stand. Any advise?? My head spins every time I go into the forums...please help.

for that price bigrob49er buy two!!! PS Seriously, you are not supposed to talk about prices on this thread!!
(you make the rest of us jealous!!:D)

Buy it you will not regret it! the set is awesome!!

Originally posted by mismatched
ok guys I guess I overreacted to the crap on the back of the agreement. And I had recalled reading that a while back many retailers were not accepting Visa Debit cards because their fees were too high. Apparently that has been resolved and I got my first latte at Pete's using my $200 card.

Sweet. Makes paying 10% off the original list price for the 5674 a bit easier to swallow!!

So I guess you finally got yours. It has been 14 weeks and 1 day for me. I called them and they told me I have been approved but they are behind in shipping and I should see it in 2-3 weeks. Not sure why it takes 2-3 weeks to put it in an envelope.

I'm just glad to hear that someone at least received one!

This week I saw the HL-P5674W in Costco for $2800 with a stand. I'm not set on Samsung but I am trying to keep it under $3200 with a warranty and I need a stand. Any advise?? My head spins every time I go into the forums...please help.

With a stand! That is close to what I paid for a 4674, without a stand. I don't think you could go wrong and the set is excellent. Keep your box, because if, it doesn't pan out, Costco, is very good with returns. In addition, don't you get a 2% rebate with certain memberships?

Reminder don't quote prices or the moderators may delete this thread -- we can say a place has a discount or talk in relative terms but avsforum only allows posting prices from their advertisers.

Agree...this thread is a real help to us xx74 owners.

Lets stay on the subject and not continue to violate the forum rules...you have read them?

.......that's hard........I'll try......

I bought a 5674 with stand at my local Costco (SF Bay Area) 3 days ago for a lot less than what Good Guys was asking for a 4674 (even on sale).

The stand, however, was a TR63 (for the XX63 series). It's a bit wider than the TV set, but I am fine with it.

This TV is very, very nice. I can watch the parachuting scene from episode 2 of Bands of Brothers in broad day light.

I got my check card after about 12 weeks and applied the $200 toward car insurance. Paid online. Transaction went through no problems. I didn't want the hassle of trying to keep track of a balance on the card.

Its been 3 days I received my new HLR4677 , it a great set, but I think i
notied a few potential problems:

1. The sreen (when the TV is off) shows a very thin long (from left to right)
horizontal line in the middle. Is it the seperation of the top part of the screen
from the bottom part. Will it cause an issue with my TV later? IS it common
for screens to have this abnormality?

2.I can hear small sound fro the fans inside the tv when the TV is muted.
Is it normal?

3. When using HDMI for DVD viewing and using DVD850 samsung player
and a normal receiver for sound, I notice a very sdmall lipsync, perhaps
a 0.25 sconds lag in the audio and video. Is it normal even for new sets?

4.How to make some of the DVD's look widescreen (remove the black parts) and fill the entire screen? . Some of them do not fill the whole screen. Is it
because they are not designed for filling the whole screen. My Samsung
850 does not show some dvds by filling the whole screen(in wide screen
mode). Some movies like Spiderman look awesome as they will the whole screen while some like Matrix I, Appllo 13 etc do not? Any specific reasons for why?

How do I check the lamp usage hours?

Thanks

Originally posted by baba160
2.I can hear small sound fro the fans inside the tv when the TV is muted. Is it normal?

Depending on what "small" means, yes it's normal.

3. When using HDMI for DVD viewing and using DVD850 samsung player
and a normal receiver for sound, I notice a very sdmall lipsync, perhaps
a 0.25 sconds lag in the audio and video. Is it normal even for new sets?

How do you have the DVD player set up? It should be configured to work with a 16x9 TV not a 4x3 set. I think it should also be set to output 720p, and in that case your TV should be set to "Expand" mode.

4.How to make some of the DVD's look widescreen (remove the black parts)

Check the "black bars" link at the bottom of my message and see if that answers your questions.

How do I check the lamp usage hours?

See below.



Originally posted by millerwill
htwaits: Is it possible for you to give a step-by-step 'idiot proof' protocol for going into the SM and making this gamma change? I've never been into the SM and have always been nervous about the idea. But you sound like it's worth it. (Have a 6163.)
Can one idiot protect other idiots? ;)

Here are the "enter-SM" instructions for the HLN sets. They are the same for a HLP set but the contents of the SM and navigation keys are different. I haven't checked all the navigation instructions myself.

Find Samsung Firmware Version:

The firmware version installed on any set is recorded on the first page of the SM. There is a long ID number at the bottom of the page. The last three digits (HLN) or last four digits (HLP) are the firmware version of your set.

Remember that in any dealing with Samsung you are not supposed to know your firmware version.

Record your User Settings for "Picture" before you enter the SM. The HLP sets will revert to factory defaults for the UM when you exit the SM.

Instructions for accessing the Samsung Service Menu:

Anyone using these suggestions should know that the only change I have ever made to the SM is changing GAMMA from the default value to zero. I have never "messed around" in the SM. Remember that there is no reset function. If you see something that looks like one don't use it.

I can recommend, without any reservations, recording all original SM settings before making additional changes.

****** Thanks to LCH. 09/02/2003 ******

Turn Melody off in the user menu (allows entering the Service Menu from power On state without using a lamp cycle).

With the set ON, press Power-Mute-1-8-2-Power in quick succession.
(If the set is already off, just do Mute-1-8-2-Power )

The service menu should appear for the input you were viewing before keying the above sequence. Be sure to give the set enough time to complete the process(30-60 seconds).

While in the service menu, you can change inputs with the TV/Video button to view the SM for other modes.

Use the CH up, CH down & select keys to navigate the Service Menu. Press MENU to return to the main Service Menu after viewing individual functions.

Later, you will use the VOL(+) & VOL(-) keys to change the SM values.

" ... when you access the SM on the HLPxx63 (probably all HLP models), the directional arrows around the "Enter" button control navigation, not the volume and channel buttons ..." MacGyver1970.

To Exit the SM, power off. Leave it off for several(30) seconds. (until all cooling activity is complete)

Example steps to change GAMMA on a HLP5063 with firmware version 1011 and a build date of May 2004:

The SM main menu looks like this.

1. DDP1011 (The GAMMA setting is here.)
2. GM1601
3. DNIe
4. FLI2310
5. CXA2171
6. Vsp9437
7. Upd 64083
8. CCA
9. SP Actuator
10. OPTION (The tally of hours of lamp operation is in this menu.)

Ver: T_ATLNUS_1011 (this is the firmware version)

First record user menu entries for "picture" and enter SM.

Steps from the main SM.

1. Select DDP1011 using the directional arrow keys -- up and down.
2. Enter DDP1011. I used the right arrow key but maybe the "enter" key will work too.
3. Select GAMMA using the up or down arrow key.
4. I entered GAMMA using the right arrow key, but the "enter" key may also work.
5. I used the right and left arrow keys to change the value of GAMMA.
6. I used the up arrow key to return to the DDP1011 menu. Again, the "enter" key or "menu" key might do the same thing.
7. I returned to the main SM with the "menu" key.
8. Power off and wait for a full shut down to save entries that you have changed in the SM.

9. Power on after about 30 seconds and enter your user menu picture settings.

This change to GAMMA makes "some" owners happy. I feel that after setting GAMMA to zero and setting brightness with the DVE DVD that the details in dark scenes were improved. To really get the most out of our set I am getting an ISF calibration done by SethS.

As of 12/14/2004:
Mode = Cinema
contrast = 90
brightness = 45
sharpness = 0
color = 48
Digital NR = OFF
DNIe = OFF

Enjoy.

Originally posted by htwaits
This change to GAMMA makes "some" owners happy. I feel that after setting GAMMA to zero and setting brightness with the DVE DVD that the details in dark scenes were improved.

Can htwaits or someone else comment on any other changes to the look or feel of the picture after the gamma setting change? This is obviously a discreet tweak that many of us are curious to try, but I'd like to hear the groups consensus (if there is one) on the pros and cons of making this change.

Also, htwaits, how much is SethS charging? PM me if this is not appropriate for posting, though I assume it's okay. Does he do the SF East Bay?

Originally posted by JeffNebraska
Also, htwaits, how much is SethS charging? PM me if this is not appropriate for posting, though I assume it's okay. Does he do the SF East Bay?
I don't know what Seth's fee structure is. I haven't had my set done yet. We are waiting for it to get it's new screen. Contact him directly with "SethS".

Originally posted by htwaits
I don't know what Seth's fee structure is. I haven't had my set done yet. We are waiting for it to get it's new screen. Contact him directly with "SethS".

New screen? What happened?

I have the 4674 and get my HD programming off Dish6000 on E*. Today, I ordered the 10 additional channels from VOOM as a part of my E* HD package. My 6000 receiver is set for 720P; on all the new VOOM channels, I was getting vertical jagged lines on the screen. I switched to 1080i on the 6000 receiver and the picture cleared up. To me, the picture off the 1080 setup looked as good, or better, on all stations, even without the jaggies.

Any ideas on why this is happening?

Originally posted by calcraig
New screen? What happened?

I don't think htwaits has a hlpxx74 model I think he has one of the older ones. There have been no reported issues that I have seen with the xx74 series as they all shipped with the newer screen design.

He must have had the delaminating problem of some the older sets where air/moisture got inbetween layers of the screen.

Help: New Owner Problems
1. Been watching HLR Thread for 5 months, pulled the trigger on HLP5674 at Costco! Great Price!

2. Just set it up, but not sure about things. Have Comcast DVR box, in MA.

3. Had to pick type of signal, HRC, IRC, STD. etc. Didn't know, figured STD. Now realize maybe HRC is 'high res'? Anyway, menu for Channels is not letting me go back into this, and I can't even select this menu item. Why not?

4. Couldn't get sound out of TV. Had it set to component, RGB, & sound from back of cable box. Tried Xbox. Got sound. Went from component RGB back to composite video (yellow,white, red connector) had from old TV. No sound. Went to HDTV channel. Got sound? Went back to STD channel. Now sound. What is going on? I know I should use component for HDTV. BTW, mute is not on!

5. How do I set up the Comcast box. Current choices are 4:3. 16:9, 1080I (can make this 720P), and what settings do I use on the TV?

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Depending on what source is active (TV, video 1, 2, 3, s-vid 1,2,3 component 1, 2, DVI, HDMI, and VGA) different menu items grey out when they don't apply You can either use the SOURCE button on the remote to cycle the active input or you can use the Menu, Input, Source List to arrow thru the inputs. Whenever you are on TV you can change the channel settiungs.

The TV setting only works with input from a COAX cable so if you are trying to set it up you need coax into both your TV and your DVR and the component from the DVR into the TV.
example: Hook your coax from the wall into the TVs TOP In connector and use the coax OUT connector to pass the COAX from the TV to the Cable box (page 19 of the manual). Optionally you can complete a COAX feed back to the TV as in the picture if your DVR has coax out.

Then in the setup menu for the tv the type you will want to set depends on your cable company -- Set the AIR/CATV setting to HRC and check if you get all the channels with a channel scan if you don' try the next one. I think most US companies are HRC. If you con't receive any of them it probably means all of your channels are encrypted and you will only get an input from the component.

If your cable DVR box is only hooked to the tv by component, DVI, or HDMI cables you shouldn't need to set the type of cable setup. Just select the SOURCE until you are on the right component hook up and you are receiving whatever is coming out of your box.

Now for DVR setup -- 720p is the best fit for the box if your DVR supports it and does a good job with scaling, 16:9 is also the best setting. If your DVR has a setting called native you might also find that makes a better picture instead of 720p since it lets the TV control the scaling which the xx74 models do very well -- Try several channels -- it all depend on your cable company and DVRs quality.

One note -- to have the most flexibility with standard def channels that aren't encrypted you really will want both the coax hook up and the component one. This lets you do more options with Picture in Picture with live shows and some recorded ones....

Good luck and enjoy your set --
One warning most of us have found the color and picture on standard def channels improves over the first 20-40 hours or so so don't judge teh standard def pictures too harshly at the beginning.

Greetings Paul,
I read very early in this thread that you were contemplating making spreadsheet of the 5674 default sm settings. Did you ever do that, and if so, would you be agreeable to sharing them?
Thanks,
b.

Paul, thanks for the help. A couplel of things that are still troubling me:

1. My Mot cable dVR box does not have coax out. So I put the cable coax feed direct into the TV as suggested for SD. Then I took the TV out coax from the back of the set into the Cable box.

When I do this, I don't get a picture when I choose component as the source. Its wierd, the cable guide comes up, I can try to select a channel, but then it says ' a signal should be available shortly' but it never comes.

Is the TV out signal a pass thru from the TV in, or do I need to somehow enable its output?

Since this wasn't working, I put the cable feed back directly in the cable DVR box, and I am just using component for everything, but I think (don't know if my eyes really perceive, or its just from reading this forum's opinions) coax looks nicer on SD. Ideally, I would like to use component or DVI for HD and Coax for SD. BTW, my cable box , Mot 6400, only has one set of sound outputs, so either I use them with component, DVI, or composite. Can't set the the cable box to output more than 1 way.

Thanks for anyones help here. I am going to Radio Shack to see ifi the have DVI or HDMI-DVI cables in the meantime.

Originally posted by jbinbi
Help: New Owner Problems

4. Couldn't get sound out of TV. Had it set to component, RGB, & sound from back of cable box. Tried Xbox. Got sound. Went from component RGB back to composite video (yellow,white, red connector) had from old TV. No sound. Went to HDTV channel. Got sound? Went back to STD channel. Now sound. What is going on? I know I should use component for HDTV. BTW, mute is not on!


Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

I've notice on my HLP4674W that if there is no video detected, screen displaying 'no signal' on the input the sound is not active. Maybe you didn't have a video signal at the input jack, but still expected sound?

I got this 56" set on Friday, setup the stand, and fired it up on my Dish HDTV.

Some initial observations:
* I only built the "univeral" stand to be for the 50" set, rather than 56". The TV fits perfectly and I believe the TV fits best on this size stand.
* The TV is amazing in PQ in HD. I hooked up my HTPC and started playing a DVD, and was equally impressed.
* The contrast was cranked up to 100%, as someone else noted here, so I turned it down a bit. Colors are also too warm (people looked red) so I tuned this a bit.
* The thin bezel and black front make this set more aesthically pleasing than the xx63 sets in my opinion. And this set looks less cheesy that the xx85's. Again, my opinion.
* Was thinking of waiting for the new ones that are going to replace this set (xx77's ?) but I decided I wanted the extra connectors on the back, though I'm hooping everything thru either DVI or digital component. Will likely use DVI and HDMI once I get the proper connectors.
* This TV sports the HD2+ chipset, better, in my opinion, than the HD3 chipset DLP's.
* The TV is light, and smaller compared to other sets. The 62" Toshiba which I was seriously considering was a mammoth with the speakers at the side. This TV fits nicely into a smaller spot in the corner of my room, and is not gregarious (it doesn't dominate the room, it is tucked away in the corner to the point you wouldn't notice it unless it was on.)
* Viewing angle is pretty good for a RPTV. I guess placement is everything here.
* Setting up the TV is easy. Playing around with the various menus and remote control buttons for a little while was all I needed to hook and tweak the settings for both the HD STB and HTPC.

All in all I'm happy except for the price I paid for the TV, though I know I got a decent deal. I was only looking at spending $2000 but decided to step up to a HD2+ and nicer case.

That's my $0.02, if you have any questions fire away. I spent 6 months reading stuff on this forum so I'd like to give something abck.

For people who bought their 5674 at Costco, was the free stand in the same box? I was at a Costco at Daly City and I don't remember seeing the display tv on a stand.