Yes it is set to 1080i.

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. :(


I'm loosing it. I intended to post the following for you to see how Seth Schnaible, a calibration guru, corrected what sounds like the same problem on rictus' set.

Here's the url

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=572636

I'm loosing it. I intended to post the following for you to see how Seth Schnaible, a calibration guru, corrected what sounds like the same problem on rictus' set.

I think the original poster (jwv651) is talking about something different. The "sawtoothing" I mentioned is only apparent if you're very close to the TV (within inches), looking very closely at a one-pixel vertical line. This wouldn't be noticeable on ordinary text from any reasonable distance.

I think the original poster (jwv651) is talking about something different. The "sawtoothing" I mentioned is only apparent if you're very close to the TV (within inches), looking very closely at a one-pixel vertical line. This wouldn't be noticeable on ordinary text from any reasonable distance.Does anyone know how I would post pictures with my digital camera...I can download them into my XP pictures...then maybe you would understand...Thanks

email them to mfenech1@yahoo.com

I'll post them for you.

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.
No matter what you need an HD cable box to get HD channels, no matter what provider that you go with.

No matter what you need an HD cable box to get HD channels, no matter what provider that you go with.


Duh! CABLE CARD CABLE CARD CABLE CARD !

The cable company is required by the FCC to provide you with a CABLE CAED if you request one!

I am watching the auto race on HDNET through the cable card right now! You get all the SD analog, SD digital, HD locals, and HD and SD premium channels using the cable card!

Tell the cable company rep you want one, or you will call the FCC and report them!

Duh! CABLE CARD CABLE CARD CABLE CARD !

The cable company is required by the FCC to provide you with a CABLE CAED if you request one!

I am watching the auto race on HDNET through the cable card right now! You get all the SD analog, SD digital, HD locals, and HD and SD premium channels using the cable card!

Tell the cable company rep you want one, or you will call the FCC and report them!

Will the cable company give you a cablecard even if you have a set top box? Can you use the cablecard and the set top box to get PIP?

Rick

HDMI v1.2 is here, here's the link.
http://www.hdmi.org/press/pr/pr_20050823.asp

Has anyone seen an issue where the right and left side vertical black bars around the TV source picture are not the same? The left side vertical black bar is wider than the right side vertical black bar around the TV source? Is so is there an adjustment to make the picture centered so the back bars are the same width on each side of the picture?

I talked to James and he also told me to contact Samsung. I told him I would, but under his 5 star guarantee, I requested a new set. Come to find out, by asking for the new set right away, I knocked off a week. That is how long it took the tech to find out no parts availability. It still took over two and half weeks to get a new TV. In the interim, I used component for a very nice picture, si I wasn't too bummed.

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

Has anyone seen an issue where the right and left side vertical black bars around the TV source picture are not the same? The left side vertical black bar is wider than the right side vertical black bar around the TV source? Is so is there an adjustment to make the picture centered so the back bars are the same width on each side of the picture?

The horizontal offset of the picture may be wrong. If you have DVE, you can check this with the overscan test pattern. You can also check and adjust this in the service menu--PM me for details.

I have the 942 HD DVR from Dish and text is very crisp. Excellent picture all the way around. Dish is making headway with their latest.

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.

No matter what you need an HD cable box to get HD channels, no matter what provider that you go with.
Stallion that is not true if your set has a HD tuner. They work on OTA and cable unless the local cable company is doing something very strange. If that's the case they should be reported to the feds.

Will the cable company give you a cablecard even if you have a set top box? Can you use the cablecard and the set top box to get PIP?

Rick

Yes, I have both a Cable Card and a DVR Settop Box, both provided by the cable company. You can use the two of them to give you a PIP. Be aware however, that most HDTV sets will only allow a SD PIP in a HD picture. Most will not allow two HD pictures in PIP. Depends on the set. I use the DVR STB for recording. and the Cable Card for real time viewing.

You can't use the Cable Card for Pay per View or On Demand viewing, unless perhaps you can order them by phone. The Cable Card works well with the TV Guide built in to most TV sets now.

Yes, I have both a Cable Card and a DVR Settop Box, both provided by the cable company. You can use the two of them to give you a PIP. Be aware however, that most HDTV sets will only allow a SD PIP in a HD picture. Most will not allow two HD pictures in PIP. Depends on the set. I use the DVR STB for recording. and the Cable Card for real time viewing.

You can't use the Cable Card for Pay per View or On Demand viewing, unless perhaps you can order them by phone. The Cable Card works well with the TV Guide built in to most TV sets now.

Too bad you cant get On Demand via cable card. And it really sucks that you still can but you just have to call them. Whats that all about?! They should set up some system online where you can log onto a website and request a show.

I should have a HLR5078 later this week and will do testing (especially for lip synch) with Panasonic S97 upconvert DVD player, a Sony NC80V DVD changer and a DirectTV HD Tivo receiver using component and HDMI. Plus, ATSC tuner (for HD locals from cable and OTA), TV Guide, etc.

Excellent news AkaStp. Where did you purchase the set from and what kind of warrenty did you get?

Also, are you going to be able to post some pictures of your new DLP?

Yes, I have both a Cable Card and a DVR Settop Box, both provided by the cable company. You can use the two of them to give you a PIP. Be aware however, that most HDTV sets will only allow a SD PIP in a HD picture. Most will not allow two HD pictures in PIP. Depends on the set. I use the DVR STB for recording. and the Cable Card for real time viewing.

You can't use the Cable Card for Pay per View or On Demand viewing, unless perhaps you can order them by phone. The Cable Card works well with the TV Guide built in to most TV sets now.

So, let me get this straight since I don't know any better. If you only have a cable card, you would not be able to use a DVR or TiVo, right? You'd still need the set top box to route a signal to the TiVo or recorder.

I kind of like your solution of having both. Does that cost you extra to rent both the cable card and DVR STB?

No matter what you need an HD cable box to get HD channels, no matter what provider that you go with.

Actually, the tuners in the new Samsungs will find all of your SD, digital SD, and HD channels. You can watch any of them and in the case of SD they will probably be much clearer than on your STB (especially if you 'fine tune' them in the channels menu). Scrambled channels will not be viewable, but, at least here on my Comcast system, most HD are not scrambled. What you can lose though is a good guide and possibly a logical organization of the channels. If you go that route, than use the favorites functions on the TV to keep your HD's handy. But, just remember that HD boxes are usually pretty cheap ($5).

I'm about to order this:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=184692

I can't find any thorough reviews though.


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

Thanks
-dreamr

Stallion that is not true if your set has a HD tuner. They work on OTA and cable unless the local cable company is doing something very strange. If that's the case they should be reported to the feds.

And, since this thread is a Samsung HLRxxx8 thread, all sets relevant to this thread have ATSC Digital/HD tuners!

So, let me get this straight since I don't know any better. If you only have a cable card, you would not be able to use a DVR or TiVo, right? You'd still need the set top box to route a signal to the TiVo or recorder.

I kind of like your solution of having both. Does that cost you extra to rent both the cable card and DVR STB?


I pay $1.50 /mofor the CC, and $12/mo for the DVR.

For the last week or so I've been running my Motorola 6412 STB through Component 2 on my 6168, because I had trouble getting HDMI to work (it worked initially, then stopped). Today I received an inexpensive HDMI/DVI cable I ordered from monoprice last week, and hooked up the 6412 to HDMI 2 using it, and it seems to work fine.

The odd and annoying thing is that to me, the picture actually looks better through component! Specifically, colors actually seem slightly more washed out through the HDMI input, enough to make flesh tones not look as good (but not enough to make me think there's a major problem with the cable). I spot-checked the color settings in the service menu for both HDMI 2 and Component 2, and they look the same (when I had my set calibrated, Seth said he would copy the same color settings to all inputs, and it looks like he did).

I can't figure out why the colors would be different, unless either the DVI implementation on the 6412 sucks, or something about the HDMI cable is affecting the colors. I would assume, though, that since it's a digital signal, a cable problem shouldn't cause an overall degradation of color in this way (I would expect some other kind of visible artifacting).

Has anyone else encountered a case similar to this, where a box's component output actually looked better than its DVI or HDMI output?

As an aside, when I went back into the service menu to check various settings, I noticed that the H Sharpness and V Sharpness (which are in a menu labelled something like GM1011) were set to 4. I could have sworn that Seth had set them to 1 and 0, respectively. I set them back to 1 and 0, exited the service menu, and went back into the SM, and sure enough, they were back to 4. Very annoying.

For the last week or so I've been running my Motorola 6412 STB through Component 2 on my 6168, because I had trouble getting HDMI to work (it worked initially, then stopped). Today I received an inexpensive HDMI/DVI cable I ordered from monoprice last week, and hooked up the 6412 to HDMI 2 using it, and it seems to work fine.

The odd and annoying thing is that to me, the picture actually looks better through component! Specifically, colors actually seem slightly more washed out through the HDMI input, enough to make flesh tones not look as good (but not enough to make me think there's a major problem with the cable). I spot-checked the color settings in the service menu for both HDMI 2 and Component 2, and they look the same (when I had my set calibrated, Seth said he would copy the same color settings to all inputs, and it looks like he did).

I can't figure out why the colors would be different, unless either the DVI implementation on the 6412 sucks, or something about the HDMI cable is affecting the colors. I would assume, though, that since it's a digital signal, a cable problem shouldn't cause an overall degradation of color in this way (I would expect some other kind of visible artifacting).

Has anyone else encountered a case similar to this, where a box's component output actually looked better than its DVI or HDMI output?

I have my Comcast Motorola 6412 connected up via component and HDMI, it looks nice on HDMI and component. A little sharper on HDMI. Each input has to be setup on the Samsung for that source. So you should tweak the settings to get the HDMI input adjusted correctly for the Motorola 6412 feed. But, the cable provider could have an inferior DVI implementation, it is a possiblity.

I have my Comcast Motorola 6412 connected up via component and HDMI, it looks nice on HDMI and component. A little sharper on HDMI. Each input has to be setup on the Samsung for that source. So you should tweak the settings to get the HDMI input adjusted correctly for the Motorola 6412 feed. But, the cable provider could have an inferior DVI implementation, it is a possiblity.

When Seth did the calibration, he copied all the settings he originally did for my DVD player over HDMI to all the other inputs. I would have assumed that even if the settings weren't quite right for the other inputs, they would at least look the same across two different outputs from the same box! Apparently not.

I'm about to order this:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=184692

I can't find any thorough reviews though.

Since I just built myself a HTPC for about the same money, that one looks a little weak. It's low on system memory and can't be expanded unless you take what's there out. Hard Drive is ok size for NTSC recording. Would be small for ATSC recording, which is kinda moot since it doesn't have an ATSC tuner. Video card is very weak. Looks like they're spending alot of money on the case and operating system.

When Seth did the calibration, he copied all the settings he originally did for my DVD player over HDMI to all the other inputs. I would have assumed that even if the settings weren't quite right for the other inputs, they would at least look the same across two different outputs from the same box! Apparently not.

If you connect your DVR to HDMI 1 or HDMI 2 it should look the same if the setting are the same. But, if you have your DVD player on HDMI1 and your DVR on HDMI 2 there is nothing that says they need to look the same.

I set them back to 1 and 0, exited the service menu, and went back into the SM, and sure enough, they were back to 4. Very annoying.
Contact Seth and see what he can find out from Samsung. Let us know.

I thought his change solves the missing DNIe control problem as it relates to edge enhancement.

Just to share this with you, i bought following cables from buy.com, not monster but Belkin also made some nice accessaries and these are silver. Just FYI.

PureAV HDMI Audio Video Cable - 4 ft. - Silver Series
$40.49
PureAV HDMI Interface-to-DVI Video Cable - 4 ft. - Silver Series
$35.99

Check out the Ram Electronics cables. You get a discount for being an AVS forum member. Better prices than what you got.

rictus

There is nothing that says that HDMI and component off of the same device will have the same settings. They probably should, but my experience with DVI and component is that they'll have slighty different settings.

If you connect your DVR to HDMI 1 or HDMI 2 it should look the same if the setting are the same. But, if you have your DVD player on HDMI1 and your DVR on HDMI 2 there is nothing that says they need to look the same.

I meant that I would think component and DVI/HDMI output from the same box (the 6412) should look roughly the same in terms of color (or at least that HDMI shouldn't look worse). But apparently that isn't the case.

Attached is a collection of posting snippets that cover most of what has been discussed about the service menu and settings in the 68s and 78s during the past several days. Hope it helps. Maybe another day I'll distill it even further and come up with a list of typical settings.


How do you access the Service Menu on the Samsung HLR-6168W?

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

Do a search on "ice cube system" or something along those lines. It will most likely bring up a bunch of shuttle references but I know (not sure of the names) that there are definitely other small form factor pcs out there on the market.

Glad to hear you didn't have any problems with your shuttle. Maybe we bought a bad line from them. To me, though, when a whole batch of computers die from the exact same problems, and tech support is too stupid to realize that simply formatting the hd and reinstalling the OS won't fix the problem, that means stay FAR AWAY and don't ever buy anything by them again.

The interesting thing about them is that I was able to talk to one guy within Shuttle who was kind of competent and he even did a bit of his own Shuttle bashing!

Rictus -

I too noticed issues with component vs HDMI on my moto STB and a made post in this thread about it and also in the HD hardware area a while back. Here is the link. With the same settings on component and HDMI, component looked better. I havent messed with trying to get hdmi to look better by changing its setting yet though.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=564111

Vidmax

As an aside, when I went back into the service menu to check various settings, I noticed that the H Sharpness and V Sharpness (which are in a menu labelled something like GM1011) were set to 4. I could have sworn that Seth had set them to 1 and 0, respectively. I set them back to 1 and 0, exited the service menu, and went back into the SM, and sure enough, they were back to 4. Very annoying.

Uh, I thought going into the service menu would reset all the settings outside of the menu (the normal controls). I hope you recorded these settings seeing as you had it calibrated and all, be a bit of a shame to lose it.

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.

Agreed, it *shouldn't* matter cause the issue is interlaced vs non-interlaced
and the HD clips refered to are presumeably N.I. just as CSI:Miami is
N.I. when it comes out of my vid card. Still, There has to be something
to the owner's manual "not compatible with PC's on HDMI" statement and I can just see
the 'broadcast flag' people wanting to shut down everything digital
that they can. Also, I've seen at least one post saying that PC output
looks poor on the HDMI input. Plus, I called Samsung L2 tech support and
they said the HDMI port was not designed to be compatible with
PC's.
I realize that the PC input (VGA) will work just as it does with
all the 1280x720 sets, but the pixel rate for 1920x1080 is 2.25x higher
than for 1280x720, so the VGA PQ may suffer due to it's analog nature
at the higher frequency.
Perhaps someone in this forum who has a HDTV tuner card in their
PC will try connecting the output of their vid card to the HDMI input of
their 1920x1080 sammy and report back with results of watching a
1080i OTA show.

Uh, I thought going into the service menu would reset all the settings outside of the menu (the normal controls). I hope you recorded these settings seeing as you had it calibrated and all, be a bit of a shame to lose it.

The H/V sharpness settings I was talking about are in the service menu, not the normal TV menu, and therefore shouldn't (in theory) be reset by re-entering the service menu. When Seth calibrated my TV, he left all the normal TV menu settings at their defaults, as far as I know--he did all his settings in the service menu.

I too noticed issues with component vs HDMI on my moto STB and a made post in this thread about it and also in the HD hardware area a while back. Here is the link. With the same settings on component and HDMI, component looked better. I havent messed with trying to get hdmi to look better by changing its setting yet though.

Interesting. In my case, I'm getting the opposite behavior from you--component looks slightly darker for me, but in my case that looks better.

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.

I checked last night and all the edges of my screen are solid.

Attached is a collection of posting snippets that cover most of what has been discussed about the service menu and settings in the 68s and 78s during the past several days. Hope it helps. Maybe another day I'll distill it even further and come up with a list of typical settings.Thanks Aka ...

Agreed, it *shouldn't* matter cause the issue is interlaced vs non-interlaced
and the HD clips refered to are presumeably N.I. just as CSI:Miami is
N.I. when it comes out of my vid card. Still, There has to be something
to the owner's manual "not compatible with PC's on HDMI" statement and I can just see
the 'broadcast flag' people wanting to shut down everything digital
that they can. Also, I've seen at least one post saying that PC output
looks poor on the HDMI input. Plus, I called Samsung L2 tech support and
they said the HDMI port was not designed to be compatible with
PC's.
I realize that the PC input (VGA) will work just as it does with
all the 1280x720 sets, but the pixel rate for 1920x1080 is 2.25x higher
than for 1280x720, so the VGA PQ may suffer due to it's analog nature
at the higher frequency.
Perhaps someone in this forum who has a HDTV tuner card in their
PC will try connecting the output of their vid card to the HDMI input of
their 1920x1080 sammy and report back with results of watching a
1080i OTA show.

I was the one reporting that PC output looks poor on the HDMI input but if you read my posts carefully, you'll see I stated only computer related output - desktop/applications, etc. look poor. Video playback from my HTPC (dvd, pvr recordings, live tv) all look great via HDMI. No one else has commented whether they experience the same thing. I guess I am unclear as to what your question is. It doesn't matter what your source is, whether its 480i/480p/720p/1080i/1080p from STB, OTA or WMVHD clip/dvd, it will be output to the TV at whatever your video card settings are. If you're hooked up via VGA and your vid card is configured to 1920x1080, you'll be outputting 1080p to the TV. If you're hooked up to HDMI, it will be outputting 1080i to the TV.

The H/V sharpness settings I was talking about are in the service menu, not the normal TV menu, and therefore shouldn't (in theory) be reset by re-entering the service menu. When Seth calibrated my TV, he left all the normal TV menu settings at their defaults, as far as I know--he did all his settings in the service menu.

Wow, thanks, I never would have suspected that calibration is done purely in the service menu, I thought for sure there would be adjustments to color temp and RGB values and such in the normal menu too. Confused as to whether I should think this makes it more worth it by not being billed for things that anyone can do or not because everything should be set optimally for that price.

Wow, thanks, I never would have suspected that calibration is done purely in the service menu, I thought for sure there would be adjustments to color temp and RGB values and such in the normal menu too. Confused as to whether I should think this makes it more worth it by not being billed for things that anyone can do or not because everything should be set optimally for that price.

Color temp and RGB values can definitely all be set through the service menu, so if they're done there, there's no real need to do them in the user settings--in fact, it makes sense to me that you would calibrate the "default" set of user settings, since they get reset whenever you enter the service menu anyway.

I'm not sure how he adjusted brightness/contrast in the service menu, but I assume there's something in there for those as well. I'm pretty positive that when I looked at the TV menu after the calibration, the brightness/contrast/etc. were the defaults for Standard mode (80 contrast, 50 brightness). (I should have made double-dog sure before going back in the service menu, I guess :), but I'm pretty confident that's the case.)

Attached is a collection of posting snippets that cover most of what has been discussed about the service menu and settings in the 68s and 78s during the past several days. Hope it helps. Maybe another day I'll distill it even further and come up with a list of typical settings.

Cool. There are a few tidbits on the SM in my calibration thread as well if you want to add those in.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=572636

How do you access the Service Menu on the Samsung HLR-6168W?Here is a little more. :o

Caution!

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

New information for HLR owners.

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

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

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


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

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

Find Samsung Firmware Version:

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

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

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

Instructions for accessing the Samsung Service Menu:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The SM main menu looks like this.

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

Ver: T_ATLNUS_1011 (this is the firmware version)

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

Steps from the main SM.

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

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

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

Enjoy.

Hi All, I am still getting used to my 6768 and will give a full review when done...Question: sometimes when there is fast moving objects like running water there are these blurry square moving parts of the water...I really don't know how to explain it...it happens a lot with other scenes also...it can be very annoying...what is this called. Does anybody else see this with their 1080P DLP sets.

I have my set hooked up to a Dish Network HD811 HDMI/DVI connection...I do not see this with movies using the OPPO DVD player hooked up with the same connection.

Question: sometimes when there is fast moving objects like running water there are these blurry square moving parts of the water...I really don't know how to explain it...it happens a lot with other scenes also...it can be very annoying...what is this called. Does anybody else see this with their 1080P DLP sets.

I have my set hooked up to a Dish Network HD811 HDMI/DVI connection...I do not see this with movies using the OPPO DVD player hooked up with the same connection.
I've read that Dish Network does more compression than any other source. That might be what you are seeing.

I've seen the blocking effect you mention on TVs (all types and makes) in stores that have the usual poor quality feeds. I read somewhere recently that aside from in fast motion or quickly changing light levels, this effect can also occur in water. I have not seen this effect with a good HD source though. Are you seeing this effect in a high quality channel such as Discovery HD or HDNet?Discovery HD...also seen it when a ice berg was falling into the water...It could just be what Les said about Dish Network...I just hope it doesn't effect sports :eek: Otherwise this TV is beautiful compared to my HLN567 the one thing that really impresses me is how sharp the picture is and the blacks are more than I ever expected. :)

when they calibrate a tv, they adjust everything in the service menu and then they usually can set the normal menu values to 50 percent to correspond to their changes. That way, you can play with the normal menu parameters and return to the calibration parameters by returning everything to 50 percent.

Wow, thanks, I never would have suspected that calibration is done purely in the service menu, I thought for sure there would be adjustments to color temp and RGB values and such in the normal menu too. Confused as to whether I should think this makes it more worth it by not being billed for things that anyone can do or not because everything should be set optimally for that price.

I've read that Dish Network does more compression than any other source. That might be what you are seeing.


Hey, JWV651, congrats on the new set. I'm waiting for my 6768 call and am hoping to hear good things from the early recipients.

As for the compression, I've read in several places on AVS that DirectTV is the worst offender in the compression department. I have Dish, but I we have a DirectTV feed at work. I see some, but not a lot in this limited Direct TV exposure. I see a huge amount of compression in the SD output of my Dish 811. I was hoping that was because the SD out on the 811 was just a convenience, but my suspicion is that all of the providers are compressing much more than we would like, yes?? :confused:

Jim

Hey, JWV651, congrats on the new set. I'm waiting for my 6768 call and am hoping to hear good things from the early recipients.

As for the compression, I've read in several places on AVS that DirectTV is the worst offender in the compression department. I have Dish, but I we have a DirectTV feed at work. I see some, but not a lot in this limited Direct TV exposure. I see a huge amount of compression in the SD output of my Dish 811. I was hoping that was because the SD out on the 811 was just a convenience, but my suspicion is that all of the providers are compressing much more than we would like, yes?? :confused:

Jim

Satellite tends to compress hd, while cable doesn't (atleast in my area). This is because of limited bandwidth.

when they calibrate a tv, they adjust everything in the service menu and then they usually can set the normal menu values to 50 percent to correspond to their changes. That way, you can play with the normal menu parameters and return to the calibration parameters by returning everything to 50 percent.

Seth confirmed this to me in email. He said the brightness/contrast can be adjusted in the DNIe menu in the SM.

Hi All, I am still getting used to my 6768 and will give a full review when done...Question: sometimes when there is fast moving objects like running water there are these blurry square moving parts of the water...I really don't know how to explain it...it happens a lot with other scenes also...it can be very annoying...what is this called. Does anybody else see this with their 1080P DLP sets.

I have my set hooked up to a Dish Network HD811 HDMI/DVI connection...I do not see this with movies using the OPPO DVD player hooked up with the same connection.

I see that in every HD set I've looked at, CRT, LCD, SXRD(Qualia 006), Plasma and DLP(6168). It is from the video source. Maybe it's just more obvious on a larger set and especially one that can show a higher resolution like the 1080P dlps. It is more obvious on my 6168 than it was on my 57" Rp HD CRT set. But the 1080P DLP set also shows much more detail than my CRT set did.

Anyone that took my evidence of lack of sync from the digital output to heart should note that, sadly, I am returning my set, but that my single data point may not be accurate for the "average" set.

It seems that I have horrible video lag on HD channels that is unfixable. It does not happen on all shows, but does happen on all channels (but varying shows with a net effect of almost 50% of HD shows being messed up).

It does not happen with a fixed delay value (so no lag machines will help), but instead changes essentially from scene to scene (last night on "The Office" I would *swear* that one of the scenes had to lag by almost a full second(!) yet other scenes were almost spot on). The lag seems to be slightly worse on OTA tuning as opposed to cable.

A Samsung tech came out and declared it unfixable since these sets are not supposed to have lag issues.

I guess the good news is that people with working sets might actually get sync'd audio from their digital out (except that it will only be 2.0 if it is coming over HDMI).

BTW, this is all through the TV's speakers, using the built in tuner.

I see that in every HD set I've looked at, CRT, LCD, SXRD(Qualia 006), Plasma and DLP(6168). It is from the video source. Maybe it's just more obvious on a larger set and especially one that can show a higher resolution like the 1080P dlps. It is more obvious on my 6168 than it was on my 57" Rp HD CRT set. But the 1080P DLP set also shows much more detail than my CRT set did.I think it comes from my Dish Networks compressing of their signal...HD is spectacular and SD is watchable.

Anyone that took my evidence of lack of sync from the digital output to heart should note that, sadly, I am returning my set, but that my single data point may not be accurate for the "average" set.
What are you going to try next?

All you 67" buyers are going to love this set...first off it is huge...at 13' I am very happy...IMO at 8'-10' would be too close for me...It is nice and bright for such a huge screen...Colors are decent...Blacks are exceptionally black, I mean ink black...This set produces a really sharp picture...lots of detail...but also shows all the bad artifacts with a poor signal...SD is SD it is Okay...HD will blow your socks off...The Oppo dvd player with this set is really amazing... Audio delay is there but seldom...I have not done anything to this set except set it up for HD and DVD and ect...I will tweak it the best I can in a couple of weeks with Avia...But will be having it Pro Calibrated in the future. Good Luck with your sets.

Would you advise spending hundreds of dollars on two component cables, to connect a Denon 2800II DVD player to a Denon 3803 receiver, and the 3803 to a 6168, where it's possible that you would soon get a new DVD player that uses HDMI and connect that directly to the 6168 and then not need the component cables?

My 6168 arrived very early today, so at the moment it's connected with S-video. I went to the local Magnolia, and they tried to sell me Audioquest Y1QONE (if I recall the code correctly) cables, at more than $100 apiece. I had checked RAM through their link, and saw some cables for about $30. BetterCables through their link looks like they charge more than $100 as well.

Would either of these two more expensive cables offer a significantly better picture than the RAM cables?

Thanks in advance,

Eric Stahlfeld
Seattle

Thanks for your review Joe. I'm glad to hear the 6768 is what you had hoped it would be! Enjoy it! I'm hoping that TVA gets their next shipment soon. The wait is killing me!

I had originally planned on pairing it with the Samsung 950, but based on several reviews as of late (including UCSB's) I'll opt for the Oppo as well. Sounds like you are well pleased with the combination.

Would either of these two more expensive cables offer a significantly better picture than the RAM cables?

Thanks in advance,

Eric Stahlfeld
Seattle

You probably already know the answer to your own question. Not likely. With component cables, though, a lot depends on the setup where they're used (how long are the cable runs, how noisy is the environment where they're installed, etc.) The most expensive component cables I ever bought cost less than $100, were 10 ft long and had to be exceptionally well shielded. They were custom-made by BluejeansCable, whose products have never disappointed me.

One question for you: why would you want to run your video cables through a receiver and not directly to your TV?

You might also want to give www.bluejeanscable.com a try. They have very high quality cables at very reasonable prices. Check on this site and others, and you'll find there have been many satisfied customers.

Would you advise spending hundreds of dollars on two component cables, to connect a Denon 2800II DVD player to a Denon 3803 receiver, and the 3803 to a 6168, where it's possible that you would soon get a new DVD player that uses HDMI and connect that directly to the 6168 and then not need the component cables?

My 6168 arrived very early today, so at the moment it's connected with S-video. I went to the local Magnolia, and they tried to sell me Audioquest Y1QONE (if I recall the code correctly) cables, at more than $100 apiece. I had checked RAM through their link, and saw some cables for about $30. BetterCables through their link looks like they charge more than $100 as well.

Would either of these two more expensive cables offer a significantly better picture than the RAM cables?

Thanks in advance,

Eric Stahlfeld
Seattle

Why not just pick up an OPPO dvd player ... it includes a nice DVI - HDMI cable and is only $199, if you want a budget solution. See POST #4 in this thread for a review and link to the OPPO site.

If you want to just connect up your current DVD player, just get one set of component cables and connect it directly to the TV. The cheaper cables will be just fine for an short-term solution. If you want to learn more about whether expensive cables are worth the extra money, read the article on cabling in PC World this month. They found that cheaper cables worked fine. I'm not an expert on cheap cables ... I have expensive cables in my system.

Does everyone have the same firmware versions on their HLRxxx8W?
On my HLR-5078W I have the T_EXCAAUS0_8014, Date 2005-07-15. Does anyone else have an older or newer version of the firmware? Just curious if Samsung has been updating the firmware. If the firmware is changing perhaps UCSB can added the various versions in the HLRxxx8W specifications area.

One question for you: why would you want to run your video cables through a receiver and not directly to your TV?

Not sure what Manatus would say, but I have the same 3803 going to my 6168 and the whole family loves the simplicity of all switching moving all together at one component. When the 3803 says TV, you see and hear TV. When the 3803 says DVD, you see and hear DVD. Absolutely no degradation of video, it's a wonderful setup.

profjoe: Sorry to hear about your set ... you trying another one, or looking to another make/model?

FWIW ... although I'm not using the built-in speakers or the built-in tuner like you are, I've had wonderful success passing L/R analog audio from my 8300HD (video's connected via component for now), routing that audio to my AVR via optical, and then having the AVR's DSP do it's magic. Absolutely no lip sync after about three weeks with this setup, although of course I don't have digital multichannel audio. On the other hand, it's a cheap way to avoid lip sync for now, and I only really care about having true digital audio from my dvd player.

Good luck ...

All you 67" buyers are going to love this set...first off it is huge...at 13' I am very happy...IMO at 8'-10' would be too close for me...It is nice and bright for such a huge screen...Colors are decent...Blacks are exceptionally black, I mean ink black...This set produces a really sharp picture...lots of detail...but also shows all the bad artifacts with a poor signal...SD is SD it is Okay...HD will blow your socks off...The Oppo dvd player with this set is really amazing... Audio delay is there but seldom...I have not done anything to this set except set it up for HD and DVD and ect...I will tweak it the best I can in a couple of weeks with Avia...But will be having it Pro Calibrated in the future. Good Luck with your sets.


We want pictures. :)

Congratulations on receiving your Sammy 67". Hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

Got my 5078 delivered from Tweeter yesterday (they had a very good sale weekend before last). Its playmates are an Oppo DVD, Outlaw 990 pre-pro, SA 8300HD STB/DVR (working from our local OpenBand cable company), two classic Allison Ones for the mains, and four Gallo Micros for surrounds. Unlike most of the advice on this thread, the 990 is doing all the switching to the TV (with audio delay set at around 50 ms). For now the 990 is sending the Oppo's DVI to the 5078, and it's sending the STB's component to the 5078 at least until the DVI-HDMI cable to connect the STB to the 990 is delivered. I'll be playing with alternate routings over the next few weeks, but the 990 has been reported to do such a great job with DVI switching (no fiddling with the signal) that I'll probably keep it unless I find a visible improvement with a direct connection.

The DVD quality is excellent, right out of the box. I've tweeked the Oppo for my previous CRT SD TV, and those settings seem to be just fine for the 5078.

Here's my question. The cable company provides a group of free HDTV stations, those ones you could theoretically get OTA (if you had a really good antenna out where I live). Going through the STB, two of them come in just fine, but six of them leave the screen blank. (I've logged a trouble ticket with the cable company on this.) I see that if I just take the cable feed directly, I get a whole bunch of scrambled digital channels, but I can't figure out how to identify the "free" HDTV stations to see if they come in better directly than they do through the STB. Are there any tools/menus available for figuring this out? It seems to me that I should be able to use the 5078's capabilities to get at a few more of these HDTV stations.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Received my R5668W from TVA 08/19.

Word of advice for anyone who still has a backorder: Once they confirm the order – the next day get online via their chat and request to get the tracking number. Though they probably won’t have it for a couple days – just be polite and they will do what they can.

In my situation, they confirmed my order on Tuesday and I jumped on the Chat line Thursday and Friday to get the tracking number. Finally Friday about 12:30P – I was able to get tracking only to find out that the TV was out for delivery. I contacted the good people at Matheson Fast Freight – and the driver was kind enough to come back at the end of his route around 6:00P.

Everything worked out great – but I didn’t get a call to schedule the delivery nor was the website updated with tracking information. If I wouldn’t have contacted TVA – I probably wouldn’t have been able to get my TV until Monday…

Received my R5668W from TVA 08/19.

Word of advice for anyone who still has a backorder: Once they confirm the order – the next day get online via their chat and request to get the tracking number. Though they probably won’t have it for a couple days – just be polite and they will do what they can.

In my situation, they confirmed my order on Tuesday and I jumped on the Chat line Thursday and Friday to get the tracking number. Finally Friday about 12:30P – I was able to get tracking only to find out that the TV was out for delivery. I contacted the good people at Matheson Fast Freight – and the driver was kind enough to come back at the end of his route around 6:00P.

Everything worked out great – but I didn’t get a call to schedule the delivery nor was the website updated with tracking information. If I wouldn’t have contacted TVA – I probably wouldn’t have been able to get my TV until Monday…

I got an e-mail giving the tracking number soon after I got the call (the same day, only about a couple hours). The TV shipped in today at my house. :D Can't wait to unbox it! I've been really eager to test an XBox on it for myself (even though I've read all those reviews).

We want pictures. :)

Congratulations on receiving your Sammy 67". Hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

I found some nice pics here (http://www.aving.co.kr/newproduct/default.asp?p1=newproduct&mode=read&page_table_id=&table_id=English&num=19&brd_name=&brand_num_list=&gotopage=1&other_table=)

Received my R5668W from TVA 08/19.

I am in a unique situation where I am in the middle of remodeling – so I don’t have any HD Satellite content and I am running everything through the TV. Once I finish remodeling at the end of the month, I will well get Direct TV HD/Tivo and connect everything through my Denon 3805 AVR.

What I have now:
Samsung HL-R5668W
Samsung SD DirecTV receiver - Component to TV
Samsung HD-931 – Component to TV
Replay TV – Svideo to TV
Playstation – Svideo to TV

This WILL be my first HD which makes me an HD n00b. Yet since I will be upgrading in stages, I figured I would post my thoughts throughout the process.

Standard Definition - viewing varies from very nice from the majority of channels/programs to unwatchable on select programs. This makes me think that this issue is very much source driven. The worst programming was pre-season football on CBS-2 and KCAL-9 (Los Angeles Feeds). The programs were blurry and just got annoying to watch after some time. It also seems that SD images with underwater footage shows a lot of artifacts. Even so, this television definitely shows nice SD content on most channels and programs. Grade B-

Lip Sync – So far no issues… I am sure once I install a HD DTV Receiver, an HDMI switch and extender, and AVR receiver this all could change. I will not grade this until I get more information. Grade: N/A

HD DVD – Component Connection for now. Awesome picture and incredible detail though I have to yet fully watch several DVD movies yet. The only issue I noticed was during Finding Nemo movie. During the Shark scene in the submarine – all the characters had a halo glow around them. It happened again during the scene at the bottom of the ocean when it is completely black. Once the fish with the glowing lure attacks, they characters had a halo glow around them. Hard to explain but I wont be too critical until I get everything connected properly with HDMI cables. Grade: A-

Playstation – Haven’t had a chance to play yet – so no grade yet.
Grade: N/A

I will have to shuffle through the various posts to figure out what people did to clean up their SD images. But I will keep everyone updated and revise my reviews as I view more content and upgrade my connections and HD…

The only issue I noticed was during Finding Nemo movie. During the Shark scene in the submarine – all the characters had a halo glow around them. It happened again during the scene at the bottom of the ocean when it is completely black. Once the fish with the glowing lure attacks, they characters had a halo glow around them. Hard to explain but I wont be too critical until I get everything connected properly with HDMI cables. Grade: A-I also noticed this when viewing the movie on my 5078 via my (now returned) HD950, but as htwaits pointed out a while back, Finding Nemo is known to have banding problems. The halo I saw around the fish was a "banded" halo, with hard edges -- nothing soft or natural. I was able to minimize its visibility by switching the 5078 to Movie mode. The effect was certainly still there, but it was definitely masked better. Congrats on the new set! :)

You probably already know the answer to your own question. Not likely. With component cables, though, a lot depends on the setup where they're used (how long are the cable runs, how noisy is the environment where they're installed, etc.) The most expensive component cables I ever bought cost less than $100, were 10 ft long and had to be exceptionally well shielded. They were custom-made by BluejeansCable, whose products have never disappointed me.

One question for you: why would you want to run your video cables through a receiver and not directly to your TV?


The cables would be short, probably 3 feet. I built a low wood stand, to hold the boxes under the TV. Everything is close, but I am a little concerned about the wires interfering with each other.

The family is familiar with the 3803 receiver's switching (as others point out, and WAF on that score already is high), and changing inputs directly seems much quicker than cycling through the source button on the 6168 remote. I may change this if I find that I set up different picture settings for the different inputs. I also run non-HD D*Tivo though the 3803, and a VCR (we have several hundred VHS tapes) so I'm almost certainly going to get a permanent component cable for that connection.

I don't mind paying the money, if the more expensive cable really results in a better picture. A number of people have indicated they get a very good PC though component, perhaps better than HDMI. I'd like that, but get the feeling I'm being taken by Magnolia (the salesman was saying the silver content gave a better picture when it increased from 1.2 to 2.5 to 6 per cent).

Eric Stahlfeld
Seattle

Why not just pick up an OPPO dvd player ... it includes a nice DVI - HDMI cable and is only $199, if you want a budget solution. See POST #4 in this thread for a review and link to the OPPO site.

If you want to just connect up your current DVD player, just get one set of component cables and connect it directly to the TV. The cheaper cables will be just fine for an short-term solution. If you want to learn more about whether expensive cables are worth the extra money, read the article on cabling in PC World this month. They found that cheaper cables worked fine. I'm not an expert on cheap cables ... I have expensive cables in my system.

As to the first, it's silver. And no SACD IIRC. But may if the Denon doesn't look that good (although it's not bad even without component). I'm looking at the Sony you like as well.


OK, I'll have to look at the PC World article. I just might get one expensive and one cheap set, and compare the two.

Thanks,

Eric Stahlfeld
Seattle

Not sure what Manatus would say, but I have the same 3803 going to my 6168 and the whole family loves the simplicity of all switching moving all together at one component. When the 3803 says TV, you see and hear TV. When the 3803 says DVD, you see and hear DVD. Absolutely no degradation of video, it's a wonderful setup.

I agree.

This avoids having to get and program an expensive remote. The Denon 3803 also allows individual audio delay for each input.

Eric Stahlfeld
Seattle

So i've been enjoying my 5078 since I got it last thursday, spent the weekend getting it properly set up and exploring the new HD STB from Comcast (Tivo, I miss you so much, the Comcast DVR sucks so hard in comparison). I'm loving XBox, DVDs, the works.

But what really seals the deal? When my friend with a 50" GW Sony LCD set comes over tonight, and takes all of 30 seconds to go "holy cow, your set looks so much better than mine!"

Of course, the downside of this is the sunday football gathering has now been moved from his place to my place. Guess I should have budgeted "extra football beer money" into the purchase price...

Guess I should have budgeted "extra football beer money" into the purchase price...

That doesn't sound right to me. I would expect that any guests wouldn't come empty handed... :eek: especially if they expect to be invited back!. :D

Here my first findings on the 6168 I received Monday.
Note I am in the middle of a rebuild of the kitchen/FR etc so I am using extremly long coaxial and have none of my usual AVR and amps/speakers/subwoofer or even replayTV connected. That will be a couple of weeks away.

SD: STandard definition analog (480i) is receive better than I
espected. HD TVs in theri latest iterations DO handle analog quite
well.

DTV: Digital singals are recieved well and are a step above analog
for sure. Sound is better as well.

HDTV: I have tried all the broadcast channels and PBS and must say
the CV signal and upgrade to 1080P by the Sammy is stunning. Sound
telss me it is in Dolby digital 5.1 but I am not yet able to hook
into my sound system so I am hearing the audio via the TVs couple of
speakers, which handle themselves better than expected. So hats off
to both CV and Sammy for their respective stuff. I watched 2
episodes of "House" last night and it was so much more involving.
Great stuff.
Oh one small note on the audio. I noticed a very slight out of sync
with lips in front of the audio. I was looking for this and I did
notice it. My wife never comented and never noted it. Certainly I
don't watch a screen focusing on the lips, more the eyes and the
whole screen, in so doing I did not notice it at all. WHen I have my
AVR hooked up (in a few weeks) I can make changes to put the 2 in
sync if I wish. I may well not bother. And anyway I haven't chencked
to see if it was just one channel or not.

DVD: I also puchased the Sammsung HD 950 DVD (for around $175). This
particular DVD Player internally upgrades the normal 480P signal to
1080i. Then my TV upgrades that to 1080P. result was once more
absolutely stunning. Quite frankly it was as good as the HD
broadcast progams in standard. This player is extremely good value
when linked to this TV.

Anybody know of "great" professional calibrators in the Chicago-land area?

TIA,
Steve

Anyone that took my evidence of lack of sync from the digital output to heart should note that, sadly, I am returning my set, but that my single data point may not be accurate for the "average" set.

It seems that I have horrible video lag on HD channels that is unfixable. It does not happen on all shows, but does happen on all channels (but varying shows with a net effect of almost 50% of HD shows being messed up).

It does not happen with a fixed delay value (so no lag machines will help), but instead changes essentially from scene to scene (last night on "The Office" I would *swear* that one of the scenes had to lag by almost a full second(!) yet other scenes were almost spot on). The lag seems to be slightly worse on OTA tuning as opposed to cable.

A Samsung tech came out and declared it unfixable since these sets are not supposed to have lag issues.

I guess the good news is that people with working sets might actually get sync'd audio from their digital out (except that it will only be 2.0 if it is coming over HDMI).

Not everyone has this lag and trouble. I have noticed that the newer shipments are getting better, is this because now Samsung does not have to rush with the orders because the BO's are filled, just about. Or is it that Samsung fixed the problem with the firmware issue. I am getting my new 5688 next week to try. My 6178 has no problems so far. However, I would suspect that if your TV would have a problem it would be in the first 2 weeks of having it. Right? What do others think?
I hope that all these problems get fixed soon. Maybe the light engine is the cause for most of these problems, or the set up in the SM from the factory. I think that Samsung should of set these sets for the viewer and not for the store display. They should of set all the sets to Gamma 0.

These are my thoughts after reading all these post lately.

I'll post a more useful review next week, as I've only played with it for a few hours this evening. But so far, I'm thrilled with the pairing of the 975 and my 5078. For the money, this thing's worth its weight if you get it with the latest firmware (I'm running 2.010, and don't expect any significant reliability problems with this version).

The player has far more customizable user settings, my favorite of course being the 0-100ms audio delay. I cranked that sucker all the way to 100ms and lip sync problems via DVD are no longer large enough to be noticeable. :D

As UCSB mentioned in his review, I had to use the Sony's custom picture mode (called "Memory" in the interface) to get it to pass BTB. With the 5078 in Movie mode, the only adjustment I needed to make on the Sony was to increase Brightness to +1. Whites are not crushed at all, and the greyscale ramps are smooth and consistent. Beautiful! Big difference from my 950 there. With the 5078 in Custom mode, I had to jack the Sony's brightness up to either +3 or +4 to pass BTB, which resulted in me having to drop the 5078's Brightness down well into the low 30's. I didn't want to adjust any of the settings that drastically, so for now I'm sticking with Movie mode on the tv and Memory mode on the player until I have more time to play.

To my eye, the Sony seems to be pushing a sharper, cleaner image than the 950. Shadow detail seems to be slightly more visible so far. But most of all, I'd swear the picture seems more vibrant -- LOTR FOTR (which I saw 5+ times at the theater ... although I'm sure that's no record among those at AVS ;)) is flat-out stunning, and truly brought my theater experience with this film back to life. I didn't get that feeling with the 950 ... I wish I still had it for a direct comparison. Maybe I'm just full of it and rationalizing, but that's my initial impression.

I found myself quoting Tony a couple of times: frig'n amazing ...

I need to spend far more time tweaking, but I thought I'd at least share my initial positive impressions. Bottom line: I don't think I'll regret making the switch. This will definitely tide me over for a few years until HD players are out and reasonably affordable.

I found myself quoting Tony a couple of times: frig'n amazing ...


:-) I must use that more than I realize...

Just finished watching 'The Incredibles' using uncalibrated 'movie
mode'- frig'in INCREDIBLE!

I have never seen a RP Microdisplay come anywhere close to the
Black Levels I saw tonight. They are JET Black. Colors are vivid
and POP. Some the animatation looked real and 3D.

I can't imagine this getting much better but HD DVD and Blu Ray DVD
are going to probably blow our minds with these sets...

Sh$t - I probably should have splurged for the 71 in. ...

:-) Sh$t - I probably should have splurged for the 71 in. ...

TVA does upgrades! :D :cool:

:-) I must use that more than I realize...

Just finished watching 'The Incredibles' using uncalibrated 'movie
mode'- frig'in INCREDIBLE!

I have never seen a RP Microdisplay come anywhere close to the
Black Levels I saw tonight. They are JET Black. Colors are vivid
and POP. Some the animatation looked real and 3D.

I can't imagine this getting much better but HD DVD and Blu Ray DVD
are going to probably blow our minds with these sets...

Sh$t - I probably should have splurged for the 71 in. ...

I wouldn't think "The Incredibles" would be a flick to necessarily judge blacks with. Maybe I don't remember the movie correctly?

Alot of items wth black and some night scenes as well. I looked at some of it early this morning after reading the post. It looks very good. I can't wait for my calibration in a couple of weeks.

I received my HLR6178W from Sound Advice, a.k.a. Tweeter, on Tuesday so I am reporting only a few days of experience. I have it hooked up with component video from an Adelphia Explorer 3250HD set top cable box. The sound is provided by digital optical cable from the cable box to my Onkyo receiver. I am not using the TV sound.

The manual is poor quality with very little explanation or detail. Leave plenty of time for tinkering to understand what is happening. The connection diagrams do not show a cable box connected via component video for the TV signal. They assume connection via coax cable. My cable box coax only supplies analog signals. The result is that the operation descriptions and on screen menus differs from the manual. It took me a while to figure out what was going on. I hooked the coax cable to the cable antenna in connection on the TV to finally get the entire menu. I have not heard anything on this topic as most have jumped to the service manual settings for discussion. I have ordered the service manual, $30 from Samsung parts.

A few comment on viewing……. I have the Samsung model TR46X3SB stand. It is 17 inches high and places your viewing angle in the lower half of the TV while seated on a sofa. I have noticed that when you stand you get a noticeable darkening of the screen. The horizontal angles have no effect over a wide range. Has anyone else noticed the vertical angle sensitivity? A flyer that came with the TV says the viewing distance should be 5 to 7 times the length or the screen, 4 times for HD broadcast. That would place my sofa 25 feet from the TV. The manual says 7.2 feet. What gives???

Still struggling with the TV guide which only works on the analog coax input.

I have the coax input as the PIP signal and I have not found a way of changing the PIP channel without going through the menu. The manual says I should be able to change it with the CH buttons.

I do get some sound lag (lip sync) but only on certain channels. I need to explore that further. Yes, I do get some of that black crush mentioned previously. Next week, after burn-in, I may try doing some tweaking. Another few days and I may have mastered the basics. On the bright side the picture quality is fantastic, great in both standard and HD broadcast.

Hope this is helpful to others…………… :o

I have been reading all these posts and I really want to thank everyone for all this information as I am looking at maybe pulling the trigger on the 56 inch model. I guess this is off topic a little but I have a 40 inch Toshiba RPT for over 4 years now and never had it calibrated. I think I know the answer to this but is the 4-500.00 I am going to have to put down worth it or should I put the money to a new set and have that calibrated. I am really not looking to purchase anytime soon but maybe in the next 6 months.

Thanks

OK, so the cable guy came by about 2hrs ago, he setup the SA8300HD box. I ordered basic DTV + HDxtra package service.

When we 1st tried the connection, we tried it using HDMI, my 5688 wasn't recognizing the SA8300HD. I hit the 'SOURCE" button, but nothing. Would just get the
WEAK SIGNAL, SCRAMBLED CH" message. I went into the 5688 MENU, click on "INPUT" selected HDMI1, didn't work, tried HDMI2, same result, just got a blk blank picture.

Eventually we just connected it using the basic component cables that came with the SA8300HD.

I believe I read where the SA8300HD was having issues using an HDMI connection for a few posters here. Anyone have advise/instructions on how to get the SA8300HD & the Samsung 1080p to get along, or should I simply stick with the component cables?

Any difference in PQ using component compared to HDMI?

Thanks guys.

Steve,

If you plan on getting a new tv to replace the crt, then don't bother spending money on calibration. if you are planning on keeping both, then have it calibrated. calibrating a crt is usually less than digital and if you do both at the save time, chances are they will give you a discount.

Slocko,

I will be keeping both I gues the bottom line question is calibration going to make a 4-500.00 difference in PQ.

Like I said, crts are cheaper and you should get a discount if you do both. It won't be 400-500 for the crt. You might get the crt done for around $200.

Slocko,

I don't have the DLP yet just the RPTV and the guys rate is 375.00 which also includes audio. Is this price out of whack?

Hopefully this will be implemented in next years models.

Samsung Electronics Gains CableLabs(R) Certification on 2-Way Digital Television
Wednesday August 24, 10:00 am ET

LOUISVILLE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 2005--In a major milestone for cable's interactive digital evolution, Samsung Electronics has achieved Certification status for an OCAP(TM)-enabled interactive digital television set in a recently concluded test wave held at CableLabs.

"This is a significant accomplishment. The Samsung digital television (DTV) is a very innovative retail device that can connect directly to the cable system, and receive current advanced and premium cable services, as well as future interactive applications to come. By implementing the OpenCable(TM) platform, a common nationwide platform for delivering interactive cable applications is enabled," said Glenn A. Britt, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable and Chairman of the CableLabs Board of Directors. "This is a truly historic point for our industry and we couldn't have arrived at it without the strong support of forward-thinking consumer electronics companies like Samsung," Britt added.

"We are thrilled to achieve CableLabs Certified status, and we remain committed to commercializing interactive digital cable-ready TVs and set-top boxes (STBs) to accelerate the rollout of OCAP across the North American Cable industry," said Gee Sung Choi, President and CEO, Digital Media Business at Samsung Electronics, Co. Ltd.

Said Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts: "With Samsung and other consumer electronics manufacturers, cable continues to lead the entertainment industry into its digital era. We are a significant step closer to having advanced devices capable of receiving and displaying advanced cable services such as program guides and video-on-demand (VOD) without requiring other boxes. Just as we stood a few years ago with modems, we are poised to offer consumers more advanced services than ever."

Jung Soo Shin, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Division at Samsung Electronics America, Inc., added: "Samsung's participation in the OpenCable project, and close collaboration with CableLabs and the cable operators, have been critical for Samsung to develop products that run key cable services including high-definition television (HDTV), VOD, and interactive program guides."

"Samsung is the first consumer electronics manufacturer to build a 2-way integrated digital television. This is quite a feat considering the complexity of these new devices," said CableLabs President and CEO Dr. Richard R. Green. "As this technology is rapidly progressing, Samsung has agreed to continue to work with Cablelabs to ensure interoperability with future OCAP headend providers," he added.

"This marks a major leap forward in DTV technology underscoring the importance of cable network connectivity and middleware in the next phase of the DTV transition," remarked Boo Keun Yoon, Senior Vice President of Visual Display R&D at Samsung Electronics.

"This accomplishment proves out the viability of the OpenCable platform, including OCAP middleware, for interactive devices. We truly appreciate Samsung's hard work and continuing strong leadership in cable's digital transition," said Don Dulchinos, Senior Vice President of Advanced Platforms and manager of the OpenCable project at CableLabs.

Samsung licensed technology from CableLabs last fall to implement the required OCAP middleware on its interactive DTVs and STBs. Other companies licensed to build OCAP-enabled devices include LG Electronics, Panasonic, and Digeo. "The agreements, available to any interested consumer electronics manufacturer, grant certain intellectual property rights required for building and testing OCAP-enabled retail devices in compliance with the CableLabs OpenCable specifications," said So Vang, Director of OpenCable Software.

i don't have experience with audio calibration so I don't know if that is reasonable. At any rate, find out how much just to calibrate the tv. you can do the audio when your samsung comes.

the key is not so much the price, but to get someone who is highly recommended.

Slocko,

I don't have the DLP yet just the RPTV and the guys rate is 375.00 which also includes audio. Is this price out of whack?

hmmm. just hooked up my hr10-250 via hdmi and i am getting the same on both inputs. weak signal and nothing is displayed.

OK, so the cable guy came by about 2hrs ago, he setup the SA8300HD box. I ordered basic DTV + HDxtra package service.

When we 1st tried the connection, we tried it using HDMI, my 5688 wasn't recognizing the SA8300HD. I hit the 'SOURCE" button, but nothing. Would just get the
WEAK SIGNAL, SCRAMBLED CH" message. I went into the 5688 MENU, click on "INPUT" selected HDMI1, didn't work, tried HDMI2, same result, just got a blk blank picture.

Eventually we just connected it using the basic component cables that came with the SA8300HD.

I believe I read where the SA8300HD was having issues using an HDMI connection for a few posters here. Anyone have advise/instructions on how to get the SA8300HD & the Samsung 1080p to get along, or should I simply stick with the component cables?

Any difference in PQ using component compared to HDMI?

Thanks guys.

Wow i was gone for 2 weeks and the pages acumulated.What reading.Finally caught up again.Just received a call last night on my shipment of my 5688 for Monday the 29th.Woo-hoo been a long hall.Thanx to all for your inputs and tweaking and observations.

Hopefully this will be implemented in next years models.

Samsung Electronics Gains CableLabs(R) Certification on 2-Way Digital Television
Wednesday August 24, 10:00 am ET

LOUISVILLE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 2005--In a major milestone for cable's interactive digital evolution, Samsung Electronics has achieved Certification status for an OCAP(TM)-enabled interactive digital television set in a recently concluded test wave held at CableLabs.

"This is a significant accomplishment. The Samsung digital television (DTV) is a very innovative retail device that can connect directly to the cable system, and receive current advanced and premium cable services, as well as future interactive applications to come. By implementing the OpenCable(TM) platform, a common nationwide platform for delivering interactive cable applications is enabled," said Glenn A. Britt, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable and Chairman of the CableLabs Board of Directors. "This is a truly historic point for our industry and we couldn't have arrived at it without the strong support of forward-thinking consumer electronics companies like Samsung," Britt added.

"We are thrilled to achieve CableLabs Certified status, and we remain committed to commercializing interactive digital cable-ready TVs and set-top boxes (STBs) to accelerate the rollout of OCAP across the North American Cable industry," said Gee Sung Choi, President and CEO, Digital Media Business at Samsung Electronics, Co. Ltd.

Said Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts: "With Samsung and other consumer electronics manufacturers, cable continues to lead the entertainment industry into its digital era. We are a significant step closer to having advanced devices capable of receiving and displaying advanced cable services such as program guides and video-on-demand (VOD) without requiring other boxes. Just as we stood a few years ago with modems, we are poised to offer consumers more advanced services than ever."

Jung Soo Shin, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Division at Samsung Electronics America, Inc., added: "Samsung's participation in the OpenCable project, and close collaboration with CableLabs and the cable operators, have been critical for Samsung to develop products that run key cable services including high-definition television (HDTV), VOD, and interactive program guides."

"Samsung is the first consumer electronics manufacturer to build a 2-way integrated digital television. This is quite a feat considering the complexity of these new devices," said CableLabs President and CEO Dr. Richard R. Green. "As this technology is rapidly progressing, Samsung has agreed to continue to work with Cablelabs to ensure interoperability with future OCAP headend providers," he added.

"This marks a major leap forward in DTV technology underscoring the importance of cable network connectivity and middleware in the next phase of the DTV transition," remarked Boo Keun Yoon, Senior Vice President of Visual Display R&D at Samsung Electronics.

"This accomplishment proves out the viability of the OpenCable platform, including OCAP middleware, for interactive devices. We truly appreciate Samsung's hard work and continuing strong leadership in cable's digital transition," said Don Dulchinos, Senior Vice President of Advanced Platforms and manager of the OpenCable project at CableLabs.

Samsung licensed technology from CableLabs last fall to implement the required OCAP middleware on its interactive DTVs and STBs. Other companies licensed to build OCAP-enabled devices include LG Electronics, Panasonic, and Digeo. "The agreements, available to any interested consumer electronics manufacturer, grant certain intellectual property rights required for building and testing OCAP-enabled retail devices in compliance with the CableLabs OpenCable specifications," said So Vang, Director of OpenCable Software.
Very good article from the Business wire. Interesting too. I wonder what the newer model DLP's will have in them and when they will come out. Can the cable companies keep up with the fast growing market of DLP's? in PQ signal?

All you 67" buyers are going to love this set...first off it is huge...at 13' I am very happy...IMO at 8'-10' would be too close for me...It is nice and bright for such a huge screen...Colors are decent...Blacks are exceptionally black, I mean ink black...This set produces a really sharp picture...lots of detail...but also shows all the bad artifacts with a poor signal...SD is SD it is Okay...HD will blow your socks off...The Oppo dvd player with this set is really amazing... Audio delay is there but seldom...I have not done anything to this set except set it up for HD and DVD and ect...I will tweak it the best I can in a couple of weeks with Avia...But will be having it Pro Calibrated in the future. Good Luck with your sets.I would like to add a few thing to this post: Last night I decided to see how close I could bring my recliner up to the 67" set and at 8-10 feet it is NOT a problem...I probably could of easily went with the 71" at 13 feet...Oh well I am still thrilled with the 67" at 13 feet. Another thing I have seen, is an improvement in PQ after running this set for a couple of days...so there must be a break in period on the bulb/lamp...hard to believe it can get much better...I now feel confident to giving my daughter and her family my LN567 which has been a great set...because I find the 6768 is a keeper...I couldn't be happier. :) As soon as I get a chance I will post some pictures. :D

I don't have the DLP yet just the RPTV and the guys rate is 375.00 which also includes audio. Is this price out of whack?

Hello Steve,

I reside in the NyC area, I did a search of local ISF Calibrators in my area, 2 guys came up. (1) Kevin Miller (www.isftv.com) & (2) Carl Sundbom (www.ny-calibration.com), I decided to go with Carl, based on his price & service he was offering.

Carl is charging me $375 total for both an Audio & Video calibration. So I believe you are getting a good & fare rate. While Kevin was asking for $400 for Video only, I wanted Audio so that's why I went with Carl, besides in spekaing with him over the phone, he seems like a honest person &knows what he's doing.

Wow i was gone for 2 weeks and the pages acumulated.What reading.Finally caught up again.Just received a call last night on my shipment of my 5688 for Monday the 29th.Woo-hoo been a long hall.Thanx to all for your inputs and tweaking and observations.

Hey conrats!!!

I have owned the 5688 since last week, let me tell you physically it's the best looking of the 3 Samsng 1080p models. Everyone who's seen it in person @ my crib have been very very impressed by the outter appearance alone, the HD images on the set aren't to shabby either. HEHE!

You'll enjoy it, trust me. I am getting my 5688 calibrated this upcoming Monday, if you like I'll try passing along the settings the ISF calibrator will set after the calibration is done, so you could try getting better performance/PQ from your 5688.

hmmm. just hooked up my hr10-250 via hdmi and i am getting the same on both inputs. weak signal and nothing is displayed.
The HR10-250 is known for its flaky HDMI ports. See here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=183203). I bet that's your problem.

I just got my 5668 last night and found out my HDTiVo's HDMI port was bad, so I returned it and got a new one. It came in one of the new black boxes, so something has changed. It's still early, but no problems yet.

Joe,

Thanks for the encouraging words. As a member who hopes one day in the not too distant future to hear from TVA that my 6768 is ready to ship, I am looking to you to give us any help you can to make our experience with this baby a successful one.

Keep posting!

TMSKILZ ,

Thanks for the info now i know I am in the ballpark price wise and I as well talked to this guy for about 20 minutes and was impressed with what he had to say. I was surprised though when he said it would take him 7 hours to do it. He is coming to my house next Friday for free consultation or maybe I will just have come in and do it and be done with it. I kind of want to feel him out first though without making a commitment and make sure I feel totally comfortable with this guy.

Hey conrats!!!

I have owned the 5688 since last week, let me tell you physically it's the best looking of the 3 Samsng 1080p models. Everyone who's seen it in person @ my crib have been very very impressed by the outter appearance alone, the HD images on the set aren't to shabby either. HEHE!

You'll enjoy it, trust me. I am getting my 5688 calibrated this upcoming Monday, if you like I'll try passing along the settings the ISF calibrator will set after the calibration is done, so you could try getting better performance/PQ from your 5688.

Ive been following yours and a few others on this and other threads.My buddy had last years pedestal,and i was floored buy that model.I seen a 1080 at a Maghi-fi and was totally in awe.As soon as i get it i will check the screen.Sounds to me that it should be secured all the way around.

Now if UCSB will adopt me i will have it made lol

Does anyone have any advice on getting the TV Guide info to load? I have my OTA antenna connected to my TV. SD channels are crappy but all my HD channels are coming in fine (and what I use for it anyway). Every time I go to the TV Guide, there are no listings. Any way to force an update on demand?

Anyone have advise/instructions on how to get the SA8300HD & the Samsung 1080p to get along, or should I simply stick with the component cables?
.

I have a HLR6167W and an SA8300HD. I connected it via HDMI, and it just worked. Maybe your box is defective, or has old firmware. I know some model of the SA boxes didn't support DVI/HDMI with their initial firmware releases.

Does anyone have any advice on getting the TV Guide info to load? I have my OTA antenna connected to my TV. SD channels are crappy but all my HD channels are coming in fine (and what I use for it anyway). Every time I go to the TV Guide, there are no listings. Any way to force an update on demand?

I don't know about forcing updates, but a couple of things come to mind. The guide is broadcast in the Vertical Blanking Interval of a local analog channel. It takes about three hours to do the whole guide. It is broadcast four times a day. Do you know if you are in range of a station broadcasting the guide? How long have you been waiting? The TV Guide folks say to wait at least 24 hours.

Lee

Here are some low quality digital pictures of my 6768 as promised. Hope this turns out.

[IMG]IMG_0360.jpg

IMG_0367.jpg

I'd like to ask owners of the new Sammy 1080P set to checkout their sets with DNIe turned on and off. The reason I asked is that I want to buy this set but in the store with an excellent HD feed the clarity of sharpness of the 61" set was not there and I'm wondering if the DNIe was turned off. Thanks

DNIe cannot be turned off. This has been discussed multiple times in this thread.

Here are some low quality digital pictures of my 6768 as promised. Hope this turns out.

[IMG]IMG_0360.jpg

IMG_0367.jpg

Nice pictures man that is one big ass TV enjoy the hell out of it football should be great.

I'd like to ask owners of the new Sammy 1080P set to checkout their sets with DNIe turned on and off. The reason I asked is that I want to buy this set but in the store with an excellent HD feed the clarity of sharpness of the 61" set was not there and I'm wondering if the DNIe was turned off. ThanksIts either on or on demo there is no off...Once you get one of these units home it will be completely different than seeing in store...beleive me...I felt the same way...but now that I have mine set up with all the right stuff and connections...WOW!

Nice pictures man that is one big ass TV enjoy the hell out of it football should be great.I can't wait to have a house full of buddies watching NFL and College Football in HD....Go Bears! Go ILLINOIS! Sorry had to say that :o

Still struggling with the TV guide which only works on the analog coax input.

I played with the tv guide thing when I first got the tv. Total crap. I can't believe they include this thing. Its so slow navigating its painful. Thought I'd play with it to compare to the guide in my cable box.

I can't wait to have a house full of buddies watching NFL and College Football in HD....Go Bears! Go ILLINOIS! Sorry had to say that :o

You are not going to ruin that new TV by watching those 2 teams are you? Tough being a Chicago fan these days.

You are not going to ruin that new TV by watching those 2 teams are you? Tough being a Chicago fan these days.It's not just the games it's the Poker party, beer, food and buddies. :D

Here are some low quality digital pictures of my 6768 as promised. Hope this turns out.

[IMG]IMG_0360.jpg

IMG_0367.jpg


Looks great, Joe.

Really like the slim look of it, and the absence of the side speakers.

It's not just the games it's the Poker party, beer, food and buddies. :D

I hear you, well anyways good luck with your new toy and enjoy the hell out of it and if you want to watch some reall HD football watch the Pats ;)

My HLR5078 should be arriving shortly. :)
I feel so inferior having only 50" when Joe has 67"! :(

I saw the 50 at a Tweeter this past weekend ande it looked awesome and trust me that is a big set as well you won't be disappointed.

Please excuse my ignorance since I'm new to this thread. Does Joe have the 67" 1080P? I think I'll being my DVD player to the store so I can really see what the 61" 1080P this set can do.

I was House on SD recently and noticed "moving" color patches on the white doctor overcoats. (greenish and redish) Is this what is referred to as "rainbows"? Can it be a function of the source? (this was fairly poor SD) I haven't noticed this on DVDs or HDTV but then again I haven't looked for them. Once I saw it on this SD broadcast, I couldn't stop looking for it :/

Does Joe have the 67" 1080P?Yes.

Speaking of AVIA calibration -- I expect to get my Samsung HLR5078W next week, and went online today to shop for the AVIA Home Theater disc. I found that the disc dates from 1999!! Can anything that old still serve for 1080p HDTV??

Jack123

We finally finished up our little project. Check out our new fireplace ;)
http://www.inno-tech.com/misc/raleigh/Galloway/TV/samsung-fireplace.jpg

Wait, check again, it is really a HLR5678 :)
http://www.inno-tech.com/misc/raleigh/Galloway/TV/samsung-tv.jpg

We had the opportunity to design/build this home and decided instead of making the fireplace the focal point, we would put something there that would get much more use. The pics are a bit grainy as I had to adjust levels in photoshop. The hearth is built up 17" so viewing is dead on center. The granite surround color is Absolute Black and works really well with the lacquer bezel on the 78 series. The 3 pieces of the surround are velcroed on to wall so I can remove to access TV.
If we sell the place, the buyer can retrofit a real fireplace in there instead if they want. Everything is piped in for it.

Here are some low quality digital pictures of my 6768 as promised. Hope this turns out.

[IMG]IMG_0360.jpg

IMG_0367.jpg
Nice!

What stand is that?

And yes Da Bears should look good on that set (and Da Cubs).

We finally finished up our little project. Check out our new fireplace ;)
http://www.inno-tech.com/misc/raleigh/Galloway/TV/samsung-fireplace.jpg

Wait, check again, it is really a HLR5678 :)
http://www.inno-tech.com/misc/raleigh/Galloway/TV/samsung-tv.jpg
Clever! :) Looks great.

We finally finished up our little project. Check out our new fireplace ;)
http://www.inno-tech.com/misc/raleigh/Galloway/TV/samsung-fireplace.jpg

Wait, check again, it is really a HLR5678 :)
http://www.inno-tech.com/misc/raleigh/Galloway/TV/samsung-tv.jpg

We had the opportunity to design/build this home and decided instead of making the fireplace the focal point, we would put something there that would get much more use. The pics are a bit grainy as I had to adjust levels in photoshop. The hearth is built up 17" so viewing is dead on center. The granite surround color is Absolute Black and works really well with the lacquer bezel on the 78 series. The 3 pieces of the surround are velcroed on to wall so I can remove to access TV.
If we sell the place, the buyer can retrofit a real fireplace in there instead if they want. Everything is piped in for it.

Looks great but I never would have given up my Fireplace I want both.

When we 1st tried the connection, we tried it using HDMI, my 5688 wasn't recognizing the SA8300HD. I hit the 'SOURCE" button, but nothing. Would just get the WEAK SIGNAL, SCRAMBLED CH" message. I went into the 5688 MENU, click on "INPUT" selected HDMI1, didn't work, tried HDMI2, same result, just got a blk blank picture.

...

I believe I read where the SA8300HD was having issues using an HDMI connection for a few posters here. Anyone have advise/instructions on how to get the SA8300HD & the Samsung 1080p to get along, or should I simply stick with the component cables?As a few others have responded, I've also not had any problem running the SA8300HD to my 5078 via HDMI. I only tested the HDMI briefly, and am currently running the SA via component. If I'm not mistaken, I believe I was actually able to set it up to push a signal through both outputs simultaneously, but I wouldn't swear on it without trying it again ;).

If you haven't already done it this way, you might want to try changing your connections with the SA not only powered down, but also unplugged for 30+ seconds. And I'm sure you've already done so a thousand times, but are you sure the cable's properly seated at both ends? The one thing I don't like about HDMI is that it seems really easy to partially pull the cables out of the jacks. I ran into that with my DVD player ... thought everything was hooked up, but didn't realize until a second check that I'd inadvertantly tugged the cable slightly when moving everything back into position.

Good luck, sorry I don't have any better ideas.

My HLR5078 should be arriving shortly. :)
I feel so inferior having only 50" when Joe has 67"! :(LOL ... I have to agree with Steve, I highly doubt you'll be disappointed. IMHO the 50" and 56" sets are perfect for small- to mid-sized multi-purpose rooms. Mine blends into my cabinet so nicely ... both the wife and I are happy that it fits the room so well. Looking forward to hear your review.

Looks great but I never would have given up my Fireplace I want both.
Thanks. We would have liked both too - but it wasn't practical to put in corner fireplace in this room - and we didn't want corner TV either. We have a corner fireplace in walk-out basement so if we want to warm up, we can go down there.

Thanks

Joe,

Thanks for the encouraging words. As a member who hopes one day in the not too distant future to hear from TVA that my 6768 is ready to ship, I am looking to you to give us any help you can to make our experience with this baby a successful one.

Keep posting!


Joe,
I heartily echo Grokster's comments. :D

Jim
6768
#28(so I'm told)

Nice room. You could probably squeeze a 61" TV in there though! ;)
Thanks! I probably could have if I would have known about it earlier. The framed opening is 54" wide - as I was planning around a Mitsubishi DLP last year. That was until I found this forum and all the informative posts that helped me decide to go the Samsung route :)

Glad I did and thanks again to all the posters for the the info.

I don't know about forcing updates, but a couple of things come to mind. The guide is broadcast in the Vertical Blanking Interval of a local analog channel. It takes about three hours to do the whole guide. It is broadcast four times a day. Do you know if you are in range of a station broadcasting the guide? How long have you been waiting? The TV Guide folks say to wait at least 24 hours.

Lee
I'm not sure which station broadcasts the guide. However, I don't get very good reception with any of the analog channels, so that may be the cause of my problem. I've waited over 24 hours and have walked through the setup process a couple of times.

On a related note, I have a HDTV STB that I also use and that seems to get some sort of guide info as well. Does anyone know where that info comes from? It's painfully slow waiting for it to come down, but when I open the guide, it seems to be downloading it at that point for the current channels in the list.

We finally finished up our little project. Check out our new fireplace ;)
http://www.inno-tech.com/misc/raleigh/Galloway/TV/samsung-fireplace.jpg

Wait, check again, it is really a HLR5678 :)
http://www.inno-tech.com/misc/raleigh/Galloway/TV/samsung-tv.jpg

We had the opportunity to design/build this home and decided instead of making the fireplace the focal point, we would put something there that would get much more use. The pics are a bit grainy as I had to adjust levels in photoshop. The hearth is built up 17" so viewing is dead on center. The granite surround color is Absolute Black and works really well with the lacquer bezel on the 78 series. The 3 pieces of the surround are velcroed on to wall so I can remove to access TV.
If we sell the place, the buyer can retrofit a real fireplace in there instead if they want. Everything is piped in for it.

Nice!!!!

hey, i dont suppose theres any word from Samsung about bringing their 61" screens to the UK any time soon is there?

At the moment they only have 50" 720p screens, but i really want the bigger\higher res models.

Thanks

A while back, somebody with a crooked screen mentioned that a tech came out to fix but made it worse. Sorry, I forgot who, but can you elaborate on what happened?

My screen tilt has been adjusted and they are swapping out set 2 with set 1. Want to know what to look out for on set with adjusted DMD.

Thanks!

Nice!

What stand is that?

And yes Da Bears should look good on that set (and Da Cubs).Plateau CR-2V(64) all my components fit and there is room for a couple more pieces...the center channel sits on the adjustable glass shelf in the middle. its a nice stand with excellent build quality...you can order it in other colors as well.

Love it!! Nice room design and a very unique idea.

My HLR5078 should be arriving shortly. :)
I feel so inferior having only 50" when Joe has 67"! :(Now you know how I feel in the locker room at the gym :D

A while back, somebody with a crooked screen mentioned that a tech came out to fix but made it worse. Sorry, I forgot who, but can you elaborate on what happened?

My screen tilt has been adjusted and they are swapping out set 2 with set 1. Want to know what to look out for on set with adjusted DMD.

Thanks!
He unscrewed the DMD and then tried to reseat it multiple times. It was worse than before. I think he has a new DMD and is going to replace it next week.

We'll see if that works. If not and if I don't severly reduce my overscan too then its back to SS for further discussions. :mad:

Don't the techs just usually replace the whole light engine in these cases? That would seem to be the expedient fix, yes? Then they can replace and/or calibrate the DMD at their leisure, back at tech HQ.

He unscrewed the DMD and then tried to reseat it multiple times. It was worse than before. I think he has a new DMD and is going to replace it next week.

We'll see if that works. If not and if I don't severly reduce my overscan too then its back to SS for further discussions. :mad:
Bummer. So it just is not aligned properly still, right? The PQ wasn't affected, just geometry?

The Tweeter SS techs claimed they have mechanical adjustment and lined it up. It better be right as this will be my 3rd delivery :eek:

Now you know how I feel in the locker room at the gym :D
Too friggin funny!!!

Is anyone else alarmed by the fact that 3:2 pulldown (film mode) is limited to 480i sources? With HD films being encoded in 1080p 24 and being outputted in 1080i, wouldn't it make sense to allow 3:2 pulldown on this source? Am I missing something here?

We had the opportunity to design/build this home and decided instead of making the fireplace the focal point, we would put something there that would get much more use. The pics are a bit grainy as I had to adjust levels in photoshop. The hearth is built up 17" so viewing is dead on center. The granite surround color is Absolute Black and works really well with the lacquer bezel on the 78 series. The 3 pieces of the surround are velcroed on to wall so I can remove to access TV.

Geo... that looks incredibly awesome! Really cool! :cool:

He unscrewed the DMD and then tried to reseat it multiple times. It was worse than before. I think he has a new DMD and is going to replace it next week.

We'll see if that works. If not and if I don't severly reduce my overscan too then its back to SS for further discussions. :mad:Demand a new light engine...I have never heard of anybody getting a DMD replaced...hopefully you mean the light engine...and if that does not work demand a new set or a refund...Sometimes you have to be firm...it worked for me with my HLP6163...I got a refund and purchased the 67".

Hey Jack123,

I have the Avia disk and tried to use it to calibrate the tv and found it vitually worthless. For one reason, the tv is just so damn good there were no adjustments to do, and the other is that the disk is very out of date. I have not checked out every pattern and test in the disk, but don't know if I will bother. I figured there would be an updated disk out there, but you seem to have confirmed that this is not the case. Might just sell my disk on ebay for a few bucks...

I don't know if a calibration is worth it either. Another $400 when it is already such a great picture? I'm looking forward to some of the calibration 'before and after' reviews on the forums as they should be appearing soon. I have the 5678 tv.

Just my two cents...

I played with the tv guide thing when I first got the tv. Total crap. I can't believe they include this thing. Its so slow navigating its painful. Thought I'd play with it to compare to the guide in my cable box.


I set it up today so I will see how it works tomorrow. I use the set top box guide but also wanted to do a comparison.

Bummer. So it just is not aligned properly still, right? The PQ wasn't affected, just geometry?

The Tweeter SS techs claimed they have mechanical adjustment and lined it up. It better be right as this will be my 3rd delivery :eek:
If they do and it works let me know and I will have my tech do the same.

Don't the techs just usually replace the whole light engine in these cases? That would seem to be the expedient fix, yes? Then they can replace and/or calibrate the DMD at their leisure, back at tech HQ.
Perhaps. The tech said DMD but I have no idea what SS will give them. He called and told me he was too busy this week to fix it but early next week. :(

I'm glad my replacement 6168 didn't have a tilt problem like the first one did. Good luck getting it fixed.

Is anyone else alarmed by the fact that 3:2 pulldown (film mode) is limited to 480i sources? With HD films being encoded in 1080p 24 and being outputted in 1080i, wouldn't it make sense to allow 3:2 pulldown on this source? Am I missing something here?

Good question. A bit of searching found this thread, which suggests that even high-end projectors don't all do 3:2 pulldown on 1080i sources:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=552013

That thread also suggests that this one high-end projector isn't even doing ordinary deinterlacing very well on 1080i signals--it's just taking each 540 frame and upscaling it. My understanding was that the Samsungs are doing something better than that with 1080i material, but I don't know if we've confirmed that.

Good question. A bit of searching found this thread, which suggests that even high-end projectors don't all do 3:2 pulldown on 1080i sources:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=552013

That thread also suggests that this one high-end projector isn't even doing ordinary deinterlacing very well on 1080i signals--it's just taking each 540 frame and upscaling it. My understanding was that the Samsungs are doing something better than that with 1080i material, but I don't know if we've confirmed that.

USCB,
Can you add this to your list of questions? This could very well be a show-stopper for some...

USCB,
Can you add this to your list of questions? This could very well be a show-stopper for some...

I don't think this is an issue because it is covered at 480i. If you are sending an alternative signal 480p, 720p, 1080i, than the source device has already taken care of this processing or it is to late.

Hello Steve,

I reside in the NyC area, I did a search of local ISF Calibrators in my area, 2 guys came up. (1) Kevin Miller (www.isftv.com) & (2) Carl Sundbom (www.ny-calibration.com), I decided to go with Carl, based on his price & service he was offering.

Carl is charging me $375 total for both an Audio & Video calibration. So I believe you are getting a good & fare rate. While Kevin was asking for $400 for Video only, I wanted Audio so that's why I went with Carl, besides in spekaing with him over the phone, he seems like a honest person &knows what he's doing.



Hey conrats!!!

I have owned the 5688 since last week, let me tell you physically it's the best looking of the 3 Samsng 1080p models. Everyone who's seen it in person @ my crib have been very very impressed by the outter appearance alone, the HD images on the set aren't to shabby either. HEHE!

You'll enjoy it, trust me. I am getting my 5688 calibrated this upcoming Monday, if you like I'll try passing along the settings the ISF calibrator will set after the calibration is done, so you could try getting better performance/PQ from your 5688.

Kevin Miller calibrated by Toshiba 56H80 a few years ago and he did a very good job. He charged me if I remember correctly a similar price. Not that anything is wrong with Carl but in case anyone is curious Kevin is a good guy. Honestly, I don't understand what "Audio Calibration" is for me as long as all my speakers work I am AOK! :)

Woohoo!

Recieved my Sammy HLR-6168W. Ordered on 7/21 and got it delivered 7/24. Firstly, everyone is correct about the packaging. It is solid enough if treated correctly, but I can see where the screen can get damaged since there is only a frame to keep the box from getting crushed.

I ordered the Sammy stand and StallionRe was kind enough to measure the inside of the stand I forgot to take into account CABLES!!! I have a Denon A/V Reciever and it barely makes it. I can live with it :) If you do have a large reciever think about it before buying this stand.

Here is my setup

AvelLinkPlayer upscaling DVD Player (component)
PS2 via Denon (component)
DishNetwork 921 (HDMI)
Apex Kareoke (composite) - old skool

All the ports are working and there was no external damage. The picture is bright but I believe there are some "tweaks" that are required. This is worlds better than the old RPTV I had. I will be getting some DVD's to put this baby though its paces. I have some pictures of my old set and was going to get pictures of the screen on the new one but at 3MP too big to upload. I think everyone is correct that DNIe is definitely off (at least on Movie mode).

I don't think this is an issue because it is covered at 480i. If you are sending an alternative signal 480p, 720p, 1080i, than the source device has already taken care of this processing or it is to late.

But if you are trying to reconstuct 1080p 24 without loss, the only way to do this would be using 3:2 pulldown, wouldn't it? I thought that is the reason we have 3:2 pulldown to begin with since dvds are encoded at 24 fps and for them to be progressive they need 3:2 to convert it to 60hz. If I am wrong, please correct me.

I have the Avia disk and tried to use it to calibrate the tv and found it vitually worthless. For one reason, the tv is just so damn good there were no adjustments to do, and the other is that the disk is very out of date. I have not checked out every pattern and test in the disk, but don't know if I will bother. I figured there would be an updated disk out there, but you seem to have confirmed that this is not the case. I wouldn't say Avia is worthless. Although it's dated, it still has some valuable test patterns in the advanced video calibration section, and the explanations are very good to help a novice calibrator to understand what he is doing. DVE's test patterns are cleaner (and less expensive) but there are fewer patterns, and the disk is a pain to navigate. I use both, because they excel at different things.

Gary

Just got my 5668 today. So far my main issue, beyond being a little awestruck, is that the black areas seem a little too dark and it looks like I am losing some detail because of it. I have tried some setting changes, but so far I haven't hit the right combo. Can any of you recommend some things I could try?

JGamer, that sounds right to me, but only if the source was 1080i HD DVD.

3:2 pulldown is only used to convert 24 fps to 60 fps. If a 480i source is upscaled to 1080i, the player first deinterlaces it from 24 fps to 60 fps (480p) using 3:2 pulldown, then scales and reinterlaces it to 1080i. But that 1080i is at 60fps. Therefore, 3:2 pulldown is not required.

Gary
But, what about material that's "broadcast" 1080i, either OTA or cable? Would it not be desirable (better) to have 3:2 pull down as part of the deinterlacing and scaling to 1080p rather than just a BOB deinterlace then scale?

Just got my 5668 today. So far my main issue, beyond being a little awestruck, is that the black areas seem a little too dark and it looks like I am losing some detail because of it. I have tried some setting changes, but so far I haven't hit the right combo. Can any of you recommend some things I could try?

What input / source? What picture mode are you using? Are you in a bright room?

I pretty much suspected that. I was one of the first ones to get a HR10-250 (number 23 in the country!). So I pretty much sthought for sure, I would have a bad HDMI port. I thought the hdmi problem manifested itself with a pink picture but I guess not.

I modified my HD-Tivo and put 2 250 gig drives in there so no way I am even going to send it in for repair. I did find a company that charges $100 bucks to fix the HDMI port, but I decided it wasn't worth it. I'll live with component for now.

The HR10-250 is known for its flaky HDMI ports. See here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=183203). I bet that's your problem.

I just got my 5668 last night and found out my HDTiVo's HDMI port was bad, so I returned it and got a new one. It came in one of the new black boxes, so something has changed. It's still early, but no problems yet.

Which stand is that? Nice setup!!!!

Here are some low quality digital pictures of my 6768 as promised. Hope this turns out.

[IMG]IMG_0360.jpg

IMG_0367.jpg

But, what about material that's "broadcast" 1080i, either OTA or cable? Would it not be desirable (better) to have 3:2 pull down as part of the deinterlacing and scaling to 1080p rather than just a BOB deinterlace then scale?Yes. If the film source was 1080p @ 24fps, then 3:2 pulldown was used to interlace and broadcast it @ 60fps. So 3:2 pulldown detection should be required by the TV.

Gary

I pretty much suspected that. I was one of the first ones to get a HR10-250 (number 23 in the country!). So I pretty much sthought for sure, I would have a bad HDMI port. I thought the hdmi problem manifested itself with a pink picture but I guess not.

I modified my HD-TiVo and put 2 250 gig drives in there so no way I am even going to send it in for repair. I did find a company that charges $100 bucks to fix the HDMI port, but I decided it wasn't worth it. I'll live with component for now.

One of my HD-TiVos(the one I bought in MAY2004) had a bad HDMI port. I was never able to test the HDMI port until this Summer. Since it was Summer I figured I would go ahead and have DirecTv replace it. It only took me 7 minutes to remove the 2 hard drives I put in and put the original drive back in. I received a replacement 3 days after talking to DirecTv and when I received the replacement, I sent the old one back. They paid for shipping both ways. It only took me another 7 minutes to put the 2 hard drives in the replacement unit and remove the WD drive. I had to do a clear and delete which took an hour but I had deleted everything before I removed the two drives from the first unit.
Now is the time to get a replacement, before the new TV Season starts.

Well, I don't know if they will respond or not, but I sent Samsung an email about this issue. I don't know if I am making something out of nothing here. It just seems shortsighted to me to not give the option for any interlaced signal on a progressive set since film is sourced at 1080p24. Of course, it is also possible that Samsung uses a much more advanced process to process a 1080i signal into 1080p. I am just looking for some clarification. I will keep anyone interested posted if they give me any type of response.

Well, I don't know if they will respond or not, but I sent Samsung an email about this issue. I don't know if I am making something out of nothing here. It just seems shortsighted to me to not give the option for any interlaced signal on a progressive set since film is sourced at 1080p24. Of course, it is also possible that Samsung uses a much more advanced process to process a 1080i signal into 1080p. I am just looking for some clarification. I will keep anyone interested posted if they give me any type of response. Thanks. I'd read the features & specs for the Samsung 1080p's and assumed that the 3:2 pull down was used on all interlaced inputs. How/where did you find out that the 3:2 pulldown is only used on the 480i.

Which stand is that? Nice setup!!!!Plateau CR-2V(64) all my components fit and there is room for a couple more pieces...the center channel sits on the adjustable glass shelf in the middle. its a nice stand with excellent build quality...you can order it in other colors as well.

I don't think this is an issue because it is covered at 480i. If you are sending an alternative signal 480p, 720p, 1080i, than the source device has already taken care of this processing or it is to late.

I am not sure I understand your reply. Many here I assume will eventually get/want an HD DVD player. Since these should be on film 1080p24, I find a 3:2 pull down on a 1080i input essential, especially with the lack of digital 1080p inputs on the Sammy.

My question is this: Is 480i the ONLY input that can utilize the 3:2 pulldown? TIA

Well, I don't know if they will respond or not, but I sent Samsung an email about this issue. I don't know if I am making something out of nothing here. It just seems shortsighted to me to not give the option for any interlaced signal on a progressive set since film is sourced at 1080p24. Of course, it is also possible that Samsung uses a much more advanced process to process a 1080i signal into 1080p. I am just looking for some clarification. I will keep anyone interested posted if they give me any type of response.

Definitely interested...I had assumed that these Sammy's could handle the 3:2 on the 1080i input...

Thanks. I'd read the features & specs for the Samsung 1080p's and assumed that the 3:2 pull down was used on all interlaced inputs. How/where did you find out that the 3:2 pulldown is only used on the 480i.

It is listed that way in the manual. Also I have the 5668 and the only time "Film Mode" can be enabled in the menu is when a 480i source is hooked up to it. I use a Motorola 6412 with it and have it set to output 1080i via DVI/HDMI. The "Film Mode" option cannot be selected using this setup.

I received my HLR6178W from Sound Advice, a.k.a. Tweeter, on Tuesday so I am reporting only a few days of experience. I have it hooked up with component video from an Adelphia Explorer 3250HD set top cable box. The sound is provided by digital optical cable from the cable box to my Onkyo receiver. I am not using the TV sound.

The manual is poor quality with very little explanation or detail. Leave plenty of time for tinkering to understand what is happening. The connection diagrams do not show a cable box connected via component video for the TV signal. They assume connection via coax cable. My cable box coax only supplies analog signals. The result is that the operation descriptions and on screen menus differs from the manual. It took me a while to figure out what was going on. I hooked the coax cable to the cable antenna in connection on the TV to finally get the entire menu. I have not heard anything on this topic as most have jumped to the service manual settings for discussion. I have ordered the service manual, $30 from Samsung parts.

A few comment on viewing……. I have the Samsung model TR46X3SB stand. It is 17 inches high and places your viewing angle in the lower half of the TV while seated on a sofa. I have noticed that when you stand you get a noticeable darkening of the screen. The horizontal angles have no effect over a wide range. Has anyone else noticed the vertical angle sensitivity? A flyer that came with the TV says the viewing distance should be 5 to 7 times the length or the screen, 4 times for HD broadcast. That would place my sofa 25 feet from the TV. The manual says 7.2 feet. What gives???

Still struggling with the TV guide which only works on the analog coax input.

I have the coax input as the PIP signal and I have not found a way of changing the PIP channel without going through the menu. The manual says I should be able to change it with the CH buttons.

I do get some sound lag (lip sync) but only on certain channels. I need to explore that further. Yes, I do get some of that black crush mentioned previously. Next week, after burn-in, I may try doing some tweaking. Another few days and I may have mastered the basics. On the bright side the picture quality is fantastic, great in both standard and HD broadcast.

Hope this is helpful to others…………… :o

My brother noticed the "darkening" when he stood up with my 6168. We are a little over 9ft away from the TV. I think its due to the matte screen cover. You can make the effect happen on the left or right if you move closer. You can see it best when you have a white backround, the edge you are closest to will begin to get a yellow tinge (due to refraction not the TV).

I did some poking around in the SM of my new HLR5078 this afternoon and came to the same conclusion that DNIe defaults to OFF on these TVs. Turning DNIe ON sharpens the image and increases the contrast but crushes blacks and so diminishes shadow detail. No effect om motion artifacting though. Also, with DNIe on the picture is more artificial looking than when it is turned off.

It seems kinda strange that Samsung would hype DNIe in their marketing literature but not default it to on. Perhaps their firmware team goofed up on this feature.

I'm leaving it set to OFF.

I'll be posting some other first impressions later.

How do you turn DNIe on??

It is listed that way in the manual. Also I have the 5668 and the only time "Film Mode" can be enabled in the menu is when a 480i source is hooked up to it. I use a Motorola 6412 with it and have it set to output 1080i via DVI/HDMI. The "Film Mode" option cannot be selected using this setup.

Is this true for the other 1080p DLPs as well?

OK, I think I am finally caught up with all the posts in this thread now. It wasn’t easy and I had to download the thread so I could wade through it at work using MS-Word so I could pretend I was actually working! :D Anyway I have had my HLR-6168 for almost a month now and I think I am ready to make some observations. I read through the whole thread so as not to duplicate what has already been reported and to address the concerns raised by some fence-sitters and difficulties faced by some owners to the best of my ability.

My equipment is:
Oppo OPDV971H DVD Player connected to the TV via a (6’) DVI-HDMI cable supplied with the player and the audio routed to a Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver via an optical cable.
Motorola DCT6200 HD STB from Comcast connected to the TV via a (3’) DVI-HDMI cable I bought on eBay and the audio routed to the receiver via an optical cable.
All the equipment is connected to a Monster MP HTS2000 MKII power center.
All the cables I use are non-branded ones I bought from eBay or Radio Shack. I did buy a set of Acoustic Research component cables on eBay but am not using them anymore as I did not see any visible difference whether I used the component or DVI output from my cable box and the DVI-HDMI cable took far less space in the routing channel of the TV stand. I heartily recommend eBay for buying A/V cables to anyone who doesn’t claim to be an audio/videophile, is not brand conscious and is not running extremely long lengths of cable.
I bought the TV stand from Costco for a whole lot less than the Samsung stand. I am not sure about the forum rules for posting prices so I will refrain from doing so. Feel free to PM me in case you want to find out the price I paid for any of the stuff I mention.

I am a complete newbie as far as HT is concerned. My previous TV (which now sits in my sun-room) is a 21” Daewoo flat-screen CRT so the HLR has been a gigantic leap in terms of both size and technology. So far I am happy to say I have not been disappointed (except for a few niggles which I will mention later).

The Oppo DVD player: I bought the player in June in anticipation of my new TV so it did not have the latest firmware. Therefore when I finally hooked it up to the HLR in late July using HDMI, I got the same message that some people on this thread got – “mode not supported”. A quick call to the customer support resolved the issue who told me to update the firmware, which I was able to do quickly and painlessly. The instructions are at their website (http://www.oppodigital.com) under the “support” tab. I can’t say enough good things about this little wonder. It plays everything I threw at it including some very badly scratched up CD’s and VCD’s. It is also multi-region so I was finally able to play the DVD set of season 1 & 2 of “The Office” that I received as a gift from a friend from UK. Please note that you need to enter a secret menu to make the player region-free (Setup-Enter 9210-Enter 0 for region-free). The picture quality is outstanding. So is color reproduction. I know! I know! this thread is about the HLR so I will stop singing Oppo’s praises :D and just say that I did notice macro-blocking in certain scenes but nothing overly distracting (but then again my standards might be pretty low compared to some people on the forum!). Overall I think it is a good match for the HLR. Feel free to email me if you have specific questions about the Oppo.

HLR-6168:

The Good: I have seen plenty of TV’s (plasma, CRT, LCD, LCD RPTV and DLP) over the two years that it took me to decide upon “the one”, and nothing compares to the 1080p HLR (*singing like Sinead O’Conner*). Some HD channels over Comcast cable (inHD1 and 2, Discovery) are brilliant while others (NBC, FOX, ABC) have their moments. Some programs on these local channels come through crisp and clear while some only look like poorly upscaled SD (which I believe they in fact are). Thank god for the true HD programs because they made me see the true potential of this TV and not be turned off by poor quality feed. If I hadn’t seen the inHD channel I would have been a little underwhelmed by the TV as some people on the thread seem to be. SD programs actually appear better than I had hoped for, but again some are better than others which is to be expected. Analog SD channels have acceptable quality while some Digital SD channels like MTV2 actually appear almost as good as some of the poorer HD channels. Upscaled DVD’s from the Oppo look almost as good as the better HD channels, although here again the quality of the DVD is the deciding factor. Newer DVD’s like The Incredibles, Lemony Snickets, LOTR series, etc look stunning. Overall my take is that the PQ on the set depends overwhelmingly on the quality of the feed. If you are lucky enough to have a good feed you will have no regrets/doubts about buying this beauty.

The Bad: During my innumerable visits to BB, CC, Sears etc I had never noticed the screen “texture” on DLP TV’s. Somebody else mentioned it earlier in the thread (aaronwt I believe) that the screen on the HLR seems as if there is a fine layer of sand floating just behind the screen, and it is really only noticeable in bright/white areas for example on the robe of Gandalf in LOTR. I didn’t notice it for the first few days but once I did it started to annoy me a bit :confused: . Fortunately after reading that aaronwt’s set has it too and that it is normal I was a bit relieved that I didn’t have a defective set. My question is that does this occur only on Samsung/DLP screens or is this a more widespread phenomenon?

I see a bit of shimmering wherever there is a flat/monotone texture in the picture. Seems like mosquito noise but am not sure. I also notice this in dark scenes on DVD’s where the dark portions shimmer almost like macro blocking but not (small squares/pixels rapidly moving around). For example in LOTR ROTK DVD in the scene in Shelob’s liar it appears as if it is raining outside the cave and inside the cave the gradation in darkness is not smooth but rather I see concentric rings like levels of gray. I think this can be reduced by lowering the gamma or making other adjustments as many people have suggested but since I am getting the set calibrated by Eliab early in September I will leave the set alone and just enjoy the 95% of the time that the picture is flawless. I will post my impressions after the set is calibrated if people are interested.

The audio lag that took up so much real estate on this thread is there for me as well but it varies widely depending upon source, program etc. I have noticed it both on cable and DVD, but it has never been enough to bother me. Both my DVD player and AV receiver have audio delay settings but I haven’t bothered to mess with them because frankly I don’t notice it most of the time. But then again my tolerance for lip-sync issue might be higher than some people.

For those of you who still care I only have DNIE Demo On/Off and not DNIE On/Off. I have never seen blue or red spots over HDMI that some people have reported. As far as I can tell the geometry of the screen is perfect with no rotation or uneven edges although I do have a slight pin-cushioning on all 4:3 screens. I have noticed some noise at the top of the screen (like a flickering white line) on certain programs on certain channels (only in 4:3). Mostly it seems source related but even if it is not and is due to over/underscan I will let Eliab handle it. I do not have HTPC and am not a gamer so cannot comment on performance over VGA or game lag issues.

The Ugly: Like some other people have reported, on certain HD channels (mainly movie channels like Showtime, HBO and CineMAX, but mostly on MAX) whenever there is a very fast motion the picture breaks up into small ugly pixels :mad: . It doesn’t happen all the time and I have never seen it on DVD, although I have watched a lot of fast action sequences on DVD. This makes me think it is source related but want a confirmation from others on the forum. If it is not then it will be a bit disappointing as one of the advantages of DLP touted over LCD is that it handles rapid motion better. But I will withhold judgment until I hear from more knowledgeable people on the forum.

I think this will be a non-issue for a lot of people but I like to watch closed-caption when I watch TV late at night and don’t want to bother my neighbors (plus I am a bit hard of hearing). Unfortunately this TV does not support CC over either component or HDMI inputs. It only has CC over Coax and RCA. I went nuts trying to get the CC until I finally read the fine print in the manual. Oh well, I guess my neighbors will have to learn to live with my late-night TV watching habits!

In conclusion I think this is one outstanding piece of technology. I couldn’t be happier and I am hoping that after calibration it will be even better (although I can’t imagine how that is possible). If I was smart/practical I would not spend any more money on this set and just enjoy it’s already phenomenal performance, but I can’t resist wanting to find out what this set is really capable of. A lot of manufacturers will have 1080p sets out later this year and I am sure they will all be amazing and will also have some trade-offs like the HLR does; but if you are tired of waiting and want a TV RIGHT NOW like I did and do not mind the few shortcomings that this set has then this is “the one” for you.

Rehan

PS….sorry for the long winded review but I had to get it all out!! I am attaching a few pictures to illustrate some of the issues I mentioned in the post. The lines on the right edge of SD2 pic are actually part of the studio set but do help accentuate the pincushion effect.

Nice review!

Does anyone have a working Pronto or Pronto NG code for the HDMI 2 input??? If so, please post the HEX code.

ryzvy
I guess by the time Eliab gets to us in a couple of weeks, he should have a few Samsung 1080P DLP sets under his belt.

My guess would be that this TV is having a problem with anything less than near-perfect HD sources. However, it looks great with good HD sources (except DVD - see below).Or could it be that the tv's just displaying the poor HD source for what it is? Not a blind argument, just a thought ... I'm only using TW Cable via the SA8300HD, but I've yet to see any of the blocking with movement. Discover HD has apeared pretty sharp, even with moving water over rocks, waterfalls, and such. I will look more critically tomorrow, though. You and I have the same size set ... about how large/prominent are the typical blocks? Or do they vary? That will help me to try to make sure I'm looking against your standards.

What is the general opinion about DVD players connected via 480p component?When I had my HD950, I wasn't too thrilled with the artifacting over component at 480p either. Sending 480p over HDMI was an improvement, but I still preferred to let that particular player upconvert over HDMI. Haven't tried sending 480p from my S975V yet.

Using the Panasonic S97 at 720p or 1080i over HDMI looks better but not as good as I would have expected. The picture from the S97 over HDMI is rather noisy and there is noticeable MB. My 3 year old Samsung HLM507 (HD2) produces a noticeably better picture from these DVD players via component and HDMI.Is the S97 producing a sharp picture over HDMI (despite the noise and MB?)?

Unlike several other people that have not had a HDTV before, I've had a Samsung HLM507 50" DLP that I've been enjoying for 3 years and that is what my frame of reference is. Thus far, the HLR578 is better in some areas but not others.Thanks for the honest assessment, Aka. I know I can only be of limited help because this is my first HDTV and I don't exactly have a basis for comparison, but I'll try to help rule out any problems where I can. Two more questions: Is your HLM calibrated? And how many hours have you run the new set versus how many hours do you think it should typically take to "break in" the bulb?

Today, 09:24 PM #4125 (Print)
ryzvy

Nice review...very thorough!

Rehan,

From one newbie to another, thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed review!

Just a heads-up ... the LAMP sticker on the side of my HLR5668W had the wrong LAMP NUMBER. So if you are ordering a backup lamp or replacing a defective lamp, check with Samsung to insure that you get the right part.

Rehan,

Definitely one of the best reviews so far. Nice going.

When will you be posting your review of your HLR5668? Is it a keeper?

The HLR5668W is DEFINITELY a keeper!!! I'll be writing up my observations on the TV soon.

Does anyone have the discrete code for the HDMI 2 input working ... I've spent some time on this and before doing more it would be nice to know that it actually can work!

I'm having similar lip synch problems with my HLR5078 as others have reported.

I have my Panny S97 connected via both component and HDMI. I also have a Sony NC80V DVD changer connected via component. In both cases, I have digital audio connections to my A/V Receiver (Panasonic XR50). The lip synch varies from slight to significant depending on the DVD. Both DVD players have audio delay but if I set it to 100ms to solve the worst case then it makes the slight case bad and vice-versa.

Also, I have my D* HDTivo receiver connected to my A/V Receiver using a digital optical connection. There is a small amount of lip synch but with no way to adjust it in my D* HDTivo receiver I would need to get an external delay device like the Felston.

Note: None of these devices ever had lip synch problems with my HLM507.

Plus...

Getting audio from my D* HDTivo receiver (HR10-250) to work with the 5078 via HDMI is a bit of a challenge. If the D* HDTivo receiver is set to record and playback using Dolby Digital you get no sound through the TV speakers for all digital (HD and SD) channels. If you turn Dolby Digital OFF then you DO get sound through the TV speakers but that means no Dolby Digital through an A/V receiver via the digital optical (TosLink) connection. So, with the D* HDTivo receiver connected to HDMI #2 and with Dolby Digital turned ON (to get DD through A/V receiver) I thought that running seperate analog audio from the D* HDTivo receiver to the DVI audio inputs (associated with HDMI #2) would give me sound through the TV speakers. Wrong! It didn't work. So, with the D* HDTivo receiver you have to turn Dolby Digital OFF to get sound through the TV speakers and this results in not getting Dolby Digital through the A/V receiver.

If I connect my D* HDTivo receiver to the HLR5078 using component at 720p or 1080i I get blue and red sparkles throughout dark areas of the picture. Connecting via HDMI does not have this. Connecting my DVD players via component also does not do this. So there must be a problem connecting the D* HDTivo receiver via component (worked just fine on my HLM507).

So I'm not sure if the problem is with the HR10-250 or the HLR5078 or both due to some kind of HDMI audio incompatibility. No problems with getting audio through the TV speakers from Panny S97 DVD player connected using HDMI though.

Anyone else with the D* HDTivo receover (HR10-250) having similar problems with the audio?

At 100ms you may have set the audio delay a little high, try 60ms and see how that works.

I've seen blockiness during very fast motion with lots of small objects as well, in otherwise good-quality HD material. I would assume it's a source compression issue, since I don't see how TV processing could create this kind of visible blockiness out of a clean signal--I'd think that as far as the TV is concerned, pixels are pixels, regardless of whether they represent fast-moving objects or not. (If they were small blocks, I could imagine it having something to do with the TV's processing, but when I've seen it, they looked a lot like big MPEG artifacts.)

I think this will be a non-issue for a lot of people but I like to watch closed-caption when I watch TV late at night and don’t want to bother my neighbors (plus I am a bit hard of hearing). Unfortunately this TV does not support CC over either component or HDMI inputs. It only has CC over Coax and RCA. I went nuts trying to get the CC until I finally read the fine print in the manual. Oh well, I guess my neighbors will have to learn to live with my late-night TV watching habits!

Yeah, I wish I had known this beforehand as well. You might check if your cable box can render the captions itself. I have a Motorola 6412, and it does do captioning, but you have to turn it on from the setup menu, which you actually have to turn off the box to access! And the captioning seems flaky, too--it sometimes doesn't seem to draw correctly. But it's better than nothing.

Do other sets show caption data via component/HDMI? Is this just another weird random limitation of the Samsungs? (And was it true in previous generations as well?)

So now that my 6168 is on the way, I was wondering how the internal OTA digital tuner performs as far as locking in on weaker signals. Anyone know what "generation" it is? I am in the Chicago area and have some trouble with my existing Sony 65" CRT (few years old) locking into our CBS station here that broadcasts over low-power VHF channel 3. I'm just wondering if the tuner in this set will be a little better then my older Sony's tuner and help me receive CBS any better (for football season of course) this year. :D

Is anyone else alarmed by the fact that 3:2 pulldown (film mode) is limited to 480i sources? With HD films being encoded in 1080p 24 and being outputted in 1080i, wouldn't it make sense to allow 3:2 pulldown on this source? Am I missing something here?Good quality high definition de-interlacing and scaling is difficult and expensive, and I would have little confidence with on-board processors. In this case it sounds like the Samsung is using bob and/or weave de-interlacing with 1080i inputs

So all the more need to have HDMI inputs that support 1080p, not just 1080i.

Nick

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

Thanks! With your instructions I was able to change my Gamma to 0 and i fixed the vertical alignment as well. I do have a question I see on my 6168 that the right hand corner of my screen is a few millimeters lower than the left side. I knew something was off when I turned the set on and when I checked the vertical alignment I saw the problem. I have the red lines about the same distance from the edge but I have that issue. I also noticed a slight pin-cushion on the upper right hand corner. Do you have any of these issues. Are they worth complaining about???

My brother noticed the "darkening" when he stood up with my 6168. We are a little over 9ft away from the TV. I think its due to the matte screen cover. You can make the effect happen on the left or right if you move closer. You can see it best when you have a white backround, the edge you are closest to will begin to get a yellow tinge (due to refraction not the TV).


You are probably right about the screen cover. It is more noticeable on brighter backgrounds.

From 12' away they are barely noticeable as blocks but instead appear to make the picture look a bit fuzzy. If you move closer to 4-6' away you can see the small blocks. I would guess that they are maybe 1/4" to 1/2" square in size. I've seen them in several HD programs on several HD channels. For example, at the end of the Jackie Chan movie that was on HDNet movies tonight, at the start of Papparazzi on HBO, in a couple of nature programs on Discovery HD, etc. usually always in areas of motion, complex objects, water, sudden scene changes, etc.

Yes, at 720p or 1080i over HDMI. When I used the S97 on my HLM507 the noise and MB were barely noticeable.

HLM507 not formally calibrated. I used what was described elsewhere as the "steaming rat" method and using picture settings (user and SM) that were posted in the archived HLM tweaks thread. I've read somewhere that it takes about 50-100 hours to "break in" a new bulb. My new HLR5078 has been running for only 8 hours which obviously isn't very long and so complaints about PQ may be unfounded right now but that shouldn't affect blocking, lip synch, etc.

I have these same issues with D* sources due to the overcompression they're doing. Remember, the better the set is at showing you the source, the more you'll notice garbage and any errors in the source.

Also, don't underestimate how selective your memory is of your old set. You've grown accustomed to it and thus had probably stopped critical examination to some extent. This happened to me with my GWIII when I tried the Panny 50PX50U plasma. I noticed alot of noise and imperfection in the picture of the Panny while remembering how great my GWIII was. After I sent the Panny back and reverted back to the GWIII, I've noticed some of the same issues on the old set.

You may need to switch back and forth somehow if it's possible.

I noticed that someone else had a problem with their picture tilting / slanting so I'll post my experience.

Received my 5688 last night, unboxed it excitedly.

I noticed that the left side of the screen seems higher than the right. Things at the bottom of the screen seem to flow / tilt / slant toward the right side. I don't have any of the test patterns or DVDs so I wasn't able to measure it but it's pretty significant. I notice the tilt anytime there is anything horizonal near the bottom of the screen, including tickers and movie credits. At first I thought it was just my commiecast HD receiver, but I popped in some DVDs and it happened there as well. Tonight I'll try hooking up my laptop via DVI since it can output 1900x1200 resolution and see if it happens there.

What should I do now? Are there any adjustments I can make or do I have to call TVA and get a replacement? I really hate to have to do that since it took so long to get this unit ;)

No adjustments for tilt. It is a major repair to straighten the DMD board. The service tech would either try and straighten the DMD board or just replace the entire light engine, which is the easiest way. I had TVA send a replacement for my 6168. The replacement is very even from right to left.
I figured since it was a new set that I would get a replacement, but then you risk having other problems. My picture on the replacement set is straight, but the fan makes more noise than the original set. Which is a decent trade off for me. The 1/4" screen tilt I had was very annoying. Even my girlfriend noticed it and she rarely notices picture imperfections. I figured if she could notice it, I definitely had to do something about it.

calbert, htwaits and others:

Thanks for asking about my next move (after my bad through-the-tv-tuner+speakers lip sync...

I am having a hard time deciding what to do, to be honest. I have seen just enough other lip sync issues discussed here to make me nervous about trying Sammy again (depressing thought though, since I have lurked/posted for 2 years planning on getting a Sammy :( ). While it is entirely possible that my issues are due to being (possibly one of) the first person(s) in the country to have the 5678, but I would hate to spend the time, effort, and emotional resources necessary to have another set come and then possibly go (not to mention that it would bother me to return *another* set).

Right now I am leaning toward a JVC replacement, although I need to wait and have a look to make sure that the decrease in CR and BL isn't going to bother me on that score. Even if I do go with JVC, I am seriously considering avoiding 1080p sets since my Sammy only really has *bad* issues when displaying HD content so I am think that perhaps the processing power of handling/upconverting/deinterlacing/whatever up to 1080p simply is too slow/difficult with "consumer" grade sets... (now if someone would put a silicon optix scaler in their set ;) I wouldn't be able to afford it, but at least it would work ;)).

The 100ms was really just an extreme example to try and illustrate the point that as the lip synch varies from slight (barely noticeable) to significant then its hard to use a fixed delay. If I set it in the middle (say 50ms) then the audio would lead or follow the video depending on how extreme or not the lip synch was for the DVD being played. Am I making sense?

I've found variation from about 60 ms to 75 ms. If I set the delay (on both the STB and DVD inputs) to 70 ms in the Outlaw 990 pre-pro, it seems that I don't have to further adjust them (after a whole 3 days of playing).

What is the general opinion about DVD players connected via 480p component? I'm not too impressed thus far. The picture quality seems to be rather poor with a lot of artifacting (for example in areas of blue sky) and noise. Its not like I have poor quality DVD players. One is a Sony NC80V (12bit/108MHz DAC) and the other is a Panasonic S97 (via component). Using the Panasonic S97 at 720p or 1080i over HDMI looks better but not as good as I would have expected. The picture from the S97 over HDMI is rather noisy and there is noticeable MB. My 3 year old Samsung HLM507 (HD2) produces a noticeably better picture from these DVD players via component and HDMI.

I have been less than impressed lately with my DVD performance too now that the honeymoon is over (I have had the set for 30 days). Lots of digital noise in sky, loss of shawdow detail and I am also getting more lip sync issues. I have an older sony and the SS 950 and there does not appear to be any difference between using either. Ones using component at 480i and the other HDMI at 1080i.

There are some places in disks where the lip sync is more than the usual 100 ms and is more like 1 second. I know its not the source as we tested the same scenes on another TV.

I have my HR10-250 hooked via component and have not noticed any read sparkles in dark scenes. I only watch HD stuff. I'll try and look for it.

I don't have mine hooked up to a receiver yet so I can't test out your scenario. Out of curiosity, did you try muting the speakers on the TV? Maybe that will let it pass the dolby digital to the receiver?

Also, I have my D* HDTivo receiver connected to my A/V Receiver using a digital optical connection. There is a small amount of lip synch but with no way to adjust it in my D* HDTivo receiver I would need to get an external delay device like the Felston.

Note: None of these devices ever had lip synch problems with my HLM507.

Plus...

Getting audio from my D* HDTivo receiver (HR10-250) to work with the 5078 via HDMI is a bit of a challenge. If the D* HDTivo receiver is set to record and playback using Dolby Digital you get no sound through the TV speakers for all digital (HD and SD) channels. If you turn Dolby Digital OFF then you DO get sound through the TV speakers but that means no Dolby Digital through an A/V receiver via the digital optical (TosLink) connection. So, with the D* HDTivo receiver connected to HDMI #2 and with Dolby Digital turned ON (to get DD through A/V receiver) I thought that running seperate analog audio from the D* HDTivo receiver to the DVI audio inputs (associated with HDMI #2) would give me sound through the TV speakers. Wrong! It didn't work. So, with the D* HDTivo receiver you have to turn Dolby Digital OFF to get sound through the TV speakers and this results in not getting Dolby Digital through the A/V receiver. This is a pain because it should be possible to choose to use the TV speakers or an A/V receiver and not have to sacrifice Dolby Digital audio or have to go into the D* HDTivo receiver audio setup menu to change the settings depending on which device you want to listen through.

If I connect my D* HDTivo receiver to the HLR5078 using component at 720p or 1080i I get blue and red sparkles throughout dark areas of the picture. Connecting via HDMI does not have this. Connecting my DVD players via component also does not do this. So there must be a problem connecting the D* HDTivo receiver via component (worked just fine on my HLM507).

I've yet to read a report of anyone getting it to work. The workaround seems to be a macro that selects the discrete for hdmi1 and then a source press to get to hdmi2.

Does anyone have the discrete code for the HDMI 2 input working ... I've spent some time on this and before doing more it would be nice to know that it actually can work!

AKASTP: whenever there is a very fast motion the picture breaks up into small ugly pixels.

I have come to the conclusion it is the source, mine being Dish Network...I have yet to see when using the Oppo...over compression is horrible with Dish...it is really annoying.

Thanks for the encouragement. Unfortunately, I wasn't clear. I actually added a 2nd 250 drive in addition to the original. I have way too much programming on it to send in the original drive.

You have given me encourgament though. I'll think about it to see if I can figure something out.

I was surprised that the 5668 didn't have an optical in. I was hoping to get rid of the audio rca jacks. I alway prefer to use the least amount of cables possible :) HDMI would have been perfect because for this TV, I doubt I will get a surround sound system. It's just for watching HD series and the kids watch their dvds.

One of my HD-TiVos(the one I bought in MAY2004) had a bad HDMI port. I was never able to test the HDMI port until this Summer. Since it was Summer I figured I would go ahead and have DirecTv replace it. It only took me 7 minutes to remove the 2 hard drives I put in and put the original drive back in. I received a replacement 3 days after talking to DirecTv and when I received the replacement, I sent the old one back. They paid for shipping both ways. It only took me another 7 minutes to put the 2 hard drives in the replacement unit and remove the WD drive. I had to do a clear and delete which took an hour but I had deleted everything before I removed the two drives from the first unit.
Now is the time to get a replacement, before the new TV Season starts.

I've yet to read a report of anyone getting it to work. The workaround seems to be a macro that selects the discrete for hdmi1 and then a source press to get to hdmi2.
Hey guys. What is connected to it and not working? I am not following. I have my 8300 on HDMI1 and Oppo on HDMI2 - works fine.

After over a week with my replacement 5668, I am seeing something I don't like. I think I have read about it here as well...DMD board. The razor sharp lines on my first 5668 are not present (in 4:3 content) on the replacement set. And, the right side line is an echo about a 1/4" thick. The bottom of the left and right lines are curved towards the edge of the set slightly. Also, with PS2, the image doesn't quite fill the screen like it did on the first set.

Thoughts and advice?

Hey guys. What is connected to it and not working? I am not following. I have my 8300 on HDMI1 and Oppo on HDMI2 - works fine.

The inputs work fine ... I just can't get a discrete IR code to switch directly to HDMI 2. Samsung's decimal code for this input is 254 and when I generate the HEX code to program my Pronto TSU3000 it does not work. Time to call Samsung.

My HDMI port is dead so I can't test that for you. I have another HD-Tivo new in the box that I am waiting to hook up to the 67 when it comes. I'm thinking of either trying to swap the hdmi port between the units or the drives themselves.

If I do, I'll do some testing for you. But remember, I don't have a receiver hooked up yet.

The blue and red sparkles are very easy to see on my TV. They are all over the black sidebars in 4:3 SD material, in the top and bottom bars with letter-boxed movies on HBO & Showtime HD, and in the black screen that appears when you change channels.

Have you tried using HDMI and run into problems getting audio when the HR10-250 is set to record and playback Dolby Digital?

Service menu (SM) as described above. I already told you how to get in there but as it sounds like you've never been in a Samsung service menu before you should probably avoid going in there until those of us that are more familiar with working in the SM have done the preliminary exploring. No offense. :)

Problem is, you can set DNIe to "on", but when you restart the TV, it resets back to "off". Very curious!!???

The blue and red sparkles are very easy to see on my TV. They are all over the black sidebars in 4:3 SD material, in the top and bottom bars with letter-boxed movies on HBO & Showtime HD, and in the black screen that appears when you change channels.

Have you tried using HDMI and run into problems getting audio when the HR10-250 is set to record and playback Dolby Digital?

Are others seeing the blue and red sparkles in black areas? I have them all the time on all inputs except coax. This is from different sources (DVD, Sat, AV) and different cables going straight to the TV so its not a source or cable problem. Is this normal? It usually starts after the tv warms up.

Are others seeing the blue and red sparkles in black areas? I have them all the time on all inputs except coax. This is from different sources (DVD, Sat, AV) and different cables going straight to the TV so its not a source or cable problem. Is this normal? It usually starts after the tv warms up.

I don't have any.

Jiust to clarify my comment: I only see this when my HR10-250 DirecTV HD-Tivo receiver is connected using component. I do not get this if conected via HDMI. I also do not get this with two DVD players connected via component and HDMI. Also, I do not get this if I connect the HR10-250 to my older HLM507 using component so I know the component output of the HR10-250 is good.

Switch the DVD player's component onto the component input you are using for the HD-Tivo and see if you still have the problem. Try the HD-Tivo on the component input that seems to be working with the DVD player.

I'm having similar lip synch problems with my HLR5078 as others have reported.

I have my Panny S97 connected via both component and HDMI. I also have a Sony NC80V DVD changer connected via component. In both cases, I have digital audio connections to my A/V Receiver (Panasonic XR50). The lip synch varies from slight to significant depending on the DVD. Both DVD players have audio delay but if I set it to 100ms to solve the worst case then it makes the slight case bad and vice-versa.

Also, I have my D* HDTivo receiver connected to my A/V Receiver using a digital optical connection. There is a small amount of lip synch but with no way to adjust it in my D* HDTivo receiver I would need to get an external delay device like the Felston.

Note: None of these devices ever had lip synch problems with my HLM507.

Plus...

Getting audio from my D* HDTivo receiver (HR10-250) to work with the 5078 via HDMI is a bit of a challenge. If the D* HDTivo receiver is set to record and playback using Dolby Digital you get no sound through the TV speakers for all digital (HD and SD) channels. If you turn Dolby Digital OFF then you DO get sound through the TV speakers but that means no Dolby Digital through an A/V receiver via the digital optical (TosLink) connection. So, with the D* HDTivo receiver connected to HDMI #2 and with Dolby Digital turned ON (to get DD through A/V receiver) I thought that running seperate analog audio from the D* HDTivo receiver to the DVI audio inputs (associated with HDMI #2) would give me sound through the TV speakers. Wrong! It didn't work. So, with the D* HDTivo receiver you have to turn Dolby Digital OFF to get sound through the TV speakers and this results in not getting Dolby Digital through the A/V receiver. This is a pain because it should be possible to choose to use the TV speakers or an A/V receiver and not have to sacrifice Dolby Digital audio or have to go into the D* HDTivo receiver audio setup menu to change the settings depending on which device you want to listen through.

If I connect my D* HDTivo receiver to the HLR5078 using component at 720p or 1080i I get blue and red sparkles throughout dark areas of the picture. Connecting via HDMI does not have this. Connecting my DVD players via component also does not do this. So there must be a problem connecting the D* HDTivo receiver via component (worked just fine on my HLM507).

So I'm not sure if the problem is with the HR10-250 or the HLR5078 or both due to some kind of HDMI audio incompatibility. No problems with getting audio through the TV speakers from Panny S97 DVD player connected using HDMI though.

Anyone else with the D* HDTivo receover (HR10-250) having similar problems with the audio?



I have the same hd/tivo and have the exact same "problem" with the audio & dolby.

When watching programs that come up in the 4x3 format do you notice a very thin white (or light colored) line (maybe 1 or 2 pixels wide) right at the beginning of the black bars?

One last question - I tivo'd the last episode of Six Feet Under and upon playback I had black bars top/bottom and sides. Think this was due to the program being letterbox?

Thanks,
Carl

Good quality high definition de-interlacing and scaling is difficult and expensive, and I would have little confidence with on-board processors. In this case it sounds like the Samsung is using bob and/or weave de-interlacing with 1080i inputs

So all the more need to have HDMI inputs that support 1080p, not just 1080i.


Have you seen these TVs? I have an HTPC with an HD tuner card hooked up to a 6168 through VGA (1920x1080@60Hz). I can set the HTPC to do simple bob or weave deinterlacing (among other things) with 1080i and can see the combing when using weave and the loss of resolution when using bob. I see neither when using the TV's onboard tuner so it seems to me that the TV is doing something better.

Problem is, you can set DNIe to "on", but when you restart the TV, it resets back to "off". Very curious!!???

As others have noted, these TVs seem to have problems with saving and/or using some (not all) Service Menu settings. For example, I have noticed the ADC_RED_GAIN setting in the GM1601 submenu take on different values at different times with the same input: 0, 128, 239. The H_SHARPNESS and V_SHARPNESS settings keep getting reset to 4. The "1080i OVERSCAN" is set to OFF but the TV seems to ignore it after some time.

I would be wary about paying for a calibration until Samsung resolves these issues or until we figure out exactly what settings are affected.

As others have noted, these TVs seem to have problems with saving and/or using some (not all) Service Menu settings. For example, I have noticed the ADC_RED_GAIN setting in the GM1601 submenu take on different values at different times with the same input: 0, 128, 239. The H_SHARPNESS and V_SHARPNESS settings keep getting reset to 4. The "1080i OVERSCAN" is set to OFF but the TV seems to ignore it after some time.

I would be wary about paying for a calibration until Samsung resolves these issues or until we figure out exactly what settings are affected.


Sounds like you're not saving your settings.

Have you seen these TVs? I have an HTPC with an HD tuner card hooked up to a 6168 through VGA (1920x1080@60Hz). I can set the HTPC to do simple bob or weave deinterlacing (among other things) with 1080i and can see the combing when using weave and the loss of resolution when using bob. I see neither when using the TV's onboard tuner so it seems to me that the TV is doing something better.

These TV's are not using bob and weave ... we established that months ago.

Have you seen these TVs? I have an HTPC with an HD tuner card hooked up to a 6168 through VGA (1920x1080@60Hz). I can set the HTPC to do simple bob or weave deinterlacing (among other things) with 1080i and can see the combing when using weave and the loss of resolution when using bob. I see neither when using the TV's onboard tuner so it seems to me that the TV is doing something better.


What video card do you have and what tuner card do you have? I built a HTPC for the 6168 that is about to be put on the donkey's back. I'm currently using the HTPC on my current CRT RP HDTV. Except for big time overscan through the component input, I'm pretty happy. I don't see any bob or weave issues, but I'm pretty sure my current TV isn't good enough to see 'em. The tuner card I'm using seems to be at least as good as the HUMAX HU100 ATSC tuner I have. When the SS gets here, I'll evaluate all 3 tuners I have on hand. Actually, I'll have 4 tuners since I have a Samsung SIR T451 tuner hooked up to another TV.

I'm using an ATI x700 video card and a Dvico Fusion HDTV5 ATSC/NTSC tuner. I tried the ATI HDTV Wonder card, but couldn't get it to work completely. The hardware seemed to work fine. I couldn't get the software to work very well. The Divco worked perfectly "out of the box".

Sounds like you're not saving your settings.

Have you ever seen the Service Menu? How do you exit without saving? (Not being sarcastic -- I'd really like to know.) I have successfully changed the SM settings for Gamma, H/V position, and actuator gain. Those get saved properly.

For some reason I remember that this set has a DVI port, am I wrong? So you can only connect your HTPC to the TV through VGA?

Also, anybody is building your own PVR with MythTV? How do you set it up?

For some reason I remember that this set has a DVI port, am I wrong? So you can only connect your HTPC to the TV through VGA? Which "this set" are you referring to?

The Samsung "68" and "79" series 1080p have two HDMI ports but no DVI port. HDMI will work just like DVI. All you need is a HDMI cable with a DVI connector on one end.

Regarding voice sync "problems" on the new Samsungs...I recently purchased the Samsung 6178 and initially feared that an ocassional few millisecond disparity was due to the TV...it was not. My miserable Scientific Atlanta 8300HD was the culprit...and I discovered this by A/B tests I did across a whole spectrum of channels, HD and non HD. If anyone experiences audio-video sync problems with the 6178, please post them here and how you went about resolving them!

Which "this set" are you referring to?

The Samsung "68" and "79" series 1080p have two HDMI ports but no DVI port. HDMI will work just like DVI. All you need is a HDMI cable with a DVI connector on one end.

Mine is 5668 but I haven't hooked the PC up yet. But I am trying to buy OPPO DVD player today. Amazon has the free shipping with only DVI-DVI cable so I was thinking maybe it will work since I have DVI on 5668, but then again I cannot seem to remember there was one.. :( Now i guess I will get it from surf audio video paying 8 bucks shipping charge. :)

Which "this set" are you referring to?

The Samsung "68" and "79" series 1080p have two HDMI ports but no DVI port. HDMI will work just like DVI. All you need is a HDMI cable with a DVI connector on one end.


Well, sort of. The manual states the HDMI ports are not PC compatible. I agree with that assessment. PC display via HDMI (desktop,applications,etc) is poor, however video playback is very nice, strange but true. Of course I have requested corroberation multiple times about this oddity and have yet to receive any...

You mean if I am playing a DVD movie on PC and i can set up the output to TV through DVI-HDMI cable? Is that what you tried?

Thanks.

Well, sort of. The manual states the HDMI ports are not PC compatible. I agree with that assessment. PC display via HDMI (desktop,applications,etc) is poor, however video playback is very nice, strange but true. Of course I have requested corroberation multiple times about this oddity and have yet to receive any...

You mean if I am playing a DVD movie on PC and i can set up the output to TV through DVI-HDMI cable? Is that what you tried?

Thanks.

Yep

Thanks! With your instructions I was able to change my Gamma to 0 and i fixed the vertical alignment as well. I do have a question I see on my 6168 that the right hand corner of my screen is a few millimeters lower than the left side. I knew something was off when I turned the set on and when I checked the vertical alignment I saw the problem. I have the red lines about the same distance from the edge but I have that issue. I also noticed a slight pin-cushion on the upper right hand corner. Do you have any of these issues. Are they worth complaining about???

My overall alignment appears to be off by about 1/8" (lower on the right side) It's barely noticable so I'm not concerned. If it was off substantially more than this, say 1/4" or more, I would be inclined to return the set (if it couldn't be fixed by a tech.) Haven't noticed any pincushioning.

Bill

I have these same issues with D* sources due to the overcompression they're doing. Remember, the better the set is at showing you the source, the more you'll notice garbage and any errors in the source.

Also, don't underestimate how selective your memory is of your old set. You've grown accustomed to it and thus had probably stopped critical examination to some extent.

Yesterday, I noticed some of this "blocking" in the dark areas on a digital (SD) channel and dashed into the other room to look closely at my 27" CRT and saw the same thing. But what really made me smile was that I *NEVER* remember seeing ANY of this blocking before on my little 27 incher. I just never looked close enough. It's true... this big 61-inch beauty throws all the source flaws right in your face. :o But boy, when the source is near-perfect... I'm spellbound!

Rehan,

Definitely one of the best reviews so far. Nice going.

Thanks!

Aaronwt: I sure hope so (Re Eliab). My appointment is on the last day of his trip so I am hoping he will have practised on your set by then! :D just kidding!!

Yeah, I wish I had known this beforehand as well. You might check if your cable box can render the captions itself. I have a Motorola 6412, and it does do captioning, but you have to turn it on from the setup menu, which you actually have to turn off the box to access! And the captioning seems flaky, too--it sometimes doesn't seem to draw correctly. But it's better than nothing.

Do other sets show caption data via component/HDMI? Is this just another weird random limitation of the Samsungs? (And was it true in previous generations as well?)

Thanks for the tip. I will try it out but doubt I will use that as I do not want CC all the time and turning it on/off via the STB will be a royal pain in the B!

I just got an exchange of my 5668 from Samsung and for the most part everything appears to be fine. However, there are three little particles on the inside of the screen. These are not at all noticeable when watching from a normal viewing distance and I wouldn't even had noticed them except I was looking at the set up close when I was "sizing" it as a PC screen. Anyway, I guess I'll again call Samsung, but I'm hoping that this will be something very easy to fix (i.e., I'm hoping it's just dust or something like that and not something in the screen). Anyone have any thoughts?

I have the same hd/tivo and have the exact same "problem" with the audio & dolby.

When watching programs that come up in the 4x3 format do you notice a very thin white (or light colored) line (maybe 1 or 2 pixels wide) right at the beginning of the black bars?

One last question - I tivo'd the last episode of Six Feet Under and upon playback I had black bars top/bottom and sides. Think this was due to the program being letterbox?

Thanks,
Carl


On my HLR5078W I have the very thin lines as you described on the right and left side of the 4x3 content and PBS HD content (which has the smaller right and left black bars). On the PBS HD channel content the line is especially noticeable at times depending on the program. Content with a black background near the right edge usually shows a bright 1 or 2 pixel wide vertical line which is very annoying. I'm not sure if there is an adjustment to trim the right and left side edges - if there is a fix, it would be nice to fix this.

I haved a question about the lack of 3:2 pulldown at 1080i resolution. First, 3:2 is needed to properly show a 24fps film based source on a display designed for video at 30fps right? Second, I thought that DVD players did 3:2 pulldown, so is the lack of that feature not mute. Or does this problem affect STBs as well? I am confusing myself as you can tell, lol

Anybody have the metrics for folks that:
1) Have a 2nd Sammy
2) Have a 3rd Sammy
3) Have had to call Sammy to get their set fixed
4) Have issues but are reluctant to call Sammy
5) Returned a Sammy and waiting for another 1080p set (Mits, Tosh, Sony, Jvc, etc.)

I was hoping Westa would be the 'go-to' man, but apparently he purchased an SXRD from Crutchfield...

Here's to hoping the 71" Sammy is delayed, therefore extending the PB until the other 1080p's are out,

'pig

Is there a pattern of replacement sets having issues??

I just talked to tier 2 tech support about the discrete IR code for HDMI 2. They are going to send me a full set of IR codes when they finish putting their IR support package together. I will post it here and on remotecentral.com when I get it.

Just a heads-up ... the LAMP sticker on the side of my HLR5668W had the wrong LAMP NUMBER. So if you are ordering a backup lamp or replacing a defective lamp, check with Samsung to insure that you get the right part.EGad! Thanks for the warning!

Gary

I'm coming to the conclusion that this 1080p TV excels at producing a superb picture with relatively static or slow moving objects from a good source but is not too good at displaying motion from less-than-perfect sources.I don't believe the TV is at fault. The TV's job is to be as true to the source as possible.

It is commonly known that DirecTV HD is overcompressed - causing motion artifacts like those you are seeing. If the TV is being fed with a crappy signal, how can you expect the TV to fix it?

Gary

I had never noticed the screen “texture” on DLP TV’s. My question is that does this occur only on Samsung/DLP screens or is this a more widespread phenomenon? Fairly common with other sets too, but particularly Samsung. It's part of the reason the picture looks so good over such a wide angle. (Fresnel technology). You are probably sitting too close to the screen.
I see a bit of shimmering wherever there is a flat/monotone texture in the picture. Seems like mosquito noise but am not sure. I also notice this in dark scenes on DVD’s where the dark portions shimmer almost like macro blocking but not (small squares/pixels rapidly moving around). What you are seeing is called "dithering" - also part of DLP technology. (Other possiblilties to consider: If you are using analog connections, noise could be an issue. Also, dont forget that film grain can look a bit like that too). You are correct about calibration (and gamma adjustment). That will definitely help to smooth things out. However, once again, you are probably sitting too close to the screen. Distance is required for the eye to average the effects of dithering.
The Ugly: Like some other people have reported, on certain HD channels (mainly movie channels like Showtime, HBO and CineMAX, but mostly on MAX) whenever there is a very fast motion the picture breaks up into small ugly pixels. It doesn’t happen all the time and I have never seen it on DVD, although I have watched a lot of fast action sequences on DVD. This makes me think it is source related but want a confirmation from others on the forum. You're absolutely right... source related.

Excellent review!

Gary

Fairly common with other sets too, but particularly Samsung. It's part of the reason the picture looks so good over such a wide angle. (Fresnel technology). You are probably sitting too close to the screen.

I also wonder if strong room lighting can enhance this effect, where the screen is actually picking up light from the room.

I also wonder if strong room lighting can enhance this effect, where the screen is actually picking up light from the room.Possibly.

My screen seems to sparkle more in the dark, though. A bit of ambient light seems to help smooth away the sparkling, but I use BACK-lighting to prevent direct reflections or refractions off the screen.

Gary

The 100ms was really just an extreme example to try and illustrate the point that as the lip synch varies from slight (barely noticeable) to significant then its hard to use a fixed delay. If I set it in the middle (say 50ms) then the audio would lead or follow the video depending on how extreme or not the lip synch was for the DVD being played. Am I making sense?Yes, you make good sense.

Bear in mind that we typically only start to notice lip-sync when the delay exceeds 30-60ms, so if you set the audio delay right in the middle of the typical delays that you experience (not necessarily the extremes), then one DVD might be within -30ms, and the next within +30ms. Neither will be noticeable. That should cover the majority of DVD's. Only the really bad disks will require a temporary tweak (if you can't live with them).

Gary

I haved a question about the lack of 3:2 pulldown at 1080i resolution. First, 3:2 is needed to properly show a 24fps film based source on a display designed for video at 30fps right? Second, I thought that DVD players did 3:2 pulldown, so is the lack of that feature not mute. Or does this problem affect STBs as well? I am confusing myself as you can tell, lol 24fps film-based sources are converted to 60fps (interlaced) using the 3:2 pulldown method. To display such an interlaced signal on a progressive display, 3:2 pulldown detection is required to de-interlace it properly.

Some DVD players handle the 3:2 pulldown detection, so the display doesn't have to. But what about broadcast material originating from 24fps film? Either the STB or the display has to do the deinterlacing with 3:2 pulldown detection.

Gary

boy what an adventure i just had with my hd-tivo and getting it to work with the hdmi input.

i decided to test my new hd-tivo and sure it enough works. i figured, it would be easy to swap out the hdmi card between the two tivos. after taking both apart, i realize that they changed the connector between the older and newer model. had to switch them back.

no problem. let me just swap the drives between them. after doing that, i couldn't record or play my old recordings. did some quick research and it turns out you can't swap drives between receivers and keep your recordings. you have to re-initialize the unit so the encryption takes effect on the new receiver. this of course wipes out your recordings.

had to swap everything back to their original states. in the process i had to activate the new receiver which turns out that after aug 1st Directv now locks you in for two years when you activate advanced receivers.

needless to say, i will stick with component until for the foreseeable feature. at least until i watch the entire 13 episodes of deadwood season 2. or pay the $100 bucks to get the hdmi card fixed. okay, sorry for the OT tangent!!!!

AkaStp, In reference to the blocky patches on fast moving objects...I took my Dish Network receiver and hooked it up to 2 other sets in my house...in my house I have 4 rooms that are wired up for Dish but, in one room I have a Mits 55" CRT RP and in my bedroom I have the a HLN567 and in my family room I have the 6768...I decided to hook up the Dish HD811 receiver to each one of these TV's. I wanted to see if this issue was only with the 6768...what I have found was that they all had it...each TV had this problem, but the 67" screen showed it most...which makes sense the bigger the screen the worst it would look...second worst was the Mits RP then the HLN567...Now I know for sure it is the Dish signal's over-compression BS...I also feel that the Dish hd811 is faulty...which they are known to be troublesome...I only see this with Dish...not OTA or DVD play. Hope this bring peace to you.

Just sitting here with my laptop, watching the Steelers/Redskins game, and I have to respond to some previous comments about motion and blurring/blocking, etc... I am seeing no motion artifacts at all. None. This game on FOX HD looks stunning! And the Steeler black and gold uniforms look amazing! Soooo BLACK - and detailed.

The more I see PQ like this, the more I've come to understand what a significant role the source plays in producing the image on the screen. Because I've seen some blurring motion and some lack of detail in the shadows/blacks. But not in this game! Football is going to be so much more engaging this year.

Go Chiefs! (had to throw that in... ;))

Just sitting here with my laptop, watching the Steelers/Redskins game, and I have to respond to some previous comments about motion and blurring/blocking, etc... I am seeing no motion artifacts at all. None. This game on CBS HD looks stunning! And the Steeler black and gold uniforms look amazing! Soooo BLACK - and detailed.

The more I see PQ like this, the more I've come to understand what a significant role the source plays in producing the image on the screen. Because I've seen some blurring motion and some lack of detail in the shadows/blacks. But not in this game! Football is going to be so much more engaging this year.

Go Chiefs! (had to throw that in... ;)

That is because you are watching a good quality HD feed. The reports
of blocking, etc. are coming from highly compressed SD sattelite feeds...

Go Steelers!

**update**

I called TVA up today spoke with James (ext #508) to request a replacement Tv for my 5688. problem being a lose monitor screen along the top of the screen that attaches to the chassis/frame.

Seems it was either defective like this out of the Samsung Manufacturing plant or during the actually delivery by SEKO WorldWide to my house.

I recommened to those waiting for their TVs to be delivered, that you inform TVA to contact SEKO to insure they send enough man power to handle the delivery to & into your residence.

When they delivered my 5688, 2 small guys showed up to handle the TV, they almost allowed the TV to flip over to it's side 5 times. The TV/Job was too much for them that I had to intervene & assist them with the delivery. I am 6'4'' & about 217 & it would have take 3 guys exactly my measurements to handle this delivery. it was quite a task!

24fps film-based sources are converted to 60fps (interlaced) using the 3:2 pulldown method. To display such an interlaced signal on a progressive display, 3:2 pulldown detection is required to de-interlace it properly.

Some DVD players handle the 3:2 pulldown detection, so the display doesn't have to. But what about broadcast material originating from 24fps film? Either the STB or the display has to do the deinterlacing with 3:2 pulldown detection.

Gary

1080i will be deinterlaced ON THE SET. The 3:2 pulldown capability is needed on THE SET for this input...