SERVICE MENU LISTING

The attached PDF file is a copy of all the service menu items. Where I say grey after an item it means that the item is greyed out and that you can make no changes. I have tried to be very careful with capitalizations, underlines and spacing. In this file there are some mixing of values for various inputs. That is, depending on the input there are value changes to some items. I plan to go back and figure out which items change depending of input and come up with associated values for each type of input. Anyway for anyone interested here are the Service Menu Items. :D

Can you repost this link, because the one listed no longer works...thanks

Rabid, I downloaded a bunch of those samples at the link I mentioned and they played fine on my PC. I would think if it plays on the PC then it should work on the Sammy? I'm hoping mine is in on Monday although I'll believe it when I see it. Let us know since I think soon there will be more people with PC's hooked up to a Sammy than DVD players.
You can get the WMV HD files to play with no more than 1/2% overscan, at least that is what it was on my set. I downloaded a dozen of the 1080P clips. At 1080P on the VGA input the video is awesome. There is so much detail to the picture.I just wish I would have been able to get T2 HD disc to work but since I had WMV10 I couldn't get it to load the updated files to get it to work since it's expecting you to have WMV9 and if you have version 10 it won't work without an update to get it to download the new DRM for it.

Aaron...will you able to try Quicktime 7's 1080p content also?

First, I own a computer consulting firm, so I'm not a noob in that area ;)
Great straight line.

If I were to postulate on the reason for this, I would first blame it on the video card, next the cable.
Good candidates.

Even though my video card meets the minimum requirements of 128mb, I don't believe it has the horsepower to drive over 2 million pixels.
When did Microsoft's minimum requirements ever have anything to do with reality? I think you are brave to have tried it.

I know that my 256MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radeon X800 XT graphics card does a great job scaling and de-interlacing DVDs to 720p, but I have no idea how it would perform attempting to output 1080p. By the time I have a display to accept such a signal I'll probably have a more powerful computer.

<Sarcasm>
Come on guys, knock it off! All this talk about gamma, service menus, calibration, overscan and video cards, etc, is taking way too long, is entirely inappropriate for this Samsung 1080p Owner's Thread, and is preventing people from learning anything about these TVs! ;)
</Sarcasm>
Where is DNIe when you need it? :mad:

Has anyone called up Samsung Tech Support to ask whats the deal with the DNIE feature?

Also anyone know the website or # of a good ISF Calibrator in the NYC area? Especially someone who's well verse/skilled with the Samsung sets. Thanks!

You can get the WMV HD files to play with no more than 1/2% overscan, at least that is what it was on my set. I downloaded a dozen of the 1080P clips. At 1080P on the VGA input the video is awesome. There is so much detail to the picture.I just wish I would have been able to get T2 HD disc to work but since I had WMV10 I couldn't get it to load the updated files to get it to work since it's expecting you to have WMV9 and if you have version 10 it won't work without an update to get it to download the new DRM for it.

I'm able to play T2 HD in WMP10 and even TT 2.1. Looks great on my Dell 24", now I just need TVA to send me my freaking set now! :mad:

Here's a simple instruction that I followed. (post # 8)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5990798&highlight=t2+extreme#post5990798

Interesting. So it sounds like the only way that the image size could be changed is by moving the mirrors (ie changing the projection) without changing the scaling. That makes sense. I am surprised that they don't have that in the sets then. Again I would think you would only want overscan to take place to remove the distortion at the edges.

Actually, I think it's not just because of geometric distortion. Some SD broadcasts actually have junk that looks like a couple of lines of static at the top edge--in other words, they were designed to be clipped by the overscan. I don't know if this is some kind of encoded caption info or other metadata, but it showed up for me on several SD shows (both from DirecTV and cable), which is why I had to shift my picture upward to balance the overscan areas. So it seems like overscan is a "feature" when dealing with older content--if your TV showed the entire signal area, you would always see this junk.

It does seem too bad that HD content can't be displayed without overscan, and that you can't get 1-to-1 pixel mapping from a PC without overscan either. But I guess for now, TVs aren't monitors.

I've been trying to sort through everyone's observations of lip-sync. Has anyone done an evaluation of various input signals and input jacks?. i.e. is there any difference when feeding the set a 480i signal, or 480p, or 720p or 1080i? Or between HDMI or component inputs? It sure seems to me that the least amount of audio lag will occur when the TV has to the least amount of processing. I would think that would be the case when feeding a 1080i signal over HDMI. Then the set only has to do de-interlacing, with no A/D conversion.

I haven't done echo tests from the internal speakers, but I did notice apparent lip sync from fairly clean 1080i HD sources as well as 480i. Since I set my AVR delay to 100ms I haven't noticed lip sync problems with any material. This suggests to me that it's a fairly constant amount of delay regardless of source resolution (if it weren't constant, I would presumably notice a reverse sync problem with the AVR delay on all the time--though as has been pointed out, perception of delay isn't symmetric; audio-lagging-video may be less noticeable than video-lagging-audio).

While the fixed delay seems to eliminate audio problems, I'd been hoping that gaming lag for future game consoles would be reduced/eliminated by feeding the set 1080i, but it seems likely this won't be the case. (I believe various people have reported that current 720p Xbox games exhibit lag.) However, one person here has reported that PC games didn't seem to exhibit lag over the VGA port--don't know if this has been confirmed, but if future consoles support VGA, this may be a way around the problem.

Has anyone called up Samsung Tech Support to ask whats the deal with the DNIE feature?

Also anyone know the website or # of a good ISF Calibrator in the NYC area? Especially someone who's well verse/skilled with the Samsung sets. Thanks!
From what I've read Avical serves all of NY and NJ.
http://www.avical.com/

htwaits posted this a few pages back.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6052762&highlight=ISF+calibration#post6052762

Just buy the Felston 540 in advance, as I did. Two day delivery. Then, no headaches with lipsynch. Actually it is the video that lags behind the audio. It can't be helped since HDTVs take more time to process the video signal than your reciever takes to process the audio.

Or, if it's time to upgrade your AVR as it was for me, you could buy the Yamaha 5840 AVR from IdealAV for less money than the Felston.

Aaron...will you able to try Quicktime 7's 1080p content also?
I've never tried it before. I'll have to look into it.

I'll be getting my 6178 on tuesday and need advice. I am waiting for the new receivers due out this fall so I'll have to make due with my Denon AVR 3300 for now. What is the best way to hook my HD TIVO/6178/Denon 3300 together to get the best picture AND not have the lip sync problems I am hearing about. My Denon has only Component Video hookup on the high end--no HDMI or DVI. Also, it has optical audio inputs. Thanks.

I've been reading all these posts about overscan and am wondering if this discussion is primarily focused on using a using PC via HDMI and not when input via VGA. I input my PC via VGA and then just changed my PC resolution to 1280 x 1920. I didn't have to do anything else and the change went through without a hitch. Although there is about a 1/2" black border around the image, that really doesn't bother me as the image looks terrific. The only issue is that since I am sitting about 10' away and watching a 5668, sometimes it's hard to read some of the text. As a result, I changed my browser text size to Largest. Is there anything else that I should've done when using the PC via VGA?

<Sarcasm>
Come on guys, knock it off! All this talk about gamma, service menus, calibration, overscan and video cards, etc, is taking way too long, is entirely inappropriate for this Samsung 1080p Owner's Thread, and is preventing people from learning anything about these TVs! ;)
</Sarcasm>
You have said it. I agree with you. I had no input about these topics, so I havent posted anything about them. They should start a PC thread.

AkStp, Question for you, Have you heard about any news DLP's models coming out next year? Any scoop on this from Samsung? It seems like now DLP's TV's are very popular. I am starting to see more and more in the store. Samsung still ROCKS!!! :)

What I have noticed is that the longer your TV burns in (time wise), the better the PQ is. So far I have about 10 hours on mine and the PQ looks better now than it did the day that I got it. I have tried all my games on PS2 and no lag time at all. No lip sync either. I guess that I dont need any calibration on my set. I left the gamma at 2.

Is this normal, that when you turn the tv on, it takes about one minute to warm up for the Picture to show real bright? I believe this but want to confirm.

FYI: Yesterday I bought a spare Light bulb from Samsung for the 6178. The bulb is listed at $372.99

Thanks.

I've been reading all these posts about overscan and am wondering if this discussion is primarily focused on using a using PC via HDMI and not when input via VGA. I input my PC via VGA and then just changed my PC resolution to 1280 x 1920. I didn't have to do anything else and the change went through without a hitch. Although there is about a 1/2" black border around the image, that really doesn't bother me as the image looks terrific. The only issue is that since I am sitting about 10' away and watching a 5668, sometimes it's hard to read some of the text. As a result, I changed my browser text size to Largest. Is there anything else that I should've done when using the PC via VGA?

I enlarged the display to get a 1:1 pixel mapping which will give a crisper display, most noticeably in text. In the TV menu, select Wide PC and then arrow down and over to the 3rd icon. Use the up/down arrows to enlarge as far as it will go. You will end up with a some over scan (I can see the top 1/4 of my taskbar) but its still plenty functional to me. I also enlarged the system font in Display->Properties->Settings->Advanced->General tab.

Where is DNIe when you need it? :mad:
DNIe has left the building for these sets. :D If you cant turn it on or off then what is the use of DNIe? No debate here, just saying what we all think. Many post say that we will we can turn the DNIe on/off. I agree. DNIe Demo is so useless. Why even add it, to confuse people, I bet. :mad:

I've been reading all these posts about overscan and am wondering if this discussion is primarily focused on using a using PC via HDMI and not when input via VGA. I input my PC via VGA and then just changed my PC resolution to 1280 x 1920. I didn't have to do anything else and the change went through without a hitch. Although there is about a 1/2" black border around the image, that really doesn't bother me as the image looks terrific. The only issue is that since I am sitting about 10' away and watching a 5668, sometimes it's hard to read some of the text. As a result, I changed my browser text size to Largest. Is there anything else that I should've done when using the PC via VGA?
I'm wondering why you chose 1920x1280 instead of 1920x1080?

As far as PC use, if you are running Windows, there is another way to increase the size of items on the screen rather than just the font size. To change the font size you go to the Appearance tab and can choose Normal,Large, & Extra Large font sizes as you did, but sometimes that isn't enough. To increase overall size of items on the screen instead, not just the fonts, go to the Settings tab, then click the Advanced button, and there you can increase the DPI setting to compensate for things looking too small on the screen for the resolution you are using.

Good to know. You can't connect your PC via HDMI. VGA is the only setting available and 1080 is the correct resolution. Anything else will get you undesirable results.

Rabid - will you also be trying out QT7 per my post from yesterday? I'm curious of you have any problems compared to what happened using WMP.

Mike,

I intended to, but became convinced it's a hardware issue. I'm over it until I upgrade my video card & cable.

I have a 6600GT, which is 128MB. What card do you have?

I have a nvidia FX 5200

Rabid, I downloaded a bunch of those samples at the link I mentioned and they played fine on my PC. I would think if it plays on the PC then it should work on the Sammy? I'm hoping mine is in on Monday although I'll believe it when I see it. Let us know since I think soon there will be more people with PC's hooked up to a Sammy than DVD players.

Mine played fine on the PC as well. However, as soon as I asked it to drive those 2 million pixels, it took a dump. I'm 99% certain this can be rectified with an upgraded video card, which I'm gonna pony up for this week.

I've got the HLR5668W and have been very pleased with it so far. Last night, while watching a standard-defintion program with the TV picture set to 4:3 aspect ratio, I started to notice bright, fuzzy, vertical stripes -- about one-pixel wide -- on each side of the picture area.

The bright, fuzzy stripes are there all the time along the boundary between the picture area and the gray stripes on each side of the 4:3 display. It's subtle, but now that I've noticed these stripes, they've become a distraction.

Could this be overscan? (It looks like the picture is trying to creep into the gray bars on each side of the screen.) Has anyone else noticed this issue? Any suggestions on how to get rid of these fuzzies?

I saw this last night on a program on TNT I believe. I flipped back and forth to other channels. It was only present on the TNT channel. I am not sure if it is source or a TV issue.

I just googled and I don't think it can handle 1080 right? I guess I thought you had a higer end card so that's why I was curious as to what was going on.

I also checked the WMV 9 and 10 and there does seem to be some potential problems with the DRM like was mentioned, needing to be connected to the Internet for a license. I think that 10 should work fine without 9 unless someone can find something different from MS?

It seems 10 has better audio. I couldn't find a difference with video.

If your computer meets or exceeds the WMVHD specs and you are having computer problems you should try a free trial of Tuneup Utilities 2004. Google it. It is one of the best programs I've found for increasing perfomance, fixing problems and fixing the registry which I think could be what some people here are having problems with.

You can get the WMV HD files to play with no more than 1/2% overscan, at least that is what it was on my set. I downloaded a dozen of the 1080P clips. At 1080P on the VGA input the video is awesome. There is so much detail to the picture.I just wish I would have been able to get T2 HD disc to work but since I had WMV10 I couldn't get it to load the updated files to get it to work since it's expecting you to have WMV9 and if you have version 10 it won't work without an update to get it to download the new DRM for it.

Aaron,

See my post on the previous page for instructions on how to roll-back to WMV 9. Also remember you must be connected to the Net the first time you play T2 so you can get your super duper, top secret, authentificatoin code. :confused:

I just googled and I don't think it can handle 1080 right? I guess I thought you had a higer end card so that's why I was curious as to what was going on.


It does go to 1080P (1920x1080), but can't handle the motion. :(

Just got mine today! Awesome. Haven't totally calibrated everyting yet but was glad to see it does have a DNIe setting as part of the ASO. Some other cool options there too. More to follow ...

Hi all, need some advice. My first 5678 had screen tilt. I decided instead of a repair that may make matters worse, go for a replacement. 2nd set (after 12 hours burn in) has PQ issues. My 1st set had crystal clear picture, esp on HD channels. I was blown away by the depth and clarity. The 2nd set has not nearly the PQ as first. I can see much macro blocking. The shadows on HD are black, and lots of pixelation/mb going on. The result is not nearly the clarity/depth as 1st set. However, the geometry is square on 2nd set. I messed with all the user related picture settings, no improvement. I think I even saw my first rainbow last night. I am pretty bummed. No doubt set needs some major calibration to improve PQ.

So, I have a some options:

1. Call Tweeter and ask for 3rd set

2. Call Tweeter and get my 1st set back and either live with crooked screen or have SS tech try to align DMD

3. Call Samsung and request calibration of 2nd set on their dime

4. Wait until October for Eliab to visit and spend $400 to calibrate (and not enjoy HD in meantime)

I don't know what to do at this point. I am pretty disappointed in the quality of these sets thusfar, but perhaps 3rd time will be a charm. I guess expecting 1st time quality for a $3700 TV is too high of an expectation :confused:

Appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Sorry, it was a not a dig at you or anyone else, just pure sarcasm. Westa is really knocking this thread over in his "soapbox" thread. I think this thread serves its purpose really well.
No. I would think any such news would be forthcoming from the annual tradeshows later this year and early next year. I think we can all predict what the improvements are likely to be.
Yes, this is normal.

Ouch!
No need to be sorry, I like your sarcasm.
About my light bulb, Ouch, but I am set for 10 years. By then I will toally buy a new TV.

Does the bulb wear out over time meaning that the PQ will get darker, where I should change it before the old one stops working? Do these bulbs work this way, or it works like a light, bulb either on or off no matter how old it is.

You have said it. I agree with you. I had no input about these topics, so I havent posted anything about them. They should start a PC thread..
I'm sure AkaStp will speak for himself, but I believe that he was being ironic.
[edit: And he did before I could finish. :o ]

AkaStp's irony (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6065118&&#post6065118)

I was recognizing AkaStp's irony here.

HTwait's salute to AkaStp's irony (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6065232&&#post6065232)

The topics listed by AkaStp are appropriate to any owners thread. So is DNIe. Any accurate information about the sets owned by participants in an owner's thread is appropriate. :)

AkaStp might also have used <Irony Warning> ... </Irony Warning> for his pretend HTML tags instead of <Sarcasm> ... </Sarcasm>.

UCSB,

I've been very impressed with your technical expertise, dedication, and diplomatic style expressed throughout this and the original Samsung HLR thread.

I'm really looking forward to your review on DVD players. Like others, I'm now having second thoughts about ordering the Samsung 950. I know from your brief comments that you haven't been all that impressed with it. You were also testing the Oppo and... the Sony or the Panny? I always get those two confused when people just mention the model numbers!

I'm hoping to get the call from TVA this week that my 6768 is available. I'll need to make a decision at that point on a DVD player. Thanks in advance! :)

The set has a timer and I think 3 LED's let you know you should already have a replacement bulb since it is due to burn out. I think it is more like three years than ten.

Am I missing something? Why are people interested in getting DVD players that aren't HD?

Am I missing something? Why are people interested in getting DVD players that aren't HD?

Because there aren't any HD DVD players yet, and we have DVDs we want to watch in the meantime :)

SD DVDs look quite good on these sets.

Am I missing something? Why are people interested in getting DVD players that aren't HD?
Two reasons.

1. There aren't any HD DVD players available now.

2. At this point it looks like there will be two competing formats on the market at the same time. Remember the Sony Beta and VHS VCR format wars?

That means adaptation and price reduction will be very slow in developing. The expected price is around $1,000 for a player that will not be able to play all HD DVD's on the market. Of course you could buy one of each. ;)

Am I missing something? Why are people interested in getting DVD players that aren't HD?
Your right about that, If you own a Samsung HD tv, then you should only buy a HD DVD player, this makes sense totally.

Hi all, need some advice. My first 5678 had screen tilt. I decided instead of a repair that may make matters worse, go for a replacement. 2nd set (after 12 hours burn in) has PQ issues. My 1st set had crystal clear picture, esp on HD channels. I was blown away by the depth and clarity. The 2nd set has not nearly the PQ as first. I can see much macro blocking. The shadows on HD are black, and lots of pixelation/mb going on. The result is not nearly the clarity/depth as 1st set. However, the geometry is square on 2nd set. I messed with all the user related picture settings, no improvement. I think I even saw my first rainbow last night. I am pretty bummed. No doubt set needs some major calibration to improve PQ.

So, I have a some options:

1. Call Tweeter and ask for 3rd set

2. Call Tweeter and get my 1st set back and either live with crooked screen or have SS tech try to align DMD

3. Call Samsung and request calibration of 2nd set on their dime

4. Wait until October for Eliab to visit and spend $400 to calibrate (and not enjoy HD in meantime)

I don't know what to do at this point. I am pretty disappointed in the quality of these sets thusfar, but perhaps 3rd time will be a charm. I guess expecting 1st time quality for a $3700 TV is too high of an expectation :confused:

Appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Try a third set, but make sure that it is handled correctly during delivery (or go pick up the set yourself).

The 2nd set has not nearly the PQ as first. I can see much macro blocking. The shadows on HD are black, and lots of pixelation/mb going on. The result is not nearly the clarity/depth as 1st set. However, the geometry is square on 2nd set. I messed with all the user related picture settings, no improvement. I think I even saw my first rainbow last night. I am pretty bummed. No doubt set needs some major calibration to improve PQ.

Did you try fiddling with the "index delay" in the service menu? This seemed to help at least one person who had PQ issues with a replacement set--apparently this value may not get properly reset when a set is refurbished.

Two reasons.

1. There aren't any HD DVD players available now.

2. At this point it looks like there will be two competing formats on the market at the same time. Remember the Sony Beta and VHS VCR format wars?

That means adaptation and price reduction will be very slow in developing. The expected price is around $1,000 for a player that will not be able to play all HD DVD's on the market. Of course you could buy one of each. ;)
Isnt a DVD player that has HDMI, HD at 1080i?

Did you try fiddling with the "index delay" in the service menu? This seemed to help at least one person who had PQ issues with a replacement set--apparently this value may not get properly reset when a set is refurbished.

Yes, messed with it a little bit - didn't see much improvement. I remember that post - his set was really messed up.

Thx

Isnt a DVD player that has HDMI, HD at 1080i?
Upscaling DVD players have either a HDMI or a DVI output. The newer ones have HDMI. They scale 480i DVD source material to 480p, 1080i, or 720p. The source material (480i) is SD. Upscaling it to 720p or 1080i doesn't make it HD.

There is no cause and effect relationship between HDMI output and SD or HD DVD disks.

High definition DVD source will probably be stored on HD DVD disks 1080i and will be de-interlaced by the TV to 1080p if the TV has a native resolution of 1080p.

Combining a HD DVD player with a 720p set will mean that the 1080i source must converted to 720p for display.

Right, I've heard that the HD DVD player(s) should be out in six months or less. People would be better off playing SD DVD and WMV HD DVD from their PC where you can view HD now than buy an obsolete DVD player. No offense intended, just trying to show what is available right now. There are maybe four stand alone DVD players that will play SD and WMV HD right now, but I would still use a PC over them since you get to use the PC as a bonus.

Upscaling DVD players have either a HDMI or a DVI output. The newer ones have HDMI. They scale 480i DVD source material to 480p, 1080i, or 720p. The source material (480i) is SD. Upscaling it to 720p or 1080i doesn't make it HD.

There is no cause and effect relationship between HDMI output and SD or HD DVD disks.

High definition DVD source will probably be stored on HD DVD disks 1080i and will be de-interlaced by the TV to 1080p if the TV has a native resolution of 1080p.

Combining a HD DVD player with a 720p set will mean that the 1080i source must converted to 720p for display.
Cool, Now I need to buy an HD DVD player then, becuase I want it to be HD all the time. My TV is HD and the Signal that I get in from DISH is HD (HD Package that I have). HD looks awesome. Isnt 1080i DVD's almost like HD PQ?

Do you know where I can buy a good HD DVD player?

There aren't any HD DVD players yet. I suspect that bcvp is questioning why many of us are buying pseudo-HD (aka upconverting) DVD players. IMHO, the reason is to try and squeeze as much quality as possible out of today's DVDs (480i). But there will always be debates and opinions either way as to whether the benefits are really there, whether someone can really see any difference with upconverted DVDs (just like the debates as to whether people can see any difference between 720p and 1080p TVs), whether the scaler in the TV is better than that in the upconvert DVD player, and so on. Aside from dozens of existing threads, there is a new thread about this just about every day in the DVD Players forum.
I bet if there was a difference when upconverting, it would really be too small to see and not worth the price tag. I think that the pseudo-HD DVD like you said above, are just as good as anything now and maybe be just as good as an HD DVD. Would we really see a difference?

I guess my point was either keep the DVD you currently have or connect your PC if it will meet the WMV HD specs before spending $$$ on a new player that is based on old technology.

Read what has just been written by several people above...you can't buy HD DVD players yet. Maybe in 6 months.
The other post didnt come in before I posted mine after many temps of refreshing, So I didnt see them. Thanks. This happens.

I saw Samsung 1080P models beside Qualia 006 in Tweeters last week. Surprisingly, Samsung models looked better to me than the more expensive Qualia 006. I thought the Samsung PQ was outstanding-- Brighter and just as detailed as the larger screen Qualia. The PQ difference could be due to adjustments in the TV's. However, the Samsung TVs looked great. In my opinion, the $11000 price tag (yes, Sony has reduced the price) for Qualia does not warrant the extra cost. I would like to see the 70 inch Samsung when it comes out for :) :) a "head to head" comparison with Qualia.

Guess which one I picked. :(
Me too because it was beeeeeter!

Hi, and thanks for the feedback.
Yeah, looks like there aren't a lot of fans of the 950.

The S77 looks very good to me; what's the difference to the S97 ?!

I think I will take the plunge on the Panny (either of them). No macroblocking I assume ?

Thanks !!
D

Hi Doesers.
I myself also purxhased the Samsung H950, but I just received my latest issue of Sound & Vision & in this issue they ran a comaprison/tests on 3 budget 1080i HDMI DVD players.
(1) Samsung 950
(2) Panasonic S77
(3) Toshiba SD 5980

The Samsung & Toshiba players scored very low. The Panasonic scored very high, it did excellent.

Pluses: (1) Superior progressive scan video
(2) Excellent DVD-Audio sound quality
(3) Many user adjustments
(4) Plays most major disc types, including DVD-Ram

Minus: (1) No SACD playback

That's pretty good. I called up VANNS.com & they agreed to refund me my $ on the Samsung 950 & inexchange I ordered the Panasonic through them. It retails for $250, but you can get it for about $214 @ Aamazon.com brand new.

Hope this helps.

But there will always be debates and opinions either way as to whether the benefits are really there, whether someone can really see any difference with upconverted DVDs (just like the debates as to whether people can see any difference between 720p and 1080p TVs), whether the scaler in the TV is better than that in the upconvert DVD player, and so on.
There is a clear difference to me between our older Sony non-progressive DVD player using a component input and our HTPC with a 256MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radeon X800 XT graphics card using TheaterTek 2.0 outputting 720p via DVI or HDMI. :rolleyes:

I played no purposeful role in picking that card, but I hoped it would make a difference.

When SethS calibrated our HLP5063 he put up a diagnostic image that included a diagonal fine black line. He thought our setup did a better job de-interlacing and scaling that image than any DVD player he had seen. He even included a custom DVD player that he was having built for himself.

As time goes bye TVs should have much improved scaling and de-interlacing capability.

Guess which one I picked. :(

The BEST one :D

PS - I checked this out and while the player seems great, it's use of the Fli23x would indicate it DOES have the MB issue ?!
How bad is it on the 1080p Sammy's ?! I.e. what's better, the S77/97 with MB or the Samsung 950's less than stellar video performance ? :-)

Cheers,
Dan

Hi, and thanks for the feedback.
Yeah, looks like there aren't a lot of fans of the 950.

The S77 looks very good to me; what's the difference to the S97 ?!

I think I will take the plunge on the Panny (either of them). No macroblocking I assume ?

Thanks !!
D
:)

Hi, and thanks for the feedback.
Yeah, looks like there aren't a lot of fans of the 950.

The S77 looks very good to me; what's the difference to the S97 ?!

I think I will take the plunge on the Panny (either of them). No macroblocking I assume ?

Thanks !!
D

The Panny's have the Faroudja chip (as do the Denon's and the Oppo) and thus will display (some degree) of MB'ing; how much seems to be quite variable.

I'm wondering why you chose 1920x1280 instead of 1920x1080?

As far as PC use, if you are running Windows, there is another way to increase the size of items on the screen rather than just the font size. To change the font size you go to the Appearance tab and can choose Normal,Large, & Extra Large font sizes as you did, but sometimes that isn't enough. To increase overall size of items on the screen instead, not just the fonts, go to the Settings tab, then click the Advanced button, and there you can increase the DPI setting to compensate for things looking too small on the screen for the resolution you are using.

Oooops - sorry - I meant to say 1920 x 1080. Thanks for the other tip - I'll also give that a try.

Since apparently the only port on the new 1080p Sammies that allows real 1080p input is the PC connector, has anybody thought about running all their sources thru a PC first, then feeding the TV?

Any advantage to this? How would you even do it? Like feed a cable box into a PC, or feed an external DVD box into a PC. What software would the PC need to be running all the time to handle this?

Could this sort of setup take the place of a DVR? I'm thinking lots of disk space on the PC and a couple of DVD burners.

Any thoughts from anyone on this? Would the real 1080p PC feed be worth the extra trouble and expense?

Andrew

Stallion: Where is the DNE on/off control on the Captain Kirk model? Thanks, Emile

I'm new here and just got this far catching up. I ordered the 6168b and my DNIe switch is on the ASO menu at the far bottom of the Pictures settings. Not the demo the actual on/off switch which as others have noted works backwards.

I'm sure this gets cleared up later in the discussion but just wanted to get this in now in case there's still any confusion!

Since apparently the only port on the new 1080p Sammies that allows real 1080p input is the PC connector, has anybody thought about running all their sources thru a PC first, then feeding the TV?

Any advantage to this? How would you even do it? Like feed a cable box into a PC, or feed an external DVD box into a PC. What software would the PC need to be running all the time to handle this?

Could this sort of setup take the place of a DVR? I'm thinking lots of disk space on the PC and a couple of DVD burners.

Any thoughts from anyone on this? Would the real 1080p PC feed be worth the extra trouble and expense?

Andrew

No, it would not be a good idea. First, outside of your PC. There is basically no 1080p content or source material. Second, the beauty of this class of TV is that it is really a complex platform for optimizing todays entertainment sources. For example, it's build in tuners enable you to fine tune analog SD, all inputs have multiple picture modes and adjustments, input variety (HDMI, 1394, etc.) allows for a multitude of projects, and dozens of other great features and capabilities. Which you would lose with a VGA only approach. PLUS, the performance of these sets is exceptional. It is just not clear what you are trying to accomplish. It is tough enough to just optimize these systems will high quality components that are finished products, trying to develop a system from scratch would be an expensive and very disappointing experience.

On the subject of the PC input. Does the PC input have any lag issues that would preclude playing games through an HTPC? Thanks.

-- Jim

USCB,

Great job on this thread and the 2005 DLP HDTV discussion thread, I've been following both from the beginning. Is it possible to update the third post in this thread with answers to the open questions? It would be very helpful and I think people have probably had ample time to play around with their sets. Thanks and keep up the good work!

-Kyle

TetsujinWave,

You are very welcome. It is very exciting to see that a manufacturer is starting to pay serious attention to system standards as well as what a consumer requires in a display device to accommodate their different sources. Hopefully it will only keep getting better.

Donb1948,

The Samsung displays out of the box require a good deal of calibration before they can be recommended. To start, the color temperature and color primaries are incorrect. For the most part these parameters are set to jump out at you when viewing in a show room. If you were to switch to the “Movie” mode the color temperature appears to be close to 6500K, but not the D6500K standard. This may fool many people who evaluate grayscale by looking at the Kelvin reading. The standard for gray, on a the 1931 CIE Chromaticity Chart, is x=.313, y=.329. Kelvin is measured on the x-axis, so the x coordinate could be at .313, but y may be at .350, which is plus green, yet it may read on a meter 6500K. With proper calibration both the color primaries, secondaries, and grayscale may be corrected to SMPTE specifications.

There are some variations between displays out of the box, but it does not to be that huge of a difference at this point. Of course, I have only calibrated a very small amount compared to how many have been sold. More than likely a lot of the variation will come from the front end of the system, such as the DVD Player being used and what input it is going into.

From a technical standpoint there is a major change from the un-calibrated state of the display to the calibrated state of the display. It is a matter of viewing the image as the director intended or not. With that said, it is important to remember that the calibration does not include items such as convergence, since these displays do not require convergence. What it will greatly affect is black level, black level detail, grayscale tracking, the color primaries, secondaries, edge enhancement reduction, alignment of the color decoder (where applicable), alignment of the filter wheel, picture positioning, an actuator adjustment, and several other minor areas that all work together to in fine tuning the display.

A calibration also does not just pertain to a display device. The majority of professional calibrators will not only calibrate the display, but also check to ensure that the equipment driving the display is setup properly. After all, if an inaccurate signal is going into the display it may be difficult, if not impossible to achieve the desired results.

When looking for a calibrator to work on one of these Samsung displays it is essential that they have the proper calibration equipment. To this date we have not tested more than two instruments on the market that will produce accurate and repeatable results – the PhotoResearch PR-650 and the Minolta CS-200. These colorimeters are quite expensive and are not used by the majority of calibrators. There are other models made by both companies on the market that will also do the job; however, both tested cost over $30,000 and are better suited for lab situations. We hope to have the opportunity to test more instrumentation that may soon be available at a lower cost, but have the same accuracy. Without proper equipment the display cannot be setup properly.

millerwill,

I have performed more calibration on the Mitsubishi DLPs than I have on the Samsung displays and can say that from a video standards perspective, the Samsung is beyond anything the Mitsubishi has to offer. The Mitsubishi’s black level is not quite as good after a calibration, the gamma is incorrect, and the color primaries are not close to the SMPTE standards.

I have only done one Toshiba unit and do not feel I can comment on them at this time. It was a few months ago.

StallionRe,

The gamma should be set to 0 on the Samsung DLP displays. Samsung sets it higher for the showroom; remember they want a bright colorful image that draws you toward the set in a brightly lit room. Setting gamma to 2 they believe helps with this.

Regards,

I have had my 5688 1080p set since Tues, so that makes it 5 days that I have had time to play around with my HDTV.

I am loving my HDTV, I have no regret whatsoever on my decision or purchase.

I do not have a subscription to Cable or Satelite service, but I do have Roadrunner Internet service from Time Warner. When the tech came to setup & install the Roadrunner Broadband service, he informed me that he also hooked me up with free cable, all I needed was to acquire Cable Box to be able to view the scrambled CHs.

Using my old Sony 1989 Trinitron CRT, I was able to pick up a a few Cable CHs. Now with my 5688 HDTV I am still able to pick up the same CHs & a few more, plus Iam able to pick up the local network HD CHs, such as CBS HD, PBS HD, ABC HD etc...

The PQ varies from CH to CH & program to program. I am seriously thinking of subscribing to Time Warners Cable service, in particular through the CableCard service, to be able to view extra HD CH & content.

Discovery Theatre HD, NBC HD & ABC HD are the 3 CHs out of the HD CHs my HDTV picks up that has provided the best PQ/Images of HD content. But @ times it's not very sharp or clear, but again this falls on the feed from the networks & the fact I am using your basic Roof Top antenna for my reception.

For those who own CableCard service, does it warrant the subscription? I'm not into PPV or Video/Movies on demand service so I can live without those for now.

OK back to the 5688. MY family & a few friends of the family who have been over to see the HDTV in person has been so impressed by the physical appearance of the Pedestal Model alone. After watching some HD programming, they have been quite impressed.

I had ordered the samsung 950 DVD player, but I am exchanging it for the Panasonic S77 DVD player after it scored very high in the latest Sound & Vision issue for a budget player, when compared & tested against the Samsung 950 & Toshiba SD 5980 players.
Panasonic Progressive Scan produced excellent results & PQ & it's only $50 more than the 950.

I have tested the 5688 using my XBOX connected via the XBOX HD Component Cables. I ran into an issue here as I had originally connect the XBOX to my ONKYO AV Receiver, & had the ONKYO connected via HDMI Cable to the 5688, but the color was off as I kept getting a high lemon yellow color on my images.

I then tried connecting the XBOX directly to the 5688 instead of through the ONKYO & that resolved the problem, but I suspect that the issue I am having with the XBOX & DVD player connected through the ONKYO AV Receiver has to do with either the ONKYO AV itself or the HDMI Cable I have running from the TV to the ONKYO.

I tested the XBOX using 2 games, (1)Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory & (2) Full Spectrum Warrior, since both games require fast response time & reaction. Both passed with flying colors so far, no video lag whatsoever.

Since I am having issues with the ONKYO I haven't connected/setup my speakers for 5.1 Surround Sound, so I can't report on any Audio lag in regards to gaming.
SC:CT looks very nice, but I am getting a few jaggies from time to time on my TV, but I attribute that to the game itself.

FSW doesn't look so great on my TV, but again, that's attributed to the game itself, since it only supports up to 480p.

I played with the Samsung 950 DVD player, no video lag, although had a few macroblocks pop up a few times during the playing of "SKy Captain:Wolrd of Tomrrow" movie, but that's attributed to both the Player & Movie.

I have only played with the different color settings & Modesa little bit so far. I have found that MOVIE Mode seems to produce the best PQ, although it's a little dark, but I simply bump up the BRIGHTNESS Level up a few notches.

I'll finish setting up the rest of my HTS (Home Theatre System) this week & test out the AUDIO. The Panasonic S77 should arrive by Thurs or Fri, once it does I'll test it out througly on the 5688 & report back.

I don't use the GAME MODE for gaming on the 5688 b/c it only supports resolutions up to 480p & no higher, so I just use MOVIE MODE.

I watched a program on Discovery Theatre HD the other night, it was on an island resort area in Hawaii, it had tons of scenery (Water, Grass, Trees, Flowers) to test the PQ & performance of the 5688 on, using the factory Color defualt settings, let me tell you I was blown away. Later that day they repeated the same program & my family got a chance to view it & they were blown away.

That's it for now, hope this post has been helpful.

I have performed more calibration on the Mitsubishi DLPs than I have on the Samsung displays and can say that from a video standards perspective, the Samsung is beyond anything the Mitsubishi has to offer. The Mitsubishi’s black level is not quite as good after a calibration, the gamma is incorrect, and the color primaries are not close to the SMPTE standards.

,

Is this based on actual experience with the newer 1080p versions or is this an extrapolation based on the older versions?

millerwill,

I have performed more calibration on the Mitsubishi DLPs than I have on the Samsung displays and can say that from a video standards perspective, the Samsung is beyond anything the Mitsubishi has to offer. The Mitsubishi’s black level is not quite as good after a calibration, the gamma is incorrect, and the color primaries are not close to the SMPTE standards.

The Mits you have done are the present 720p set, I presume, since the new 1080p ones are really not out there yet. Any evidence concering the new ones? Your comments are very interesting, for when I've seen the Mits and Sammy 720p sets (both with the HD2+ chip), I have usually thought the Mits picturer was sharper, i.e., showed more fine detail. This may, of course, not be inconsistent with your comments about calibration.

Thanks very much for your very informative input to all this!

I have a Motorola 6412 PVR connected via component, and I can't seem to get the TV to show captions--if I hit the caption button on the remote, I get a "Not supported in this mode" error on the TV. I have to use the 6412's own captioning (which is really crappy, and you have to turn the box off and enter its setup menu to enable it). Captions seem to work from my old DirecTiVo connected over S-Video.

Is this a limitation of the component connection, or of the 6412? Since it's the TV giving the error, I assume it's just that caption info doesn't get passed over component, but I wouldn't know. Does caption data get passed over HDMI?

Since apparently the only port on the new 1080p Sammies that allows real 1080p input is the PC connector, has anybody thought about running all their sources thru a PC first, then feeding the TV?

Any advantage to this? How would you even do it? Like feed a cable box into a PC, or feed an external DVD box into a PC. What software would the PC need to be running all the time to handle this?

Could this sort of setup take the place of a DVR? I'm thinking lots of disk space on the PC and a couple of DVD burners.

Any thoughts from anyone on this? Would the real 1080p PC feed be worth the extra trouble and expense?

Andrew

Re using a PC to take the place of a DVR, take a look at Paul Thurriot's review of the 2005 Edition of Media Center XP at the following link. http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_mce2005.asp I'd like to hear your (and others') reaction after reading it. I'm not tech-savvy enough to have much confidence in my own reaction, which was that using a Media Center PC would be a super-cool -- but also super-expensive -- way to organize your media. Almost certainly uneconomic unless you have, or plan to amass, a large library of video and music. If I'm wrong, I'd really like to hear why soon so I can think about integrating an MCPC into the HDTV purchase I am currently putting together.

Jack123

Contrary to the TV Manuals and what I was told by Samsung Tech Support, the Samsung 1080p (at least the 5688) does support the Mac! I just hooked up a Mac Powerbook G4. the Mac easily recognized the Samsung and even identified it as such.

To get it working on the Mac, after you have hooked up your cables and set the TV to PC, go into System Preferences. Click on Hardware: Displays. Then click on Detect Displays. Voila, the Samsung shows up. Choose the resolution of 1920 X 1080 and do not check "Mirror." What shows up on the TV is just your wallpaper without anything else on it. Supposing you open iPhoto. Just drag the opened program into the Samsung display which is by default just to the right of the Mac screen. You will actually see it appear on the Samsung as you move the program over. Your curser moves back and forth between the two displays.

I found the display on the Samsung overly bright and I had to turn brightness way down and reduce contrast. You may also need to play with Fine and Course modes. Enjoy!

Which model did you get? Any chance you could post a photo of this ASO menu (what is ASO?) so we can see what you are referring to regarding the DNIe switch?


I got the 6168b. What do you mean by "post a photo"? There is a "still" button on my remote but no "photo" button. I don't know what ASO is.

I also got a 950. What is wrong with them and should I exchange it for something else. I bought it a TVA.If What should I exchange it for???

I got the 6168b. What do you mean by "post a photo"? There is a "still" button on my remote but no "photo" button. I don't know what ASO is.


I assume he means take a digital pic of the screen and attach it to your reply here. Something like this of my antenna: Click on "manage attachments" when you reply, then browse until you find the pic in your "my pictures" folder or wherever you put it and click "upload pictures" to attach it here when you submit the reply.

I got the 6168b....

I believe you mean 6168W, there is no 6168b Samsung TV.

ok, this has probably been answered about 10 times already on this thread, but it's hard for me to keep up with reading every single post...but

what does changing the gamma setting in the service menu do for the display? or how does it change the picture? can someone please explain this in simple language???

secondly...

it sounds as if all the 1080p models come set up as gamma level 2 (for whatever reason). should i go ahead and change it to 0? i have not recieved my set, but want the best picture possible without spending $400 to get it professionally calibrated.
so, is it pretty accepted that setting the set to gamma level 0 will provide a better picture???

thanks for your help!!!

I think what you are saying is that you are getting dual monitors, one from the mac, left monitor and the Sammy, right monitor? If that is the case that would be neat. I think if you select Mirror, the monitor on the Mac will be exactly the same as the Sammy? That is, one monitor?

I also got a 950. What is wrong with them and should I exchange it for something else. I bought it a TVA.If What should I exchange it for???

Ed i can atempt to answer this for you base don my personal experience with the 950 player.

I used it on my 5688 1080p TV, the PQ was average @ best, saw a few MB's. I set the 950 to 1080i resolution still not much of an improvement. I have exchanged it for the panasonic S77 1080i HDMI player. MSRP is $250, but Amazon.com has it currently for $214.

The recent Sound & Vision Mag issue did a test with the Panasonic, Toshiba & Samsung 950, the test results had the Panasonic head & shoulders above both.

Look into this issue & into the Panasonic s77 as a budget 1080i HDMI player.

Ed i can atempt to answer this for you base don my personal experience with the 950 player.

I used it on my 5688 1080p TV, the PQ was average @ best, saw a few MB's. I set the 950 to 1080i resolution still not much of an improvement. I have exchanged it for the panasonic S77 1080i HDMI player. MSRP is $250, but Amazon.com has it currently for $214.

The recent Sound & Vision Mag issue did a test with the Panasonic, Toshiba & Samsung 950, the test results had the Panasonic head & shoulders above both.

Look into this issue & into the Panasonic s77 as a budget 1080i HDMI player.Don't forget the OPPO DVD player either..it plays everything you through at it...where the panasonic S77 might have a problem with some disk like DVD+R...and the OPPO puts out a very nice sharp/crisp picture. :)

Yes an excellent picture. It's very close to the picture from my SDI RP82 going through an iScanHD+.

But doesn't the Oppo use the same Faroudja chip as the Sammy 950, and thus have MB'ing?

Don't forget the OPPO DVD player either..it plays everything you through at it...where the panasonic S77 might have a problem with some disk like DVD+R...and the OPPO puts out a very nice sharp/crisp picture. :)


The OPPO is a great player - and handles Divx, Xvid files( many folks won't buy a player that won't nowadays.) - just about anything you throw at it. Also great support and firmware updates.

TetsujinWave,

You are very welcome. It is very exciting to see that a manufacturer is starting to pay serious attention to system standards as well as what a consumer requires in a display device to accommodate their different sources. Hopefully it will only keep getting better.

Donb1948,

The Samsung displays out of the box require a good deal of calibration before they can be recommended. To start, the color temperature and color primaries are incorrect. For the most part these parameters are set to jump out at you when viewing in a show room. If you were to switch to the “Movie” mode the color temperature appears to be close to 6500K, but not the D6500K standard. This may fool many people who evaluate grayscale by looking at the Kelvin reading. The standard for gray, on a the 1931 CIE Chromaticity Chart, is x=.313, y=.329. Kelvin is measured on the x-axis, so the x coordinate could be at .313, but y may be at .350, which is plus green, yet it may read on a meter 6500K. With proper calibration both the color primaries, secondaries, and grayscale may be corrected to SMPTE specifications.

There are some variations between displays out of the box, but it does not to be that huge of a difference at this point. Of course, I have only calibrated a very small amount compared to how many have been sold. More than likely a lot of the variation will come from the front end of the system, such as the DVD Player being used and what input it is going into.

From a technical standpoint there is a major change from the un-calibrated state of the display to the calibrated state of the display. It is a matter of viewing the image as the director intended or not. With that said, it is important to remember that the calibration does not include items such as convergence, since these displays do not require convergence. What it will greatly affect is black level, black level detail, grayscale tracking, the color primaries, secondaries, edge enhancement reduction, alignment of the color decoder (where applicable), alignment of the filter wheel, picture positioning, an actuator adjustment, and several other minor areas that all work together to in fine tuning the display.

A calibration also does not just pertain to a display device. The majority of professional calibrators will not only calibrate the display, but also check to ensure that the equipment driving the display is setup properly. After all, if an inaccurate signal is going into the display it may be difficult, if not impossible to achieve the desired results.

When looking for a calibrator to work on one of these Samsung displays it is essential that they have the proper calibration equipment. To this date we have not tested more than two instruments on the market that will produce accurate and repeatable results – the PhotoResearch PR-650 and the Minolta CS-200. These colorimeters are quite expensive and are not used by the majority of calibrators. There are other models made by both companies on the market that will also do the job; however, both tested cost over $30,000 and are better suited for lab situations. We hope to have the opportunity to test more instrumentation that may soon be available at a lower cost, but have the same accuracy. Without proper equipment the display cannot be setup properly.

millerwill,

I have performed more calibration on the Mitsubishi DLPs than I have on the Samsung displays and can say that from a video standards perspective, the Samsung is beyond anything the Mitsubishi has to offer. The Mitsubishi’s black level is not quite as good after a calibration, the gamma is incorrect, and the color primaries are not close to the SMPTE standards.

I have only done one Toshiba unit and do not feel I can comment on them at this time. It was a few months ago.

StallionRe,

The gamma should be set to 0 on the Samsung DLP displays. Samsung sets it higher for the showroom; remember they want a bright colorful image that draws you toward the set in a brightly lit room. Setting gamma to 2 they believe helps with this.

Regards,
Thanks Dabid a bunch for this great knownledge that you have shared with us. Also that you have told me about my gamma setting. I will try this. I have done so much research lately to know now what to change on my 6178 for a better PQ. If there is anything else that I should know please PM or post it. Thanks a million.

For others who need to know, What is the sequence to get into the SM?

Which model did you get? Any chance you could post a photo of this ASO menu (what is ASO?) so we can see what you are referring to regarding the DNIe switch?
Do you remember how to get into the SM? was it Mute-1-8-2-power? Thanks.

I have a 2 day old 6178. When you turn the set off using either the remote or the front panel button, the Standby/Temp light comes on and stays on.

Does this happen on all sets? Is it "normal"?

I have a 2 day old 6178. When you turn the set off using either the remote or the front panel button, the Standby/Temp light comes on and stays on.

Does this happen on all sets? Is it "normal"?
Yes this is normal, I have the 6178 and the standby light/temp is red and stays on solid when the TV is off of course. When it is on, the Light is Green and says lamp. Is this what you have? The book explains exactly what the modes mean, if something else is on or flashes and beeps, etc, then it represents something, ie bulb needs to be changed, tv is too hot, etc.

what does changing the gamma setting in the service menu do for the display? or how does it change the picture? can someone please explain this in simple language???

For my 6168, out of the box, medium-dark areas had an oddly "shiny" green-gray look to them--especially noticeable in dark scenes and in shadowed areas of faces. Turning the gamma from 2 to 0 nearly eliminated this, though it also resulted in some loss of detail in dark areas.

it sounds as if all the 1080p models come set up as gamma level 2 (for whatever reason). should i go ahead and change it to 0? i have not recieved my set, but want the best picture possible without spending $400 to get it professionally calibrated.
so, is it pretty accepted that setting the set to gamma level 0 will provide a better picture???

It's up to you to try it and see if it helps. Most people here who have tried it (myself included) think it improves color significantly. However, venturing into the service menu does carry some risk if you're not careful. And presumably a professional calibrator will be able to do much more detailed color tweaking.

I'm having a calibrator (SethS) come over tomorrow. Though I've been happy with the set overall, I've noticed a few specific areas where I think color quality could be improved (certain kinds of faces in particular lighting seem a little too orange and flat; shadowed areas can still sometimes seem greenish). I'll post a report tomorrow about whether the calibration seems to help with these issues.

Cpcat,

This was based on the current 720p models. I hope to have the opportunity to work on the 1080p models soon.

Millerwill,

As of now I do not have any evidence regarding the new 1080p Mitsubishi displays; however, they would require a good number of improvements to be compared to the Samsung’s capability. This of course is not unheard of, as many manufacturers have taken leaps from one model to the next. I am very interested to get to work on one soon.

StallionRE,

You are very welcome.

Regards,

what does changing the gamma setting in the service menu do for the display?
The main thing it does is give you better details in dark scenes. If you also get a copy of Digital Video Essentials you can adjust the contrast, brightness, and color settings for your DVD input to get better picture quality.


i have not recieved my set, but want the best picture possible without spending $400 to get it professionally calibrated.
so, is it pretty accepted that setting the set to gamma level 0 will provide a better picture???
The same people who do the $400 calibrations and post here think so. Most of the other members who have tried it think so. What you think can't be predicted.:)

If you read post #3735 you can get an idea what the $400 will do for all your inputs. It's just a few posts above yours.

Enjoy your new set.

I'm an independent filmmaker and working on a project generated on a PC at 1080p at 23.976fps. I'm struggling to find a display system to view my film project at full resolution with accurate enough color to do color correction.

I was directed to look at new consumer 1080p displays as true 1080p broadcast equipment or projects cost as much as house which is a little beyond my budget :p

However, I am concerned about the suitable of a consumer display for this purpose. It appears the new Sony's 1080p sets do not support VGA inputs at 1920X1080p according to the manual on their web-site so the Samsung looks like the best (only?) option for me. Some questions.

(1) Some earlier posts in this thread seem to verify 1:1 pixel mapping - however, when the set is adjusted to correct scan full image without over or underscan, is the geometry and pixel mapping still correct?

(2) Is the color adjustments accurate enough for true color calibration to professional standards?

(3) Has anyone output 1080p 23.976fps video files with relatively low compression levels to the set - quality comments?

thanks for any help...

(2) Is the color adjustments accurate enough for true color calibration to professional standards?.
You might want to contact David about his calibration experience with the 1080p Samsung sets.

David Abrams 1 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6061619&&#post6061619)

David Abrams 2 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6067770&&#post6067770)

Ok, now this is interesting: From what I have read, I agree, the S77 is a much better player than the 950 per se. But, isn't it the PANNY that suffers from Macroblocking, NOT the Samsung ?
In other words, the MB issues comes up with the FLI 23x Faroudja chip - which IS on the S77 - but NOT the Sammy (using Zoran).

So shouldn't it be 'better picture quality in S77 versus no MB in the 950' ?!

Considering THAT, which one is the better player ? I.e. how does the S77 perform on teh 1080p Samusungs in particular to MB - is it 'worth' getting MB for the better pic quality as compared to the 950 ?

Cheers,
Dan

Ed i can atempt to answer this for you base don my personal experience with the 950 player.

I used it on my 5688 1080p TV, the PQ was average @ best, saw a few MB's. I set the 950 to 1080i resolution still not much of an improvement. I have exchanged it for the panasonic S77 1080i HDMI player. MSRP is $250, but Amazon.com has it currently for $214.

The recent Sound & Vision Mag issue did a test with the Panasonic, Toshiba & Samsung 950, the test results had the Panasonic head & shoulders above both.

Look into this issue & into the Panasonic s77 as a budget 1080i HDMI player.

I guess I still don't understand why the Panny or Sammy is better than the AVeLink2? There was some discussion over at the DVD Forum, which I didn't read. If I was shooting HDV now or wanted to watch WMVHD I'd get this one unless someone can explain why it isn't any good? Thanks. [Oh, and there is some sort of update on that page from August 8, 2005]
http://www.iodata.com/usa/products/products.php?cat=HNP&sc=AVEL&pId=AVLP2%2FDVDLA

Stevenw, I'm about to get into HDV. I have a dual Xenon system I built and I too am looking to use this Sammy for editing video, photo and animation. From what I've seen here and elsewhere, although mostly here, this is the best "monitor" out there today and probably tomorrow based on the quality, size and price. I am looking to get this one 5678 instead of two wide HD monitors and a HDTV monitor to check my work. I'd like to know what you decide to do if you don't end up getting one of these. Mine is due in on Monday, although people here have heard that before. It isn't an emergency for me but the price was really good or so I thought and decided to buy it. No matter which monitor you buy you'll need to check the calibration and I don't think these are any different or worse than others.

Does anyone know what the maximum cable length is for the monitor cable? Does it mention it in the manual or has anyone tried a 10' or 15'? Staples has a 15' for $15, so that probaly qualifies for the "cheap cable works better" spec.

I think what you are saying is that you are getting dual monitors, one from the mac, left monitor and the Sammy, right monitor? If that is the case that would be neat. I think if you select Mirror, the monitor on the Mac will be exactly the same as the Sammy? That is, one monitor?

You are correct. With mirror checked, what you see on the TV is the same as on the Mac laptop monitor. With mirror unchecked, you have dual monitors and the ability to view wide-screen without stretching the image.

Please note that according to the Apple salesman, iBooks lack dual monitors and the TV only mirror's (duplicates) the computer monitor's display. However, PowerBooks do have the capacity for dual display.

Overscan-Underscan Issues: The Macintosh display on the TV has a lettrbox border of about an inch around it (underscan). However, a very tiny part of the image is chopped off on all sides (overscan). What I am trying to say is that even at 1920X1080, the image doesn't take up the whole screen and yet you don't see the full image. This is not particularly annoying, since since you can also resize the program that you drag to the TV screen.

There remains issues of clarity. I will be away from you guys a couple of weeks, but when I get back, perhaps on page 225 or so, I will share with you whatever settings I've tweeked to improve the picture.

I welcome to hear anyone else's experience with a Macintosh, espeically running Tiger and iPhoto.

But doesn't the Oppo use the same Faroudja chip as the Sammy 950, and thus have MB'ing?
The Samsung 950 doees not use the Faroudja chip. The 941 does. So far, having watched four movies on the 941, I see no evidence of macroblocking, and the PQ is outstanding, better than a movie theater!

No, it would not be a good idea. First, outside of your PC. There is basically no 1080p content or source material. Second, the beauty of this class of TV is that it is really a complex platform for optimizing todays entertainment sources. For example, it's build in tuners enable you to fine tune analog SD, all inputs have multiple picture modes and adjustments, input variety (HDMI, 1394, etc.) allows for a multitude of projects, and dozens of other great features and capabilities. Which you would lose with a VGA only approach. PLUS, the performance of these sets is exceptional. It is just not clear what you are trying to accomplish. It is tough enough to just optimize these systems will high quality components that are finished products, trying to develop a system from scratch would be an expensive and very disappointing experience.This contradicts everything that I have heard from all AV specialists about getting the best picture from high resolution or digital displays. The general rule is that the de-interlacing and scaling engines in all digital displays can always be improved on with specialist high quality off-board video processors like Lumagen. I’m not aware that there have been any exceptions to this, and I believe that the Samsung DNIe is not exactly one of the best integrated processors.

No matter, the key to getting the best PQ is to minimise the processing done by the source and the display, and get the processor to handle ALL the de-interlacing and scaling and other functions. This requires the source and display to interface in their native format, which means accepting a 1080p input, so the processor can interface pixel to pixel.

This has been the case with 480, 720 and 768 line displays, and although it doesn’t seem to have been discussed so far, will surely be the way forwards with 1080p picture quality. 1080p over HDMI is obviously the preferred interface, but if VGA is the only way to carry it then so be it. I use an HD scaler and HTPC that outputs 1080p over VGA to a large HD PC monitor. The PQ is cleaner and sharper than ANY TV (though slightly lacking in brightness and contrast) and I can hardly wait to hook it up to a new 1080p DLP RPTV.

What I am talking about is the way to get the ultimate picture quality achievable. There would obviously be some sacrifices with regard to the convenience of having a fully integrated TV over a display-only device, but that is for the user to decide. Nonetheless, processors usually have a wide range of inputs to facilitate the interfaces, and sources are often in off-board boxes anyway.

HTPCs may also provide the functionality of a scaler, and mine works very well with SD sources. I’m not sure if PCs are powerful enough yet to support real time 1080i de-interlacing, but that will only be a matter of a short time. Once we are there, application like Windows MCE will be able to manage video processing.

The important thing, though, is that a native 1080p input capability already exists. Even if a suitable source is not yet owned or even available, there is no way forwards to making the most of what the 1080p displays are really capable of, without one.

BR, Nick

Ther 1080P WMVHD clips looks awesome on my 6168 using the VGA input at 1920x1080P.

The Samsung displays out of the box require a good deal of calibration before they can be recommended. ... David,

Thanks much for taking the time and making the effort to respond to my questions. If really great to have professionals, like yourself, contributing. Don't know if you ever vist Michigan but when I eventually decide on which set to get, I will look you up.

Stephenvv,

We do production work in the 1920x1080p format and will be able to assist you in putting together a system that fits your needs. Please contact me via email at DavidAbrams@VideoEssentials.com to discuss further.

Regards,

Yes this is normal, I have the 6178 and the standby light/temp is red and stays on solid when the TV is off of course. When it is on, the Light is Green and says lamp. Is this what you have? The book explains exactly what the modes mean, if something else is on or flashes and beeps, etc, then it represents something, ie bulb needs to be changed, tv is too hot, etc.

Hmm. I have the solid red light when the set is off, but when it is on, there is no solid green light, the green Timer light flashes when I push a button on the remote.

For those that have HTPC and WMV9 you can taste clips of 1080p content here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx

I have had my 6168 for a few weeks now. I have noticed that my HTPC DVD player blows away my Samsung 850 DVD player (Finding Nemo was unwatchable on the 850 but wonderful on the HTPC). Also, Monsters, Inc looks amazing on this TV.

I have lots of 1080p material that I have collected on my HTPC. By far, the best picture I have seen on this TV as of yet is the Coral Reef Adventure in wmv-hd (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000YED1S/qid=1124717566/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4374279-0576042?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846).

My ony issue with wmv-hd is that the audio is not in Dolby Digital 5.1.

In your earlier post you said "Just got mine today! Awesome. Haven't totally calibrated everyting yet but was glad to see it does have a DNIe setting as part of the ASO. Some other cool options there too. More to follow ..."
I was wondering what you meant by "the ASO" as its not an abbreviation that I'm familiar with. You mention that the ASO has a DNIe setting so I was assuming (perhaps wrongly) that the ASO was a menu with the ability to turn DNIe on/off and that a photo taken of that with a digital camera and posted here might help in better understanding what you were referring to. Is "ASO" the same as "SM" (Service Menu)?

P.S. are you also oneballeddie?

I have borrowed a digital camera. Pictures to follow.

Does anyone know what the maximum cable length is for the monitor cable? Does it mention it in the manual or has anyone tried a 10' or 15'? Staples has a 15' for $15, so that probaly qualifies for the "cheap cable works better" spec.

I'm using a cheap 10' VGA cable, works just fine.

This contradicts everything that I have heard from all AV specialists about getting the best picture from high resolution or digital displays. The general rule is that the de-interlacing and scaling engines in all digital displays can always be improved on with specialist high quality off-board video processors like Lumagen. I’m not aware that there have been any exceptions to this, and I believe that the Samsung DNIe is not exactly one of the best integrated processors.

No matter, the key to getting the best PQ is to minimise the processing done by the source and the display, and get the processor to handle ALL the de-interlacing and scaling and other functions. This requires the source and display to interface in their native format, which means accepting a 1080p input, so the processor can interface pixel to pixel.

This has been the case with 480, 720 and 768 line displays, and although it doesn’t seem to have been discussed so far, will surely be the way forwards with 1080p picture quality. 1080p over HDMI is obviously the preferred interface, but if VGA is the only way to carry it then so be it. I use an HD scaler and HTPC that outputs 1080p over VGA to a large HD PC monitor. The PQ is cleaner and sharper than ANY TV (though slightly lacking in brightness and contrast) and I can hardly wait to hook it up to a new 1080p DLP RPTV.

What I am talking about is the way to get the ultimate picture quality achievable. There would obviously be some sacrifices with regard to the convenience of having a fully integrated TV over a display-only device, but that is for the user to decide. Nonetheless, processors usually have a wide range of inputs to facilitate the interfaces, and sources are often in off-board boxes anyway.

HTPCs may also provide the functionality of a scaler, and mine works very well with SD sources. I’m not sure if PCs are powerful enough yet to support real time 1080i de-interlacing, but that will only be a matter of a short time. Once we are there, application like Windows MCE will be able to manage video processing.

The important thing, though, is that a native 1080p input capability already exists. Even if a suitable source is not yet owned or even available, there is no way forwards to making the most of what the 1080p displays are really capable of, without one.

BR, Nick


Outputting 1920x1080i over DVI->HDMI looks better than 1920x1080p over VGA on my 6168. This is video/tv/dvd playback only. The desktop/application windows are barely readable over DVI->HDMI (almost like it misses some of the scanlines - very strange) where VGA is very crisp.

WMV HD 9 and 10 have 5.1, although not DD and 10 has improved audio. I assume the MS 5.1 is for computer speakers only or maybe a media center unit with some sort of connections?

I just received my HLR-5078W this weekend. I am very impressed with this set. I am using an HDMI connection between my cable box (Comcast cable, box model 8300) and TV. I have not calibrated the set yet, and settings are on standard. My only grip is when watching High Def, I see noise in the dark colors. The blacks can get blotchy. Is this normal? I have the cable box outputting 1080i. Thanks for any comments.

it sounds as if all the 1080p models come set up as gamma level 2 (for whatever reason). should i go ahead and change it to 0? i have not recieved my set, but want the best picture possible without spending $400 to get it professionally calibrated.
so, is it pretty accepted that setting the set to gamma level 0 will provide a better picture???

One thing I really noticed about putting gamma at 0 is that it has really cleaned up the color banding in the dark area. Nemo dvd is watchable again and dark shadows no longer look wierd because of the color banding.

Only one of my PCs has the horsepower to play the WMV trailers at 1080P and it is my main one. If I get a chance I will try it but I doubt I will be moving the PC anytime soon. I've been looking for a compact PC that I can use for playing those 1080P files but I haven't found one at the right price, and I don't feel like putting one together with such a tight space in the case.

Hey Aaronwt,

If you are looking for a compact PC, check out the Shuttle XPC (www.shuttle.com). Very compact and fairly reasonably priced. Can save a ton if you put it together yourself but I understand your point. I didn't want to bother putting it together, so I had it pre-built.

Good Luck

Hmm. I have the solid red light when the set is off, but when it is on, there is no solid green light, the green Timer light flashes when I push a button on the remote.
Which is fine, this is how it works, however mine has a solid green light on the top right side of the button/silver round display, you know the one that the light is out of. My green light does not flash while the TV is. It is completely solid. Your set is just fine I beleive. As long as in the book it states that. IE that when it flashes green when it is on, then the set is normal. It could be flashing because the lamp is getting up to tempearture for a better PQ.

I have had my 6168 for a few weeks now. I have noticed that my HTPC DVD player blows away my Samsung 850 DVD player (Finding Nemo was unwatchable on the 850 but wonderful on the HTPC). Also, Monsters, Inc looks amazing on this TV.

I have lots of 1080p material that I have collected on my HTPC. By far, the best picture I have seen on this TV as of yet is the Coral Reef Adventure in wmv-hd (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000YED1S/qid=1124717566/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4374279-0576042?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846).

My ony issue with wmv-hd is that the audio is not in Dolby Digital 5.1.
Thanks so much for this link. I am going to buy two copies now for my TV, the Bundle is a great deal for $30.00, I see this DVD played in the stores and I always wanted one to see my TV PQ, the way that it should be seen. This will tell me everything about my tv PQ.

One thing I really noticed about putting gamma at 0 is that it has really cleaned up the color banding in the dark area. Nemo dvd is watchable again and dark shadows no longer look wierd because of the color banding.
Mike, Do you know how to get into the SM on the 6178?

This is greatly appreciated.

Outputting 1920x1080i over DVI->HDMI looks better than 1920x1080p over VGA on my 6168. This is video/tv/dvd playback only. The desktop/application windows are barely readable over DVI->HDMI (almost like it misses some of the scanlines - very strange) where VGA is very crisp.Sorry, that sounds like a contradiction. Is VGA better or worse?

Mike, Do you know how to get into the SM on the 6178?

Its probably the same power off, mute, 1, 8, 2, power on

Its probably the same power off, mute, 1, 8, 2, power on
I will try it today. Thanks a million. I think that I will have Daivd calibrate my set if I need it. I sent him an email. But first I will change my gamma to 0. It seems like many people have posted that gamma 0 looks great and David told me that I should change it. Great idea. Is yours set to 0?

While waiting for SS to tell me if I will be getting a new TV or a swap of the DMD to fix my issues and after the countless entries on the overscan debate, I decided to talk to a level 2 tech to understand what SS feels is an appropriate amount of overscan.

According to level 2 support there should be no overscan on these DLP sets. We should see every line of resolution. If not then it would be impossible to expect 1:1 mapping of an image (ie DVD or PC).

They also said I should not have the pin cushion or rotated geometry. So it sounds like what I expect is what I should get. More later when I either receive a new set or they repair what I have now.

Concerning the VGA cable: I bought a 25 foot one to connect from my office PC to the 6178 in my living room (going through a wall). My cable has female to male ends also because I assumed this is what I needed. Question is, can I buy a female end converter so I don't have to rewire my cable? Also, instead of buying a bluetooth keyboard to control my main PC, can I control it through WIFI using a notebook? Thanks an advance. PS. I have zero problems with my new Sammy. Haven't hooked up my amp yet so can't report on audio delay (bought the Felston just in case and was surprised at it's small size) But the HD picture Q is really amazing

I just received my HLR-5078W this weekend. I am very impressed with this set. I am using an HDMI connection between my cable box (Comcast cable, box model 8300) and TV. I have not calibrated the set yet, and settings are on standard. My only grip is when watching High Def, I see noise in the dark colors. The blacks can get blotchy. Is this normal? I have the cable box outputting 1080i. Thanks for any comments.

Setting gamma to 0 nearly eliminated this issue for me, as mentioned earlier in this thread. PM me for details.

PPS...maybe Stallion drinks alot.

You might want to contact David about his calibration experience with the 1080p Samsung sets.


thanks very much - that is exactly what I was looking for and has missed in back reading the thread (125 pages is a lot!)

PPS...maybe Stallion drinks alot.
Yeah, how did you guess. ;) Monster drink is my favorite. Just like Monster cables are the best. Anything Monster is all right in my book. :D ;)

Stevenw, I'm about to get into HDV. I have a dual Xenon system I built and I too am looking to use this Sammy for editing video, photo and animation. From what I've seen here and elsewhere, although mostly here, this is the best "monitor" out there today and probably tomorrow based on the quality, size and price.

From what I'm reading, this seems to be the case as well. I'm still researching and will in be in post on this project until January, so I have a month or two to decide.

Thanks so much for this link. I am going to buy two copies now for my TV, the Bundle is a great deal for $30.00, I see this DVD played in the stores and I always wanted one to see my TV PQ, the way that it should be seen. This will tell me everything about my tv PQ.

FYI: Amazon's "by both now" things (package deals, bundles, whatever you call it) are not any extra savings off the regular amazon prices. Just add up the amounts of both items and you'll see its the same. Best Buy on the other hand typically has bundles where you get 2 movies for $20 and if you check their prices often one of the movies (same version) is $20-24 by itself! Anyways, just saying I think its shady of amazon to put that on there like its a deal on every item you look at (and the add it up thing doesn't just apply to dvds, its with cds, electronics, hdtvs and dvdplayers, books, everything... they don't really have _any_ deals!).

Now back to the TV's... I just bought my stand and harmony 880 remote from BB (rewardzone points) and the PureAV battery is on the way. Now my lonely stand is waiting for a nice big 5668 to go on it!

BTW, so far I love the remote, only had it since Sat and need to program it some more but in with under 4 minutes initial setup and ease of use, I recommend it.


EDIT: I stand slightly corrected after noticing that the Sufjan Stevens cd offer said in red "an additional $2 off with ..." but the standard holds true.

FYI: Amazon's "by both now" things (package deals, bundles, whatever you call it) are not any extra savings off the regular amazon prices. Just add up the amounts of both items and you'll see its the same. Best Buy on the other hand typically has bundles where you get 2 movies for $20 and if you check their prices often one of the movies (same version) is $20-24 by itself! Anyways, just saying I think its shady of amazon to put that on there like its a deal on every item you look at (and the add it up thing doesn't just apply to dvds, its with cds, electronics, hdtvs and dvdplayers, books, everything... they don't really have _any_ deals!).

Now back to the TV's... I just bought my stand and harmony 880 remote from BB (rewardzone points) and the PureAV battery is on the way. Now my lonely stand is waiting for a nice big 5668 to go on it!

BTW, so far I love the remote, only had it since Sat and need to program it some more but in with under 4 minutes initial setup and ease of use, I recommend it.


EDIT: I stand slightly corrected after noticing that the Sufjan Stevens cd offer said in red "an additional $2 off with ..." but the standard holds true.
Thanks a lot. You are right Amazon, is not that good of a deal. I didnt pay yet. I will wait until I see a better and maybe Bestbuy will have it cheaper. Amazon tries to trick you.
I also bout the Harmony remote and programmed it with my computer, it works ok, but I will not use it. I like the seperate remotes.

My understanding is that pincushion is a function of lens design for extremely short throw setups, and that it's not an issue with front projectors. I've read that it can be reduced greatly with lens design but that it's fairly expensive at this time. The 52" HD2 Loewe at $7,000 with Carl Zeiss lenses had as much pincushioning as most other RPTV sets.


No projection -- no pincushioning.



Pincushioning is a lens distortion, it can show up in any lens system, e.g. SLR cameras, video cameras, projection displays, etc. It also one kind of distortion in CRT's.

In the past Samsung liturature mentioned that they had Carl Zeiss lenses as well.

In the past Samsung liturature mentioned that they had Carl Zeiss lenses as well.
Our set is the HLP5063 and has the Zeiss lenses. According to Samsung, they use Zeiss as their economy lenses, and that their proprietary lenses are better. Someone else pointed out that Zeiss does lenses at all quality levels. I would hope that a high end set like the Loewe would have had higher quality Zeiss lenses than the HLPxx63 sets, but I have no way of knowing.

Thanks a lot. You are right Amazon, is not that good of a deal. I didnt pay yet. I will wait until I see a better and maybe Bestbuy will have it cheaper. Amazon tries to trick you.
I also bout the Harmony remote and programmed it with my computer, it works ok, but I will not use it. I like the seperate remotes.

At what point did you decide that you like seperate remotes? Did you program the Harmony with the discreet codes for DNIe on/off?

I have had my 6168 for a few weeks now. I have noticed that my HTPC DVD player blows away my Samsung 850 DVD player (Finding Nemo was unwatchable on the 850 but wonderful on the HTPC). Also, Monsters, Inc looks amazing on this TV.

I have lots of 1080p material that I have collected on my HTPC. By far, the best picture I have seen on this TV as of yet is the Coral Reef Adventure in wmv-hd (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000YED1S/qid=1124717566/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4374279-0576042?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846).

My ony issue with wmv-hd is that the audio is not in Dolby Digital 5.1.

Ther 1080P WMVHD clips looks awesome on my 6168 using the VGA input at 1920x1080P.

What video cards are you guys using?

At what point did you decide that you like seperate remotes? Did you program the Harmony with the discreet codes for DNIe on/off?
It doesnt work on all my pieces of equipment. Since I have 4 Onkyo pieces, they all turn on and off with the remote, even when I programmed it not to. I spent hours on it and gave up. It doesnt work like it should. I even got the top of line one. They list at $199.99, I threw it in a drawer. I now use my SAT (DISH) remote and it controls my HD 821 and my TV. This is fine with me. To bad that it doesnt have the DNIe on/off feature but I use the TV remote to work with the DNIe on/off. ;) :)

Rcvd my 6168 last Thursday and purchased an HD950 and am using the Sci At 8300hd cable box/dvr. Its possible that a different DVD player might be marginally better but one thing I have found is that from a usability perspective (read wife, kids, more on this later) if you can use a manufacturer signalling sync - anynet in this case - this outweights the marginal picture quality which btw is absolutely phenonmental.
I am using hdmi for both dvd and cable box and I would recommend this setup. I initally only had an svideo cable in the house when the tv arrived and couldnt believe how bad this looked.
HDMI is a good way to go because it carries the signalling also and this seems to be a good thing. Dont have an opinoin on component as I havent tried it.
Now, wihtout tweaking anything this is clearly the best picture I've ever seen.

So open issues and problems
-Anybody know what the remote code is for the Scientifc Atlanta 8300HD; amazing but the manuals dont seem to realize that SciAt makes cable boxes????
-Video vs audio lag; yes, definately does exist and is noticeable (run the speakers along with an output to your theatre system and the echo is very noticeable). In simple watching isnt a killer, but definatley a bit disappointing. Whatever the reason for this and I've read much of the back and forth on this issue, but not being an engineer.... I accept it.

Other Issues
-I seem to have set an option(s) so that various menu options won't work/cant be accessed.
For instance, at the beginning I could do the following things but cant now ; acess the channel menu, switch between other than 16:9 or 4:3 , and when I try to access TV Guide, get error message "not available in this mode" or something like that.
-Anyone taken the base off and is this something that is a good idea to do?
-Also, anyone have a service number other than going off the main Samsung number - which seems to constantly be busy?

Anyone that is still waiting for your sets; this is a knock-out, even with the sync issue.

Remote Choice
Bought and returned a Harmony 880 after spending approx 3-4 hours going thru iterations of programming.
For this money, killed for me by the fact that you cant change the commands on each device menu; for instance on my 8300HD the power toggle is on the 3rd page! and the lcd is too small and there are too many little buttons. I dont think that this will really make it significantly easier for my familiy to use.
I'm going to revisit this in a few months when I feel like spending more and getting a true programmable remote with a real touch-screen.

I just received my HLR-5078W this weekend. I am very impressed with this set. I am using an HDMI connection between my cable box (Comcast cable, box model 8300) and TV. I have not calibrated the set yet, and settings are on standard. My only grip is when watching High Def, I see noise in the dark colors. The blacks can get blotchy. Is this normal? I have the cable box outputting 1080i. Thanks for any comments.
I don't think it is normal. My first set didn't have this issue, my replacement has the exact same problem. Black levels are way too high. Lowering Gamma made it worse. Need to get it calibrated I guess :(

Sorry, that sounds like a contradiction. Is VGA better or worse?

I use my HTPC/6168 for:

1) watching - tv, recordings, dvds via SageTV
2) computer stuff - web browsing, pc games, chatting, etc.


Watching Computer Stuff
-------------------------------------------
VGA good great
HDMI great poor



I don't know why HDMI is so poor on the computer stuff, yet has no problems with video playback. I can only guess this is why the manual says the HDMI inputs are not PC compatible.

Has anyone used one of the 1080p output DVDO scalers with the 1080p Sammy units? I watch mostly SD cable programming either live or via DVR. I'm considering the 61" 1080p Samsung and the DVDO HD or HD+. I've used the DVDO Pro for years and love it.

Rcvd my 6168 last Thursday and purchased an HD950 and am using the Sci At 8300hd cable box/dvr. Its possible that a different DVD player might be marginally better but one thing I have found is that from a usability perspective (read wife, kids, more on this later) if you can use a manufacturer signalling sync - anynet in this case - this outweights the marginal picture quality which btw is absolutely phenonmental.
I am using hdmi for both dvd and cable box and I would recommend this setup. I initally only had an svideo cable in the house when the tv arrived and couldnt believe how bad this looked.
HDMI is a good way to go because it carries the signalling also and this seems to be a good thing. Dont have an opinoin on component as I havent tried it.
Now, wihtout tweaking anything this is clearly the best picture I've ever seen.

So open issues and problems
-Anybody know what the remote code is for the Scientifc Atlanta 8300HD; amazing but the manuals dont seem to realize that SciAt makes cable boxes????
-Video vs audio lag; yes, definately does exist and is noticeable (run the speakers along with an output to your theatre system and the echo is very noticeable). In simple watching isnt a killer, but definatley a bit disappointing. Whatever the reason for this and I've read much of the back and forth on this issue, but not being an engineer.... I accept it.

Other Issues
-I seem to have set an option(s) so that various menu options won't work/cant be accessed.
For instance, at the beginning I could do the following things but cant now ; acess the channel menu, switch between other than 16:9 or 4:3 , and when I try to access TV Guide, get error message "not available in this mode" or something like that.
-Anyone taken the base off and is this something that is a good idea to do?
-Also, anyone have a service number other than going off the main Samsung number - which seems to constantly be busy?

Anyone that is still waiting for your sets; this is a knock-out, even with the sync issue.

Remote Choice
Bought and returned a Harmony 880 after spending approx 3-4 hours going thru iterations of programming.
For this money, killed for me by the fact that you cant change the commands on each device menu; for instance on my 8300HD the power toggle is on the 3rd page! and the lcd is too small and there are too many little buttons. I dont think that this will really make it significantly easier for my familiy to use.
I'm going to revisit this in a few months when I feel like spending more and getting a true programmable remote with a real touch-screen.

So in reaching tech support, answers to the channel related questions for others that have the same questions is as I suspected, the cable box via hdmi is controlling everything that has to do with the way that channels are being managed, shown.

Also, as far as TV Guide, you need to have rca or rf connectivity from the cable box back to the TV to pass the info; in addition to the hdmi for the actual signal. the other cables are just a work around

So open issues and problems
-Anybody know what the remote code is for the Scientifc Atlanta 8300HD; amazing but the manuals dont seem to realize that SciAt makes cable boxes????
Other Issues
-I seem to have set an option(s) so that various menu options won't work/cant be accessed.
For instance, at the beginning I could do the following things but cant now ; acess the channel menu, switch between other than 16:9 or 4:3 , and when I try to access TV Guide, get error message "not available in this mode" or something like that.

According to the manual, the TV remote cannot learn every set top box code out there.

Some menu items are greyed out depending on which input you are using. Examples: TV Guide only works with the internal tuner. Same with the channel menu. The panorama, zoom1, zoom2 only works when receiving a 480i or 480p signal. You only get 16:9 or 4:3 if you are receiving a 1080i/720p

Remote Choice
Bought and returned a Harmony 880 after spending approx 3-4 hours going thru iterations of programming.
For this money, killed for me by the fact that you cant change the commands on each device menu; for instance on my 8300HD the power toggle is on the 3rd page! and the lcd is too small and there are too many little buttons. I dont think that this will really make it significantly easier for my familiy to use.
I'm going to revisit this in a few months when I feel like spending more and getting a true programmable remote with a real touch-screen.

In the remote forum they talked about how to rearrange the activities and select the device options. I agree that some of the buttons are small but personally I like I can still feel where the button is to press rather then with a touchscreen where you can't feel your way around, but thats just my preference. Sorry you didn't like it, I hope my TV comes Friday like it's supposed to so I have ample time to tests it before the return runs out.

Staillion: you know that the off button on top always turns everything off. In the device menus you can turn each unit off seperately, this works fine with the differnet devices that I have from the same manufactures (no Onkyo though). I'll use all the remotes to get everything set up, but my ideal is that a finished system shouldn't require much tweeking day to day and I'll just move the tweeks that I want to the top menu of the activity.

So I just confirmed with Tech Support that they have no codes for any Sci At cable boxes ... for the time being I want to use this until I decide on my step which will be a true touch screen remote.

Has anyone a work around for this????

To make this more unpalatable tech support doesnt consider this to be a problem and they arent trying to get codes. I guess they dont care that perhaps the largest cable box provider cant be used with their remote control. I guess we're all expected to buy a remote; this doesnt seem to be a world-class customer service response to me.

Seems like this should be a Steve P. level problem.

I don't think it is normal. My first set didn't have this issue, my replacement has the exact same problem. Black levels are way too high. Lowering Gamma made it worse. Need to get it calibrated I guess :(

I occasionally get these blotchy blacks and also some lack of detail in the blacks. But it seems very sporatic to me as I often times get remarkable detail in the shadows/blacks with no blotchiness. (on some of the INHD, HD Net and high-quality DVDs). So I am inclined to believe that this is primarily source related. I am going to change my gamma to 0, though to see if that makes a difference. :o

In the remote forum they talked about how to rearrange the activities and select the device options. I agree that some of the buttons are small but personally I like I can still feel where the button is to press rather then with a touchscreen where you can't feel your way around, but thats just my preference. Sorry you didn't like it, I hope my TV comes Friday like it's supposed to so I have ample time to tests it before the return runs out.

Staillion: you know that the off button on top always turns everything off. In the device menus you can turn each unit off seperately, this works fine with the differnet devices that I have from the same manufactures (no Onkyo though). I'll use all the remotes to get everything set up, but my ideal is that a finished system shouldn't require much tweeking day to day and I'll just move the tweeks that I want to the top menu of the activity.

Thx - I guess I need to burn up a little time in that forum

What video cards are you guys using?

I have an Nvidia 6600GT in the PC I played the WMVHD clips with.

It doesnt work on all my pieces of equipment. Since I have 4 Onkyo pieces, they all turn on and off with the remote, even when I programmed it not to. I spent hours on it and gave up. It doesnt work like it should. I even got the top of line one. They list at $199.99, I threw it in a drawer. I now use my SAT (DISH) remote and it controls my HD 821 and my TV. This is fine with me. To bad that it doesnt have the DNIe on/off feature but I use the TV remote to work with the DNIe on/off. ;) :)

I've tried 3 harmony remotes and they have worked exceptionally well on every piece of equipment I tried them on. In my main viewing area, I went from 12 remotes to 1. I don't know how i got by without my Harmony remote.

So I just confirmed with Tech Support that they have no codes for any Sci At cable boxes ...

Has anyone a work around for this????


I use the remote that Adelphia gave me with the SA8300HD. It has most of the controls I need for the Samsung and my AVR. Best of all even the wife and kids can use it. :D

I only use the Samsung remote to change settings, but the wife & kids never venture into the menus. I find this totally acceptable for now. :)

Ken

I posted my reviews of the OPPO OPDV971H, Sony DVP-NS975V, and Samsung DVD-HD950 in POST #4 of this thread, to read it: CLICK HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5892463&&#post5892463). I was testing each player to check compatibility and performance with the new Samsung 1080p HDTV's.

Thanks! for the sweet work, Bill. You've provided many points to consider. I (and certainly, we) appreciate you taking the time and effort to share this with us.

Huh?
No. nothing, it was a joke from a post from earlier. Someone questioned my about the DNIe on/off.... on my remote, so I responded to them a wise cracker answer. :D

Rcvd my 6168 last Thursday and purchased an HD950 and am using the Sci At 8300hd cable box/dvr. Its possible that a different DVD player might be marginally better but one thing I have found is that from a usability perspective (read wife, kids, more on this later) if you can use a manufacturer signalling sync - anynet in this case - this outweights the marginal picture quality which btw is absolutely phenonmental.
I am using hdmi for both dvd and cable box and I would recommend this setup. I initally only had an svideo cable in the house when the tv arrived and couldnt believe how bad this looked.
HDMI is a good way to go because it carries the signalling also and this seems to be a good thing. Dont have an opinoin on component as I havent tried it.
Now, wihtout tweaking anything this is clearly the best picture I've ever seen.

So open issues and problems
-Anybody know what the remote code is for the Scientifc Atlanta 8300HD; amazing but the manuals dont seem to realize that SciAt makes cable boxes????
-Video vs audio lag; yes, definately does exist and is noticeable (run the speakers along with an output to your theatre system and the echo is very noticeable). In simple watching isnt a killer, but definatley a bit disappointing. Whatever the reason for this and I've read much of the back and forth on this issue, but not being an engineer.... I accept it.

Other Issues
-I seem to have set an option(s) so that various menu options won't work/cant be accessed.
For instance, at the beginning I could do the following things but cant now ; acess the channel menu, switch between other than 16:9 or 4:3 , and when I try to access TV Guide, get error message "not available in this mode" or something like that.
-Anyone taken the base off and is this something that is a good idea to do?
-Also, anyone have a service number other than going off the main Samsung number - which seems to constantly be busy?

Anyone that is still waiting for your sets; this is a knock-out, even with the sync issue.

Remote Choice
Bought and returned a Harmony 880 after spending approx 3-4 hours going thru iterations of programming.
For this money, killed for me by the fact that you cant change the commands on each device menu; for instance on my 8300HD the power toggle is on the 3rd page! and the lcd is too small and there are too many little buttons. I dont think that this will really make it significantly easier for my familiy to use.
I'm going to revisit this in a few months when I feel like spending more and getting a true programmable remote with a real touch-screen.

My point exactly about the Harmony remotes. People are asking about them and then they said that I drink. YEAH so what... some good stuff too.

These remotes dont work. They are annoying and no matter how long you try to set it up, you cant change the commands for all the equipment that you need it to work with. Especailly if you have 2 or more pieces of equipment that are the exact same manufactuer.

Hmm. I have the solid red light when the set is off, but when it is on, there is no solid green light, the green Timer light flashes when I push a button on the remote.
It's a bit confusing. The solid red light is on when the set is off. On my 5688, there is no light to indicate that the set is on. Sometimes the set is on, but my source is off. Then I make the mistake of turning the set off when I want to turn it on, when in fact, it is already on. Sets that have green lights when the set is on are less confusing. I have learned to get used to it. No red light = Set is On.

It's a bit confusing. The solid red light is on when the set is off. On my 5688, there is no light to indicate that the set is on. Sometimes the set is on, but my source is off. Then I make the mistake of turning the set off when I want to turn it on and it is already on. Sets that have green lights when the set is on are less confusing. I have learned to get used to it. No red light = Set is On.
The 5688 works differently than the 68 or 78 series. This is true. I am refferring to the 68 and 78 series. The red light is on solid (Standby/Temp) when the TV is completely off. When the TV is on, the Light/Lamp is green and is a solid green light. Dont forget that the TV makes this "Ditty" sound when turned on and off.

Great review! I hope you'll be able to do the same tests with the Panny S97. If you were in my area I would gladly lend you my Panny S97 to test with. However, you can probably "borrow" one from BB for $400. ;)

So, is your HLR5668 a keeper?

UCSB,
Thanks you for reviewing the DVD players. That is why I bought the Sony 975V DVD player. The firmware being 1.9 is the updated one and I knew that this Player was great.

Hookster, you bought an extension cable. Those I think were tested earlier and didn't work. That could be due to either the length or the brand used though? One long cable is ideal. Connecting your monitor cable to an extension cable with an adapter on the end could have problems. Staples has a 15' monitor cable for $15. That right now sounds like the best way to go, but it seems it is via online ordering only. I'm supposed to get my 5678 tonight and then order the cable and stand. I'm going away though so I won't have it or test it out until early next week, maybe Monday? Overall the cheaper cables worked better so as long as your cable was close to $2 per foot or so it could work. I've seen some for $30 and $50. I'm thrilled that finally something expensive works best with something cheap.
As for bluetooth, I don't think any hardware works with Wifi, only bluetooth.

The lights seem to be problematic. As one of the first to get a HLR6168, the red "Stand by/Temp light has always worked. The green Lamp light, until the last few days has been on when the set is on. Just recently, sometimes the green lamp light is on and sometimes it is not. If you look at the manual it shows the red Stand by/Temp light being on when in Standby state. The table in the manual does not have an entry for the set being on and either the "Lamp" light being on or off. I am not sure what is going on.

On another subject, has anyone noticed their set making "clicking" noises when it is off. The best way I can describe the sound is "the clicking sound that something makes when it is cooling down". However I hear the sound several hours after the set has been turned off and have made sure the lamp is off and the set is cool. Any ideas?

The lights seem to be problematic. As one of the first to get a HLR6168, the red "Stand by/Temp light has always worked. The green Lamp light, until the last few days has been on when the set is on. Just recently, sometimes the green lamp light is on and sometimes it is not. If you look at the manual it shows the red Stand by/Temp light being on when in Standby state. The table in the manual does not have an entry for the set being on and either the "Lamp" light being on or off. I am not sure what is going on.

On another subject, has anyone noticed their set making "clicking" noises when it is off. The best way I can describe the sound is "the clicking sound that something makes when it is cooling down". However I hear the sound several hours after the set has been turned off and have made sure the lamp is off and the set is cool. Any ideas?

I hear this clicking sound all the time right when the set is turned off and thought that it was my clock. It sure sounded like it was coming from the rear of the unit. So you hear it too. I hear it for about 2 hours later until the lam cools, is this normal?

I still cant figure out how the standby light works, but as long as the TV works, I can care less. Some even say that the "Ditty" sound is gone. My "Ditty" sound is loud and others are not.

I would expect some "cooling" sounds for a few minutes after the set is turned off. However what I am hearing is way past when any cooling is taking place (set turned off at 10 pm and I hear the sound at 7 am the next morning). Anyone else?

There is a way to turn on and off the the "On/Off Melody". It's in the manual.

On another subject, has anyone noticed their set making "clicking" noises when it is off. The best way I can describe the sound is "the clicking sound that something makes when it is cooling down". However I hear the sound several hours after the set has been turned off and have made sure the lamp is off and the set is cool. Any ideas?

The manual mentioned a clicking sound may be heard when the set is trying to receive TV Guide info. I think there is a mechanical relay switching between the Antenna and Cable coax inputs and this is the source of the clicking during TV Guide updates.

The lights seem to be problematic. As one of the first to get a HLR6168, the red "Stand by/Temp light has always worked. The green Lamp light, until the last few days has been on when the set is on. Just recently, sometimes the green lamp light is on and sometimes it is not. If you look at the manual it shows the red Stand by/Temp light being on when in Standby state. The table in the manual does not have an entry for the set being on and either the "Lamp" light being on or off. I am not sure what is going on.

The lamp light should blink when the set is warming up, then go off while the TV is operating. Any other pattern may indicate a problem.

Rcvd my 6168 last Thursday and purchased an HD950 and am using the Sci At 8300hd cable box/dvr. Its possible that a different DVD player might be marginally better but one thing I have found is that from a usability perspective (read wife, kids, more on this later) if you can use a manufacturer signalling sync - anynet in this case - this outweights the marginal picture quality which btw is absolutely phenonmental.


RIch,

Once you hook up the Anynet, is it easy to use. What benefits are there that the two remotes don't do. The instruction manual is slightly confusing and I haven't taken the time to plug the two wires.

scott

Just ordered a 6168. Any suggestions for the best surround sound digital audio components to purchase?

Just ordered a 6168. Any suggestions for the best surround sound digital audio components to purchase?

What's your budget?? $3K or $30K :)

I made a couple of changes (VERY CAREFULLY) in my 6168 Service Menu (with the help and recommendations of a few of you on this board.) I also documented these in my Samsung file folder for future reference if needed.

1. Changed gamma from 2 "Video" to 1 "Graphic." I had been noticing some "blotchiness" and some lack of detail (occasionally) in the blacks and shadows. Following this change I viewed quite a few channels, both SD and HD as well as some DVDs where I noticed the issues previously. There seems to be some improvement, though I can't be certain... this is just my perception. It seems to me to have made the blacks even blacker... is that possible?

2. Overscan and vertical alignment. I had noticed a fair amount of overscan (maybe 5% - which may or may not be normal based of some of the responses I've seen here) I based my observations on the HD Net test patterns. But more importantly it was much more apparent at the bottom. When I viewed the alignment in the service menu, the bottom line of the red box that borders the screen was not visible at the vertical setting of "27". So I adjusted the vertical alignment in the Serv. Menu from the initial setting of "27" to "41". This placed the red box border evenly all around at about 3/8 to 1/2" inside the edges of the screen.

Also just to note for those of you interested, my Index Delay was set at 54. I didn't touch it.

Thanks to all for the advice I received (Rictus in particular)

... really enjoying HD in KC! Bill

Hey guys,

Last night when I was cleaning my 5688's screen using a microfiber towel, I noticed a weak spot along the top of the screen where it's connected to the chassis/frame of the TV.

As I investigated further by placing my finger on the top part of the screen & very gently pushing the screen inwards, I noticed the screen would move inward about 1/2 an inch or less. @ that moment I began to worry & ran the same test all along the right, left & bottom sides of the screen, they were solid & didn't move inward.

I called up Samsung's 800 # & spoke to 2 different tech support reps.

The 1st one wasn't very helpful, as he quickly answered "YES, this is normal, have I answered all your questiosn today?" I quickly hung up as it appeared he wanted to get off the phone quickly.

I called back & spoke with another tech guy, this person by the name of Scott was very patient & listened to my question & put me on hold for about 5 mins. When he came back on, he apologized for the long wait time, explained thathe had a 6168 Model there physically & was running the same test I did on that Tv to check if he got the same results. He explained that he did, but called over one of his supervisors to double check, the supervisor also got the same results as me & Scott & said it was a normal thing with these sets.

Maybe you guys want to run the same test & see if your screen moves a little up long the upper screen side .

My 5688 is working just fine, no issues with performance @ all, but just thought I check into this & let you guys know.

Originally I thought it was damaged, but apparently, it's normal according to Samsung.

<sigh of relief>

I hear this clicking sound all the time right when the set is turned off and thought that it was my clock. It sure sounded like it was coming from the rear of the unit. So you hear it too. I hear it for about 2 hours later until the lam cools, is this normal?

I still cant figure out how the standby light works, but as long as the TV works, I can care less. Some even say that the "Ditty" sound is gone. My "Ditty" sound is loud and others are not.

I hear a clicking sound too about every 2 or 3 minutes when the tv is on (sometimes when it is off). It's coming from the back of the tv. It sounds like a switch or relay...thought it might be the TV Guide feature. I called Samsung and they said it shouldn't be doing this. They are setting up a service call.

Also, instead of buying a bluetooth keyboard to control my main PC, can I control it through WIFI using a notebook?

Piece of cake. Check out VNC for some free software that will let you do this. You run the server on your main PC, and the client on your laptop.. Do a google search for "realvnc". Sorry, can't post links yet.

Maybe you guys want to run the same test & see if your screen moves a little up long the upper screen side .



I have a HL-R6167W (waiting for the call from TVA for my '68). My screen is solid all the way around the edge. I realize it's a different model, but it is basically the same case. I'm very interested in what others have to say

Ken

1. Changed gamma from 2 "Video" to 1 "Graphic."
Why did you use gamma = 1? There seems to be a large number of members including some ISF calibrators who use zero.

I've tried 3 harmony remotes and they have worked exceptionally well on every piece of equipment I tried them on. In my main viewing area, I went from 12 remotes to 1. I don't know how i got by without my Harmony remote.

Do you have the Harmony 880 and does it work with the Samsung?

My 5668 is shipping right now and should arrive thursday (maybe). I have decided to buy the OPPO (still haven't ordered yet) thanks to the review posted, thankyou! I am wondering on a few things.

If I decide to by a UPS, can anyone please recommend me to a decent UPS under $300? Obviously, the UPS should have a cable surge protecter for the tv cable (I really don't care about the phone line, I won't be hooking up any phones to it).

Also, about this service menu: the only things I might be fooling with are the gamma settings and the vertical alignment. What I want to know is: are they reversible? Can you change them back to what they were (if you remembered the settings) without any damages? I don't want it to be as if I have one chance to make this TV look good.... do it right and get a pat on the back...... or screw up and...... :eek: .

TIA

Ok I've been out of town for about a week and a half and see we've added FIFTY FIVE pages since I left..... so can someone please PM me a basic summary of what's been going on? Anything exciting been discovered? I'll have a read through Post #1 or #3 or whatever number it is too :)

- D

If I decide to by a UPS, can anyone please recommend me to a decent UPS under $300? Obviously, the UPS should have a cable surge protecter for the tv cable (I really don't care about the phone line, I won't be hooking up any phones to it).

Don't know where everyone went. Here is a link for a thread you might want to check until they come back.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=277384&page=1&pp=30

Sorry if you have already read it.

:) DVD Player Compatibility Testing Results.Excellent job, Bill! Thank you for your efforts.

Gary

According to level 2 support there should be no overscan on these DLP sets. We should see every line of resolution. If not then it would be impossible to expect 1:1 mapping of an image (ie DVD or PC).

They also said I should not have the pin cushion or rotated geometry. So it sounds like what I expect is what I should get. More later when I either receive a new set or they repair what I have now.Oh dear, I think they've misunderstood you. NONE of the Samsung DLP's has EVER had no overscan. In fact, I don't know of any RPTV that has no overscan when 1:1 pixel-mapping... 1-4% is VERY typical.

I agree that you should not have rotated geometry, but pin-cushion? You should not have any bowing of horizontal lines, but I have not seen ANY Samsung DLP without a small amount of inward bowing of vertical lines. I have not seen any other brand of RPTV that is perfectly straight either. This is not a DMD issue, but a projection issue.

Gary

Do you have the Harmony 880 and does it work with the Samsung?
I use the 680 and it works on the Samsung. So the 880 will work also. Harmony was very helpful. There isn't a discrete code to get HDMI2 input(or at least no one has found it yet). I called them and left a message and they called me back the next day, as the recording said they would. they had me working in 15minutes. i just needed to connect my remote and download an update.
I use 680 because it is a good replacement for the peanut TiVo remote. The buttons are placed in a similar fashion. I tried the 659 an ddidn't like th efeel of it. Then I tried the 688 and didn't lik ethe feel of that one, plus the buttons were too close together. Then I got the 680 and it was perfect. I don't know how I got by without it. I don't plan on trying the 880 because of the button placement I need for my TiVos.

This is not a DMD issue, but a projection issue.

That's been the experience of almost everyone I've ever had contact with in this forum. :)

The iscan HD+ has a negative overscan feature(underscan) so you can achieve 0% overscan on your picture on the Samsung. I know the HD-TiVo has too much overscan and the HD+ makes a big difference as well as with a dvd player.

Has Anyone Used The Monster Ht Ups 500 ???

Piece of cake. Check out VNC for some free software that will let you do this. You run the server on your main PC, and the client on your laptop.. Do a google search for "realvnc". Sorry, can't post links yet.

I'd recommend using microsoft's remote desktop if you have XP. The refresh rate is excellent. VNC is ok in comparison in that regard. If you do want to use VNC then I'd suggest http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/ - haven't tried this latest version but it looks like they've done some work on what they send and how they send it.

I have a HL-R6167W (waiting for the call from TVA for my '68). My screen is solid all the way around the edge. I realize it's a different model, but it is basically the same case. I'm very interested in what others have to say

Ken

Hmm..interesting. Do check when you get your TV.

Has anyone else checked their TV screens for slight inward movement along the the top of the screen that connects to the chassis/frame, when placing their finger on the upper screen along the edges & gently putting pressure & pushing inward to see & feel the screen move inward? Mine is right in the uppermiddle edge & runs along both the upper left & right edges. The rest of the screen edges are solid & don't move inward.

To me that's not normal, but 2 Samsung techs told me it is. TVA Rep also told me after asking, that it was normal. It's only about 1/2 inch or less the amount the screen moves inward from the chassis/frame.

Can fellow 5688 owners check for this & post back? Thanks.

The lamp light should blink when the set is warming up, then go off while the TV is operating. Any other pattern may indicate a problem.
On mine the green light flashes when it receives commands from the remote, otherwise it is off when the power is on.

1. Changed gamma from 2 "Video" to 1 "Graphic." I had been noticing some "blotchiness" and some lack of detail (occasionally) in the blacks and shadows. Following this change I viewed quite a few channels, both SD and HD as well as some DVDs where I noticed the issues previously. There seems to be some improvement, though I can't be certain... this is just my perception. It seems to me to have made the blacks even blacker... is that possible?

Reducing the gamma will generally make your picture darker. You may appear to lose shadow detail, but that would mean you should increase your overall brightness. I don't really know how these things work with TVs, but I know that with photos, trying to increase the brightness by increasing gamma doesn't really look right if you push it too far, and I think that's what's going on with this setting.

You should try reducing gamma to 0 while looking at a scene that has the blotchiness you're seeing, to see if it eliminates it for you.

On mine the green light flashes when it receives commands from the remote, otherwise it is off when the power is on.

Yes ... the IR indicator light blinks when you use a remote. That is true.

Oh dear, I think they've misunderstood you. NONE of the Samsung DLP's has EVER had no overscan. In fact, I don't know of any RPTV that has no overscan when 1:1 pixel-mapping... 1-4% is VERY typical.

I agree that you should not have rotated geometry, but pin-cushion? You should not have any bowing of horizontal lines, but I have not seen ANY Samsung DLP without a small amount of inward bowing of vertical lines. I have not seen any other brand of RPTV that is perfectly straight either. This is not a DMD issue, but a projection issue.

Gary
1% to 4% per side or 1% - 4% overall? If its per side then we would be speaking of 2% to 8% total per dimension. My 5668 screen height is 27". 8% is 2.16". 4% is 1.08" which is about what I think I have if I have near 0% overscan set at the top and have all the overscan at the bottom.

4% of 1080 lines is 43 lines or 86 lines if its 8%. Either one seems extreme to me. As I stated before I can certainly live with a few lines of overscan (ie ~5 each side) but 43 lines each side seems very excessive. I guess I will just have to wait for SS to give me their reading. I suppose when the regional service manager makes his decision I will ask to speak to him.

I would really like to get their design specs/tolerance here to know for sure. In any event I would like them to tell me what they feel is acceptable. For now all I can go with is what the level 2 tech stated. I was as clear as I could be. I described it in a number of different ways, not just stating overscan etc.

I went with a basic UPS from APC. The Backup ES 750 (Model BE750BB) Its has 450 Watts of Power, has a cable surge protector, and it has noise filtering.

It doesn't output a pure sine wave, but I figure it should be sufficent to protect the TV in case of a power outage.

You should be able to find it for around $75.


If I decide to by a UPS, can anyone please recommend me to a decent UPS under $300? Obviously, the UPS should have a cable surge protecter for the tv cable (I really don't care about the phone line, I won't be hooking up any phones to it).

I don't understand how if the screen moves or could be in different positions how could it be accurate with relation to overscan, alignment and what not? I mean if the screen is pushed in doesn't that affect the picture?
I called Samsung and they said without a doubt after I went through my litany of how I have had power problems lately and how I wanted to get a UPS. The person I spoke with said it really wouldn't affect the bulb significantly even if it happened a few times. I had brown outs I call it when the lights dim, computer and TV but the power never goes completely out. The only thing that would be affected is the bulb. The other thing is I think you would need a pure sine UPS which is what is used for LCD and plasma. They are much more expensive and are used for keeping the power level I think more than just for outages. In other words, getting a UPS doesn't sound necessary and getting the wrong one could damage it.

Just discovered the cost of replacement bulbs for the 68s and 78s: $372.68 (+ S&H) at SamsungParts. OUCH! An extended warranty with two or more or unlimited bulb replacements is now very appealing!Wow thats high...and those prices don't include the 67"&71" models...what are they $475 a pop...I have my 67" coming tomorrow...I need to get a 5 year warranty with 5 year bulb coverage. :(

Wow thats high...and those prices don't include the 67"&71" models...what are they $475 a pop...I have my 67" coming tomorrow...I need to get a 5 year warranty with 5 year bulb coverage. :(

Sure glad I got a four year total ( 1 year plus 3 year extended ) lamp replacement warranty from TVA :-)

Absolutely "Free" for California residents :-)

OUCH! An extended warranty with two or more or unlimited bulb replacements is now very appealing!Couldn't agree more! I was worried about that number, so I decided to go the conservative route and pick up the Warrantech lamp warranty from TVA. I don't feel bad about the extra ~$150 (can't remember the exact number) on top of the extended warranty.

UCSB, as a number of others have already pointed out, we can't thank you enough for the time and care you've dedicated to organizing and sharing your DVD compatibility comments (post #4 for those who missed it) with us. You're a class act (as if you don't already know this ;)).

FWIW, I sadly decided to send my defective HD950 back the way it came (sorry TVA!). If it weren't a bum unit, I probably would have kept it. I thought the PQ was quite nice when my 5078 was set to Movie mode, but I was also being wowed by my first experience with the 5078. I just couldn't ignore some nagging doubts about lacking some shadow detail (no doubt influenced by knowing it couldn't pass BTB), and it didn't satisfy my growing desire to correct the frequent lip sync problems on many DVDs.

So I'm picking up the Sony S975V locally on Wednesday evening. Popular player: A week ago my dealer had three of them, and by Friday I had to order it from their regional warehouse! I can return it if the firmware's not 1.90 or higher. I'm really looking forward to taking advantage of the usable audio delay feature on this player.

I'll let everyone know what I think as soon as I can.

Cheers!

Why did you use gamma = 1? There seems to be a large number of members including some ISF calibrators who use zero.

Well... because I'm stupid! ;) Really. As I read your reply, I realized that I should have gone to zero, not 1. I think I was so nervous being in the service menu (since you guys scared me half to death about going in there and totally messing up my set) that I went brain-dead. Ok, so I went back in and changed to 0 "Film," turned the set off and waiting a few minutes to turn it back on as I type this. What would I do without you guys? Probably watch HD in ignorant bliss... :o

Thanks for your help.

Probably watch HD in ignorant bliss... :o

I'm sure.

AkaStp must be right, but you realize that the third time you go into the SM your set will lock up an never work again. :eek: :eek:

GSB:

Some pages back you expressed some interest re: internal reflections with these new sets. I have the smallest of the bunch, the 5078. IIRC, your test involved the use of a HTPC, which I'm sorry to say I don't have. However, after reading your post a few days ago I kept an eye out, and the other day I found a very subtle reflection when using the "XX% Window w/DVD Pluge" patterns on DVE (section 12).

The patterns I'm talking about are primarily black, with a vertical rectangle of grey centered on the screen (pluges are to either side). The value of the rectangle changes depending upon which pattern you're viewing. The brighter ones (like the 80% one) caused a pair of soft, subtle reflections at the bottom of the screen -- each flaring upward from below the bezel, occurring at about the 1/3 and 2/3 horizontal locations. Again, they were subtle, and they decreased significantly when viewing the 20% pattern.

IMO, they're a non-factor for everyday SD/DVD/HD viewing, just thought I'd mention it. On the other hand, I've made a point of watching a lot of film credits, and have noticed no reflections (I think it really takes a solid white square on the black bkg to make it occur, and even then, it's not strong).

I just posted a (fairly detailed) report about getting my 6168 calibrated by SethS today:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6074893&&#post6074893

Hope you find it interesting.

Hey Aaronwt,

If you are looking for a compact PC, check out the Shuttle XPC (www.shuttle.com). Very compact and fairly reasonably priced. Can save a ton if you put it together yourself but I understand your point. I didn't want to bother putting it together, so I had it pre-built.

Good Luck

DO NOT buy a shuttle pc. My company did a mass purchase from them because we needed the small form factor and have had nothing but problems. Every single compuer we purchased has died from faulty hardware. Not to mention trying to deal with their customer service is a terrible experience. It took almost a month to get them to return a broken pc, and even then, they shipped it to the wrong person (completly different part of the country than where it needed to go). Computers that we shipped back to them for repair came back with the same faulty hardware and the computer died again within hours.

That's just one company's experience with shuttle pc, so your milage may vary.

bcvp I had brown outs I call it when the lights dim, computer and TV but the power never goes completely out. The only thing that would be affected is the bulb.

This is incorrect - all electronics can be affected by those brown outs and when you consider this is a digital set and all the internal circuitry. This is why Server Racks are protected with UPS devices if power becomes irregular up/down it sets off an alarm and ensures steady flow. If you know you have brownouts I'm not saying go out and get a $1K UPS but by all means use a line conditioner to supplement and protect your investment as those brownouts or irregular current can impact PQ as well and prematurely damage your TV or even destroy it.

I use a Belkin PF40 and it works great and looks good in my setup and got it for about half off at Ecost several months ago.

http://www.tripplite.com/support/faq/brownouts.cfm :)

Ok I've been out of town for about a week and a half and see we've added FIFTY FIVE pages since I left..... so can someone please PM me a basic summary of what's been going on? Anything exciting been discovered? I'll have a read through Post #1 or #3 or whatever number it is too :)

- D

44 of those are from whats his name.

DO NOT buy a shuttle pc. My company did a mass purchase from them because we needed the small form factor and have had nothing but problems. Every single compuer we purchased has died from faulty hardware. Not to mention trying to deal with their customer service is a terrible experience. It took almost a month to get them to return a broken pc, and even then, they shipped it to the wrong person (completly different part of the country than where it needed to go). Computers that we shipped back to them for repair came back with the same faulty hardware and the computer died again within hours.

That's just one company's experience with shuttle pc, so your milage may vary.



Thanks for the heads up. This is the kind of stuff we need to hear about. :)

DO NOT buy a shuttle pc. My company did a mass purchase from them because we needed the small form factor and have had nothing but problems. Every single compuer we purchased has died from faulty hardware. Not to mention trying to deal with their customer service is a terrible experience. It took almost a month to get them to return a broken pc, and even then, they shipped it to the wrong person (completly different part of the country than where it needed to go). Computers that we shipped back to them for repair came back with the same faulty hardware and the computer died again within hours.

That's just one company's experience with shuttle pc, so your milage may vary.
Yup, the computer companies that are just starting up usually have terrible tech support (ie Alienwar), though I know that there are very few reports of Alienwwares computers having faulty hardware. Does Dell have a samll form factor? They used to be the best in the buisness at customer support, but not anymore. http://www.itworld.com/Comp/1181/050816dellrating/

44 of those are from whats his name.
Are you talking about me? :mad: :mad: :mad: :rolleyes: :)

Example:
nother question
nother question

[QUOTE=calbert]GSB:

Some pages back you expressed some interest re: internal reflections with these new sets. I have the smallest of the bunch, the 5078. IIRC, your test involved the use of a HTPC, which I'm sorry to say I don't have. However, after reading your post a few days ago I kept an eye out, and the other day I found a very subtle reflection when using the "XX% Window w/DVD Pluge" patterns on DVE (section 12).


My son, the analytical EE, told me that he made his own attempt to check for internal reflections when watching the set at dealers: When a commercial came on he would obscure the middle of the screen so that he only saw the black bar to the side of the 4:3 commercial. He said that when the content of the commercial consisted of a bright image, the bar was brighter, but when the commercial consisted of a dark scene, the bar was darker.

DO NOT buy a shuttle pc. My company did a mass purchase from them because we needed the small form factor and have had nothing but problems. Every single compuer we purchased has died from faulty hardware. Not to mention trying to deal with their customer service is a terrible experience. It took almost a month to get them to return a broken pc, and even then, they shipped it to the wrong person (completly different part of the country than where it needed to go). Computers that we shipped back to them for repair came back with the same faulty hardware and the computer died again within hours.

That's just one company's experience with shuttle pc, so your milage may vary.

Hi Rellik,

Sounds like you had a really bad experience with them. My experience has been very different than yours. I am working on my second shuttle pc. I bought one about a couple of years ago and I just got a new one a few months ago. I don't know about their customer service, because I haven't had to use it.

As for the systems themselves, I have nothing but good things to say. They have been rock solid. I never turned them off, the form factor is perfect for my application and my favorite is that they are very quiet. Nothing more annoying than a loud fan spinning when you are trying to watch TV.

But, like I said I haven't had to use their Customer Service, so maybe my experience would be different if I had a problem so I will make note of what you said.

Do you know of any other company that makes a similar form factor PC?

Thanks
-dreamr

I guess you could call Samsung, but that is what they told me and yes the TV is electronic but it isn't a computer. Pull the plug on the Sammy and its fine but not on a computer. Also like I said if you do go UPS it has to be pure sine and not a computer UPS since again they are not the same. A computer UPS could cause damage by not properly conditioning the power. I would look into that.

:) DVD Player Compatibility Testing Results


What were the results of my observations? I can recommend the OPPO and SONY. But, unfortunately I can not recommend the Samsung at this point in time. .

So; just to confirm, there is no DVD Audio capability on the Sony? If so, I dont understand why I should bow to Sony and let them dictate that I cant play DVD/Audio when I lay down a not insignificant investment. Sony's going down the road of only offering their proprietary products IMHO is their single biggest stumbling block to regaining their old vitality.

I agree that it would be nice to have a DVD position save ability.
I feel myself getting ready to take back my HD950 with regret; while I havent had a problem with the pq, the control capabilities arent great and there is no doubt about the audio sync issue. I would prefer not to have to buy a new AVR to cure this.
May be ordering an OPPO

The OPPO doesn't have SCAD, so if you get that are you bowing down to them? I personally prefer SACD over DVD-A but I have a Denon 2200 to play my SACD/DVD-A discs.
The OPPO is really good, but the Sony is tempting especially since it remembers the disc locations of 40 discs. This is a feature that most DVD players lack and I've missed it since I got away from the Sony DVD players. If the Sony was the same price as the OPPO I would try it but since it is $100 more I will stay with the OPPO. Besides it is only a secondary player for me. My main player is an SDI RP82 going into an iscanHD+.

I haven't seen one yet, but judging by the comments that are coming back from even some professionals in the business, these new DLPs sound like what I have been looking forwards to for some time. That is, a user-friendly flat panel display with picture quality that bears comparison with a really good CRT front projector.

Has anyone had the opportunity to compare them?

Cheers, Nick

I agree that it would be nice to have a DVD position save ability.
I feel myself getting ready to take back my HD950 with regret; while I havent had a problem with the pq, the control capabilities arent great and there is no doubt about the audio sync issue. I would prefer not to have to buy a new AVR to cure this.
May be ordering an OPPO

For audio sync, someone posted a while ago, don't recall the name right now, that you should try adjusting the speaker distances on your AVR (don't know ones that lack this feature). This should compensate for the preceived sync issues due to increased screen size and/or processing. This is a great idea and should work, worth a try before dropping some dough on a new AVR.

Hi everyone, was hoping to post a bangup review at this point, how its been a long road since CES, etc.. but ive hit a snag.

Please take a look at the attatchments, I get these annoying speckle patches on certain highlights when im using the hdmi interface.

When i switch to component, the artifacts disappear. Its also not my source, a hdtivo since i get the same when i use my momitsu dvd player via dvi/hdmi.

Some ppl seem to think its a cable issue, but im not sure if thats it. Im using the hdmi cable packed with the hdtivo.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Why did you use gamma = 1? There seems to be a large number of members including some ISF calibrators who use zero.
Last night and this morning I played with my set. I set the Gamma to 0 and found the PQ to be better, just by a little. It didnt change my custom settings at all when I changed the Gamma. I thought that it would, but it didnt. I then wanted a better PQ so I changed the Delay Index and this really looks good. HD is AWESOME. I hooked up my PC and set my display to 1280x1020 and it looks great. I dont see any problem with color, pattern, ghosting, pixelation, lag, etc.

I would expect some "cooling" sounds for a few minutes after the set is turned off. However what I am hearing is way past when any cooling is taking place (set turned off at 10 pm and I hear the sound at 7 am the next morning). Anyone else?

There is a way to turn on and off the the "On/Off Melody". It's in the manual.
I will look at the manual for the sound, thanks for this inside scoop. I must of not read that part. Strangely enough, this morning when I changed the gamma to 0, now when the TV is on, no lights light up on the front anymore. WOW, this is a problem. I use to have a Lamp light on, nothing now. However when I turn off the TV, the light is solid red standby/temp.

My clicking sound went away last night. No more of that. I dont really know what is happening here, but at long as I get good PQ and sound, I am fine with the set acting like a ghost.

Set the PC to 1920x1080P, it is even better!

Just discovered the cost of replacement bulbs for the 50", 56" and 61" HLRxx68s and HLRxx78s: $372.68 (+ S&H) at SamsungParts. OUCH! An extended warranty with two or more or unlimited bulb replacements is now very appealing!
I just bought a new bulb for my TV (Spare for the future), they must be on sale, because the Samsung site shows them at $372.68 and then they billed my CC $249.99, I am not going to rock the boat and call. I like this price better.

I guess you could call Samsung, but that is what they told me and yes the TV is electronic but it isn't a computer. Pull the plug on the Sammy and its fine but not on a computer. Also like I said if you do go UPS it has to be pure sine and not a computer UPS since again they are not the same. A computer UPS could cause damage by not properly conditioning the power. I would look into that.


Do you really believe that the power coming out of a computer UPS could possibly be worse than the power coming from the wall. You just said the Sammy was tougher than the computer so you would think that the computer would require better power than the Sammy.

Set the PC to 1920x1080P, it is even better!
Thanks, will do. I cant wait to see the PQ on this setting.

Strangely enough, this morning when I changed the gamma to 0, now when the TV is on, no lights light up on the front anymore. WOW, this is a problem. I use to have a Lamp light on, nothing now. However when I turn off the TV, the light is solid red standby/temp.

I never had lights on on the front when the tv was on and operating, even before changing gamma. When off the red is on (standby/temp). When starting up green flashes (lamp). When started up light off. When remote command send green flickers. On page 12 of the manual it talks about the different lights and their meanings. But it doesn't say anything about what is lit while tv is on. I would assume that nothing being lit is a good thing since most of the other combinations mean something is wrong. You only want to worry when they start lighting up while watching or when you turn your tv on and something other than the lamp flashes green.

I heard that the 1080P sets from samsung do not process 1080P signals on the
DVI/HDMI inputs, they will process 1080i signals. This implies
typical PC add-in cards that tune/record HD, and use the PC's video card
as the output device, won't work if connected via DVI/HDMI. THese cards
do the de-interlacing on-board so they can only output a 1080P signal.
Has anyone tried connecting their computer's video card to the DVI/HDMI
input and replaying a HDTV program, one that is broadcast in 1080i?
Please include all info such as type of PC tuner card, vid card, model num of
TV.

I never had lights on on the front when the tv was on and operating, even before changing gamma. When off the red is on (standby/temp). When starting up green flashes (lamp). When started up light off. When remote command send green flickers. On page 12 of the manual it talks about the different lights and their meanings. But it doesn't say anything about what is lit while tv is on. I would assume that nothing being lit is a good thing since most of the other combinations mean something is wrong. You only want to worry when they start lighting up while watching or when you turn your tv on and something other than the lamp flashes green.
You are totally correct about this. This is how the lights should work. Mine worked just a little differently, until this morning. Now the lights work exactly as they should and I have no more clicking sound from the rear of the set.
All I did was went into the SM and changed some settings. Also I have added an LCD Monster Surge Protector: Monster Power® High Definition Video HTFS 1000 PowerCenter™ please see link: http://www.monstercable.com/power/productPagePower.asp?pin=1962&LastPage=Flat%20Screen%20Power

As of this morning: My TV works the way it should. I dont really believe that adding this item and changing the SM settings changed the way the lights work, but maybe. Maybe there is more to learn about these Samsung sets.

My voltage is level now is a steady 120 with the Monster protector, whereas before it was from 85V-122V from the wall. It was jumping every second between these numbers. I live in a area where thunder storms, and bad weather hits all the time. The mountain area is where I am at. I think now I finally got my set stable.

Regarding the post about voltage, I am a firm believer that the voltage has a lot to do with how electronics work.

I heard that the 1080P sets from samsung do not process 1080P signals on the
DVI/HDMI inputs, they will process 1080i signals. This implies
typical PC add-in cards that tune/record HD, and use the PC's video card
as the output device, won't work if connected via DVI/HDMI. THese cards
do the de-interlacing on-board so they can only output a 1080P signal.
Has anyone tried connecting their computer's video card to the DVI/HDMI
input and replaying a HDTV program, one that is broadcast in 1080i?
Please include all info such as type of PC tuner card, vid card, model num of
TV.
I've used 1080P on the vga input with WMVHD clips. Those pictures were amazing.

Do you really believe that the power coming out of a computer UPS could possibly be worse than the power coming from the wall. You just said the Sammy was tougher than the computer so you would think that the computer would require better power than the Sammy.
Not better power. Different power.

The TV wants "sign wave" and computers use a different form of power which I can't remember the name of at the moment. :o

From what I've read in the now dim past, a UPS isn't required, but in an area with brown outs a good "sign wave" line conditioner is a good idea. Around here I haven't been able to find line conditioners other than those included in some UPS devices.

There was a big clean power thread some time back that I can't find now. Someone there found a good "sign wave" UPS with line conditioning refurbished for under $200. I understand that the "sign wave" type UPSs are more expensive than the ones generally used for personal computing.

If someone has a link to that big line conditioning thread it would probably help. I've saved so many links I can't believe I lost that one. :rolleyes:

I heard that the 1080P sets from samsung do not process 1080P signals on the
DVI/HDMI inputs, they will process 1080i signals. This implies
typical PC add-in cards that tune/record HD, and use the PC's video card
as the output device, won't work if connected via DVI/HDMI. THese cards
do the de-interlacing on-board so they can only output a 1080P signal.
Has anyone tried connecting their computer's video card to the DVI/HDMI
input and replaying a HDTV program, one that is broadcast in 1080i?
Please include all info such as type of PC tuner card, vid card, model num of
TV.


I've tried the WMVHD clips from both VGA (1080p) and DVI->HDMI (1080i) from my 6600GT. Amazing quality on both.

Geez, has anyone tested their 1080 screens to see if they find any weak spots along the edges of the screen where it's attached to the frame, to check if it moves inward when you press gently on it?

Want to know if i'm the only one with this.

Geez, has anyone tested their 1080 screens to see if they find any weak spots along the edges of the screen where it's attached to the frame, to check if it moves inward when you press gently on it?

Want to know if i'm the only one with this.

Ack, I read your post last night and meant to go downstairs to check but I forgot to. I will check tonight when I get home from work.

Geez, has anyone tested their 1080 screens to see if they find any weak spots along the edges of the screen where it's attached to the frame, to check if it moves inward when you press gently on it?

Want to know if i'm the only one with this.

Nothing like that on my set. Although I packed it up last night for the replacement arriving today. The picture was tilted 1/4".
If you press on any part of the screen, near the edge, there was no movement.

Geez, has anyone tested their 1080 screens to see if they find any weak spots along the edges of the screen where it's attached to the frame, to check if it moves inward when you press gently on it?

Want to know if i'm the only one with this.

No weak spots on my 6168.

So; just to confirm, there is no DVD Audio capability on the Sony? If so, I dont understand why I should bow to Sony and let them dictate that I cant play DVD/Audio when I lay down a not insignificant investment. Sony's going down the road of only offering their proprietary products IMHO is their single biggest stumbling block to regaining their old vitality.

I agree that it would be nice to have a DVD position save ability.
I feel myself getting ready to take back my HD950 with regret; while I havent had a problem with the pq, the control capabilities arent great and there is no doubt about the audio sync issue. I would prefer not to have to buy a new AVR to cure this.
May be ordering an OPPO

That is correct, no DVD Audio.

Nothing like that on my set. Although I packed it up last night for the replacement arriving today. The picture was tilted 1/4".
If you press on any part of the screen, near the edge, there was no movement.

Aaronwt... I noticed last night after I had adjusted my vertical position in the service menu that my screen also had a very slight tilt... probably about 1/8" higher on the left side than the right. (I have 6168) I really don't think this will be a problem - certainly I would never notice it if I didn't have a straight horizontal line running very close to the bottom of the screen. Unless there are other problems that this could be indicative of??

Thanks.

Hi everyone, was hoping to post a bangup review at this point, how its been a long road since CES, etc.. but ive hit a snag.

Please take a look at the attatchments, I get these annoying speckle patches on certain highlights when im using the hdmi interface.

When i switch to component, the artifacts disappear. Its also not my source, a hdtivo since i get the same when i use my momitsu dvd player via dvi/hdmi.

Some ppl seem to think its a cable issue, but im not sure if thats it. Im using the hdmi cable packed with the hdtivo.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Swap the cable .... MAKE SURE THE CABLE IS FIRMLY SEATED IN BOTH HDMI PORTS ... if still there call Samsung support.

1/4" is more noticeable, especially with words crawling at the bottom or a letterboxed movie. I figured if my girlfriend noticed it, than it was pretty bad. Samsung told me there should not be any tilt.
With the replacement set, if it is 1/8" or less I will be extremely pleased.

Hi everyone, was hoping to post a bangup review at this point, how its been a long road since CES, etc.. but ive hit a snag.

Please take a look at the attatchments, I get these annoying speckle patches on certain highlights when im using the hdmi interface.

When i switch to component, the artifacts disappear. Its also not my source, a hdtivo since i get the same when i use my momitsu dvd player via dvi/hdmi.

Some ppl seem to think its a cable issue, but im not sure if thats it. Im using the hdmi cable packed with the hdtivo.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Have you ever used the HDMI out of the HD-TiVo?
None of mine had that problem, but out of the 3 HDTiVos I have, one had a dead HDMI port. AND that box was 14 months old before I tried the HDMI port. I never had a problem using the component outs.
You need to get another device with a digital out to check and see what the problem is. That way you can find out f it is the TV, cable, or the HDTiVo.

This might have already been asked many times, but the thread has been over 130 pages.....

What kinda cable do you guys use to connect your TV to your cable box, DVD, PC, Receiver, where do you get them from? I know Monster might do it, but it is expensive or you guys might know where to get it cheap?

Thanks,

BTW: if anybody know that there was already a link posted, can you point me to that?

Also, UCSB, if you see something useful in this thread, could you add a link on the first page like you did with the original 1080P thread?

Kyungkim,

I had red splotches on my 5668. It was a bad HDMI card. Two other folks had the same thing (red) and have since had their sets replaced with good results. I would suspect a possible HDMI card interface problem and Samsung wass prompt in setting up a service call...the only problem was a lack f parts. Hence, the exchange.

Hi everyone, was hoping to post a bangup review at this point, how its been a long road since CES, etc.. but ive hit a snag.

Please take a look at the attatchments, I get these annoying speckle patches on certain highlights when im using the hdmi interface.

When i switch to component, the artifacts disappear. Its also not my source, a hdtivo since i get the same when i use my momitsu dvd player via dvi/hdmi.

Some ppl seem to think its a cable issue, but im not sure if thats it. Im using the hdmi cable packed with the hdtivo.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

What kinda cable do you guys use to connect your TV to your cable box, DVD, PC, Receiver, where do you get them from? I know Monster might do it, but it is expensive or you guys might know where to get it cheap?

Various people have mentioned the following online stores for cheap cables:

http://www.monoprice.com/
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/

I don't know whether quality is an issue for cables from these stores. I ordered a very cheap HDMI/DVI cable from monoprice last week (haven't gotten it yet); for HDMI, I would assume that since it's a digital signal, either it would work or it wouldn't (i.e. there would be some big obvious error if the cable were bad, as opposed to a subtle signal degradation)--is that true?

So I guess I am not going crazy after all. The SS tech that was just here confirmed that my replacement set has a bad digital board - hence the brightness could not be adjusted properly - causing the dark shimmers, shadows and macroblocking.

He did seem confident that any screen tilt issues are easily rectified by moving DMD assembly with no adverse affects.

Anyhow, on to 3rd set :rolleyes:

I was going to purchase the Samsung 1080p 61" but have some concerns. Does anyone know what the cause is or the solution (if any).

In 4:3 mode with SD sources, there were vertical white lines (about 1/4" wide) on either side of the picture, followed by of course the black bars. It was much more apparent than in other DLP units. It was very distracting, when the scene got dark, the white vertical lines would remain bright on the screen. I observed this at several stores on several units, including both 50 & 61" 68 & 78 series.

Also, Has anyone tried the pc VGA input at 1920X1080 @ 60 Hz? How does it look?

Are there truly lip sync problems on the units to anyones knowledge?

This might have already been asked many times, but the thread has been over 130 pages.....

What kinda cable do you guys use to connect your TV to your cable box, DVD, PC, Receiver, where do you get them from? I know Monster might do it, but it is expensive or you guys might know where to get it cheap?

Thanks,

BTW: if anybody know that there was already a link posted, can you point me to that?

Also, UCSB, if you see something useful in this thread, could you add a link on the first page like you did with the original 1080P thread?

I'd only recommend Monster if you want to overpay. Digital is digital, any half way decent cable will work as well as anything else. There is a discount from Ram Electronics for HDMI cables, if you search through this thread or check the power buy forums you should find the link.

As for analog, get a decent quality cable. I actually had custom cables made from high quality coax that have worked very well. The price was cheaper than buying even a decent brand. I have purchased cables from audioadvisor.com and partsexpress.com (get a name brand - Acoustic Research or Dayton but they also carry Monster if you want to compare price).

Here's an article I stumbled across just last week http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,121777,00.asp

I would assume that since it's a digital signal, either it would work or it wouldn't (i.e. there would be some big obvious error if the cable were bad, as opposed to a subtle signal degradation)--is that true?
It seems to be true for short runs of a few meters. I use "bluegeans" cables and they are fine. On long runs there can be "sparkles" if the noise threshold makes detecting the zeros and ones harder.

Thanks BCVP....need 25 feet...I think I could use my notebook to q up a movie file (via WIFI) to my main computer which should then output it to the TV.

Folks,

Thanks a lot for the cable suggestions, links and articles! That really helped a lot.

I am a new owner (got mine delivered yesterday). I am wondering whether there is a check list to check and make sure nothing wrong with the set you have. I have seen many people had this or that kinda problem, if we could come up with a check list, that would be great.

Or this list is already exsting but buried in this long thread? Can someone post it again? I am really a HT novice trying to learn from groud up here. Any help or info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks BCVP....need 25 feet...I think I could use my notebook to q up a movie file (via WIFI) to my main computer which should then output it to the TV.
Will the wonders of being connected ever end. :)

1% to 4% per side or 1% - 4% overall?1 to 4% overscan per side.

Gary

I've tried the WMVHD clips from both VGA (1080p) and DVI->HDMI (1080i) from my 6600GT. Amazing quality on both.

My concern is OTA primetime/CBS football games in hi def. because the tuner cards
de-interlace. Can you test OTA? What tuner card do you have?

GSB:

Some pages back you expressed some interest re: internal reflections with these new sets. I have the smallest of the bunch, the 5078. IIRC, your test involved the use of a HTPC, which I'm sorry to say I don't have. However, after reading your post a few days ago I kept an eye out, and the other day I found a very subtle reflection when using the "XX% Window w/DVD Pluge" patterns on DVE (section 12).calbert, I appreciate your input. Thanks for checking.

It seems that all RPTV's have a small amount of internal reflection, and each model manifests it slightly differently. As long as it isn't severe, I can live with it. You're right that end credits are usually too small to cause significant IR, but moving a white box around a black screen is certainly the acid test.

Gary

I have been playing with my set for about a week now, and I am curious about "Movie" mode.

I have noticed that it must be doing something more than just adjusting the color. Even if I make several adjustments to "Custom" it just doesnt look as good. The color seems about right, but I see more digital noise, maybe even more clay faces too. I am curious if Movie mode changes the gamma setting to 0.

Any thoughts?

I called CABLE AMERICA about adding their HD package to my existing digital cable. I was told that I'd need a cable box to recieve their HD signal. When I told her that my television already has a tuner inside, she told me again that in order to recieve their HD signal, i'd need their cable box.

I'm not as sharp as most of you (c'mon! i'm an Arizona Cardinal fan), but who's right? I don't want the HBO or SHOW channels they offer. Just the local channels, ESPN-HD, DISC-HD and HD-Net.

Sharpknife

There is a possibility that your television already is able to pick up the non-scrambled digital and HD channels from your cable company.

When I connected the cable to the back of the TV the digital channels and HD network channels showed up as higher numbered/decimal points i.e. 68.2 or 88.3.

You may want to try it.

I asked Time Warner for a cable card instead of the cable box. They gave me one but it was very unstable - sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not.

Since I subscribe to the premium channels, I ended up going with the box.

Also, UCSB, if you see something useful in this thread, could you add a link on the first page like you did with the original 1080P thread?

I have started adding some summary information to POSTS #1 - #4, you might want to check it in a few days. But, this thread is not as focused as the main 2005 Samsung thread in terms of mission ... so it can't really be summarized. But, there is very useful info (schaffer970, I haven't forgotten the SM spreadsheet) that needs to go up front.

bcvp

This is incorrect - all electronics can be affected by those brown outs and when you consider this is a digital set and all the internal circuitry. This is why Server Racks are protected with UPS devices if power becomes irregular up/down it sets off an alarm and ensures steady flow. If you know you have brownouts I'm not saying go out and get a $1K UPS but by all means use a line conditioner to supplement and protect your investment as those brownouts or irregular current can impact PQ as well and prematurely damage your TV or even destroy it.

I use a Belkin PF40 and it works great and looks good in my setup and got it for about half off at Ecost several months ago.

http://www.tripplite.com/support/faq/brownouts.cfm :)

Server racks have UPS' primarily to allow the OS to shut down gracefully and not leave open files hanging or go down in the middle of a write operation that may hose one or more files that could be anywhere including OS binaries. You are right with respect to low voltage power inputs, that can damage some electronics, but are much more apt to damage motors. Declines in voltage cause the motors to draw more current to maintain their speed and power, this can and does exceed the current specs and can cause shortened life or burnout. The worst that usually happens with digital circuitry is that it gets into an illegal state that is easily cleared by reset or power down.

Sharpknife

There is a possibility that your television already is able to pick up the non-scrambled digital and HD channels from your cable company.


Thank you RONALD K!

i should have mentioned that i own the 5668. i don't know if that changes anything.

My sister has borrowed me her digital camera and I have taken a picture but I do not know how to get it posted. Sorry. I don't really see any benefit of turning DNIe "off" anyway.

My concern is OTA primetime/CBS football games in hi def. because the tuner cards
de-interlace. Can you test OTA? What tuner card do you have?

I only have a SD Hauppauge 150MCE pvr card. I don't think it should matter, the computer is going to output to the TV whatever you specify in your video card settings.

HLR6768W is HERE...I received it right at 1pm...Box looked a little damaged, but TV is fine...Wrong manual for this TV...I got the one for the 78 series...This TV is really huge but very lite in weight...hooked up the OPPO dvd player, hooked up to the Dish Network HD811...I am just starting to play with it...first thing I noticed is a lot of stair stepping on text...this might not be a good thing...the OPPO opening Text is really stepping and also the text on the dish network channels...I am still in the start-up set-up stage...here is all I have, this thing is really bright, colors very nice, HD WOW, SD very good...Question: Has anyone else seen this stepping on text...I will get back as soon as I play some more with settings. What does everyone else have their settings on with the OPPO.

Forgot to mention we removed the base...very easy...my stand is 17.8 inches high, it might be a couple of inches too high. IMO...I think 15" would be perfect.

jwv651

Regarding the stairstepping, this thread makes mention of it and that the calibrator was able to corrected it.

HLR6768W is HERE...I received it right at 1pm...Box looked a little damaged, but TV is fine...Wrong manual for this TV...I got the one for the 78 series...This TV is really huge but very lite in weight...hooked up the OPPO dvd player, hooked up to the Dish Network HD811...I am just starting to play with it...first thing I noticed is a lot of stair stepping on text...this might not be a good thing...the OPPO opening Text is really stepping and also the text on the dish network channels...I am still in the start-up set-up stage...here is all I have, this thing is really bright, colors very nice, HD WOW, SD very good...Question: Has anyone else seen this stepping on text...I will get back as soon as I play some more with settings. What does everyone else have their settings on with the OPPO.

Forgot to mention we removed the base...very easy...my stand is 17.8 inches high, it might be a couple of inches too high. IMO...I think 15" would be perfect.

Stair stepping on OPPO startup menu is normal at 1080i ... same with setup menus.

jwv651

Regarding the stairstepping, this thread makes mention of it and that the calibrator was able to corrected it.Jim it is really bad...I am putting a call into Samsung...I did not have this on my HLP6163...Hopefully they can get a tech out before I go on vacation this Saturday. :(

Stair stepping on OPPO startup menu is normal at 1080i ... same with setup menus.Really...I did noticed when playing a movie the PQ was excellent...but what about the text on regular and hd content...maybe its my dish network 811 which has been flaky from day one...I will continue to play with it. Thanks.

Really...I did noticed when playing a movie the PQ was excellent...but what about the text on regular and hd content...maybe its my dish network 811 which has been flaky from day one...I will continue to play with it. Thanks.

Text on HD should look crisp (in general). Have you reconfigured your 811 to output 1080i?

Have you ever used the HDMI out of the HD-TiVo?
None of mine had that problem, but out of the 3 HDTiVos I have, one had a dead HDMI port. AND that box was 14 months old before I tried the HDMI port. I never had a problem using the component outs.
You need to get another device with a digital out to check and see what the problem is. That way you can find out f it is the TV, cable, or the HDTiVo.

Yup, the hdtivo via hdmi works fine when its connected to the my 55in sony lcd which is still here.

I see the same splotches when i connect the dvi player, which also works fine when connected to the sony. Def not the source(s).

Thnx flapilot, who did u speak to at tvauthority? Ive emailed them pictures, but they are saying they have never seen this b4. They want me to talk to samsung, which im a little annoyed at. Currently on hold with them now.

TIA

Text on HD should look crisp (in general). Have you reconfigured your 811 to output 1080i?It is mostly on the actual channel number and text at the top of the screen.