HLPXX63W Owners Thread/Problems/Tweaks/Service Menu/Discretes etc. [Text View] - Page 3

supershawn

04-26-05, 03:43 PM

Originally posted by Mitch P.
supershawn - have you tried unplugging the set, waiting a bit, and plugging it back in? I've had some minor problems with my set and a "re-boot" seemed to fix it. To date, I've had one all green screen, one garbled screen (matrix streaming data), and one three-blinking lamp problem all of which has been fixed by a "re-boot"

Not sure if I should have reported this or not, but it seemed to work for me without the need for a SV.

I have tried and it works about 1 in 4 times. They are here now (fast!) replacing my entire engine with an updated design. It is supposedly quieter and much more reliable. I even got a new lamp out of it.

I will let you know as soon as it is done. Samsung has been great about the entire process.

UPDATE- They are done and have configured the new engine with the factory tuning sheet. I will have to wait another 150 hours before I can have it ISF calibrated, but the picture does look great- maybe even better than before. As far as noise, it is DEFINATELY much quieter than before. I cannot here the color wheel "whine" as much at all. I wanted to take pictures of the differences between the old and new engines but the tech was in a hurry and I did not want to hold him up.

While I wish it was done properly the first time, I am very satisfied with the support Samsung has given me. I only hope my extended warranty works as well when the factory warranty runs out.

stevedee

04-27-05, 09:22 PM

Would someone have a little time to spend with me discussing starting out in the Calibration biz? My background: Certified Biomed Tech (CBET). I have been "tweaking" complex electronic medical equipment for 25 + years. It appears, to me, that HDTV is the ultimate tweak! But I need to get educated and buy some gear.

I just bought the HLP4663 a few months ago. I bought the Service Manual - it was not very helpful. My set, though very impressive, is "off". It's too bright and (maybe) a little too blue, for example, and as you know, the User Settings only do so much. I thought someone might answer a couple questions for me.

1. If I took the ISF Cert course, would I then be able to understand "everything" that is in the 4663's Service Menu? Right now, I do not even know what Coefficients are.... Baseline settings before you set the Gain????

2. If the answer to 1 is NO, would more detailed instructions for tweaking these sets be available somewhere (like from Samsung?) if I were certified? In other words, does the cert allow you access to more "stuff"?

We can take this off-line, if you want. Thanks.

Regards,
Steve Desterhaft
stevedee1000@sbcglobal.net

collinp

04-27-05, 10:21 PM

Originally posted by stevedee

1. If I took the ISF Cert course, would I then be able to understand "everything" that is in the 4663's Service Menu? Right now, I do not even know what Coefficients are.... Baseline settings before you set the Gain????

2. If the answer to 1 is NO, would more detailed instructions for tweaking these sets be available somewhere (like from Samsung?) if I were certified? In other words, does the cert allow you access to more "stuff"?

These HLPs are great for tweaking with the ability to not only get grayscale tracking proper, but to also adjust the gamma and primaries. Its amazing how accurate you can get these sets.

The coefficients are more commonly referred to as gains and cuts. They are the prime controls you use to adjust the color tracking of your grayscale. The cuts control the RGB mix in the lower IREs and the gains control the RGB mix for the upper IREs. The goal is get white to be D65K across all IREs. I'm not ISF certified, but I guarantee an ISF course will cover this. I'm pretty skeptical, however, that an ISF course will cover something more bleeding edge like CCA in much depth.

This FAQ is an oldie but goodie. It should give you a basic intro to Gains and Cuts. <http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/how2adj.html>

There is no detailed set calibration information available from Samsung. You've got all they offer. Set calibration information is derived chiefly through similarities between sets and experimentation. Tips and tricks are passed around on boards like this and I'm sure ISF certified folks have they're own private boards and lists where more detailed tips and tricks are passed around.

If you want to turn this into a business, you should take the ISF so you can advertise to your customers that you are ISF certified. If you want to just tune your own set, you could get a ColorFacts EyeOne system and start experimenting. Folks on boards like this will help you out when you get stuck.

- Collin

Apps1

04-28-05, 10:20 AM

I have a HLP-4663 and have recently started to notice "clay face" on my HD programming during dark facial close ups. Is this something that can be fixed with proper calibration or is the problem with my light engine? Dec' 04 build, 1035 firmware.

collinp

04-28-05, 06:44 PM

stevedee

04-28-05, 08:14 PM

Originally posted by Apps1
I have a HLP-4663 and have recently started to notice "clay face" on my HD programming during dark facial close ups. Is this something that can be fixed with proper calibration or is the problem with my light engine? Dec' 04 build, 1035 firmware.
What are you using for your source? Cable? Satellite? OTA? The reason I ask is that I've had the same problem, but ONLY on DirecTV. Apparently they're "cramming" too many HD channels into each transponder (or something like that), which forces them to "down-res" each channel a bit. I've been especially disappointed with HBO-HD. I still see the clay face occasionally, especially on their "dark" shows, like Deadwood and Carnivale. But, I never have a problem OTA with local PBS, which is absolutely stunning in HD. NEVER a clay face.

Tuesday night, all OTA: NCIS-HD on CBS followed by House-HD on Fox followed by Blind Justice-HD on ABC. ALL PERFECT! Three hours straight, three different networks, no clay faces. All NOT Satellite!

Now that I'm done ranting about the inferior quality of what I pay for as compared to what I get for free, here's what I did that really improved my 4663's PQ.

1. If you dare, get into the Service Menu and turn GAMMA to 0. That took care of ALMOST ALL of my clay face problems immediately. Don't freak out - all your User Settings will be reset back to default and initially might look a little "loud".
2. Standard Picture Mode with Color Tone set to Normal.
3. Turn stuff down - for starters, Contrast to 80, Brightness to 40, Sharpness to 0, Color to 40. Then turn DNIe and DNR off. Then fine-tune...
4. If possible, convert everything to 720p before it gets to your TV, then set Picture Size to "Expand" for 1x1 pixel mapping (thanks to Cheezmo for this one).

Thanks to everyone for their support regarding my ISF question.

htwaits

04-28-05, 09:13 PM

Originally posted by stevedee
What are you using for your source? Cable? Satellite? OTA?
Solid recommendations. :)

Fine tune with the Digital Video Essentials disk.

Apps1

04-29-05, 08:21 AM

What are you using for your source? Cable? Satellite? OTA? The reason I ask is that I've had the same problem, but ONLY on DirecTV. Apparently they're "cramming" too many HD channels into each transponder (or something like that), which forces them to "down-res" each channel a bit. I've been especially disappointed with HBO-HD. I still see the clay face occasionally, especially on their "dark" shows, like Deadwood and Carnivale. But, I never have a problem OTA with local PBS, which is absolutely stunning in HD. NEVER a clay face.

I am using DirecTv and OTA. I notice the problem much more via sat. However last night while watching Survivor through S-video on my SD-Tivo the dark scenes were horrible. I will try your suggestion and see what happens. I dont know how easy it will be to find a qualified Calibrator here in SC.

plaplante

05-04-05, 07:28 AM

Here is a interesting read about color and HD. I took it from Widescreen Review, review of a Sony SACD player. Maybe this is what is going on with the colors on this set. I haven't had time to check out our 4663 yet but I will.

HDMI To HDMI Compatibility

The DVP-NS975V is the first DVD player I’ve reviewed with an HDMI output. HDMI digital video is superset of DVI video. The HDMI specification supports three different digital video pixel encodings––RGB 4:4:4, YCbCr 4:4:4, and YCbCr 4:2:2. The first two video data types are also included in the DVI specification, although YCbCr video is seldom used in DVI systems and may not be supported by all DVI products.

When the DVD player is connected to a display with an HDMI input, it automatically sends YCbCr video across the HDMI-to-HDMI connection if the display also supports YCbCr data. According to the HDMI specification, any display that accepts analog YPbPr signals is also required to accept digital YCbCr video, so YCbCr will be used in almost all cases. The HDMI specification also requires that any display that accepts YCbCr data must support both 4:4:4 and 4:2:2 encoding.

I connected the DVD player’s HDMI output to the HDMI input of a Yamaha DPX-1100 DLP projector with a 7-meter Wireworld Starlight 5 HDMI cable. The Yamaha HDMI input menu has Auto, Component (YCbCr), and RGB options. In this case, only the Auto mode worked correctly, which indicates the DVD player was producing YCbCr 4:2:2 video. (The DPX-1100 YCbCr and RGB modes work correctly with 4:4:4 encoded video.)

When a display receives YCbCr video, it must convert it back to the RGB values of the original image to produce accurate color, and that creates a potential problem. The encoding parameters normally used to produce YCbCr video are different for standard-definition video (480i and 480p) than for high-definition video (720p and 1080i). Therefore, a high-definition display must have two different YCbCr to RGB decoding matrices––a standard-definition matrix based on ITU Rec. 601 encoding, and a high-definition matrix based on ITU Rec. 709 encoding. The display automatically selects the decoding matrix based on the signal format (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) it receives.

However, automatic selection of the YCbCr decoding matrix won’t work in this case. When the DVD player upconverts the standard-definition YCbCr data from the DVD to 720p or 1080i, the display will incorrectly use the high-definition decoding matrix. To obtain accurate color, the display must provide the ability to manually select the standard-definition decoding matrix, even though it is receiving 720p or 1080i data. The Yamaha DPX-1100 used for this review provides that option, but some displays don’t. If the high-definition decoding matrix is used, the colors will be shifted. Green and yellow colors appear darker, cyan becomes too blue, and so forth. This is easy to see by simply displaying color bars and changing the DVD player’s output format. At 480i and 480p, the color bars are correct; but at 720p and 1080i, they won’t be correct unless the display has a manual option to use as its standard-definition color decoder.

There are several possible DVD player solutions to this issue, including transcoding the standard-definition YCbCr data to high-definition YCbCr data for the 720p and 1080i HDMI output, or allowing the user to select RGB data for HDMI-to-HMDI transfers. I discussed this issue with Sony and its engineers agreed to pursue a solution.

HDMI To DVI Compatibility

An HDMI to DVI cable, or a passive connector adapter, permits the DVP-NS975V to be used with a display that has a DVI input. The DVD player knows that it is not connected to an HDMI input, so it will output digital RGB video. In this case, the DVD player must convert the DVD’s native standard-definition YCbCr video to RGB video. The DVP-NS975V uses its built-in standard-definition Rec. 601 decoder when it produces 480i or 480p digital RGB video, but it incorrectly uses a high-definition Rec. 709 decoder when it outputs 720p or 1080i. Hence, the colors are incorrect as described above because the decoding matrix does not match the standard-definition DVD source. Unfortunately, there is nothing that current displays can do to fix this problem, since they are receiving RGB digital signals and lack the necessary capability to do a RGB to RGB color space conversion. I informed Sony of this problem and it will now work on a fix to always use the SD decoding matrix when producing RGB signals.

The DVP-NS975V produces DVI-video levels (16 for black, 235 for 100 IRE white). This is the correct standard that all video products should follow, but some projectors and flat panels expect DVI-PC levels (0-255). If a display expects 0 to 255 but receives 16 to 235, black levels will be gray and the peak white output will be low. Most new home theatre displays, such as the Yamaha DPX-1100 DLP projector, include a menu selection for both standards, or they are factory calibrated for DVI-video levels. But older projectors and monitors originally designed for PC presentation purposes may have to be recalibrated for DVI-video levels. In addition, the DVI output is always HDCP encrypted, so the projector or monitor must have HDCP decryption.

The DVP-NS975V HDMI (and DVI) output signals will not produce values below black (16), therefore, the below-black PLUGE signals on Video Essentials won’t be seen unless the black level is raised by using the DVD player’s Brightness control, which you obviously don’t want to do.

Any comments or suggestions.

This was not the complete review

regards

Paul

EricScott

05-04-05, 09:28 AM

My suggestion (after reading this) would be to stay away from the Sony 975 :)

My Panny S97 hooked up via HDMI to my HLP5063 has no issues whatsoever. Never really had much macroblocking and I've upgraded to the latest firmware which virtually eliminates the problem. The S97 has adjustments which allow you to set Video or PC RGB levels (if you are outputting RGB) as well as choose whether to output RGB, YCbCr 4:4:4 or YCbCr 4:2:2.

Interesting article though.

tucsonbob

05-04-05, 10:18 AM

I have seen a number of recommendations to get a professional callibration on my HLP4663W.

How is this done? Who does it? What might it cost?

plaplante

05-05-05, 06:27 AM

Originally posted by EricScott
My suggestion (after reading this) would be to stay away from the Sony 975 :)

My Panny S97 hooked up via HDMI to my HLP5063 has no issues whatsoever. Never really had much macroblocking and I've upgraded to the latest firmware which virtually eliminates the problem. The S97 has adjustments which allow you to set Video or PC RGB levels (if you are outputting RGB) as well as choose whether to output RGB, YCbCr 4:4:4 or YCbCr 4:2:2.

Interesting article though.

Are you saying that the control on the Samsung is the computer setting for HD and the normal for video?
I have an LG upscaling DVD and I was just wondering if the TV settings for video are looking for this HD process video signal which the LG isn't sending, and to what setting the 4063 should be set to, to recieve the proper video signals coming from the DVD. We don't have much HD up here in Northern Ontario unless we go satellite, and I am not too happy with the Expressview or Starchoice options. Cable HD only has 3 channels. I use this TV for playing movies and digital cable (which is sometimes good or bad).
I haven't had much time to explore how this set receives and translates digital information. When I read that article it seemed logical that the set maybe thinking it was getting HD and setting the color to match the codecs for that, when in reality I was sending the upscaled video that needed the other processing.
Thanks for your responce.

Regards

stevedee

05-05-05, 08:54 AM

So, when playing your Digital Video Essentials DVD to adjust your HDTV, how does one know the signal from the DVD player is "correct"? The reason I ask is I suspect that the signal from my LG upscaling DVD Player is off on the bright side. There's no difference between 80% gray and 100% gray. They both appear to be 100%. I don't want to adjust my TV (4663) if the signal feeding it is off.

If indeed my DVD Player is "biased", what is the best way to get a "true" signal from DVE into the TV to adjust it properly?

Cheezmo

05-05-05, 09:00 AM

if 80IRE and 100IRE look the same, the problem is with the contrast being to high (either on the TV or the player).

Contrast ~= "how bright is white"
Brightness ~= "how bright is black"

plaplante

05-05-05, 10:03 AM

Originally posted by stevedee
So, when playing your Digital Video Essentials DVD to adjust your HDTV, how does one know the signal from the DVD player is "correct"? The reason I ask is I suspect that the signal from my LG upscaling DVD Player is off on the bright side. There's no difference between 80% gray and 100% gray. They both appear to be 100%. I don't want to adjust my TV (4663) if the signal feeding it is off.

If indeed my DVD Player is "biased", what is the best way to get a "true" signal from DVE into the TV to adjust it properly?

I had the same brightness problem but was able to download a firmware upgrade that fixed it on the LG, (also change the on screen to Zenith). I know they had problems with the player that was corrected with the update.

Don't know if these will be hot links or not:

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/experttips/michaeltlv/lg_dv7832_review.html

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/experttips/michaeltlv/lg_dv7832_firmware.html

hope this helps.

Regards

TexasAggie

05-05-05, 01:49 PM

Originally posted by supershawn

UPDATE- They are done and have configured the new engine with the factory tuning sheet. I will have to wait another 150 hours before I can have it ISF calibrated, but the picture does look great- maybe even better than before. As far as noise, it is DEFINATELY much quieter than before. I cannot here the color wheel "whine" as much at all.

superhsawn or others,

I have a HLP5063W, Man Date: July '04 and have had the color wheel replaced once because of perceived whining fan noise. They replaced the original FDB bearing color wheel with an air bearing color wheel. However, it is still louder than I think it should be, but acceptd as the best available fix at that time.

What did the service tech say about the cause of the whine noise?

What did he say was the differences between the old and new light engines that came with the HLP's?

I am still in the 15 month original warranty period.

I am very curious to learn about any factory mods made between the early HLP's and the later HLP's; i. e. firmware, light engine design, color wheels, etc.

Thanks

supershawn

05-05-05, 03:34 PM

I am not an expert, BUT, in my humble opinion, the new light engine made the tv MUCH quieter than before. The startup whine alone is barely audible.

stevedee

05-06-05, 08:59 AM

Originally posted by Cheezmo
if 80IRE and 100IRE look the same, the problem is with the contrast being to high (either on the TV or the player).

The TV or the player, that's the million dollar question. I have the new LG DVB418 player, connected to my 4663 through HDMI. I questioned the player's "white", because it's a known fact that the earlier LG model, the DVB318, had a white crush problem through DVI. So last night, I connected my DVB418 through the component input, and voila! No more problems. Using DVE, I had to turn the Brightness to 54 and the Contrast way down to 50. Popped in the Fifth Element Superbit DVD I'm renting just as the wife walked through the living room. She hates to watch TV, but she stopped dead in her tracks and said, "Wow, I've never seen that look so good. That looks really amazing!" I had to agree. But I'm very mad about the HDMI output from my player. Time to rattle some cages at LG.

At these Contrast and Brightness settings through Component1, when looking through the blue filter, it was almost perfect - Cyan was a little lighter/brighter than the rest. But the green and red filter tests were way off, IMO. For example, looking through the red and blue filters, I see six black squares, which is correct, according to DVE, but looking through the green filter, four of the six squares that should be black aren't even close - they're just a darker green.

Cheezmo

05-06-05, 09:13 AM

The filter isn't perfect. As you see, lots of blue leaks through. Don't sweat it too much. That being said, the green primary on your set is very nonstandard and you may notice that greens look kind of "limey" and yellows a bit on the green/flourescent side. A calibrator can correct that on these sets but it requires a spectroradiometer to measure the color coordinates of the primary colors. These are some of the few sets that can actually have their primary/secondary color precisely calibrated (in addition to grayscale) resulting in some of the most accurate color reproduction available today in a consumer television.

collinp

05-06-05, 03:12 PM

Originally posted by stevedee
The TV or the player, that's the million dollar question. I have the new LG DVB418 player, connected to my 4663 through HDMI. I questioned the player's "white", because it's a known fact that the earlier LG model, the DVB318, had a white crush problem through DVI. So last night, I connected my DVB418 through the component input, and voila! No more problems. Using DVE, I had to turn the Brightness to 54 and the Contrast way down to 50. Popped in the Fifth Element Superbit DVD I'm renting just as the wife walked through the living room. She hates to watch TV, but she stopped dead in her tracks and said, "Wow, I've never seen that look so good. That looks really amazing!" I had to agree. But I'm very mad about the HDMI output from my player. Time to rattle some cages at LG.

At these Contrast and Brightness settings through Component1, when looking through the blue filter, it was almost perfect - Cyan was a little lighter/brighter than the rest. But the green and red filter tests were way off, IMO. For example, looking through the red and blue filters, I see six black squares, which is correct, according to DVE, but looking through the green filter, four of the six squares that should be black aren't even close - they're just a darker green.

Good choice with the 5th Element Superbit. That's still considered one of the best mastered DVDs of all time. I have seen DVD players which have crushed white and usually this is occuring way at the upper end of the grayscale, say 95 IRE to WTW are all the same intensity. Crushing starting at 80 IRE is pretty dramatic. Usually if the TVs contrast is too high when you lower it your whites will begin to uncrush. If your DVD player's contrast is too high the signal is largely clipped before it gets to the set and you won't be able to coax out much more information above the crush point.

However since your crushing issue is so bad I'm suspicious of a RGB PC vs RGB Video levels issue. In the PC RGB format used for digital computer monitors black is at 0 and white is at 255. In the Video RGB format used for home theater some headroom was left for BTB and WTW so black is at 16 and white is at 235. The Samsung is expecting Video RGB Levels and if the DVD player is generating PC RGB Levels you could see some serious black and white crushing. See if there's a PC vs Video levels setting on the DVD player. Note that it could be under some really dumb name like Video Levels : Enhanced / Normal with no decent documentation in the manual.

- Collin

stevedee

05-06-05, 10:34 PM

Through the HDMI connection, turning the 4663's Contrast to 0 didn't give me any "separation" between the top 4 sections of the gray scale. They were all white. Through Component, I had a different shade of gray from Black to White. Like I said, I'm mad, LG will be hearing from me. This was an expensive DVD player (IMO), not to mention I'm out $90 for the Monster HDMI (no lectures, please, about the $30 cable I could have bought). I've got the video/audio sync problems, too. Anyway, I'll try to stay on topic - no more comments about the DVB418. Y'all have been warned.

Now that I've learned (the hard way) that the input from something like a DVD Player may be "biased", it would seem that a known "unbiased" source with a bunch of outputs/adapters would be the way to go. A pure source of video signals with RGB, VGA, Comp, S-Video, DVI/HDMI, choice of many resolutions, etc.... maybe a barebones laptop/PC with a top-of-the-line video board?

It's now time to get educated (ISF?) and buy some gear. I seriously want to get into the ISF calibration business. My newest obsession. Twenty-five+ pages in this thread on tweaks, and I still don't know what any of the settings in the Service Menu mean for sure. I apparently have a lot to learn.

Thanks, Collin (and Steve). Your responses have been helpful. It must be tough for you guys (who do this for a living) to help newbs like me, without giving away trade secrets you've paid highly for in money and time.

collinp

05-07-05, 05:31 AM

Originally posted by stevedee
Through the HDMI connection, turning the 4663's Contrast to 0 didn't give me any "separation" between the top 4 sections of the gray scale. They were all white. Through Component, I had a different shade of gray from Black to White. Like I said, I'm mad, LG will be hearing from me. This was an expensive DVD player (IMO), not to mention I'm out $90 for the Monster HDMI (no lectures, please, about the $30 cable I could have bought). I've got the video/audio sync problems, too. Anyway, I'll try to stay on topic - no more comments about the DVB418. Y'all have been warned.

There's a small display lag on most modern sets. The solution is to delay the audio. Some DVD players can do this. Newer receivers can do this.

There are a lot of problems with this first batch of upconverters. White crush on the LG and Zenith. Black crush on the Samsungs. Macroblocking to varying degrees on Faroujda based players, including the Panasonic and some pretty pricey Denon models. YCbCr to RGB conversion matrix issues (aka. green depression) on the Sony and some Denons. You really need to spend some serious money to get a good upconverter.

Here's my recommendation list for upconverters :

$300 - Sony 975 - good player but must be left in 480p mode because of green depression 1080i and 720p modes.
$1000 - Pioneer Elite 59AVi - some minor interlaced chroma issues, but who really cares
$1500 - Onkyo SP1000 - very solid player
$3500 - Denon 5910 - Realta based, the Ferrari of DVD players

Because of the time the technology has had to mature you can find some pretty high quality analog progressive players out there. Digital is only better if its implemented right. Analog can get you pretty darn close without spending a lot of money.

Originally posted by stevedee
Now that I've learned (the hard way) that the input from something like a DVD Player may be "biased", it would seem that a known "unbiased" source with a bunch of outputs/adapters would be the way to go. A pure source of video signals with RGB, VGA, Comp, S-Video, DVI/HDMI, choice of many resolutions, etc.... maybe a barebones laptop/PC with a top-of-the-line video board?

That's a route. I'm not personally a big HTPC fan though some folks swear by them. No blue screen of death in my home theater thank you.

Another route is to use an external scaler. I use a DVDO iScan HD+ and I love it. You route all your video sources through it and it outputs a reference grade upconverted signal. It can also delay your audio signals to match your video processing delay. Its even got built in test patterns. For DVD sources I'm using an SDI modded DVD player as a transport and the DVDO does all the deinterlacing in scaling. The SDI signal is basically the unaltered digital 4:2:2 signal coming out of the MPEG decoder chip in the player. With a calibrated set the picture is damn good. Some high quality transfers like LOTR look almost like HD. You can find more info in the video processors forum.

Originally posted by stevedee
It's now time to get educated (ISF?) and buy some gear. I seriously want to get into the ISF calibration business. My newest obsession. Twenty-five+ pages in this thread on tweaks, and I still don't know what any of the settings in the Service Menu mean for sure. I apparently have a lot to learn.

You don't need to touch most of the settings. Even pro calibrators don't know what many of those controls really do. Post some questions about anything your curious about.

Though you could get the grayscale tuning pretty good with lesser equipment, you really need a spectroradiometer to adjust the primaries. I use a ColorFacts EyeOne system as do a great many real calibrators.

Originally posted by stevedee
Thanks, Collin (and Steve). Your responses have been helpful. It must be tough for you guys (who do this for a living) to help newbs like me, without giving away trade secrets you've paid highly for in money and time.

Oh I'm not a pro calibrator. I write low level operating system code for a living. Steve's the real calibrator and I agree he has been very generous with information.

- Collin

Fedreams

05-09-05, 08:13 PM

I just received a visit from the Samsung service dept for my HLP6163. The guy changed the analog board, digital board from version 1033 to 1052 and the lamp assembly. The picture looks great even in SD.
The audio/video sync has been minimized from the DVD player plugged straight into the TV. I have not routed the audio out through a pre/pro yet due to switching out equipment and too short cables.
Everything seem to be working out great so far. Keeping my fingers crossed!

billodom

05-15-05, 03:35 PM

I did a search of this thread for my STB number and nothing showed up. Is anyone using this STB with its DVI output? I just bought the 46 at Best Buy and plan to utilize the DVI connection.

stevedee

05-15-05, 08:21 PM

Originally posted by billodom
I did a search of this thread for my STB number and nothing showed up. Is anyone using this STB with its DVI output?
I am using the SIR-TS360 connected to my 4663 thru DVI with great results - no problems. I'd bet they're about the same.

walden1974

05-18-05, 09:54 AM

Can anyone tell me what the new firmware version is for the HLP-5063W? I think I have the newest but not sure. Also, does anyone know of an ISF tech in the Chicago, IL area? I've been searching, but haven't gotten any calls back or any communication either way.
I have the HLP-5063W(I love it, but damn it's big for my room)- with FIRMWARE 1035- March 2005 build date
Thanks all.

Fedreams

05-18-05, 10:25 AM

I have firm ware 1052 for my 6163 which was updated last week by Samsung.

DanielPZ

05-18-05, 10:33 AM

Is there a discrete code for turning TV speakers off/on? I have a 5663 if it matters. Thanks very much.

walden1974

05-18-05, 12:17 PM

To Fedreams-

How did you get the new firmware and was there a reason for doing so?
Is there any benefits that you have seen from the new firmware installed.
Thanks Fedreams-

Apps1

05-18-05, 08:26 PM

Samsung is sending out a tech to replace the LE in my HLP4663. Does this mean I will have a new bulb as well?

Thanks

Fedreams

05-18-05, 08:44 PM

Originally posted by walden1974
To Fedreams-

How did you get the new firmware and was there a reason for doing so?
Is there any benefits that you have seen from the new firmware installed.
Thanks Fedreams-

I had a really bad case of audio/video sync with all my inputs. I had three service calls before they replaced anything. The third service call they replaced everything that they could in the set, the analog board, the digital board (verison 1052) and the light engine (Philipps) with a new bulb.

The benefits I can see is minimized A/V sync issue, I have everything running through the TV at this point since I am rearranging the room. The A/V sync issue is more pronounced with separate audio components in the loop.
Another added benefit is a better picture, it seems clearer, more detailed and colors more vibrant to me and my wife. I am not sure if this is due to the new digital board, the light engine or both. Past history has shown improvements in the picture when the digital board was upgraded from firmware 1021 to 1035.

collinp

05-18-05, 10:02 PM

Originally posted by Fedreams
I had a really bad case of audio/video sync with all my inputs. I had three service calls before they replaced anything. The third service call they replaced everything that they could in the set, the analog board, the digital board (verison 1052) and the light engine (Philipps) with a new bulb.

The benefits I can see is minimized A/V sync issue, I have everything running through the TV at this point since I am rearranging the room. The A/V sync issue is more pronounced with separate audio components in the loop.
Another added benefit is a better picture, it seems clearer, more detailed and colors more vibrant to me and my wife. I am not sure if this is due to the new digital board, the light engine or both. Past history has shown improvements in the picture when the digital board was upgraded from firmware 1021 to 1035.

Ah Samsung support. The solution to everything is to either ignore you or replace the entire guts of your TV. Its cool that you got updated guts and better PQ, but it probably hasn't really fixed your sync problem.

There are several components to the AV sync issue.

1. Bad sync in the source material. Television is terrible. Its rarely in sync. You don't notice it as much on little screens, but it is obvious on a big screen set. Some DVDs have sync issues as well due to poor mastering or mediocre ADR. There are even some DVD players which generate out of sync audio and video.

2. Hi-Res fixed pixel sets need to deinterlace and scale non-native signals. This incurs a noticeable video processing delay. Adding 3:2 pulldown detection (Film Mode) delays the video even further. Therefore audio routed through an external receiver is likely to be noticeably ahead of the video. Most LCDs, DLPs, or Plasmas have this issue. Its not really a bug in the set. Many modern receivers have an adjustable audio delay to address this specific issue. There are other add on devices that can delay audio as well.

3. Back in the dark ages before the HLP Samsung was not accounting for the video processing delay when audio was sent to the set's built in speakers. Late in the HLN lifetime the added an service manual adjustable audio delay for the built in speakers all HLP and later sets have this feature. This was a case where a guts upgrade solved some people's audio sync issues.

- Collin

troll565

05-23-05, 09:44 AM

cybowolf

05-23-05, 11:49 AM

Hi again! Did some searching but would like an opinion also...

I bought a HLP5063W back in January and everything was going great. I did have the smudges and had a different screen put on. But, for the past couple weeks, the TV will just turn itself off. The power button will be unresponsive for about 5-7 seconds, then I can turn it back on. It seems to happen in spurts cause some times the TV will turn back off after anywhere from 10 seconds to 5 minutes or so and the whole thing will repeat. About 10% of the time, I will get the Lamp and Standby lights on the front to blink at the same time. I looked up that code in the book, and it says the cover in the back is off. Well, I've never opened it. I haven't called up there yet as I just moved. Before I do, any suggestions?

Thanks!

I had a very similar problem with my HLP4663. It would power off every 30-60 min on its own for no apparent reason. Sometimes the lights on the front would blink afterwards. I was able to 100% resolve this problem by purchasing a UPS with Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR), which was suggsted by some AVS members:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=530909

I live in a condo, and apparently the power isn't so great....probably someone plugging in a vacum or something several units over. Or whatever.

Anyways though, a UPS with AVR fixed this complete for me. Note many cheaper UPS's do NOT have AVR. Set me back about $100 for a good APC model. And of course, your mileage may vary, so check the return policy on the UPS if you decided to go this route.

Hope this helps!

-cybowolf

troll565

05-23-05, 01:08 PM

I had a very similar problem with my HLP4663. It would power off every 30-60 min on its own for no apparent reason. Sometimes the lights on the front would blink afterwards. I was able to 100% resolve this problem by purchasing a UPS with Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR), which was suggsted by some AVS members:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=530909

I live in a condo, and apparently the power isn't so great....probably someone plugging in a vacum or something several units over. Or whatever.

Anyways though, a UPS with AVR fixed this complete for me. Note many cheaper UPS's do NOT have AVR. Set me back about $100 for a good APC model. And of course, your mileage may vary, so check the return policy on the UPS if you decided to go this route.

Hope this helps!

-cybowolf

wow...I never even thought of that. I'll have to give it a try. You said you'd sometimes get the LEDs blinking afterwards. Do you remember if they were the Lamp and Standby ones that would blink?

juliox

06-22-05, 05:06 PM

Two things.

1 - I have a UPS with NO AVR, and it also would take care of your problem. Without AVR, it never runs off 'half battery, half 120v', it just uses one or the other - if there's a power spike, it switches to the battery, if theres not enough power, it switches to the battery. I picked up mine for around $40, and it has been working GREAT (725VA APC unit, also has surge protection for ethernet and coax).

2 - Lately my HLP4663W has not been responding to the power function of the remote first thing in the morning, or after it has been off for a while. It will still turn OFF with the remote (all but once), but will not turn ON. Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks

smithre4

06-22-05, 11:50 PM

2 - Lately my HLP4663W has not been responding to the power function of the remote first thing in the morning, or after it has been off for a while. It will still turn OFF with the remote (all but once), but will not turn ON. Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks

I assume this is not the remote that came with a TV but a remote that supports discreet codes? If so this is a known issue and I have yet to find/hear of a fix other than to use the single Power On/Off code.

PS - this thread has been dead lately? What did everyone trade in there HLP for an HLR model? :)

Ross

htwaits

06-23-05, 12:28 AM

PS - this thread has been dead lately? What did everyone trade in there HLP for an HLR model? :)

Maybe we're watching movies. ;)

Chris Isble

07-01-05, 10:50 PM

Hi,

I own an HLN 567, and I was able to get a nice picture by setting the gamma to 0, and adjusting the user settings using Video Essentials.

Based on my experience, my father-in-law purchased an HLP5063 on an open box special. When I first saw the set, I couldn't believe how bad the picture was. I dropped in the VE, and displayed a greyscale pattern. The top four white bars were all solid white, and stayed that way, even after I set the contrast to 0. For the black level, I turned the brightness up high, and then slowly lowered it. The picture started to get darker, and then actually got lighter as I lowered the brightness. It eventually went to black as I continued to lower the brightness.

I went into the service menu, set the gamma to 0, and lowered the contrast enough that I could actually see shades of gray at the white end. When I went back to the user settings, I had to set the brightness quite high to get a watchable picture, but everything was completely washed out.

I think that a previous owner, or someone at the store, has been messing around in the service menu, because melody was turned off, and the default settings people have been reporting in this thread didn't look much like those of this set.

The firmware version of this set is 1014. The only versions I have been able to find default values for are 1013, 1028, and 1033. I know it takes proper equipment to accurately set the grayscale, but can anyone provide me a set of defaults for 1014 that can give me a better starting point than I have today?

Also, when trying to bring a set back to its default settings, does it matter what order you process the inputs, or what order you access the menus?

Thanks,

Chris.

htwaits

07-01-05, 11:42 PM

I think that a previous owner, or someone at the store, has been messing around in the service menu, because melody was turned off, and the default settings people have been reporting in this thread didn't look much like those of this set.
You have a old HLP and it could be defective and messed with or both.

Check this thread for two ISF calibrators that will be turing Ohio soon. That may be your best alternative if you can't get a refund.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5773008&&#post5773008

The gamma = zero change combined with DVE calibration with user controls is safe. Any other changes in the service menu is more likely to make things worse.

Barry928

07-02-05, 07:40 AM

Cheezmo

07-02-05, 12:22 PM

What Barry said.

Chris Isble

07-02-05, 12:34 PM

htwaits

07-02-05, 12:38 PM

bojangling

07-07-05, 02:00 PM

Will getting new firmware, which it sounds like neccesitates a board swap, affect my picture at all? I am happy with how I have it configured now, but the discrete codes would be nice.

Fedreams

07-08-05, 02:39 AM

Yes, it will affect your picture. Ususally, it is improved but still needs some calibration.

bojangling

07-08-05, 11:00 AM

Yes, it will affect your picture. Ususally, it is improved but still needs some calibration.

Improved how? Calibration outside the SM? The only adjustment I made in the SM is Gamma and I am not sure how comfortable I would be having to make more adjustments than that.

EricScott

07-08-05, 11:37 AM

bojangling,

I am about to have the same thing done (firmware upgrade) and am also concerned w/ messing up PQ (which I currently think is quite good). From what I understand, when the tech puts in the new board, there is one setting - forgot what's its called (SEQSELECT or something like that maybe) that needs to be adjusted. If it's not set properly the PQ will be clearly distorted. But otherwise, I don't think you need to fiddle w/ anything else in the SM (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). I too have only turned gamma down to zero but am afraid to touch anything else in the SM. That being said, the main reason I want the FW upgrade is to have access to the CCA features in the SM, which supposedly allow an ISF calibrator to much more accurately tune your display - if and when I choose to have that done.

Would definitely like to hear from cheezmo and others who are familiar with the firmware upgrades, etc.

Eric

Fedreams

07-08-05, 11:49 AM

You may have to reset the gamma settings and the user menu setting to optimize your picture. My wife has noticed improvements with the board firmware upgrades.

Bruce Fan

07-10-05, 03:42 PM

I have an HLP4663 and made the gamma change to 0 about six months ago when I got the set.

I'm now playing around with an HD841 via DVI and component - do I need to change the gamma for these inputs as well or is the gamma change universal across all inputs? I don't want to go back into the service menu and default all of my preferred settings if I don't have to.

thanks!

htwaits

07-10-05, 04:06 PM

...do I need to change the gamma for these inputs as well or is the gamma change universal across all inputs?
As far as I know gamma setting applies to all inputs. You should be fine.

Slaine

07-11-05, 11:22 AM

I was afraid of that.

Obviously, I can't just call and say please upgrade my firmware. Is the best approach to complain about the lack of a discrete code for HDMI, or should I attempt to describe my picture problems?

I called about my HDMI discrete code not working last week and the Samsung tech arrived today and swapped out the digital board on my HLP5663W set. New firmware rev is 1039.

Discrete codes seem to work fine now. Haven't seen any other problems (Fingers crossed!)

bojangling

07-11-05, 11:29 AM

EricScott

07-11-05, 12:16 PM

Well I'm hopefully gonna have it done sometime in August. Will let you know when I schedule it and how it goes.

bojangling

07-11-05, 05:24 PM

Any know what the original warranty was on the Televisions? I think it was 12 months, and 3 extra months if you registered.

htwaits

07-11-05, 06:00 PM

Any know what the original warranty was on the Televisions? I think it was 12 months, and 3 extra months if you registered.
That's right for Samsung DLP sets.

htwaits

07-11-05, 06:21 PM

IIRC, the Gamma has to be set separately for the analog (composite & s-video, component) and digital (HDMI & DVI) inputs as two seperate groups.
Interesting. When our HLP5063 was calibrated the service menu was modified with HDMI selected. I don't recall SethS changing gamma again for our old DVD player which uses a component connection.

bojangling

07-12-05, 09:41 AM

I believe that replacement of the digital board with the updated firmware will cause you to lose all of your previous settings, user and SM, because they are stored on the digital board. So, you effectively end up back to factory defaults applicable to the new firmware version. So, you would have to go back into the SM and change your Gamma, etc. Then you would need to put back all of your user menu settings (just like you would if you went into the SM at any other time).

Ah, ok, thanks.

EricScott

07-19-05, 11:26 AM

Just scheduled an appt. to have my digital board and screen replaced. The woman I spoke with at my local repair center couldn't have been nicer. See post here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5905353&&#post5905353

bojangling

07-26-05, 06:48 PM

Cheezmo

07-26-05, 07:25 PM

What type of changes to the SEQSELECT are suggested? What does that do?

When you get your digital board replaced there is a chance that the default value of SEQ_SELECT will be incorrect. It probably varies from model to model, etc.

I had an HL-P5063 which initially had it set to 8. After the digital board replacement, it looked horrible (lots of banding, etc.) until I noticed that SEQ_SELECT was now 5. Changing it back to 8 solved the problem.

It could have to do with different color wheel color orderings or something. I can't say there is a "recommended" value, just whatever works for your particular set which is probably the value that it had when it shipped.

EricScott

07-26-05, 08:10 PM

I can't say there is a "recommended" value, just whatever works for your particular set which is probably the value that it had when it shipped.

Awesome. Very good to know Steve. Will make sure to check it before the tech gets here and again while he's here.

Seems like most of the people who were unhappy w/ PQ after upgrading firmware had totally messed up pics which it sounds like could easily be the case w/ this setting.

Eric

bojangling

07-27-05, 08:57 AM

So my local service provider, scheduled to change my screen and digital board Aug 2nd, came out today instead. It seems they had an opening in their schedule and wanted to "squeeze" me in.

Overall the install went well. He changed the screen out no questions asked, then asked about my discrete code problem. I told him "friends" previously had the same problem and had a digital board replacement and the problem was fixed. He said he had never heard of that but would switch the boards if I wanted. I did indeed. Problem fixed, and new v. 1039 firmware.

After switiching the digital board he made 2 SM adjustments. First he changed the "index delay" from 38 to 45. When changing this, a red bar appeared at the bottom of the screen and when to low, the tv had a definite green push. First the tech went to low, then went to high, and finally settled on 45, a number in between.

The second SM adjustment he made was the "actuator gain". He changed this from 115 to 113. When changing this, 3 large plus signs popped up on the screen. He adjusted them until he said "the diamonds went away".

I also changed the gamma from 2 down to 0.

Overall the picture does seem different. Need a day or two of watching to tell if it seems "better" or not. Also, probably need to DVE calibrate again, especially since he made changes in the SM. Right now the green seems a little weak and the red seems a bit strong.

EricScott

07-27-05, 10:51 AM

bojangling

07-27-05, 11:18 AM

Cheezo,

Any insight on what "Index Delay" and "Actuator Gain" do? Besides these two settings and "SEQSELECT" is there anything I should look out for (other settings, etc) when I have my digital board swapped out? I am upgrading from 1014 to hopefully 1039.

Thanks for your help.

Yeah, I was curious as to why these would have to be changed as well. They were factory default with my old firmware, why does a new firmware require a change?

Here is a post I found on Index Delay and Actuator Gain.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5750002&&#post5750002

bojangling

07-27-05, 11:20 AM

Cheezo,

Any insight on what "Index Delay" and "Actuator Gain" do? Besides these two settings and "SEQSELECT" is there anything I should look out for (other settings, etc) when I have my digital board swapped out? I am upgrading from 1014 to hopefully 1039.

Thanks for your help.

EricScott, mind telling me what your original settings (w/ FW v1014) are for "SEQSELECT", "Index Delay" and "Actuator Gain" and anything else Cheezmo mentions? Thanks.

EricScott

07-27-05, 11:24 AM

EricScott, mind telling me what your original settings (w/ FW v1014) are for "SEQSELECT", "Index Delay" and "Actuator Gain" and anything else Cheezmo mentions? Thanks.

I will try to go into the SM tonight or tomorrow and will post my settings. Which menu in the SM are these located in - hopefully pretty easy to find?

bojangling

07-27-05, 11:37 AM

I believe the Index Delay is under "DDP1011".

Can't remember where Actuator Gain is, may be under something like "SP Actuator".

No idea about "SEQSELECT".

I assume the settings from these above SM options are transportable between TV withe the same model number and FW version, correct?

htwaits

07-27-05, 12:06 PM

I assume the settings from these above SM options are transportable between TV withe the same model number and FW version, correct?
Not exactly.

Here are my settings for a HLP5063 with firmware 1035 and build date of Oct. 2004.

DDP1011 | Index Delay 40 calibrated to 38

SP Actuator | Actuator Gain 114 calibrated to 112
(I think this is related to color wheel timing)

DDP1011 | Seq Select 8 (there is no change)

DDP1011 | Gamma 2 changed to 0 :)

EricScott

07-27-05, 12:16 PM

htwaits

07-27-05, 12:25 PM

htwaits,

That's very helpful. Having my set calibrated by Eliab a few weeks after the upgrade and I was thinking that he would probably tweak the Index Delay and Actuator Gain so I'm not too worried about how those look right after the upgrade.
You're welcome. I'm sure you will be very happy with the results. I am very happy with the results of SethS's work. Of course, no one has asked, "What happened to your TV?" :rolleyes:

soheilm3

07-27-05, 12:59 PM

just wanted to say great thread, ima newb, hopefully i can figure out what to do with mine soon.

cheers
--soheil

EricScott

07-27-05, 06:15 PM

So here are my SM settings (f/w 1013):

Index Delay - 45
SEQ Select - 5
Actuator Gain - 107

Surprisingly I had 1441 hours on my lamp and that's only since september when I had the LE replaced. How long are the lamps supposed to last again - thought it was 2500 hours? If that's the case I'll need a new one in 6-9 months!

htwaits

07-27-05, 06:46 PM

Surprisingly I had 1441 hours on my lamp and that's only since september when I had the LE replaced.
I think that they are rated at 5,000 hours. I don't take that number very seriously. :rolleyes:

EricScott

07-28-05, 11:50 AM

I think that they are rated at 5,000 hours. I don't take that number very seriously. :rolleyes:

Oh - well that makes a little more sense. Thought the bulb was supposed to last 2-3 years so 5,000 would be just about right.

bojangling

07-29-05, 11:04 AM

Not exactly.

Here are my settings for a HLP5065 with firmware 1035 and build date of Oct. 2004.

DDP1011 | Index Delay 40 calibrated to 38

SP Actuator | Actuator Gain 114 calibrated to 112
(I think this is related to color wheel timing)

DDP1011 | Seq Select 8 (there is no change)

DDP1011 | Gamma 2 changed to 0 :)

htwaits, what did you mean by not exactly? The example you used showed a different f/w version. With two identical model HLP5063's and 2 identical firware versions, would the SM settings be identical?

htwaits

07-29-05, 11:22 AM

htwaits, what did you mean by not exactly? The example you used showed a different f/w version. With two identical model HLP5063's and 2 identical firware versions, would the SM settings be identical?
It's been clear since the first HLM sets that the SM varies from set to set even if the build date, firmware version, and model are the same.

I don't know which SM variables vary. Gamma seems to be constant recently, but it hasn't been too long ago that people were finding different gamma settings.

It's been assumed that Samsung does some kind of calibration during production to account for minor differences from set to set. For instance, if you contact Samsung and ask for the SM settings for an individual set they are unable to help you.

Sorry for the typo (HLP5065) model number in my original message. :o

bojangling

07-29-05, 11:24 AM

It's been clear since the first HLM sets that the SM varies from set to set even if the build date, firmware version, and model are the same.

I don't know which SM variables vary. Gamma seems to be constant recently, but it hasn't been too long ago that people were finding different gamma settings.

It's been assumed that Samsung does some kind of calibration during production to account for minor differences from set to set. For instance, if you contact Samsung and ask for the SM settings for an individual set they are unable to help you.

Sorry for the typo (HLP5065) model number in my original message. :o

Ahhh...gotcha. Didn't know that was accepted knowledge. Wonder why there is so much variation in a production model television.

Didn't even notice the typo :p

EricScott

07-29-05, 11:27 AM

And importantly, I think a number of the SM parameters are linked to one another. So if you changed one setting but not another it could have less than desirable results which is why you need to be careful.

The extent of my knowledge of the SM are the gamma and V-Position / H-Position settings. Other than that, I'm scared to touch anything.

htwaits

07-29-05, 11:36 AM

The extent of my knowledge of the SM are the gamma and V-Position / H-Position settings. Other than that, I'm scared to touch anything.
I'm with you. :cool:

For one thing, every color wheel (as a large rotating device) has to be slightly different. Lens and mirror assemblies probably vary too. It's clearly an ISF plot. :rolleyes:

EricScott

07-29-05, 11:40 AM

It's clearly an ISF plot. :rolleyes:

Could be. I'm having my set ISF'd in a few weeks and plan to record all of my settings before and after the calibration. Will post a spreadsheet when I'm done.

htwaits

07-29-05, 11:46 AM

Could be. I'm having my set ISF'd in a few weeks and plan to record all of my settings before and after the calibration. Will post a spreadsheet when I'm done.
I recorded every thing before having SethS calibrate my set. Then I noted each change beside the default value.

I would check with your ISF calibrator before you publish the results of his work. It's a "gray" area. :)

bojangling

07-29-05, 11:50 AM

EricScott

07-29-05, 11:53 AM

I would check with your ISF calibrator before you publish the results of his work. It's a "gray" area. :)

Yeah - definitely will. Figured that could be sensitive.

EricScott

07-29-05, 11:55 AM

So does installing a new digital board with new firmware affect your Service Nemu settings? I.E. would a new board "reset" your settings to their original position (if you had made any changes)? Or would the new board come with its own new service menu settings and override your previous settings?

I'm guessing that when you have the digital board replaced with a new firmware version that the SM is completely reset to the defaults for the new firmware. This is why the tech may need to make some adjustments to conform the new firmware to your actual set and why the potential for screwing things up probably exists.

This is just a guess b/c I haven't had the board replaced yet but I can't see how the new firmware would retain your old SM settings.

bojangling

07-29-05, 12:03 PM

I'm guessing that when you have the digital board replaced with a new firmware version that the SM is completely reset to the defaults for the new firmware. This is why the tech may need to make some adjustments to conform the new firmware to your actual set and why the potential for screwing things up probably exists.

This is just a guess b/c I haven't had the board replaced yet but I can't see how the new firmware would retain your old SM settings.

Yeah, makes sense.

shuttermaker

07-29-05, 12:26 PM

EricScott

07-29-05, 12:30 PM

Speaking of Calibration...

I called a local calibration shop and they told me the price for calibrating one (the first) input would be about 400 dolllars....is this too high of a price?

He then told told me that they can calibrate the other inputs for 325 dollars each.

The last thing he said was that the DLP sets sometimes dont show much of a change after calibration...is this true? Or does it sound like I should call a couple other calibrators in my area?

That sounds high. I'm paying that much for all of my inputs (of course I really only use 3).

Can't comment on how much it will change the picture since I haven't had it done yet but I certainly wouldn't be spending $400 if I didn't think the improvement would be substantial. Read some of htwaits posts about his calibration and it sounds like the PQ improved dramatically.

Plus (being the anal retentive person that I am) it will be nice to know that you set is tuned properly as opposed to just thinking the picture looks pretty good.

My "worry" is that the calibration makes such a dramatic difference that I feel compelled to get the LCD in my bedroom ISF'd as well :)

bojangling

07-29-05, 12:33 PM

htwaits

07-29-05, 01:04 PM

I'm guessing that when you have the digital board replaced with a new firmware version that the SM is completely reset to the defaults for the new firmware.
The digital board is where the SM settings are stored so when you replace it you wind up with what ever settings were loaded to that particular board at the factory. I would want the work done by someone who knows what to adjust to match the set that the board is going into.

htwaits

07-29-05, 01:19 PM

Speaking of Calibration...

I called a local calibration shop and they told me the price for calibrating one (the first) input would be about 400 dolllars....is this too high of a price?
That's very high. It sounds like it's a CRT shop.

There are several "expert on Samsung DLP" ISF calibrators who contribute to these threads. If they don't do tours to your area they can probably recommend someone who does.

Check with SethS, Eliab, Cheezmo, Michael TLV, or David Abrams.

You can find a lot of information and links in this thread.

Just got my Samsung DLP calibrated! (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=5955086#)

OrangeKid

07-29-05, 01:26 PM

Could be. I'm having my set ISF'd in a few weeks and plan to record all of my settings before and after the calibration. Will post a spreadsheet when I'm done.

Gregg Loewen of Lion Audio Video Consultants is calibrating my HLP5063 tonight. I post my impressions after watching the set for a while.

I have already photographed all the SM screens for future reference.

bojangling

07-29-05, 02:06 PM

Does room environment (i.e. seating distance and ambient light) have any barring on an ISF calibration? I currently rent, but may be moving shortely with new viewing conditions and I don't want to have to be "re-calibrated".

How about the bulb, when I change the bulb (hopefully in the DISTANT future) will that screw with the calibration?

Anything else I might be forgetting that would have an impact?

htwaits

07-29-05, 02:58 PM

Does room environment (i.e. seating distance and ambient light) have any barring on an ISF calibration? I currently rent, but may be moving shortely with new viewing conditions and I don't want to have to be "re-calibrated".
Personally I would wait. I don't know what an ISF calibrator would think.

How about the bulb, when I change the bulb (hopefully in the DISTANT future) will that screw with the calibration?
I think it would have some effect but after the new bulb has been in a while it should be similar.

EricScott

07-29-05, 02:59 PM

bojangling

07-29-05, 03:18 PM

I planned to certainly ask the bulb question but can ask about the room environment as well when Eliab comes to calibrate my display.

Appreciate it. I saw the dialogue between you and htwaits in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5740995&&#post5740995

Just thought there might be some more insight since then.

OrangeKid

08-01-05, 02:57 PM

Gregg Loewen of Lion Audio Video Consultants is calibrating my HLP5063 tonight. I post my impressions after watching the set for a while.

I have already photographed all the SM screens for future reference.

I had my Samsung HLP5063 calibrated by Gregg on Friday evening. He used component inputs and a test DVD to set the primary and secondary colors using the CCA method (unique to Samsung) in the service menu. Although SD was much improved the HD programming in certain lighted situations displayed a yellowish cast.

Gregg offered to come back last night and work on it some more. He also consulted with Seth Schnaible, a professional colleague and consultant to Samsung in Southern California. Gregg decided to recalibrate the primary and secondary colors using a HD signal generator through my DVI/Inputs. Apparently using service menu test patterns can produce inaccurate results. It took him several tries on each primary and secondary color to get them right on. The result was an essentially perfect CIE diagram. Prior to this second calibration the primary green and secondary yellow was still quite a bit off and presumably the cause of the yellowish cast I was getting on some HD images. Now my HD images are excellent and SD is still as good as SD gets.

Gregg certainly went the extra mile by consulting with other ISF calibrators and coming back and redoing the primary and secondary colors. I strongly recommend him.

new2hometheater

08-03-05, 07:19 AM

htwaits

08-03-05, 02:56 PM

He also consulted with Seth Schnaible, a professional colleague and consultant to Samsung in Southern California.
Seth is in Santa Cruz CA and is one of the very best calibrators working with the HLP sets. I haven't heard that he has had a chance to work on either a 720p or 1080p HLR.

It took him well under three hours to do our HLP5063 and a big part of that time was spent trying to educate the idiot sitting on the couch. :o

EricScott

08-06-05, 11:09 PM

So I had the screen and digital board on my HLP5063 replaced today. Another extremely positive experience w/ Samsung tech support. Had an 11-2 window, the tech called me at 10:30 to say he was on his way and was in my apartment by 10:50. Entire repair took about 30 minutes.

First he installed the new screen (part # BP91-01811A) - I think this is a slightly dated part as if you go to the Samsung Parts site they are now showing BP91-01839A as the replacement screen for BP91-01811A. However the screen came in one piece - didn't notice two pieces taped together but I didn't look really carefully. The tech was very careful to use pieces of the foam wrap the screen shipped in to grip the edges so as not to leave fingerprints. Put on a white test screen and I thought I noticed some dirt on one of the corners so he removed it and I tried to wipe it off w/ a microfiber cloth - wouldn't come off but it turns out it is so far to the edge that the bezel covers it so no big deal.

Then he swapped the digital board - firmware 1035 (not 1039) (part # BP94-02140A - May 23, 2005). None of the settings in the SM needed to be changed. He checked the Index Delay setting and showed me how the bar at the bottom should look perfectly red. The setting was 37 and clearly looked accurate. SEQ SELECT was at 5 (same as it was on my 1013 board) and Actuator Gain was at 113. Happy to report that all of my input discretes (including HDMI and DVI) now work great.

Picture seems really good. Haven't had a chance to calibrate or go through the SM yet but I'm not going to drive myself crazy as I'm having the set ISF'd by Eliab in two weeks.

Not sure why both of the parts they brought me seemed to be slightly dated but both 1035 and the screen I got seem to have gotten positive feedback from others who have had repairs so I'm not complaining.

Overall another extremely good experience (I had my LE swapped out about 9 months ago). It's too bad my warranty is up - it's nice knowing that such great service is just a phone call away.

lethalweapon4

08-07-05, 10:57 AM

In a repair mess, what to do?

The Tweeter tech came out to swap out the noisy color wheel for the second time yesterday and for the second time, he had a defective wheel. He punched in the new calibration number for the new wheel but ended up leaving the old wheel in place. The picture is a mess as I wait for another wheel and he's been swapping out digital boards so I don't know what I have. Each time he comes I have to take a day off of work.

I'll give him one more shot before I scream at Tweeter. What are my chances of having them swap out my TV for a new one?
You're a lot more patient than I am. I would already be in the Tweeter mgr's ear about two failed repair attempts already costing you two days of work, and the problem still not being corrected yet.

I bought an open-box HLR4663 a few weeks ago from Circuit City, and my color wheel is whining already. I'd like some veteran Sammy owners' (and Circuit City buyers') input - should I just return the set, or should I call them up and set up a repair?

new2hometheater

08-07-05, 11:27 AM

Yes, sometimes I can be too patient of a person. I did manage to get him to swap out my digital board for the 1039 firmware. Right now my TV is damn near unwatchable with almost a Green/Black swap of colors. I've got the 'new' color wheel numbers programed running the old whiny color wheel. I've got my 3rd replacement color wheel on order and will have to take another day off.

Swapping out the color wheel is not an easy task, it takes an hour or so. From what I've learned each wheel has it own calibration numbers stamped on the box so the tech has to go into the service menu and screw around. MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE OLD NUMBERS BEFORE HE CHANGES THEM!

Given the choice, I would swap out the set for one that works, but I've been plagued with bad color wheel replacement parts.

Cheezmo

08-07-05, 01:28 PM

The color wheel numbers that he has to enter have to do with measured primary colors (which can vary from lot to lot of the color wheel filters). This is indeed something unique and measured to each color wheel and you should not ever need to go back to the old values for those settings (the CCA menu parameters). Doing so would likely mess up your colorimetry in subtle but undesirable ways.

It is still a good idea to write down old values for other service mode areas if you feel comfortable going there and know the risks, as in my case a digital board swap made things unwatchable until I restored the SEQ_SELECT parameter to its old value.

htwaits

08-08-05, 01:07 AM

Seth is in Santa Cruz CA and is one of the very best calibrators working with the HLP sets. I haven't heard that he has had a chance to work on either a 720p or 1080p HLR.
I typed HLP when I meant HLR. It's now corrected. Seth has a lot of HLP experience. :o

I would have corrected it sooner but I've been on vacation.

wsokolosky

08-08-05, 11:40 AM

Fedreams

08-08-05, 05:39 PM

Alas, it is true! The exchange program only covers the new unit as you mentioned because it is a swap for an "unrepairable" unit. The only way you could get the warranty extended would have been to pay more money for an upgrade to a bigger or newer model.

Maybe the other way, would be to pay for the repair and use that repair warranty to upgrade.

OrangeKid

08-08-05, 06:46 PM

re: Samsung's warranty policies?

I have a HLP 5063 that came directly from Samsung in exchange for a faulty HLM series set I bought in the TVAuthority power buy. I got the HLP in Oct 2004. Recently the color wheel( I think ), or perhaps the DLP engine itself has become quite noisy, to the point that I can often hear a droning over dialog from the program.

I contacted Samsung tech support, and was initially told the set would be repaired under warranty. Alas, when the tech called on the day of the repair he said his information from Samsung was that this was not to be covered under warranty, and that the cost of the part could be $ 1300.

Well, I contacted Samsung quickly and was told that the warranty on the replacement HLP was only 90 days, or the remainder of the warranty on the original HLM, whichever was longer. Both of those periods are long past.

I guess I would like to confirm with other members that this is in fact Samsung's policy. If so, I guess I'll be stuck with an HLP with a noisy color wheel/DLP engine.

Thanks for any thoughts and recommendations.

Wes

I had the exact same exchange as you. I received a HLP 5063 as a replacement for a two year old HLM in Oct 2004. I called Samsung to for a repair on April 22, 2005. The repair required the light engine and digital board to be replaced. The repair was completed on April 28, 2005, over 6 months after I received the replacement set. The repair was completed under warranty at no cost to me.

As an aside I was able to transfer my 4 year extended warranty from RepairMaster to my new HLP after faxing them almost 30 pages of documentation.

wsokolosky

08-08-05, 07:16 PM

Fedreams,

How does on use a 90 day parts/service warranty on repairs to upgrade?

Wes

lethalweapon4

08-08-05, 09:59 PM

OK, so I called CC to schedule an appointment for service on my 46". The call took almost an hour, and I'm told that a company called Carphonics is supposed to call me within 2 business days to schedule an appointment. I'm like WTF? Anyway, the way I see it is this - if they get out here this week and fix the problem and I have a nice new, quiet colorwheel, and no fallout problems from the repair, then I'll keep the set. Otherwise, the 30-day return policy expires on 8/16 (I bought the set on 7/17), and I'm returning the set and ordering the 50" Optoma from VA.

I'm starting to think I should read the writing on the wall...that being a 22-page thread here on "issues" with the HLP series.

werb

08-11-05, 03:35 PM

Ok, total n00b here (almost).
I just purchased a HLP4663W. no problems so far, but reading this thread, a lot pf ppl talk about tweaks, etc.
Here are the basic quesions:

1. What are discrete codes? What and how do I use them to calibrate the tv?
2. Do I need a special remote for that?
3. Also, does tweaking the service menu void the warranty?
4. My HD looks great, and SD is fine, but could be better. How can I start tweaking?
5. How can I find out my firmware version? What is the minimum firmware i NEED to have?
6. If there are certain firmware which are factory defective, what are those? And can I just call Tweeter and ask them to upgrade?

There is a wealth of info in this thread, but I if someone can answer these and get me started, I can look into the specifics more.

Thanks

htwaits

08-11-05, 03:41 PM

5. How can I find out my firmware version? What is the minimum firmware i NEED to have?

Version 1035 or greater should be fine.

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.

debsman

08-11-05, 04:51 PM

to WERB (total noob as you wrote)

disclaimer: the following is written with all due respect.

be REALLY careful (as they wrote in the old days about unknown areas of land: beyond here there be dragons). By what u wrote I am concerned about a great many things, first and foremost being your apparant lack of knowledge, to wit:

< 1. What are discrete codes? What and how do I use them to calibrate the tv? >
Discrete codes relate to specific IR codes that will allow you to directly select an input on the TV. In other words, a discrete code would let you select the DVI input directly as opposed to cycling though the list of inputs by repeatedly pressing an input button. They have absolutely NOTHING to do with calibrating.

< 2. Do I need a special remote for that?
For discrete codes or for calibrating? The question is much to generic, and again only shows that you have a severe lack of knowledge

3. Also, does tweaking the service menu void the warranty?
ABSOLUTELY

4. My HD looks great, and SD is fine, but could be better. How can I start tweaking?
Read through all the information you can find. This forum is full of information but you have to put the time in to learn. Find out what you dislike about the SD, is it too green? Is it too soft? Too much noise? The problem may not be in TV but how you have it connected and the source equipment.

5. How can I find out my firmware version? What is the minimum firmware i NEED to have?
In the Service Menu but do not go there until you learn more. Also, Minimum firmware? Again, you're question just highlights your lack of knowledge.

Again, with all due respect, read through this entire thread and any other thread you can find regarding your specific Samsung TV (or the HLN family) and learn about it. Be careful, do not be rash, write everything down before you begin. Get a calibration DVD at the least (Sound and Vision will work fine for a little bit more than the price of a new DVD movie release)

Best of luck,
-GT

werb

08-11-05, 06:40 PM

htwaits

08-11-05, 07:13 PM

3. Also, does tweaking the service menu void the warranty?
ABSOLUTELY

While I agree with a lot of what you have to say, this comment is misleading.

There has been one case reported in this forum since Samsung introduced their DLP sets (almost three years ago) where an owner was told that because of what he had done in the SM his set would not be repaired under warranty. Later Samsung relented.

Samsung has even officially thanked the members of this forum for their contributions toward improved PQ as a result of SM changes to the HLM sets.

Your cautions are valid, but Samsung has never shown any inclination to investigate for SM changes before they authorize repair work. It's never a good idea to wave a red flag in front of a low level CS person by stating "All I did in the SM was ...".

The advice that has worked in the past is to record everything before making any changes. Record all changes. Don't change anything just to see what will happen. Don't begin any thread with; "Help! I was messing around in the SM and my new TV looks like crap!"

The SM is not a place to "mess around" :eek:

htwaits

08-11-05, 07:20 PM

I just got a Power and Coax cleaner, will arrive next week. So maybe give it a shot first before I go to any drastic measures.
Power and Coax cleaner?

Forget the drastic measures.

If you really want the best PQ possible check out an ISF calibration from someone who is a Samsung expert.

Just got my Samsung DLP calibrated! (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=542709&page=1&pp=30)

SethS Calibrated Our HLP5063 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=548133)

werb

08-11-05, 10:25 PM

Power and Coax cleaner?

Forget the drastic measures.

If you really want the best PQ possible check out an ISF calibration from someone who is a Samsung expert.

Thanks htwaits!
So where can I get my TV calibrated?? Tweeter (where I bought mine) said they will charge me 150 bucks to calibrate. Is it worth it? Or what are my other options? I live in Triangle area in NC.

Also, from your previous post, can any changes in the SM incur permanent damage to the tv? If I change something (following ur 'idiots' guide to calibration)...and tv doesnt look right, can I expect to change back to the original settings and have everything the way it is now?
In other words, is there any risk as long as I remember what I changed and can change it back to how it was?

thanks bunch!

htwaits

08-11-05, 11:16 PM

So where can I get my TV calibrated??
There are four or five ISF trained calibrators listed in those two threads. Some of them travel. They are all expert with Samsung DLPs. If none of them can either visit your area or recommend someone, then you would need to find someone yourself. There is an ISF web site that lists calibrators and locations.

Someone recently had their Samsung DLP calibrated by an ISF calibrator who had no DLP experience. The owner had the calibrator contact SethS for advice, and that solved the problem.

Tweeter (where I bought mine) said they will charge me 150 bucks to calibrate. Is it worth it?
It sounds too cheap, but I don't know enough about what Tweeter might do to say. I paid $400 for all my inputs and I think it was worth it.

Also, from your previous post, can any changes in the SM incur permanent damage to the tv?
I don't know of any permanent damage that you can do, but I do know about one Catch22. If you change the Bulb Type option so that it doesn't match your current bulb, then you can't get back to the SM to correct it. The only fix I know about would require a service call. That's one you "should" have to pay for.

If I change something (following ur 'idiots' guide to calibration)...and tv doesnt look right, can I expect to change back to the original settings and have everything the way it is now?
Yes if you actually do change everything back. There is no reset function.

In other words, is there any risk as long as I remember what I changed and can change it back to how it was?
Not if you remember, but I don't like that word "remember".

For your set, changing gamma to zero and using the Digital Video Essentials disk will do a good job with your DVD source. A good upscaling DVD player connected to HDMI or DVI, and outputing 720p, will give you good results.

A good professional calibration will do even more.

debsman

08-12-05, 08:29 AM

htwaits...perhaps I was erring on the side of caution when stating that SM activity would "ABSOLUTELY" void the warrantee...it seems logical to me that an interface that is as well hidden from the average consumer (and as arcane as the SM is - I mean really how many of the acronyms for settings in there actually make sense to many of us?) would not be a warrantee voiding activity.

I also had a quote from an ISF calibration expert of $400 dollars for my 5063. I haven't had it done yet. I did my own calibration and played with the Gamma settign in the SM to reduce the green issue on my s-video input. Did not work that well. But I now pass all my cable viewing through my Windows MCE box via DVI and the SD cable picture is quite viewable and not green at all. Of course HD via the same HTPC and DVD viewing from my Denon via component is just gorgeous. Still very happy with this set after 6 months of ownership.

htwaits

08-12-05, 12:13 PM

I also had a quote from an ISF calibration expert of $400 dollars for my 5063.
If you have the calibration work done have the calibrator contact SethS for Samsung HLPxx63 information.

Enjoy.

troll565

08-13-05, 04:42 PM

So i've had my HLP5063W for about 6 1/2 months now. Everything was great until the TV started turning itself off randomly about 2 months. This has now happened with 3 different cable boxes. 9 out of 10 times, I can turn the TV right back on. Once in a while, it'll flash the Lamp and Standby lights at the same time (indicating the bulb panel isn't shut). I've never opened it though. Today, for example, it's turned itself off 3 times in the last hour, but somedays I can have the TV on for 4 hours and it won't turn off.I've had a subscription to this thread since January and searched for a similar problem but didn't see any. Has anyone had this problem before?

htwaits

08-13-05, 07:16 PM

Has anyone had this problem before?
Yes. Why haven't you called for service?

troll565

08-13-05, 09:59 PM

Yes. Why haven't you called for service?

Lots of reasons...I've had to move twice in the last 2 months (not fun...Once for work, once 'casue I had mold in my apt). My job now takes me out of town every Mon-Thu. And like I said, sometimes it'll work fine for a week or two in a row. Today it turned off 3 times in an hour. I'm fed up with it now.

jdmoser

08-13-05, 10:10 PM

werb

08-14-05, 02:20 AM

htwaits/others,
I changed my Gamma to 0 in the SM when I was on the Component 1 input. However, it seems to have changed it for all the inputs, at least for DVI too where my cable stb is connected. Component 1 has my DVD player.
Well, i dont notice much difference on the DVI except it seems a little darker. Its at night now, so usually most things look the best at night on the tv. I will see tomm morning/afternoon when the blinds are open, etc. to really see the difference.
But, is it suppose to do that? I thought gamma change was for per input. I have firmware version 1035 on my HLP4663W.

Another thing I notice is that the cable guide (time warner) is a lot blurry than before ever since I switched to DVI. any particular reason u can think of? TV seems the same or slightly better with dvi (sorry, not a true videophile yet to give u precise info).

I have emailed avical and seths for calibration quotes on 2 inputs. I hope they reduce it, since paying 400 on a 1500 set just doesnt make sense. i will call up tweeter tomm to see what they calibrate and how they do it, etc.

Do you know of any settings (user menu/SM) to make Standard TV look good?? Or HDTV?
I was seeing some motion problems. Like If someone is wearing a striped shirt that is moving with the wind, the edges would be flickering (dunno the exact term for it), or sometimes wind in the grass. The edges seem to flicker a little. Not a big problem, but wondering if any solution lies. I have turned sharpness to 0, contrast high at about 90/100. Color medium, and brightness medium. Nothing has been changed in the SM besides the gamma change to 0.

Thanks

htwaits

08-14-05, 04:50 AM

I thought gamma change was for per input. I have firmware version 1035 on my HLP4663W.
Nope.

I have emailed avical and seths for calibration quotes on 2 inputs. I hope they reduce it, since paying 400 on a 1500 set just doesnt make sense.
SethS's calibration was worth it to me. No one can be sure that it's worth it to you.

i will call up tweeter tomm to see what they calibrate and how they do it, etc.
I wouldn't expect much from them. It would be a long shot.

I have turned sharpness to 0, contrast high at about 90/100. Color medium, and brightness medium. Nothing has been changed in the SM besides the gamma change to 0.
That sounds reasonable.

troll565

08-14-05, 09:18 AM

Could you plug it into a UPS and see if its power fluctuations?

Hmmmm...I don't have one. Could that really be it though?

new2hometheater

08-14-05, 01:43 PM

I get a power outage once a week in the summer time. I figure that I'd protect my $4K DLP and $1.5K receiver with a $90 UPS. I bought this one from Dell:

AMERICAN POWER CONVERSION
Back-UPS ES 725 Broadband
$78.26
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=A0109557&category_id=4116

cheap insurance

zlindsay328

08-15-05, 04:52 PM

Just had my light engine replaced to fix various issues. Attached is a snapshot I took of the instructions for the Tech to properly set the service menu to the new engine. Apparently each light engine's settings will be unique, so not sure how useful this will be to you guys. It does however give a good idea of what defaults one would want to write down before getting the boards swapped out, since these are the only ones that will be unique to your set.

EricScott

08-15-05, 04:58 PM

Thanks zlindsay - pretty interesting - esp. the description of what each setting does.

Come to think of it, when I had the back of my TV opened last week to hvae the digital board replaced there was a sticker on the back of the light engine that had x, y and Y values - I bet those correspond to the CCA values and are attached directly to the LE.

zlindsay328

08-15-05, 06:54 PM

No problem EricScott. The Tech I had was very knowledgable (does ISF work on the side) and actually talked to me a little bit about the service menu settings while he was setting it up. He said that all of the numbers are eyeballed at the factory by their calibrators. Of particular note to me is the actuator setting. I guess the actuator is sort of like what anti-aliasing is for video cards. He showed me how to set it optimally. There will be 3 colored lines i believe when you go into the mode. If you look very close at your screen while adjusting this (I'm talking like 6 inches from the screen) you will see that the line is jagged. Moving the actuator setting up/down will adjust this and either make your line smoother or rougher. The paper recommended 120, but we both actually had a preference of something like 128. The line is crisp with no jaggies.

Zack

collinp

08-15-05, 08:01 PM

werb

08-16-05, 10:36 AM

Ok, recently, I am having problems with DVI from cable box to the DVI of tv. Usually its fine. But sometimes when I switch from one input back to the DVI, it will say something like 'The signal mode is not supported'. I take out the cable and put it back in (back of the cable box, its more accessible) and then it works fine.
Has anyone else had this problem, or know how to fix it?

im using the SA 3250 STB from Time Warner.

yellowmattie

08-16-05, 12:21 PM

I am also experiencing the set turning off randomly. Called Samsung and they told me could be overheating problem. I removed the whole back from the armoir the set is in and still does it. My local tech called as my set is still under warranty and he said may have to take the set in and didn't seem to have run across this problem before. Thought I would post here and see if any others have had this problem and if they have what was the fix. As an earlier poster indicated it is very random. Have let the set run for hours and no power off and have also had 3 to 4 power offs in 30 minutes. Set will immediatly turn back on with the remote and no telling how long it will run. Please any help or suggestions appreciated.

motox911

08-16-05, 09:20 PM

I too have begun to have the same shut off problem!! My HLP5063W was brought home from Circuit City in Nov 2004. It just started happening this month. The repair in-home service guy will be out August 24th to look at it and fix it. Wonder if we are stumbling onto a bad batch here?

new2hometheater

08-19-05, 04:28 PM

6163 HLP color wheel update

After two failed attempts to replace the color wheel the tech today replaced the entire light engine to complete the fix. It is a heck of a lot easier to replace the entire engine rather than just the color wheel. I also talked them into replacing my digital board to get the 1039 firmware update. I'll be spending some time tweeking the inputs this weekend.

EricScott

08-19-05, 05:22 PM

For anyone who is interested, attached is an updated HLP service menu spreadsheet which has two tabs in it - (1) Firmware 1035 and (2) Firmware 1013 (the version I had b/f my digital board was upgraded). The rows shaded in light green indicate new options in 1035 that weren't present in 1013 (there were no options in 1013 that were removed from 1035 but a few were moved around slightly within a given menu).

The only settings I fiddled with were the V-Position, H-Position and Gamma (all in DDP1011).

Having my set calibrated next week so I wanted to make sure I recorded everything beforehand.

Eric

shuttermaker

08-19-05, 09:43 PM

EricScott

08-20-05, 01:53 PM

Nice spreadsheet. Would be nice to see the values after calibration.

Gonna have to check w/ Eliab b/f I do that. If he's ok w/ me sharing, I would be happy to post it.

xplyboy

08-23-05, 07:18 PM

and read as much in this thread as possible and my brain's overloading. But just a question...it seems that the general opinion is that setting the Gamma to 0 creates the best picture (haven't done that yet cause I'm too scared to go into the SM cause I know nothing about TV's and probably screw it all to hell). If that's the case, why didn't Samsung set the Gamma to 0 from the get go to acheive the best picture for us all when we bought the TVs right out of the box?

htwaits

08-23-05, 07:36 PM

... why didn't Samsung set the Gamma to 0 from the get go to acheive the best picture for us all when we bought the TVs right out of the box?
Samsung and all other TV companys that I know about set up their TVs to look best in bright show rooms full of florescent lighting. That may not be the kind of living room you have.

I don't know why they don't have a Show Room mode and a Home Mode. Even in that case each home would be different.

xplyboy

08-23-05, 07:46 PM

But I thuoght the gamma to 0 corrects the color(green tint?) and not have anything to do with the amount of light? I could and probably am wrong?

htwaits

08-23-05, 07:59 PM

But I thuoght the gamma to 0 corrects the color(green tint?) and not have anything to do with the amount of light? I could and probably am wrong?
All external light effects color, contrast, brightness, black levels and probably other things too.

The improvement setting gamma to zero is mainly that it improves detail in dark scenes. For some sets that might also mean that it gets rid of some green tint in blacks and dark grays in those scenes.

I found that it helped more if I also used the Digital Video Essentials disk to set User controls for Contrast, Brightness, and Color. I also used a DVI/HDMI connection inputting 720p from the equivalent (HTPC) of an up-scalling DVD player.

new2hometheater

08-24-05, 07:38 AM

HDMI input trouble

I just had the light engine and digital board replaced in my 6163W. I bought a Samsung 950 DVD and hooked it up to the HDMI port, the first time I've ever hooked anything into it. The picture quality was awful! I used the DVI to HDMI cable to hook my 6214 Mot cable box to the HDMI port to make sure that wasn't a defective DVD player and again got awful PQ through the HDMI port. Both component and DVI ports are fine.

Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone have any idea? Thanks for the help.

Ralph
Samsung HLP 6163W
Samsung DVD 950
Motorola 6412 cable
Nintendo Game cube with component cables

Cheezmo

08-24-05, 08:13 AM

Could you try to define "awful" a little better?

Colors wrong/messed up? Brightness/contrast wrong/messed up?

Since I've always thought that DVI and HDMI shared the same settings in the service mode, you should check that all the user settings for brightness/contrast/picture mode, etc. are the same on those two inputs to rule that out.

Other than that, it could be a problem with the HDMI port.

new2hometheater

08-24-05, 09:06 AM

to me more specific about the HDMI port picture quality on my 6163W:

The picture has severe contrast and color mapping problems. The colors are not correct and the edges of the objects fringe and has color flaring. I ran the DVD and 6412 cable box throught the DVI port and things were fine, when I ran them through the HDMI port I got the contrast and color anomalies described above.

TIme to call the service guy again. Any idea what I'm up against to get the HDMI port repaired/replaced?

Ralph

htwaits

08-24-05, 12:20 PM

TIme to call the service guy again. Any idea what I'm up against to get the HDMI port repaired/replaced?
It sounds like it's the HDMI port. If so they will change the digital board. Others have had the same problem recently.

htwaits

08-24-05, 12:23 PM

Other than that, it could be a problem with the HDMI port.Hi,

Have you had a chance to work on a 1080p set yet? :)

Bruce Fan

08-24-05, 01:00 PM

new2hometheater

08-24-05, 01:14 PM

htwaits

Thanks for the information. I just HAD the digital board replaced last week. This is the first time I've tried the HDMI port in the year I've had the set. I will pass this along to the Tweeter repair person so they show up with a digital board, they don't carry one standard in the repair van.

Ralph

EricScott

08-24-05, 01:25 PM

What would that entail? Replacing the digital board?

thanks!

Actually I think you would need the analog board(s) replaced. When my digital board was replaced it included the HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs only.

htwaits

08-24-05, 01:35 PM

Actually I think you would need the analog board(s) replaced. When my digital board was replaced it included the HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs only.
Ha! Good point. I'll remove my dumb message. :o

htwaits

08-24-05, 02:24 PM

Actually I think you would need the analog board(s) replaced. When my digital board was replaced it included the HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs only.
Just got back and had another thought (question). That's two for the day. ;)

I wonder why the analog VGA input is grouped with the digital inputs?

EricScott

08-24-05, 02:27 PM

I wonder why the analog VGA input is grouped with the digital inputs?

Not really sure. Wondered the same thing. But if you look at the back panel on your HLP you will see that the HDMI, DVI and VGA are all next to one another on the bottom row. When they change the digital board, they slide out this whole assembly which includes just that bottom row.

But good question.

collinp

08-24-05, 04:12 PM

Just got back and had another thought (question). That's two for the day. ;)

I wonder why the analog VGA input is grouped with the digital inputs?

Only composite, s-video, & antenna really need the video features of the analog board. All of the video processing of Component, VGA, DVI, & HDMI is handled by the digital board. The real question would be why isn't component on the digital board? The answer is probably space constraints. They were building an analog board with lots of vertically stacked inputs and that was the natural spot to put the space hungry component connectors. VGA was small so it could stay on the digital board.

The digital and analog boards are loosely named. The analog board handles comb filtering, SD analog switching, and sound switching / amplification. The signals that travel from the analog to digital board are actually largely analog. They contain chiefly an analog SD signal, and two component video signals. On the digital board the SD signals are digitized and deinterlaced to 8 bit RGB and fed into the Genesis GM1601 display controller. DVI and HDMI are also fed to the GM1601 via 8bit RGB busses. Component and VGA inputs however are not. Component signals are fed into a switcher that will switch 480i signals into the same SD digitization and deinterlacing pipe as the rest of the SD signals. Component HD signals however will be switched again with the VGA signal and fed as analog directly into the GM1601. The GM1601 actually contains a second digitizer and deinterlacer that is used only for HD signals. After the GM1601 there is only one 8 bit RGB signal that travels through the DNIe Pro chip, a custom FPGA, the TI DDP1011 DLP controler and finally to the DMD.

- Collin

htwaits

08-24-05, 05:00 PM

The digital and analog boards are loosely named.
Great information. Thanks.

Fedreams

08-25-05, 02:07 AM

While on the topic of ports, I recently plugged in my HD841 into Component Input 2 (HLP4663) and noticed that the image was shifted left a good couple of inches. It is fine going through Component Input 1 so I assume there is a problem with Input 2.

I don't use it but I should really get that fixed before my warranty runs out.

What would that entail? Replacing the digital board?

thanks!

there is an adjustment in the service menu for the horizontal and vertical centering of the image. It started with V and H with about twenty or thirty different adjustments in each plane and I believe it is input specific. I had a tech recenter my image for my 6163 on the Comp 2 input. There is also a grid in the menu which will aid in this adjustment. Sorry, I don't remenber the details of the adjustment. :o

Bruce Fan

08-25-05, 09:22 AM

Thanks Fedreams.

I know you can adjust the image in the SM but I assumed it wasn't input specific. That would certainly be an easier fix compared to swapping a board.

Can anyone else confirm this?

Mitch P.

08-25-05, 04:42 PM

Apps1

08-25-05, 04:49 PM

Question: will changing the delay based on one channel screw up all of the other channels?

I would say yes. I have three different brand D* sat receivers connected to three different TV's including my HLP and they all have the same delay. I think the problem is either with D* or from Discovery and nothing to do with the Samsung.

collinp

08-25-05, 04:54 PM

I've finally had enough of my audio/video sync problems. I thought I could live with it and now I've finally given Samsung tech support a call. I do not have an audio receiver which has built-in audio delay capability.

What's confusing is that the sync issues seem to happen more on channel 76 (Discovery HD) than on other channels. To me, it looks as if the audio preceeds the video. In any event, they are coming out tomorrow to possibly change the delay in the service menu OR change out both the analogue and video cards.

Question: will changing the delay based on one channel screw up all of the other channels? Will changing the dig and analogue boards really do anything (new firmware)?

Audio delay has plagued the broadcast industry for decades. It has only gotten worse with digital program streams where the audio and video are muxed together and reliant on presentation time stamps. Sources are often out of sync. DVDs have some problems but broadcast television is terrible. When you couple this with the fact that modern digital sets do a lot of video processing and most people aren't delaying the audio in compensation you get really bad lipsync.

Short answer, Samsung cannot fix the video delay. They can adjust the audio delay going to the TVs built in speakers, but they can't speed up the video or delay the audio going to your receiver. The only solution in your case is to delay the audio going to the receiver. If your receiver can't do this, you can buy digital audio delay boxes like the Felston DD340. Even after everything is perfectly in sync on your side you will find that you still have occasional lipsync problems due to source material.

- Collin

cmexec

08-26-05, 01:25 PM

I can't access the SP Actuator menu on my HLP5085W (FW=1031) so was wondering whether for this model DLP (HLPXX85), the option for Actuator Gain, as mentioned in this thread, is replaced with the Lamp Sync Delay setting? in otherwords, do they perform the same function. Does anyone know why the SP Actuator SM menu is disabled on the HLP5085W?

Cheezmo

08-26-05, 02:07 PM

The SP Actuator controls the "wobulation" of the HD3 DLP chip. Since your TV has a full resolution 1280x720 DLP chip (HD2 or HD2+) it doesn't need "actuation".

entermymatrix03

08-29-05, 10:43 AM

is there a way to actually stop the upconversion process on certain inputs? i have my ps2 on component 2 and i just got hotshots golf fore. it isn't progressive scan and has a 1 second lag on the swing meter. its really annoying and unplayable. is there any way around this? thanks.

EricScott

08-29-05, 01:40 PM

Just wanted to report back on my ISF calibration. This past Thurs. Eliab Alvarez calibrated my Samsung HLP5063. He spent more than 4 hours in my apartment (largely b/c I asked him a million questions which he was nice enough to thoroughly answer) and did an excellent job.

It's amazing when you see the way the SMPTE color bars are actually supposed to look. Before the calibration, Eliab took readings of my display to determine the coordinates and color temperature for each of the primaries and secondaries. Well I thought I had a pretty decent picture before but in Eliab's readings, his spectroradiometer couldn't even come up with a temperature reading b/c my settings were so off. After calibration, the coordinates and color temperatures were spot on and the result is an incredibly realistic looking image. Eliab pointed out that the Samsung's are superior displays to calibrate as they contain internally generated test patterns that most displays don't have and allow you to individually adjust the primaries and secondaries to their exact coordinates and temperature.

Very happy I had the display calibrated and Eliab couldn't have been more professional and willing to explain everything he was doing.

EricScott

08-30-05, 06:38 PM

DVI and HDMI are also fed to the GM1601 via 8bit RGB busses.

After the GM1601 there is only one 8 bit RGB signal that travels through the DNIe Pro chip, a custom FPGA, the TI DDP1011 DLP controler and finally to the DMD.

- Collin

Follow-up question. Would this suggest that you are better off passing the Samsung an 8 bit RGB signal over HDMI as opposed to the 10 bit YCbCr signal that an upscaling DVD player can pass? I guess it all comes down to whether the DVD player or Samsung does a better job doing the conversion but in general, how would you rate the Samsung's RGB conversion capabilities?

I had always had my Panny S97 set to YCbCr 4:4:4 output over HDMI to my Samsung. When Eliab calibrated my display he told me the right setting was RGB and I'm just wondering if this is why. Going to hopefully be replacing the S97 w/ an Oppo shortly so this will all be moot as the Oppo only has a DVI output and by definition can only carry 8 bit RGB.

collinp

08-30-05, 07:23 PM

Follow-up question. Would this suggest that you are better off passing the Samsung an 8 bit RGB signal over HDMI as opposed to the 10 bit YCbCr signal that an upscaling DVD player can pass? I guess it all comes down to whether the DVD player or Samsung does a better job doing the conversion but in general, how would you rate the Samsung's RGB conversion capabilities?

I had always had my Panny S97 set to YCbCr 4:4:4 output over HDMI to my Samsung. When Eliab calibrated my display he told me the right setting was RGB and I'm just wondering if this is why. Going to hopefully be replacing the S97 w/ an Oppo shortly so this will all be moot as the Oppo only has a DVI output and by definition can only carry 8 bit RGB.

I believe you've got it all right. My reading of the schematics shows an 8 bit RGB bus from the HDMI receiver (actually the same bus that goes from the deinterlacer for SD signals). The format conversion appears to be occurring in the HDMI receiver. The best setting is to have whoever does a better job of YCbCr to RGB conversion do it.

- Collin

collinp

08-30-05, 08:46 PM

how would you rate the Samsung's RGB conversion capabilities?

I guess I didn't quite answer this. I haven't spent much time characterizing the YCbCr to RGB conversion quality of the HDMI receiver in the HLP. Samsung is using a Silicon Image 9993 HDMI receiver for YCbCr to RGB conversion. Product info is here <http://www.siliconimage.com/products/product.aspx?id=20&ptid=1>. Since Silicon Image is one of the principles behind HDMI, you'd hope they'd get format conversion right, but there are no guarantees.

I feed my set with a DVDO iScan HD+ which only supports 8 bit RGB out via digital. The new DVDO VP30 will allow YCbCr output and I have one on order. I will experiment when the VP30 comes in but I expect I will still have DVDO do the conversion. If the new box is anything like my iScan the conversion will be near reference.

The main advantages of a YCbCr signal are :

- YCbCr can be encoded as a 10 or 12 bit signal rather than the lowly 8 bit signal of RGB. Higher bit signals are better, but if your set is going to immediately convert them to 8 bit there's no advantage.

- YCbCr is the native pixel format of DVDs and most video processing algorithms. This means that RGB signals are constantly being converted to and from YCbCr which can lead to image degradation. Again the HLP is going to convert your signal back and forth to RGB several times anyway. There's no opportunity to reduce the number of conversions by using a YCbCr signal.

The main disadvantage of YCbCr is :

- YCbCr has two significantly different encodings for HD and SD. There are plenty of opportunities for both transmitter and receiver to get the encoding wrong. In fact the Sony 975 does just that. It sends upconverted 720p and 1080i YCbCr signals using SD encoding. This results in a green depression when the signal is interpreted as an HD YCbCr signal.

A slight digression... One can argue that there are two different RGB signals because HD & SD define different colors for the standard primaries. These differences are relatively subtle though and they affect all signals including YCbCr. Very few devices currently allow for toggling between HD & SD colorimetery. In fact very few consumer devices can be setup with accurate enough colorimetry for this to even matter. The HLPs are exceptions as they can be calibrated to near perfect compliance with SD or HD, but not both.

In short, the Samsung HDMI receiver seems competent enough, but there seem to be no advantage and some potential problems with sending YCbCr to this particular set. I'd stick with 8 bit RGB unless there seems to be a problem with your sources conversion.

- Collin

warzone_3_16

09-03-05, 01:52 PM

I bought a HLP4663w on boxing day this year and after a month i exchanged it for another one cause of fan noise. The replacement was more quite and you could drown out the sound at 5 on the TV volume, but now the fan seems to be louder. I have a 3 year warrenty with Bestbuy.

Last night i turned everything off and stood next to the set. I then turned the power button off and listened to it and i can hear the color wheel turning off and then the noise from the fan. It is normal to hear the color wheel a little standing next to the set??? its just a slight humm and i had my ear like 5 inches from the side of the set.

when you got your sets could you hear the fan at low/off volume?? Could i have bought the sets around a time when samsung got a bad batch of fans???

I also have my satelite hooked up using S-video and i see a little green in the blacks, but when i play a DVD on my Xbox through component i don't really see it. In SD material on my satelite when a solid color displays like the TBS logo color screen, the color seems to not blend in and look solid. Is that cause of the SD material and S-video?? I have'nt really messed with the setting much.

The Fan noise is my main concern cause its annoying during silent breaks in commerciasl or low volume scenes. I guess after 9 months its too late to return the set. Maybe i should of went with the Toshiba DLP after the first set was returned cause i don't read many problems with those. Reading all the light engine replacements here and problems makes me have a sick feeling in my stomach out of worry.

EricScott

09-03-05, 04:03 PM

I guess I didn't quite answer this.
- Collin

Thanks for the thorough response. Very helpful.

BTW, my Oppo arrived the other day and so far the PQ is a lot better in my setup than on the S97. The artifacts (which I don't think was macroblocking) which were bothering me on the S97 aren't nearly as noticeable or present at all on the Oppo (so far anyway).

BrooksGSXR

09-10-05, 01:32 PM

htwaits

09-10-05, 01:53 PM

I have a HL-P5063 with Firware version 1035.

Within the past couple weeks I have noticed the picture quality getting blurry on all resolutions. When displaying at 1080i it sometimes look like the picture has to catch up to itself and becomes pixelated when fast moving objects appear or when on a tv show a camera moves from one angle to another quickly.What user options and connections are you using?

Your TV doesn't display 1080i. What it does is convert 480i, 480p and 1080i to 720p for display.

I have the same set and firmware. This is the setup I use for DVD and Cable TV.

The Cable STB is set to output 720p and has 480i override turned off. That insures that the TV receives it's native (720p) resolution. The STB is connected with a HDMI cable that has a DVI connector on one end.

I use our computer for DVDs, and it also outputs 720p to the DVI port. Any of the upscaling DVD players can do the same thing.

The TV is set to Expand Mode with DNIe OFF and DigitalNR ON. Sharpness is set to zero.

Our set was also set to Cinema mode before we had it ISF calibrated.

With this setup I used the Digital Video Essentials disk to set contrast, brightness, and color.

I've gotten good results with this setup. The PQ is even better after our set was professionally calibrated.

SethS Calibrated Our HLP5063 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=548133)

Keep in mind that any source that is created in 1080i is thought to have more problems with fast action, and fast pans than sources created in 720p. ABC, Fox, and ESPN probably selected 720p as their resolution for that reason since they are big in sports. In slower moving material 1080i is supposed to provide better detail.

BrooksGSXR

09-10-05, 02:04 PM

htwaits

09-10-05, 02:24 PM

I have a Direct TV HD Receiver H10 which is connected from HDMI at the receiver to DVI at the TV. Resolution is set to native so it displays all resolutions. This allows the TV to display 480i and 720p with the pillar box and then when it's at 1080i it takes up the whole screen.Try forcing your STB to output 720p. That way ABC, Fox, and ESPN HDTV signals will not be converted. I don't have DirecTV but it's my impression for posted messages that the "H10" may have some issues.

I also have a Samsung DVD-HD850 DVD player which is connected HDMI to HDMI.Do the same thing with your DVD player. Set it to output 720p. Also double check to be sure it is set to work with a 16x9 screen instead of it's default setting (4x3 screen). Check your STB too. It may also have a screen aspect ratio setting. If either one is set wrong it can cause some weird results.

I'll look through some other settings and see what I can find. Thanks for the help.I wouldn't advise doing that in the SM. :)

Herby

09-11-05, 11:55 AM

I have the Sound & Vision DVD. Before I begin the tune up. How should I set up my TV? I am speaking in terms of the Picture Mode(Cinema or Standard) and Tone (Warm, normal, etc.). Also anything else that you guys think I should do before tuning up would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance.

RussOwens

09-11-05, 08:00 PM

collinp

09-11-05, 09:52 PM

ABout 1 month ago I had the light engine and control board(?) replaced in my HL P5063. Now when I am watching the show "Over There" the black looks horrible. I see banding and it seems like it has a green color to it, it also flickers back and forth with a strange banding.

Another thing I noticed when watching any show is sometimes the tv does this weird flicker as if the color wheel is not in sync and you can see the white light from the tv flicker.

I don't know if this make since but this is the best way I know how to descibe it. My tv's gamma is set to 0.

The banding and green blacks are typical of an uncalibrated Samsung DLP. A call to an ISF calibrator will solve these issues and then some. I don't know what to say about the flicker. An out of sync color wheel will cause color accuracy issues, not flicker. There is no clear segment in the color wheel to cause a strobing of white light. Its possible that you've got film mode on while watching TV and the deinterlacer is incorrectly finding 3:2 cadences or something.

- Collin

EricScott

09-19-05, 02:46 PM

I've had a Sci Atlanta 8300HD (TWCNYC) for a long time now. It's always been connected via a Ram HDMI/DVI cable to the DVI input on my Samsung HLP5063 DLP. Never had any HDCP errors until recently. The only thing that has changed is that I'm now using an Oppo DVD player (connected with another HDMI/DVI hybrid cable to the HDMI input on my Sammy) which replaced my Panny S97 player (was connected HDMI/HDMI to the Sammy). When I connected the Oppo for the first time a few weeks ago (while the 8300 was already connected) I got the HDCP error. I unplugged both the 8300 and the Oppo from the Samsung and then reconnected and all seemed to be fine. But today I keep getting these random HDCP errors and the only way I was able to fix it was to totally disconnect the Oppo's HDMI cable from the Samsung. Just wondering if the 8300 (or perhaps my Samsung) is somehow extra sensitive to having two HDMI/DVI hybrid cables connected. The Oppo does not require an HDCP handshake to work whereas the Panny did.

Any thoughts?

RussOwens

09-19-05, 06:04 PM

Here is a link to a short video of the blacks on my 5063. So a calibration will fix this?
http://video.google.com/videopreviewbig?q=%22HLP5063%22+playable%3Atrue&time=0&page=1&docid=-1782005494897708542&urlcreated=1127167125&chan=Uploaded&prog=HLP5063&date=Sat+Sep+17+2005+at+8%3A19+PM+PDT

Does anyone have a video of their tv's blacks?

rolltide1017

09-22-05, 07:40 PM

I would like to pick the brain of other HLP owners. Do you feel like you tend to be able to hear the noises your TV makes more over time? I have recently noticed that I can hear the color wheel (high pitched whine) and the fans (low hum) on my HLP set while sitting on the couch. I have had my HLP5063W since March or April. I had a DVR that had a problem and emitted a very loud high pitched whine and I’m hopping that because of that I am just more aware of the small noises coming from the TV (because I’m picky like that). The noises are not that loud but I just notice them more. The whine goes away as soon as the lamp shuts off but the low hum continues for a minute or two. I hope there is not a problem with the TV, I’m already on my second TV from Samsung (my HLN was replaced b/c of a number of problems). My warranty is almost up and it would suck if you have to get the color wheel replaced every six months to keep it quiet. I have a 5 year extended warranty but it would just be a pain to go through this every so often (especially since I have an ND filter over the lens that I would have to remove before any tech comes over).

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions.

1Mark1

09-22-05, 08:07 PM

I've had my HLP5063W for 15 months and it's still as quiet as it was the day I got it.

hozho

09-22-05, 09:58 PM

I've had my HLP5063W for 15 months and it's still as quiet as it was the day I got it.Mine has been quiet for 10 months.

OrangeKid

09-22-05, 11:25 PM

My HLP5063W has been quiet for 11 months.

new2hometheater

09-23-05, 07:13 AM

My color wheel started making noise after 12 month, like a disk drive going bad. After two failed attempts to replace it, they swapped out the entire light engine. It's been quiet for the last month.

Andyzep

09-30-05, 02:05 PM

First Post, but long time reader...... I have a 8300hd TWC and Sammy 4663w.. I have had problems for 3 month with the HDMI cable connection, I found out the other day from a Sammy tech that the 8300hd HDMI ports does have problems with many makes of TV's. Well the other day I got a update on my 8300HD and all my problems have gone, and works fine, just wanted to pass that on.

RussOwens

10-01-05, 06:03 PM

So does anyone else have the problem that I listed on message #703?

steve psu fan

10-24-05, 08:44 PM

I'm new to the forum, but I must say that the regulars have provided much knowledge.

I have a 6163, Nov 04, 1035 Firmware. The set looks beautiful most of the time, but I have absolutely no detail in bright (sunshine) scenes, whites are completely crushed. When viewing the contrast pattern on the THX optimizer (the 8 shades of white) it is only 1 solid shade, even with contrast set to 0??

Anyone experiencing this?

Thanks
Steve

Mitch P.

10-24-05, 09:34 PM

try turning the brightness level down until you can see shades of the white test pattern...

steve psu fan

10-26-05, 08:58 PM

the brightness adjusts the black level, it will not impact the retina blazing whites.

Can anyone help?

hozho

10-26-05, 09:17 PM

the brightness adjusts the black level, it will not impact the retina blazing whites.

Can anyone help?
Contrast adjusts white level. You can also set gamma to zero in the service menu and use the Digital Video Essentials disk to calibrate your set.

steve psu fan

10-27-05, 08:37 PM

thanks. I'll try adjusting the gamma to 0. The funny thing is even with contrast at minimum, there is no discernible difference in the blocks.

The patterns on avia, VE, et all have the standard bloom pattern. I can get them to bloom and then back it off no problem. Unfortunately nothing helps the white detail.

Andyzep

10-28-05, 09:05 AM

I just got a new LE installed in my Sammy 4663, and the tech that installed its didnt adjust the thing to my like. My sceen in the SM on test patterns has a lean to the right, and sag in the middle going across, the test pattern is the small square going vertical and horizontal lines in the SM. My question is what do I change in the SM to adjust this.

hozho

10-28-05, 12:31 PM

longtimewolf

11-29-05, 02:52 PM

My display is not in full screen mode. Even the HD channels have a sidebar on them.

Strange...I didn't change anything on the tv...(I do have a 19 month old in the house)

Any ideas? could it be my STB going out? Could TWC be out?

Tabasco

12-13-05, 08:14 PM

I hope people still read this thread . . .

I changed my bulb today on my hlp5063w. After 7000 hours, the picture had really gotten dark. I followed the instructions, made sure not to touch the bulb itself, properly fastened all the screws, etc. The darkness issue has improved, but there are now faint gray streaks running vertically across my screen. They can only be seen when a light color is on the screen, but they are quite noticable then.

The best way I can desribe what I'm seeing is: It looks as if I took a white piece of paper, folded it vertically many times, then unfolded it.

I have had the issue with smudges on this set, and went through two screen changes until the smudge problems went away. This is not what I'm seeing. I'm guessing that dust or dirt must have gotten onto or near the bulb, and is causing the streaking. I checked the new bulb before putting it in, and it looked fine.

I don't know if this matters or not, but I'll mention it. Samsung discontinued the bulb that was originally in my set. I ordered the new bulb from Samsung Parts and J & J International, and they assured my that the replacement bulb I received was the proper part. It fit in just as snuggly as the part it replaced, so I doubt it's the problem.

Is there anything I can do to fix this? Has anyone had this problem? I have an extended warranty on this set, but am not sure the service would be covered since I caused the problem by changing the bulb. Any help would be appreciated.

OrangeKid

12-13-05, 09:23 PM

As you have an extended warranty I would call for service. I would not assume it is the bulb or anything you did in changing it.

I hope people still read this thread . . .

I changed my bulb today on my hlp5063w. After 7000 hours, the picture had really gotten dark. I followed the instructions, made sure not to touch the bulb itself, properly fastened all the screws, etc. The darkness issue has improved, but there are now faint gray streaks running vertically across my screen. They can only be seen when a light color is on the screen, but they are quite noticable then.

The best way I can desribe what I'm seeing is: It looks as if I took a white piece of paper, folded it vertically many times, then unfolded it.

I have had the issue with smudges on this set, and went through two screen changes until the smudge problems went away. This is not what I'm seeing. I'm guessing that dust or dirt must have gotten onto or near the bulb, and is causing the streaking. I checked the new bulb before putting it in, and it looked fine.

I don't know if this matters or not, but I'll mention it. Samsung discontinued the bulb that was originally in my set. I ordered the new bulb from Samsung Parts and J & J International, and they assured my that the replacement bulb I received was the proper part. It fit in just as snuggly as the part it replaced, so I doubt it's the problem.

Is there anything I can do to fix this? Has anyone had this problem? I have an extended warranty on this set, but am not sure the service would be covered since I caused the problem by changing the bulb. Any help would be appreciated.

Tabasco

12-14-05, 03:30 AM

I talked to an AV installer friend tonight, and he said that the redisigned bulb (he mentioned Samsung redesigned the bulb b/c of overheating issues) is a bit more difficult to reseat than the old bulb. You kind of have to twist and push the replacement bulb in so that the fastening screw can properly thread. It cleared up the streaking issue, and really made a difference in the brightness of the set. I was a bit miffed at the initial change after replacing the bulb. Now it really does look like the set's brand new. I probably should've changed the bulb at 6k hours.

Orangekid, thanks for the reply. It's good to know this thread is still being read :)

lmplot

12-14-05, 10:31 AM

And also encouraging to see so few new posts to it, which means that additional problems after the first generation difficulties of summer/fall 2004 are not common.

OrangeKid

12-14-05, 07:03 PM

I'll have to remember your installation instructions when I change my bulb. I just purchased a spare but my current bulb is still almost new so it probably will be a while before I need to change bulbs.

I talked to an AV installer friend tonight, and he said that the redisigned bulb (he mentioned Samsung redesigned the bulb b/c of overheating issues) is a bit more difficult to reseat than the old bulb. You kind of have to twist and push the replacement bulb in so that the fastening screw can properly thread. It cleared up the streaking issue, and really made a difference in the brightness of the set. I was a bit miffed at the initial change after replacing the bulb. Now it really does look like the set's brand new. I probably should've changed the bulb at 6k hours.

Orangekid, thanks for the reply. It's good to know this thread is still being read :)

cgwaters

12-16-05, 02:30 PM

Thought it helpful to report that I finally had the screen replaced on my one-year old HL-P5063W yesterday, to eliminate the 'smudge problem'. I figured it was time. ;)

The service tech was very courteous and helpful.

When I called to report the problem to Samsung a few days ago, I also mentioned the lack of a discrete code for selecting HDMI input for use with my Harmony remote. (I had got around the problem by entering a macro into the Harmony that sent InputDVI + TvVideo commands to the TV; but this occasionally failed.)

The service tech had the new firmware assembly in his truck, but said Samsung wanted to be bill me for it. After I explained the matter to him, however, he graciously replaced the firmware at no charge. I went from version T_ATLNUS_1014 to T_ATLNUS_1039, BTW. The service tech said they had just received that version. The discrete code for HDMI works fine now.

I was surprised to learn that upgrading the firmware required a whole new assembly. The service tech said that on Samsung's newer models, the firmware is upgradeable via a USB port; i.e., it doesn't require the replacement of the whole assembly.

shuttermaker

12-16-05, 05:51 PM

cgwaters

12-17-05, 02:57 PM

cgwaters:

Could you describe the smudge problem you experienced with your Sammy? I have a 4663 and am wondering if i have the same problem. In my case its not the entire screen...maybe a 8x8 area in question.
I suggest reviewing the "Samsung HLP Smudges" thread in this forum.

In my case, there were odd markings behind the surface of the screen. Vertical, about 12" from the edg; especially noticeable on the right. Horizontal, about 6" from the edge; especially noticeable on the bottom. I only seemed to notice the problem with HD content...and even then, only on light backgrounds. Unlike most experiences mentioned in the thread above, the smudges didn't go away after the TV remained on for a time....and they didn't go away when I wiped down the screen.

Not all that noticeable, I suppose. Indeed, no one else (including my wife) watching the TV ever commented about it or even seemed to notice it. Still, I saw it...and for the money I spent and considering it was apparently a QC issue, I wanted to have it fixed.

andersa

12-17-05, 04:07 PM

"I changed my bulb today on my hlp5063w. After 7000 hours, the picture had really gotten dark. I followed the instructions, made sure not to touch the bulb itself, properly fastened all the screws, etc. The darkness issue has improved, but there are now faint gray streaks running vertically across my screen. They can only be seen when a light color is on the screen, but they are quite noticable then."

Tabasco,

you you know the part # of the bulb you bought? The www.samsungparts.com web-site lists the following three bulbs to be compatible with the 5063:

BP96-00608A LAMP ASSY L3,LAMP SERVICE,PHILIPS 120W $199.99
BP96-00826A LAMP ASSY L3,LAMP SERVICE,PHILIPS 120W $199.99
BP96-00837A LAMP ASSY DP,L3 LAMP,PHILIPS 120W,E22, $199.99

I have just passed 4k h and was thinking that it wouldn't hurt to have a spare bulb in the house over the holidays.

Thanks, Anders

Tabasco

12-19-05, 01:25 PM

It was the 826A. I talked to Samsung Parts and they said the bulbs are interchangeable, so I think any of them will do. The reseating really worked well. But now I have a new problem with my XBOX 360 and the TV :(

The symptom is horizontal white pulses which move up and down rapidly. They are located mostly in the middle 60% of the picture. To descibe it, I'd say it's looks like concertrated video noise. It's most noticeable when the picture is black, or in dark scenes. But it is noticeable and annoying. Increasing the brightness also increases the visibility of the pulses, if that means anything.

I am almost certain it is not a ground loop problem. Just to make sure there wasn't a ground loop problem, I unplugged my entire home theater from both the wall outlets and TV, leaving just the XBOX 360 and TV plugged in. Still had the pulsing. I searched for some pics, and what I'm seeing doesn't look like a ground loop problem. It is more like a pulsing, and have been told it's possibly a synch issue.

I have messed around with the resolutions a bit to get a better idea what's going on, and have tried both the standard, component, and VGA cables that are available for the XBOX 360.

Component: The problem disappears at 480i, and is less severe (though still noticeable) at 480p and 1080i.

VGA: Absolutely brutal at 720p. Unplayable, as it can be seen even with the brightest material on screen. When using other resolutions, the problem goes away. Adjusting coarse and fine fixes it, but leaves the picture very distorted.

DVI, HDMI, Composite: No problems with my satellite STB when using the HDMI or DVI connections. No problems with the XBOX 360 using composite.

I tried hooking up my HD Satellite STB via component, and the pulsing was still there, with similar results. The TV is 720p native, and 1080i just doesn't look as good as 720p on this set. So I'd like to figure out how to get 720p output without these annoyances.

I never noticed the problem before, but the only thing I hooked up to the TV via component was the original XBOX, and 95% of the games only ran at 480p. I use my laptop sometimes on the VGA port, but it only outputs 1024x768. As I said, the problem really is only bothersome at 720p.

Enabling DNiE seems like it helps the problem, but it seems to do so by making things overly dark. So I can get rid of the problem if I forgo shadow detail.

I run all my connections from the device to the set, so there isn't a problem with interconnects. So I'm guessing there's something wrong with the TV. It just seems odd that the problem is so much worse at the TV's native res. Anyone have any suggestions? Is there a way to adjust synch in the SM that is safe?

Thanks for the help.

andersa

12-20-05, 08:02 PM

Hi Tabasco.
Thanks for the info. I'll order the 826A as well.

re your XBOX360, I'm afraid I can't help you and threre aren't that many 360's out there yet, so there may be limited input form people.
i'm curios though if you have tried the the VGA from the 360 into a regular monitor. Could be one way of trying to figure out if it is the TV or the 360 that is the source of your problem.

/Anders

foobart

12-21-05, 11:22 PM

collinp

12-22-05, 04:09 AM

I'm a fairly happy HLP5063W owner for about a year, but off and on, the discrete power on not being reliable has bugged me no end. I'd gotten used to just using the power toggle on my OFA remote instead of using a macro. But I got my Harmony remote a few days back, and not having the discrete on work reliably totally messes up the excellent remote's capabilities.

Actually, the Harmony's "Smart State" feature makes it one of the few remotes that can handle this issue well. Just set the TVs power settings to "Toggle". Then when you chose an activity the remote will remember if your TV was on and only send the toggle command if needed. Of course it can mess up if you toggle the TV power with another remote or if the TV misses the power command and gets out of sync with the remote. In reality this doesn't happen very often and the Harmony has a handy "Help" feature that will resync the remote.

Owners of other remotes like the MX-850 have reported that they are building a simple macro that sends "Discrete Power Off" followed by "Power Toggle" This turns the TV on if it was off since the power off is ignored by the TV when its off. It also keeps the TV on because the TV does not shut off immediately with the discrete power off then the toggle cancels the power off request and the TV stays on.

These of course are just workarounds. I think it stinks that they couldn't get discrete power on to work.

- Collin

foobart

12-22-05, 07:29 PM

Actually, the Harmony's "Smart State" feature makes it one of the few remotes that can handle this issue well. Just set the TVs power settings to "Toggle". Then when you chose an activity the remote will remember if your TV was on and only send the toggle command if needed. Of course it can mess up if you toggle the TV power with another remote or if the TV misses the power command and gets out of sync with the remote. In reality this doesn't happen very often and the Harmony has a handy "Help" feature that will resync the remote.

Owners of other remotes like the MX-850 have reported that they are building a simple macro that sends "Discrete Power Off" followed by "Power Toggle" This turns the TV on if it was off since the power off is ignored by the TV when its off. It also keeps the TV on because the TV does not shut off immediately with the discrete power off then the toggle cancels the power off request and the TV stays on.

These of course are just workarounds. I think it stinks that they couldn't get discrete power on to work.

- Collin

When I'm using the remote I can get this done 20 different ways, but the idea of using the Harmony is so anyone, like my mother(a good reference) should be able to pick it up and use the A/V system with no exception handling requirements!

I really don't like using the toggle in any macro because of the reasons you mentioned. It's just not reliable enough and exception handling is a PIA for novices.

I should see if the power-off and toggle is a reliable alternative. One thing I don't want is the TV getting switched off when the "Watch TV" activity button is pressed repeatedly, or switching from "Watch TV" to "Watch DVD" or whatever else. Not only is switching off disruptive to watching, it also ages the bulb with every strike. You're saying it works this way?

longtimewolf

12-22-05, 08:14 PM

I have the Harmony 880. So far it has worked well. My wife seems to beable to turn thing on and off when I am not here. That is my goal.

foobart

12-22-05, 08:46 PM

I have the Harmony 880. So far it has worked well. My wife seems to beable to turn thing on and off when I am not here. That is my goal.

Can you be more specific? Do you use discrete power on/off or toggles?

toggles are just not reliable, esp. if one wants to go off into device mode and do some more functions on the side etc. which can put the devices into an unknown state. One also needs to gingerly point it properly and not put it down until all the commands are done etc.

Done right, this can be completely idiot proof irrespective of whatever the starting state of the entire A/V system is. Every other piece of equipment including 100 (or perhaps 20 dollar) DVD players and VCRs respond to remote commands reliably. This 2500 dollar TV shouldn't have to be the only one that can't do it right..

longtimewolf

12-22-05, 09:27 PM

I do use the toggle. I can get out of sync. I just use the 'help' and get it fixed. Sometimes my 20 month old turns off the TV at the set (while I am watching). I do go into device mode to toggle it back.

It ain't perfect but I don't know anyother way.

foobart

12-22-05, 09:33 PM

I just tried reprogramming my Harmony remote to use the "power off + power toggle" sequence for the "power on" function. So far it looks like it works as we'd like it to: .

1) power on reliably (need to observe over more cycles, this TV is weird in this respect)

2) not power off if it's already on (need to observe more carefully, the TV is receiving the two (off, tgl) commands, but looks like it's canceling them like we want. Not 100% sure).

So for the harmony owners, you can do this by (not being very precise, from memory):

1) go into your device list in the home page, select TV - more options ..

2) select "adjust power options. "

3) After the next step, select "A button on the remote for On, and a different button for Off "(this is how the harmony uses discrete on/off codes instead of all the toggle/ smart state stuff)

4) next: "Which command will Power On your device?"
select "Use these infrared commands"
and specify "PowerOff" followed by "PowerToggle" ( to get the drop down menu for the second command, select "I send more commands"

----

hopefully this takes care of the last headache with this TV..

paul watkins

01-03-06, 05:36 PM

How do you get in the sevice mode? I just got this tv from a friend and would like to lower the gamma.

I tried the mute 1 8 2 in a row, but can't get it to work

Model # is HLP5063WX/XAA

Thanks

hozho

01-03-06, 07:08 PM

How do you get in the sevice mode? I just got this tv from a friend and would like to lower the gamma.

I tried the mute 1 8 2 in a row, but can't get it to work

Model # is HLP5063WX/XAA

ThanksCaution!

I would like to add to this comment ... the average owner should probably not be in the service menu. If you are an extremely careful person that has the patience to document everything before you touch anything ... than maybe. There is no reset function. If you make a change, it is changed. If you don't record your starting point and make changes you may be impacting a number of other parameters. In addition, there is a strong possiblity that your set may have unique settings ... so if you mess it up you will not be able to just ask another forum member for the answer. Some settings need to be changed is a certain order and using a process. If you are unaware of the correct procedure, you will degrade the performance of your TV. You will need to hire a professional to recalibrate your TV if you are unhappy or unsure about how it is performing.

New information for HLR owners.

Originally posted by millerwill
BTW, it is not longer necessary to enter the Service menu to find out what firmware version you have. You can go to Function Help (pg 84 of the manual), set it to on and then press Info. Or you can get it and other diagnostic info as follows:

Mute-1-8-4-Exit will display screen 1 of Diagnostic Status
Mute-1-8-5-Exit will display screen 2 of Diagnostic Status
Mute-1-8-6-Exit will display screen 3 of Diagnostic Status

I got this directly from Samsung tech support, and it works.

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.

ellisd

01-18-06, 11:45 PM

bongohawk

01-24-06, 02:01 AM

I just wanted to thank everyone in this thread who helped me with my Samsung DLP HLP4663W HDTV. I've had it for almost a year and just a couple months ago I noticed when I watch ESPN HD and compare ESPN HD on another HDTV that the ESPN bottom line bar wasn't as big as some other HDTV sets. I then noticed this on some other channels and thought that after doing research and finding me the right HDTV set that maybe I had made an error and not paying attention to overscan. Well thanks to everyone who said that if I am using DVI or HDMI that I just need to adjust the picture settings to Expand rather than Wide TV. The weird thing is I never thought about adjusting the picture setting with my Samsung because my Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD had these settings, so I figure I was stuck with overscan. As soon I adjusted it to Expand, which I didn't know my Samsung even had this, I was amazed at how much of the screen was being hidden. This thread and this forum is incredible valuable for anyone with HDTV, AV equipment and just basic electronics information.

Thanks Again!!! :)

hozho

01-24-06, 03:14 AM

Well thanks to everyone who said that if I am using DVI or HDMI that I just need to adjust the picture settings to Expand rather than Wide TV.If you also set your DVD player or STB to output 720p you will get what many people think is very good picture quality. You will also be enjoying 1x1 bit mapping which gives you the best sharpness. There will still be 1% to 2% over-scan but that is a lot better than the 5% you were seeing before.

Enjoy.

jimsiff

02-01-06, 04:52 PM

Well, I just had the light engine replaced in my HLP 5663W for the second time. I also had the digital board replaced to upgrade the firmware from 1024 to 1040. I'm crossing my fingers that my problems (other than bulb replacement) are over with. I've had the following work done:

- light engine #1 (TV turned off randomly, intermittent tic-tac-toe board digital artifacts on all inputs)
- screen (smudging)
- light engine #2 (intermittent green/white digital artifacts on all inputs)
- digital board (firmware update)

I've held off on calibrating my set because these problems have been going on since 5 weeks after original purchase in January '05. I'm holding my breath, crossing my fingers, and praying to the DLP gods :D that my set stabilizes. If not, Samsung will get another call.

longtimewolf

02-03-06, 07:33 AM

gtalvola

02-03-06, 10:39 AM

If you also set your DVD player or STB to output 720p you will get what many people think is very good picture quality. You will also be enjoying 1x1 bit mapping which gives you the best sharpness. There will still be 1% to 2% over-scan but that is a lot better than the 5% you were seeing before.

Enjoy.
I find that with a Motorola DCT-6412 cable box, setting it to output 1080i produces significantly clearer and sharper images than setting it to output 720p for channels that are broadcast in 1080i. That means my 5063W does a significantly better job of converting from 1080i to 720p than the cable box does.

On the other hand, I find that when watching Fox/ABC/ESPN, the picture is slightly better when setting the cable box to output 720p, but only slightly. Apparently the cable box does a pretty good job of converting 720p to 1080i and even though it then gets converted back to 720p by the TV, the end result is pretty good.

Since the DCT-6412 has no "pass through" mode, in my opinion 1080i is the best setting to leave it on. You can occasionally temporarily switch to 720p to watch Fox/ABC/ESPN for slightly better quality.

Antonpd

02-08-06, 01:16 PM

I just had my screen replaced because of smudges but now the picture seems to have a "green" push, especially on faces. Maybe I'm going crazy but the picture just looks more ......green than before. Is this a known problem with the HLP5063? I tried messing with the tint but no luck.

I called Samsung and they're sending someone over. What should they be doing in case the guy tries to cut corners.

jimsiff

02-08-06, 02:16 PM

How and who would you recommend for a calibration. I have had my set for abut a year now and am wondering if calibration would help me at all. I have no specific complaint other than occasionally the graphics aren't that sharp on some HD stuff...but I usally write that off as poor upscaling on the broadcast side.

You can go to the ISF website and search for an ISF calibrator in your area. I had a local guy, Doug Kinne of 6500k Calibrations do mine.

Jim

strider76

02-09-06, 08:41 AM

I'm having a few small issues with my HLP5063W.:

1. The set will turn off intermittently. There's no power down melody. The screen just goes black and the set is off. I have to power the set up and it's ok. This will happen atleast once a week.

2. There are small speckles or noise on the whole picture. Almost like a snowstorm of pixels in the background. My wife and no one else notices it but I do. This will happen on all inputs (dvd through HDMI, xbox 360 through component, and cable through component). I've tried tweaking some settings with no luck.

Any suggestions?

Cheezmo

02-09-06, 08:52 AM

I'm having a few small issues with my HLP5063W.:
2. There are small speckles or noise on the whole picture. Almost like a snowstorm of pixels in the background. My wife and no one else notices it but I do. This will happen on all inputs (dvd through HDMI, xbox 360 through component, and cable through component). I've tried tweaking some settings with no luck.

If you are seeing this on dark parts of the picture (and the whole picture when it is supposed to be a black image) your brightness may be set too high. Use a test pattern DVD or even the black bars on a letterboxed movie and see if you see the noise in the black parts of the picture. If you do, turn the brightness down until the noise just disappears in what should be black. It is the nature of the technology that very dark parts of the picture have "temporal dithering noise" in them, but if you have the brightness turned up too high you'll see a lot more of it than you should.

BigEHokie

02-17-06, 07:59 AM

Just got my screen replaced and everything is much better. The only problem I had was the amount of time it took to get the guy to come out and install it.

Oh and he put the TV back together and forgot to put back in 2 screws. Luckily they were fairly easy to get to, right under the speaker plate.

Cush1978

02-17-06, 12:57 PM

1. The set will turn off intermittently. There's no power down melody. The screen just goes black and the set is off. I have to power the set up and it's ok. This will happen atleast once a week.

Lamp/ballast will need to be replaced. Same thing happened to me. The "old" kind lamps are coated with something that flakes off under heat and causes shorts.

Cush

shuttermaker

07-05-06, 06:18 PM

Havent received any email notices about new posts to this thread so im wondering if its still alive :)

Today I checked the lamp life thru the SM and saw that it was at 5,910 hours. This is the original lamp and Im left wondering what is the average expected lamp life for my 4663.

Anyone have any usage reports(lamp life)? Also, anyone able to recommend a place to get the best price for the replacement lamp?

Mike

longtimewolf

07-06-06, 09:53 AM

I have no idea, but this is working.

rolltide1017

08-25-06, 07:58 PM

Do the HLP (mine is a HLP5063W) displays accept a 422 YCbCr signal through HDMI or DVI?

collinp

09-30-06, 05:29 PM

Do the HLP (mine is a HLP5063W) displays accept a 422 YCbCr signal through HDMI or DVI?

Yes, the HLP5063W accepts 422 YCbCr, 444 YCbCr, and RGB on the HDMI input. It only accepts RGB on the DVI input. These sets however are inherently 8 bit RGB devices. The YCbCr formats are converted to 8 bit RGB by the HDMI receiver chip. There is no real advantage to sending anything but RGB to this set.

- Collin

obrook

09-30-06, 11:29 PM

My hlp6163 was starting to get dull so i replaced the bulb myself cost $179.00. Easy to change. I had 7900 hour on old bulb. The replacement bulb was much smaller in size same size light box.

Getting ready to take set apart to find out where this light beam is coming from. If anybody had any ideas where it would be coming from it would be nice to find out before i take it apart. Here is a link to a picture of the light beam. It is right above the samsung logo about 4 inches think start 1 inch from bottom and is about 10 long

http://windmillcomputerrepair.com/samsung.jpg

Did Samsung ever admit the problem with smuges on the screen and offer a replacement for the 2 piece screen

rolltide1017

10-01-06, 05:20 PM

obrook

10-01-06, 07:08 PM

Is your TV outside? Just asking because it looks like there is a bee on it in that picture.

As for the light thing, I can see something like that only when I'm standing right in front of the screen. Any other position and I don't see it. I believe it is light reflecting off the lens.

It is a fly, The TV is located in my computer shop which has a huge garage door that was open. Well guess I will just take it apart and see if i can see where the light beam is coming from. :)

troll565

10-06-06, 09:38 AM

Did Samsung ever admit the problem with smuges on the screen and offer a replacement for the 2 piece screen

I called up about 3 weeks after I bought it in January 2005 and they came out and fixed it within the week. Haven't had that problem since. i did have to have the control board replaced twice though.

Dechief4

10-21-06, 12:00 AM

Hello All -
Just discovered this forum today and, Wow!, what a good source of info! Wish I had found this earlier. I have a HL-P6163W. Got it in late Nov. 04. Using the info I garnered here, I've been in the SM to change my Gamma curve (to 0) and have reset my picture controls for brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc. to what most recommend (with a little tweaking on my part) and have set the output of my D* HR20-700 to a fixed 720p with the picture set to 'expand'. Again, WOW! GREAT picture now... My TV gets its inputs from my Onkyo receiver. HDMI from the satellite and component for everything else.
Couple of questions, tho.
1) I am having a hard time getting my brain around this 720p 'native resolution' on the DLP thing. The TV supports 1080i, so if the input signal is at 1080i, what does the TV do with it? Does it process it somehow and does this processing lessen the PQ? If it doesn't lessen the PQ, what's the problem with inputting a 1080i signal? It seems to me a 1080i input would result in better PQ. What am I missing?
2) The output of my DVD player is 480p. Is there anyway I can 'force' the TV to upconvert the signal to 720p? How does it handle this? Is it scaled at all?

TIA,
Dechief

Dechief4

10-26-06, 12:15 PM

Bueller...Bueller? :cool:

Hello All -
Just discovered this forum today and, Wow!, what a good source of info! Wish I had found this earlier. I have a HL-P6163W. Got it in late Nov. 04. Using the info I garnered here, I've been in the SM to change my Gamma curve (to 0) and have reset my picture controls for brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc. to what most recommend (with a little tweaking on my part) and have set the output of my D* HR20-700 to a fixed 720p with the picture set to 'expand'. Again, WOW! GREAT picture now... My TV gets its inputs from my Onkyo receiver. HDMI from the satellite and component for everything else.
Couple of questions, tho.
1) I am having a hard time getting my brain around this 720p 'native resolution' on the DLP thing. The TV supports 1080i, so if the input signal is at 1080i, what does the TV do with it? Does it process it somehow and does this processing lessen the PQ? If it doesn't lessen the PQ, what's the problem with inputting a 1080i signal? It seems to me a 1080i input would result in better PQ. What am I missing?
2) The output of my DVD player is 480p. Is there anyway I can 'force' the TV to upconvert the signal to 720p? How does it handle this? Is it scaled at all?

TIA,
Dechief

Cush1978

10-26-06, 04:06 PM

1. Your TV's scaler will automatically accept the 1080i input and downscale it to 720p.
2. Your TV's scaler will automatically accept the 480p input and upscale it to 720p.

In short, although your TV accepts multiple signals (480i/480p/720p/1080i), it can only display at the native resolution of 720p. The scaler automatically handles this.

Cush

Dechief4

10-26-06, 05:30 PM

OK. Surprisingly, that makes sense to me (meaning I get it!)... Since this is the case, tho, then why will the TV not allow the 'expand' mode when receiving a 1080i signal - since it downscales it to 720p?

punthe

10-30-06, 08:16 PM

First off, I am new to this forum. I have a problem with my Samsung DLP and hope maybe somebody here could help me. I have an HL-P5063W and just recently experienced some trouble with starting the set up. Normally when I would power the set on, it would make the appropriet humming sounds and would light up and show a picture within 15-20 seconds. Now, I turn the power on and I hear the light popping noise signifying the speakers have power and I hear the fan kick on, however the picture never shows up and the lamp doesn't power on. The set tries to power up 3 times and then all three lights on the power button flash. In the manual it states that this might mean the lamp is bad. So, I just purchased a new lamp from samsungparts (thanks andersa for the tip) and installed it. I turned the power on and the set functioned perfectly and even had a slightly brighter picture. I shut off the set and went to work. When I got home from work (10 hours later) I turned the set back on and the same problem occured. No more picture. I unplugged the set and plugged it back in(after 30 sec.) and on the third try from the set to kick on the lamp, it lit up. Now, every time I turn the set off for more than 10 minutes it will not work properly again after I turn it back on. I'm fairly certain that it isn't the lamp and I just watched the set for about 12 hours last night and it is not functioning again, so I don't know what else could be wrong. I am a rookie when it comes to the functions of the t.v. (i.e. the internal electronics) but I have worked with eletronics before. So if anybody has any idea what the problem could be, it would be much appreciated. I am going nuts not being able to watch a film in my home theatre. Thanks a bunch!