Updated info from TVA posted in the PB thread for all those that are discussing who's got what in stock...

let the owners get back to sharing info and thoughts! Looks like they'll have a lot more company in the next few weeks!

The other thing to remember is that we're talking about a DVD source here, which is fundamentally a 480 source. Sure it's upconverted and whatnot, but it's still not "true" HD. It's not too surprising that the differences in PQ are not exactly mindblowing, although you're all definetly right that you would think a drastically improved contrast ratio and the smoothness gained from the higher native res and wobulation would be more evident irrespective of the original source resolution. Still, this picture comparison is pretty cool, and much thanks for the effort in putting it together for everyone

What would be a *killer* picture comparison is something like DiscoveryHD. I'm not sure how much of a difference the 1080p set will have on 720p channels, but i'm very curious to see how it handles 1080i channels in comparison to the 720p DLPs. That might be a good clue as to how the sets will differ in performance on things like HD-DVD.

I could not agree more with the above. DVDs look great on this set, but there's only so far a good display can take a source that only has 480 lines of resolution. Did anyone watch Monday Night Football this week? I almost crapped my pants watching the game, and that was only 720p. Looking forward to seeing the Giants game this saturday evening brodcast in 1080i on NBC.

I could not agree more with the above. DVDs look great on this set, but there's only so far a good display can take a source that only has 480 lines of resolution. Did anyone watch Monday Night Football this week? I almost crapped my pants watching the game, and that was only 720p. Looking forward to seeing the Giants game this saturday evening brodcast in 1080i on NBC.

No, but I watched NASCAR Brickyard race this weekend in 720p and it look awesome!

Just a little 'official' review for the review hungry folks out there. Nothing too technical and nothing really new for the avid readers of this forum but a fun read none the less.

http://www.funkyfresh.com/

Direct to the review:
http://www.funkyfresh.com/viewarticle.php?id=127

Quotes:
Samsung has improved this TV with a much higher contrast ratio, no DLP rainbow effect we could discern, a plethora of analog and digital connections, a more riendly GUI, better remote, CableCARD slot, and built-in TV Guide that makes the Cable Box all but a relic.

Usually when we test a product we find a lot of discrepancies between what the marketing claims of the manufacturer and our real world experience. We’ve got to say, in this case the only thing holding the Samsung HL-R6168W back is the lack of HDTV content.

enjoy!

I ordered my 5678 from VANNS for $3,599,no tax and received it two days later.Very happy here with this great picture quality set.
:) Congradulations. You are of the few that got there's two days later. Others are still waiting and waiting and waiting.............. :mad:

ToddL, on onecall.com's return policy... if it arrives damaged in any way, you can refuse shipment and they'll send you out a new one. If it wasn't damaged by shipping but still arrives DOA, you can call onecall and they'll file a claim with the shipping company. if there are any other problems with the set, you just file a normal warranty claim.

So its not like you are stuck with the TV and no recourse if you order through onecall.

ToddL, on onecall.com's return policy... if it arrives damaged in any way, you can refuse shipment and they'll send you out a new one. If it wasn't damaged by shipping but still arrives DOA, you can call onecall and they'll file a claim with the shipping company. if there are any other problems with the set, you just file a normal warranty claim.

So its not like you are stuck with the TV and no recourse if you order through onecall.

What happens if three days later the set doesn't power on?

Is OneCALL an authorized Samsung dealer?

ToddL, on onecall.com's return policy... if it arrives damaged in any way, you can refuse shipment and they'll send you out a new one. If it wasn't damaged by shipping but still arrives DOA, you can call onecall and they'll file a claim with the shipping company. if there are any other problems with the set, you just file a normal warranty claim.

So its not like you are stuck with the TV and no recourse if you order through onecall.


So Onecall assumes that if the set arrives DOA and the exterior packaging doesn't show any damage, then its the shipping company fault? Good luck with that. I sure wouldn't order a TV from them under those conditions.

Just a little 'official' review for the review hungry folks out there. Nothing too technical and nothing really new for the avid readers of this forum but a fun read none the less.

http://www.funkyfresh.com/

Direct to the review:
http://www.funkyfresh.com/viewarticle.php?id=127

Quotes:




enjoy!
Thanks!! :D Very nice links to some wonderful information and useful too. I like the write up. I knew all along that the Samsung 68, 78 and 88 series TV's are better than some of these post. That is why I bought the 6178W. :)

Mike thanks for the reply. So how do you like the TV so far?

I absolutely love it! HD is amazing. I've been watching MLB in HD and caught the monday NFL preseason game in hd. I can't wait for hockey season.

There isn't anything that I don't like about it yet.

I absolutely love it! HD is amazing. I've been watching MLB in HD and caught the monday NFL preseason game in hd. I can't wait for hockey season.

There isn't anything that I don't like about it yet.
Did the NFL game look real good. What model TV do you have?

Did the NFL game look real good. What model TV do you have?

The 6168. Yes, it was awesome. Baseball looks better though. My local ABC station is always having problems with its HD so it broke up some.

Here are some pictures (as long as my server at home stays up, having a big thunderstorm at the moment):

http://alletto.dyndns.org/tv.html

The pics of the tv actually displaying images are not blurry like the pictures show. I took them without the flash. I need to set my tripod up and take some better ones. I actually have had the tv since July 22nd, just finally got around to putting pics up.

The 6168. Yes, it was awesome. Baseball looks better though. My local ABC station is always having problems with its HD so it broke up some.

Here are some pictures (as long as my server at home stays up, having a big thunderstorm at the moment):

http://alletto.dyndns.org/tv.html

The pics of the tv actually displaying images are not blurry like the pictures show. I took them without the flash. I need to set my tripod up and take some better ones. I actually have had the tv since July 22nd, just finally got around to putting pics up.
:D Thanks man!!! your pics looks great. WOW, better than I thought. I love the picture. Some people on this post scared me about how awful the Smasung TV's were. Now I dont have to worry. Thanks!! :)

Yes, onecall is an authorized dealer...

Rebies,

For me (FLAPILOT) the component is good and the HDMI is bad. New TV enroute.

Okay, I decided to compile the pictures people have posted of these sets up until now. I do have to note I made a quick pass of the entire thread and posted notes where I could. I'm not guarantying accuracy on this, so if you are interested in a specific posting or image, search back through this thread to find the original post and discussions about that picture! Also, I'll be out of town this weekend, so sorry if I'm not around to reply to any messages about this until Monday. I can also post this in post #6 of this thread if you guys want later next week - for easy reference in the future. Not sure if that is necessary though.



Box Pictures

John_Jones_CA
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40000



Entire Setup / With Stand / HT Setup

schaffer970
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40007

John_Jones_CA
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40029

skeeteroplagus:
http://www.voidyourwarranty.net/sammy.jpg

PushStar:
http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/15816/size/big

FLApilot:
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40306

RMSko: (built into wall)
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40375

calbert:
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40441

GoobTheNoob:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gondalguru/detail?.dir=8a87&.dnm=500a.jpg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gondalguru/detail?.dir=8a87&.dnm=6c9c.jpg&.src=ph

RodWorks:
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40499
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40500



Display Details Pictures

John_Jones_CA
DNIe Demo Off: http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40039
DNIe Demo On: http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40040

schaffer970 - TV 1920x1080 60Hz
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40127
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40137

spear - 1.) VGA with no overscan, 2) VGA at maximum picture size, 3) HDMI.
vga_fs: http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40249
vga_os: http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40250
hdmi: http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40251

Ppowr: set hooked up to PC playing back 3dmark 2005 (via VGA)
http://www.voidyourwarranty.net/PICT0258.JPG

skeeteroplagus: maximizing the screen size on the PC input for 1:1 pixel mapping
http://www.voidyourwarranty.net/text.jpg

RMSko:
W-O Dot Dropped: http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40358
With Dot Cropped: http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40359



Display Errors

pup73 - black wavy lines
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40089
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40090

courtjstr: THX Set-up on the Toy Story DVD using SVideo Input. 2 inches lost at bottom and vertical lines are jagged
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40433

Clorox: static/dots on black portions of the picture (5668W set)
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40548
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40551

FLApilot: specs/splotching
Component (problem picture):
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40571
HDMI (okay I think):
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40572

skeeteroplagus: (component - both xbox and cable box when outputting 720P or 1080I on 5668W)
"The set will not show the artifacts for probably the first 10 - 15 minutes, but overtime the problem gradually gets worse"
http://www.voidyourwarranty.net/artifact1.jpg
close up: http://www.voidyourwarranty.net/artifact2.jpg

johnnycakes: rainbows in light colors and wavy lines on Fox
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40664
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=40665

The 6168. Yes, it was awesome. Baseball looks better though. My local ABC station is always having problems with its HD so it broke up some.

Here are some pictures (as long as my server at home stays up, having a big thunderstorm at the moment):

http://alletto.dyndns.org/tv.html

The pics of the tv actually displaying images are not blurry like the pictures show. I took them without the flash. I need to set my tripod up and take some better ones. I actually have had the tv since July 22nd, just finally got around to putting pics up.Thanks for sharing those. On the pic of the race track the fence posts on the infield side look like they are glowing and there is quite a bit of "stair stepping" on the white line on the access road. Do you think those anomalies are from the HD feed or the TV?

http://alletto.dyndns.org/images/tv/tv/IMG_0955.JPG

I nominate Rodworks and FAPilot for the best looking setup :)

Thanks Slocko!

Thanks for sharing those. On the pic of the race track the fence posts on the infield side look like they are glowing and there is quite a bit of "stair stepping" on the white line on the access road. Do you think those anomalies are from the HD feed or the TV?

I would chalk it up to the digital camera picture. I have not seen that on anything while actually viewing the tv. All those pictures don't do the actual image justice. I'll try and get some better content pictures up with the camera stabilized on a tripod.

Yes, onecall is an authorized dealer...

Then as along you are 100% sure you want the TV I don't see a problem...


TVA's 5 star progam offers the benefit of returning the TV within 30 days
if you don't...

FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS A COMPUTER UP AND RUNNING ON THEIR SAMSUNG **8W SET THROUGH VGA :


1. WHAT vga CABLE ARE YOU USING AND WHERE DID YOU GET IT???????

2. SHOULD I GET AN UXVGA cable which (I HEARD) supports higher resolutions????



THERE HAS SOME POSTS ABOUT EXSPENSIVE VGA CABLES NOT WORKING AND I WANT TO AVOID THE SAME MISTAKES. I HAVE NEVER HOOKED UP A TV VIA VGA.

I am using this cable:

http://www.bettercables.com/vgacables.html

Like many other "high end" VGA cables, this cable does not pass the EDID information. This means that the Samsung cannot tell the PC what resolution it can display. It also does not tell the PC what video timings are expected by the TV.

I had to hook up a "cheap" VGA cable to get this EDID information. Once I had this information, I was able to craft a ModeLine for my Linux HTPC, and switch back to the "high end" cable.

I don't know how you would do this on a Micro$oft operating system. I believe that Micro$oft operating systems want to always auto-detect the display properties using the EDID information. If it is unable to do so, the results could be a bit strange.

Linux can either auto use this EDID information (like Micro$oft), or it can be told to ignore it, and use user provided information.

I did have an interesting experience. When I determined that my "high end" cable was not passing any EDID information, I next tried a "medium quality" VGA cable. With this cable, my system did seem to read some of the EDID information -- It seemed to only provide what standard resolutions where supported, and not the "extended" resolution and timing information needed for 1920x1080. Once I hooked up a "low end" VGA cable, then all this EDID information showed up. With the medium quality cable, I would assume that the computer would refuse to go into the full 1920x1080 resolution.

The visual quality is absolutely amazing with this setup. I believe someone posted a diagram which indicated that using the VGA input bypasses a lot of the "processing" such as DNle. My old Panasonic RP56 looks pretty good on this TV, but using the HTPC to play DVDs, blows the Panasonic away!

John

No, but I watched NASCAR Brickyard race this weekend in 720p and it look awesome!

What network? I could have sworn that NASCAR Brickyard race was on NBC, which means that it would have been in 1080i.

I honestly cannot tell much if any difference between 720p and 1080i source material. This may be due to how well my HTPC does at scaling the video, however.

John

I would chalk it up to the digital camera picture. I have not seen that on anything while actually viewing the tv. All those pictures don't do the actual image justice. I'll try and get some better content pictures up with the camera stabilized on a tripod.

Using a tripod will help, but for the largest impact freeze the picture before attempting to take the photo.

Using a tripod will help, but for the largest impact freeze the picture before attempting to take the photo.

Yeah, I should have done that also. I will get more pics up and post when they are there.

On another note, make sure everyone who gets one register online at samsung.com to get 3 months added on to their warranty.

Can someone confirm that either the 5668/78 or 6168/78 have a center channel input? Does anyone have their surround system set up this way to use the TV speakers as your center? Does it sound ok? If not, does anyone have their center channel sitting on top of the TV? Thats the way I have mine set up now, just want to make sure I can either continue to have it that way, or use the TV speakers as my center channel.

Can someone confirm that either the 5668/78 or 6168/78 have a center channel input? Does anyone have their surround system set up this way to use the TV speakers as your center? Does it sound ok? If not, does anyone have their center channel sitting on top of the TV? Thats the way I have mine set up now, just want to make sure I can either continue to have it that way, or use the TV speakers as my center channel.
Not that I know of regarding the Center channel input. I dont think that it does, but maybe I am wrong. I will have to check. I am using my Speakers through my ONKYO THX receiver for the output and it is SMASHING!!! :) :D

Can someone confirm that either the 5668/78 or 6168/78 have a center channel input? Does anyone have their surround system set up this way to use the TV speakers as your center? Does it sound ok? If not, does anyone have their center channel sitting on top of the TV? Thats the way I have mine set up now, just want to make sure I can either continue to have it that way, or use the TV speakers as my center channel.


I highly recommed not doing this in any case.

The center speaker is one of the most important speakers of your
sound system. When you have movement in the front sound field from L to R
or R to L it must pass through the C. The L C R speakers must be of the
same timbre or else it will sound weird and ruin the experience, i.e.
a car passing from left though center to your right will sound differently
as it proceeds from left to right detracting from the experience.

My center channel speaker has that little stabilizer bar on the back of it that can extend down to keep the speaker from tipping over, just wondering how steep the back of the TV slopes down from the top edge, and if the speaker stabilizing bar would be long enough to hold it... or if the speaker would just look too big on top of there.

My center channel speaker has that little stabilizer bar on the back of it that can extend down to keep the speaker from tipping over, just wondering how steep the back of the TV slopes down from the top edge, and if the speaker stabilizing bar would be long enough to hold it... or if the speaker would just look too big on top of there.
It slopes a lot. :( I cant even put my center speaker on the top, since the top edge is only .8" inch wide and the slope is steap. I had to put my center speaker on the stand. Which sucks, until I find a better way. I live in earthquake country, and it will fall even if I velcro it up there. The speaker is an Athena, one of the best liquid filled, but heavy. :D

My center channel speaker has that little stabilizer bar on the back of it that can extend down to keep the speaker from tipping over, just wondering how steep the back of the TV slopes down from the top edge, and if the speaker stabilizing bar would be long enough to hold it... or if the speaker would just look too big on top of there.
Try it but be careful. Dont rely on the bar to hold it in place. If it falls, it will mess up not only the speaker but the wall and will scratch the hell out of the TV in the rear. :mad:

UCSB,

Could you post Service Menu info at the beginning of this thread or your other as soon as someone is able to get into it.

I appologize if someone has already asked. The search feature here at AVS sucks. Believe it or not but the search of ["service menu" samsung] brings back one thread for the rear projection forum.

-Mr. Wigggles

I've been looking at purchasing a 6168 (or possibly a 56 because I sit about 7.5 feet away), but I've been hesitating because of the game lag. Over 50% of my time using the TV will be playing games.

Would it be possible to get some more information about the gaming lag from people with these sets? The information so far has been fairly limited and conflicting. I'm sure other people have the same concern that I do and it would be very helpful.

UCSB,

Could you post Service Menu info at the beginning of this thread or your other as soon as someone is able to get into it.

I appologize if someone has already asked. The search feature here at AVS sucks. Believe it or not but the search of ["service menu" samsung] brings back one thread for the rear projection forum.

-Mr. Wigggles

Mr. Wigggles,

I have seen all the work you have done in anticipation of these sets.

I am very happy with mine. Do they live up to your expectations?

Best regards,

Tony

My center channel speaker has that little stabilizer bar on the back of it that can extend down to keep the speaker from tipping over, just wondering how steep the back of the TV slopes down from the top edge, and if the speaker stabilizing bar would be long enough to hold it... or if the speaker would just look too big on top of there.

Omnimount makes a shelf that is designed for the tops of these TV's. It will hold a center channel speaker. The model # is the CCH1.

I'm curious if you have some kind of hidden agenda here? Are you seriously considering buying one of these Samsung 1080p TVs? It seems like most of your daily posts are the same over and over again regarding the lip synch problems, how bad they are, and how unacceptable they are to you. Or, am I missing something?

I have no hidden agenda I found this thread and it was the 1st time I heard about lip sync issues. I am dead serious about wanting to buy one but I want to make sure I do the propper research first and also get out to a store to see one. I have a 4 year old HDTV now that is starting to look really old

I've been pondering this game lag issue and the PS2. I don't have any solutions for it, but I was thinking perhaps the PS3 will work better sense it's games are supposed to be 1080i natively over HDMI? This is total speculation since the console isn't out yet for quite a while. All I'm saying is just because the PS2 is being problematic, doesn't mean the next gen console will.

Also I'm pondering not buying a TV right now... I really do want a bigger TV just so I don't have to sit close to it, but telling my friends they can't play video games on it because of issues with the TV is unacceptable in my mind.

Is the lag only video lag, like we can fix it with the Receiver's Audio Delay setting? (I checked mine goes from 0-200ms). Or is this a controller and video resolution thing?

I'm going to check my video games out and see what modes they run in. If the major of them are 480i/480p then running them in GAME mode should be no problem?

- D

I have no hidden agenda I found this thread and it was the 1st time I heard about lip sync issues. I am dead serious about wanting to buy one but I want to make sure I do the propper research first and also get out to a store to see one. I have a 4 year old HDTV now that is starting to look really old
I think AkaStp was referring to wtr1 not you.

UCSB,

Could you post Service Menu info at the beginning of this thread or your other as soon as someone is able to get into it.

I appologize if someone has already asked. The search feature here at AVS sucks. Believe it or not but the search of ["service menu" samsung] brings back one thread for the rear projection forum.

-Mr. Wigggles

If someone can produce a post that can be copied, I have a place saver at the top of this thread and would be happy to include the information there. I just received my TV today and will probably not be in the service menu myself for some time. If there is sufficient interest, it is a topic that justifies it's own thread. I know there is one or more very interesting 67 series threads on service menu tweaks.

I've been pondering this game lag issue and the PS2. I don't have any solutions for it, but I was thinking perhaps the PS3 will work better sense it's games are supposed to be 1080i natively over HDMI? This is total speculation since the console isn't out yet for quite a while. All I'm saying is just because the PS2 is being problematic, doesn't mean the next gen console will.

Also I'm pondering not buying a TV right now... I really do want a bigger TV just so I don't have to sit close to it, but telling my friends they can't play video games on it because of issues with the TV is unacceptable in my mind.

Is the lag only video lag, like we can fix it with the Receiver's Audio Delay setting? (I checked mine goes from 0-200ms). Or is this a controller and video resolution thing?

I'm going to check my video games out and see what modes they run in. If the major of them are 480i/480p then running them in GAME mode should be no problem?

- D

The audio delay will not help with video game lag. The audio delay basically delays the audio so the video can catch up after it's been processed. With video games, you'll press the button but won't see your action immediately (or your button press is a reaction to something that already happened even before you actually saw it).

steve, if you take another look at my post you should notice that I quoted "wtr1" and not you in my response so my question was directed at wtr1. :)

Ok sorry I must have mis read the post no harm done

Last Saturday, I bought a Samsung HLR5668W from the Magnolia shop within my local Best Buy store. I bought the matching stand and a center channel speaker at the same time and was able to play "Let's Make a Deal" with the salesman. I think I negotiated a very fair deal for the package, including a four-year maintenance contract from Magnolia. They had everything in stock, so I took it all home in my truck.

The 56-inch Samsung is superb! I've got Comcast Digital Cable service with a Comcast CableCard in the TV. I ran a optical audio cable from the TV to my new Yamaha RX-V4600 receiver. Video out from the receiver is connected to the Samsung via component video cables, because the Yamaha on-screen menus are not available via the receiver's HDMI ports. I've got an ancient Sony DVP-S3000 DVD player connected to the Yamaha via S-video and an ancient ReplayTV PVR connected to the Yamaha via S-video. The Yamaha can upconvert all S-video inputs to component video (sadly, not to HDMI), so video from the DVD player and ReplayTV PVR are delivered to the HLR5668W through the receiver via the forementioned component video cables.

Some observations: HDTV via Comcast cable is absolutely stunning -- better than I ever imagined it could be. I can also confirm that 5.1 audio is passed from the Samsung optical audio output port to the receiver. I can clearly see the Yamaha RX-V4600 indicate 5.1 Dolby Digital -- if the HDTV feed is supplying 5.1 audio. Otherwise, the receiver defaults to Pro Logic mode when only two-channel audio is present.

Even the picture quality from my old Sony DVD player is very, very good on the Samsung. The old Sony is a pre-progressive scan unit, so it's delivering 480i video to the Samsung. The Samsung does an amazing job of upconverting to 1080p -- and I have seen no evidence of lip-sync issues. I was planning to upgrade my DVD player, but I don't think I can get much better than what I've got. It's that good!

The old ReplayTV PVR is standard defintion, of course. While it works well, and the Samsung does a credible job of displaying SD source material, I've just got to get to work on building an HTPC that can handle HDTV recording and playback. Once you see a good high-def signal on this Samsung, there's no going back to SD.

I just received my TV today and will probably not be in the service menu myself for some time. If there is sufficient interest, it is a topic that justifies it's own thread. I know there is one or more very interesting 67 series threads on service menu tweaks.

Congrats.... UCSB finally got his new HDTV......

I can't wait for your review. Thanks again for maintaining so many threads. You have done an outstanding job.

TVA strikes again with their great service.

I called them last Thursday regarding my issue and I e-mailed them my picture and explained my issue, and they took it all down to relay it to Samsung for when they send my set back to them.

My replacement 5668 is on its way. It shipped out today and is scheduled to arrive on 8/17. I didn't bother going through Samsung with this issue since from what I've heard, anyone with an issue is having to wait longer dealing with them than directly with TVA.

Thanks TVA!

So now that I am imminently getting delivery of my 6168; I'm considering the optimum way to set up my HD cable.
Are there any thoughts on the "real world" signal quality of cable card vs. cable via hdmi?
So depending on whether there is/isnt some minimal improvement of signal going via the cable card, and considering I'm going to get a dvr which has the cablebox in it anyhow... I might install both and use the cable card input for most watching but the dvr/hdmi input for dvr, purchase video on demand and access the cable guide.
For a remote, I'm thinking that I might go Harmony and hopefully it wont be too difficult to configure this for human use.

Also, has anyone found that Anynet (which I believe is not prioprietary but simply firewire?) brings anything to the party?
If I'm going to buy a new AVR it would be nice if everything could work together.

Last Saturday, I bought a Samsung HLR5668W from the Magnolia shop within my local Best Buy store. I bought the matching stand and a center channel speaker at the same time and was able to play "Let's Make a Deal" with the salesman. I think I negotiated a very fair deal for the package, including a four-year maintenance contract from Magnolia. They had everything in stock, so I took it all home in my truck.

The 56-inch Samsung is superb! I've got Comcast Digital Cable service with a Comcast CableCard in the TV. I ran a optical audio cable from the TV to my new Yamaha RX-V4600 receiver. Video out from the receiver is connected to the Samsung via component video cables, because the Yamaha on-screen menus are not available via the receiver's HDMI ports. I've got an ancient Sony DVP-S3000 DVD player connected to the Yamaha via S-video and an ancient ReplayTV PVR connected to the Yamaha via S-video. The Yamaha can upconvert all S-video inputs to component video (sadly, not to HDMI), so video from the DVD player and ReplayTV PVR are delivered to the HLR5668W through the receiver via the forementioned component video cables.

Some observations: HDTV via Comcast cable is absolutely stunning -- better than I ever imagined it could be. I can also confirm that 5.1 audio is passed from the Samsung optical audio output port to the receiver. I can clearly see the Yamaha RX-V4600 indicate 5.1 Dolby Digital -- if the HDTV feed is supplying 5.1 audio. Otherwise, the receiver defaults to Pro Logic mode when only two-channel audio is present.

Even the picture quality from my old Sony DVD player is very, very good on the Samsung. The old Sony is a pre-progressive scan unit, so it's delivering 480i video to the Samsung. The Samsung does an amazing job of upconverting to 1080p -- and I have seen no evidence of lip-sync issues. I was planning to upgrade my DVD player, but I don't think I can get much better than what I've got. It's that good!

The old ReplayTV PVR is standard defintion, of course. While it works well, and the Samsung does a credible job of displaying SD source material, I've just got to get to work on building an HTPC that can handle HDTV recording and playback. Once you see a good high-def signal on this Samsung, there's no going back to SD.
:) Very good to hear and Post. Thanks for this, this will help me, when I get my set. I will also post my findings too. Just wait. :D

I've been pondering this game lag issue and the PS2. I don't have any solutions for it, but I was thinking perhaps the PS3 will work better sense it's games are supposed to be 1080i natively over HDMI? This is total speculation since the console isn't out yet for quite a while. All I'm saying is just because the PS2 is being problematic, doesn't mean the next gen console will.

Also I'm pondering not buying a TV right now... I really do want a bigger TV just so I don't have to sit close to it, but telling my friends they can't play video games on it because of issues with the TV is unacceptable in my mind.

Is the lag only video lag, like we can fix it with the Receiver's Audio Delay setting? (I checked mine goes from 0-200ms). Or is this a controller and video resolution thing?

I'm going to check my video games out and see what modes they run in. If the major of them are 480i/480p then running them in GAME mode should be no problem?

- D

It seems like there are a lot of conflicting reports about the video lag. Do you own one of these sets and experience the lag on the ps2? Also, are the GC and xbox also experiencing the same problems?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Celestial
I am in NYC and someone said there is a Sammy Store in NYC. What is the address?
It is in the new Time Warner building at Columbus Circle. On the third floor. But they don't have the 1080p models yet. They expect one to come in the middle of this month.

6168 Finally in NYC. I just spoke with the Samsung Store manager and he told me that the 6168 is already there, working and playing to the amusement of the local visitors.

Time to see what all the fuss is about... :D

~

6168 Finally in NYC. I just spoke with the Samsung Store manager and he told me that the 6168 is already there, working and playing to the amusement of the local visitors.

Time to see what all the fuss is about... :D

~

Yes, but when will they get a 7178 for everyone to feast their eyes on?

Hi All,

Glad to be finally be posting on this list. Much to my surprise, I got a call yesterday about my new Sammy arriving today, which it did.

Setup:
- Time Warner Cable (Raleigh NC) SA8300 STB running HDMI to HDMI1 on TV.
- SA8300 analog audio out to Denon 1804 6.1 surround system (I was using Optical, but variations in channel volumes was crazy)
- Oppo DVD running DVI to HDMI2 on TV and Optical audio to Denon

Observations:
- We couldn't get any sound out of 8300 on HDMI1 - but no biggie since I use surround system
- PQ on 1080 HD channels is AWESOME!!!
- Color is excellent, though the greens seem a bit light. Blues are excellent.
- SD is pretty crappy after watching HD. All my favorites are now HD channels
- My screen (projection) seems like it is not straight, as it dips slightly on right side. Can this be fixed?
- Barely noticeable lip synch issues via surround system with cable
- Big time lip synch issues with Oppo DVDs. Again, Optical out to Denon. Anybody else see this and have a way to adjust? The OPPO has an audio adjustment from 10 to 50ms, but it did not seem to help.

Other than that, I am a happy camper :D

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Geo

6168 Finally in NYC. I just spoke with the Samsung Store manager and he told me that the 6168 is already there, working and playing to the amusement of the local visitors.

Time to see what all the fuss is about... :D

~
Sounds great, Please post your findings, this would be great of you to do!!

Yes, but when will they get a 7178 for everyone to feast their eyes on?
I supect like what most threads are saying about September for the 7178. :mad:

Hi All,

Glad to be finally be posting on this list. Much to my surprise, I got a call yesterday about my new Sammy arriving today, which it did.

Setup:
- Time Warner Cable (Raleigh NC) SA8300 STB running HDMI to HDMI1 on TV.
- SA8300 analog audio out to Denon 1804 6.1 surround system (I was using Optical, but variations in channel volumes was crazy)
- Oppo DVD running DVI to HDMI2 on TV and Optical audio to Denon

Observations:
- We couldn't get any sound out of 8300 on HDMI1 - but no biggie since I use surround system
- PQ on 1080 HD channels is AWESOME!!!
- Color is excellent, though the greens seem a bit light. Blues are excellent.
- SD is pretty crappy after watching HD. All my favorites are now HD channels
- My screen (projection) seems like it is not straight, as it dips slightly on right side. Can this be fixed?
- Barely noticeable lip synch issues via surround system with cable
- Big time lip synch issues with Oppo DVDs. Again, Optical out to Denon. Anybody else see this and have a way to adjust? The OPPO has an audio adjustment from 10 to 50ms, but it did not seem to help.

Other than that, I am a happy camper :D

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Geo
Thanks for the feedback, but I realy dont think that the screen (projection) should be anything but straight. Maybe you should call tech support on this one.
Other than that, good news, thanks.

Question for a 5678 owner:

The credenza I have would require the set to overhang approx. 2.5" off each side. I was originally going to go with the 5078, but for the small difference in price have been thinking about going larger. Would the overhang be a problem if I went with the 56"? Thanks.

Question for a 5678 owner:

The credenza I have would require the set to overhang approx. 2.5" off each side. I was originally going to go with the 5078, but for the small difference in price have been thinking about going larger. Would the overhang be a problem if I went with the 56"? Thanks.
Not to butt in, but do you live in LA where Earthquakes occur, if so, :mad: DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT USE THAT STAND. No matter what I would not use it. It wont look that great. I have my TV on the stand that is recommended for it and I strapped it to the wall in four places. You cant even see the straps. I hide all of them. In CA you have to anchor everything down or it can become your neighbor's HA HA JK. :D

Tex, there's no bad thing about it hanging off except aesthetic reasons... if you dont think you'll care that it hangs off, then there's no problem I can see!

Hi All,

Glad to be finally be posting on this list. Much to my surprise, I got a call yesterday about my new Sammy arriving today, which it did.

Setup:
- Time Warner Cable (Raleigh NC) SA8300 STB running HDMI to HDMI1 on TV.
- SA8300 analog audio out to Denon 1804 6.1 surround system (I was using Optical, but variations in channel volumes was crazy)
- Oppo DVD running DVI to HDMI2 on TV and Optical audio to Denon

Observations:
- We couldn't get any sound out of 8300 on HDMI1 - but no biggie since I use surround system
- PQ on 1080 HD channels is AWESOME!!!
- Color is excellent, though the greens seem a bit light. Blues are excellent.
- SD is pretty crappy after watching HD. All my favorites are now HD channels
- My screen (projection) seems like it is not straight, as it dips slightly on right side. Can this be fixed?
- Barely noticeable lip synch issues via surround system with cable
- Big time lip synch issues with Oppo DVDs. Again, Optical out to Denon. Anybody else see this and have a way to adjust? The OPPO has an audio adjustment from 10 to 50ms, but it did not seem to help.

Other than that, I am a happy camper :D

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Geo

did you see the lip sync with dif dvds? dif resolutions? was it consistant? does it go away if you pause it or go to a new chapter?

did you try coax out of the dvd player (if it has it)?

does anyone know if oppo is going to increase the lip sync increments???

sorry about all the questions but thinking of getting the oppo and i need to know.

Thanks......No problem with earthquakes, but living on the Texas coast there is the occasional hurricane and I doubt anything short of a concrete bunker would help. LOL.

Gaucho...didn't think there would be a problem but wanted to check. Decisions......decisions. LOL

Im going to be in the same situation if I get a 56" or 61" set... I just had a solid bamboo entertainment table built for me that's 48" wide, and I know anything bigger than the 42" tv I have now will probably hang off the sides a bit... but hey, I'm not looking at where the tv sticks off the table, I'm looking at the gorgeous picture!

Thanks......No problem with earthquakes, but living on the Texas coast there is the occasional hurricane and I doubt anything short of a concrete bunker would help. LOL.

Gaucho...didn't think there would be a problem but wanted to check. Decisions......decisions. LOL
Thanks. It is a personal Perference on how you want you new TV to look on the stand. The stand also makes the TV either look good or bad. I had to get the right stand to look good for myself. Texas no earthquakes you are lucky, But the Hurricane can take it away also. LOL. ;)

Im going to be in the same situation if I get a 56" or 61" set... I just had a solid bamboo entertainment table built for me that's 48" wide, and I know anything bigger than the 42" tv I have now will probably hang off the sides a bit... but hey, I'm not looking at where the tv sticks off the table, I'm looking at the gorgeous picture!
TRUE, but it would look so much nicer with a stand that is uniform with the TV and it is better for stability in my book. It might be too much strain on the bottom of the TV for it to support the sides, think about that. :confused: It is all plastic casing remember that.

did you see the lip sync with dif dvds? dif resolutions? was it consistant? does it go away if you pause it or go to a new chapter?

did you try coax out of the dvd player (if it has it)?

does anyone know if oppo is going to increase the lip sync increments???

sorry about all the questions but thinking of getting the oppo and i need to know.

I tried a few DVDs, seemed consistent. I will run some more tests tomorrow and let you know what I find.

Thx

If you are married, ask the wife! My stand is ~47" wide so the 5678 would overhang by 2-3" each side and the wife said "NO F-ing Way!" so we're getting the 5078. :(
However, apart from the aesthetics I don't see why overhanging a few inches each side would be a problem for the cabinet as the TV will be well supported for ~90% of its width. Same for the 5668 with floating screen design.

I agree that overhanging a few inches is no problem. Remember that the 61" sets have a pedestal 'foot', much less wide than the set itself, on which they actually sit.

TexAg70 - the 56" gets my vote (we're in Texas so we gotta go bigger). If you find it bothers you later, you can upgrade to a larger TV holder much more easily ... Gig'Em

LMAO medgecko....I like your way of thinking. BTW, I live in Texas City but was born in Galveston. Thanks to all for the responses. Have learned a TON of info here the last couple of months. AkaStp.....I'm divorced and the dog doesn't mind the aesthetics, so I just might have to go with the 56. LOL. I'm off to the dog track.....later guys.

TEX The credenza I have would require the set to overhang approx. 2.5" off each side.
WAF can change what you may want as to the asthetics but have you considered the vertical sweet spot with a credenza? How tall is the credenza? I believe most of the Samsung Stands are 17-21" tall so you hit the vertical sweet spot which is the most noticeable angle issue. I think most guys wouldn't care about the overhang but the wife factor can play heavily but you may want to test the height and seating area for the sweet spot from your seating areas. Not trying to be critical just pointing out that a standard credenza is taller than most stands but I know in my house I couldn't have the overhang for the same reason that AkaStp mentioned but I would not let the credenza determine my size HT unless my budget prohibited it. Good Luck whatever you decide and Enjoy! :D

Thanks for the feedback, but I realy dont think that the screen (projection) should be anything but straight. Maybe you should call tech support on this one.
Other than that, good news, thanks.


There is a known lip sync issue with OPPO. See OPPO thread under DVD players.
This has nothing to do with Samsung

I would consider those cables only if their prices are in cents and not in the dollars as displayed on website??? Ridiculously expensive cables??? You can get whole computer on ebay cheaper than some of those cables.

I am using this cable:

http://www.bettercables.com/vgacables.html

Like many other "high end" VGA cables, this cable does not pass the EDID information. This means that the Samsung cannot tell the PC what resolution it can display. It also does not tell the PC what video timings are expected by the TV.

I had to hook up a "cheap" VGA cable to get this EDID information. Once I had this information, I was able to craft a ModeLine for my Linux HTPC, and switch back to the "high end" cable.

I don't know how you would do this on a Micro$oft operating system. I believe that Micro$oft operating systems want to always auto-detect the display properties using the EDID information. If it is unable to do so, the results could be a bit strange.

Linux can either auto use this EDID information (like Micro$oft), or it can be told to ignore it, and use user provided information.

I did have an interesting experience. When I determined that my "high end" cable was not passing any EDID information, I next tried a "medium quality" VGA cable. With this cable, my system did seem to read some of the EDID information -- It seemed to only provide what standard resolutions where supported, and not the "extended" resolution and timing information needed for 1920x1080. Once I hooked up a "low end" VGA cable, then all this EDID information showed up. With the medium quality cable, I would assume that the computer would refuse to go into the full 1920x1080 resolution.

The visual quality is absolutely amazing with this setup. I believe someone posted a diagram which indicated that using the VGA input bypasses a lot of the "processing" such as DNle. My old Panasonic RP56 looks pretty good on this TV, but using the HTPC to play DVDs, blows the Panasonic away!

John

I had the same problem with my 6168. It was 1/4 inch lower on the right side than the left(you can see in my pic gallery with HDnet test pattern3). I was thinking about leaving it like that because I thought it might be within spec. But when I called Samsung they told me that there should not be any tilt. A line at the bottom should go straight across. They said it was a major repair to straighten the DMD board, so I decided to exchange the set. It was a painless experience with TVA and having them ship out a new one for an exchange. They are supposed to pick up the defective set when they deliver the new one. I just hope the new set doesn't have any problems. The set now has an excellent picture, except for the tilt and it is very noticeable when you are watching a show with a text crawl at the bottom or the black bars above and below the picture. They are supposed to ship out the new set today or tomorrow. Now my problem is getting the boxed up again.

Hi All,

Glad to be finally be posting on this list. Much to my surprise, I got a call yesterday about my new Sammy arriving today, which it did.

Setup:
- Time Warner Cable (Raleigh NC) SA8300 STB running HDMI to HDMI1 on TV.
- SA8300 analog audio out to Denon 1804 6.1 surround system (I was using Optical, but variations in channel volumes was crazy)
- Oppo DVD running DVI to HDMI2 on TV and Optical audio to Denon

Observations:
- We couldn't get any sound out of 8300 on HDMI1 - but no biggie since I use surround system
- PQ on 1080 HD channels is AWESOME!!!
- Color is excellent, though the greens seem a bit light. Blues are excellent.
- SD is pretty crappy after watching HD. All my favorites are now HD channels
- My screen (projection) seems like it is not straight, as it dips slightly on right side. Can this be fixed?
- Barely noticeable lip synch issues via surround system with cable
- Big time lip synch issues with Oppo DVDs. Again, Optical out to Denon. Anybody else see this and have a way to adjust? The OPPO has an audio adjustment from 10 to 50ms, but it did not seem to help.

Other than that, I am a happy camper :D

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Geo

Here are the Diagnostic Status Screens for the HLR6168. I believe that there are only two screens on the xx68 series - accessed by mute, 1, 8, 4 or 5 (to access screen I or II), exit. When messing around I noticed that there are changes to Diagnostic Status - II in #5 Status of PID depending on source. The values below are for Component and HDMI input. If the source is set to cable then the values of all three settings change to 0xfff. The screens are in a three column format so where I say NEW COLUMN that starts a new column on that screen. I tried to keep all the capitalization the way it actually is on the screens. I will try to get to the Service Menu Screens in the near future.

Diagnostic Status – I

(1) Host Device Power Status: On
(2) Host Device Boot Status: On
(3) Host Device Memory Allocation
3-1) Type of memory being reported
-RAM 131072KB
-FLASH 16384KB
-NVM 256KB
(4) Software Version Information
4-1) Name of Application: N/A
4-2) Version of Application: N/A
4-3) Status of Application: Inactive
4-4) Signature of Application: N/A
(5) Firmware Version Information
5-1) Version of Firmware: T_EXCAAUS0_8012
5-2) Release Date: 2005-06-22
(6) Host MAC/Network address
6-1) MAC Address: N/A
6-2) Network Address: N/A

NEW COLUMN

(7) Status of FAT
7-1) Modulation Mode: Analog
7-2) Carrier Lock Status: Unlocked
7-3) Signal Noise Ratio: 0.00 dB
7-4) Signal Level: N/A
7-5) PCR Lock Status: Unlocked
(8) Status of FDC
8-1) Center Frequency: 0.00 MHz
8-2) Carrier Lock Status: Unlocked
8-3) Packet Sync Status: Not in sync
(9) Current channel status
9-1) Center Frequency: 393.00 MHz
9-2) Channel Type: Analog
9-3) Authorization Status: Authorized
9-4) Purchase Status: May Purchase
9-5) Purchased Status: Purchased
9-6) Preview Status: Not in preview
9-7) Parental Control Status: Not Blocked

NEW COLUMN

(10) IEEE-1394 Port status (when present)
10-1) Loop Status: No Loop Exists
10-2) Root Status: Is Root
10-3) Cycle Master Status: Is Cycle Master
10-4) Port Connection Status
-Port 1: Not Connected
-Port 2 Not Connected
10-5) Total Connected Node: 0


Diagnostic Status – II

(1) Status Of Cable: Cable
(2) Status Of Cable Card: Extracted
(3) Information Of Library
3-1) S/W Version: 1.0
3-2) CBM Version: 1.0
(4) Status of FDC
4-1) FDC Center Frequency: 0.00 MHz
4-2) FDC Carrier Lock Status: Unlocked
(5) Status of PID
5-1) Video PID: 0
5-2) Audio PID: 0
5-3) PCR PID: 0

NEW COLUMN

(6) Status Of OOB SI
6-1) NIT: Not Available
6-2) SVCT: Not Available
6-3) OOB Channel Map: InCompleted
6-4) OOB SI Download: 0
(7) OOB Test: Not Yet
(8) Certificate Test
8-1) Root CA: OK
8-2) MFG CERT: OK
8-3) DEV CERT: OK
(9) HOST ID: 014029f4cd
(10) DTCP(5C) Test: OK
(11) ERROR TYPE INFORMATION: NO ERROR

What happens if three days later the set doesn't power on?

Is OneCALL an authorized Samsung dealer?

I have NEVER purchased through this company, but I did call because it was posted that they had stock...

I pressed on the return policy and he said it was just too expensive to ship these units back and forth. They said they were an authorized Samsung Dealer and they would cover the unit for one year.

I would ASSUME - that if the package is damaged by the shipping company that you would want to refuse the shipment.

Again - I will keep my order through TVA.

I really like mine... Computer related stuff looks fantastic when using VGA.GoobTheNoob, or anyone hooking the 1080p models to a PC, please will you test the optics with the following method:

In a darkened room, place a small Notepad window on a black desktop (no background, auto-hide the taskbar, and uncheck “show desktop icons”). Now move the window around the screen and look carefully for moving light reflections elsewhere on the screen.

The HLPxx74W series has a major design flaw in the optics, causing very nasty internal reflections. When the Notepad window is moved around the screen, a large ring of internally reflected light expands and contracts around the center of the screen. See the following pictures:

Notepad in the center: Ring of light begins to form. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=34539)
Notepad to the right of center: Ring expands as the window moves away from center. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=34540)
Notepad below center: Ring expands in the same way, but note the lens shading (clipping) that can be seen at the top. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=34541)
The HLN models had reflections of a different kind, but nothing as bad as this... and I tried 3 different light-engines.

Note that such an optical problem affects ALL inputs, so it is visible in many movies or TV programs that have high-contrast scenes. I sincerely hope the 1080p models do not suffer with optics problems like these!

Gary

I've been pondering this game lag issue and the PS2. I don't have any solutions for it, but I was thinking perhaps the PS3 will work better sense it's games are supposed to be 1080i natively over HDMI? This is total speculation since the console isn't out yet for quite a while. All I'm saying is just because the PS2 is being problematic, doesn't mean the next gen console will.

Also I'm pondering not buying a TV right now... I really do want a bigger TV just so I don't have to sit close to it, but telling my friends they can't play video games on it because of issues with the TV is unacceptable in my mind.

Is the lag only video lag, like we can fix it with the Receiver's Audio Delay setting? (I checked mine goes from 0-200ms). Or is this a controller and video resolution thing?

I'm going to check my video games out and see what modes they run in. If the major of them are 480i/480p then running them in GAME mode should be no problem?

- D

Unfortunately - we just havent had too many post regarding game play. Some say there are issues others disagree. It might be best to wait a couple weeks for additional posts. Another option is to see if a B&M would let you set your console device and actually test the unit.

I fear that until the next generation games are here - this TV will have some gaming issues. Either the TV will have a controler sync delay caused by the upconverting the picture or you will have to play in game mode (I think it downgrades the picture to 480P)

Though I hate to speculate, but like Daphoid, based on the reports of our XBox friends playing 720P games and having limited lag, I hope that the new generation consols and games at 1080 (I/P) will eliminate this issue.

I am now an owner of a 6168!! Wheee!

Alas, when I removed the box the first thing I noticed was that the screen was depressed about 4 inches into the unit (kind looked like it recieved a big kick!).

So no report for now, other than I left vmail for tvauthority... sigh...

In any case, it gives me some more time to work on my stand (first woodworking project, all fingers still attached, alles gut).

-reiner

:) Could any new owners provide feedback on use of HD Cable Card please?

I simply need to know efficiency with channel surfing or time delay. In the early days of these installs adopters complained that it took a long time to change channels and with hundreds of digital stations that would be a royal pain and I figured the experience would be identical with all these new sets because I'm considering switching to Card on my 6768 once it arrives.

I realize they aren't two way yet and I don't find myself using On Demand but I want to channel surf in a proud Manly Way - zoooom through those channels when my wife has changed to the Jewlry or Oxygen channel.

Cable Card Surfing as fast as the STB or faster?

THANKS! :D

So no report for now, other than I left vmail for tvauthority... sigh...
Call TVA. One thing they haven't been very good at is email. ;)

I need some assistance. I believe I am on the next batch of 6168W's to be sent out. I was going to buy a cheapo IKEA stand but with deliver I might as well buy the Sammy stand.

The problem is I cannot find the shelf dimensions. I believe the shelf is 44" wide but I am unsure. I need to know not only the dimensions of the shelf but I need to know how much "headroom" I have from the shelf to the top part of the stand.

If I can only fit two components side by side I need to have approx 15" of headroom from the bottom shelf to put in all 4 components. The Denon unfortunately has to sit by itself and I can't put anything on top of it.

Denon 3300 AV (7.8"H)
DishPVR 921 (5"H)
Avel LinkPlayer upscaling DVD (3"H)
Apex DVD carousel w/kareoke (5"H)

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

I need some assistance. I believe I am on the next batch of 6168W's to be sent out. I was going to buy a cheapo IKEA stand but with deliver I might as well buy the Sammy stand.

The problem is I cannot find the shelf dimensions. I believe the shelf is 44" wide but I am unsure. I need to know not only the dimensions of the shelf but I need to know how much "headroom" I have from the shelf to the top part of the stand.

If I can only fit two components side by side I need to have approx 15" of headroom from the bottom shelf to put in all 4 components. The Denon unfortunately has to sit by itself and I can't put anything on top of it.

Denon 3300 AV (7.8"H)
DishPVR 921 (5"H)
Avel LinkPlayer upscaling DVD (3"H)
Apex DVD carousel w/kareoke (5"H)

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
I have the stand that you are thinking about getting. It is an awesome stand. I love it. It works and looks great. Yes the shelf is 44" wide all glass, thick too. The headroom is about 15-18" from the glass to the top rail. I have a Sony 975N DVD player and all my speakers on that shelf. My speakers are very heavy from Athena, one of the best companies for speakers. They are all filled with liquid. I set the center speaker on top of the DVD player. I still have 4" above that to play with. Get the demisions I beleive from the web site www.vanns.com, they sell it. You should be fine with what you want to do.

Celestial The problem is I cannot find the shelf dimensions. I believe the shelf is 44" wide but I am unsure. I need to know not only the dimensions of the shelf but I need to know how much "headroom" I have from the shelf to the top part of the stand

The Spec sheet wasn't real clear but i found this description at Amazon and others stated it's height for that shelf are adjustable. :D

Product Description
Adjustable DLP TV Stand designed to fit 61 and 67 Screen Sizesmodel HL-R6167W.Upper Shelf: 49.2w x 15.8dLower Shelf: 49.2w x 15.8d* Clear fixed glass shelves * Wire management system * Easy movement glides (adjustable height) * Safety Features - Rounded corners on tempered glass sturdy metal frame contruction.* Easy to assemble with household tools SIZE - 56.9w x 17.0h x 17.8d WT.- 80.0 lbs.www.samsungusa.com

I need some assistance. I believe I am on the next batch of 6168W's to be sent out. I was going to buy a cheapo IKEA stand but with deliver I might as well buy the Sammy stand.

The problem is I cannot find the shelf dimensions. I believe the shelf is 44" wide but I am unsure. I need to know not only the dimensions of the shelf but I need to know how much "headroom" I have from the shelf to the top part of the stand.

If I can only fit two components side by side I need to have approx 15" of headroom from the bottom shelf to put in all 4 components. The Denon unfortunately has to sit by itself and I can't put anything on top of it.

Denon 3300 AV (7.8"H)
DishPVR 921 (5"H)
Avel LinkPlayer upscaling DVD (3"H)
Apex DVD carousel w/kareoke (5"H)

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Try this link out. This will tell you about the stand that I have. It is a real nice looking stand too :) . I am impressed. It is worth the money in my feeling. ;)
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/details/800257092
Good Luck and happy hunting. :)

i thought it was established that 5.1 didn't get passed through the optical port to the receiver?

I ran a optical audio cable from the TV to my new Yamaha RX-V4600 receiver. Video out from the receiver is connected to the Samsung via component video cables, because the Yamaha on-screen menus are not available via the receiver's HDMI ports. I've got an ancient Sony DVP-S3000 DVD player connected to the Yamaha via S-video and an ancient ReplayTV PVR connected to the Yamaha via S-video. The Yamaha can upconvert all S-video inputs to component video (sadly, not to HDMI), so video from the DVD player and ReplayTV PVR are delivered to the HLR5668W through the receiver via the forementioned component video cables.

Some observations: HDTV via Comcast cable is absolutely stunning -- better than I ever imagined it could be. I can also confirm that 5.1 audio is passed from the Samsung optical audio output port to the receiver. I can clearly see the Yamaha RX-V4600 indicate 5.1 Dolby Digital -- if the HDTV feed is supplying 5.1 audio. Otherwise, the receiver defaults to Pro Logic mode when only two-channel audio is present.

Celestial

The Spec sheet wasn't real clear but i found this description at Amazon and others stated it's height for that shelf are adjustable. :D

Product Description
Adjustable DLP TV Stand designed to fit 61 and 67 Screen Sizesmodel HL-R6167W.Upper Shelf: 49.2w x 15.8dLower Shelf: 49.2w x 15.8d* Clear fixed glass shelves * Wire management system * Easy movement glides (adjustable height) * Safety Features - Rounded corners on tempered glass sturdy metal frame contruction.* Easy to assemble with household tools SIZE - 56.9w x 17.0h x 17.8d WT.- 80.0 lbs.www.samsungusa.com
PLEASE NOTE: :) This web site is not totally right. This stand is also for 68 and 78 models as well. It doesnt state that. Also there is only one shelf not two like it say's (Shelves). This is not right, check on the website www.vanns.com or www.samsung.com and see for yourself. The deminsions are correct. You get one Allen wrench to install this unit. That is all you need, However, know this, I recommend a longer and better allen wrench, since the one that they give you is small and is hard to handle. You will see what I mean when you get this stand. I did. :D The wire management system is cool. All the wires for the shelf unit come from the back of the unit through two slots in the panel. It is cool. I like that a lot. What else would you like to know about this stand?
OH YEAH!!! It took me one hour to build it. It is easy.

Slocko: If I remember Exit32's post, he mentioned his feed coming into the cablecard which has been shown to support the 5.1.
Found it: "I've got Comcast Digital Cable service with a Comcast CableCard in the TV."

Celestial: "I was going to buy a cheapo IKEA stand ..." LMAO .. I resemble that remark; I got the one with castors so I can position it 'just' right. Actuall, I want to sneak into Schaffer970's house and snag that beauty that he built ... sweet!

Okay thanks. I was wondering why it said it was for the 67 inch models yet the dimensions didn't seem to match.

PLEASE NOTE: :) This web site is not totally right. This stand is also for 68 and 78 models as well. It doesnt state that. Also there is only one shelf not two like it say's (Shelves). This is not right, check on the website www.vanns.com or www.samsung.com and see for yourself. The deminsions are correct. You get one Allen wrench to install this unit. That is all you need, However, know this, I recommend a longer and better allen wrench, since the one that they give you is small and is hard to handle. You will see what I mean when you get this stand. I did. :D The wire management system is cool. All the wires for the shelf unit come from the back of the unit through two slots in the panel. It is cool. I like that a lot. What else would you like to know about this stand?
OH YEAH!!! It took me one hour to build it. It is easy.

On the Samsung site they list a TR61X2SB(for the 61", 67" and 71") that has two shelves and a choice of black or silver pillars.

Okay thanks. I was wondering why it said it was for the 67 inch models yet the dimensions didn't seem to match.
It is for the 61 and 67 inch models, 6168, 6178, 6768,and 6778, because in the box you get two tops and two bars (61" and 67") with it, one for the 61 inch and one for the 67 inch. You install the one that you have that matches the size of your TV. I got rid of the 67" one bc I have the 61" TV. You will see what I am talking about when you order it. Or call the vendor, they will tell you that the two sizes are in the box. It does not mention that on the websites. Strange too. They only give you the smaller of the two sizes (demensions) on the sites. :)

On the Samsung site they list a TR61X2SB(for the 61", 67" and 71") that has two shelves and a choice of black or silver pillars.
Both would actually work for the same sets. I just checked with Samsung. The one with two shelfs are for the smaller TV's, not for the 61 or 67" because then it will be too high on the stand to watch TV comfortably.
The one that you see is for one size, OK I see what you seeing. Now that is new. That was not offered before. I will research this more.

On the Samsung site they list a TR61X2SB(for the 61", 67" and 71") that has two shelves and a choice of black or silver pillars.
Check this link out, this is for the stands from Samsung.
http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_subtype.jsp?eUser=&prod_path=%2fAudio+and+Video%2fTV%2fAccessories
There are no two shelves on a 61, 67 or 71 inch model TV's. Please look at this.
Only one shelf for the larger TV's and two shelves for the samller TV's, like I stated before.
If you have a TV 61 or 67 inch you need the stand to be at least 56.9" in width min. That is not listed on the two shelf models at all. Check the website out.

On the Samsung site they list a TR61X2SB(for the 61", 67" and 71") that has two shelves and a choice of black or silver pillars.
The TR61X2SB only has one shelf, please look at the picture. I got the same one at home and only one shelf, even though it states two. It is not correct.
http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=TR61X2SBX%2fXAA

I assembled the one for the 56 inch version last night. Pretty straightforward. Good thing the legs are adjustable because my entertainment cubicle fits it perfectly, except for one thing that I didn't take into account with my measurements, the shoe moldings. Luckily I was able to raise the legs above the shoe moldings.

It is for the 61 and 67 inch models, 6168, 6178, 6768,and 6778, because in the box you get two tops and two bars (61" and 67") with it, one for the 61 inch and one for the 67 inch. You install the one that you have that matches the size of your TV. I got rid of the 67" one bc I have the 61" TV. You will see what I am talking about when you order it. Or call the vendor, they will tell you that the two sizes are in the box. It does not mention that on the websites. Strange too. They only give you the smaller of the two sizes (demensions) on the sites. :)

So when it says "2 Clear Frosted Glass Adjustable Height Glass Shelves " for the TR61X2SB, are the shelves beside each other instead of different levels?

My 6168 was just delivered this afternoon and I only had a few hours to play with the set. Seko only had one delivery guy and his truck didn't have a hydraulic lift. I'm glad I was there to help him out. He even helped me put it on my stand.

The first thing I hooked up was my HTPC via Nvidia 6600GT running on WinXP via VGA Monster cables. I'm not sure what happened, I was able to see the my desktop screen fine and all the icons, but the screen was all blue. I then hooked up my Belkin VGA cable and the colors returned to normal. I switched back to the Monster and this time everything was normal. I hope it was just a fluke. The PC is very sharp (as sharp as expected with a 61" screen) and I can almost achieve 1:1 mapping with a slight underscan (1920 x 1080@60). Movies played on my PC DVD looks great. HalfLife 2 looks incredible, I was absolutely floored at how gorgeous it looked on such a big screen.

XBox- I'm not a hardcore gamer, I only tried a few minutes with Halo2 and Burnout3 over composite (don't have HD pack). My initial impression is that there is very little video lag if any at all. I might have seen some lag on Burnout, but is nearly undetectable. I don't believe it would affect my gaming. BTW - the TV will not support X2VGA adaptor, it says mode not supported.

No A/V receiver yet, and I'm getting digital cable hooked up next weekend so I can't comment on those issues yet.

As this is my first HDTV, I am very impressed with the overall quality of the set. Rainbows are not hard to notice, but only when you jerk your head to the side, but this doesn't bother me much. BTW- I'm only sitting 6' away and looks perfect at this distance.

On the Samsung site they list a TR61X2SB(for the 61", 67" and 71") that has two shelves and a choice of black or silver pillars.
Try this link out.
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/accessories/457263614

I love how the sets weigh as much or less than the stands.

AkaStp: your comment is just as stupid as my asking you if you are a resident cheerleader for Samsung. I have NO hidden agenda! Do you? For some reason, I seem to have pulled your chain and I feel compelled to respond.

As I have posted, several times, I am in the market for two 61" HDTVs. I am currently leaning toward Samsung. Have I totally made up my mind? NO! Satisfied NOW?

I do not like the idea of paying $1000s for a TV and having issues with lip sync. Samsung and others could have and should have ELIMINATED this problem. Apparently, they have with their internal tuner. But, they have problems with 5.1 audio via HDMI input. As someone posted a week or so ago, lip sync is NOT rocket science.

Go Figure.

I have the stand that you are thinking about getting. It is an awesome stand. I love it. It works and looks great. Yes the shelf is 44" wide all glass, thick too. The headroom is about 15-18" from the glass to the top rail. I have a Sony 975N DVD player and all my speakers on that shelf. My speakers are very heavy from Athena, one of the best companies for speakers. They are all filled with liquid. I set the center speaker on top of the DVD player. I still have 4" above that to play with. Get the demisions I beleive from the web site www.vanns.com, they sell it. You should be fine with what you want to do.

StallionRe:

Thanks for the info but if you could measure the actual "height space" you have I would appreciate it. The spec sheets for the stand state its 17" High so the space from the shelf upward has to be less than that. From the pictures the shelf looks at least 1" off the ground. I would hate to order the stand from TVA then have to return it. It would just be a big pain. I am assuming you have the shelf installed at the LOWEST adjustable size to gain the most amount of space.

Also Samsung now is hosting the instructions for the stand and they do not provide the information I am looking for. I actually got the 44" shelf width from TVA, they just couldn't give me the actual height you had to play with to add components.

Thanks

My 6168 was just delivered this afternoon and I only had a few hours to play with the set. Seko only had one delivery guy and his truck didn't have a hydraulic lift. I'm glad I was there to help him out. He even helped me put it on my stand.

The first thing I hooked up was my HTPC via Nvidia 6600GT running on WinXP via VGA Monster cables. I'm not sure what happened, I was able to see the my desktop screen fine and all the icons, but the screen was all blue. I then hooked up my Belkin VGA cable and the colors returned to normal. I switched back to the Monster and this time everything was normal. I hope it was just a fluke. The PC is very sharp (as sharp as expected with a 61" screen) and I can almost achieve 1:1 mapping with a slight underscan (1920 x 1080@60). Movies played on my PC DVD looks great. HalfLife 2 looks incredible, I was absolutely floored at how gorgeous it looked on such a big screen.

XBox- I'm not a hardcore gamer, I only tried a few minutes with Halo2 and Burnout3 over composite (don't have HD pack). My initial impression is that there is very little video lag if any at all. I might have seen some lag on Burnout, but is nearly undetectable. I don't believe it would affect my gaming. BTW - the TV will not support X2VGA adaptor, it says mode not supported.

No A/V receiver yet, and I'm getting digital cable hooked up next weekend so I can't comment on those issues yet.

As this is my first HDTV, I am very impressed with the overall quality of the set. Rainbows are not hard to notice, but only when you jerk your head to the side, but this doesn't bother me much. BTW- I'm only sitting 6' away and looks perfect at this distance.
:) Thanks for your sweet post. Nice to hear that you got a good set and it works. I feel bad for the delivery service. I wonder how he got it in his truck if you had to help him get it out of his truck without a lift gate. I hope that the box was in good shape. Anyway, I will be sitting 6 feet back too, I guess that I will see rainbows too. Glad that you barely notice them. Good to hear. Any other findings with your set? How is the HDMI out? Did you use both of them and how?

AkaStp: your comment is just as stupid as my asking you if you are a resident cheerleader for Samsung. I have NO hidden agenda! Do you? For some reason, I seem to have pulled your chain and I feel compelled to respond.

As I have posted, several times, I am in the market for two 61" HDTVs. I am currently leaning toward Samsung. Have I totally made up my mind? NO! Satisfied NOW?

I do not like the idea of paying $1000s for a TV and having issues with lip sync. Samsung and others could have and should have ELIMINATED this problem. Apparently, they have with their internal tuner. But, they have problems with 5.1 audio via HDMI input. As someone posted a week or so ago, lip sync is NOT rocket science.

Go Figure.

That's right if Milli Vanilli can do it anyone can!

StallionRe:

Thanks for the info but if you could measure the actual "height space" you have I would appreciate it. The spec sheets for the stand state its 17" High so the space from the shelf upward has to be less than that. From the pictures the shelf looks at least 1" off the ground. I would hate to order the stand from TVA then have to return it. It would just be a big pain. I am assuming you have the shelf installed at the LOWEST adjustable size to gain the most amount of space.

Also Samsung now is hosting the instructions for the stand and they do not provide the information I am looking for. I actually got the 44" shelf width from TVA, they just couldn't give me the actual height you had to play with to add components.

Thanks
The shelf is more than 3 inchs from the ground. I will measure tonight when I get home and Post it tomorrow ok. Is this ok with you? I am not home until midnight CA time. I will measure what you want all of it. The shelf is acutally I think 15", but I will make sure for you. Check back here tomorrow ok, I will reply to you. I love this stand.

The shelf is more than 3 inchs from the ground. I will measure tonight when I get home and Post it tomorrow ok. Is this ok with you? I am not home until midnight CA time. I will measure what you want all of it. The shelf is acutally I think 15", but I will make sure for you. Check back here tomorrow ok, I will reply to you. I love this stand.

Thanks :) !!

StallionRe:

Thanks for the info but if you could measure the actual "height space" you have I would appreciate it. The spec sheets for the stand state its 17" High so the space from the shelf upward has to be less than that. From the pictures the shelf looks at least 1" off the ground. I would hate to order the stand from TVA then have to return it. It would just be a big pain. I am assuming you have the shelf installed at the LOWEST adjustable size to gain the most amount of space.

Also Samsung now is hosting the instructions for the stand and they do not provide the information I am looking for. I actually got the 44" shelf width from TVA, they just couldn't give me the actual height you had to play with to add components.

Thanks
the shelf is not adjustable at all. It is sitting on two silver poles that are permanently mounted on the rear of the stand for stability and support. There is a four hole bolt pattern for each pole. It is a great design. I like it a lot.

Thanks :) !!
Sure no problem anything to help my fellow men. :)

slocko: there have been NO confirmed reports of being about to transmit 5.1 audio via HDMI into the TV and have it retransmit the 5.1 audio through the TV's optical output. I have been watching very carefully and have seen none. I think that many of us were hoping that there was a way, but, apparently, not with these current models.

Sorry, you'll have to use OTA or a cable card?!?!?

:) Thanks for your sweet post. Nice to hear that you got a good set and it works. I feel bad for the delivery service. I wonder how he got it in his truck if you had to help him get it out of his truck without a lift gate. I hope that the box was in good shape. Anyway, I will be sitting 6 feet back too, I guess that I will see rainbows too. Glad that you barely notice them. Good to hear. Any other findings with your set? How is the HDMI out? Did you use both of them and how?

I don't have a stand alone dvd player, only my PC and I don't have a STB yet (soon) so I couldn't test the HDMI or component inputs yet. I hope they're not defective as I'm aware there were issues with some other owners' inputs. The box looked fine, but was pretty much destroyed just getting the TV out of it. I hope I won't need it anymore. FYI- I got my set one day early than what's stated on my tracking sheet.

AkaStp: it is my opinion, and only an opinion, that lip sync is neither being exaggerated or down played. I think that it is more of an issue person to person. It appears to bother some more than others. That's why I suggested that the fella go and see it and try it for himself.

I am also watching to see if the other TVs to be introduced in the next month or two have the same issues. As I have posted before, it appears that Denon, Yahama and Onkyo are having a few problems with their HDMI ports and switching. If so, there could be a more global problem with HDMI that will take a little time to figure out.

My 6168 was just delivered this afternoon
BTW- I'm only sitting 6' away and looks perfect at this distance.

Wow, only 6 ft from the 6168! This is about as close as I've heard anyone viewing a dlp. Will be curious if you continue to like it so close.

Yeah, go to a Magnolia my friend. You can watch the 1080p sets next to each other. The Sammy's and the Sony Qualia set look marvelous. But... I am affraid not as much better as they appear at this Fry's you visited... at least not to me. I still found the Plasmas to be more pleasing despite their inferior sharpness. (Fujitsu, Panasonic and Pioneer plasmas at least)

The great price point of the 61" has me thinking though. $4k for a great 50" plasma vs. $3400 for a great 61" 1080p RPT... argh it is driving me nuts.

So I went to Magnolia in San Ramon, CA. This place is super organized and neat compared to Fry's in Concord. They have Qualia prominently on display. Sammy 5678 was right next to it and so was a DLP model by Mitsubishi. Pioneer Elite Plasma was in adjacent room that was much brighter. I spent about an hour checking out these sets using Discovery 1080i feed via component.

Again, for the record, all 720p sets are simply no match for the new Sammy (IMO). This applies to plasma sets as well. The difference in resolution is just too large and too obvious to ignore (to my eyes). Sammy 5678 was right next to 5067. In addition to resolution, the brightness of this set was noticeably better even though it was turned down quite a bit. Detail resolution in darker scenes and really beautiful natural rendition of skin tones were much better with the new 1080p set.

This was the first time I saw Qualia. My apologies to Sony fans, but I was completely underwhelmed especially given the Sammy 1080p right next to it. Both the Qualia and Pioneer Elite Plasma (as well as Mitsubishi right next to Qualia) have one fundamental design flaw that is totally unacceptable to me: screen glare. Even though Qualia was in a darker room, I kept staring into the reflections of light fixtures on the ceiling behind me. When I got closer, I could see my face really easily. It was so distracting (even though I like my face). The Elite plasma was in an even brighter room, and reflections were just too annoying. I could never buy any of these TVs for my living room because I have a bright room, and large sliding back yard doors are behind my couch.

In contrast, Sammy 5678 had absolutely zero glare (save for the black bezel around the screen). It was much more enjoyable to watch. After I walked out, there was no doubt in my mind that Sammy 1080p is the set to buy.

My 6168 was just delivered this afternoon and I only had a few hours to play with the set.

The first thing I hooked up was my HTPC via Nvidia 6600GT running on WinXP via VGA Monster cables. I'm not sure what happened, I was able to see the my desktop screen fine and all the icons, but the screen was all blue. I then hooked up my Belkin VGA cable and the colors returned to normal. I switched back to the Monster and this time everything was normal. I hope it was just a fluke. The PC is very sharp (as sharp as expected with a 61" screen) and I can almost achieve 1:1 mapping with a slight underscan (1920 x 1080@60).

Thank you for this observation. Based on previous posts, you should be able to achieve 1:1 mapping exactly (not almost) with slight overscan (not underscan). Try using Wide PC mode, and then increase picture size using Sammy's remote until picture snaps in place. Are you using the latest nVidia driver as well as PureVideo decoder for DVD playback?

GoobTheNoob, or anyone hooking the 1080p models to a PC, please will you test the optics with the following method:

In a darkened room, place a small Notepad window on a black desktop (no background, auto-hide the taskbar, and uncheck “show desktop icons”). Now move the window around the screen and look carefully for moving light reflections elsewhere on the screen.
...


I don't see anything as obvious as the picture you attached but I do see a very slight ghost image on the left when the white window is on the right -- diagonally opposite.

Sure no problem anything to help my fellow men. :)

Ok, will you be measuring the "head room"?

Is there any difference in the screen or picture quality between the 5688 to the 5668?
Looking at the 720 res. versions of these models (since the stores around my area don't have both 1080 models on display yet) it "appeared" the 5688 pedestal was slightly more vivid and clear, even after setting both tv's back to factory default settings. But this could have been from differences in factory defaults, to optical illusions with one tv having a matt finish border and the other glossy.
The only difference I could find is one requires a 120w bulb (I believe the 5688) and the other 100w.
For many of you that have been able to view the 1080 models side-by-side, what has been your impression? Is there any other difference to consider, beyond one being pedestal and speaker location, and cost?

Thanks in advance!

GoobTheNoob, or anyone hooking the 1080p models to a PC, please will you test the optics with the following method:

In a darkened room, place a small Notepad window on a black desktop (no background, auto-hide the taskbar, and uncheck “show desktop icons”). Now move the window around the screen and look carefully for moving light reflections elsewhere on the screen.

The HLPxx74W series has a major design flaw in the optics, causing very nasty internal reflections. When the Notepad window is moved around the screen, a large ring of internally reflected light expands and contracts around the center of the screen. See the following pictures:

Notepad in the center: Ring of light begins to form. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=34539)
Notepad to the right of center: Ring expands as the window moves away from center. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=34540)
Notepad below center: Ring expands in the same way, but note the lens shading (clipping) that can be seen at the top. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=34541)
The HLN models had reflections of a different kind, but nothing as bad as this... and I tried 3 different light-engines.

Note that such an optical problem affects ALL inputs, so it is visible in many movies or TV programs that have high-contrast scenes. I sincerely hope the 1080p models do not suffer with optics problems like these!

Gary

We can hope. Some time back in the press releases from Samsung, they said that the optics in the 1080P sets were either designed or are produced by Carl Zeiss.

Lee

Call TVA. One thing they haven't been very good at is email. ;)

Actually, that is what he did, "vmail"= voice mail.

Lee

There is a known lip sync issue with OPPO. See OPPO thread under DVD players.
This has nothing to do with Samsung

I will check out, thanks. I did some more testing. Some DVDs play right on. For example Office Space (had to watch whole movie) was right on except for a few seconds here and there.

Other movies would exhibit audio lag or even advance, then they would clear up. Very sporadic - but overall, the PQ is outstanding on the OPPO. So for the $$$ I would still recommend it.

I had the same problem with my 6168. It was 1/4 inch lower on the right side than the left(you can see in my pic gallery with HDnet test pattern3). I was thinking about leaving it like that because I thought it might be within spec. But when I called Samsung they told me that there should not be any tilt. A line at the bottom should go straight across. They said it was a major repair to straighten the DMD board, so I decided to exchange the set. It was a painless experience with TVA and having them ship out a new one for an exchange. They are supposed to pick up the defective set when they deliver the new one. I just hope the new set doesn't have any problems. The set now has an excellent picture, except for the tilt and it is very noticeable when you are watching a show with a text crawl at the bottom or the black bars above and below the picture. They are supposed to ship out the new set today or tomorrow. Now my problem is getting the boxed up again.

Thanks for feedback. I will contact Tweeter today to bring up issue. For the $$$ I paid, it should be straight!

Hi All,

Glad to be finally be posting on this list. Much to my surprise, I got a call yesterday about my new Sammy arriving today, which it did.

Setup:
- Time Warner Cable (Raleigh NC) SA8300 STB running HDMI to HDMI1 on TV.
- SA8300 analog audio out to Denon 1804 6.1 surround system (I was using Optical, but variations in channel volumes was crazy)
- Oppo DVD running DVI to HDMI2 on TV and Optical audio to Denon

Observations:
- We couldn't get any sound out of 8300 on HDMI1 - but no biggie since I use surround system
- PQ on 1080 HD channels is AWESOME!!!
- Color is excellent, though the greens seem a bit light. Blues are excellent.
- SD is pretty crappy after watching HD. All my favorites are now HD channels
- My screen (projection) seems like it is not straight, as it dips slightly on right side. Can this be fixed?
- Barely noticeable lip synch issues via surround system with cable
- Big time lip synch issues with Oppo DVDs. Again, Optical out to Denon. Anybody else see this and have a way to adjust? The OPPO has an audio adjustment from 10 to 50ms, but it did not seem to help.

Other than that, I am a happy camper :D

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Geo


congrats on your purchase. fyi, if you have the 8300 set to output dolby digital over hdmi then you will not receive sound through the tv's speakers when a 5.1 signal is output, since the TV doesn't have a DD decoder inside it.

When I turn off my 5678, the red standy temp light stays on. Is this normal operation? When the installer was here, I heard the chimes going down as we powered off and I don't remember seeing standy light. I no longer here the chimes when turning off, only when powering on?

I had the same problem with my 6168. It was 1/4 inch lower on the right side than the left(you can see in my pic gallery with HDnet test pattern3). I was thinking about leaving it like that because I thought it might be within spec. But when I called Samsung they told me that there should not be any tilt. A line at the bottom should go straight across. They said it was a major repair to straighten the DMD board, so I decided to exchange the set. It was a painless experience with TVA and having them ship out a new one for an exchange. They are supposed to pick up the defective set when they deliver the new one. I just hope the new set doesn't have any problems. The set now has an excellent picture, except for the tilt and it is very noticeable when you are watching a show with a text crawl at the bottom or the black bars above and below the picture. They are supposed to ship out the new set today or tomorrow. Now my problem is getting the boxed up again.

BTW, how did you get to the HD Net test screens??

Thx

congrats on your purchase. fyi, if you have the 8300 set to output dolby digital over hdmi then you will not receive sound through the tv's speakers when a 5.1 signal is output, since the TV doesn't have a DD decoder inside it.

Thanks. I went through settings, and didn't see a setting for this. I read on other board, and for some reason I do not have the controls for the output :confused:

Yeah, go to a Magnolia my friend. You can watch the 1080p sets next to each other. The Sammy's and the Sony Qualia set look marvelous. But... I am affraid not as much better as they appear at this Fry's you visited... at least not to me. I still found the Plasmas to be more pleasing despite their inferior sharpness. (Fujitsu, Panasonic and Pioneer plasmas at least)

The great price point of the 61" has me thinking though. $4k for a great 50" plasma vs. $3400 for a great 61" 1080p RPT... argh it is driving me nuts.
I would get the 1080p if I were you. The plasma will have to be replaced when the gases are all used up. I dont like plasma's at all. However, dont get me wrong, they have a very good picture, but they are hot and already not looking that good in the stores after one year on. Fry's told me that they leave their sets on 24/7 and the Plasma only last about one year. They look all white and washed out. When I get a TV, I dont want to remeber how many hours that I watched it before it burns up. That is me.

The TV has an auto volume setting which might help volume changes between channels on an optical out.

Is there any difference in the screen or picture quality between the 5688 to the 5668?
Looking at the 720 res. versions of these models (since the stores around my area don't have both 1080 models on display yet) it "appeared" the 5688 pedestal was slightly more vivid and clear, even after setting both tv's back to factory default settings. But this could have been from differences in factory defaults, to optical illusions with one tv having a matt finish border and the other glossy.
The only difference I could find is one requires a 120w bulb (I believe the 5688) and the other 100w.
For many of you that have been able to view the 1080 models side-by-side, what has been your impression? Is there any other difference to consider, beyond one being pedestal and speaker location, and cost?

Thanks in advance!

are the 5688 pedestals on display in stores yet ? From what I've read and seen, seems only the non-pedestal 1080p displays have been in. I just received notification from j&r yesterday that have the 5688 in stock

Thanks for the clarification, I had it right, I just missed the part about it being cablecard. I thought he was using a cable box, hence my puzzled question.

slocko: there have been NO confirmed reports of being about to transmit 5.1 audio via HDMI into the TV and have it retransmit the 5.1 audio through the TV's optical output. I have been watching very carefully and have seen none. I think that many of us were hoping that there was a way, but, apparently, not with these current models.

Sorry, you'll have to use OTA or a cable card?!?!?

So I went to Magnolia in San Ramon, CA. This place is super organized and neat compared to Fry's in Concord. They have Qualia prominently on display. Sammy 5678 was right next to it and so was a DLP model by Mitsubishi. Pioneer Elite Plasma was in adjacent room that was much brighter. I spent about an hour checking out these sets using Discovery 1080i feed via component.

Again, for the record, all 720p sets are simply no match for the new Sammy (IMO). This applies to plasma sets as well. The difference in resolution is just too large and too obvious to ignore (to my eyes). Sammy 5678 was right next to 5067. In addition to resolution, the brightness of this set was noticeably better even though it was turned down quite a bit. Detail resolution in darker scenes and really beautiful natural rendition of skin tones were much better with the new 1080p set.

This was the first time I saw Qualia. My apologies to Sony fans, but I was completely underwhelmed especially given the Sammy 1080p right next to it. Both the Qualia and Pioneer Elite Plasma (as well as Mitsubishi right next to Qualia) have one fundamental design flaw that is totally unacceptable to me: screen glare. Even though Qualia was in a darker room, I kept staring into the reflections of light fixtures on the ceiling behind me. When I got closer, I could see my face really easily. It was so distracting (even though I like my face). The Elite plasma was in an even brighter room, and reflections were just too annoying. I could never buy any of these TVs for my living room because I have a bright room, and large sliding back yard doors are behind my couch.

In contrast, Sammy 5678 had absolutely zero glare (save for the black bezel around the screen). It was much more enjoyable to watch. After I walked out, there was no doubt in my mind that Sammy 1080p is the set to buy.
AWESOME post!!! Thanks for all your wonderful feedback, that is also why I bought the Sammy 6178. The 1080p ois too awesome for words. It does not justice to display these in the store, because of there bad signal feed. Get it home and see for yourself, that is why I bought two sets. One for each floor of my house. I cant mis my football. Go VIKINGS. Yeah I live in LA, but we dont have a team yet. I like all teams. :D :eek:

Need some opinions / help...

I posted this in the SA 8300 thread (Time Warner with Pioneer software) as well, but since it relates to a potential 6168 problem, I thought I might add it here... I am trying to find the best way to output from my 8300 STB to the 6168 (via HDMI)... and I've noticed some slight overscan that changes depending on what formats I pass to the set...

With my SS 6168 (1080P), I can't really discern any PQ differences whether I pass though all of the formats vs only passing 1080i and forcing the SA to upconvert. What does seem to me to be very significant is that when I pass all formats and the Sammy has to upconvert everything (instead of simply converting 1080i to 1080p), it takes a couple of seconds and lots of screen shifting/changing/static stuff before the channel tunes in correctly. But when the SA only sends 1080i, the channels tune in almost immediately.

The other thing I noticed this morning on Good Morning America where the "ticker" thing runs along the bottom of the screen - there seems to be a slight overscan where maybe a third of the lettering is cut off at the bottom. (Maybe this is a source issue?) - but anyway when I send all of the formats to the set, the overscan is worse (over half of lettering cut off).

Am I missing anything here? Am I getting a degraded image by letting the SA upconvert everything to 1080i and maybe I'm just not looking close enough to see it?

Thanks for any suggestions or direction.

So I went to Magnolia in San Ramon, CA. This place is super organized and neat compared to Fry's in Concord. They have Qualia prominently on display. Sammy 5678 was right next to it and so was a DLP model by Mitsubishi. Pioneer Elite Plasma was in adjacent room that was much brighter. I spent about an hour checking out these sets using Discovery 1080i feed via component.

This was the first time I saw Qualia. My apologies to Sony fans, but I was completely underwhelmed especially given the Sammy 1080p right next to it. Both the Qualia and Pioneer Elite Plasma (as well as Mitsubishi right next to Qualia) have one fundamental design flaw that is totally unacceptable to me: screen glare. Even though Qualia was in a darker room, I kept staring into the reflections of light fixtures on the ceiling behind me. When I got closer, I could see my face really easily. It was so distracting (even though I like my face). The Elite plasma was in an even brighter room, and reflections were just too annoying. I could never buy any of these TVs for my living room because I have a bright room, and large sliding back yard doors are behind my couch.

In contrast, Sammy 5678 had absolutely zero glare (save for the black bezel around the screen). It was much more enjoyable to watch. After I walked out, there was no doubt in my mind that Sammy 1080p is the set to buy.

I assume that the Mits dlp you refer to above was one of the 720p's, right? It will really be good to see how their new 1080p's compare to these Sammies.

And I certainly agree with you about the glary screen of the Qualia: I was amazed at how awful it is, and that one has heard so little complaint about it. That would totally turn me off of this set even if I was inclined to spend that much.

Thanks :) !!
Celestial,

Here are the demisions of the stand this is for the Samsung stand for the 61 and 67 series TV's only. With one shelf.

The glass shelf is 42" wide. The shelf from the floor is 4" off the ground. It can be up to 5" off the ground if you raise the 4 feet that sits under the unit. These are adjustable up to 1", mine are completely flushed with the stand for the carpet area.
The measurement from the glass shelf to the bottom of the rail that is located right under the base of the stand (top part) is 11.5" high. Without the rail it is 12" high. It looks like a lot because of the glass shelf, it is clear so everything looks bigger. ;)

Does this help? I hope so. :)

Celestial

The Spec sheet wasn't real clear but i found this description at Amazon and others stated it's height for that shelf are adjustable. :D

Product Description
Adjustable DLP TV Stand designed to fit 61 and 67 Screen Sizesmodel HL-R6167W.Upper Shelf: 49.2w x 15.8dLower Shelf: 49.2w x 15.8d* Clear fixed glass shelves * Wire management system * Easy movement glides (adjustable height) * Safety Features - Rounded corners on tempered glass sturdy metal frame contruction.* Easy to assemble with household tools SIZE - 56.9w x 17.0h x 17.8d WT.- 80.0 lbs.www.samsungusa.com
PLEASE NOTE: This is for the stand TR61X2SBX/XAA. The glass shelf is not adjustable at all. Trust me on this. I have two of these stands. They are mounted on the poles that is fixed on the rear of the unit. To mount the glass shelf to the pole there are 4 suction cups. Good ones at that. They glass shelf wont even come off. Look at this link to see what I mean. http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=HLR6178WX%2fXAA&selTab=Specifications

No hidden agenda here, just trying to get to the true facts.
I am also leaning toward the 1080p Samsung but have not totally made up mind either, especially in light of the imminent arrival of the 1080p DLP sets from Mitsubishi and Toshiba and the upcoming SXRD sets from Sony.
As for 5.1 audio via HDMI input, its sounding like the other TVs won't do this either. I asked the question in the SXRD and was basically told that there is no reason to need this except for signals received via the ATSC tuner (OTA or cable) and not via HDMI.
This however seems to be a different problem than lip synch which is external to the TV when an AV receiver is used and there seems to be split opinions from new owners of these TVs. Some people seem to have problems, others don't and I'm concerned its being either downplayed or exaggerated.
Stay with the Samsung 68, 78, or 88 series, and you wont be sad that you did. You will be glued to the TV. Like I am.

I think that the Qualia crowd has more of a disposeable income and probably have put the Q in dedicated HT rooms.

I assume that the Mits dlp you refer to above was one of the 720p's, right? It will really be good to see how their new 1080p's compare to these Sammies.

And I certainly agree with you about the glary screen of the Qualia: I was amazed at how awful it is, and that one has heard so little complaint about it. That would totally turn me off of this set even if I was inclined to spend that much.

Actually, that is what he did, "vmail"= voice mail.

These new fangled gadgets won't last.

I would still get a person on the phone. :)

BTW, how did you get to the HD Net test screens??

Thx
HDNet runs the test patterns every Tuesday at 8AM EDT.
I have a recording of it on each of my HDTiVos.

Celestial,

Here are the demisions of the stand this is for the Samsung stand for the 61 and 67 series TV's only. With one shelf.

The glass shelf is 42" wide. The shelf from the floor is 4" off the ground. It can be up to 5" off the ground if you raise the 4 feet that sits under the unit. These are adjustable up to 1", mine are completely flushed with the stand for the carpet area.
The measurement from the glass shelf to the bottom of the rail that is located right under the base of the stand (top part) is 11.5" high. Without the rail it is 12" high. It looks like a lot because of the glass shelf, it is clear so everything looks bigger. ;)

Does this help? I hope so. :)

StallionRe, it helps alot!! THANKS. My components stacked are 12.5" high. For me this means the DVD Player (2.5"High) must rest on top of the A/V Reciever. I will also have to add "lifts" to the DVD Player so I get decent airflow for top of the Denon. If I placed the Denon on top of the DVD Player I think it would eventually break (the 3300 is heavy!).

I would get the 1080p if I were you. The plasma will have to be replaced when the gases are all used up. I dont like plasma's at all. However, dont get me wrong, they have a very good picture, but they are hot and already not looking that good in the stores after one year on. Fry's told me that they leave their sets on 24/7 and the Plasma only last about one year. They look all white and washed out. When I get a TV, I dont want to remeber how many hours that I watched it before it burns up. That is me.

New plasmas are supposed to have a half life of 60,000 hours (point at which they have lost one-half the original brightness). I have not seen any plasmas on display at stores that look washed out. I still feel that a good Panasonic or Pioneer plasma has the best PQ of any 42-50 inch tv....I saw them next to the new Samsung 1080p, and they were still superior to my eye. They have that 'looking out a window look' that I never see on any projection type tv. The advantage of the Samsung is when you go over the 50 inch size, where plasmas become VERY pricey. I hope to see more of the 1080P Sammy soon, and maybe I will be more impressed. Also waiting for the SXRD Sony before I drop any cash. I will probably end up with a 50 inch plasma (reguiring a new stand or wall mount), the 50 inch Sammy 1080P (which neatly fits my current entertainment center), or a 60 inch Sony SXRD since the Sony SXRD 50 inch won't fit my cabinet anyway. Any more honest input on the PQ of the new 1080P Sammy is appreciated.

It seems like there are a lot of conflicting reports about the video lag. Do you own one of these sets and experience the lag on the ps2? Also, are the GC and xbox also experiencing the same problems?

Nah, I only own the PS2 and have yet to order my TV. This is an issue thats finally nagging at me enough to warrant me pondering not being the TV (which makes me sad). I haven't touched my PS2 (been busy with World of Warcraft and School mostly) but I do plan to test it out with my TV. I'm just worried that after paying XYZ for a TV, it can't even handle my little video game console?

Now on the positive side, most games on the PS2 are 480i and 480p. There's the odd game that supports 1080i, but is it a real loss to use GAME mode (which is stuck at 480i if I recall right?) because apparently there's no lag there?

Any thoughts? Also as I said earlier, the PS3/XBox360 are untested yet and who knows they may work awesome because of using HDMI, or different insides, who knows...

- D

StallionRe, it helps alot!! THANKS. My components stacked are 12.5" high. For me this means the DVD Player (2.5"High) must rest on top of the A/V Reciever. I will also have to add "lifts" to the DVD Player so I get decent airflow for top of the Denon. If I placed the Denon on top of the DVD Player I think it would eventually break (the 3300 is heavy!).
I believe any reciever especially the Monster that you have would be to heavy. But try it, set this unit in the far back on the glass, right smack in the middle. Any good receiver is heavy. I have the top of the Line Onkyo, and BOY does it weigh. Like 50lbs or more. OUCH!!! The THX model is heavy. No kidding. :mad:

are the 5688 pedestals on display in stores yet ? From what I've read and seen, seems only the non-pedestal 1080p displays have been in. I just received notification from j&r yesterday that have the 5688 in stock

5688 was just unpacked at Magnolia in San Ramon, CA. It should be on display today.

StallionRe, it helps alot!! THANKS. My components stacked are 12.5" high. For me this means the DVD Player (2.5"High) must rest on top of the A/V Reciever. I will also have to add "lifts" to the DVD Player so I get decent airflow for top of the Denon. If I placed the Denon on top of the DVD Player I think it would eventually break (the 3300 is heavy!).


Just a note: You might want to look at the specs on the Denon AVR to see how much room they need above the unit. I had a problem with my pioneer. I have about 3 to 4 inches of room above it and was having an issue with it overheating. After talking with the Tech, he said the unit needed at least 8 inches for proper air flow. Haven't had an issue since.

Good Luck
-dreamr

StallionRe, it helps alot!! THANKS. My components stacked are 12.5" high. For me this means the DVD Player (2.5"High) must rest on top of the A/V Reciever. I will also have to add "lifts" to the DVD Player so I get decent airflow for top of the Denon. If I placed the Denon on top of the DVD Player I think it would eventually break (the 3300 is heavy!).
YOU are WELCOME!! I wanted to ask you, what if you remove the feet of your DVD player or Receiver, then will it fit? Have the Denon sit by itself. The shelf is 42" wide, This is a lot of room. :) Just a note: I would not put anything on a glass shelf that weighs more than 30lbs anyway, :D this is my choice. Try it for a minute to see what will happen. I live in Earthquake country, so I cant do that. I have to think about earthquakes and stability before I think about looks and placement. :mad:

Just a note: You might want to look at the specs on the Denon AVR to see how much room they need above the unit. I had a problem with my pioneer. I have about 3 to 4 inches of room above it and was having an issue with it overheating. After talking with the Tech, he said the unit needed at least 8 inches for proper air flow. Haven't had an issue since.

Good Luck
-dreamr
I have added three super quiet 12" fans to my ONKYO THX 7.1 receiver and no overheating problems at all. It runs cool, plus it has three cooling fans inside the unit. I plug the fans in the back of my ONKYO which have three 115 AC outlet's built in, which is an AWESOME feature to have. Not many recievers have that. So when I turn on my reciever the fans turn on automatically. :D

I assume that the Mits dlp you refer to above was one of the 720p's, right? It will really be good to see how their new 1080p's compare to these Sammies.

And I certainly agree with you about the glary screen of the Qualia: I was amazed at how awful it is, and that one has heard so little complaint about it. That would totally turn me off of this set even if I was inclined to spend that much.

Yes, the Mits was 720p. I didn't even bother to check the model number because the moment I spotted the glare, I lost all interest. I had previously ruled out all Mits sets with this type of screen. Perhaps in a very dark room with no lights behind, one could enjoy watching this Mits set. However, I don't have a dedicated home theater room with controlled lighting.

I have added three super quiet 12" fans to my ONKYO THX 7.1 receiver and no overheating problems at all. It runs cool, plus it has three cooling fans inside the unit. I plug the fans in the back of my ONKYO which have three 115 AC outlet's built in, which is an AWESOME feature to have. Not many recievers have that. So when I turn on my reciever the fans turn on automatically. :D

Thanks Stallion, that is a great idea. I just checked my AVR and I have one of those switched outlets. My only question is how to you hide 3 12 inch fans???

-dreamr

I think that the Qualia crowd has more of a disposeable income and probably have put the Q in dedicated HT rooms.

If that's the case (a dedicated HT), then I would think that a good front projector and truly large screen would be the way to go. Each to their own.

Are you set on having a 1080p DLP TV?

Well I like the contrast ratio, and the 1920x1080 will be a blast for video games on the PC..... so for that yes I believe I am.... I want the best picture for this little fortune I'm spending.

- D

I just received my new HLR6168. I have a couple of audio questions/issues related to the Digital Optical Audio Output that I'm hoping someone can answer.

1. The Sound Menu has greyed out the "Digital Optical Audio" selection so I cannot select it (it's default setting is PCM). Should this be enabled (selectable) all the time?

2. I had the DVD player connected to the TV via HDMI. Can the audio portion of the HDMI be routed to the HLR digital optical audio output? If so, would it only be 2 channel or 5.1?

Well, I finally got my 5688 yesterday and spent last night playing with it. Here are my initial thoughts.

A little background: my previous tv was a Toshiba 65" HDTV CRT rear projection unit and I am also currently using an Infocus X1 front projector.

I tested with component inputs and svideo only as I do not have any HDMI devices currently. Tested with a Samsung HDTV STB, Panasonic DVD player, and satellite routed through the svideo from my Yamaha receiver.

I decided to test the HDTV feed first. Out of the box, I was not impressed. The default settings just looked bad. In scenes with dark areas, I could see pixelation. There was a jaggedness in certain areas of the picture and the colors seemed off. My old Toshiba had a much more film-like picture, which was also what I was subconsciously comparing to I guess.

After tweaking the settings using my Avia disc, my opinion on the tv increased dramatically! Pulling down the sharpness, moving the color temp off of warm, and dropping the contrast helped a lot. The HDTV image looks fantastic, even better than what I had on the Toshiba (which always seemed to have a red push).

Another thing that I did notice was an ever so slight lip sync issue. After having read about it here, I was worried that I was encountering the same issue. However, my setup is currently for my front projector, where my center speaker is mounted on the wall. I adjusted the delay setting on my receiver and the issue was gone. Whew!

I played a couple of dvds and was equally satisfied. And no rainbows in sight for me.

Onto s-video, and it's not so good. Not necessarily the tv's fault, but after watching HDTV, it's kind of hard to watch standard definition material. The picture seems ok, the only thing I noticed is that when I have the menu guide up, one side of it seems to shake a bit. Going to have to determine whether this is a connection issue or something else.

And lastly, the other observation that I made is that there is light leakage out of the back of the unit. There is a purple hole pattern projected onto the back wall. You can't see this from sitting in front, but if you walk around to the side, you can. Also, if the tv picture is mostly dark, the pedestal looks like it has some backlighting. Not sure if this is par for the course for the Kirk model or not.

Well, I finally got my 5688 yesterday and spent last night playing with it. Here are my initial thoughts.

A little background: my previous tv was a Toshiba 65" HDTV CRT rear projection unit and I am also currently using an Infocus X1 front projector.

I tested with component inputs and svideo only as I do not have any HDMI devices currently. Tested with a Samsung HDTV STB, Panasonic DVD player, and satellite routed through the svideo from my Yamaha receiver.

I decided to test the HDTV feed first. Out of the box, I was not impressed. The default settings just looked bad. In scenes with dark areas, I could see pixelation. There was a jaggedness in certain areas of the picture and the colors seemed off. My old Toshiba had a much more film-like picture, which was also what I was subconsciously comparing to I guess.

After tweaking the settings using my Avia disc, my opinion on the tv increased dramatically! Pulling down the sharpness, moving the color temp off of warm, and dropping the contrast helped a lot. The HDTV image looks fantastic, even better than what I had on the Toshiba (which always seemed to have a red push).

Another thing that I did notice was an ever so slight lip sync issue. After having read about it here, I was worried that I was encountering the same issue. However, my setup is currently for my front projector, where my center speaker is mounted on the wall. I adjusted the delay setting on my receiver and the issue was gone. Whew!

I played a couple of dvds and was equally satisfied. And no rainbows in sight for me.

Onto s-video, and it's not so good. Not necessarily the tv's fault, but after watching HDTV, it's kind of hard to watch standard definition material. The picture seems ok, the only thing I noticed is that when I have the menu guide up, one side of it seems to shake a bit. Going to have to determine whether this is a connection issue or something else.

And lastly, the other observation that I made is that there is light leakage out of the back of the unit. There is a purple hole pattern projected onto the back wall. You can't see this from sitting in front, but if you walk around to the side, you can. Also, if the tv picture is mostly dark, the pedestal looks like it has some backlighting. Not sure if this is par for the course for the Kirk model or not.

Have you tried movie mode out of the box?

Have you tried movie mode out of the box?
Yeah, I did. I compared all the different default modes and movie mode did have a better image than the others. However, I think the color temp was set to warm, which I didn't care for. And since I had started tweaking the settings, I haven't really gone back to watch more with the factory default modes. I'll probably go back and look at them some more and change the settings a bit so I can have different settings depending upon input material or lighting conditions.

Westa6969 - are you almost ready to post your findings?

Looking forward to it!

I will check out, thanks. I did some more testing. Some DVDs play right on. For example Office Space (had to watch whole movie) was right on except for a few seconds here and there.

Other movies would exhibit audio lag or even advance, then they would clear up. Very sporadic - but overall, the PQ is outstanding on the OPPO. So for the $$$ I would still recommend it.


thanks . i am not planning on watching lips closely and if i notice it i guess pause and play works fine .

QUOTE:


"After tweaking the settings using my Avia disc, my opinion on the tv increased dramatically! Pulling down the sharpness, moving the color temp off of warm, and dropping the contrast helped a lot. The HDTV image looks fantastic, even better than what I had on the Toshiba (which always seemed to have a red push)."

"

how is everyone calibrating their sets? i asked earlier about the dve and avia discs and someone quoted dve people saying it won't work for hd material unless you are running 1080p over vga off a computer with the advanced discs($$$).

does dve or avia discs work for these sets?

or do some tests work and some don't?

is it worth $15 used to try?

GoobTheNoob, or anyone hooking the 1080p models to a PC, please will you test the optics with the following method:

In a darkened room, place a small Notepad window on a black desktop (no background, auto-hide the taskbar, and uncheck “show desktop icons”). Now move the window around the screen and look carefully for moving light reflections elsewhere on the screen.

The HLPxx74W series has a major design flaw in the optics, causing very nasty internal reflections. When the Notepad window is moved around the screen, a large ring of internally reflected light expands and contracts around the center of the screen. See the following pictures:

Notepad in the center: Ring of light begins to form. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=34539)
Notepad to the right of center: Ring expands as the window moves away from center. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=34540)
Notepad below center: Ring expands in the same way, but note the lens shading (clipping) that can be seen at the top. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=34541)
The HLN models had reflections of a different kind, but nothing as bad as this... and I tried 3 different light-engines.

Note that such an optical problem affects ALL inputs, so it is visible in many movies or TV programs that have high-contrast scenes. I sincerely hope the 1080p models do not suffer with optics problems like these!

Gary

I tried what you described but did not see what you show in your pics. I did notice a very faint outline the same size as the notepad window move in the opposite direction. Kind of like a mirror image. None of this seems to be evident when watching tv,dvds or playing pc games.

Are you referring to light coming out of the fan vents at the back of the TV? If so, I believe this is normal and occurs with all RP-TVs that have a bulb and a fan.
Yeah, that's what I was referring to. I see light leakage with my front projector as well, but it's usually a white light so I just was wondering where the light is coming from since it's purple or whether it's going through something else that should be covered.

tonydeluce Westa6969 - are you almost ready to post your findings?
I was expecting many more responses posted based upon the number of shipments distributed. I have them all collected in a running table and I would guess I have about 40 collected and 16 pages long which are a combo of Owners and Reviewers.

I have not pasted reviews where connections were obviously screwed up. It's not that I'm trying to candycoat the feedback it's just there are so many factors we repeatedly see that it should be well understood those areas and I instead wanted to collect the Impressions of the Reviewers as people tend to nitpick little nuances weeks later so to remind ourselves of the dramatic weight of the evidence of the PQ of these sets vs. the other issues like poor shipping/handling and lip sync that have nothing to do with the set itself or they are corrected via other means. I'll see what I have by Saturday and post it and others may add what I may have missed and hopefully we can keep the chatter out of that area but at least 16+ pages of testimony should be helpful as long as we can keep the bashers clear. Have no idea at this point if the Forum posting will limit the size though. We'll see how it works out - I have to reference this list to avoid considering the 60" SXRD as it is also tempting. If I see RBE that's what I'll switch to but I never have before and I've not seen many reviews complaining of RBE. :D

Wow, only 6 ft from the 6168! This is about as close as I've heard anyone viewing a dlp. Will be curious if you continue to like it so close.
This is the second post for such. I think it is a tribute to the 1080P sets that this is even being considered. Last year we would not be having this discussion. :D

tonydeluce
I was expecting many more responses posted based upon the number of shipments distributed. I have them all collected in a running table and I would guess I have about 40 collected and 16 pages long which are a combo of Owners and Reviewers.

I have not pasted reviews where connections were obviously screwed up. It's not that I'm trying to candycoat the feedback it's just there are so many factors we repeatedly see that it should be well understood those areas and I instead wanted to collect the Impressions of the Reviewers as people tend to nitpick little nuances weeks later so to remind ourselves of the dramatic weight of the evidence of the PQ of these sets vs. the other issues like poor shipping/handling and lip sync that have nothing to do with the set itself or they are corrected via other means. I'll see what I have by Saturday and post it and others may add what I may have missed and hopefully we can keep the chatter out of that area but at least 16+ pages of testimony should be helpful as long as we can keep the bashers clear. Have no idea at this point if the Forum posting will limit the size though. We'll see how it works out - I have to reference this list to avoid considering the 60" SXRD as it is also tempting. If I see RBE that's what I'll switch to but I never have before and I've not seen many reviews complaining of RBE. :D

Luckily I don't see RBE but you can't go wrong with either the SXRD or 1080p
DLPs.

If it doesn't fit in a single post you can break it up into muliple posts - hopefully
no one will strart responding until your done posting all pages - perahaps a BOLD
TYPED NOTICE not to post until you say so at the top of the first post..

HDNet runs the test patterns every Tuesday at 8AM EDT.
I have a recording of it on each of my HDTiVos.

Let us know when you get your replacement, hopefully screen will be straight. I just called Tweeter's "rapid response team" and they are scheduling a replacement for delivery next week. Thanks for your help!

I would consider those cables only if their prices are in cents and not in the dollars as displayed on website??? Ridiculously expensive cables??? You can get whole computer on ebay cheaper than some of those cables.

Yes, those cables are very expensive! You could probably get a less expensive cable which performs just as well.

That being said, I saw a very noticeable improvement in the picture using that expensive cable compared to the cheap cable I tried.

John

Need some opinions / help...

The other thing I noticed this morning on Good Morning America where the "ticker" thing runs along the bottom of the screen - there seems to be a slight overscan where maybe a third of the lettering is cut off at the bottom. (Maybe this is a source issue?) - but anyway when I send all of the formats to the set, the overscan is worse (over half of lettering cut off).

Am I missing anything here? Am I getting a degraded image by letting the SA upconvert everything to 1080i and maybe I'm just not looking close enough to see it?

Thanks for any suggestions or direction.
I am just about to call SS. My 5668 has an inch of overscan at the bottom only (at least I think its the bottom only). My watermark logo's are cut off on TV broadcasts via the OTA internal tuner and my letter boxed (ie 2.35) DVD movies have a 3" black border at the top and a 2" black border at the bottom.

I have not tried a VE disk to determine exactly how much overscan I have but to me its more than an acceptable amount.

Well I like the contrast ratio, and the 1920x1080 will be a blast for video games on the PC..... so for that yes I believe I am.... I want the best picture for this little fortune I'm spending.

- D

Same reason why I might go for the 5078w series is for the similar resolution to my PC. Would the 720p sets make a PC screen look off centered or stretched or blured?

Also, Daphoid, you mention above that your not sure if PS3 will work via HDMI. Why wouldn't it? This is the 2nd reason why I rather get a 1080p set if for the next generation consoles. Not to mention more HDMI inputs, better contrast and such and such with the 5078w.

I am just about to call SS. My 5668 has an inch of overscan at the bottom only (at least I think its the bottom only). My watermark logo's are cut off on TV broadcasts via the OTA internal tuner and my letter boxed (ie 2.35) DVD movies have a 3" black border at the top and a 2" black border at the bottom.

I have not tried a VE disk to determine exactly how much overscan I have but to me its more than an acceptable amount.

Just stepping in here, so if this has already been covered, please disregard. When viewing 4:3 material it is normal to be missing part of the picture on the bottom. Depending upon which setting you have it, the image may be stretched both horizontally and vertically to fill the 16:9 screen.

There are other ways to have the image stretched, like just horizontally but then everyone looks kind of fat.

Anyway, not saying that there isn't anything wrong with your tv, just that this is not necessarily unexpected.

gambit,

I think he was referring to the asymmetry of his upper and lower black bars as an example that his projected image is down about an inch.

I am just about to call SS. My 5668 has an inch of overscan at the bottom only (at least I think its the bottom only). My watermark logo's are cut off on TV broadcasts via the OTA internal tuner and my letter boxed (ie 2.35) DVD movies have a 3" black border at the top and a 2" black border at the bottom.

I have not tried a VE disk to determine exactly how much overscan I have but to me its more than an acceptable amount.

ccouper... if you get a chance, check out Good Morning America tomorrow morning (they usually have that ticker going across the bottom) and see if it cuts away part or most of it. I don't think I have quite the problem you do as I haven't noticed the black bars on the top and bottom of letterboxed programming to be different sizes. And my watermark logos seem to all be intact.

Just stepping in here, so if this has already been covered, please disregard. When viewing 4:3 material it is normal to be missing part of the picture on the bottom. Depending upon which setting you have it, the image may be stretched both horizontally and vertically to fill the 16:9 screen.

There are other ways to have the image stretched, like just horizontally but then everyone looks kind of fat.

Anyway, not saying that there isn't anything wrong with your tv, just that this is not necessarily unexpected.
No everything is set up in 16:9 mode.

But you do bring up an interesting issue that should be discussed outside of overscan. That is the use of the various expand modes. On my setup if I am running HDMI I can only use 16:9 or 4:3. So the other day I was watching a movie that was letterboxed and not enhanced for a 16:9 TV via DVD. I could not get access to any of the stretch modes to expand the fully black banded image to fill the TV. I was now effectively watching a movie on a 40 sized wide screen TV :(

If I run my other DVD player that is connected through component at 480i then I have access to all the stretch modes.

Thanks Stallion, that is a great idea. I just checked my AVR and I have one of those switched outlets. My only question is how to you hide 3 12 inch fans???

-dreamr
I didnt hide them at all. :D I place them on top of the vents ofthe reciever and when you shut the glass door of my entertainment cabinet, they hide. My glass door is tinted so you cant see them. There was no trick to this at all for me.
Also dreamr, you can add an extension cord, plug two or three fans into that and then plug the extension cord into your unit. This should work. I did this on my Denon unit last year and it was just fine. I didnt blow any fuses at all.
Let me know how this turns out. :)

Try using the direct input selection method (using the TV's menu) that I suggested in the other (Samsung 67 Series Owners?) thread. It apparently helps reduce lip synch.

AkaStp, can you reference the other thread (as I need it! :) ). Thanks.

No everything is set up in 16:9 mode.

But you do bring up an interesting issue that should be discussed outside of overscan. That is the use of the various expand modes. On my setup if I am running HDMI I can only use 16:9 or 4:3. So the other day I was watching a movie that was letterboxed and not enhanced for a 16:9 TV via DVD. I could not get access to any of the stretch modes to expand the fully black banded image to fill the TV. I was now effectively watching a movie on a 40 sized wide screen TV :(

If I run my other DVD player that is connected through component at 480i then I have access to all the stretch modes.

You had mentioned that you were seeing the bottom cut off when viewing material using the OTA internal tuner. Which should pretty much be 4:3 material. So I guess you were seeing this even if you have it set up to stretch horizontally only and not vertically? Or what if it is not stretched at all, just 4:3 mode?

I'm just bringing it up because both of the things you described could possibly be explained by something other than overscan. I've seen some dvds have an inconsistency with the top and bottom black bars. I realized this because I do some masking of the screen for my front projector and noticed that it is not always in the same place for similar aspect ratios.

You had mentioned that you were seeing the bottom cut off when viewing material using the OTA internal tuner. Which should pretty much be 4:3 material. So I guess you were seeing this even if you have it set up to stretch horizontally only and not vertically? Or what if it is not stretched at all, just 4:3 mode?

I'm just bringing it up because both of the things you described could possibly be explained by something other than overscan. I've seen some dvds have an inconsistency with the top and bottom black bars. I realized this because I do some masking of the screen for my front projector and noticed that it is not always in the same place for similar aspect ratios.
16:9 mode only stretches horizontally. In fact in TV mode it allows the broadcast content to change dynamically. If you run your TV in 4:3 mode only everything will look tall. (talking broadcast TV here)

hmmm... maybe we're talking about different things here. Also, maybe because I'm speaking with reference to what's on my 5688 which may work a little differently than your model? When I get home, I'll take another look at the manual.

I know that I can go into the menu and get a number of different stretch modes and even when stretching horizontally, I think there's the option to have it only stretch a part of the picture so that it looks more normal instead of stretching the entire thing.

I still feel that a good Panasonic or Pioneer plasma has the best PQ of any 42-50 inch tv....I saw them next to the new Samsung 1080p, and they were still superior to my eye. They have that 'looking out a window look' that I never see on any projection type tv.

I know what you mean except that to my eyes it wasn't an open window. The plasma sets do have that 'looking out a window impression'. But, but the window is certainly closed. I was looking through the glass, no doubt about that. The Hawaii islands scenery on Discovery channel was rendered very faithfully together with the static reflection of the sofa I was sitting in and the coffee table in front of me. I suppose this could be a problem if one has ugly furniture.

I don't see anything as obvious as the picture you attached but I do see a very slight ghost image on the left when the white window is on the right -- diagonally opposite.
I tried what you described but did not see what you show in your pics. I did notice a very faint outline the same size as the notepad window move in the opposite direction. Kind of like a mirror image. None of this seems to be evident when watching tv,dvds or playing pc games.Guys, thank you very much for taking the time to check this out. That nasty ring of reflected light is a major design flaw in the HLPxx74 models. I'm relieved that the HLR models have fixed it.

The feint "mirror image" problem that you saw, was present in the previous HLN models too, but it was fairly bright and distracting. Many people complained that when watching LOTR, for example, Gandalph's torch in the mines, caused a mirrored glow, waving about quite clearly in the dark of the caves.

Gary

gambit, I know what you're talking about... some TVs have a stretch mode where it keeps the center half of the screen at the correct aspect ratio and stretches the left and right sides more, so that subjects in the middle look normal. But its funny watching something with a ticker scrolling on the bottom, the words come in fast from the right, slow in the middle, and then launch off the screen to the left.

These sets are not made overseas.
Who told you that they are not made overseas? They are made in Korea. Well most of the parts are. If not, they can you please tell me where Samsung made the DLP TV's? My sources told me in Korea.

Well, I finally got my 5688 yesterday and spent last night playing with it. Here are my initial thoughts.

A little background: my previous tv was a Toshiba 65" HDTV CRT rear projection unit and I am also currently using an Infocus X1 front projector.

I tested with component inputs and svideo only as I do not have any HDMI devices currently. Tested with a Samsung HDTV STB, Panasonic DVD player, and satellite routed through the svideo from my Yamaha receiver.

I decided to test the HDTV feed first. Out of the box, I was not impressed. The default settings just looked bad. In scenes with dark areas, I could see pixelation. There was a jaggedness in certain areas of the picture and the colors seemed off. My old Toshiba had a much more film-like picture, which was also what I was subconsciously comparing to I guess.

After tweaking the settings using my Avia disc, my opinion on the tv increased dramatically! Pulling down the sharpness, moving the color temp off of warm, and dropping the contrast helped a lot. The HDTV image looks fantastic, even better than what I had on the Toshiba (which always seemed to have a red push).

Another thing that I did notice was an ever so slight lip sync issue. After having read about it here, I was worried that I was encountering the same issue. However, my setup is currently for my front projector, where my center speaker is mounted on the wall. I adjusted the delay setting on my receiver and the issue was gone. Whew!

I played a couple of dvds and was equally satisfied. And no rainbows in sight for me.

Onto s-video, and it's not so good. Not necessarily the tv's fault, but after watching HDTV, it's kind of hard to watch standard definition material. The picture seems ok, the only thing I noticed is that when I have the menu guide up, one side of it seems to shake a bit. Going to have to determine whether this is a connection issue or something else.

And lastly, the other observation that I made is that there is light leakage out of the back of the unit. There is a purple hole pattern projected onto the back wall. You can't see this from sitting in front, but if you walk around to the side, you can. Also, if the tv picture is mostly dark, the pedestal looks like it has some backlighting. Not sure if this is par for the course for the Kirk model or not.
THANK YOU!! This helped me a lot. I like your write up and it was helpful for my TV setup. It makes all the difference in the world from Warm color to cool. It is up to you on the settings. I have to play with it more to see what I like.

Yeah, that's what I was referring to. I see light leakage with my front projector as well, but it's usually a white light so I just was wondering where the light is coming from since it's purple or whether it's going through something else that should be covered.
:) Yeah, I hate that light that comes from the rear of the set, that is why I didn't buy the 88 series. I did like the speakers and look, but the glare from the bezel is too much to handle in my room, My house is built with mostly windows in the living room and everything will reflect off the bezel. I wanted to avoid that. Now about the light, if I cant stand the little purple light from the rear can you imagine having the Phillips with ambient light. HA HA. What a joke on those. They even change colors and it drivers most people crazy. Different strokes for different folks. :D

Does anyone know where the Samsung DLP 1080p Tv's are made? I thought in Korea?

I will have my set tomorrow morning, WHEEEEEEE

Does anyone know where the Samsung DLP 1080p Tv's are made? I thought in Korea? I believe they are manufactured in S. Korea but assembled in Mexico or at least some of the models as that's why they're always joking about the donkey.

Hey StallionRe - are you trying to catch up with ROGO? You're really kicking out the posts at lightning speed - Well you sound excited and we'll wait for an evaluation. May your Donkey arrive safely and toast a Margarita to your new 1080P HDTV! :D

Quick first thoughts on 5668

Cable: SD looks like SD. It doesn't look any better blown-up to 56". Overscan is minimal. Scanned for unscrambled HD content - no luck.

Pioneer DV-373 DVD player (through component): It only took a little tweaking the "film" mode setting to produce an excellent picture. I haven't seen the rainbow effect. There was no pixellation and no screen-door effect. Action scenes, even very busy ones, were very smooth. This was extremely important to me, as I have seen these flaws on every other DLP, LCD and Plasma set (along with smearing). Contrast was nearly at CRT level. Perhaps with calibration...?

XBox: Looks great on standard settings. Healthy lag on DEAD OR ALIVE and HALO. Probably won't be too bad for casual gamers, but you hard-core types will have to learn to react in advance. Try the force.

Audio lag (through optical from source to AVR): Yep. 80 to 100 milliseconds. I did not watch enough cable tv to see if there was any lag through the internals with cable.

Sorry so brief. I have to work in the morning.

....patiently waiting for UCSB's review!!!! :cool:

....patiently waiting for USCB's review!!!! :cool:Did he finally get a TV and if he did which one.

Please pardon the newbieness. I'm shopping for a 1080 set, in part because I need to look for a new apartment, and I have friends who have firmly refused to help me move until I get rid of my old 36" Wega CRT. I can't say I blame them -- I don't like moving that beast either. :)

Anyhow, as I game fairly regularly and want to connect my PC to whatever set I get, plasma is not even on my radar. I'd been watching prices on Aquos LC-45GD4U sets until a few days ago when was in a Best Buy/Magnolia's and saw that somebody had finally released some 1080 DLP sets. Woo. After at least skimming through this thread (a pretty mammoth task at this point) I think the 5668 would suffice for my needs.

I do have one concern, though, and this is where the newbieness comes in, as I've never owned a RPTV, much less a DLP set: How sensitive is this set going to be to environmental dust? I have pet birds, and while they generally live in another room with an air filter running 24/7, feather dust is a fact of life in my home. I have to blow out my PC with canned air every once in a while, and I'm pretty sure dust was implicated in the death of my first PS2's optical drive.

It's not really as bad as it probably sounds, but if I'm going to lay out $4000 for a TV that needs generous air cooling of a projection mechanism containing mechanical parts ranging from small to microscopic, it's a bit of a concern.

Or is it?

I believe they are manufactured in S. Korea but assembled in Mexico or at least some of the models as that's why they're always joking about the donkey.

Hey StallionRe - are you trying to catch up with ROGO? You're really kicking out the posts at lightning speed - Well you sound excited and we'll wait for an evaluation. May your Donkey arrive safely and toast a Margarita to your new 1080P HDTV! :D
I get my donkey tomorrow. I hope that the donkey is safe and it works. I pray. I am so excited getting this TV 1080p and being on this forum with you guys. I love learning and trying to help my fellow people of what I know about electronics and TV's. I am always online at work and school. 7a.m till 9p.m 5 days a week. :D

Did he finally get a TV and if he did which one.


See here ....http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6012434&&#post6012434

Stallion: there have been several reports of them being "produced" in Mexico. But, with all the international trade, only Samsung knows where all the components and boards are really made!! Could be anywhere.

Please pardon the newbieness. I'm shopping for a 1080 set, in part because I need to look for a new apartment, and I have friends who have firmly refused to help me move until I get rid of my old 36" Wega CRT. I can't say I blame them -- I don't like moving that beast either. :)

Anyhow, as I game fairly regularly and want to connect my PC to whatever set I get, plasma is not even on my radar. I'd been watching prices on Aquos LC-45GD4U sets until a few days ago when was in a Best Buy/Magnolia's and saw that somebody had finally released some 1080 DLP sets. Woo. After at least skimming through this thread (a pretty mammoth task at this point) I think the 5668 would suffice for my needs.

I do have one concern, though, and this is where the newbieness comes in, as I've never owned a RPTV, much less a DLP set: How sensitive is this set going to be to environmental dust? I have pet birds, and while they generally live in another room with an air filter running 24/7, feather dust is a fact of life in my home. I have to blow out my PC with canned air every once in a while, and I'm pretty sure dust was implicated in the death of my first PS2's optical drive.

It's not really as bad as it probably sounds, but if I'm going to lay out $4000 for a TV that needs generous air cooling of a projection mechanism containing mechanical parts ranging from small to microscopic, it's a bit of a concern.

Or is it?
Welcome to our club and the Pony express Gelfin, :D DLP TV's are strong. They never have burn in, and are a work hoarse. I would get a DLP over the RPTV. They are well cased and dust shouldnt be a problem. As long as from time to time you clean the rear openings of the case with a vacuum or an Air duster. Like all TV's the vents need to be cleaned every six months. Depending on your living environment. Such as yours with birds and pets. Keep an eye on the vents. The heat needs to escape freely to keep your set from overheating so it wont blow the Light bulb before the 8,000 hours are up. The Samsung TV's are well vented with a super wisper quite fan. This will do the job plenty. ;)

Gelfin another thing, maybe you should get an air purifier for your apartment so the air will remain clean and almost free of dust like my house. I have 9 very good air purifiers for my house and have no dust. I mean none. Seriously. :) :D

I believe they are manufactured in S. Korea but assembled in Mexico or at least some of the models as that's why they're always joking about the donkey.

Hey StallionRe - are you trying to catch up with ROGO? You're really kicking out the posts at lightning speed - Well you sound excited and we'll wait for an evaluation. May your Donkey arrive safely and toast a Margarita to your new 1080P HDTV! :D
Thanks Westa6969, You are right I type like lightning speed my people say. I enjoy chatting with all of you and learning and sharing my experiences with you. I will post all my findings about my new TV this weekend. :D :) Keep an eye out for my very long post, several at that. I am going to drill my TV so hard, to make sure to post my findings. You wait and see ok, the time is coming. :eek:

New plasmas are supposed to have a half life of 60,000 hours (point at which they have lost one-half the original brightness). I have not seen any plasmas on display at stores that look washed out. I still feel that a good Panasonic or Pioneer plasma has the best PQ of any 42-50 inch tv....I saw them next to the new Samsung 1080p, and they were still superior to my eye. They have that 'looking out a window look' that I never see on any projection type tv. The advantage of the Samsung is when you go over the 50 inch size, where plasmas become VERY pricey. I hope to see more of the 1080P Sammy soon, and maybe I will be more impressed. Also waiting for the SXRD Sony before I drop any cash. I will probably end up with a 50 inch plasma (reguiring a new stand or wall mount), the 50 inch Sammy 1080P (which neatly fits my current entertainment center), or a 60 inch Sony SXRD since the Sony SXRD 50 inch won't fit my cabinet anyway. Any more honest input on the PQ of the new 1080P Sammy is appreciated.

Alan is correct. The myth of "wearing out the gas" in a plasma is just that. I am amazed by what the idiots at some stores will tell people. From a picture standpoint, the main area where plasmas excel is in color rendition. Since they are a phosphor based technology, they produce colors better than most micro-displays, but they also suffer from potential burn in. Wearing out, however is about the same as CRT based sets.

Gelfin
Definitely agree with the Air Cleaner in your environment. A few years back I had to research Air Cleaners for Smoking Lounges before they outlawed it in our buildings and I gathered research for several months as part of my Job is a Purchasing Manager. At that time my findings and purchase hands down was a unit made by Friedrich using some Honeywell components- Friedrich makes air conditioners also.

http://www.friedrich.com/aircleaner/index.asp?campcode=surch

http://www.bestaircleaner.com/c-90b/info.asp?campcode=google

It had a cartridge to remove and the grid would be placed in a dish washer periodically and you wouldn't believe the disgusting tar that thing collected. It's very similar to the one you see advertised on TV by Sharper Image only larger. It used the energy of a 25 watt bulb and had no expensive filters and the thing worked damn good and I still use one in my Server Room. In fact, I swear the Sharper Image Air Cleaner the same technology only made in more of a vertical modern shape as it has identical features of the Friedrich Unit which at the time was made in Texas. If you spend that kind of money a few hundred would make a wise investment as we all know in the Tech field what dust and other environmental things we don't see with our eyes and humidity can do to electronics. You have an especially challenging environment though that should call for an air cleaner for the TV and You.

Good Luck! :D

Gelfin
Definitely agree with the Air Cleaner in your environment. A few years back I had to research Air Cleaners for Smoking Lounges before they outlawed it in our buildings and I gathered research for several months as part of my Job is a Purchasing Manager. At that time my findings and purchase hands down was a unit made by Friedrich using some Honeywell components- Friedrich makes air conditioners also.

http://www.bestaircleaner.com/c-90b/info.asp?campcode=google

It had a cartridge to remove and the grid would be placed in a dish washer periodically and you wouldn't believe the disgusting tar that thing collected. It's very similar to the one you see advertised on TV by Sharper Image only larger. It used the energy of a 25 watt bulb and had no expensive filters and the thing worked damn good and I still use one in my Server Room. In fact, I swear the Sharper Image Air Cleaner the same technology only made in more of a vertical modern shape as it has identical features of the Friedrich Unit which at the time was made in Texas. If you spend that kind of money a few hundred would make a wise investment as we all know in the Tech field what dust and other environmental things we don't see with our eyes and humidity can do to electronics. You have an especially challenging environment though that should call for an air cleaner for the TV and You.

Good Luck! :D
I agree with you too. Also another great air cleaner is called Ecoquest. I have four of these and four of the Ionic Pro. Go to the Website WWW.ECOQUEST.COM and check it out. It is evrything that you need. You never change the filter, or plates at all, you just clean them. Same with the Ionic pro. You can buy the Pro's at Best buy. I have a total of eight, but my house is huge to. So I need them in every room. Also I have three for my living room. They cover up to 2500 Square feet per cleaner on the Ecoquest. The other one's cover 500 square feet. Either way you need one for the house if you have animals. Honeywell is also good but they are big in size. :D

Stallion: there have been several reports of them being "produced" in Mexico. But, with all the international trade, only Samsung knows where all the components and boards are really made!! Could be anywhere.
Samsung DLPs come labeled as either built in Mexico or Korea. As for components it's anyones guess.

Samsung DLPs come labeled as either built in Mexico or Korea. As for components it's anyones guess.
No Offense to anyone here, Mexico or Korea, both are not that good to have being built. Oh well. I cant argue with that. As long as they work and work well. I like Japan products better.

Yes, those cables are very expensive! You could probably get a less expensive cable which performs just as well.

That being said, I saw a very noticeable improvement in the picture using that expensive cable compared to the cheap cable I tried.

John
Thanks john. I ordered a cheap cable from internet (monoprice.com) and received it today. It works very good.

PQ is amazing on 1080 resolution. Very impressed. Digital pictures from canon camera looks superb. Haven't got so much satisfaction form the purchase lately.

For all those who are still debating on 6168 purchese --- go for it. Look no further. This is the one 1080p set to have.

Thanks john. I ordered a cheap cable from internet (monoprice.com) and received it today. It works very good.

PQ is amazing on 1080 resolution. Very impressed. Digital pictures from canon camera looks superb. Haven't got so much satisfaction form the purchase lately.

For all those who are still debating on 6168 purchese --- go for it. Look no further. This is the one 1080p set to have.
The cable makes the TV picture look either excellent, great, good or poor. A better cable in fact you will see the difference. Try them.

I bought them all and tried them all out. I can see a big difference from composite, to component, to DVI and HDMI. using the Monster M series cables, which is currently the higher cost of cables. IE Monster M series 4 meters, will be about $299.99 for them. The RCA were the worst in Composite video. The S-video was better. The off market brand cables were real bad. Like I have said in an earlier posts a week ago, that in fact cables do make the signal either Excellent, great, good or poor. Try this test yourself and you will see. But you have to look real close to see the difference on some of them. I also used my Oscilliscope to test the wave forms of the output and input of these cables too. On the Monster M series it was almost flat line, no noise or white noise with that set up. Since the Monster line is filled with gas, they are good. They have a lifetime warranty too. That is all that I use for my entire setup. Nothing beats HDMI or DVI cables, HDMI being the recent and the best bcause you can get video and signal through one cable, unlike the DVI cable. Only video for DVI ad much bigger connector too. What else should them make??? :) :D

Bear in mind, this is my first HD set, so my basis of comparison is a tube set. I hooked the Dish PVR to the Samsun via DVI->HDMI cable into HDMI2. My DVD player was with component cables at 480i (it's an old DVD player!)


1) SD looks much better than I was expecting from reports, and my limited experiance with a friend's crappy 800x600 projector. The extra resolution and/or wobulation do a good job of making things not crappy at least compared to SD on a smaller tube set.

2) HD looks great. There's just no other way to describe it. It took me a while to figure out the proper combinations of Dish PVR display settings vs Samsung settings to get all of the channels looking right. (leave dish in "4x3 mode" at 1080i output so that the dish doesn't try to do any scaling, and switch samsung between 16:9 and 4:3 depending on whether watching an HD channel or not.)

3) When I had set the dish PVR to 16:9 mode I was getting audio sync issues... i attribute that to the dish being bad at scaling and/or doing a double scaling introducing unneccessary lag and artifacts. When set as described above, it went away.

4) The DVD looked great. I'm not seeing a compelling arguement in getting a progressive scan player as the Samsung did a great job with scaling and displays. Matrix Revoltutions was very sharp and detailed.

5) Right now I've got my video set up someplace in between Standard and Movie and I like how it looks. A bit sharper than movie, good contrast, not so bright as standard for darker blacks and more vivid color contrast. Once I get my video calibration DVD back from a friend I'll see what the experts recommend and decide if I like that. :)


OVerall, I'm quite happy. Now I just need to find all of the proper remote codes for my JP3 remote to do everything.

I tried some of those Ionic Breeze air cleaners in my company server room. Because the air is so dry here in Colorado there is a lot of static buildup (unless you use humidifers) so those things would sound like a bug zapper going off (a loud cracking sound) every few minutes. So I got rid of them and got some air cleaners from Sears, the type with Hepa filters in them, and they seem to work really well. The amount of dust that builds up in 3 months is horrifying!
I dont have that problem in CA. No noise at all. What bug zapping?? I never heard this before. In CA we dont get the air like CO. I lived in CO for sometime and wow it sure is different than CA. It depends on where you live to get the right Air cleaner. In CO it rains in the summer everyday in Colorado springs, Fountain, etc, the air is not good for that type of cleaner, you are right.
Thanks for the info for my parents that live in CO.

got my 5668 today. Couple comments:

The optical out of the back of the TV definite puts out a 5.1 signal (both from the dvd and HD tv). If you are not getting 5.1 than something is set up wrong in your receiver or your source broadcasts in dolby 2.0 or 2 channel stereo.

Lip sync: As long as your receiver can process dolby digital and DTS to the TV than you should have no problems. The lip sync occurs (for example) if you are watching a DTS disc and your receiver doesn't process DTS so your wating in analog stereo.

Even if your receiver does process DD and DTS if you chose a DSP that is not 5.1 or DTS or even if you select stereo (2 channel) than you will see the lag. Probably becuase its a digital signal being convert to an analog (which takes extra time)

shack: since you are one of the first to report 5.1 out of the TV's optical output using a DVD could you please describe your cable setup (are you using HDMI from the DVD to the TV or what) and how you determined that it was actually 5.1 coming out of the output (what audio receiver are you using and what indication of 5.1 does it give you)?

TIA!!

Since the Monster line is filled with gas, they are good.

They're filled with gas alright.

When the bulb startes to die, do you notice that the pictures startes to become darker, or one day the bulb just stops :D ?

What is the replacement cost on these bulbs? Expected life of the bulb?

....patiently waiting for UCSB's review!!!! :cool:
ME TOO!!! I am waiting for the review.

I love how the sets weigh as much or less than the stands.
Acutally the stand does not weigh 99 lbs like they say, because I can lift it all by myself with a bad back. The stands feels like 60-70lbs, or is it me, I might be stronger than I thought, HEE-HEE :eek: :)

What is the replacement cost on these bulbs? Expected life of the bulb?
Around $200.00 for the bulb and case. It is one unit, and they will last up to 8,000 hours on some reports and some are rated at 6,000 hours. That sure is a long time. However, if the conditions are right, you can blow your bulb in less than 3 years. Buyiong a spare is good. I will do this next year. Then maybe the price will be cheaper.

Around $200.00 for the bulb and case. It is one unit, and they will last up to 80,000 hours on some reports and some are rated at 60,000 hours. That sure is a long time. However, if the conditions are right, you can blow your bulb in less than 3 years.

Thanks that is better than I expected I had read where some bulbs were 4-500.00 and that the life was like 6-8 thousands hours. I can't wait for a local retailer to get these in so I can go look at one. Tweeter said maybe next week.

Thanks that is better than I expected I had read where some bulbs were 4-500.00 and that the life was like 6-8 thousands hours. I can't wait for a local retailer to get these in so I can go look at one. Tweeter said maybe next week.
That sounds good, happy hunting for your TV, :D I did for mine. You will be real empressed with the Samsung 1080p. :) Let me know what you think. Cant wait.
Some bulbs are high in price depending on the company. I dont know why. They are the same make up. A bulb is a bulb. Maybe larger in Watts, case size, etc. At least you can change your bulb on your own in about 10 minutes with a Samsung tv, but others you will need to call a service repairman, which would be at least $500.00 with the bulb. OUCH!!! :mad:

Thanks that is better than I expected I had read where some bulbs were 4-500.00 and that the life was like 6-8 thousands hours. I can't wait for a local retailer to get these in so I can go look at one. Tweeter said maybe next week.
No matter what TV you are looking for, read the specs on the light bulb to see how long it last, then do a research on how much it will be for the bulb. Other than that, there is nothing else that the consumer can buy to keep this tv running good. When you change the light bulb, it will look like new again, exactly. Which is a cool thing about the DLP TV's. :D :)

What kind of bulb can last 80,oo hours? I don't even think an LED can last that long. Isn't it supposed to last between 5,000 and 8,000 hours and that is also dependent on whether you use it in Dynamic mode which is 120W or the standard mode which is 100w. And of course some bulbs can fail early, especially if you cycle the bulb on and off alot.
This reminds me that I need to order a spare bulb to have on hand, just in case, so I don't have to be several days without the use of my set.

After reading all the posts on this set I am relly anxious to see this thing in action. I have a 40 inch RP Toshiba that I bought 4 years ago but I think it may be time for a new one of coarse I do have an obstacle which is the wife but she will get over it soon enough.

What kind of bulb can last 80,oo hours? I don't even think an LED can last that long. Isn't it supposed to last between 5,000 and 8,000 hours and that is also dependent on whether you use it in Dynamic mode which is 120W or the standard mode which is 100w. And of course some bulbs can fail early, especially if you cycle the bulb on and off alot.
This reminds me that I need to order a spare bulb to have on hand, just in case, so I don't have to be several days without the use of my set.
:eek: You are correct, my fault, sorry I added another zero in there. Hoping that it would last 80,000 hours. It last 8,000 hours. Thanks for the correction. :) ;)

What kind of bulb can last 80,oo hours? I don't even think an LED can last that long. Isn't it supposed to last between 5,000 and 8,000 hours and that is also dependent on whether you use it in Dynamic mode which is 120W or the standard mode which is 100w. And of course some bulbs can fail early, especially if you cycle the bulb on and off alot.
This reminds me that I need to order a spare bulb to have on hand, just in case, so I don't have to be several days without the use of my set.We wish these bulbs last 80,000 hours...4000-8000 hours is more in line...I have a HLN567 with 3800 hours...I need to buy a spare bulb.

After reading all the posts on this set I am relly anxious to see this thing in action. I have a 40 inch RP Toshiba that I bought 4 years ago but I think it may be time for a new one of coarse I do have an obstacle which is the wife but she will get over it soon enough.
Toshiba is hands down compared to the new Samsung 1080p.

Toshiba is hands down compared to the new Samsung 1080p.

What do you means hands down?

Gelfin
Definitely agree with the Air Cleaner in your environment. A few years back I had to research Air Cleaners for Smoking Lounges before they outlawed it in our buildings and I gathered research for several months as part of my Job is a Purchasing Manager. At that time my findings and purchase hands down was a unit made by Friedrich using some Honeywell components- Friedrich makes air conditioners also.

It had a cartridge to remove and the grid would be placed in a dish washer periodically and you wouldn't believe the disgusting tar that thing collected.

First post from a wanna be owner. I am glad someone asked about this because I meant to several times but kept forgetting. I live in a small, basement condo with a clothes dryer that has no outside vent. I use one of those indoor dryer vents which don't work very good and causes a lot of dust. I am also a smoker. I am very concerned about potential smoke and dust build-up on the DMD and screen. The smoke and dust coats my direct view CRT TV very quickly but I am aware this is due to the static of tube TV's. The air cleaners I've had in the past were noisy and didn't work very good. Are there any owners of past or current SS DLP's living in similar conditions that can verify that I shouldn't have a problem if I buy a decent air purifier?
Thanks in advance to all that post objective information in these forums!

We wish these bulbs last 80,000 hours...4000-8000 hours is more in line...I have a HLN567 with 3800 hours...I need to buy a spare bulb.
My bad, I editted my post to reflect the 8,000 hours, I dont want to get people upset for posting the wrong info. However 8,000 hours is still a very long time.

For Example, if you watch TV for 5 hours everyday 365 days a year, the bulb will last 4.38 years. WOW. that sure is a long time. I dont want TV that long. Maybe 10 hours a month, if that. This is based on the 8,000 hours of life.

First post from a wanna be owner. I am glad someone asked about this because I meant to several times but kept forgetting. I live in a small, basement condo with a clothes dryer that has no outside vent. I use one of those indoor dryer vents which don't work very good and causes a lot of dust. I am also a smoker. I am very concerned about potential smoke and dust build-up on the DMD and screen. The smoke and dust coats my direct view CRT TV very quickly but I am aware this is due to the static of tube TV's. The air cleaners I've had in the past were noisy and didn't work very good. Are there any owners of past or current SS DLP's living in similar conditions that can verify that I shouldn't have a problem if I buy a decent air purifier?
Thanks in advance to all that post objective information in these forums!
I would use one Ecoquest purifier if I were you. No noise at all and it will clean up to 2500 square feet. You will hear the fan slighly. But at the 250-500 square feet setting, no fan noise at all. I have 4 of them. If you want the ozone one. That does both. Your living condition is unusal for a TV environment. Especailly for a DLP TV. They need to be in a clean environment mostly to last. Cant you mount an air duct for the dryer to led to the outside of the house? I would. You know that breathing this in is bad for you. I used to study to be a doctor and know. Then you smoke. Dont kill yourself man. Take it easy. I am not in you business, just to let you know ok. I say this because I care. :)

My bad, I editted my post to reflect the 8,000 hours, I dont want to get people upset for posting the wrong info. However 8,000 hours is still a very long time.

For Example, if you watch TV for 5 hours everyday 365 days a year, the bulb will last 4.38 years. WOW. that sure is a long time. I dont want TV that long. Maybe 10 hours a month, if that. This is based on the 8,000 hours of life.These bulbs can blow at anytime...even after 1 hour. If anyone buys a spare make sure you test it to see if it works...I don't know how long the warranty is on a bulb...But nothing could be worst than replacing a dead bulb with another dead bulb. Test your spare! :)

First post from a wanna be owner. I am glad someone asked about this because I meant to several times but kept forgetting. I live in a small, basement condo with a clothes dryer that has no outside vent. I use one of those indoor dryer vents which don't work very good and causes a lot of dust. I am also a smoker. I am very concerned about potential smoke and dust build-up on the DMD and screen. The smoke and dust coats my direct view CRT TV very quickly but I am aware this is due to the static of tube TV's. The air cleaners I've had in the past were noisy and didn't work very good. Are there any owners of past or current SS DLP's living in similar conditions that can verify that I shouldn't have a problem if I buy a decent air purifier?
Thanks in advance to all that post objective information in these forums!
To all who read my post: Air Purifiers, no matter what brand, Some are better than others, Electronics will last a whole lot longer if your environment is clean and free from dust. If the air is clean your electronics will not only work better, but will last longer, IE Light bulbs in the TV, Fans in your reciever, Etc. I am talking from so serious experience now. Just to help. :) :D

DUST KILLS ELECTRONICS!!! TRUE STATEMENT!! :cool: ;)

I have digital cable through Cable America in AZ. I'm waiting patiently for my 5668W to be delivered. If i subscribe to Cable America's "HD package" I'm going to get: NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS, DISCOVERY, HBO, SHOW, TNT, ESPN and maybe a couple more. For those channels that aren't listed above, will they appear on my television with the same quality as my current digital cable? Or maybe a better way of asking is, if all I want right now are NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX, would I be better off just getting a good antenna?

I have digital cable through Cable America in AZ. I'm waiting patiently for my 5668W to be delivered. If i subscribe to Cable America's "HD package" I'm going to get: NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS, DISCOVERY, HBO, SHOW, TNT, ESPN and maybe a couple more. For those channels that aren't listed above, will they appear on my television with the same quality as my current digital cable? Or maybe a better way of asking is, if all I want right now are NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX, would I be better off just getting a good antenna?
HD signal that you want is much better than what you have already. I had cable and got the HD. :eek: WOW am I really impressed. I have all the HD channels that are available on the market today and that is all I pretty much watch. Especially ESPNHD Foothball baby!!!
They will appear on your TV much brighter, clearer, the best of sound, sharper, etc. It is like looking through a clean window. Try it. :D :)

ccouper... if you get a chance, check out Good Morning America tomorrow morning (they usually have that ticker going across the bottom) and see if it cuts away part or most of it. I don't think I have quite the problem you do as I haven't noticed the black bars on the top and bottom of letterboxed programming to be different sizes. And my watermark logos seem to all be intact.
On the ABC GMA ticker I can see the whole thing. This is getting weird.

Also I have lost my PBS stations again and I cannot even get them from the UHF channel they are really at. Those channels are there but they are empty. :confused:

Its also the PBS channels that looks like the bottoms are cut off on as well as both DVD sources (component and HDMI)

got my 5668 today. Couple comments:

The optical out of the back of the TV definite puts out a 5.1 signal (both from the dvd and HD tv). If you are not getting 5.1 than something is set up wrong in your receiver or your source broadcasts in dolby 2.0 or 2 channel stereo.

Lip sync: As long as your receiver can process dolby digital and DTS to the TV than you should have no problems. The lip sync occurs (for example) if you are watching a DTS disc and your receiver doesn't process DTS so your wating in analog stereo.

Even if your receiver does process DD and DTS if you chose a DSP that is not 5.1 or DTS or even if you select stereo (2 channel) than you will see the lag. Probably becuase its a digital signal being convert to an analog (which takes extra time)

Congrats on receiving your 5668. I didn't place my order until 8/5 but hopefully with the increasing supply I'll get mine in under 2 wks.

I thought the Lip Sync issue was Audio ahead of Video. What you have described here seems more like a scenario for Video ahead of Audio. Are there two flavors of lip sync problem people are experiencing?

Good to hear that you are getting 5.1 out of the optical. I was intending to use that as my primary method to pass DD to my older AVR which has limited connections.

I have digital cable through Cable America in AZ. I'm waiting patiently for my 5668W to be delivered. If i subscribe to Cable America's "HD package" I'm going to get: NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS, DISCOVERY, HBO, SHOW, TNT, ESPN and maybe a couple more. For those channels that aren't listed above, will they appear on my television with the same quality as my current digital cable? Or maybe a better way of asking is, if all I want right now are NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX, would I be better off just getting a good antenna?
:) HD is more than digital, it is HD. There is a difference in quality. It is the receivers making of it. All the cable signals come in a digital format. Now it is up to the reciever to compress it and then decompress it and send it to your tv. I use to build HD receivers. You need a special HD reciever that you cable company will loan to you to rent. Mine is $5 a month and the best of the best DVI or HDMI cable (Monster M Series) to hook up to your tv and will be AMAZED!! I am. :eek: :)

Congrats on receiving your 5668. I didn't place my order until 8/5 but hopefully with the increasing supply I'll get mine in under 2 wks.

I thought the Lip Sync issue was Audio ahead of Video. What you have described here seems more like a scenario for Video ahead of Audio. Are there two flavors of lip sync problem people are experiencing?

Good to hear that you are getting 5.1 out of the optical. I was intending to use that as my primary method to pass DD to my older AVR which has limited connections.
There really should be no lip sync issue to these sets. I believe that it is the setting of the TV and the reciever. I will check mine out and post what I find.

On the ABC GMA ticker I can see the whole thing. This is getting weird.

Also I have lost my PBS stations again and I cannot even get them from the UHF channel they are really at. Those channels are there but they are empty. :confused:

Its also the PBS channels that looks like the bottoms are cut off on as well as both DVD sources (component and HDMI)
Strange, something is wrong with the signal source, your box or the TV. Check all connections. Reset everything. Try it again.

These bulbs can blow at anytime...even after 1 hour. If anyone buys a spare make sure you test it to see if it works...I don't know how long the warranty is on a bulb...But nothing could be worst than replacing a dead bulb with another dead bulb. Test your spare! :)
The bulbs should come with a one year warranty from Samsung. :) I have read this on there site. After one hour, ouch!! :( the bulb was bad. Remember never to touch it at all. The oil from your hands will blow the bulb in no time. A TV bulbs is like a Halogen bulb, you cant touch them. Sorry to hear about your bulb. :mad:

Good to hear that you are getting 5.1 out of the optical. I was intending to use that as my primary method to pass DD to my older AVR which has limited connections.

Others have reported this also but its always been incorrect. You can get 5.1 out of the tv optical if you are using a cable card though, but not via hdmi input into the tv.

Got my 5668 yesterday. Comcast cable didn’t have cable slot cards so I got the 8300hd. With the 8300hd connected through the HDMI I get great pic on all channels (SD and HD). Optical out to my receiver I get a very small amount of lip sync. The lip sync is not visible but with the TV volume turned up I can hear an echo. Same hook-up for my Samsung DVD-VR325 and same results. Since I do not have a cable card yet I didn’t expect must from the TV’s tuner and that is exactly what I got. Because the TV fits everything coming in the tuner to 16:9 the SD looks bad to say the lest. If you go through the menu and change the format to 4:3 it looks OK. Let me tell you though when the TV gets a good HD signal there is nothing like it. Absolutely breathe taking. Both the Comcast HD channels and DVD just blew me away. I actually saw rain in the football game without the camera pointing to the lights. I notice the arena getting lighter as it started to rain. I assume from the light reflecting off the rain. Speaking of football game here is my biggest complaint for this TV. There is no SWAP PIP button on the remote. With all the PIP features you can’t do anything with them without going through 4 layers of menus. I was very upset when I discovered this and was even madder when I realized that the most likely place for this button to have been placed was where the DNIe all important demo button was. Please Samsung get a brain and replace the DNIe demo button with a swap pip button. I guess a macro will have to do for now. After watching some more HD I calmed back down. :D

....patiently waiting for UCSB's review!!!! :cool:

My HLR5668W arrived on Wednesday afternoon. I have been setting it up and testing the set with various DVD players, my Comcast Motorola DVR, cable signal, CableCard and many other configurations. Since many people have given initial impressions reviews (including myself with my initial impressions while testing the unit at Magnolia HiFi), I am planning on getting enough time with the TV to put together a more in depth discussion of it's performance. I hope this approach will definitively resolve more of our open issues and yield more insight into the TV's capabilities.

One initial note, I am testing multiple DVD players on the TV. Some of them are definitely a better match with this set. I'll be more specific after I get a little further into my testing.

Thanks UCSB...Looking forward to your complete review...especially what DVD player is best!

If anyone can tell me how to program the Samsung remote to control the Comcast Motorola 6412 HD box, that would be great!

My HLR5668W arrived on Wednesday afternoon. I have been setting it up and testing the set with various DVD players, my Comcast Motorola DVR, cable signal, CableCard and many other configurations. Since many people have given initial impressions reviews (including myself with my initial impressions while testing the unit at Magnolia HiFi), I am planning on getting enough time with the TV to put together a more in depth discussion of it's performance. I hope this approach will definitively resolve more of our open issues and yield more insight into the TV's capabilities.

One initial note, I am testing multiple DVD players on the TV. Some of them are definitely a better match with this set. I'll be more specific after I get a little further into my testing.

Which DVD players are you testing?

To anyone with a new 78 series, when you turn off power to your TV, what shows on your button? Do you here the little chime to indicate it is powering down?

Mine always shows red "Standy By Temp"

Is that right??

To anyone with a new 78 series, when you turn off power to your TV, what shows on your button? Do you here the little chime to indicate it is powering down?

Mine always shows red "Standy By Temp"

Is that right??

Check your manual. Its not "Stand By Temp" its "Stand By/Temp". Yes its normal.

On the ABC GMA ticker I can see the whole thing. This is getting weird.

Also I have lost my PBS stations again and I cannot even get them from the UHF channel they are really at. Those channels are there but they are empty. :confused:

Its also the PBS channels that looks like the bottoms are cut off on as well as both DVD sources (component and HDMI)

I'm certainly not an expert on these things, but it would seem to me then, that you would be having source issues. The overscan I'm seeing is very slight and only when the display is in 4:3 mode. And actually, the only time I've seen it is on the ABC HD channel. I have no idea what's up with your PBS stations. :rolleyes:

Which DVD players are you testing?

Samsung DVD-HD950, Sony DVP-NS975V, Panasonic S97, and OPPO. I may cut short my comparisons if I find a player that I really like. I've finished reviewing the Samsung. Yesterday and today, I am working with the Sony. If anyone has done a Sony 975 vs OPPO test, please comment because it is going to be some work to get one.

UCSB -- Like many here, I am eagerly awaiting your DVD shootout results. Right now, I'm caught between the Samsung 950 and the Oppo, but your findings will weigh heavily in my decision. I've seen a number of reviews but precious few were paired with an HLR and none were a head-to-head matchup. Good luck with the trials.

UCSB -- Like many here, I am eagerly awaiting your DVD shootout results. Right now, I'm caught between the Samsung 950 and the Oppo, but your findings will weigh heavily in my decision. I've seen a number of reviews but few were paired with an HLR and none were a head-to-head matchup. Good luck with the trials.


Buy a new DVD player (based on results found here) or wait for HD-DVD/Blu-Ray. That is the question that plagues mankind. WTF, DVD players are cheap and there seems to be some issues with backward compatibility. Just wish the 6168 that's on order and expected sometime in late 2005 had more HDMI inputs.

And to think, just a few short years ago, we were all wishing TVs came with more "S" inputs.

I wonder when all the stuff will be wireless. No cables, no clutter, just identify a wireless input with a STB and everything is automatic. Life would be too simple. I wouldn't have anything to bitch about.

AS POSTED IN THE DVD FORUM: Yesterday I finally had a chance to test my OPPO I bought for my Sam 6768 whenever it gets released...I went to Tweeter to test the OPPO with a HLR6178...Also got to see a HD950 with this TV...OPPO was the clear winner, sharper/crisp PQ the Samsung 950 seemed like the picture was dull...I did not check for lip/sync which is very important to me. I used the cable supplied by OPPO HDMI/DVI and Tweeters Monster HDMI/HDMI for the Samsung 950...I was surprise to see such a huge difference in PQ...I really did not get a chance to play with these units as there was a lot of customers looking at this Samsung set...I will say one thing people were very interested in the new Sony 3 lcd as well... I really enjoyed watching HD on the new Samsung...can't wait to get mine.

Comcast cable didn’t have cable slot cards so I got the 8300hd....Speaking of football game here is my biggest complaint for this TV. There is no SWAP PIP button on the remote. ... :D

I am waiting on my 5668 but have already ordered the cable box from Time Warner in NC. They offer both the regular 8300HD and the DVR version of the same box. DVR premium is about $5/month. This gives you a lot of PIP options since it is essentially running two HD tuners all the time. Might be worth a look...

AS POSTED IN THE DVD FORUM: Yesterday I finally had a chance to test my OPPO I bought for my Sam 6768 whenever it gets released...I went to Tweeter to test the OPPO with a HLR6178...Also got to see a HD950 with this TV...OPPO was the clear winner, sharper/crisp PQ the Samsung 950 seemed like the picture was dull...I .

The OPPO has the Faroudja chip (presumably the same as the Denon's) and all such players seem to produce the sharpest picture, but as the expense of having some degree of MB'ing (MB has been also reported for the OPPO). Apparantly you did not notice any major degree of MB'ing, correct?

First post from a wanna be owner. I am glad someone asked about this because I meant to several times but kept forgetting. I live in a small, basement condo with a clothes dryer that has no outside vent. I use one of those indoor dryer vents which don't work very good and causes a lot of dust. I am also a smoker. I am very concerned about potential smoke and dust build-up on the DMD and screen. The smoke and dust coats my direct view CRT TV very quickly but I am aware this is due to the static of tube TV's. The air cleaners I've had in the past were noisy and didn't work very good. Are there any owners of past or current SS DLP's living in similar conditions that can verify that I shouldn't have a problem if I buy a decent air purifier?
Thanks in advance to all that post objective information in these forums!

Stay away from those "Ionic Breeze" type units. They can only trap particles that pass through them and they produce ozone. Both the American Lung Association and EPA specifically recommend you do not use these. Consumer Reports also reported how lousy they are. Sharper Image spends a whole lot on marketing. They now have units that supposedly decrease the ozone levels produced and have fans on them to move air (although at very low levels).

What you want is a good HEPA based unit, these actually move the air, exchanging it within a room several times an hour and trap far more particles. The downside, they are noisy when running on high and you need to buy filters every now and then (depending on use). I've had a couple of these for several years and haven't had to replace a filter yet (they do not run 7x24 by any means). Just run it when you aren't watching tv if they noise bothers you.

Others have reported this also but its always been incorrect. You can get 5.1 out of the tv optical if you are using a cable card though, but not via hdmi input into the tv.

I checked the manual (can't try it on my TV since I am still in line :) ). Pgs 26, 82, and 83 seem to address this issue. If I am reading this right, you have to set the "internal mute" for the TV's speakers to allow the optical ouput to send on a 5.1 signal that came in through the HDMI. Otherwise, it gets converted to 2 channel.

Alan is correct. The myth of "wearing out the gas" in a plasma is just that. I am amazed by what the idiots at some stores will tell people. From a picture standpoint, the main area where plasmas excel is in color rendition. Since they are a phosphor based technology, they produce colors better than most micro-displays, but they also suffer from potential burn in. Wearing out, however is about the same as CRT based sets.

What does happen is just like a CRT: The gas leaks out eventually, gassy TVs used to be a common reason to get rid of them, usually in the 5-10 year range. The other thing they have in common is phosphor burn out. The electron stream over time causes the phosphor to deteriorate, hence paler or altered color. That is why you get burn in, the same image for long periods of time make different levels of phospor deterioration and therefore show the pattern on the screen.

Lee

I checked the manual (can't try it on my TV since I am still in line ). Pgs 26, 82, and 83 seem to address this issue. If I am reading this right, you have to mute the TV's speakers to allow the optical ouput to send on a 5.1 signal that came in through the HDMI. Otherwise, it gets converted to 2 channel.

Nope. They talk about multichannel sound. No where does it say anything about 5.1 through HDMI. Dolby Digital does NOT mean 5.1 (or higher or lower or anything) number of channels. It is simply how its encoded. 2 channel is multichannel and thats all your going to get. I have the tv, you cannot use the optical out to pass 5.1 from the tv when hdmi is used to send the signal into the tv. It does not work and nowhere in the manual does it say it should work.

This has been gone over numerous times. 5.1 channel sound does not get transmitted over hdmi to this tv.

CRT and Plasma are different technologies. CRTs do not contain any gas. During manufacture the tube is evacuated leaving a vacuum in the tube (no gas). Plasma on the other hand do use a gas to create the electrons which excite the phosphors. The only thing the two technologies have in common is the phosphors that actually give off the photons that you see.

This should be discussed elsewhere. :)

shack: since you are one of the first to report 5.1 out of the TV's optical output using a DVD could you please describe your cable setup (are you using HDMI from the DVD to the TV or what) and how you determined that it was actually 5.1 coming out of the output (what audio receiver are you using and what indication of 5.1 does it give you)?

TIA!!

HDMI to TV. TV to Receiver. The receiver is an Onkyo tx-ds939 THX certified. The receiver has an orange light that lights up when its a digital signal.

HDMI to TV. TV to Receiver. The receiver is an Onkyo tx-ds939 THX certified. The receiver has an orange light that lights up when its a digital signal.

Ok, so that means you got a digital signal, digital doesn't mean 5.1.

HDMI to TV. TV to Receiver. The receiver is an Onkyo tx-ds939 THX certified. The receiver has an orange light that lights up when its a digital signal.

Sorry, my Sony has the same kind of digital indicator. That doesn't necessarily make the signal 5.1, just digital. It's most likely 2 channel digital. I have some commercial DVDs of old B&W movies and some of them output mono digital. :confused:

Congrats on receiving your 5668. I didn't place my order until 8/5 but hopefully with the increasing supply I'll get mine in under 2 wks.

I thought the Lip Sync issue was Audio ahead of Video. What you have described here seems more like a scenario for Video ahead of Audio. Are there two flavors of lip sync problem people are experiencing?

Good to hear that you are getting 5.1 out of the optical. I was intending to use that as my primary method to pass DD to my older AVR which has limited connections.

I stand corrected. The audio is ahead of the picture so my hypothesis (the receiver processing an extra step) isn't correct. But the problem is still true.

Others have reported this also but its always been incorrect. You can get 5.1 out of the tv optical if you are using a cable card though, but not via hdmi input into the tv.

I'm half wrong and you are too. You cannot pass 5.1 thru the hdmi from the dvd. However, i do not have a cable card or hd box and I get some hi-def channels on my basic cable and they do pass DD.

However, i do not have a cable card or hd box and I get some hi-def channels on my basic cable and they do pass DD.

Yes, you can get multichannel by connecting it to the wall (which I never said you couldn't). HDMI is a completely different story though and everything I said was correct.