aaronwt or anyone that has had a calibration...

I'm a little confused to say the least. I thought I read that changes made in the service menu were not "sticking". Also UCSB's dynamic range problem has not been "solved". Considering these two problems, what good is a cal. at this point?

Guess I just want reassurance here, as I believe the answer is you would not have had a cal. if you were experiencing problems.

Correct?


Thanks,
Carl

The settings that were changed during the calibration become the default settings
The settings I noticed that don't stick are the DNIe, which you don't want on anyway, and the Noise Reduction, which I would like to be able to turn on for a noisy picture, but I can't.
I was having problems with the picture being darker before calibration, but I havn't noticed this after the calibration, maybe because the settings are at the default now and I have no reason to change them. Eliab set up Standard mode for viewing color programs(6500K) and Movie mode for Black and White(I think 5400K).

This stand is 21-in high. You may find out that it is too high for your 6768. I have 6168, and my 20-in stand is too high for it. Ideally, when seated, your direct line of sight should align with the center of the screen.

Not sure how valid this is, but I have been told that the ideal head position when watching a TV is to have the TV slightly higher than the mid point. This way you look up slightly. This apparently takes strain off your neck, reducing the chances of neck pain.

Anyway, have run across this comment more than once.

I have been trying to find the threads on this but am not having any luck. And this thread is so long that it is hard to find the pages where people have discussed power supplys for these TV's.

Has there been a favorite/ best deal on a recommended power back-up/supply for these TV's? I have a 6168W and am wanting to buy a power supply/surge suppressor or whatever the correct terminolgy for it is.

Can anyone recommend a good model and possibly a good place online to buy it?

Sorry for being a bit off-topic but at least it will be for this 1080P HDTV :p

Thanks. :)

I use several APC 1500XS/1000XS models in my system. I got them from COMPUSA. They have free shipping on orders over $150 right now and if you can catch them on sale, like I did, you can get 20% to 25% off. I have used them for a couple of years in my system without problems. i like them because I can connect it to a PC to adjust the settings and disable the alarm. Then I just place them wher I need them and I don't have to worry about hearing the alarm when it goes on battery power.

Not sure how valid this is, but I have been told that the ideal head position when watching a TV is to have the TV slightly higher than the mid point. This way you look up slightly. This apparently takes strain off your neck, reducing the chances of neck pain.

Anyway, have run across this comment more than once.

I think you are correct (at least that's my preference). The primary limitation is that you don't want it to be so high that the top (and most critically, the top left and right corners) part of the screen is dim. A good compromise (again, in my personal experience) is to have eye level at about 1/3 of the screen height from the bottom.

Can someone post the pronto hex code for movie mode and custom mode?

That is all I need to complete the programming of my universal remotes. Thanks in advance.

I'll post my file up at jp1 remotes once I'm done so someone else with a jp1 remote can benefit.

Sorry, I haven't generated Custom Mode, yet. But, here is MOVIE and STANDARD. They are listed below. I agree Custom Mode would be a good code to have, do you know the HEX or decimal control code for Custom Mode?

Has anyone figured out the HEX (ie, E9) code, decimal code (ie, 233) or Pronto command code for the TV input.

Standard:
0000 006D 0000 0022 00AC 00AB 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0680

Movie:
0000 006D 0000 0022 00AC 00AB 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0680

Move Between Picture Modes With This Code:
0000 006B 005F 0000 00AE 00AE 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 0016 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 0726 00AE 00AE 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 0016 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 0015 0015 003E 0015 003E 0015 0726 0001 00AE 00AE 0019 003D 0019 003E 0019 003E 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 003E 0019 003E 0019 003E 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 003E 0019 0012 0019 003E 0019 0012 0019 0012 0019 0034 00AE

Bill or anyone who has an idea,

I am now enjoying the perfect picture of my 1080p, however, I have a DVR with DVI and the oppo dvd with DVI. I use hdmi cable from the dvr with 2 rcs cables for sound. Looks and sounds great.
The oppo however, I am forced to use COMPONENT connection so I can get sound thru the rca w/ component connection on back of 1080p.
Perhaps I missed this solution but is there a way to use my 2nd hdmi cable and get sound thru the 5668 ?

Thanks for any help.

G

Bridgeboy
Try this:

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

Bill or anyone who has an idea,

I am now enjoying the perfect picture of my 1080p, however, I have a DVR with DVI and the oppo dvd with DVI. I use hdmi cable from the dvr with 2 rcs cables for sound. Looks and sounds great.
The oppo however, I am forced to use COMPONENT connection so I can get sound thru the rca w/ component connection on back of 1080p.
Perhaps I missed this solution but is there a way to use my 2nd hdmi cable and get sound thru the 5668 ?

Thanks for any help.

G

I don't have any ideas on how to get the sound into the TV, but if you received the DVR from your cable company, it might be worthwhile to give them a call and see if they offer a DVR with HDMI.

I have had my 6768 for about a week and it’s time for some comments.

My equipment so far:

Samsung 6768W 1080P
Samsung 950 DVD
Felston DD540
Pioneer AVR
Dish STB SD
HTPC

Connections:

Dish STB (video)>s-video>6768
Dish STB (audio)>RCA>AVR
DVD (video)>HDMI>6768
DVD (audio)>Digital Coax>Felston>Digital Coax>AVR
HTPC (video)>VGA>6768
HTPC (audio)>5.1 RCA>AVR

Standard definition programming from Dish STB is acceptable, actually better than I expected, although some channels are worse than others. I sit 14’ away, so the imperfections are not as noticeable from this distance. I do get a little pincushion effect on the left side with 4:3 input

DVD movies at 1080i output, from the 950 are very good. Just has been reported, it cannot pass BTB via HDMI. I checked using Digital Video Essential. I get no pincushion with 16:9 input, maybe because of over scan? The annoying “HDMI not supported” message appears on the 6768 whenever the “play” button is selected. I also get tired of having to turn off the bright LCD indicator on the front when watching movies at night. It should remember these settings. The 950 is a descent DVD player and the best one I have owned, but it needs some tweaking via firmware update to make it better. If I had to buy again, I would try the Oppo.

HTPC to this TV gives and outstanding image! I have several WMV HD 1080P movies and look stunning. The only problem I could find was a little pincushion on the left side.
I made some geometry adjustments via the menu. This did not eliminate it, but lessened the effect by shifting the image to the left. I may call Samsung about this or better yet, just get it calibrated. Also, digital photos look good too. I use ACDSee slide show and add some music to go along with it. Now that’s the way to view your photo collection!

Since I am not using the TV speakers at all, there is the audio/video lag issue, although not bad. I bought the Felston in advance of the TV and forgot to turn it on initially. I did not really notice the problem until I looked for it. I set the Felston to 120ms delay, and it solved the problem when using the DVD player. I have not noticed any audio/video synchronization mismatch with SD programming and I have looked hard to try and see it.
Since I am using analog audio, I am not using the Felston for STB audio. The same with HTPC, no lag issue that I have noticed. I am sure I will need it when I get an HD receiver for satellite programming.

I purchased the Felston unit from lipfix.com. I spoke with Nick for about 20 minutes. He had a lot to say about the audio/video lag issues, and was very informative. The unit is very small and does a great job.

I will be getting HD programming in the near future. I am waiting to see what kind of receivers Dish comes out, if any, when they switch to mpeg4. Not sure if the current HD receivers can accept that? I emailed Dish and I am still waiting for a response.

As far as the rainbow effect, I do not see them at all. I have tried, but cannot…whew! :)
The used the Digital Video Essentials and did some tweaking through the menu. I also entered the Service Menu and changed Gamma to 0. I do plan on getting this set professionally calibrated, to make it even better! I hope I can find someone is this area of the southwest that is qualified and capable or can get in on a tour from Avical, if they ever come near El Paso, TX.

The powerbuy from TVA, the delivery from Seko and Land Air Express (local delivery) was great! After getting over the “wow” factor, my overall impressions are very favorable and I am very happy with the purchase. Even the WAF passed with flying colors! :D

Jim


Just curious, whats the advantage of using a standalone DVD player if you have your set hooked up to an HTPC? I thought that was one of the advantages of having one in the first place?

Just curious, whats the advantage of using a standalone DVD player if you have your set hooked up to an HTPC? I thought that was one of the advantages of having one in the first place?


indeed. nvdida PureVideo decoding DVD's to 1080p :-)

I just watched T 2, the WMV-HD version on my PC connected to my friend's 5078. It was unbelievable. The image was crystal clear. I thought it was so clear that the opening scenes looked a little fake or like models. I guess they are, but the HD really brings out the details including things you're not supposed to notice. The PC right now with WMV-HD beats any high end DVD player and will continue to until the HD DVD players are out.

I just watched T 2, the WMV-HD version on my PC connected to my friend's 5078. It was unbelievable. The image was crystal clear. I thought it was so clear that the opening scenes looked a little fake or like models. I guess they are, but the HD really brings out the details including things you're not supposed to notice. The PC right now with WMV-HD beats any high end DVD player and will continue to until the HD DVD players are out.
This even takes place on regular DVD's now. Jurassic Park lost some of its power when you could easily tell the trees were made of plaster and plastic leaves :D

I have been reading various AVS Forum stuff for several months but this is my first post. With all the excitement about the new SS TV and the great deal with the PowerBuy...my 6168 arrived a week ago. I am truly a neophyte when it comes to all the technical stuff discussed in these threads so most of it is over my head. I haven't had much time to fool with the TV but so far am pleased. We currently have standard DishNetwork, so have not had the chance to evaluate HD capability. I have an old DVD plaer without progressive scan and due to some construction we are doing, I haven't hooked up a receiver to my home theater speakers yet. Please help me with some recommendations for;
-Progressive Scan DVD player
-Receiver
-Antenna options (we are rural)
-cabling needed?
-DishNetwork equipment needed
-Any other sage advice that may be helpful

Thanks

I have been reading various AVS Forum stuff for several months but this is my first post. With all the excitement about the new SS TV and the great deal with the PowerBuy...my 6168 arrived a week ago. I am truly a neophyte when it comes to all the technical stuff discussed in these threads so most of it is over my head. I haven't had much time to fool with the TV but so far am pleased. We currently have standard DishNetwork, so have not had the chance to evaluate HD capability. I have an old DVD plaer without progressive scan and due to some construction we are doing, I haven't hooked up a receiver to my home theater speakers yet. Please help me with some recommendations for;
-Progressive Scan DVD player
-Receiver
-Antenna options (we are rural)
-cabling needed?
-DishNetwork equipment needed
-Any other sage advice that may be helpful

Thanks

Congrats on your purchase! I sympathize with all the choices you must make--I was very much in your shoes about a year and a half ago, when I stumbled onto the AVS Forum; have learned an incredible amount over this period, from people that have been extremely generous and helpful.

To be helpful to you, though, you need to be more specific, mainly about your budget; there's a lot of great stuff out there, but it does take some time ane research to find the best quality for a given budget. (And, of course, I found that what I budgeted increased with time as I got more into all this!) Also, you will need to take the initiative and look in the specific forums, e.g., the Audio forum, under Receivers, and do some reading and background work on your own. Then when you have specific questions, you can ask them in the specific forums.

As far as Dish I think they are the best but they can't help you if you are a current customer and or have more than one HDTV in your home. Their current offer is sign a 18 month contract and get a lease on their newest HD STB, which I think is the best out there for $250. Keep in mind they own it when you cancel since it is a lease. They won't give you a second HD STB so that was when I dropped them. Also just cancel and switch the name on the account, so that you get the current promos like the HD STB deal. I checked Direct and they don't have any really good promo right now. They usually have a biggie in Oct-Dec so we got Comcast until then.

Go to Dish and check out the HD STB and promos. I think they are better than my cable offer and and Direct for sure.

Just curious, whats the advantage of using a standalone DVD player if you have your set hooked up to an HTPC? I thought that was one of the advantages of having one in the first place?

Good point! I bought the DVD player a couple of months ago and have had the TV for only 1 week. I needed a new DVD player anyway (my other one broke). I was not sure if/when I would connect an HTPC to the HDTV. Since I got the TV, I connected a computer to it to try it out and it worked great! I still need to compare the quality of DVD output of the HTPC vs. upscaling DVD player. Obviously, the 1080P WMV HD movies are awesome, but I am not sure about standard 480i movies?

My original thoughts for HTPC was for DVR, photo viewing, and gaming. I did not think of it as a replacement of a DVD player. The unit I am using now is for experimentation only. I will be building a new dedicated PC that will be better suited, i.e., black, horizontal desktop case, wireless keyboard/remote, more hard drive space, whisper quiet components, etc.

This is a work in progress and a learning experience.

Pre-ordered a 6168 on 8/2. Confirmed on 8/25. Delivered on 9/13.
I also ordered matching SS stand which is MIA.

I had a few hours to set it up and review settings before buckling to family pressure and let everyone enjoy a movie without flipping settings and trying new tweaks :)

The gear so far:
Samsung 6168 HDTV
Comcast SD Cable (no HD yet)
Yamaha RX-V1500 AVR
Panasonic S77S DVD
PS2 w/component

I am upgrading from a ten year old 27" Sanyo standard TV. My basement theater room remodel still needs carpet so I had to set up on the floor of the many windowed and sunny family room. I was curious to see how the 6168 handled such a bright room, especially with the tv facing a west window with only sheers to diffuse sunlight. I purposely built our basement area for theater viewing; Dark walls, recessed lights, and deep windows for good light control.

Setting up the gear was pretty straight forward. I have a few other components to include but I'm waiting for the stand to see how and what will fit best. So, I went with the basics first:

Comcast SD box composite > AVR
PS2 component > AVR
S77S DVD audio > AVR
AVR component > 6168
S77S DVD HDMI > 6168

It's early evening before I have everything un-boxed, connected, and nestled into their temporary home. I sat on the floor about 12 feet from the screen with my back against the couch and hit the power button on the remote.

The 6168 came to life. I stared at the screen with great anticipation as the picture became brighter, brighter, and brighter still! The room washed in sunlight will make it difficult to calibrate the picture but posed no issue for general viewing once everything is set. I opted to skip the tv guide setup for now and proceeded to check out the SD channels saving HD for later.

The SD picture was better than I had anticipated. After reading posts here I had left myself open to the fact that SD might really suck.
Most channels are good and some are very good. SD is definitely watchable with my current set up.

I have no antenna and my current cable box is SD only. So, for curiosity sake, I split my cable from the wall directly to the 6168 cable input to see what would happen. I used the tv menu to scan for stations and looked for the results. It was able to pick up three HD channels - PBS, CBS, and FOX. I'm missing a few but it's a start. PBS was stunning. The HD picture detail was spectacular. I, like many others, have started to seek out HD programming for the picture rather than the content. Funny how that happens. I'm contacting Comcast today for a HD box. Hopefully they can get it here for football this weekend! My current subscription includes all local HD channels and ESPN, Discovery HD Theater, TNT, and INHD1-2. I need to fork over $5/mo for the HD box though.

Next I tried the Panasonic S77S DVD player via HDMI. I set it to output 1080i and the picture is beautiful. I have a lot of adjustments to try but so far I have no complaints. At my son's request our first DVD movie was I Robot. I tried looking for audio lag through the AVR. It was difficult to see, though I got the feeling of fatigue after some time while listening and watching people speak. I set my AVR for a 100ms delay and felt my brain relax (this is the best I can describe it). It may be I was forcing myself to not see the lag. A note on the RX-V1500:
Although the delay setting is somewhat buried in menus, once selected it will stay on the AVR screen to mess with even through manual volume changes, etc. which was handy to play with different delay settings.

Last I tried the PS2. Grand Turismo 3 was first. The picture was again very good, but I stink at this game so I moved on to ATV Offroad Fury 2.
My son actually tried this one and did pretty well. He's 3 years old so not the greatest test there, but again it looked really good! My turn again and I throw in Hot Shots Golf 3. I've played through most of this game in the past and am fairly good at it. This time, however, I couldn't hit a shot to save my life. Timing was way off. This was through PS2 component > AVR > 6168, remember. I pulled the PS2 off the AVR and plugged it directly into component 2 of the 6168. I renamed component 2 to game and tried more golf. Much, much better. I think there is still a slight lag though. I attempted to figure out how much by trying to synch the music coming from the tv speakers w/component connection to the music coming from the AVR w/toslink connection at the same time. I can't get and accurate measurement. Anywhere from 10-30ms sounded good and, it was getting late. I needed a rest.

In summary, I think I got a good one and am very pleased with my purchase. More testing and tweaking to do but so far: no red splotches on any inputs. No clay face. No silk face. No RBE for me or wife yet. Good geometry (have to look into this more). Good shadow detail. Excellent brightness. Good SD picture. Fantastic HD picture. Adequate PS2 gaming.

I look forward to placing the 6168 in an even better environment (basement theater) and having it profesionally calibrated to make it really shine.
It's hard to belive it gets better. We'll see...

Happy 6168 owner,
/Jason

Hello all-

I finally took the plunge and drove 9 hours round trip to buy my 5668. I couldn't be more pleased with it. I do however have a few questions. I know they have been answered earlier, but I am having trouble finding them using the search feature. Thanks in advance for the help.

1. When watching standard definition is there a way to have black bars instead of grey bars (pillars)?
2. What is the latest firmware version for these sets?

i'm almost tempted to have a quick check with who is happy with their 6168. i am pretty happy with mine, and i'm gonna keep it. but some of the posts here were starting to make me second guess myself. there is some game lag, i'm continuing to experiment. sd looks pretty bad. but hd looks pretty good. i think it will be fun to have a big tv, i haven't had an HDTV before.

hey guys, first post, but been lurking around for a bit, tried the search function, anyways heres my problem....

I've had the 5668w for a month now and im very happy with it, everythings been perfect until recently. Im experiencing flickering thats most noticeable on lighter colors, almost as if every other frame is slightly darker, flickering very rapidly. the flickering is inttermitent, so its a pain to diagnose. I've changed the ac outlets and bipased the surge protector, which did nothing. My guess(more like a shot in the dark) is that the lamp is faulty, what do u guys think?

i'm almost tempted to have a quick check with who is happy with their 6168. i am pretty happy with mine, and i'm gonna keep it. but some of the posts here were starting to make me second guess myself. there is some game lag, i'm continuing to experiment. sd looks pretty bad. but hd looks pretty good. i think it will be fun to have a big tv, i haven't had an HDTV before.

I'm sure the 6168 is an excellent set. I've had an hlp6163 for a bit over a year now, and it has been, and still is, superb. It's common for everyone, I think, to have second thoughts as you hear about all the 'stufff' that can happen. But it's really small in comparison to all the success stories.

i'm almost tempted to have a quick check with who is happy with their 6168. i am pretty happy with mine, and i'm gonna keep it. but some of the posts here were starting to make me second guess myself. there is some game lag, i'm continuing to experiment. sd looks pretty bad. but hd looks pretty good. i think it will be fun to have a big tv, i haven't had an HDTV before.


I love my 6168. Totally and completely happy with it. I'm more into pc games these days so I haven't even thought about hooking up my ps2 and gamecube. Maybe when ps3 and xbox 360 come out I'll use those. HD is amazing, SD can vary from good to bad but thats SD for you. DVD's are awesome again. I'm lovin' it!

One thing I've been wondering with regard to consoles. If you route the console through the vga port does it completely eliminate the delay folks are seeing? Some are playing PC games without problems through the vga port, so the same should work just fine with consoles.

Hello all-

I finally took the plunge and drove 9 hours round trip to buy my 5668. I couldn't be more pleased with it. I do however have a few questions. I know they have been answered earlier, but I am having trouble finding them using the search feature. Thanks in advance for the help.

1. When watching standard definition is there a way to have black bars instead of grey bars (pillars)?
If you are seeing grey bars, they are being placed there by your source device. Reconfigure your source device to send a 480p signal when viewing 480i material.

2. What is the latest firmware version for these sets?
As far as I know, this is the latest:
Firmware: T_EXCAAUS0_8012
Release Date: 2005-06-22

hey guys, first post, but been lurking around for a bit, tried the search function, anyways heres my problem....

I've had the 5668w for a month now and im very happy with it, everythings been perfect until recently. Im experiencing flickering thats most noticeable on lighter colors, almost as if every other frame is slightly darker, flickering very rapidly. the flickering is inttermitent, so its a pain to diagnose. I've changed the ac outlets and bipased the surge protector, which did nothing. My guess(more like a shot in the dark) is that the lamp is faulty, what do u guys think?

Is it happening with external sources (DVD player, STB) and internal souces (TV)? It may not be the TV.

Is it happening with external sources (DVD player, STB) and internal souces (TV)? It may not be the TV.

im waiting for it to happen again to test this, last time the problem fixed itself before i could give the dvd player a shot. Its gone back to working normal now so its just a sit and wait game.

Does anyone have the spec for the native resolution? I mean I know it goes to 1080p but I think that might be a little artificial since I guess there are few true 1080i or p out there? What other info on the scaling is there? I need it since I'm using the 5678 as a computer monitor. The thing is it is 1920x1080p @60hz so I thought that was 1080? People said it was 1:1 mapping and everything so what else do I need to check?

im waiting for it to happen again to test this, last time the problem fixed itself before i could give the dvd player a shot. Its gone back to working normal now so its just a sit and wait game.

Sounds like a bad cable.

One thing I've been wondering with regard to consoles. If you route the console through the vga port does it completely eliminate the delay folks are seeing? Some are playing PC games without problems through the vga port, so the same should work just fine with consoles.

I've been wondering about lag or lip synch when using the VGA port too.

I've been wondering about lag or lip synch when using the VGA port too.

I have not seen any lag or lip synch issues when using my HTPC for TV, recordings, DVDs and gaming.

I've been wondering about lag or lip synch when using the VGA port too.

To the best of my knowledge no one has gotten a console using VGA working because the console does not send the TV any technical info and so they will not work together.

first post, been looking thru the forums for a bit, lots of great info, thx all for being so forthcoming! just got our new 6178 last friday, set it up (still have standard directv box, connected to tv w/ s-video cable, both dlp and dtv box are set to 16:9), and here's a list of things that i am seeing:

> local stations resolution is terrible, and getting some spurious white pixel flickering randomly about the image;
>stations such as cnn are quite nice in terms of resolution and color, no flickering pixels at all;
>broadcast movies look nice, no issues;
>MOST SERIOUS - across top of screen there is about 1/4 inch of black and white bars that pulse in/out, and about another inch of screen below that is made up of a series of inch wide columns that are striated and distorted. the bottom of the screen is cut off, particularly obvious when there is a ticker running across the bottom (eg. cnn) as the bottom of the text is not visible. it appears to me that the image is simply shifted down, but haven't found a way to electronically shift it up.

any insight that you all can provide is most appreciated. in going thru this particular thread, i've not seen anyone mention these issues, but haven't read every single entry either. the fact that sound advice (tweeter) has already agreed to trade the set out for a new one (when one comes in....) w/out even coming out to see the problems, leads me to believe that there is all manner of issues w/ these sets, but just guessing of course.


also, saw in one of the earlier posts that the entire xxx8 series is identical in their inner workings...has this been verified? if so, i'd rather have a 6168 in terms of the floating screen appearance, and will ask for one of those as a replacement as long as there's no downside to that choice.


thx again!!!


jeff

The only thing with the swap is the difference in price, if they carry both lines, which I don't think they do and if it is in stock?

Go into the SM and move the picture up, and you won't have a problem with the Ticker.

To the best of my knowledge no one has gotten a console using VGA working because the console does not send the TV any technical info and so they will not work together.

After 11/15, that will no longer be true. In fact, it's probably not true right now. See http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox360/xbox360accessories.htm The VGA cable is close to the bottom.

I just got my tv today and I love it! I do have a few questions...

1. Should I be able to hear/feel/see the fan working in the back of the tv? I feel a lot of heat, but I can't tell if the fan is working or if it's just normal heat escaping through the holes.

2. I have a dvi-hdmi cable connected to the tv in hdmi 2. I have not been able to successfully get 1080i resolution using this method. Has anyone found a way to make this work? If not, has anyone tried a dvi-vga cable yet?

Thanks!

Vassago

Does anyone have the spec for the native resolution? I mean I know it goes to 1080p but I think that might be a little artificial since I guess there are few true 1080i or p out there? What other info on the scaling is there? I need it since I'm using the 5678 as a computer monitor. The thing is it is 1920x1080p @60hz so I thought that was 1080? People said it was 1:1 mapping and everything so what else do I need to check?

BCVP: I've read elsewhere that the native resolution of the DLP image chip is 960x1080 (horizontal = 1/2 x 1920).
An over-simplified way of describing this would be to say the chip uses its mirrors to draw the left half of the "horizontal" pixels first, then tilts over a few degrees to draw the right half. Flipping back and forth very fast gives a whole image.
I believe I've read this termed as "wobulation".
I'm sure someone here can correct this or provide a better engineering description.
I must say the magic works, because the image from a GOOD 1920x1080i source is absolutely stunning.
I can defintitely see the different between stations that broadcast in full 1920x1080i vs those that broadcast in 1280x720p.

first post, been looking thru the forums for a bit, lots of great info, thx all for being so forthcoming! just got our new 6178 last friday, set it up (still have standard directv box, connected to tv w/ s-video cable, both dlp and dtv box are set to 16:9), and here's a list of things that i am seeing:

> local stations resolution is terrible, and getting some spurious white pixel flickering randomly about the image;
>stations such as cnn are quite nice in terms of resolution and color, no flickering pixels at all;
>broadcast movies look nice, no issues;
>MOST SERIOUS - across top of screen there is about 1/4 inch of black and white bars that pulse in/out, and about another inch of screen below that is made up of a series of inch wide columns that are striated and distorted. the bottom of the screen is cut off, particularly obvious when there is a ticker running across the bottom (eg. cnn) as the bottom of the text is not visible. it appears to me that the image is simply shifted down, but haven't found a way to electronically shift it up.

any insight that you all can provide is most appreciated. in going thru this particular thread, i've not seen anyone mention these issues, but haven't read every single entry either. the fact that sound advice (tweeter) has already agreed to trade the set out for a new one (when one comes in....) w/out even coming out to see the problems, leads me to believe that there is all manner of issues w/ these sets, but just guessing of course.


also, saw in one of the earlier posts that the entire xxx8 series is indentical in their inner workings...has this been verified? if so, i'd rather have a 6168 in terms of the floating screen appearance, and will ask for one of those as a replacement as long as there's no downside to that choice.


thx again!!!


jeff

These problems sound like they are with your cable company. You may need to upgrade the signal to your house or swap the cable STB for a new one. Your best bet is to call the cable company and have them send out a technician with a replacement STB and the equipment to test your wiring.

After 11/15, that will no longer be true. In fact, it's probably not true right now. See http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox360/xbox360accessories.htm The VGA cable is close to the bottom.

I know that VGA adapters are available, I was just saying that I don't think they work. XBox/360 might, I don't know.

These problems sound like they are with your cable company. You may need to upgrade the signal to your house or swap the cable STB for a new one. Your best bet is to call the cable company and have them send out a technician with a replacement STB and the equipment to test your wiring.

it's possible i guess, but we also bought a 4266 (720p) at the same time, it's in a different room of the house but on the same incoming house dish feed (different sd box of course), and functions just fine...no image degradation. altho frankly i know so little about this stuff that i'm not sure if the two units are apples/oranges in terms of these problems. i simply find it odd that sound advice is going to swap out the unit w/out even having sent a tech out to check the issue. guess that i'll try swapping the boxes to see if the box is the problem. thx.

anyone else having, or heard of anyone having, these issues?

jeff

Go into the SM and move the picture up, and you won't have a problem with the Ticker.


forgive me...."sm"? not up on all the freely bantered lingo.....

i could not find anything on the remote or in the manual that addressed being able to shift the projected image, except if u hook the unit up to a pc. have i missed something?


jeff

The Service Menu.

Ive got a 6768 and im seeing smudge marks near the middle of the screen. I ask my family if they see it but they dont. Is it just me or have others had the same problem?

Post a picture.
I haven't noticed any smudge marks on my set, but I can't say that I've looked for any either. I'm not even sure what they would look like.

I dont have a digital camera yet so I cant post a pic. Its like if I wet my screen lightly and didnt dry it. Hard to explain but its the interior of the sceen

The Service Menu.

i've been thru the menu options several times (and just went and checked them again), and cannot find any selection that would allow me to shift the image. what am i not seeing (is the SM different than the Menu button on the remote)?


jeff

Service menu and user menu are two different things.

Ive got a 6768 and im seeing smudge marks near the middle of the screen. I ask my family if they see it but they dont. Is it just me or have others had the same problem?

I have a "smudge" at the top of the screen. It is invisible most of the time, but becomes visible in B/W movies or backgrounds of some solid colors.

I have a Samsung service call Friday to check it out.

The local Samsung tech dispatch said that his techs have seen this problem before, if I am describing it correctly. He said it usually turns out to be the incomplete removal of plastic wrapping film for the screen itself and is a relatively simple issue for the tech to fix. That is, the service tech opens up the set; carefully removes the offending film; you say, "Thank you very much!; He says, "Your welcome" and leaves. :)

"Bob" the national service call center dispatch for Samsung had a different possible explanation. He said that two sheets of film (and this time we're not talking about the wrapping film) comprise the screen. One is a fresnel lens, the other is the outside screen that you can touch. The two sheets do not themselves touch. Bob said it is possible that moisture has condensed between the two layers or they are in fact touching. In either case the screen would need to be replaced.

Screen replacement apparently is not a huge deal. Although the local tech dispatch thinks that explanation #1 is most likely true, he is sending a replacement screen on the call in case National Bob is correct.

And, no, you are not seeing things. :cool:

Jim

Hey flanoob. They kinda left you hanging there. I copied this from an earlier post:



Quote:
Originally Posted by AkaStp
Someone is bound to ask how to get into the SM. Here it is...

Here's how you get into the Service Menu (SM)
Starting with your TV turned off...
Press Mute, 1, 8, 2, Power on the remote
To exit the SM restart the TV (or try Power, Power)

You can also do it with your TV already turned on.
First make sure that Melody is turned off
Press Power, Mute, 1, 8, 2, Power on the remote
To exit the SM restart the TV (or try Power, Power)

WARNING: ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!

WARNING: Don't change anything that you don't fully understand.

WARNING: There is NO undo feature and there is NO ability to reset back to original settings. So make note of the settings. Better still, take digital photos.

WARNING: Be careful which buttons you press while in the SM menus as the arrow keys can change the currently selected setting and you may not be aware of that happening.

Has anyone attempted to attach a PC to the HDMI on the new Samsung 1080p DLP's? I read somewhere that this was not supported - is this correct?

I have a 78 and am very happy with it, but I'm not the "videophile" that many of you seem to be. It appears there are more issues the 68 series but this may just be the model that most of the highly technical consumers have for availability reasons. My question, is there a theme here? Does the 78 has less problems or is it due to who owns the set? Can I see a show of hands. Fletch :confused:

Ive got a 6768 and im seeing smudge marks near the middle of the screen. I ask my family if they see it but they dont. Is it just me or have others had the same problem?


I have the 6768 and I have not seen any smudge marks either, however I had last years Captain Kirk, saw them on that , and Samsung came and replaced the screen with very little hassle.

I have a 78 and am very happy with it, but I'm not the "videophile" that many of you seem to be. It appears there are more issues the 68 series but this may just be the model that most of the highly technical consumers have for availability reasons. My question, is there a theme here? Does the 78 has less problems or is it due to who owns the set? Can I see a show of hands. Fletch :confused:


I am very happy with 6768. I think the disparity you are seeing is due to the greater number of xx68 purchased by AVS members.

Has anyone attempted to attach a PC to the HDMI on the new Samsung 1080p DLP's? I read somewhere that this was not supported - is this correct?

I have, it works but it is somewhat strange. Computer display is not very good over HDMI (desktop, applications). The best way to describe it is that it seems to be missing some scan lines. However, TV and DVD playback look fine. Has anyone else seen this oddity?

Service menu and user menu are two different things.
How do you access the Service Menu?

How do you access the Service Menu?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.

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

Enjoy.

As I continue getting my arms around the issues involved in really taking advantage of the 6168, it has become (relatively) clear that I am better off sending a 480i signal from my dvd player - and I am using hdmi - to the sammy where all the scaling/deinterlacing/whatever other video processing needs to occur, will only happen once. FYI - I have no desire to buy extra/more expensive gear just for grins at this stage.
Isnt this correct?

And if this is correct, and I currently have an oppo (which I actually intend to return as I'm not happy with build quality and the remote - yes the picture is good) I cant see in any of the menus how I control the resolution of the player via the dvi output. I'm sure that I'm overlooking the option to do this, suggestions?

But if my understandings are correct, then I should drop the dvd player reqt for upconversion - or at least make sure that it is possible to set the output to *best* 480i or *second best* 480p, correct? Of course most of the better players have upconversion, but it seems that this is not a primary reqt for owners of the xx8 series or any 1080p sets; correct?

To change the Oppo resolution you must be in stop mode. Hit the DVI button on the remote(bottom left I think)It will cycle between 480P, 540P, 720P, and 1080i. The 1080P samsungs won't accept a 540P signal.
480i is only out of the component out for the Oppo. That is the worst picture and it bypasses the FLI2310 chip. 480P is terrible also. In the resolution pattern the lines will blend together. At 720P and 1080i the lines are very distinct in the resolution pattern. I think 1080i looks best on my 6168 from the Oppo.

I cant see in any of the menus how I control the resolution of the player via the dvi output. I'm sure that I'm overlooking the option to do this, suggestions?

But if my understandings are correct, then I should drop the dvd player reqt for upconversion - or at least make sure that it is possible to set the output to *best* 480i or *second best* 480p, correct? Of course most of the better players have upconversion, but it seems that this is not a primary reqt for owners of the xx8 series or any 1080p sets; correct?

The DVI settings are the bottom left button on the remote and the player has to be stopped to make the changes. The OPPO does not output 480i over DVI and IMO the 720p and 1080i are deffinately better i opted for 1080i. The build quality seems fine except for the disk tray seams a little flimsey but have seen no reports of it breaking. I agree the remote leaves a lot to be desired but am buying a Harmony to increase the WAF.

The DVI settings are the bottom left button on the remote and the player has to be stopped to make the changes. The OPPO does not output 480i over DVI and IMO the 720p and 1080i are deffinately better i opted for 1080i. The build quality seems fine except for the disk tray seams a little flimsey but have seen no reports of it breaking. I agree the remote leaves a lot to be desired but am buying a Harmony to increase the WAF.

thx jhixson and aaronwwt for the quick answers; what did people do before web communities??

I spent one weekend cycling through multiple programmings of the 880 but didnt find it the panacea I expected (buttons too small, menu directories are uneven in quality, no jog wheel ((why dont these makers put in a jogwheel in these things???)) -- in general I didnt see that it was a realistic wife/kid tool to justify it), so returned it (too expensive to put in a drawer). I expect to go to a fully customizable (master, pronto, etc.) later this year when I have the time to really spend on this and will use my 4 remotes till then.

How do you access the Service Menu?

see the post that is 7 prior to yours

As I continue getting my arms around the issues involved in really taking advantage of the 6168, it has become (relatively) clear that I am better off sending a 480i signal from my dvd player - and I am using hdmi - to the sammy where all the scaling/deinterlacing/whatever other video processing needs to occur, will only happen once. FYI - I have no desire to buy extra/more expensive gear just for grins at this stage.
Isnt this correct?

And if this is correct, and I currently have an oppo (which I actually intend to return as I'm not happy with build quality and the remote - yes the picture is good) I cant see in any of the menus how I control the resolution of the player via the dvi output. I'm sure that I'm overlooking the option to do this, suggestions?

But if my understandings are correct, then I should drop the dvd player reqt for upconversion - or at least make sure that it is possible to set the output to *best* 480i or *second best* 480p, correct? Of course most of the better players have upconversion, but it seems that this is not a primary reqt for owners of the xx8 series or any 1080p sets; correct?
Sending the TV a great 480i signal is what I went for in the end vs 1080i but YMMV. I am doing it via analog (component) and still find it better.

I have, it works but it is somewhat strange. Computer display is not very good over HDMI (desktop, applications). The best way to describe it is that it seems to be missing some scan lines. However, TV and DVD playback look fine. Has anyone else seen this oddity?

Computer display over HDMI will be interlaced making windows text and whatnot difficult to read... Moving video won't suffer as much from being interlaced as windows text.

Gkotlan, thanks for the reply. I called Sammy level 2 tech sprt. and they couldn't answer any of my questions or had any info to add. I really want to be sure this 5678 is accurate, which I think it is, is 1080 native, which I think it is, although you mentioned the wobble factor, which I don't think is important since that is before the image is displayed really, that it is 16:9 for computer input via VGA, which I think it is and not 16:10 like most computer monitors apparently. I'd like more info on these and other specs or on using the set as a computer monitor. My concern is that people in my video forum don't believe me or don't think the set is capable of other monitors in a much higher price range. I'm thrilled but just want to confirm since I haven't taken delivery. Calibration is something that would be needed on any monitor so that isn't an issue. I'm trying to think of other points people here and over there at my video forum have mentioned as far as confirming the quality, accuracy and use as a computer monitor. Thanks!

ok well the TV has started to flicker again, allowing me some time to trouble shoot, iv'e un-hooked every cable from the tv, and alas, it still flickers. iv'e tried different ac outlets, aswell as turning off other appliances in the home, and u guessed it, its still flickering. Turned it off, then back on with a 5 minute break, still flickers, as i mentioend before the problem comes and goes, anythign else i should try? any ideas on whats up? shakey lamp filament?

TIA
-leo

FYI Comcast now has the Moto 6412 with HDMI. I think it has the same connections except it has the HDMI instead of DVI. I'm thrilled since they told me I was getting last year's HD STB and now I think I got a new one and even better than I thought with the HDMI.

shakey lamp filament?I think the lamp is gas operated and has no filament.

I really want to be sure this 5678 is accurate, which I think it isThey are accurate if correctly calibrated. Check here.

Eliab's First Samsung Calibration (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6117847&&#post6117847)


, is 1080 native, which I think it isIt is 1080p. That's dictated by the chip.

although you mentioned the wobble factorExcept for those who like to debate the number of angels that can fit on the point os a pin, the wabulated 960x1080 chip controls 1920x1080 pixels on the screen.

that it is 16:9 for computer input via VGA, which I think it isIt can't be anything else. Because it's a TV and not a computer monitor there is overscan so you can't see all the pixels without scaling at the cost of sharpness.

My 720p wobulated HLP5063 does 1x1 bit mapping when it is fed 720p through DVI or HDMI with about 1.5 percent overscan. I'm not sure how you can get 1x1 bit mapping with the 1080p sets.

I'd like more info on these and other specs or on using the set as a computer monitor. My concern is that people in my video forum don't believe me or don't think the set is capable of other monitors in a much higher price range.What applications are you working with? Is it professional or a hobby?

Thanks for the reply Htwaits. I'm looking to produce and edit HD. I have a dual Xenon workstation I built and it looks awesome on my friend's 5078. I ordered the 5678 but they haven't informed me on delivery yet. I'm going to see if I can make a note about what these skeptics say and try and post here. Like I said if you or anyone can get me info on the downside of using these sets as a computer monitor, I'd like to know. I can't think of any though but I feel I should be sure. Thanks.

Thanks for the reply Htwaits. I'm looking to produce and edit HD. I have a dual Xenon workstation I built and it looks awesome on my friend's 5078. I ordered the 5678 but they haven't informed me on delivery yet. I'm going to see if I can make a note about what these skeptics say and try and post here. Like I said if you or anyone can get me info on the downside of using these sets as a computer monitor, I'd like to know. I can't think of any though but I feel I should be sure. Thanks.You might also want to check out the JVC "Pro" line of LCoS 1080p sets. They are sold by custom installers and directly to industry. I can't speak to their value for the work you want to do, but they seem to be marketed for similar applications.

Lankyleo, flickering is some sort of interference or else the bulb like you said. I would run to the back and stick a mirror back there and see if the light flickers. I don't think it is the bulb and there isn't anything else in the set I can think of that would cause that? I don't think out of 5325 posts, anyone has reported this? I'd say to get an extension cord and see if you get flickering from an outlet in another room of the house. Something like the frig or the hot water heater running intermittently. Also florescent bulbs and microwave ovens might cause this?

Thanks Htwaits, I'm not really big on JVC, no offense to anyone and if they are marketed that way they might be a little better and probably much more expensive. As long as these Sammys work and not "sort of" I should be all set. I guess I'm looking for more confirmation so that I'm at ease with this decision. Thanks.

Thanks Htwaits, I'm not really big on JVC, no offense to anyone and if they are marketed that way they might be a little better and probably much more expensive.I'm not either. ;)

The one person who's installer has ordered one for him expects to pay about the street price for the consumer model. Of course his installer may be giving him a better price because of the total size of his installation.


As long as these Sammys work and not "sort of" I should be all set. I guess I'm looking for more confirmation so that I'm at ease with this decision. Thanks.You need a 30 day "no cost" return period for that kind of peace of mind. :cool:

Or you can wait. :eek:

Lankyleo, flickering is some sort of interference or else the bulb like you said. I would run to the back and stick a mirror back there and see if the light flickers. I don't think it is the bulb and there isn't anything else in the set I can think of that would cause that? I don't think out of 5325 posts, anyone has reported this? I'd say to get an extension cord and see if you get flickering from an outlet in another room of the house. Something like the frig or the hot water heater running intermittently. Also florescent bulbs and microwave ovens might cause this?


i found it odd aswell that i was the only one to experience this, my first thought was interference, my last remaining troubleshooting option is to change the outlet to one on the other side of the house that isnt on the same breaker as some of my other appliances, just waiting for a friend to bring over an extension cord for me, as the sets to big to move physically across the house. i'll let you guys know how it goes, ::finger crossed::

i also called samsung and spoke with a 'thomas' who was helpfull and gave me a number to set up a tech appointment if the different outlet didnt work.

I guess I'm looking for more confirmation so that I'm at ease with this decision. Thanks.Here is another thought. Call or email David Abrams and see if he has encountered any "gotcha" that would effect your work. If you find out anything helpful PM me.

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

If he isn't in your area he might be able to recommend someone.

Lankyleo, flickering is some sort of interference or else the bulb like you said. I would run to the back and stick a mirror back there and see if the light flickers. The bulb and/or ballast can be the cause of flickering. Good idea to check... by looking in the vent slots. Bear in mind that you may be looking through the blades of a relatively high-speed fan.

Gary

i found it odd aswell that i was the only one to experience this, my first thought was interference, my last remaining troubleshooting option is to change the outlet to one on the other side of the house that isnt on the same breaker as some of my other appliances, just waiting for a friend to bring over an extension cord for me, as the sets to big to move physically across the house. i'll let you guys know how it goes, ::finger crossed::

i also called samsung and spoke with a 'thomas' who was helpfull and gave me a number to set up a tech appointment if the different outlet didnt work.

Perhaps it's your cable (as in cable TV) signal. Do you have a second TV that you can check when you see the problem?

Thanks again Htwaits. I'll try to contact him tomorrow. As for the flickering, if it isn't the bulb or interference then it is a defective set, which I was just trying to avoid that route.

The only way it would be the bulb is if the interference was across the entire screen since the bulb evenly lights the screen. Usually with interference there is one section or a small area affected and not throughout the entire screen. Where is the flickering located and can you describe it?

i found it odd aswell that i was the only one to experience this, my first thought was interference, my last remaining troubleshooting option is to change the outlet to one on the other side of the house that isnt on the same breaker as some of my other appliances, just waiting for a friend to bring over an extension cord for me, as the sets to big to move physically across the house. i'll let you guys know how it goes, ::finger crossed::

i also called samsung and spoke with a 'thomas' who was helpfull and gave me a number to set up a tech appointment if the different outlet didnt work.

If the light does not flicker behind the set as it has been recommended to check then it is time for wild guesses. ;) I'll try guessing that your wobulator is loosing sync somehow. Regardless this may mean a new light engine or digital board when the tech arrives.

The only way it would be the bulb is if the interference was across the entire screen since the bulb evenly lights the screen. Usually with interference there is one section or a small area affected and not throughout the entire screen. Where is the flickering located and can you describe it?

Sorry, really wasn't following, what input are we talking about?

I had a problem initially with a similar problem via the VGA input. The EDID information being passed from the TV to my PC was actually off a bit. I had to extend the horizontal timings to get the horizontal refresh rate correct. Before I adjusted the horizontal timings, the top area of my screen would flicker a bit due to the previous line overlapping the current line.

It is possible that my problem was actually with my video card, but either way, adjusting the timing fixed it.

John

Hey flanoob. They kinda left you hanging there. I copied this from an earlier post


gargoyle007 ---

thx for your help, i was able to get into the "SM" and managed not to create a permanent blue screen! did finally figure out how to get to the vertical and horizontal offsets, and pitched the image up far enuf to get rid of the distorted portion. the downside is that i had to take the vertical to its max setting (60) to accomplish this, so there's nothing left to compensate with.

i'll likely have them swap the set out anyway, and provide the full set up for me.

i also changed the gamma to video(1), which gives a much better skin tone.

thx again all!


jeff

Not sure how valid this is, but I have been told that the ideal head position when watching a TV is to have the TV slightly higher than the mid point. This way you look up slightly. This apparently takes strain off your neck, reducing the chances of neck pain.

Anyway, have run across this comment more than once.

Yes, but neck strain has nothing to do with picture quality. It is very easy to understand why picture quality will be optimal if your line of sight is at the mid point of the TV screen. Try it yourself. The vertical viewing angle of these TVs is very limited unlike the horizontal viewing angle.

thanks for the input guys! onto the problem....its not just thru my DVRSTB, the same problem occurs across my dvd player, ps2,vcr, etc etc.. i took a mirror to the back and could not see any flickering, although itll be easier to tell in a darker room, i will try again later tonite when its nice and dark. as for where on screen, its the entire screen, not isolated to any specific spots, the flickering is more noticebale on light colors and backrounds, on dark colors its barely noticeable. i got ahold of an extension cable and moved it to different outlets around the house and had no luck. i called to make an appointment with a tech but recieved a machine asking me to leave my name, # , etc. Probably because i called past 5. Anyways, i think i've checked everything from my end and will have to wait for the techs word on whats going on. hopefully when he comes the problem will occur, as of right now its been doing it all day, unlike the past few days where it would be ok for a couple of hours and then flicker for a couple and go back. i'll keep u guys updated.

-leo

Anyone read the review of the HP DLP 1080p TV in Sound and Vision mag.
I was wondering if it is similar in perfomance to the sammys as I have a 6768 on order and was hoping for an official review / comparo to some of the competition.
My thoughts are that most of the 1080p DLP tvs should look similar because they all use the same style of TI chip /wobbulated setup. I noticed the Mits 1080 review in last months Sound and Vision said they liked it also.

Jpoet, yes, the sets only take specific PC settings listed in the manual. Anything else will cause problems like you mentioned. This is true for any computer monitor so it isn't just this set. He didn't mention using a PC so if it isn't electrical, the lamp or the cable then I'd say it was defective. I hope I'm wrong.

I just saw the Mits today at Mag. Wost Buy, I think it was 62" maybe? I was not at all impressed. I can see how you either like or hate the form factor case. I had the salesman adjust the set since the PQ was way off. Even after adjusting it the picture was dark and the colors were not vibrant if that is the right word? The Sammy and plasmas beat it. I didn't bother to compare it to others.

I have had my 6168 for about 3 weeks now. I just hooked my PC up to it today to test things out.

Anyway, i think im doing something wrong or maybe something isnt set right ?

When i set the pc up before turning it off and plugging it into the tv, i changed the resolution from 1280x1024 to 1920x1024 so that i would get the full resolution that the tv can display. When the picture came up, it looked like it was squeezed (can think of a better word) horiztonally. It was not centered and i had a huge black space on the left side of the tv.

I then changed the resolution on the pc from 1920x1024 to 1280x1024 and the picture expanded and is almost filling up the entire screen. I have like 2 inch black bar on the sides and maybe 1 inch on the top and bottom. Now this is a bit confusing to me , because i would have thought that 1920x1024 would have filled up more of the screen due to the higher resolution.

Can anyone point me in the right direction, maybe a thread that has similar issue ? or can someone explain what im doing wrong and how i would go about setting this up so that it uses 1920x1024 properly and fills up the entire screen so that i can start testing movies from the pc ? I would really appreciate it if anybody can help me out. thanks.

I don't have my set yet but I did connect my PC to my friend's. You should look in the back of the Sammy manual for the list of acceptable resolutions and refresh rates. Anything else not listed will not work, or it might sort of, which means no. I don't know what they are but I did get my PC to work at 1920x1080 @60hz. If the settings are correct and it still doesn't work I would say to check the cable. High quality cables don't send the data back and forth. The settings are true for any computer monitor, not just the Sammy.

Remember this is a 1080p set, and you can display up to a maximum of 1920x1080 resolution on this set. It looks like that either your video card is causing these problems or you have a VGA cable that does not transmit EDID information properly to the video card.

What video card, what driver, and what OS are you using? Try a simple, inexpensive VGA cable. With nVidia or ATI cards, you should be able to select exactly 1920x1080 resolution.

sdv5, I think you can only set your PC to 1920x1080 if your video card will support that and I think only highend video cards support that?

What's the point of using VGA if the XBOX 360 doesn't support 1080P (only 1080i). Unless something has changed? I thought the PS3 was the only one to support 1080P.

I know that VGA adapters are available, I was just saying that I don't think they work. XBox/360 might, I don't know.

You can set your video card to whatever resolution you want but you should use only 1920x1080. Once the TV is properly detected by the card, a range of different resolutions will be offered. Most video cards will be able to display static images at 1920x1080 over VGA, e.g., Web browser, desktop, etc. However, you are correct that for moving images, a beefier card is required, e.g., nVidia 6xxx preferrably 6600GT for really nice picture. Combined with nVidia PureVideo decoder, the quality of DVD movies will rival the best standalone DVD players.

I can select 1920x1080 on the video card. I have a geforce 6800 gt. I am using the 77.30 drivers that came with BattleField 2. When i go to the tv's settings it says 1920x1080 @ 60hz when i have it on that resolution. It just doesnt look as clear or as big as when i have it set to 1280x1024.

The cable seems to work fine since i can see the picture on the resolutions. Can it really be the cable ? i would think if it was a cable issue i would be getting no picture at all on that res. I would really like to get this working, any more help would be highly appreciated...

What's the point of using VGA if the XBOX 360 doesn't support 1080P (only 1080i). Unless something has changed? I thought the PS3 was the only one to support 1080P.

I'll believe it when I see it, i.e., PS3 support for 1080p. However, I am not holding my breath given Sony's propensity to overpromise and underdeliver.

XBox 360 supports only 1080i. But I have no problems believing that Microsoft will deliver this capability.

I can select 1920x1080 on the video card. I have a geforce 6800 gt. I am using the 77.30 drivers that came with BattleField 2. When i go to the tv's settings it says 1920x1080 @ 60hz when i have it on that resolution. It just doesnt look as clear or as big as when i have it set to 1280x1024.

The cable seems to work fine since i can see the picture on the resolutions. Can it really be the cable ? i would think if it was a cable issue i would be getting no picture at all on that res. I would really like to get this working, any more help would be highly appreciated...

If it's horizontally compressed, it is your VGA cable. It has happened to many of us. You can try manually entering the timings as specified in the 6168 manual, if that doesn't work, replace the VGA cable with a cheap one.

I can select 1920x1080 on the video card. I have a geforce 6800 gt. I am using the 77.30 drivers that came with BattleField 2. When i go to the tv's settings it says 1920x1080 @ 60hz when i have it on that resolution. It just doesnt look as clear or as big as when i have it set to 1280x1024.

The cable seems to work fine since i can see the picture on the resolutions. Can it really be the cable ? i would think if it was a cable issue i would be getting no picture at all on that res. I would really like to get this working, any more help would be highly appreciated...

Yes, it could very well be the cable. I have the same TV (6168) and 6600GT card with slightly older MCE-sanctioned driver. Your driver is very recent, and it should work fine. The latest one from nVidia is 78.01 but this really should not make a difference.

With inadequate cable, the problems are typically manifested as squished picture, large black bars on the sides, etc. Typically, the timings are off. Try a different cable. If this doesn't work, get the latest driver. You don't need to worry about video resolution before connecting the TV. When everything is fine, you will be able to get a picture that fills the screen almost completely. You will have about an inch of black along all edges. You can then increase the picture size in WidePC menu settings until you get 1:1 mapping with about 3-5% overscan.

How would you replace firmware? Do you need internet? Just curious because lots of people here are talking about firmware and I don't see how it matters if you can't update it?

How would you replace firmware? Do you need internet? Just curious because lots of people here are talking about firmware and I don't see how it matters if you can't update it?

There is a software upgrade service port on the back of the TV (looks like a USB connection).

Arqos, make sure you go to the PC settings on the Samsung and adjust the picture as much as you can. I don't think now it is the cable since the Sammy found the PC right away and it seems to work. I'd adjust it some more before buying a cable you might not need. I have a 6600 and I used an extra VGA cable that was included with my Viewsonic flat CRTs.

What's the point of using VGA if the XBOX 360 doesn't support 1080P (only 1080i). Unless something has changed? I thought the PS3 was the only one to support 1080P.

My interest in possibly using the VGA port with the xbox360 has more to do with eliminating lag. If the 360 still has lag issues at 720p/1080i through component, I would like to try VGA since I don’t recall any PC users complaining about lag.

BTW, for those that are interested in the xbox360, the official release date for the US is November 22.

sdv5, I think you can only set your PC to 1920x1080 if your video card will support that and I think only highend video cards support that?

Well, my ATI 9600 isn't exactly highend, and it supports 1920x1080. At first mine was boxed in on the screen with about an inch of underscan (on a 56"). I used the PC Wide and the Screen controls on the TV to change that to a slight overscan. I have some overscan so I don't see some NTSC hash in SageTV. SD looks so much better on the PC with SageTV than the TV's internal scaler.

Arqos, make sure you go to the PC settings on the Samsung and adjust the picture as much as you can. I don't think now it is the cable since the Sammy found the PC right away and it seems to work. I'd adjust it some more before buying a cable you might not need. I have a 6600 and I used an extra VGA cable that was included with my Viewsonic flat CRTs.

Well, ive tried 3 different vga cables now and they all display 1920x1080 exactly the same when i boot up the pc. its off to the right of the screen a bit and the horizontal image looks compressed or squeezed in. 2 of the cables are a bit newer , the third one i tried is pretty old and kinda cheap , it has 3 pins missing by design on each of the vga ports on the end, which seems to be older vga version with less capabilities or something. I dont think it would be possible to stretch the image horizontally that much to get it to fit the tv. I am not sure what else to do, updating the drivers wont help in this case, atleast i cant see it doing anything. Picture looks great in 1280x1024 but i cant play movies in this resolution cause i lose alot of detail. but when browsing on internet and stuff it looks crisp and clear. Why wont 1920x1080 work ??? :(

Well, my ATI 9600 isn't exactly highend, and it supports 1920x1080. At first mine was boxed in on the screen with about an inch of underscan (on a 56"). I used the PC Wide and the Screen controls on the TV to change that to a slight overscan. I have some overscan so I don't see some NTSC hash in SageTV. SD looks so much better on the PC with SageTV than the TV's internal scaler.

What TV tuner card do you have in your HTPC? What MPEG decoder are you using? How does ATI 9600 handle fast moving videos? Are there any artifacts when watching DVDs? Thanks for all the information.

Is the PC image centered, that is the space around the PC image is equal on all sides? Before you stretch it make sure it is even and then enlarge the image to fit the screen. Make sure it is in PC Wide mode. All of this is done on the Samsung. The PC is set to 60hz right?

Well, ive tried 3 different vga cables now and they all display 1920x1080 exactly the same when i boot up the pc. its off to the right of the screen a bit and the horizontal image looks compressed or squeezed in. 2 of the cables are a bit newer , the third one i tried is pretty old and kinda cheap , it has 3 pins missing by design on each of the vga ports on the end, which seems to be older vga version with less capabilities or something. I dont think it would be possible to stretch the image horizontally that much to get it to fit the tv. I am not sure what else to do, updating the drivers wont help in this case, atleast i cant see it doing anything. Picture looks great in 1280x1024 but i cant play movies in this resolution cause i lose alot of detail. but when browsing on internet and stuff it looks crisp and clear. Why wont 1920x1080 work ??? :(

Well, this is certainly a puzzle. The problems you describe are typical of missing EDID or EDID mismatch. Normally, this is caused by the VGA cable not being able to transmit correct EDID information. For example, on my 6168, I will get these symptoms if I use a more expensive, thicker VGA cable that clearly does not transmit correct monitor information. If I substitute cheaper VGA cable that has enough wires to transmit EDID, everything works just fine.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I would guess that your video card does not recognize Samsung 6168 as the attached monitor/TV. If you go into the monitor tab of your video card properties page, what do you see? If the card recognizes the TV properly, you should also be able to see an option for overscan adjustment with the latest driver. Sorry about your problems, but I still think that VGA cable is the culprit.

Well, this is certainly a puzzle. The problems you describe are typical of missing EDID or EDID mismatch. Normally, this is caused by the VGA cable not being able to transmit correct EDID information. For example, on my 6168, I will get these symptoms if I use a more expensive, thicker VGA cable that clearly does not transmit correct monitor information. If I substitute cheaper VGA cable that has enough wires to transmit EDID, everything works just fine.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I would guess that your video card does not recognize Samsung 6168 as the attached monitor/TV. If you go into the monitor tab of your video card properties page, what do you see? If the card recognizes the TV properly, you should also be able to see an option for overscan adjustment with the latest driver. Sorry about your problems, but I still think that VGA cable is the culprit.

what does EDID stand for ? i dont think the problem is the tv either. I believe i saw the same exact thing happen when i had it on the pc monitor on 1920x1080. So i guess it is the cable or my video card settings ? I updated the drivers and had the same thing.

When i go to the nvidia display settings it actually says samsung. It recognizes the tv fine and displays fine on other resolutions. If all these cables dont work with it then which one do i need to buy ?

what does EDID stand for ? i dont think the problem is the tv either. I believe i saw the same exact thing happen when i had it on the pc monitor on 1920x1080. So i guess it is the cable or my video card settings ? I updated the drivers and had the same thing.

When i go to the nvidia display settings it actually says samsung. It recognizes the tv fine and displays fine on other resolutions. If all these cables dont work with it then which one do i need to buy ?

I went throught the cable deal with my PC as well. My ATI catalyst drivers correctly identify the monitor as "SAMSUNG". If I were you I might scavenge one off a computer monitor you have on hand. Preferably a cable that came with the monitor.

BTW you don't need a super powerful card for an HTPC. I'm using an ATI x700 along with a DVICO HDTV 5 GOLD tuner card. Play of HDTV and DVD is superb. Play of 1080p source material looks better than reality.

what does EDID stand for ? i dont think the problem is the tv either. I believe i saw the same exact thing happen when i had it on the pc monitor on 1920x1080. So i guess it is the cable or my video card settings ? I updated the drivers and had the same thing.

When i go to the nvidia display settings it actually says samsung. It recognizes the tv fine and displays fine on other resolutions. If all these cables dont work with it then which one do i need to buy ?

I also don't mean to sound like a broken record, but I agree with sdv5 that it is your VGA cable(s). You can try adjusting the timings yourself and see if that resolves the issue. I use the same driver version as you with a 6600 GT. In the display properties dialog, select the GeForce 6800 GT tab. Select Screen Resolutions & Refresh Rates from the popup list on the left. Click the Advanced Timing button... here are my values:

Horizonal pixels
Front porch: 48
Back porch : 80
Sync polarity: +
Sync wIdth : 32
Scan rate : 66.65 (read only)
Active pixels : 1920

Vertical lines
Front porch : 3
Back porch : 23
Sync polarity : -
Sync width : 5
Refresh rate : 59.990
Active pixels : 1080

another thing that i've noticed on my 6178 (now that the major concern of getting the image centered is resolved), is that even the images w/ decent resolution seem to go in/out of focus, just as if there were an autofocus lense hunting for the right setting. is this normal for a 1080p set that is running off of a sd direct tv box, or just a result of the incoming 480 signal?

also noticed the lip synch issue today for the first time.

jeff

I now have a new Sammy HL-R6178 DLP TV and an Oppo DVD player. As seen on numerous post I have a lip sync issue. My question is this--does the new HDMI receiver from JVC give me the ability to delay the sound from each hookup and is this receiver on par or better than my older Denon 330. Many posts recommend the Felston for this lip synch problem but I am having a hard time justifying spending $230 versus a whole new receiver for about $650. Any recommendations?? Thanks

Got my 6168 on wednesday, and i am very happy with it so far. a little black crush, and shadow detail issues, and Xbox Lag but other than that it is awsome.
As far as Xbox lag goes... I had talked to Tech a couple of times before i even got my display because of many people complaining about lag. of course they always said that there shouldn't be any.that was good because i like to play Xbox quite often.

when i hooked up my xbox via component cables guess what...lag. not a huge supprise, but very disheartening just the same. Naturally my next step was to call tech again...so i did. the tech i talked to said he had the same diplay, and has zero lag on any of his xbox games including Halo 2. I said come on stop bs'ing me. he told me something about an ATI chip in the display, and that there is definitely something wrong with it. he also seemed VERY confident that a service tech could fix it, and they are sending someone out to take care of it. We'll see :rolleyes: but i won't hold my breath. Hopefully with the 360 it won't matter any way as i will be retiring my XBOX any way. Beside, I can play it on my Mits 55 Crt. I will keep you guy posted on what ever the outcome might be. although I have a feeling that i know what it will be already.

There is a software upgrade service port on the back of the TV (looks like a USB connection).

Yeah but, what is the source. What would you have to do to get an upgrade? Hook your computer up?

Ive got a 6768 and im seeing smudge marks near the middle of the screen. I ask my family if they see it but they dont. Is it just me or have others had the same problem?


This morning I sat on the ottoman in the family room to put on my shoes for work and only having the TV for a week reached over and turned it on just to look at it for a second. As it was powering on, I was only about 7 feet away and looking up I also noticed two smudges left of center. The lights reflecting off the sreen just seemed to go away in these areas. As the picture brightened I found them harder to see but it is like anything once you know they are there they tend to bug you and instead of watching TV you are looking for the smudge.

Hey maybe it will distract me from lipsync. I do not think I will call for service unless the wife notices it because I always worry that when they fix something it will mess up something else. I think someone replaced a light engine for a minor problem and then asked for the old one back. Anyway I watched the set for a week without noticing the smudge but it is definitely there, I am getting older maybe a few extra beers and I will forget I saw it.

If anyone has had a screen replaced I would like to hear your stories.

** This is cross-posted in the JVC section, as I'm really in need of input from Samsung and JVC owners **

Well, I've been going nuts trying to figure out which way to go, and I could really use some suggestions.

I've sat down at a Best Buy and looked long and hard at a 61" Samsung, Toshiba (is it 62"), and JVC.

The 61" Samsung didn't look as vibrant, but the sales rep said the bulb was going on that unit, and the 56" Samsung next to it was right on par with the JVC and Toshiba.

I really like the look of the Samsung floating screen, and the JVC is nice with the user-controllable "blue light" in front. I really hate the look of the Toshiba cabinet.

I couldn't see any discernable difference in the picture quality between the three sets (comparing with the Samsung 56").

The JVC was the only unit I could actually make out the pixels on, but that was roughly 2" away from the screen. Samsung and Toshiba appear to use a diamond shaped pixel that never appears defined like the squares.

So, onto my questions ... This is a SIGNIFICANT investment for me, so I'm thinking that 1080p might be a smart decision. Of course, I can't go to see it anywhere. Any thoughts on holding out for the "bigger chip"?

I'm concerned about DLP colorwheels ... you know, a 10800 rpm moving component is just begging for a problem.

The JVC concern, from my reading, appears to be a convergence issue. Something mentioned about green edges?

So, I'm hoping the owners in this forum could give me guidance, suggestions, experiences, etc.

One thing I'd really like to do is have a split-screen with TV on one side and my PC output on the other. Can this be done with the VGA input?

Please share your thoughts so I can finally make an informed decision.

I'm slowly back-tracking through the posts, but there is a lot of reading.

Many Thanks for any help you can offer! :)

Regards,

Marc

Youreally should read most of the posts here. First of all, make sure you are buying a 1080p set. The Mits are out but I'm not so sure the ones you mentioned are 1080p? You can't have a PC PIP or split screen. If you go to a Wost Buy that has the Mits in the Mag. section I think most have found the Mits not to be as good at the Sammys, including myself. I just saw the Mits the other day. Also when you are looking at them in a store be sure to check the menus. Most sets are not set correctly. The brand new Mits that was just installed this week was not set right. I was furious since these guys I think are on commission, have a great deal of knowledge about HT and are too lazy to set them up correctly.

Are there ANY 1080p sets by ANY manufacturers (other than the high-end flat LCD or Plasma) that will allow you to split screen with TV on one side and the PC on the other?

This is a REALLY important feature for me!

Please advise.

Marc

My question is this--does the new HDMI receiver from JVC give me the ability to delay the sound from each hookup and is this receiver on par or better than my older Denon 330.You need to check in this forum for A/V Receiver information.

AMPs, Receivers, and Processors (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=90)

Cetacea, why is it important? I am buying my 5678 to produce and edit HD. I would have preferred a PIP myself so that it is faster or easier to compare but you can simply switch the inputs. It would be nice to be on the internet while watching TV though. There aren't many 1080p's to choose from. More are due out soon I think. What are you looking to do with the set that you need the PIP?

Are there ANY 1080p sets by ANY manufacturers (other than the high-end flat LCD or Plasma) that will allow you to split screen with TV on one side and the PC on the other?

This is a REALLY important feature for me!

Please advise.

Marc

I can only speak for the Samsung. I dont' think there is any Split screen option. There is a PIP option. It definely will not work with the PC over the VGA (and probably HDMI). I do think however it will work if you can feed the TV with Component from the PC.

The PIP lets you change the position and size of the inset window. The down side is that while there is a PIP button on the remote, to swap the 2 view, you have to go through several menus (and then it may not be possible as the swap otion is not always available). There is a chart in the manual that cross points the various kinds on inputs and it's effect on PIP.

In a nutshell, to watch a TV/Video feed on one side and work on the PC on the other.

Does the Samsung lack a true "split screen"?

Toshiba boast a "split screen" feature, but I don't see any PC inputs on them.

Any thoughts on JVC? (Yeah, I know ... wrong forum, but I'm comparison shopping here!) ;)

Marc

That's the problem, they might all have split screen but as far as the Sammy, it isn't possible with the VGA input. I would've liked that too. Some video cards have component HD. I have it and haven't tried it. That would be interesting. The manual is specific I think more about the source than the input connection though. For instance it knows a digital and analog signal no matter what input is used. You might call Samsung and see what they say about the component input with PIP. Maybe I will.

Also, does the Manufacturer's warranty on Samsung 1080p's require you to "carry them in" or do they perform in-home service for the 1st year?

I know this has probably been covered but I just wanted to verify it with real life owners.

Also, I've gotta ask, while I'm on the topic, I'm seriously looking at the 5688 pedestal.

Primary reason is that it appears to be less expensive than the 5678 regular monitor.

I recall reading, at the very beginning of this thread, that there were no real differences, but that being said, owners KNOW best ... so are there any drawbacks to the pedestal version?

Many Thanks yet again! :)

Marc

I like that one a lot but is that 1080p? I don't think it is?

I just spoke with Sammy tech sprt and the guy I spoke with said that people have tried to connect their PC's to 78's via S-Video with mixed results. I'm thinking that the S-Video they used might not have been professional, or that their computer might not be as good as some here? He went on to say that if I were to use the HD component from my 6600 video card that it just might get me a PC with PIP. I should check with the video card people. He said that the signal and the component input should work. I said I thought that the video card converted the PC signal to component HD. I could be wrong but that is what I thought one of the features on this video card was. Does anyone have a 6600 or 6800 with HD component and do they have more info on it? The rep said older sets had the PC PIP and didn't know why that was removed? I told him if these had PIP they wouldn't be able to make enough of them since people are now spoiled with HD and wireless internet.

Attached is the chart.

It appears that it should work with NTSC (swapable) but not with QAM or ATSC. I have no idea where the Digital cable channels fall.

So ideally, one would have to have their Brighthouse PVR connected to the HDMI output and purchase a VGA -> Component video converter to put the PC on the component video side for a solution, yes?

In a nutshell, to watch a TV/Video feed on one side and work on the PC on the other.

Does the Samsung lack a true "split screen"?

Toshiba boast a "split screen" feature, but I don't see any PC inputs on them.

Any thoughts on JVC? (Yeah, I know ... wrong forum, but I'm comparison shopping here!) ;)

Marc

This is not a good idea, just buy yourself a nice LCD monitor for your computer. It will be a vastly superior solution.

In a nutshell, to watch a TV/Video feed on one side and work on the PC on the other.

Does the Samsung lack a true "split screen"?

Toshiba boast a "split screen" feature, but I don't see any PC inputs on them.

Any thoughts on JVC? (Yeah, I know ... wrong forum, but I'm comparison shopping here!) ;)

Marc

You could just get a PVR card for your PC and have what you want with even greater control over the TV window (sizing, pause live tv, etc) :)

cetacea,

Why not use a Media center PC, where in you window the TV feed on the PC while you do normal PC work during those occasions?

You would need an electronic adapter that goes from VGA to component and not a simple adapter like a HDMI to DVI one. I don't know of any since I think these days the video cards have the component and VGA electronics already included. If your card doesn't have it I'd say it is easier and less expensive to upgrade the card. I got one response and haven't confirmed, that the component out on a video card is most likely video overlay only and not the PC display such as the desktop. In other words if you played a DVD, the video overlay would be full screen from the component connection. He also mentioned that there could be some tweaking involved and that it might be more difficult to get the PC and set to work together. Most of the connections are one way I think component is too, which is why VGA seems to work well.

The Samsung service tech was here this morning to work on my screen smudge. He cleaned lenses, checked the mirror and the screen. No wrapping extraneous films (see my previous post).

Everything looked spotless. I even hit the lens with a little DustOff before we closed it up.

Replacing the screen seemed to the only likely solution. Unfortunately, he was issued a 6168 screen (I have a 6768). So a resolution will have to wait until the latter part of next week.

Jim

Has anyone yet bought or received their Samsung 7178 TV? I am interested in hearing any positives / negatives of this tv over the 6768? Torn between the two... Has Samsung begun shipping the 7178's? or is everything pre-order at this time?

Has anyone yet bought or received their Samsung 7178 TV? I am interested in hearing any positives / negatives of this tv over the 6768? Torn between the two... Has Samsung begun shipping the 7178's? or is everything pre-order at this time?

I don't think they've been shipped yet. Magnolia HiFi says 'next month' (as they did last month).

Okay ... reasons ... 1) It's a laptop, no video choices there, even with the docking station.

2) The laptop isn't powerful enough to serve as a media center PC

3) I can't afford a new PC ... the TV is the major expense! :)

4) This is a bedroom application for when I'm up in the middle of the night and want to be entertained and work at the same time.

Let's not worry about justifying the need, or buying separate monitors ... I'd like to know if there is ANY large screen DLP, HD-ILA, LCD, barring beyond my price range Plasmas and Flat LCD's, that can do this trick.

It's an important one for me for more reasons that I can go into here, but it's sounding like what should be an obvious "feature" is turning out to be a major complication.

Is there ANY 56"+ set, ANY manufacturer that can do this?

Regards,

Marc

I'm concerned about DLP colorwheels ... you know, a 10800 rpm moving component is just begging for a problem.

Regards,

Marc

Are you kidding me? First people complained that it spun too slow resulting in rainbow problems now it may be too fast? I know this isn't a hard drive, but many computer harddrives now spin at 10k and 15k speeds easily without problems.

Is there ANY 56"+ set, ANY manufacturer that can do this?This is a 1080p Samsung thread in the RPTV forum. To get more readers who know about other RPTV sets, and their capabilities, you should start your own thread. If you make your subject clear enough, you will have a better chance to find the information that you are looking for.

There is also a forum for Plasma and LCD flat panels. You might try there too.

You might also find people who have solved your problem in the Home Theater Computers forum.

Cetacea, I think the problem is with the video card on the notebook. I would double check what I and others have suggested about setting the Samsung. If that is correct and the notebook is set correctly and you still can't get it to work you could try the SPDIF yellow RCA composite connection if your notebook has that video out? What are the specs on the notebook? I would contact them or see if there is a similar forum for the notebook. If it is fairly new I would think it should work as long as it is a mid to high end model. That is I don't think most average or old notebooks are going to work or look very good on this set. I'd like to know since my friend is looking to get a notebook and I might get one in the spring maybe. Thanks.

As I'm trying to decide on my next DVD player (leaning now toward panny s97s - auditioned yesterday) I wondered if anyone is using DNET/IEEE394 and getting satisfactory control results with any components? are there any comparable IEEE394 dvd players that are compatible?

Has Samsung or anyone been able to answer the below question on 1080p support through the 1394 port?

3. What capabilities does the 1394 port have to support 1080p? Specifically, if the internal tuner can support broadcast 1080p/24, can this be output via the 1394 port? Could a 1080p signal be input via the 1394 port?

I hope this isn't off topic, but it relates to video (audio) lag discussed here before.

I am considering the Denon 3805 or the 3806. Basically the only major difference (besides $$$) is the HDMI input.

What is the better setup regarding lag-

1. STB HDMI to HDTV and STB audio going to the AVR (or)

2. STB HDMI to AVR then HDMI to HDTV.

It seems as though 2 would produce more lag. If yes, why is getting HDMI in an AVR a big deal?

Thanks,

1. STB HDMI to HDTV and STB audio going to the AVR Most people use this connection.

It seems as though 2 would produce more lag. If yes, why is getting HDMI in an AVR a big deal?I don't think that it makes a difference. The delay in the video will take place when it arrives at the TV. If the source is the set's native resolution there will be no lag either way.

HDMI will be a big deal when A/V Receivers have two or more HDMI inputs, and input devices will pass 5.1 or greater surround tracks through HDMI to the receiver. Surround sound isn't much use to the current TV sets.

If you have four HDMI input devices then a total of five HDMI cables would replace that rat's nest behind our TVs. :)

The next step would be getting rid of speaker wire. Won't that start some fine arguments. :eek:

HDMI will be a big deal when A/V Receivers have two or more HDMI inputs, and input devices will pass 5.1 or greater surround tracks through HDMI to the receiver. Surround sound isn't much use to the current TV sets.



So you are saying the AVR with HDMI would be much more preferable when "input devices will pass 5.1"? Sorry, I don't understand.

I hope this isn't off topic, but it relates to video (audio) lag discussed here before.

I am considering the Denon 3805 or the 3806. Basically the only major difference (besides $$$) is the HDMI input.

What is the better setup regarding lag-

1. STB HDMI to HDTV and STB audio going to the AVR (or)

2. STB HDMI to AVR then HDMI to HDTV.

It seems as though 2 would produce more lag. If yes, why is getting HDMI in an AVR a big deal?

Thanks,

If you have two or fewer digital components, connect them directly to the TV. This will allow you to have unique picture settings for each component. If you have three or more digital components, connect them up in a way that optimizes the picture. For example, I have two DVD players on my system. They are both using the same Samsung settings ... so I could connect them through a receiver and let my third component, my Motorola HD DVR, use the second HDMI input on the TV.

Adjust for lag in your receiver at all times. With the components connected directly to the TV via HDMI, you have the option to use the TV's internal speakers and not run your AV receiver. In this configuration, you may not see lag on the TV. If you do, see if the component has the ability to add a delay to the sound going over the HDMI cable.

If it was me, I would want the receiver with the HDMI switching. Even if I elected not to use it, because it allow me to connect more digital components up in the future if the requirement developed.

So you are saying the AVR with HDMI would be much more preferable when "input devices will pass 5.1"? Sorry, I don't understand.I don't know what the Denon A/V receivers do with HDMI audio. We do know that there is a handshake process between the current 1080p TV sets that causes the input device to do DD 2.0 because that's all the TV is capable of. I'm just saying that you need to varify everything when changes come so fast.

If the Denon HDMI receivers can do a 5.1 or greater handshake with the input device that you plan to use then you wouldn't need a second digital (coax or optical) cable. That would be a savings of one cable and probably simplify the controls for that input device. If the Denon receivers can handle multiple HDMI inputs then you could drop one digital audio cable for each input device.

Convenience and less clutter are the two gains at this time. The downside is, as UCSB pointed out, that the TV can be calibrated only once for the HDMI coming from the A/V receiver. That "may" be overcome by a professional calibration. David Abrams reported that the Samsung 1080p sets can save several calibrations. If that's correct and they can be selected with discrete commands, a universal remote might be able to select the correct calibration for each input device.

The common setup with HDMI to the TV and Digital audio to the receiver probably would sound and look the same as an all HDMI setup.

If I'm still not making sense then I'm going to blame it on the flu and the fever. :)

Thanks htwaits and UCSB. It is starting to sink in............

Thanks htwaits and UCSB. It is starting to sink in............You're welcome. Now what can you do with this fever thing I've got? :rolleyes:

What kind of fever do you have? 7178 fever, Xbox 360 fever, HTPC fever, Canon's new HD camera fever, HD-DVD fever... Hope you feel better.

got a tech coming monday afternoon to check out teh flickering problem, crossing my fingers that the problem occurs while hes here. ill post the details then.

I'd keep the TV on all morning and make sure it is still flickering, if not you have time to keep trying.

for a while today and yesterday it seemed like the flickering became a constant problem, but tonite out of the blue it dissapeared again. Im going to try my damdest to get it to flicker monday and once it starts i'll be leaving it on like u sugested. As someone who's worked on cars since a young age, i've developed a strong dislike for dealing with intermittent problems. Many times giving the keys back to customers telling them the problem never manifested while in my hands and to bring it back another time. hopefully the tech will have better luck with the TV than i've had with cars.

for a while today and yesterday it seemed like the flickering became a constant problem, but tonite out of the blue it dissapeared again. Im going to try my damdest to get it to flicker monday and once it starts i'll be leaving it on like u sugested. As someone who's worked on cars since a young age, i've developed a strong dislike for dealing with intermittent problems. Many times giving the keys back to customers telling them the problem never manifested while in my hands and to bring it back another time. hopefully the tech will have better luck with the TV than i've had with cars.

I am having the exact same problem (along with other ones). At first I thought I was seeing things but my wife verified it. How about this for an idea. Why don't you leave the TV while watching an composite image. I have noticed that when I watch my satellite the flickering is so fast I was unsure I saw it. When my wife was using her kareoke (connected via RCA plugs) it is far more noticeable but still intermittant.

Let us know what happens. It is a pain in the A#$ when the tech stops by and you can't replicate the issue

6768 TV Guide setup. I only get no data available. Is this a Samsung set up issue or cable issue. I have cable card installed no stb. tvgos website support gives a Samsung support #.

My 6768 has arrived in my garage. The Seko delivery guy would not bring it into the house and I was not home to bend his arm or add to his pocket as an incentive. I guess the good news is that the box is really dirty and my wife is happier. Today is set-up and find out (fingers crossed).
Eliab will be visiting in about three weeks so I will stay pretty vanilla.

This is exciting!

I am having some probs with my 5668W and the Harmony 880 -- for some reason the command for HDMI2 doesn't work, though Component1-3 and HDMI1 work fine. This obviously causing an issue with setting it up the way I need!

Is this an issue with Logitech's database then? Is anyone using a different TV model where all the input commands on the remote work?

have actually gad this twice. unplugged tv, went away. no time yet to call for tech. pls post what hapens.

I am having some probs with my 5668W and the Harmony 880 -- for some reason the command for HDMI2 doesn't work, though Component1-3 and HDMI1 work fine. This obviously causing an issue with setting it up the way I need!

Is this an issue with Logitech's database then? Is anyone using a different TV model where all the input commands on the remote work?
When I talked to Harmony they didn't have the discrete code for HDMI2. They had to move it to an input and cycle it to the HDMI2 input. The problem with that is if you change what is connected to the TV. The Samsung will only cycle between inputs you have a cable connected to. So if you set up the remote and unplug an input, it won't go to HDMI2 correctly. Mine is fine since I haven't changed anything. With my Harmony 680 and the way they set it up it goes to HDMI2 without problems. Its been this way for a month.
Just call up Harmony technical support, and if you have to, leave a message. they will call you back. The last time I called on a Saturday and they called me back Sunday morning and set me up with my remote over the phone for HDMI2. Then All I had to do was connect teh remote to teh PC, log in to the Harmony site, and download teh update to the remote.

there is a discrete code for hdmi2. i'm sure if you give them either the pronto hex code or the jp1 efc code, they can make it work for the harmony. in my case i converted the pronto hex code to efc code my jp1 remote could understand.

you can search this thread for the phrase pronto hex code hdmi2

By the way Bill, thanks for the pronto hex code for movie and standard mode. Also for hdmi1 and hdmi2. My universal remote is perfect now. How much delay do you allow between powering on and changing the input?

You're welcome. Now what can you do with this fever thing I've got? :rolleyes:

Well.......If you are about 40 - the only thing I can recommend is a couple of 20 year olds. ;)

By the way Bill, thanks for the pronto hex code for movie and standard mode. Also for hdmi1 and hdmi2. My universal remote is perfect now. How much delay do you allow between powering on and changing the input?
On power up I don't change the input ... I just issue all of the other commands and take my pronto to a screen for the component that I am using where I have a command to switch the input. I like this approach better than waiting for the TV to warm up just to issue a final command or two.

I just realized that I also need the pronto hex code for the vga input. Any chance Bill you have that?

I just realized that I also need the pronto hex code for the vga input. Any chance Bill you have that?

PC/VGA:
0000 006D 0000 0022 00AC 00AC 0015 0040 0015 0040 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0040 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0680

I am still looking for a HEX code (ie, E9), decimal code (ie, 233), or Pronto HEX code string for the TV input. I can easily switch to TV with my Pronto (Menu->Input, etc.), but I would still like to have the discrete code. Anyone figure out this code yet?

This horizontal compression and off to the right centering happening to me in 1920X1080 @60hz

Please specify what a cheap VGA cable is? What brand and where did you buy?

Mine works just fine in all resolutions upto 1600X1200, I use mine in 1360X768 because I can't get the 1920X1080 to work

I used the cable that came with my AA VGA to Component converter that I bought 4 years ago.
As sson as the PC boots up it detects the display and lists the proper resolutions. 1920x1080P worked fine in both PCs I tried. One with a Radeon 9600 and the other a Geforce 6600GT.

The hex code I got from remotecentral for the HDMI2 input never did work so I just use the code for HDMI1 and then the code for input. The next cycle from HDMI1 is to HDMI2.

If it sees that input. My Sony 975 when it is off, the TV doesn't see that HDMI input. It works as long as the Harmony turns the DVD player on first and then changes to the HDMI input, which it seems to do. My other HDMI input always shows as something connected going through the iscanHD+

If it sees that input. My Sony 975 when it is off, the TV doesn't see that HDMI input. It works as long as the Harmony turns the DVD player on first and then changes to the HDMI input, which it seems to do. My other HDMI input always shows as something connected going through the iscanHD+It would be interesting to find out if the Samsung HDMI 2 port is failing to show a connected device that is off -- by design or part failure or bad firmware.

My single HLP HDMI and DVI ports recognize the connected device regardless.

I just received a 6768 and have slight pincushion on 4:3 material -- it drives me crazy. I used to have a 61" Sony HDTV and I tweaked the heck out of it in the service menu to get correct geometry.

Checked out Samsung's service menu, but it seems to only have horizontal and vertical position. Anybody have this problem and fix it?

Also, is anybody real picky and can tell me that they don't have any pincushion in 4:3. If so, I'll probably return for another one.

Checked out Samsung's service menu, but it seems to only have horizontal and vertical position. Anybody have this problem and fix it?There is no fix. I'm surprised you didn't notice it on any microchip display in the showrooms. It's cause be the optics, and the shorter throw for these RPTV sets.

Also, is anybody real picky and can tell me that they don't have any pincushion in 4:3. If so, I'll probably return for another one.It's very rare so far to find one with zero pincushion. I've seen one individual set in three years where I couldn't detect any at all. If I had been able to put up a test pattern I'm sure it would have been there.

There are always flat panels.

There is no fix. I'm surprised you didn't notice it on any microchip display in the showrooms. It's cause be the optics, and the shorter throw for these RPTV sets.

It's very rare so far to find one with zero pincushion. I've seen one individual set in three years where I couldn't detect any at all. If I had been able to put up a test pattern I'm sure it would have been there.

There are always flat panels.

Pincushion is hard to detect in stores because they're always showing 16:9 material. I only see it when 4:3 commercials come on and my variances between the shortest and longest point is slightly greater than 1/2".

If I display the grid in the service menu, one of the sides is right on, yet the slight pincushion is about 6" in from the edge. Not exactly a deal breaker, but I'm going to Best Buy to check out another one. Just too bad they don't have a few more adjustments to correct geometry.

I also had some tiny black spots on the screen. Turned out to be some spots on the top of the mirror (yes, I've already opened it up, cleaned off debris from the back on the screen and corrected the mirror problem.) That problem was fixed, only one left.

there is defintelty discrete code for hdmi2. i'm using it as well as Bill.

you have to search this thread for pronto hex code. not sure how you will translate that to regular hex code. I think it was E9 for hdmi2.

The hex code I got from remotecentral for the HDMI2 input never did work so I just use the code for HDMI1 and then the code for input. The next cycle from HDMI1 is to HDMI2.

actually you have to search this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=559872&page=176&pp=30

I just received a 6768 and have slight pincushion on 4:3 material -- it drives me crazy. I used to have a 61" Sony HDTV and I tweaked the heck out of it in the service menu to get correct geometry.

Checked out Samsung's service menu, but it seems to only have horizontal and vertical position. Anybody have this problem and fix it?

Also, is anybody real picky and can tell me that they don't have any pincushion in 4:3. If so, I'll probably return for another one.

So why don't you measure the pincushion and report back what it actually is on your set? For instance, in 4:3 mode measure the distance in mm from the bezel to the picture top right corner and then from the bezel to the picture mid point. I am picky, and here are the measurements on my 6168 set:

- bezel to top left corner: 133 mm
- bezel to left mid point: 135 mm
- bezel to bottom left corner: 133 mm

- bezel to top right corner: 133 mm
- bezel to right mid point: 135 mm
- bezel to bottom right corner: 133 mm

Therefore, the picture in 4:3 mode is absolutely symmetrical and perfectly centered. The pincushion distortion amounts to 2 mm difference over the entire picture height. I consider this deviation to be negligible, and it certainly does not bother me one bit. Perhaps, pincushioning is more pronounced on your larger 6768 set?

I also had some tiny black spots on the screen. Turned out to be some spots on the top of the mirror (yes, I've already opened it up, cleaned off debris from the back on the screen and corrected the mirror problem.) That problem was fixed, only one left.Your set has found a good home. :)

Aren't there any higher end dealers in your area. BB is useless for evaluating anything. In our area there are at least three chains that have DirecTV and can switch to SD/4x3 programming any time.

So why don't you measure the pincushion and report back what it actually is on your set? For instance, in 4:3 mode measure the distance in mm from the bezel to the picture top right corner and then from the bezel to the picture mid point. I am picky, and here are the measurements on my 6168 set:

- bezel to top left corner: 133 mm
- bezel to left mid point: 135 mm
- bezel to bottom left corner: 133 mm

- bezel to top right corner: 133 mm
- bezel to right mid point: 135 mm
- bezel to bottom right corner: 133 mm

Therefore, the picture in 4:3 mode is absolutely symmetrical and perfectly centered. The pincushion distortion amounts to 2 mm difference over the entire picture height. I consider this deviation to be negligible, and it certainly does not bother me one bit. Perhaps, pincushioning is more pronounced on your larger 6768 set?


2mm would be great. I have a 6768. Here's what I measured:


- bezel to top left corner: 145mm
- bezel to left mid point: 150mm
- bezel to bottom left corner: 147mm

About a 5 mm difference, or 1/4".

- bezel to top right corner: 146 mm
- bezel to right mid point: 151 mm
- bezel to bottom right corner: 149 mm

Your set has found a good home. :)

Aren't there any higher end dealers in your area. BB is useless for evaluating anything. In our area there are at least three chains that have DirecTV and can switch to SD/4x3 programming any time.

I will probably go to Best Buy because they have a 6768 in their Magnolia store about 5 minutes from my house. It's one of those things that if I put the TV in 4:3 mode and it has the same kind of pincushion, I'll live with it.

Only frustrating because with my Sony KP-61XBR300, I was able to fully modify the entire convergence and geometry in the service menu using a grid of points across the entire screen. I used a yard stick for measurement and ended up a very nice grid. Just wish the Samsung had some more adjustments for tweaking the geometry.

I don't know that I'll be able to describe what I'm seeing and it may be something that is normal, but when watching my 5668, I sometimes notice tiny bright flashes, almost like a tiny star that appears as a flash. It's not noticeable unless you are looking for it and they don't appear at a fixed location on the screen. Although this is a terrible description, does anyone know what I'm talking about and if so, is it normal?

This horizontal compression and off to the right centering happening to me in 1920X1080 @60hz

Please specify what a cheap VGA cable is? What brand and where did you buy?

Mine works just fine in all resolutions upto 1600X1200, I use mine in 1360X768 because I can't get the 1920X1080 to work

The cable I bought has no "brand" info, ferrite at both ends and was $15 for a 10' cable. (As compared to the $55 cable I returned to RAM)

2mm would be great. I have a 6167. Here's what I measured:


- bezel to top left corner: 145mm
- bezel to left mid point: 150mm
- bezel to bottom left corner: 147mm

About a 5 mm difference, or 1/4".

- bezel to top right corner: 146 mm
- bezel to right mid point: 151 mm
- bezel to bottom right corner: 149 mm
Same on my 56 with two light engines. With a test pattern it is straight at the edges and in the middle and has this pin cushion about 6" in. Mostly at the lower 1/4 of the screen.

You will also notice a dip along the top edge in the middle too. If you measure it I bet you have at least 1/8" difference between the left and right top edge too when looking at 2.35:1 images.

All of this seems to be fairly normal. My top edge was about 3/8" off. I replaced the light engine and most if not all of this was gone but the picture was bad so we put the old light engine in and had the ST tweak the DMD for about 1/2 hour until we got it within 1/8" side to side. Thats liveable to me.

Sorry if this has been addressed....DNIe Demo...left is DNIe on and right is DNIe off...when I switch back to DNIe Demo off the picture looks like the right side of the demo on the whole screen...it looks like DNIe is not working right...It looks to me to be off...Anybody else noticed this...My son noticed it...and brought it to my attention.

Just hooked up my 5668W with Sony NS975 last night, upgrading from a Toshiba 57H81 TV with Toshiba $40 DVD player and I have to say I am let down. The IQ seems significantly lower out of box, I can't seem to easily find a way to adjust the problems.

First, with DTV box, the HD channels look worse on the 5668 than on the 57H81: they are grainier and not as "sharp" looking at all. I did move from Component out on the DTV box to HDMI -- that wouldn't cause a degradation would it?

I also notice that SD channels from the same box are significantly worse looking as well than on the 57H81 -- it looks like artifacts similar to what sharpness adjustments would fix but turning sharpness down has no effect at all.

My Xbox (using component) looks much worse as well, as there is a TON of interlacing visible on the screen when objects are in motion even during the opening demo of Halo 2. I also noticed in Burnout 3 that the letters on the opening menus have horrible jaggies that were never seen on the 57H81.

The DVDs are showing a problem with dark parts of scenes, where little detail is shown, but that is probably adjustable with more DVD tweaking.

IN short: what am I doing wrong? Surely moving from a 3 year old HDTV to a 5668W should see a good IMprovement in IQ, not a degredation! Surely this is a simple user error that can be fixed? Please help!

Just hooked up my 5668W with Sony NS975 last night, upgrading from a Toshiba 57H81 TV with Toshiba $40 DVD player and I have to say I am let down. The IQ seems significantly lower out of box, I can't seem to easily find a way to adjust the problems.

First, with DTV box, the HD channels look worse on the 5668 than on the 57H81: they are grainier and not as "sharp" looking at all. I did move from Component out on the DTV box to HDMI -- that wouldn't cause a degradation would it?

I also notice that SD channels from the same box are significantly worse looking as well than on the 57H81 -- it looks like artifacts similar to what sharpness adjustments would fix but turning sharpness down has no effect at all.

My Xbox (using component) looks much worse as well, as there is a TON of interlacing visible on the screen when objects are in motion even during the opening demo of Halo 2. I also noticed in Burnout 3 that the letters on the opening menus have horrible jaggies that were never seen on the 57H81.

The DVDs are showing a problem with dark parts of scenes, where little detail is shown, but that is probably adjustable with more DVD tweaking.

IN short: what am I doing wrong? Surely moving from a 3 year old HDTV to a 5668W should see a good IMprovement in IQ, not a degredation! Surely this is a simple user error that can be fixed? Please help!

First let's work on the DVD input (HDMI?):
1. What picture mode are you in? Try setting the picture mode (MENU -> Picture -> Standard) on the TV to standard. Then set standard mode to picture defaults (at bottom of Picture menu). [LATER: Do the same for each input you are viewing to create a baseline for discussion.]
2. On the NS975V, set the output mode to 1080i (Display->Settings->Custom->Video->1920x1080i). Next, start a DVD going and then set the picture mode to Cinema1 or Cinema2 using the Picture Mode button on the remote.

Report back results ... for further instructions.

Follow Bills advice and I'm sure you will get good results.

Compaired with your PQ (picture quality) problems it's a minor nit, but what does IQ refer too if not Intelligence Quotient ? :)

Next question. How is your DVD player connected?

I went from a 57HX81 to the 6168. The picture is much sharper than my calibrated 57HX81 was. The 6168 was lacking shadow detail until I had it professionally calibrated like my 57HX81 was. It mad e a big difference in shadow detail. The colors also seem more vibrant now and they also seem to be correct, where before calibration the colors were definitely off some. I am using the Sony 975 as my main player and it produces an excellent picture since calibration. On the Sony you need to change the picture settings to manual and set the picture and brightness setting to(I don't remember exactly offhand but one is +2 or +3 and the other is -2 or -3) Without making these changes it won't pass Blacker than Black and you won't have ANY shadow detail.

I tested the component input an d it seems to be doing something different in the scaling to 1080P. It seems like, on 1080i, it is converting to 540P and then upconverting. Alot of resolution is lost. When using the HDMI input at 1080i I don't see the same thing on the picture. I don't use the component input normally, but after seeing the problems I definitely won't use the component input for 1080i. The problems were lessened when I input 720P, but again, I am using HDMI1 and 2 for all my main viewing and going through an iscanHD+ for everything except the DVD player right now. When I get my iscan VP30 I will run everything through that, including my Sony 975 and my currently unconnected OPPO.

First let's work on the DVD input (HDMI?):
1. What picture mode are you in? Try setting the picture mode (MENU -> Picture -> Standard) on the TV to standard. Then set standard mode to picture defaults (at bottom of Picture menu). [LATER: Do the same for each input you are viewing to create a baseline for discussion.]
2. On the NS975V, set the output mode to 1080i (Display->Settings->Custom->Video->1920x1080i). Next, start a DVD going and then set the picture mode to Cinema1 or Cinema2 using the Picture Mode button on the remote.


Report back results ... for further instructions.

Thanks for helping first!

1. Yes, using HDMI input 1. Was in standard, and was in default at first before browsing the DVE disc. Just reset it.
2. In the DVD options I did have the HDMI resolution set at 1920x1080i (confirmed with the info button on the TV remote). Turns out i was on Dynamic 2 which looked the worst of all the available settings: Cinema2 was MUCH improved! Thanks!

Moving to the TV and Xbox, I reset them to standard and reset them as well. The TV looks pretty bad though: I even just tried setting the DTV box to output at 480p instead of 1080i and i think it may have looked slightly better on standard def channels or HD channels showing SD content (ESPN highlights, etc). Some HD content looked good (MLS soccer on HDNet) while others were very bleh (Fox HD) but I really think the 57H81 did a better job cleaning it up; at least with current settings.

As for the Xbox: on the login to Xbox live on Halo 2, the circles that rotate on that screen have VERY jagged edges. The TV is reporting a resolution of 720x480 when on Component 1 for Xbox. Other than the jaggies on the screen (which I may be able to blame on the game itself) it looks okay.

Oh, at side note, the game lag on this TV is really bad -- made playing Halo2 on it nearly impossible. I hope we see a fix for this soon!

Follow Bills advice and I'm sure you will get good results.

Compaired with your PQ (picture quality) problems it's a minor nit, but what does IQ refer too if not Intelligence Quotient ? :)

Next question. How is your DVD player connected?
I am going to follow any advice i get here, trust me! :)

As for IQ, that stands for image quality; i work in pc gaming and stuff and that's the term we use usually instead of PQ.

Cinema1, Cinema2 and manual are the only picture modes that pass BTB on the SOny975. When my set was calibrated, the DVD player picture mode was set to manual and +2or+3 and -2or-3, I don't remember off hand which one was the brightness or picture setting but I'll check again in the morning.(I just turned my set off so I don't want to turn it on again unless I plan on having it on for a while)
All I can say is after Eliab did his work , the DVD picture is outstanding. It was a big difference from the before calibration picture.

Cinema1, Cinema2 and manual are the only picture modes that pass BTB on the SOny975. When my set was calibrated, the DVD player picture mode was set to manual and +2or+3 and -2or-3, I don't remember off hand which one was the brightness or picture setting but I'll check again in the morning.(I just turned my set off so I don't want to turn it on again unless I plan on having it on for a while)
All I can say is after Eliab did his work , the DVD picture is outstanding. It was a big difference from the before calibration picture.
excuse the innocence here, but who is eliab? store? I am guessing that he/they don't calibrate TVs etc in Cincinnati. :)

He is an an ISF(Imaging Science Foundation) certified calibrator. He does calibrations in the New Jersey area and also tours the country periodically doing calibration tours. He is partnered with David Abrams. Their website is www.avical.com if you want some info. You can also go to www.imagingscience.com to find ISF-trained dealers
with calibration equipment and where they are located in the country. The last 4 years I've only had Eliab do my calibrations so I can't speak for the other calibrators. He had excellent word of mouth and he has never disappointed me. He has always been able to get an excellent picture from my HD sets. I had him calibrate a 57" Toshiba several times(each time tweaking the set further, like lens striping etc) that I had for the last 4 years and this new Samsung 1080P DLP. The calibration was worth every penny.

Thanks for helping first!

1. Yes, using HDMI input 1. Was in standard, and was in default at first before browsing the DVE disc. Just reset it.
2. In the DVD options I did have the HDMI resolution set at 1920x1080i (confirmed with the info button on the TV remote). Turns out i was on Dynamic 2 which looked the worst of all the available settings: Cinema2 was MUCH improved! Thanks!

Moving to the TV and Xbox, I reset them to standard and reset them as well. The TV looks pretty bad though: I even just tried setting the DTV box to output at 480p instead of 1080i and i think it may have looked slightly better on standard def channels or HD channels showing SD content (ESPN highlights, etc). Some HD content looked good (MLS soccer on HDNet) while others were very bleh (Fox HD) but I really think the 57H81 did a better job cleaning it up; at least with current settings.

As for the Xbox: on the login to Xbox live on Halo 2, the circles that rotate on that screen have VERY jagged edges. The TV is reporting a resolution of 720x480 when on Component 1 for Xbox. Other than the jaggies on the screen (which I may be able to blame on the game itself) it looks okay.

Oh, at side note, the game lag on this TV is really bad -- made playing Halo2 on it nearly impossible. I hope we see a fix for this soon!

OK ... glad the DVD player is working better. Let's finish our work on it.

On the DVD player:
1. Press Picture Mode button on Sony remote until you get to Manual, then press Enter. Now you can set your PQ settings manually. First make sure they are are all set to zero by using the up or down arrow to cycle through them. Now set Picture to -2, then press ENTER. Now set brightness to either +1 or +2, to your preference, and press ENTER. [NOTE: later you can come back and fine tune BTB, but either setting will be good for now.] Press Display.
2. Test your DVD player in Cinema1, Cinema 2, and now Manual. [NOTE: don't use Standard, Dynamic 1 or Dynamic 2 anymore.]
3. Basic DVD player setup is finished. You can read your DVD player manual and try some of the other settings, like black enhancement later.

Moving on the the TV:
1. We need to remove the STB and cabling from the problem to get a baseline. So, directly connect your cable to the back of the TV on the Cable input.
2. On the TV, go into MENU and then have the TV find all of your cable channels.
3. Select TV as your input. Now I want you to select one of your better SD channels. Get it on the TV screen.
4. Push MENU, go to channel, go to FINE TUNE and fine tune the SD channel. Note how it looks.
5. Repeat the process on one of the SD channels that looked back before.

Report back results for further instructions.

The hex code I got from remotecentral for the HDMI2 input never did work so I just use the code for HDMI1 and then the code for input. The next cycle from HDMI1 is to HDMI2.

Correct code is HEX E9.

Here is your Pronto code for HDMI2:

0000 006D 0000 0022 00AC 00AB 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0041 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0680

Slacko ... you mentioned the other day that you were looking for Picture Mode Dynamic.

It has a HEX code of BD. See Pronto code below for DYNAMIC picture mode.

0000 006D 0000 0022 00AC 00AC 0016 0040 0016 0040 0016 0040 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0040 0016 0040 0016 0040 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0040 0016 0015 0016 0040 0016 0040 0016 0040 0016 0040 0016 0015 0016 0040 0016 0015 0016 0040 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0015 0016 0040 0016 0015 0016 0715

There seems to be a question about the Texas Instrument chip used in the new Samsung 1080p DLP sets....is it 960x1080 resolution (rather than a full 1920x1080 resolution)?

Check this story: http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages/cedia2005.htm

from which I quote "If you are a consumer who just spent several thousand dollars on a new 1080p DLP TV using the 960x1080 DMDs, wouldn’t you be a little upset if you discovered the Sony, JVC, Epson, and other non-DLP 1080p RPTVs have full 1920x1080 resolution at or near the price you paid?"

I was wondering if maybe I had imagined what you are describing. It's very random and I only have noticed it twice. I attributed to the source. I'll keep looking for it.

I don't know that I'll be able to describe what I'm seeing and it may be something that is normal, but when watching my 5668, I sometimes notice tiny bright flashes, almost like a tiny star that appears as a flash. It's not noticeable unless you are looking for it and they don't appear at a fixed location on the screen. Although this is a terrible description, does anyone know what I'm talking about and if so, is it normal?

I was wondering if maybe I had imagined what you are describing. It's very random and I only have noticed it twice. I attributed to the source. I'll keep looking for it.

That's funny b/c I was thinking the same thing! I definitely thought I was imagining it until I started looking for it. Of course, that was a big mistake b/c now I see it a bit more than I used to (I also had only noticed it once or twice before I started looking for it). I also thought it was source related, but I've seen it on my HD TiVo as well as with my DVD. Also, this is my second 5668 and I remember seeing the same thing with my first 5668, although I didn't think about it then b/c Samsung was sending me a new set. It seems that this may just be an issue with these sets and I just need to train myself not to notice it, which in a strange way will be easier once I know that it exists with all the 1080p sets and not just mine.

I haven' t noticed what you are talking about on my set.
But with the Sony 975 the Picture setting is -2, and the Brightness set is +2. This is what the calibrator set it on before calibrating the set. Also, make sure you have playback memory set to off. If not , the picture and brightness settings will change when you stick another disc in, and it won't pass BTB since they will be changed. This is a different setting then the one that remembers the disc location when you remove it.

First let's work on the DVD input (HDMI?):
1. What picture mode are you in? Try setting the picture mode (MENU -> Picture -> Standard) on the TV to standard. Then set standard mode to picture defaults (at bottom of Picture menu). [LATER: Do the same for each input you are viewing to create a baseline for discussion.]
2. On the NS975V, set the output mode to 1080i (Display->Settings->Custom->Video->1920x1080i). Next, start a DVD going and then set the picture mode to Cinema1 or Cinema2 using the Picture Mode button on the remote.

Report back results ... for further instructions.
UCSB: Why do you want him to go to Standard mode? That accentuates the problems. If you want the best picture out of the box, then Movie is the best mode to be in.

Some speculate because gamma may be at 0 in Movie mode and 2 in the other modes, but we have not gotten that confirmed yet.

There seems to be a question about the Texas Instrument chip used in the new Samsung 1080p DLP sets....is it 960x1080 resolution (rather than a full 1920x1080 resolution)?The "resolution" produced on a TV screen by the 960x1080 TI wobulated chips is the only kind of "resolution" available and it is 1080p. The fact that one mirror controls two pixels that make up that 1080p "resolution" is not relevant to the human brain or eye sight. There are a few twits who feel cheated by this wonder of electronic engineering. Here is Rogo's message to them. :)

Rogo On Wobulation and Other Tricks (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6168677&&#post6168677)

UCSB: Why do you want him to go to Standard mode? That accentuates the problems. If you want the best picture out of the box, then Movie is the best mode to be in.

Some speculate because gamma may be at 0 in Movie mode and 2 in the other modes, but we have not gotten that confirmed yet.

After we solve his problems, he will be able to use any picture mode. But, since I didn't know if he was going to be doing his testing in a light or dark environment, standard was the best bet. I also wanted the inputs for the TV and XBox in the same mode. Movie mode can appear a little dark and I didn't want to introduce another possible problem. The problems that he was describing were dependent on system setup and not the picture mode. I am just trying to get the basic configuration setup correctly.

I have a 5078W that at times has serious lip-sync problems. I've read enough to know that I will need to put in a delay. I'm considering a new amp with component out so I can see the amps menu. It has a maximum delay of 160ms. Is this enough? More specifically, I'm also considering using the Felston DD540 since it has the ability to do a longer delay. I figure for the price of the amplifier and it's feature set and the price of the Felston, it's a wash for me. However, if 160ms doesn't cut it, I'll opt for the longer delay. Thanx in advance.

I have a 5078W that at times has serious lip-sync problems. I've read enough to know that I will need to put in a delay. I'm considering a new amp with component out so I can see the amps menu. It has a maximum delay of 160ms. Is this enough? More specifically, I'm also considering using the Felston DD540 since it has the ability to do a longer delay. I figure for the price of the amplifier and it's feature set and the price of the Felston, it's a wash for me. However, if 160ms doesn't cut it, I'll opt for the longer delay. Thanx in advance.

160ms is good. You should need somewhere between 60ms - 120ms, with 140ms as worst case.

While messing with my video card settings, I noticed that the TV is reporting it can supoort 1920x1200@60Hz. I tried it, the TV seems to work fine and reports it is receiving 1920x1200. If the DMD chip is 960x1080, how do you suppose it's rendering 1200 lines vertically?

It's CHEATING !!! :D

While messing with my video card settings, I noticed that the TV is reporting it can supoort 1920x1200@60Hz. I tried it, the TV seems to work fine and reports it is receiving 1920x1200. If the DMD chip is 960x1080, how do you suppose it's rendering 1200 lines vertically?It's receiving 1920x1200 and then through the magic of computer science reducing that signal to 1920x1080. At that point it the input is fed to the DLP chip uses it's 960x1080 mirror to paint the first half of the screen. Then it uses the same mirrors to paint the other half of the image. It does this switching so fast you don't know it's happening. It's vastly faster than projecting a movie stored on film where a still photograph is flashed on the screen every 1/24th of a second.

I assume that you are using a VGA connection. Is that right?

Yep, VGA

It's flashing half of the screen every 1/120th of a second.

There are a few twits who feel cheated by this wonder of electronic engineering.

Yeah, and you don't hear those twits complaining that the scanned single spot in a tube-based TV is cheating. Go figure.

While messing with my video card settings, I noticed that the TV is reporting it can supoort 1920x1200@60Hz. I tried it, the TV seems to work fine and reports it is receiving 1920x1200. If the DMD chip is 960x1080, how do you suppose it's rendering 1200 lines vertically?

Obviously it is NOT. The TV is down converting your 1200 lines to 1080 (complete with all the artifacts that may occur).

yesterday I finally saw a dvd for the first time on the oppo. When the movie began there was lip sync delay. I went to adjust the delay on the oppo and hit the eject button by mistake. I had to restart the dvd all over again and I swore, the lip sync problem was gone. Weird and worrisome.

Yeah, and you don't hear those twits complaining that the scanned single spot in a tube-based TV is cheating. Go figure.

Thank you Hobbes382. Enough said.

Can someone explain to me what is going on with HD on my 6168. I just realized what the sources are that I'm seeing a problem. When I am watching a film that is in HD, if there are diagonal lines, they are very smooth. But when the source is video, like from DiscoveryHD, diagonal lines are very jagged. It doesn't look right. IS this normal with this set? What is causing it to do this and is there any way to correct it.
The set looks excellent with a film source, but is lacking when the source is video. The sources are both being broadcast at 1080i. Does everyone else see this with their sets or is something wrong with mine?

EDIT: I just looked at the football game on ESPN. I don't see any problems with that picture and diagonal lines, isn't it a video source? Maybe it is just something with DiscoveryHD. I need to check a few other channels over the next couple of days.

OK ... glad the DVD player is working better. Let's finish our work on it.

On the DVD player:
1. Press Picture Mode button on Sony remote until you get to Manual, then press Enter. Now you can set your PQ settings manually. First make sure they are are all set to zero by using the up or down arrow to cycle through them. Now set Picture to -2, then press ENTER. Now set brightness to either +1 or +2, to your preference, and press ENTER. [NOTE: later you can come back and fine tune BTB, but either setting will be good for now.] Press Display.
2. Test your DVD player in Cinema1, Cinema 2, and now Manual. [NOTE: don't use Standard, Dynamic 1 or Dynamic 2 anymore.]
3. Basic DVD player setup is finished. You can read your DVD player manual and try some of the other settings, like black enhancement later.

Moving on the the TV:
1. We need to remove the STB and cabling from the problem to get a baseline. So, directly connect your cable to the back of the TV on the Cable input.
2. On the TV, go into MENU and then have the TV find all of your cable channels.
3. Select TV as your input. Now I want you to select one of your better SD channels. Get it on the TV screen.
4. Push MENU, go to channel, go to FINE TUNE and fine tune the SD channel. Note how it looks.
5. Repeat the process on one of the SD channels that looked back before.

Report back results for further instructions.

Okay, back again! :)

On the DVD:
1. Looks great now!
2. Cinema 2 looks good but Manual is def the best now, thank you
3. What do you think about the Sharpness Off-1-2 option?

On the TV:
1. I hooked the cable up to the TV just now
2. Done.
3. Clarification: select one of the better SD channels as in PQ? And as in without the STB right? I did so and found ESPN to be a great test channel.
4. I did and -7 looked the best for me.
5. Repeat on what ? Another SD channel? Another channel that looked 'bad' before? I am confused if maybe you meant to look at a channel that looked decent with the STB in step 3 so as to then pick one that did NOT look decent here in step 5. If you just wanted me to pick another channel and do it, I picked CNN and again found that -7 was the best PQ.

It didn't look what I would call "great" but much better than before.

What now? Is there away to transfer this "fine tuning" to the STB?

Leave the sharpness off.

Okay, back again! :)

On the DVD:
1. Looks great now!
2. Cinema 2 looks good but Manual is def the best now, thank you
3. What do you think about the Sharpness Off-1-2 option?
You can experiment with Off, 1, and 2. But, get used to the picture in Off for a few days before making any adjustments.

On the TV:
1. I hooked the cable up to the TV just now
2. Done.
3. Clarification: select one of the better SD channels as in PQ? And as in without the STB right? I did so and found ESPN to be a great test channel.
4. I did and -7 looked the best for me.
5. Repeat on what ? Another SD channel? Another channel that looked 'bad' before? I am confused if maybe you meant to look at a channel that looked decent with the STB in step 3 so as to then pick one that did NOT look decent here in step 5. If you just wanted me to pick another channel and do it, I picked CNN and again found that -7 was the best PQ.

It didn't look what I would call "great" but much better than before.

What now? Is there away to transfer this "fine tuning" to the STB?

Sorry, I should have said fine tune your best SD channel. This is probably as good is as the set is going to get (there may be a few more adjustments, such as noise reduction). Then fine tune one of your worst stations. All of the remaining SD stations will fall into this range.

It sounds like the TV is outperforming the STB on SD. This is what I expected. You might want to put a splitter in front of the STB and use the TV's tuners for SD and the STB for HD (and digital SD?).

When you fine tune each station, make sure you press ENTER to store the fine tuning data. Each station can be individually tuned.

If you are still not happy with SD, then you need to decide if the signal from your cable company is good enough or if the TV is underperforming. You can often work with your cable company to improve your cable signal. On the TV side, your best test is to step back to a standard SD viewing distance like 3x TV diagonal and evaluate. If your cable company is sending you a good SD signal, the picture should look OK, even good. But, not great.

Moving on to your STB. I need to know what cable system you are on and what STB you are using.

Sorry, I should have said fine tune your best SD channel. This is probably as good is as the set is going to get (there may be a few more adjustments, such as noise reduction). Then fine tune one of your worst stations. All of the remaining SD stations will fall into this range.

It sounds like the TV is outperforming the STB on SD. This is what I expected. You might want to put a splitter in front of the STB and use the TV's tuners for SD and the STB for HD (and digital SD?).

While that makes sense technically, it doesn't seem very practical. That would mean I couldn't use the STB DVR features and the like on SD channels without have going b/w which unit was power SD all the time. I would also lose the programming guides, etc on the STB. Basically it just seems like a pain to have to switch between the TV and STB if I want to browse through channels and casual TV watching. I would have to use the Harmony to switch between HD and SD TV modes when just perusing the channels and such. Sorry for the ramble! Make any sense?


When you fine tune each station, make sure you press ENTER to store the fine tuning data. Each station can be individually tuned.

If you are still not happy with SD, then you need to decide if the signal from your cable company is good enough or if the TV is underperforming. You can often work with your cable company to improve your cable signal. On the TV side, your best test is to step back to a standard SD viewing distance like 3x TV diagonal and evaluate. If your cable company is sending you a good SD signal, the picture should look OK, even good. But, not great.

Moving on to your STB. I need to know what cable system you are on and what STB you are using.

I am using Insight Communications cable with the Motorola DCT-6412 III unit.

Again, thank you for your patience and guidance!!

While that makes sense technically, it doesn't seem very practical. That would mean I couldn't use the STB DVR features and the like on SD channels without have going b/w which unit was power SD all the time. I would also lose the programming guides, etc on the STB. Basically it just seems like a pain to have to switch between the TV and STB if I want to browse through channels and casual TV watching. I would have to use the Harmony to switch between HD and SD TV modes when just perusing the channels and such. Sorry for the ramble! Make any sense?
Yes, I am aware of everything you are saying. But, I still find it nice to be able to switch to the internal tuners if I happen to be watching CNN or something live. You might take a look at the built in TV Guide and see if it works with your cable company. Remember you also may have one more option, pickup a CableCard. It will give you higher level performance than the DVR and just use the DVR where it makes sense.

I am using Insight Communications cable with the Motorola DCT-6412 III unit.

Again, thank you for your patience and guidance!!

I am familiar with the Motorola 6412, it is the same HD DVR I am using. The SD performance of this unit is significantly less than the tuners in the Samsung.

Let's move on to the STB/DVR. The first thing you need to do is to make sure the unit is set to 1080i output. Have you done this?

Sorry ... above instructions were incomplete. First thing you need to do is to make sure that unit is set to 1080i. ALSO, I want you to test the 4:3 settings and tell me which looks best on your system: OFF, 480i, 480p.

[NOTE; You set these modes by turning on the DVR and TV. Then turn off the DVR. Go to the unit and press the MENU button on the unit (not the remote). Change settings and then press the power button.]

Please report back results.

I am familiar with the Motorola 6412, it is the same HD DVR I am using. The SD performance of this unit is significantly less than the tuners in the Samsung.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure the unit is set to 1080i output. Have you done this?
Just hooked it back up: yep, its set at a 16:9 TV with 1080i HDMI output. For the 4:3 override, its set at 480p, but i have tried, 480i and off and neither improve IQ much at all.

Is it normal for this box to take the SD ESPN channel and stretch it to full size on the TV? I thought on my old TV the channel didn't stretch all the way...?

Just hooked it back up: yep, its set at a 16:9 TV with 1080i HDMI output. For the 4:3 override, its set at 480p, but i have tried, 480i and off and neither improve IQ much at all.

Is it normal for this box to take the SD ESPN channel and stretch it to full size on the TV? I thought on my old TV the channel didn't stretch all the way...?

Adjust your picture aspect to normal (4:3 on TV). Also, 480i 4:3 override should be a little better than 480p on the DVR. Check it again ... making sure that the TV is set to 4:3 for the 480i signal.

Adjust your picture aspect to normal (4:3 on TV). Also, 480i 4:3 override should be a little better than 480p on the DVR. Check it again ... making sure that the TV is set to 4:3 for the 480i signal.

Okay, set the TV to 4:3 instead of 16:9, i am surprised this doesn't mess up the 16:9 HD channels? That leave sthe 6412 III on 16:9 / 1080i / 480i -- the image is much better -- not fantastic, but much better. I guess having the TV at 4:3 was the killer there?

So, is there nothing for the 6412 that can "fine tune" like the Samsung receiver does?

Okay, set the TV to 4:3 instead of 16:9, i am surprised this doesn't mess up the 16:9 HD channels? That leave sthe 6412 III on 16:9 / 1080i / 480i -- the image is much better -- not fantastic, but much better. I guess having the TV at 4:3 was the killer there?

So, is there nothing for the 6412 that can "fine tune" like the Samsung receiver does?

Not as far as I know. I think you now have the DVR and TV configured correctly. CableCard would be a nice option and so is internal tuning.

Now moving on to your XBox. How is your XBox connected to the TV and what resolution do you play your games in?

Not as far as I know. I think you now have the DVR and TV configured correctly. CableCard would be a nice option and so it internal tuning.

Now moving on to your XBox. How is your XBox connected to the TV and what resolution do you play your games in?

Setup is: Xbox -> COmponent switch box (for multiple gaming systems) -> Yamaha HTR-5660 Component In -> Component Monitor Out -> Samsung Component 1

I have set the Xbox settings so that I have answered yes to all three HD resolutions being capable: 480p, 720p and 1080i. Halo2 plays in 720x480 with these settings. I see lots of interlacing in the intro movie, etc and the jaggies in game are pretty bad. Going into the Xbox settings and turning 480p to off and running Halo2 again the Info button the TV shows "standard" for video type. The interlacing issue is gone. The jaggies are much less noticeable -- of course the resolution is lower so that makes sense.

My Xbox is set to video size of "widescreen" -- should the TV be on 4:3 or 16:9 here?

EDIT: I just looked at the football game on ESPN. I don't see any problems with that picture and diagonal lines, isn't it a video source? Maybe it is just something with DiscoveryHD. I need to check a few other channels over the next couple of days.

Many, many people have been having problems with DiscoveryHD over the last month or so. Even the Discovery folks have acknowledged that there is some sort of problems based on their new headquarters and theyve been doing various tests to see if they can nail down exactly what the problem is, where it's located along the delivery path, and how it can be fixed.

So it's not your TV, it's a Discovery HD problem.

Setup is: Xbox -> COmponent switch box (for multiple gaming systems) -> Yamaha HTR-5660 Component In -> Component Monitor Out -> Samsung Component 1

I have set the Xbox settings so that I have answered yes to all three HD resolutions being capable: 480p, 720p and 1080i. Halo2 plays in 720x480 with these settings. I see lots of interlacing in the intro movie, etc and the jaggies in game are pretty bad. Going into the Xbox settings and turning 480p to off and running Halo2 again the Info button the TV shows "standard" for video type. The interlacing issue is gone. The jaggies are much less noticeable -- of course the resolution is lower so that makes sense.

My Xbox is set to video size of "widescreen" -- should the TV be on 4:3 or 16:9 here?

4:3. Have you set the component 1 input label to GAME? If not, set input label to GAME and retest.

No, I'll do that now. I thought i read that decreased PQ but helped with the video lag issue?

Heading back down stairs.... ;)

GAME only supports 480i, but it is good to get a baseline since you are in 480i mode right now.

Many, many people have been having problems with DiscoveryHD over the last month or so. Even the Discovery folks have acknowledged that there is some sort of problems based on their new headquarters and theyve been doing various tests to see if they can nail down exactly what the problem is, where it's located along the delivery path, and how it can be fixed.

So it's not your TV, it's a Discovery HD problem.

Thanks! That's good to know. I was going crazy watching DiscoveryHD and seeing all the jaggies.

4:3. Have you set the component 1 input label to GAME? If not, set input label to GAME and retest.
Okay, TV is on 4:3, Xbox setup still says "widescreen". All Xbox resolution settings (480p, 720p and 1080i) are enabled. I set Comp1 to GAME but really only saw a very small change in the video lag (controller movement to screen movement) and nothing in PQ.

Okay, just realized i may have misunderstood that last instruction. I just changed 480p to NO in the Xbox with Component 1 as GAME and saw a sizeable decrease in PQ but an increase in video response. I am guessing that is what you wanted with your baseline.

Also, i noticed that I couldn't change the screen size from 16:9 in that config.

It's flashing half of the screen every 1/120th of a second.

Remember that the wobulated mirrors are twice the area of a pixel. So all the screen is always being "flashed". However, half the pixels being "flashed' are interpolations of the surrounding pixels.

Don

Okay, just realized i may have misunderstood that last instruction. I just changed 480p to NO in the Xbox with Component 1 as GAME and saw a sizeable decrease in PQ but an increase in video response. I am guessing that is what you wanted with your baseline.

Also, i noticed that I couldn't change the screen size from 16:9 in that config.

Sorry about confusion on screen mode, 16:9 is required when XBox is in widescreen. It seems to me that you have your XBox setup correctly. Perhaps some of the more active gamers on this thread can comment on whether I have missed anything. My XBox is on one of my other HT setups, but I can't see anything wrong with what you are doing.

Anyway, good luck with the DVD player and DVR.

Sorry about confusion on screen mode, 16:9 is required when XBox is in widescreen. It seems to me that you have your XBox setup correctly. Perhaps some of the more active gamers on this thread can comment on whether I have missed anything. My XBox is on one of my other HT setups, but I can't see anything wrong with what you are doing.

Anyway, good luck with the DVD player and DVR.

Well, all I know is that anything coming over component on my 6168 lags. Xbox, ps2, no difference. However, over the VGA connector, that is another story. Go VGA and all the lag is gone. AND, the PQ is rockin' (p.s. I am going VGA via my PC. When I play console games, I use the VIVO on my 7800GT.)

Some people want to watch TV as they work on their computers.I just purchased a WinTv PVR150 TV Tuner card.I have s-video fom Direct TV to puter.The audio is composite.I then have the audio going to my AV receiver from the puter and the surround is awesome.The picture is stunnig and no lag whats so ever.Can even record live tv.Want to know more just send a message.

UCSB I decided to swap the Pronto3000 for the 7000.What a nice piece of equipment.Your 3000 file is simply amazing also.

Sorry about confusion on screen mode, 16:9 is required when XBox is in widescreen. It seems to me that you have your XBox setup correctly. Perhaps some of the more active gamers on this thread can comment on whether I have missed anything. My XBox is on one of my other HT setups, but I can't see anything wrong with what you are doing.

Anyway, good luck with the DVD player and DVR.

Well, thank you very much for the help UCSB -- you have made this purchase a heck of a lot more enjoyable!

Well, all I know is that anything coming over component on my 6168 lags. Xbox, ps2, no difference. However, over the VGA connector, that is another story. Go VGA and all the lag is gone. AND, the PQ is rockin' (p.s. I am going VGA via my PC. When I play console games, I use the VIVO on my 7800GT.)

Can these game systems be played over VGA? I haven't seen adaptors for them like that...

Maybe this has already been addressed... 2 of my sources seem to "sit" a bit low on the screen. Hopefully someone can walk me through this?

1) Via my off-air antenna: the local HD channels look spectacular, however...as an example, watching football yesterday the Fox ticker/logo seems chopped off at the bottom. Is this common? It's better on some chnnels, worse on others

2) Via my standard DirecTV receiver, most of the analog channels frame a bit low on the set, exposing about 1/8" to 1/4" of lighter digital noise/blurring across the top of the screen, including a very thin white bar. It's worse on some channels, better on others.

HELP: Basically what I'm wishing is that the whole image could be shifted up by a solid half inch at the minimum. Is this an overscan/source issue that I just need to live with? Will I be able to shift the screen via the service menu? Will my install of HD tivo via HDMI, help this issue? Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

I received my 6168 a couple of weeks ago and in most cases, it's the best-looking TV i've ever owned. I'm a little concerned about my system setup and thought i'd post a query here before i determined if i needed to get my set professionally calibrated. My setup:
HDMI 1 input - DTV HD DVR (R10-250)
HDMI 2 - nothing yet (see below)
Component 1 - HTPC - AIW 9600 Radeon graphics card
Component 2 - Either PS2 or DVD player - Sony RDR-HX900.

Here are my issues:

HDMI 1- When viewing actual HD content, nothing looks better... Football is phenomal, A Sharks Tale recorded off of HBO HD was clearer than DVD.
My concern - viewing SD content can be awful at times - especially compared to when viewing the same content on another HD tv (Samsung direct-view tube)
Is this to be expected?
Also, does anyone have suggestions/recommendations as to picture settings?

Component 1 - Fabulous picture; no issues - Picture set to "Standard"

Component 2 - here's where I have some issues
right now, i have to unplug/plug a PS2 or DVD player depending upone my viewing desires.
For the PS2, I've noticed picture quality as quite dark - especially playing NFL Street2; I realize that setting the Source to Game affects the next issue:
DVD Recorder... I don't think i have this set up correctly - it could be that I need to set up the HX900 properly, but the picture quality seems off. Everything seems to be a little dark and colors seems to be muted. I've tried to play Sharks Tale and Incredibles, Spiderman 2 Superbit and felt that PQ could be improved.
One alternative could be buying a new DVD-recorder that can connect to HDMI2 but i'd like to see if I can get the PQ improved on this first.

Any suggestions, recommendations would be appreciated

Well, thank you very much for the help UCSB -- you have made this purchase a heck of a lot more enjoyable!
Once you have everything set up correctly try Movie mode if you are in a darker area (or even Movie mode and jack up the brightness if in a bright area). I think you will find another increase in picture quality over all that UCSB has helped you achieve and can make the difference between acceptable and great.

A good example of fine content was on the ABC broadcast of Pearl Harbor last night. Very good picture quality.

Maybe this has already been addressed... 2 of my sources seem to "sit" a bit low on the screen. Hopefully someone can walk me through this?

1) Via my off-air antenna: the local HD channels look spectacular, however...as an example, watching football yesterday the Fox ticker/logo seems chopped off at the bottom. Is this common? It's better on some chnnels, worse on others

2) Via my standard DirecTV receiver, most of the analog channels frame a bit low on the set, exposing about 1/8" to 1/4" of lighter digital noise/blurring across the top of the screen, including a very thin white bar. It's worse on some channels, better on others.

HELP: Basically what I'm wishing is that the whole image could be shifted up by a solid half inch at the minimum. Is this an overscan/source issue that I just need to live with? Will I be able to shift the screen via the service menu? Will my install of HD tivo via HDMI, help this issue? Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
This seems to be very prevalent. Either go into the SM and adjust the vertical position or call SS and get a ST to do it for you. You might also want to use a 2.35:1 DVD and measure the distance between top and bottom. It depends on what you want to loose.

On my 56" set I am going to loose about 1" vertical through overscan so its a preference on where you want to loose it from. In your case you have garbage at the top so certainly pushing that off the screen to expose good stuff below is a good idea.

Well, all I know is that anything coming over component on my 6168 lags. Xbox, ps2, no difference. However, over the VGA connector, that is another story. Go VGA and all the lag is gone. AND, the PQ is rockin' (p.s. I am going VGA via my PC. When I play console games, I use the VIVO on my 7800GT.)

Why would you use a VIVO connector and S-Video instead of the DVI?

Why would you use a VIVO connector and S-Video instead of the DVI?

I can only speak for the s-video.I am a contractor so I have to have a pretty good eye for details.And when I say this it blows my mind away,but quality thru the s-video on a HTPC is the same as if it was HDMI. Its the only connection i have found without paying a great deal more for a better connection I dont need.

Here are a few pics.A lil degraded in the saving

well its monday, and my tv has been flickering all day so i was happy that the tech would see the problem first hand. Then the tech called to re-schedule for tommorow.he said he was waiting on the lamp engine to come in. Hopefully by this time tommorow my set will be functioning correctly, and ill have this problem taken care of ::knocks on wood::, also waiting for my new HT audio stuff to arrive, as right now im just running off the tv speakers, although i've been tempted to migrate my pc's 5.1 setup over to the big screen. either way im getting antsy.

well its monday, and my tv has been flickering all day so i was happy that the tech would see the problem first hand. Then the tech called to re-schedule for tommorow.he said he was waiting on the lamp engine to come in. Hopefully by this time tommorow my set will be functioning correctly, and ill have this problem taken care of ::knocks on wood::, also waiting for my new HT audio stuff to arrive, as right now im just running off the tv speakers, although i've been tempted to migrate my pc's 5.1 setup over to the big screen. either way im getting antsy.
Before the ST tosses the LE in your set check the labels and see if it is a SS product. My replacement was not a SS so I decided to keep the old one (the new one had all sorts of quality problems) and had the ST just adjust the DMD position since that was my major complaint.

I did not get a chance to go over the replacement LE fully but did notice that the number on the white label at the bottom said something like HL680 - 67" but could not be certain. I have a 56" set so I suppose the 56, 61 and 67's use the same light engine?

yesterday I finally saw a dvd for the first time on the oppo. When the movie began there was lip sync delay. I went to adjust the delay on the oppo and hit the eject button by mistake. I had to restart the dvd all over again and I swore, the lip sync problem was gone. Weird and worrisome. The Oppo's A/V sync is affected if you make ANY setup menu adjustments while the DVD is playing. Stop the DVD, make your changes, then continue play.

Gary

thanks for the heads up about the LE replacement, ill take a look tommorow and see what he has

ahhh certaintly that is possible. I was thinking it might have been tv related more than the oppo. thxs.

The Oppo's A/V sync is affected if you make ANY setup menu adjustments while the DVD is playing. Stop the DVD, make your changes, then continue play.

Gary