I purchased a Sapphire X1600 HDMI video card and hooked it up to my 4095 using the latest catalyst 6.7 drivers. I set the Display Manager to 1920x1080 @60Hz and it is confirmed on both the 4095's onscreen info and in the Catalyst Display Manager. I can see the entire desktop with no overscan but there is a black border around the entire desktop around 20 pixels or so thick. This is very strange, with the Nvidia drivers I automatically got overscan but with this new HDMI card I seem to be getting underscan. Any ideas? The image is crystal clear, but I doubt I am getting 1:1 pixel mapping.

Thanks, mfogarty5.

Your frank observations and insights are very much appreciated. I, like many people here, have some reservation about SD on this set. It’s great that you were able to do a side-by-side comparison with your old CRT. That’s exactly what I needed to hear as I’ll be upgrading from my 36 inch XBR400.

Based on what I’m seeing on the Sony XBR2 thread regarding SD on it, it sounds like neither set is quite up to the task of SD – though it does seem to vary depending on the person. Though, most of the reports appear to be negative on the SD PQ on the XBR2.

I do have one question regarding how you’re watching your SD programming. Are you using one of the stretch modes or are you keeping it the normal aspect ratio and viewing it with the black columns on each side of the picture?

Once again, thanks for your observations.

Cheers.


No problem. It's important to note that my CRT did still have glare that the 4095D did not. I will take a picture of my setup soon, but we have a set of south westerly facing windows right next to the television.

As for your question about aspect ratio, I watch all content in it's native resolution so I watch SD with black/gray bars on the side. It's a personal preference. Some people really dislike having the "wasted space" of black bars and others really dislike "fat faces." I you are in the former I would recommend a plasma and if you are in the latter I would recommend an LCD.

I was thinking of getting one of these, but as I read some threads here about it, it sounded like the user needed to be fairly steeped in troubleshooting and keeping the firmware updated.

Cocteau,

I have spent some time in the video processing section of the AVS forums today and it looks like DVDO is going to announce a new processor at CEDIA next month that would work well with the 4095D.

I have spent the last few days wrestling with my purchase, but I think that I am going to keep the 4095(HD looks really good) and "reinvest" the "loss" I would have taken from returning it and put that towards an external processor. :) Now I just have to convince the wife. After 3 days with the Time Warner DVR she already gave me the green light to get the TiVo S3 when it is released!

Man this HD thing is time consuming and expensive!

Hi mfogarty:

Can you please tell me how you did this? Are you using TWC SA8300HD DVR? That's what I have from TWC (and the DVR here is only $4.95 and I have had no problems with it so I think you may want to call TWC about those audio problems).

Anyway could you please share your settings on how to pass through the native signal?

Thanks,
Jared

Hi Jared.

How about those Panthers! :) Some friends of ours actually gave us some extra tickets to the Bills game the other night.

Anyways, there are two types of SA 8300s - SARA and Passport. I have Passport and all I had to do was hit the "Settings" button on the remote, click the "A" for more settings and go to "Output Format". From there you can select 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i.

can you post some pix rotkiv, I would love to see it. does that card have Vga, please try that and let me know how that looks compared to the hdmi. thnx

Cocteau,

I have spent some time in the video processing section of the AVS forums today and it looks like DVDO is going to announce a new processor at CEDIA next month that would work well with the 4095D.

I have spent the last few days wrestling with my purchase, but I think that I am going to keep the 4095(HD looks really good) and "reinvest" the "loss" I would have taken from returning it and put that towards an external processor. :) Now I just have to convince the wife. After 3 days with the Time Warner DVR she already gave me the green light to get the TiVo S3 when it is released!

Man this HD thing is time consuming and expensive!

Why do you feel the DVDO will work? Thanks. I'm considering the same.

To all those attempting to get this set to display a HTPC via HDMI connection, according to the LNS4696 manual on page 112:
"1. Connect a 15Pin (D-Sub) Cable between the PC Output jack on the PC and the RGB input jack PC IN [PC] on the TV. 2. Connect a Audio Cable between the Audio jack on the PC and the Audio input jack PC IN [AUDIO] on the TV. You cannot connect this TV to a PC via HDMI/DVI.[U]"

I think that's pretty clear. They've design the set to only be compatible with PC's via the D-sub connection. Anything else isn't their fault, just dissappointing they didn't build it for that purpose.

what is the advantage of connecting a PC via HDMI/DVI as opposed to RGB (PC in)?

HDMI/dvi would result in a cleaner image since it would be a pure digital signal.

vga is analog and at times tend to look a bit ..soft.

Sunday Night Football on NBC in 1080i looks so much better than Monday Night Football does on ESPN HD 720p. But by far the best test to prove this TV's worth is anything on Discovery HD, especially Sunrise Earth - holy sh*t...

Yeah, there's a lot of 720p out there that's being passed off as HD.

The leap to 1080i on those football games is certainly a big leap. I love how you can make out people's faces in the crowd. Just unreal.

Sunrise Earth is a great test. It's 1080i shot on the highest quality cameras, but also importantly, it's tripod shot by a real professional guy.

The laws of good photography matter, and the guy knows lighting and has good technique.

Cocteau,

I have spent some time in the video processing section of the AVS forums today and it looks like DVDO is going to announce a new processor at CEDIA next month that would work well with the 4095D.

I have spent the last few days wrestling with my purchase, but I think that I am going to keep the 4095(HD looks really good) and "reinvest" the "loss" I would have taken from returning it and put that towards an external processor. :) Now I just have to convince the wife. After 3 days with the Time Warner DVR she already gave me the green light to get the TiVo S3 when it is released!

Man this HD thing is time consuming and expensive!

Say, please keep me posted.

What makes you think this new processor is so good? Is it getting good reviews for upgrading SD?

I'll check into the TiVo S3. Does it work with Time Warner Cable? or are you going with DTV?

Why do you feel the DVDO will work? Thanks. I'm considering the same.

Me too.

I hope The Bear can help us out here.

As far as my limited knowledge can tell, The Bear and another seasoned poster said the 4095 blocks or limits these video processors capabilities.

The Lumigen really cranks up the 1080i to 1080p, but the DVDO currently isn't so hot for SD.

All I know is I'd definately pay full price, and be sure I get a solid return policy if I'm not 100% pleased with the results.

I preordered the 4696 from ABT Electronics and my salesperson just informed me that my TV is shipping out TODAY!!

I am nowhere near as technical as many of you in regards to TVs nor will I be connecting a PC to it, but I will tell how awesome it is when I get it :)

congratulations! i've been waiting for this set for so long that i am now considering the xbr3 as well...please give us all the 411 when you get it! some pics too would be nice! :D

congratulations! i've been waiting for this set for so long that i am now considering the xbr3 as well...please give us all the 411 when you get it! some pics too would be nice! :D


I will take pictures along with the KEF 3005 in gloss black right next to them, hehe.

I was considering the XBR3 as well but I just like the looks of the Samsung better.

I preordered the 4696 from ABT Electronics and my salesperson just informed me that my TV is shipping out TODAY!!

Thanks for the heads up. I also had a preorder so I called them, they were going to hold the order due to the wall mount that I also ordered being out of stock, I told them forget the mount, send the set, he said it would ship today!

I just heard from my salesman that my pre-order LN-S4696d will "hit their dock" on August 17th.

Thanks for the heads up. I also had a preorder so I called them, they were going to hold the order due to the wall mount that I also ordered being out of stock, I told them forget the mount, send the set, he said it would ship today!

Right on! HAHAHA, i would have said the same thing..." Forget that stupid mount - I needs my TV!!!"

In Kennesaw, Ga Seen It They Had 2
They Have Arrived

Bryan

We (TVA) also received a few into our warehouse as of last friday. Both the 46" and 40". Even the 95 series just arrived today into our warehouse. We have had alot of demand for this new series vs. our other LCD lines. It took forever for SAmmy to put ANY product info on their website..I love the 92 series and eager to check out the 96 series in my stores. Anyone have the 32" I'm checking into possibly replacing my LNR3228W with the LNS3296D and would like to hear any feedback.its such a new model there is just not any reviews out there yet..

Cheers,
Cambryn

From what I've gathered, over HDMI, the screen aspect/zoom modes are limited. So if I set a cable box to pass through signals, and turned to an SD channel, the tv will not be able to zoom or wide fit/smart stretch the SD 480 signal. I would have to use s-video to smart/non-linear stretch SD channels, is that correct? This is one big advantage of the Sony's I think. They have no limits on aspect modes over any inputs so they better handle SD channels over the HDMI input so one doesn't have to go switching inputs depending on the channel.

Me too.

I hope The Bear can help us out here.

As far as my limited knowledge can tell, The Bear and another seasoned poster said the 4095 blocks or limits these video processors capabilities.

The Lumigen really cranks up the 1080i to 1080p, but the DVDO currently isn't so hot for SD.

All I know is I'd definately pay full price, and be sure I get a solid return policy if I'm not 100% pleased with the results.
The DVDO is really good with SD, and the Lumagen is very good with HD. To get a unit that does both well, you are looking at either a Realta or Gennum-based processor for quite a bit more money.

For my money, the deinterlacing (converting interlaced to progressive) is the more important functionality from a processor, so the impact of the overscan on what the processor can do is not THAT significant, IMHO. Of course, unless I can get a second 40" 1080p LCD into my "lab" that is calibrated, it's kind of hard to say how much better it can be. ;)

Later,
Bill

Quick question:

does the optical out on the 4095 support surround sound? (dolby digital and DTS)?

I'm guessing no since the sound from say a component hooked up xbox 360 or dvd player is being routed into the TV through stereo RCA plugs then out the optical to a surround sound system.

But if this is true, what is the point of having an audio optical out on the TV? why not just a stereo out or no audio out at all?

hmm... thanks all.

I apologize if this has been discussed to death in this 68-page thread, but I didn't see any confirmed info. ;)

I'm very interested in the 40" or 46" model.

I am wondering what the differences are between the 95 and 96 models. Is it solely the tuner or is there more to it than that?

Additionally, I'm a bit curious on the 1:1 mapping issues. The TV will be used with an HD digital cable box, a TiVo Series 3 when it drops (Series 2 in SD for now), and all current and next-gen consoles (360 currently, PS3, Wii, etc. when they drop). Given that the 360 lacks an HDMI output at the moment and only displays via component, I assume the lack of 1:1 matters less since it's analog anyhow. Please correct me if I'm wrong. When we get to the PS3 with its native HDMI output, what will the consequences be, if any?

Thanks for any and all info!

Quick question:

does the optical out on the 4095 support surround sound? (dolby digital and DTS)?

I'm guessing no since the sound from say a component hooked up xbox 360 or dvd player is being routed into the TV through stereo RCA plugs then out the optical to a surround sound system.

But if this is true, what is the point of having an audio optical out on the TV? why not just a stereo out or no audio out at all?

hmm... thanks all.



Yes. I have an optical cable running from the TV to my Sony ES receiver. Because you'll see programs broadcasted in 5.1 -- a lot of sporting events and some evening programming too.

I would run your xbox audio direct to your receiver --

I preordered the 4696 from ABT Electronics and my salesperson just informed me that my TV is shipping out TODAY!!

I am nowhere near as technical as many of you in regards to TVs nor will I be connecting a PC to it, but I will tell how awesome it is when I get it :)

The set will arrive plug-and-play, very easy set up.

The settings menu is easy too.

Thanks for the heads up. I also had a preorder so I called them, they were going to hold the order due to the wall mount that I also ordered being out of stock, I told them forget the mount, send the set, he said it would ship today!

The only wall mount you need is $90 Peerless one from mountsandmore.com

Peerless actually makes the mounts that Samsung sells

The DVDO is really good with SD, and the Lumagen is very good with HD. To get a unit that does both well, you are looking at either a Realta or Gennum-based processor for quite a bit more money.

For my money, the deinterlacing (converting interlaced to progressive) is the more important functionality from a processor, so the impact of the overscan on what the processor can do is not THAT significant, IMHO. Of course, unless I can get a second 40" 1080p LCD into my "lab" that is calibrated, it's kind of hard to say how much better it can be. ;)

Later,
Bill

So in your book it's more important to get all the 1080i up to 1080p, and don't worry so much about tweaking SD?

If so, I'd tend to agree, given that most of what I'm watching is HD and not SD.

So for this upcoming Christmas season, which processor should I be looking at to add to the rack? :)

Quick question:

does the optical out on the 4095 support surround sound? (dolby digital and DTS)?

I'm guessing no since the sound from say a component hooked up xbox 360 or dvd player is being routed into the TV through stereo RCA plugs then out the optical to a surround sound system.

But if this is true, what is the point of having an audio optical out on the TV? why not just a stereo out or no audio out at all?

hmm... thanks all.

In a word, no. According to what I read, the signal from the STB does not "see" DD decoding going on in the TV, so it switches to stereo PCM. So the "pass through" from the TV passes through the PCM audio. Most folks route digital audio from the source device directly to their AVRs. Yes, it's a pain because you need to switch 2 devices...

I preordered the 4696 from ABT Electronics and my salesperson just informed me that my TV is shipping out TODAY!!

I am nowhere near as technical as many of you in regards to TVs nor will I be connecting a PC to it, but I will tell how awesome it is when I get it :)

Thanks for the heads up... I called Abt this am and they will be shipping mine today. I just need to order a wall bracket. It'll come here to the office so I'll try the pc vga connection using my ATI Radeon 9800 Pro; it seems to have a 1920 by 1080, True Color (32 bit) mode and is "Interlaced" at 30 Hertz and supports 60, 75, 85, 100 and 120 Hertz. I'm not sure which mode will do what for me but I'll try it.

The only wall mount you need is $90 Peerless one from mountsandmore.com

Peerless actually makes the mounts that Samsung sells

The SF660?
http://www.mountsandmore.com/Peerless-SF660-PE0428.html

So in your book it's more important to get all the 1080i up to 1080p, and don't worry so much about tweaking SD?

If so, I'd tend to agree, given that most of what I'm watching is HD and not SD.

So for this upcoming Christmas season, which processor should I be looking at to add to the rack? :)

Cocteau,

DVDO is supposed to announce the successor to the VP30 next month at CEDIA. This new device should de-interlace SD and HD and will be the one I have my eye on.

I don't know much about this stuff, but I actually think that a video processor would benefit SD more than HD because it appears to me that the 4095D has a really hard time deinterlacing and scaling 640*480 SD all the way up 1920 x 1080 HD.

Cocteau,

DVDO is supposed to announce the successor to the VP30 next month at CEDIA. This new device should de-interlace SD and HD and will be the one I have my eye on.



Cool. :cool:

Now what's with the TiVo S3?

Are you able to stay with Time Warner and just purchase the box yourself?

Thanks

The SF660?
http://www.mountsandmore.com/Peerless-SF660-PE0428.html

Yep, that'll work.

Comes with 2 different depth hangers so you can really hug the wall or hang 1" further off the wall, depending on you wiring.

The HDMI cables allow a closer mount, but you need extra room of your using the VGA bereakouts with seperate audio.

Does anyone know if an electronic program guide (such as TV Guide On Screen) is included with the LN-S4096D or LN-S4696D? The CableCard feature on these sets doesn't seem very usable without some kind of guide program. If the CableCard feature isn't going to be used, the LN-S4095D/LN-S4695D seems like it might be a better deal.

Cool. :cool:

Now what's with the TiVo S3?

Are you able to stay with Time Warner and just purchase the box yourself?

Thanks

To get the S3 you will have to purchase the box(no one knows the price yet) and pay a monthly fee. You will also have to get Time Warner to come out and put 2 cable cards in the TiVo. That's the part I am worried about because Time Warner is implementing something called switched digital video(SDV) that breaks the spirit of CableCard. If you want more info you should check out tivocommunity.com.

I feel like one of those Apple fanboys, but my TiVo is lightyears ahead of my SA8300. I actually had Time Warner replace my SA8300 and my "new" one was beat to hell. I asked him about it and he said "it's new, but it has been bouncing around the back of my truck." No wonder they have to replace these pieces of junk all the time!!

Has compared how their 4095 looks over HDMI vs. Component? Either Cable box or DVD?

Am I having a senior moment, or did I read somewhere on this thread that the 4x95d does not accept 1080p input over hdmi?
Could that be the reason these sets do 1080p over component, something the mighty 1:1 xbr2/3 cannot achieve?

Am I having a senior moment, or did I read somewhere on this thread that the 4x95d does not accept 1080p input over hdmi?
Could that be the reason these sets do 1080p over component, something the mighty 1:1 xbr2/3 cannot achieve?


Senior moment. :) The 4X95D accepts 1080P over both component and HDMI.

My 4696 shipped from ABT today,also.The shipping company says "it will be delivered to me next Wednesday", here if San Francisco.
I'm getting very excited.

To get the S3 you will have to purchase the box(no one knows the price yet) and pay a monthly fee. You will also have to get Time Warner to come out and put 2 cable cards in the TiVo. That's the part I am worried about because Time Warner is implementing something called switched digital video(SDV) that breaks the spirit of CableCard. If you want more info you should check out tivocommunity.com.


Has compared how their 4095 looks over HDMI vs. Component? Either Cable box or DVD?

So there's a monthly charge for the TiVo, and I can be sure that Time Warner is going to charge for those cable cards. :mad:

I've only used the 4095 via HDMI, as that's the wiring I dragged through the walls.

My 4696 shipped from ABT today,also.The shipping company says "it will be delivered to me next Wednesday", here if San Francisco.
I'm getting very excited.

Why are my ears burning?

:D

OK perhaps this isn't the forum for this question, but i've been reading all 103 pages and haven't seen this asked yet...

If i have been waiting for the 469* to come out, and now i'm nearing the release of the XBR*... (million dollar question)... Which is better?

Samsung vs. Sony, which one should I buy?

It seems all the Sony has that the Samsung doesn't is an additional HDMI input. Are there things the Samsung has the Sony doesn't?

Anyone compared these? Is there are better thread for this question?

If the price difference in the XBR2/3 is $300 and the bezel for the XBR2 is $300, and i want a black tv, why shouldn't i just get the 3? Is the bezel the only difference between those two?

Are the sony's just WAY more expensive? I don't get it. HELP! I'm confused.

Posted this on the Sony thread...May help a little...

From Yesterday - pg 69 on Sony xbr/2/3 thread
"I spent a few hours with the 46 XBR/2 today - it was next to a sammy 4695 and above was a Pioneer 5070. The store had just gotten them in - hooked up when I asked for the first time. After reading through this thread - had really no expectations. (BTW - I have previously ordered a 46 JVC and its on its way to me - so really was just checking out the other 46"ers)

The feed was SAT with HD fed through component. (For all the sets - split about 20-30 times). I used the settings from this thread for setting the Sony and also set up the Samsung. Also ran a blu ray player - 1080i for the Samsung and 1080p for the Sony (only used the demo disk).

Edit: Was able to return and get 1080p on HDMI for the Samsung. However, it took several handshakes for this to work and required turning on and off the set. Also note that from a PC - was unable to get 1:1 via HDMI for 1080p , however was able to do so on the VGA input. Again this is for the Samsung NOT the SOny. Sony worked on HDMI - no handshake issues and 1:1 for PC.

My observations:

Watching crappy SD (Home & Garden) both sets were horrible. AT about 2-3 feet unwatchable, less nauseating at 7-8ft and tolerable at 10-12 ft. You would have been hard pressed to tell the difference with that particular feed. The Pioneer plasma was actually pretty good with it.

We then watched discovery - which was showing some dinosaur show. Both sets were very, very good. The differences were very subtle and you had to pick them out. With the sets in standard mode - Sony did a better job with the greens, the sammy had them neon colored. There was a significant red push with the Sammy in standard. Them moved to custom in both sets, set to warm and again both were quite similar. The Sony looked to have more natural colors - could distinguish the various shades of gray and earth tones, while the Sammy still looked a bit red pushed. Either was extremely pleasant to watch. The detail on both appeared to be the same. (BTW - DRC and DNIE sucks and I turned it off for all feeds). The whites appeared to be brighter on the Sony, while the picture appeared a tad more 3 d like on the sammy. At 2-3 ft posterization and macro blocking were apparent on both sets - neither was any better or worse. AT 7-8 ft the picutres on both were detailed and sharp and stood out against the Pioneer as being more detailed. The Pioneer looked to be a tad smoother. At 10-12 ft, detail on both LCD's became much less apparent and again the Pioneer would have been the winner had I been looking for any technology and not a LCD.

When switchng to CNN - both sets appeared to be watchable - although "crappy PQ" comes to mind - at 7-8 ft and were fine at 10-12 feet. Again any closer and the picture was simply unwatchable.

Then switched to ESPN showing a baseball game. Neither set showed any motion blur (of course it was baseball), there were some subtle differences that stood out upon close inspection. The sammy had posterization in the sky scenes - very apparent with clouds and the banding of lights from the stadium. The Sony did a better job of showing these and you could see more detail less posterization. Black was black on the Sony and mcuh more of a deep purple on the Sammy. A tad of a red/purple haze is about the only way to describe it. Nothing we could do got rid of it. When the sky pic's showed the stadium against the city lights, the sammy lost detail in the black area's and contrast became muddied. The Sony did a better job of it - however was a tad more gray looking than the Pioneer above. Sony also did a better job of showing cleaner whites, the uniforms looked slightly grayish on the sammy and were more "clean" looking on the Sony.

The differences I noted above were very, very subtle and you would have to be looking for them to see. Not something you would catch in casual viewing.

Onto blu ray...both sets were amazing and either could easily be watched from 2-3 ft with 7-8 ft being optimal.The part of the demo with the animation was simply breathtaking and drew a crowd around both sets. If high def (i am being careful here) dvd of any sort is your source - then either of these sets will please you to no end.

TO sum it up - both sucked at 2-3 feet for any type of source signal other than high def dvd. SD was equally as deficient until you moved back 10-12 feet and then it was a toss up. HD SAT was good to great at 7ft or beyond - closer was kinda like the pics we have seen ealrier in this thread.

I personally liked the styling of the Sammy over the XBR2 - and would be hard pressed to state either was much better than the other. Both can be tweaked to a point to produce a stellar PQ with the right sources. I felt the Sony did a slightly better job with black levels and contrast - but again perhaps the Sammy could be tweaked to the same level.

Now I'm awaiting my JVC and will see how it stacks up. Big difference at this point Sony takes a 1080p input, something the Sammy only does over VGA and the JVC does not do at all. Quite frankly - given that both sets are priced around the same (in fact where I was at the Sammy was more) the 1080p input issue may be the only significant differentiating factor.

Edit: As noted above was able to hget 1080p from the Samsung player to the Samsung 4695 via HDMI. Took a few handshakes. Also able to output 1080p from a PC - however had overscan and not able to achieve 1:1."

Just my .02$
Therese

Alrighty, I just got back from CC with my 360. They had the 46 inch XBR2 in the middle of two 40 inches (4095d,40xbr2). It was really hard to compare a 40 to a 46, so we (there were 3 of us) disregarded the 46 inch. So we compared the 40XBR2 and 4095D. This was all through component on the 360 with the two following games: Dead or Alive 4 and Burnout. I'd say we were about 4-5 feet away from both tvs. After that, we briefly watched the blu ray demo disc with the gears.

Anyways, we were allowed to screw with any and all settings on the tvs. After doing so, my friend wanted to try burnout to look for motion blur. Seeing as how i've never played the game, I let him go for it. He said he had to pay enormous attention to see any, but seeing as how the game uses motion blur a lot, it was hard to tell. He said he couldn't tell the difference between that on a CRT and the Samsung/Sony. All three of us(a CC employee who actually knew his stuff) all thought that the Samsung had a *SLIGHTLY* (don't rip my head off anyone) sharper picture. It was noticable, but only when you're being anal (at 4-5 feet). The image seemed cleaner.

However, I will give sony the black level crown. The blacks weren't "as black" on the Samsung.

We moved onto DOA4. The XBR2 seemed to have a slightly blurrier/fuzzier (NOT BY A LOT, PEOPLE) image than the Samsung. Both handle the motion VERY well. Not much to say other than that... said most of it concerning burnout.

Onto blu ray. The Samsung had more noise than the Sony did. They were both clear as freaking heck. I would give the edge to the Sony though. They both looked fantastic. Had I been any further away, i might've freaked out as to how good they were.

On a side note: The Samsung 56 inch DLP looked very amazing from 30 feet away! :)

All in all, I'd say if you're gonna have more 1080p stuff, go with the Sony. Else, go with the Samsung. (Through my very limited viewing of video games and blu ray which is what it'll mainly be for me.) I guess you'd have to be anal during your viewing to see any drastic differences. But when I sort of just took it easy, I'd just say the Sony handled 1080p better while the Samsung handled the 360 (720p and 480p (just testing)) better.

I will definitely be going with the Samsung though :) By all means.. I'm no "pro calibrator" or anything, but we all screwed around with the settings to try to get the best picture we could. So it may very well be a lop sided competition with the Sony crushing the Samsung or the Samsung crushing the Sony... don't know.. don't want to buy both and pay the calibrator to find out. I can only go by what my eyes see. So please, don't think I'm saying it's absolute that the Sony owns the Samsung in 1080p and the Samsung owns the Sony in 720p off the 360. These are just my observations in a limited environment :)

Spent a lot of time tonight at a CC with a 46" XBR2 side by side with a 4696. Like with all LCDs, SD from a Direct TV feed sucked as usual on both. Moving from CRT for the first time it seems like it is going to be hard to adapt. Switched to HD Discovery and both looked good with the edge to the Sony. After tweaking the Sammy, we all thought both looked identical in PQ. They look fantastic with a good signal. Blu ray with the Samsung demo was flat out incredible. I have never viewed such a detailed picture. Suprisingly it looked better on the Sammy even though they looked virtually identical for the HD feed from Direct. It was a tad sharper. My guess is that the Sony could have then been tweaked to equal the Sammy, but we did not try. From a looks standpoint, the 4696 wins hands down, IMHO. Plus the PIP was cool with that much resolution.

I plan on going in this weekend with the wife to see if the SD will work for us. At normal viewing distance it was acceptable. Up close - crappy. Again, this was not just the 4696 but any of the larger LCDs.

Samsung vs. Sony, which one should I buy?

Are the sony's just WAY more expensive? I don't get it. HELP! I'm confused.

Samsung makes the LCD panels for both companies, so the differances come down to styling and internal workings.

I had thought, months ago, that Sony might have the edge with a superior scaler and better processing of the SD signal.

However, it sounds like both lines are quite comparable.

Nice series of informative posts guys! I came to a very similar conclusion about Sony vs. Sammie for the 720p sets... the PQ on each was very, very similar. I chose based on other criteria.

One of my criteria was that the Sony took forever to switch channels while the Sammie did not (both fed from a 8300HD). What did you guys notice on the 1080p sets?

I can tell you this much about the Sony vs Samsung comparison. Sony's Tuner is much better then what I thought was already a good ATSC tuner in the Samsung. The menu is also better.

Whats actually funny is that the Quick Setup Guide is pretty well identical to the Samsung (4095d) vs (40XBR2).

Alrighty, I just got back from CC with my 360. They had the 46 inch XBR2 in the middle of two 40 inches (4095d,40xbr2). It was really hard to compare a 40 to a 46, so we (there were 3 of us) disregarded the 46 inch. So we compared the 40XBR2 and 4095D. This was all through component on the 360 with the two following games: Dead or Alive 4 and Burnout. I'd say we were about 4-5 feet away from both tvs. After that, we briefly watched the blu ray demo disc with the gears.

Anyways, we were allowed to screw with any and all settings on the tvs. After doing so, my friend wanted to try burnout to look for motion blur. Seeing as how i've never played the game, I let him go for it. He said he had to pay enormous attention to see any, but seeing as how the game uses motion blur a lot, it was hard to tell. He said he couldn't tell the difference between that on a CRT and the Samsung/Sony. All three of us(a CC employee who actually knew his stuff) all thought that the Samsung had a *SLIGHTLY* (don't rip my head off anyone) sharper picture. It was noticable, but only when you're being anal (at 4-5 feet). The image seemed cleaner.

However, I will give sony the black level crown. The blacks weren't "as black" on the Samsung.

We moved onto DOA4. The XBR2 seemed to have a slightly blurrier/fuzzier (NOT BY A LOT, PEOPLE) image than the Samsung. Both handle the motion VERY well. Not much to say other than that... said most of it concerning burnout.

Onto blu ray. The Samsung had more noise than the Sony did. They were both clear as freaking heck. I would give the edge to the Sony though. They both looked fantastic. Had I been any further away, i might've freaked out as to how good they were.

On a side note: The Samsung 56 inch DLP looked very amazing from 30 feet away! :)

All in all, I'd say if you're gonna have more 1080p stuff, go with the Sony. Else, go with the Samsung. (Through my very limited viewing of video games and blu ray which is what it'll mainly be for me.) I guess you'd have to be anal during your viewing to see any drastic differences. But when I sort of just took it easy, I'd just say the Sony handled 1080p better while the Samsung handled the 360 (720p and 480p (just testing)) better.

I will definitely be going with the Samsung though :) By all means.. I'm no "pro calibrator" or anything, but we all screwed around with the settings to try to get the best picture we could. So it may very well be a lop sided competition with the Sony crushing the Samsung or the Samsung crushing the Sony... don't know.. don't want to buy both and pay the calibrator to find out. I can only go by what my eyes see. So please, don't think I'm saying it's absolute that the Sony owns the Samsung in 1080p and the Samsung owns the Sony in 720p off the 360. These are just my observations in a limited environment :)


How big of a problem is the overscan on the Samsung with the 360?
I've been trying to decide between these two sets myself and that is my only worry right now on the Samsung.

From what I've read the Samsung does have overscan on everything and it's more noticable on games like GRAW or Oblivion.
I may be wrong but it appears that the overscan can't be adjusted from what I've read.

I like the look of the Samsung more than the Sony but I'm not sure if the overscan would be acceptable.


Brandon

... Blu ray with the Samsung demo was flat out incredible. I have never viewed such a detailed picture...The funny thing about the Samsung demo is that you have to be standing there when the "right" part of the disc is playing. My first experience with the 4095 involved some MPEG-2 movie transfer which looked OK but nothing spectacular. The second time they were showing the gear motions of a gold stopwatch and I was floored by the level of detail and three dimensionality.

Samsung makes the LCD panels for both companies, so the differances come down to styling and internal workings.

I had thought, months ago, that Sony might have the edge with a superior scaler and better processing of the SD signal.

However, it sounds like both lines are quite comparable.

Since price is also comparable it comes down to which feature one has that the other doesn’t that you want, styling and of course PQ as observed by you. I like them both but I like the XBR a little better for features and styling. I’m thinking of getting both and putting the 4096 in the game room for the kids.

I’m thinking of getting both and putting the 4096 in the game room for the kids.

Can you adopt me kldat? I want to be one of your lucky kids that can play games on a brand new 4096 Samsung! :D

The funny thing about the Samsung demo is that you have to be standing there when the "right" part of the disc is playing. My first experience with the 4095 involved some MPEG-2 movie transfer which looked OK but nothing spectacular. The second time they were showing the gear motions of a gold stopwatch and I was floored by the level of detail and three dimensionality.

The watch making was what I saw. Detail was amazing.

From what I've gathered, over HDMI, the screen aspect/zoom modes are limited. So if I set a cable box to pass through signals, and turned to an SD channel, the tv will not be able to zoom or wide fit/smart stretch the SD 480 signal. I would have to use s-video to smart/non-linear stretch SD channels, is that correct? This is one big advantage of the Sony's I think. They have no limits on aspect modes over any inputs so they better handle SD channels over the HDMI input so one doesn't have to go switching inputs depending on the channel.

Anyone?

How big of a problem is the overscan on the Samsung with the 360?


Sorry about this... but I wasn't paying attention. The three of us were looking for artifacts and what not. But does the fact that none of us said anything about it help you? :) You can ask ryu hayabusa (on the forum) about how bad overscan is. For me.. not too big of a deal. I know it is for your pc people though, so I understand. I also read about the HUD on ghost recon too... it's unfortunate but that kinda of thing doesn't bug me too much. If it meant seeing a slightly better quality picture on my 360 (with some overscan), I'd take it. Something like CRT bowing is like my weak spot... can't stand it. But hey, I have more impressions :P

Nice series of informative posts guys! I came to a very similar conclusion about Sony vs. Sammie for the 720p sets... the PQ on each was very, very similar. I chose based on other criteria.

One of my criteria was that the Sony took forever to switch channels while the Sammie did not (both fed from a 8300HD). What did you guys notice on the 1080p sets?

Okay, so I went back to CC to pick up a DVD for my mom and decided to give a good analysis on blu ray playing on the 40 inches. Why? The samsung 46 inch got the complete shaft. It was on the side and you could move back like 2 feet and it got a crapped signal. I think I said the 46 inch XBR2 was in the middle of the 40XBR2 and 4095D. Anyways... onto what I noticed.

I was able to screw around with the settings on each. When I got in the store, the Samsung had much better colors but WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more artifacting problems. Wanna know why? DNIe (is the I capitalized?). I turned the DNIe off and the difference in artifacts between the XBR2 and 95D didn't exist now. However, I'd say the XBR2 could handle brighter pictures without producing as many artifacts as the 95D. I'd say the 95D gave more accurate colors though. The watch was more "goldish" (oh yeah, I didn't tell you I was watching the blu ray gears demo thing) and the purple/red gems seemed more defined (whatever that means... don't have the words) to my eyes on the Samsung. There's that part in the scene where it's really close up on the guy's finger and they drop a tiny piece of the gear on the focused part of his finger... then they sorta jab his finger with something. Well, in my eyes, his finger had more definition... it was just how do I say it... I dunno... just say BETTER. However, the Sony could handle it brighter. I dunno what I'm really saying, it's hard to explain. I liked the look of the finger on the samsung more, but I also liked that the Sony could produce a brighter image without producing artifacts. Maybe my eyes were just trippin' because the DNIe made the picture brighter and more colorful... so when I switched it off it looked not as bright :P

So??????? I dunno. I'll still go with the Samsung and just turn DNIe off since well.. everyone does :P I was initially turned off by the crappiness that the Samsung was... but once DNIe was off, it keep the colors I wanted and got rid of the crappy artifacts. The XBR2 could handle being brighter... however, I think it came at the loss of definition. So, those were *my* observations and I do NOT want to start a fight with anyone. If someone has different experiences, that's absolutely cool and if you say the XBR2 crushed the 95D, I'll believe that that was the case in your eyes. :P

And finally, another reason I'll go with the Samsung is that it's cheaper and I do NOT find myself using more than 2 HDMI at once. OTA through coax, 360 through component, and PS3 through HDMI. Each has its own strength... so I'd say look at them and ask yourself what's better. Though, I will still stick with what I've said in the XBR2 thread... I noticed that the 46XBR2 still had this fuzzy thing going on. Maybe this is why it could be brighter without more artifacts? I don't know. Clearly it'll look crappier compared to the 40 inches at the same distance... but I dunno, just my observations.

So... if anyone else has any questions, I'll be glad to see if I can answer them. By the way, my eyes are bloody sick of looking at that old man and his stupid gears.

Hi all,

I have been reading the comments for months and I am very close to getting the LN-S4695D. All I see the difference between it and the 96 is the firewire/usb connections, and the cable card slot which I don't need since I am getting a HD/DVR from COMCAST. Don't think this justified $300 more and don't want the fan some say is with the 96 (cable slot).

I will report back on my experiences. I have a 26 inch Sammy and have nothing but good things to say about it and hope the same for the 46 inch. HOwever, my report will not include gaming or using it as a PC monitor since those are not high priorities for me. I will occasionally use it as monitor but don't need a HDMI connection.

I am seriously thinking buying through DataVision who has been on ebay awhile and has a good rating. I know this company has been mentioned before here and has anyone had any comments on them? Normally I do not, but will get the extended warranty which is at a good price unless you guys think it would be a rip off.

Tony
P.S. Although lurking have really appreciated the comments and discussion...really thoughtful even when two parties disagreed with each other.

Hi all,

I am seriously thinking buying through DataVision who has been on ebay awhile and has a good rating. I know this company has been mentioned before here and has anyone had any comments on them? Normally I do not, but will get the extended warranty which is at a good price unless you guys think it would be a rip off.

Tony
P.S. Although lurking have really appreciated the comments and discussion...really thoughtful even when two parties disagreed with each other.

Congratulations and enjoy.

As to Datavis - If you go to Samsung Website they are identified as an Authorized Samsung Internet Dealer, one of the few and one of the few that has affordable extended warranties - you'll find many will low ball you with price and then get you with inflated warranty (300% markup) and shipping (nearly double) - both are reasonble with Datavis with the best blend of all three pieces IMO.

I'm considering the LN-S5797 through them but waiting for a price drop to $7K or below first. I've researched as a result and they are genuine NY Storefront and Internet and I've viewed a lot of their feedback and while they have some negative, they post their responses and they all made sense to me but there's some of that NY tone in the feedback that I found quite humorous and I found no issues with local BBB. I spent several years as a Fraud Investigator, my first degree is in Para Legal and I'm also trained and certified in E-Commerce Security and so I pretty much know how to go behind the scenes to identify suspect dealers.

As they are Samsung authorized and there aren't very many that are it's one I'd consider. I no longer have my research on them as I did it and my PC hard drive died but considering how much I'm spending I wanted to make sure it's the real deal. As with any internet sale returns if needed can be the hassle but if in my case I'm saving $3K I'm still on the positive side of the deal as BB/Mag sells it at MSRP of $10K without tax, shipping or warranty ext. Good Luck!

My LN-S4696D just arrived in my home.

Looks great.... I'll spend the afternoon RTFM and report more later.

I bought the TV from American-TV.

Westa, the Datavis store in NYC is only eight blocks away from where I work. Their eBay store (where I'm sure you're eyeing their 57" Samsung LCD) had a 40" JVC LT-40FH97 set that I wanted to buy through my company so I wouldn't have to pay NY taxes. Their eBay people replied no, if I bought it through eBay I would have to pay local taxes (8.75%) so I went to the store. The manager said if I bought the set at the store I wouldn't have to pay taxes and I could pay the eBay price, which was several hundred less than the in-store price, and no taxes. I ended up not buying the FH97 because it doesn't accept 1080p but the manager told me his offer could still apply if I ever bought a set from them.

That's my experience as far as buying from Datavis. But since prices for their eBay items keep falling back I might come back and get me one of these 40" 4095 Samsungs when they drop below 2K. :rolleyes:

Timl2,
Can you somehow get ahold of me regarding your experience with your purchase. I also can buy from them, but have some bad experiences in the past there :confused:
Looking forward to your review :)
MacDaddie

congrats! can u post pix, please??? :D i've been considering this set for months! thanks.

My LN-S4696D just arrived in my home.

Looks great.... I'll spend the afternoon RTFM and report more later.

I bought the TV from American-TV.

I'd be very interested if you can do any 1:1 pixel mapping tests to finally confirm that this set can't do it for HDMI for PC's.

I'd be very interested if you can do any 1:1 pixel mapping tests to finally confirm that this set can't do it for HDMI for PC's.

The online manual suggests that HDMI still isn't an option for PC's with the 96 models, but it'd be lovely to be proven wrong.

I'd also really like to know whether the 4696 has a noisy, always-on fan because of the cablecard/qam feature. I think a lot of folks have said there _might_ be, but I don't think anybody has said there _is_ (or isn't).

Is 1:1 pixel mapping really that important? Samsung only promised PC support over RGB, but PC over HDMI is far superior. On my 4095 I am now using a Geforce 6800 with the latest Nvidia drivers through a DVI to HDMI connection. The VGA input is 1080p with 1:1 pixel mapping, but it can’t hold a candle to the HDMI input. The Nvidia drivers seem to be better suited to HDTV adjustment than ATI. I gave up trying to get a decent 1080p screen with ATI. I switched to the Nvidia card and it easily allows you to select a 1080p HDTV resolution with underscan adjustment that fits perfectly on the screen. ATI seems to only allow you to underscan an interlaced image but not a progressive one. OK it’s not 1:1 pixel mapping, at least not according to the test images referenced in these forums, but can anyone really tell the difference? The image is crystal clear and spectacular, superior to my Viewsonic VP191b which does do 1:1 at its native resolution. I have more fun using the PC end of this set than the HDTV due to the inconsistencies of HD broadcast material. I switch over to the PC and am immediately presented with razor sharp text and images. Quicktime 1080p trailers are spectacular with no artifacts or motion blur. My DVDs even look great. I have tried to attach a pathetic attempt at a picture with the desktop to give you a sense of what it looks like with the PC input.

My LN-S4696D just arrived in my home.

Looks great.... I'll spend the afternoon RTFM and report more later.

I bought the TV from American-TV.



A few initial impressions:

Plug and play setup went quite well.

The look of the set is very elegant. My wife agrees that the simple piano-black, no control on front and glass strip has a simple but classy look.

The onscreen menu system is easy to use and very professional looking.

I am currently using component-in from my cable box... Looks great.

I have also tried an S-Video input from an old DVD player. No surprise… it works fine.

The system comes defaulted to a "custom" picture setup that seems rather "pumped up" to me. I changed the default to Dynamic which I prefer.

DNIE can be turned on or off or you can check out a demo mode. On the show I happened to be watching when making a decision, the picture seemed to look a little better with DNIE.... You're mileage will vary.

I can not comment on 1080p one-to-one pixel mapping because I do not (currently) have a 1080p source. I'll be moving in a Media center PC in a few weeks that supports 1080p. I hope someone else can try 1080p before then.

I couldn't get the programmable remote to work with my Motorola Moxi box... This could be user-error; I'll try a few more codes.

The manual is well written in the style of stepping you through the setup items one by one. A little more description would be useful however. For example, what is the difference between Dynamic, Standard, Movie picture modes? I guess, you just try them and pick the one you like.

The remote is a good looking remote with the right choice of buttons for quick change of picture size, picture quality, and channel and menu control.

The WISELINK feature that reads pictures from a USB drive works fine… But, I don’t know how often I’ll use it. One oddity is that the default is to fill only a portion of the screen with the image. It is possible to manually zoom in on the picture, but it seems like the default should be to fill the screen.

Scaling SD Channels look good to me… But, of course if you go from a HD channel directly to an SD channel, you’ll feel yourself being robbed of pixels.

The online manual suggests that HDMI still isn't an option for PC's with the 96 models, but it'd be lovely to be proven wrong.

I'd also really like to know whether the 4696 has a noisy, always-on fan because of the cablecard/qam feature. I think a lot of folks have said there _might_ be, but I don't think anybody has said there _is_ (or isn't).


I put my head right up to the back of my LN-S4696d set... I did not hear a fan. Although, I don't have a cable card pugged in.

P.S. I did mute the sound on Lord-of-war while I was checking ;-)

Timl2 and rotkiv, huge thanks for your posts! You've been a big help.

rotkiv, did you need any special software like powerstrip to configure your GeForce 6800 or was it a simple matter of tweaking settings in the Windows control panel? I thought nobody had figured out how to output pc over hdmi to the 4095 yet.

Timl2 and rotkiv, huge thanks for your posts! You've been a big help.

rotkiv, did you need any special software like powerstrip to configure your GeForce 6800 or was it a simple matter of tweaking settings in the Windows control panel? I thought nobody had figured out how to output pc over hdmi to the 4095 yet.

If you use an ATI card you get better results messing with Powerstrip, but that's why I switched to an Nvidia card. With any Geforce card using the latest Nvidia drivers you don't have to mess with Powerstrip at all. The Nvidia control panel is very easy to use. If you only have an ATI card try to find a cheap Nvida card on Ebay. I played with an ATI Radeon 9000, 9600 and x1600 as well as an Nvidia 7800 GTX and 6800. The Nvidia's easily adapted to the Samsung while the ATI cards all presented varying degrees of difficulty ultimately requiring Powerstrip, with an unsatisfying result. It just happens that the HDTV adjustments with Nvidia are much easier. I think others have hooked their PC's up over HDMI but were frustrated with the overscan. Once you adjust the overscan (progressive not interlaced) I doubt very much that you could differentiate between this image or a 1:1 pixel map without resorting to test images. It's not that one brand card is better than the other, but that Nvidia's control panel is superior to the ATI catalyst control center when it comes to adjusting the HDTV image.

From what I've gathered, over HDMI, the screen aspect/zoom modes are limited. So if I set a cable box to pass through signals, and turned to an SD channel, the tv will not be able to zoom or wide fit/smart stretch the SD 480 signal. I would have to use s-video to smart/non-linear stretch SD channels, is that correct? This is one big advantage of the Sony's I think. They have no limits on aspect modes over any inputs so they better handle SD channels over the HDMI input so one doesn't have to go switching inputs depending on the channel.

Why would you want to play with the SD image? SD is 4:3 and when you stretch or zoom it, it will look bad. Just watch some of the awful stuff that TNT HD plays that is not HD material. This is one huge plus of an LCD like the 4095, keeping your SD at 4:3 and not having to worry about burn in. The black background blends very nicely with the black bezel. My Charter digital SD channels (especially the various HBO, Showtime and Cinemax movie channels) passing through to my SA 8300HD over HDMI look near HD quality when kept at their broadcast aspect ratio.

I am seriously thinking buying through DataVision who has been on ebay awhile and has a good rating. I know this company has been mentioned before here and has anyone had any comments on them? Normally I do not, but will get the extended warranty which is at a good price unless you guys think it would be a rip off.

Tony
P.S. Although lurking have really appreciated the comments and discussion...really thoughtful even when two parties disagreed with each other.

Tony,

I purchased my 4095D through Data Vision via eBay. The only issue I had related to them was that the billing addess for my credit card is a PO box and not my physical address. They will only ship to your Paypal confirmed address which is usually your billing address. Otherwise they were fine. I did not purchase a warranty. You can also buy directly throught their website.

UPS was a little rough with the packaging. Was anyone else's styofoam busted up pretty good? My box didn't appear to have been tampered with, it just looked like the UPS guy went offroading before the delivery.

As for your comments about the disagreement I suppose that you are referring to the quality of SD debate that Ryu and I had. The whole point of these forums is to discuss these sets. I noticed that since we had our discussion that more people spoken up about mediocre SD quality about not only the Samsung but all LCDs in general. I am now looking at an external processor to enhance SD as well as 1080i HD.

Last week I said that SD golf looked better on my CRT than the 4095D which is true, but the HD golf I have watched this weekend on the 4095D is in a league of its own. I mean WOW. :eek:

hey guys i finally saw the 4696 at Fry's and BB Magnolia today...what a beautiful set..it was showing ultraviolet on a blu-ray player and it looked damned good! this was the tv i originally wanted until i heard the xbrs were coming out so i wanted to see what the xbrs were like...aesthetically, i compared the 4696 to a 40xbr2 at fry's and the 4696 looked so much better...very classy in the piano black finish and pedestal...the xbr2 looked likea TV while the 4696 was more like a piece of sculpture...it just looks more modern design-wise...i'm also not liking the silver strip around the xbr2 floating glass...i still want to see if the xb3 is any better but i'm leaning towards the 4696 ever more now...please keep the info going for those of you lucky dogs who already have it!

thanks!

I had suggested exactly the same method as rotkiv half way through the thread. Nobody even bothered to give it a try!

Hi rotkiv, what's the final resolution shown in the diaplay panel after the underscan? A closed up picture will be much better to show how clear is the text on the screen.

I had suggested exactly the same method as rotkiv half way through the thread. Nobody even bothered to give it a try!

Hi rotkiv, what's the final resolution shown in the diaplay panel after the underscan? A closed up picture will be much better to show how clear is the text on the screen.

Your suggestion was excellent and that is why I played around with this. The final underscanned resolution for me is 1808x1008. I put up some pics on my webpage, they aren't all that great (hand held, flash, no flash, between 3 and 6 feet away) but they might give you a better idea about text.

http://webpages.charter.net/vltoth/4095/index.html

I have the 4095 and Nvidia 7800 GTX....How do I set the underscan. I have looked all over and must have missed it. I have found the HDTV settings but no overscan. I have 91.31 version of the Nvidia drivers released 23 June 2006

I have the 4095 and Nvidia 7800 GTX....How do I set the underscan. I have looked all over and must have missed it. I have found the HDTV settings but no overscan. I have 91.31 version of the Nvidia drivers released 23 June 2006

Right click on your desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel from the contextual menu. When the Nvidia control panel opens up select View, Use Classic Nvidia Control Panel. It will close up and you will have to right click on your desktop again and this time you will have to select Nvidia Display, Samsung. When the Nvidia Geforce 7800 panel opens up go to the very top and select nView Display Settings. Click on Device Settings button on the lower right of the panel, Treat Digital Display as HDTV, Select TV Format, 1080p HDTV, HDTV Overscan Compensation, on the bottom of the new panel select the Underscan option and then you can adjust the sliders for displaying the entire screen on Samsung. Make sure to select the Remember my preferences for the selected format, click OK and Apply. You should now be all set. It’s easier than it sounds, but I just wanted to make sure I included all the steps. There is probably an easy way to do it with the New Nvidia Control Panel interface but I haven’t been able to figure it out.

1:1 pixel mapping aside - I guess I'm confused as to how the 96 wouldn't show an HDMI source from a computer, but would from another device? Exactly how are they different and how would it know?

As to why this matters, some have suggested using VGA. Sorry, but that's an incredibly short sighted move if you're using a PC to deliver protected content. Within a few months Vista releases and with it comes the ability to have Cablecard devices which can restrict how content is delivered over different outputs. Buying a set that can't accept HDMI output from a PC seems bizarre.

I just ordered my 4695D through Data Vision via eBay today. They had two on sale and I nabbed one. I was originally considering the Westinghouse 47", but got the Samsung for only a couple hundred more as I was concerned about the banding and potential quality issue with the Westy. I was also eyeballing the Sony XBR2, but at nearly $1000 over the 4695D, it just did not make sense even though I do prefer it's handling of PC's better. The Samsung through Ebay from Datavision was cheaper than their already pretty cheap online price. No ETA on shipping yet, but I am having my in wall speaker wiring finished tomorrow and my custom sectional is still 3-4 weeks out anyway. I saw the 4095 on display at Best Buy this weekend and it looked pretty amazing. I could not directly compare it to the XBR2 as they did not have any in stock at this location, but at least as good as I remember it from my recent visit to a different BB and CC (CC had a crappy feed setup so it really did not look very good) a couple days before.

I helped one of my neighbors install the 4095D today and the picture was awesome. PC Richards in NYC had a great sale going on. Also, there is definitely an off setting for the Dnie in the settings menu, and I immediately switched it off. :)

1:1 pixel mapping aside - I guess I'm confused as to how the 96 wouldn't show an HDMI source from a computer, but would from another device? Exactly how are they different and how would it know?

As to why this matters, some have suggested using VGA. Sorry, but that's an incredibly short sighted move if you're using a PC to deliver protected content. Within a few months Vista releases and with it comes the ability to have Cablecard devices which can restrict how content is delivered over different outputs. Buying a set that can't accept HDMI output from a PC seems bizarre.

The 95 and 96 easily accept HDMI input from a PC. The issue is that there is overscan, but that can be easily adjusted with the Nvidia control panel. You're right HDMI input does look incredibly superior to the VGA input, which does provide actual 1:1 pixel mapping, but who cares if it looks soft and fuzzy.

Why would you want to play with the SD image? SD is 4:3 and when you stretch or zoom it, it will look bad. Just watch some of the awful stuff that TNT HD plays that is not HD material. This is one huge plus of an LCD like the 4095, keeping your SD at 4:3 and not having to worry about burn in. The black background blends very nicely with the black bezel. My Charter digital SD channels (especially the various HBO, Showtime and Cinemax movie channels) passing through to my SA 8300HD over HDMI look near HD quality when kept at their broadcast aspect ratio.

I understand what you're saying. Can you tell me if your box is upconverting the SD channels or sending them at 480i? If the box sends at 480, then does the tv remember the aspect when you surf from sd to hd channels and back? Or do you have to continually change the tv's aspect.

Now since I like to have the choice as to how to handle the SD channels does anyone have the technical answers to my origianl question?
"From what I've gathered, over HDMI, the screen aspect/zoom modes are limited. So if I set a cable box to pass through signals, and turned to an SD channel, the tv will not be able to zoom or wide fit/smart stretch the SD 480 signal. I would have to use s-video to smart/non-linear stretch SD channels, is that correct? This is one big advantage of the Sony's I think. They have no limits on aspect modes over any inputs so they better handle SD channels over the HDMI input so one doesn't have to go switching inputs depending on the channel."

Thx in advance!

Can someone with a 4095 or 4695 tell me how the PIP features in these 1080p sets work? If you have a videogame and a TV signal (assuming the set allows them to be displayed simultaneously) can you switch the audio from one screen to the next or do you have to switch them to hear the one screen that has sound? Can it be evenly split 50-50 or is one screen smaller/bigger than the other one? The Westy 1080p LCD's are pretty generous with their PIP modes, even allowing digital signals to co-exist with analog one's. How does the Samsung stack-up?

Did anyone else catch Tiger win the PGA on CBS today? I have to say that the picture from the "tower" cameras was IMPECCABLE. Holy cow -- it looked FANTASTIC. The tracking of the golf ball in the air --- there were even a few times I could see dimples on the Titleist Pro V1s and the Nike ONE golf balls!

Now, the "on course" cameras looked BAD. That's not the TV's fault, but they looked like SD at best; still in 16:9, but not nearly as clean as the "tower" cameras.

All I can say is that I was totally blown away this whole weekend. And I guess we can also hope that soon *all* the cameras will output at "full" HD.

Does anyone actually own the S4096D yet? How is it? I've seen the 4095 at Best Buy and it looks fantastic (using Blu-Ray)

Also, can anyone tell me the specific technical differences between the 4096D and the 4095D? I'm seeing a best online price of around $3200 for the 96 and about $2400 for the 95. Is there any real reason to get the 96? Thanks very much.

Hi Westa,

Thanks for the feedback and I have pulled the trigger based on your comments which I have agreed it...Sammy authorized and ebay rep.

Thanks for all the posts. I am the silent majority you discussed earlier...ones who just want a great movie/entertainment experience.

Tony,

I purchased my 4095D through Data Vision via eBay. The only issue I had related to them was that the billing addess for my credit card is a PO box and not my physical address. They will only ship to your Paypal confirmed address which is usually your billing address. Otherwise they were fine. I did not purchase a warranty. You can also buy directly throught their website.


I live in Carmel, CA and no numeric addresses I am used to CC problems. Here our addresses are such as 7 NW of Ocean Avenue (7th house on the NW side) and stores don't like that. There is no mail delivery so have P.O. Boxes (Clint was our mayor so what can I say) so I have both addresses. I talked to Data Vision and explained and he said it was OK (2 addresses with VISA). I mentioned a bunch of us from AVS are ordering so perhaps he will give us special treatment...or not. The fact you ordered and had no problem is of great value. Of course I am concerned about damage but at least insured.

I just ordered my 4695D through Data Vision via eBay today. They had two on sale and I nabbed one. .

Yepper, I nabbed the second one of five. Let's see who gets theirs first. I live in CA so I will not bet on myself.
I did see the 4695 at a CC and outstanding. Of course I didn't' look at the picture 2 inches away

Does anyone actually own the S4096D yet? How is it? I've seen the 4095 at Best Buy and it looks fantastic (using Blu-Ray)

Also, can anyone tell me the specific technical differences between the 4096D and the 4095D? I'm seeing a best online price of around $3200 for the 96 and about $2400 for the 95. Is there any real reason to get the 96? Thanks very much.
I have yet to see either of these two sets. But according to the spec sheets on Samsung's website, they seem to be almost identical (with a few exceptions).

4095D:
- Component Video Imput (480i / 480p / 720p /1080i / 1080p)


4096D:
- Component Video Imput (480i / 480p / 720p /1080i)
- Cable Card Slot
- IEEE 1394 (Firewire)
- USB 1.1

hey guys...the 5296 is now on samsung's website!

http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/LNS5296DXXAA.asp

i wonder how much this baby is gonna be! i was originally looking for a 50" plasma then switched to LCD but that topped out at 46" until now! looks like i maybe to wait a while longer to check this out...says out in september!

Right click on your desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel from the contextual menu. When the Nvidia control panel opens up select View, Use Classic Nvidia Control Panel. It will close up and you will have to right click on your desktop again and this time you will have to select Nvidia Display, Samsung. When the Nvidia Geforce 7800 panel opens up go to the very top and select nView Display Settings. Click on Device Settings button on the lower right of the panel, Treat Digital Display as HDTV, Select TV Format, 1080p HDTV, HDTV Overscan Compensation, on the bottom of the new panel select the Underscan option and then you can adjust the sliders for displaying the entire screen on Samsung. Make sure to select the Remember my preferences for the selected format, click OK and Apply. You should now be all set. It’s easier than it sounds, but I just wanted to make sure I included all the steps. There is probably an easy way to do it with the New Nvidia Control Panel interface but I haven’t been able to figure it out.

This sounds like a practical workaround for PC use; 360 users can bypass the overscan issue entirely by using VGA; but I am I correct in supposing that PS3 users will simply have to suffer cropped HUDs when connecting via HDMI?

Seems to be one of those problems you could live with, as long as you didn't know about it, since most developers seem to allow for overscan in their design. But, just knowing about it (especially considering the HUD issue) would probably drive me nuts.

Rotkiv,

Thank-you for your help. I found all the settings you described. The underscan however only works on the screen with the sliders that comes up when slecting it. Once it switches back nothing has changed, even after applying the new settings. I have rebooted TV and computer. I am using HDMI 2. Also text looks really harsh when displayed on a white or light blue background as well as some shimmering on some characters...Will that be fixed when I get the underscan to work? My brightness is turned down and my energy saver is set to medium. Also the overscan compensation setting does work as I am able to move around the screen, even in the overscan areas. Any further advice would be much appreciated

I live in Carmel, CA and no numeric addresses I am used to CC problems. Here our addresses are such as 7 NW of Ocean Avenue (7th house on the NW side) and stores don't like that. There is no mail delivery so have P.O. Boxes (Clint was our mayor so what can I say) so I have both addresses. I talked to Data Vision and explained and he said it was OK (2 addresses with VISA). I mentioned a bunch of us from AVS are ordering so perhaps he will give us special treatment...or not. The fact you ordered and had no problem is of great value. Of course I am concerned about damage but at least insured.


I am glad my experience was of value to you. I figured my CC problem would be unique, but I guess not!

Congrats on your 4659D purchase. Be sure to let us know your impressions!

Did anyone else catch Tiger win the PGA on CBS today? I have to say that the picture from the "tower" cameras was IMPECCABLE. Holy cow -- it looked FANTASTIC. The tracking of the golf ball in the air --- there were even a few times I could see dimples on the Titleist Pro V1s and the Nike ONE golf balls!

Now, the "on course" cameras looked BAD. That's not the TV's fault, but they looked like SD at best; still in 16:9, but not nearly as clean as the "tower" cameras.

All I can say is that I was totally blown away this whole weekend. And I guess we can also hope that soon *all* the cameras will output at "full" HD.

I did watch the PGA this weekend and was very impressed with the picture. SD golf is better on a CRT, but HD golf is a whole different level. You mentioned that you could see the dimples in the golf balls, well I was impressed at how I could see the texture of the bark of trees! Simply amazing. The best part of the afternoon is that there was no glare!

I wrote earlier about slight motion blur, but I am starting to agree with Bear that what I am seeing is related to MPEG 2 artifacts in the cable signal. When I got up close to the screen it appeared that the camera couldn't keep up with the ball on putts. I need to get an antenna so I can compare an OTA signal to my compressed Time Warner signal.

Have I mentioned that I can't stand the Time Warner HD DVR?!? What a piece of junk. TiVo please release the Series 3!

As a result of these imperfections, I am looking into a video processor and noise suppressor to clean up these images.

Has anyone fed 480i to their 4095D over HDMI? I have read on the video processor forums that the bandwidth for 480i is below the HDMI specification.

hey guys...the 5296 is now on samsung's website!

http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/LNS5296DXXAA.asp

i wonder how much this baby is gonna be! i was originally looking for a 50" plasma then switched to LCD but that topped out at 46" until now! looks like i maybe to wait a while longer to check this out...says out in september!


Some on line retailors have it in the six thousand dollar range. Making it close to two thousand more than the 4696D

Hi Jared.

How about those Panthers! :) Some friends of ours actually gave us some extra tickets to the Bills game the other night.

Anyways, there are two types of SA 8300s - SARA and Passport. I have Passport and all I had to do was hit the "Settings" button on the remote, click the "A" for more settings and go to "Output Format". From there you can select 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i.

Hi mfogarty! I was aware of the 2 different versions of the 8300HD (although I do not know how to tell which one I have or even why SA made 2 models :) ). Anyway, I know how to change the formats to 1080i and 720p for example, but I was wondering something a bit different. I read on one of the SA 8300HD forums that setting it to "upconvert-2" will automatically pass through 720p on 720p native channels and 1080i and 1080i native channels. This way, I would not have to keep changing the format manually. I was wondering if you could confirm this setting or tell me what "upconvert-1" and "upconvert-2" on the SA8300HD (if that is even an option on your version) really do.

Thanks for the help!

Hi mfogarty! I was aware of the 2 different versions of the 8300HD (although I do not know how to tell which one I have or even why SA made 2 models :) ). Anyway, I know how to change the formats to 1080i and 720p for example, but I was wondering something a bit different. I read on one of the SA 8300HD forums that setting it to "upconvert-2" will automatically pass through 720p on 720p native channels and 1080i and 1080i native channels. This way, I would not have to keep changing the format manually. I was wondering if you could confirm this setting or tell me what "upconvert-1" and "upconvert-2" on the SA8300HD (if that is even an option on your version) really do.

Thanks for the help!

Jeesh, you and mfogarty are turning me onto something new here.

I can upconvert Cable signals with the SA 8300HD ?

I'll check out that forum, thx.

Not so much different 8300s but the same hardware with 2 different software packages. AND to make life interesting, multiple software revs of those software sets (that have very different capabilities).

An "upconvert" setting seems to be SARA. The other package (Passport Echo) has no such setting. Folks are constantly suggesting settings without ever specifying which package and version number; if they were responding to your query, you need to bug them to tell you this info.

Hi mfogarty! I was aware of the 2 different versions of the 8300HD (although I do not know how to tell which one I have or even why SA made 2 models :) ). Anyway, I know how to change the formats to 1080i and 720p for example, but I was wondering something a bit different. I read on one of the SA 8300HD forums that setting it to "upconvert-2" will automatically pass through 720p on 720p native channels and 1080i and 1080i native channels. This way, I would not have to keep changing the format manually. I was wondering if you could confirm this setting or tell me what "upconvert-1" and "upconvert-2" on the SA8300HD (if that is even an option on your version) really do.

Thanks for the help!

I agree with Riverside guy in that it seems you have the SARA operating system. You can register at the Scientific Atlanta website and download the setup guide which will tell you how to setup the different resolutions. Using the instructions I gave earlier, I selected 480i, 720p and 1080i so that the Passport version of the SA 8300 passes the native resolution to the 4095D. The DirectTivo is the only device I have heard of where you have to manually select the resolution. If you look closely at the display above the clock on the front of your SA 8300 you will see it change automatically from 720p to 1080i when you change the channel from ABC HD to CBS HD.

Cocteau,

You can set the SA 8300 to upconvert everything to 1080i, but it's "upconverting" is woeful which is why I am looking into a video processor.

FYI, the DVDO VP50 was announced a few days ago. You should go to the video processor forum and check it out. Even Westa "CSI"Miami" was over there today.

If you look closely at the display above the clock on the front of your SA 8300 you will see it change automatically from 720p to 1080i when you change the channel from ABC HD to CBS HD.

Unfortunately, my 8300 does not automatically change to any resolution. It automatically sticks at the resolution I set it to (I guess that's why they make it one of the quick settings on my 8300 version - I got my box 3 days before TW took over crummy Adelphia so it is no wonder I would get a bad software version).
--------------------------------------------
Anyway, I got the 4695D at CC (for the story, not that interesting, but just one of those where yuo see ignorant salesmen and customers, PM me).

IMPRESSIONS
The 4695D looked great on display when it was just connected by component. When we got the 46 incher home, I connected it to the 8300HD by HDMI. I think it was one of the worst things I had ever seen, and it was on Discovery HD too. The NFL Monday Night game was worse. The field was full of artifacts and the score display was virtually unreadable it was so fuzzy. I then connected it via component because I remembered the firmware update that ruined the HDMI on some 8300s (I was hoping it didn't affect me when I first connected it). The picture was no better over component, about the same I would say. I soon remembered the calibration...DNIe off, energy saver, contrast ratio, brightness, warm1 or 2, all according to the Bear's recommendations. WOW!!! I didn’t know that at TV could do that (I am indebted to you, Bill). The NFL game then looked like a video game hightlight reel when Cowboys' Bledsoe and Glenn seemed to come out of the TV in almost 3D when they were celebrating their touchdown.

Discovery HD was even better. The animal shows and Sunrise Earth are some of the greatest assets to the TV. INHD1 and 2 at 1080i are also very good. 720p channels are very good, but still not as good as the 1080i channels. I am going to hook it back up by HDMI soon with the new settings and see if it is even better (although I don't know if it even could possibly). SD channels are tolerable from 5 feet in my opinion and look decent from 8 feet. Beyond that it is just like a CRT (That is except for TNT which is the worst feed I have ever seen.)

As for glare, I noticed a very minor amount when I first turned on the set. After 10 secs, though, all of it went away. I even shined a flashlight on it and I saw no change in the picture.

The viewing angle is better than I imagined, as most of you probably have seen with the 40" model. I just thought that I should put it out there that the 46" is no different.

I haven't had time to work with DVDs but I will post my impressions on them when I get some more component cables to connect it to my TV.

As for aesthetics, I have never seen something that looked like it just belonged to my living room. The piano black is gorgeous.

If you have any questions, please ask and I will try and answer them. However, I will not have this set hooked up to a PC so I will not be able to field any 1:1 pixel mapping questions.

So as for now, the best advice I can give is to follow the advice of others, like Bear's. Calibrate your set according to his suggestions and you will not be unhappy.

BTW, Here are some pics if you so care (Sorry, I've got a bad camera):
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3247222
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3247219
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3247213
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3247208

OK lionelhuts, I'll bite. What's the story with the CC salesman (PM it to me)? Also, any chance for some pictures of the set in action with actual content/images (and a better camera while you're at it ;))? And boy does the 4695 fit snuggly into your cabinet! Was that a cabinet custom-made for the dimensions of another 46" set or did you just luck out? It looks freaking gorgeous! :o

I have yet to see either of these two sets. But according to the spec sheets on Samsung's website, they seem to be almost identical (with a few exceptions).

4095D:
- Component Video Imput (480i / 480p / 720p /1080i / 1080p)


4096D:
- Component Video Imput (480i / 480p / 720p /1080i)
- Cable Card Slot
- IEEE 1394 (Firewire)
- USB 1.1

what is good about Cable Card Slot, IEEE 1394 and USB?

thanks,

okay im new at this but!!!! what in the hell is pq!! i need t.v 101 take me to shcool any one thanks.
i just order my new 4695 from
1call,com i got a great deal for this set $3099.00 and a free monster lineconditinor the 3500mk

Welcome to AVS forum beaner... from LA (couldn't think of a more un-PC nickname, uhh? :eek: ). After you hang around for a while you'll pick up some of the terms that are liberally tossed around here. 'PQ' means 'Picture Quality,' the other one I'm not sure of!

[QUOTE=lionelhuts]Unfortunately, my 8300 does not automatically change to any resolution. It automatically sticks at the resolution I set it to (I guess that's why they make it one of the quick settings on my 8300 version - I got my box 3 days before TW took over crummy Adelphia so it is no wonder I would get a bad software version).
--------------------------------------------
Anyway, I got the 4695D at CC (for the story, not that interesting, but just one of those where yuo see ignorant salesmen and customers, PM me).

IMPRESSIONS
The 4695D looked great on display when it was just connected by component. When we got the 46 incher home, I connected it to the 8300HD by HDMI. )



lionelhuts
Try setting the 8300hd to accept both 720 and 1080 and let it give you the one that is broadcast. Also try forcing a boot and it might give you the latest firmware upgrade. Just hold the power button in till it reboots.

Roy

im a mexican american!!!!USA1 i love my country but there is nothing wrong with knowing your back around!!!like being a beaner :)
havent you ever heard of carlos mencia that beaner is funny.

I got my 4696 today and all I can say for the digitaly channels is... Amazing... I get the cable card tomorrow morning sometime but this set is incredible. I hooked it up to the laptop and the resolution via vga is awesome as well. Sorry I can't be more technical but it'll take me about a week before I'll be able to post some useful info since I'm digesting the set now. Seems like I'll only be watching the HD and digital channels... all others seem like a horrible waste of time.

Jerz

Also: the ability to play music or slideshows via a thumbdrive is awesome! I tried hooking up an external HD but since they are formatted to NTFS they don't work. I'll reformat at least one in the next few days and copy some pics and tunes so I can test the features. The ability to view pics and listen to music without a pc is very enticing.

congrats! can we see some pix??? :D

Hey Roy:

I figured it out. In my 8300 software version (SARA I believe) I hit settings twice and then went to "picture format." There were the 4 options as follows:

"Fixed" - Change the Format Resolution manually for each channel. This is the default setting.

"Upconvert-1" - All HD channels seem to be output by the 8300 at 720p and all SD channels are output in 480i for the most part.

"Upconvert-2" - The HD channels seem to stick at outputting 1080i and the SD channels 480i.

*note: I think that the above info is correct, but I may have confused upconvert-1 with upconvert-2 and vice versa. Either way, though, you get the functions the settings perform.

"Pass-through" - The DVR box passes through the native signal of the channel to the TV and does not convert anything.

Hopefully, this will explain a bit about the 8300 to some as I know a lot of people on this forum have them and the only manuals are through signing up for the SA explorer club (Plus, those manuals don't describe all features and settings of the 8300 in detail like they should).

It was so refreshing finding the "pass-through" option so I would not keep having to switch to 720p manually for ABC, for example, and then switch to 1080i for CBS, for instance. More so, I no longer have to manually switch back to 480i and 480p for SD/ED channels.

The only thing about this though, is that is stretches the 4:3 SD channels to 16:9 format automatically. I like the stretch anyway, so that is not a problem for me. However, I know many would like to take advantage of leaving the black bars seeing as how these TVs are not susceptible to burn in like plasmas.

Hope this helps,
Jared

Let me first say that I am technically challenged when it comes to TVs, however, I did get a chance to see these two sets side-by-side at CC today. Very simply, the Samsung looked a bit sharper in some scenes, but in fast motion shots, the Samsumg pixelized quite a bit, while the Sony stayed fairly clear. Moreover, while the Samsung appeared to show more detail, there also appeared to be a lot more noise in the picture than the Sony. The salesman said that all sets were being fed by the same source. Was I seeing a true comparison? What might explain what I saw?

Hi darita. I'm not sure as how to account for the motion blur in the Samsung that you said you witnessed, but perhaps some tweaking of the menu settings of the Sammy will get rid of that picture noise. Until I calibrated my set, the 4695D displayed a lot of fuzziness and had horrible pixelation problems. After I did so, however, such problems were gone.

The only thing about this though, is that is stretches the 4:3 SD channels to 16:9 format automatically. I like the stretch anyway, so that is not a problem for me. However, I know many would like to take advantage of leaving the black bars seeing as how these TVs are not susceptible to burn in like plasmas.

Hope this helps,
Jared

While I would never, ever watch anything in stretch mode, I DO use it as a kind of trick. Different STB software, but I set the STB to do SD in stretch. Then I set the TV is do 4:3 on SD channels. What this modes is get rid of the gray side pillars and make them black. 95% of my watching is at night in a dark room, my bezel is piano black so a 4:3 SD picture stands by itself without making it so obvious I've got screen real estate going unused. The side pillars and the TV bezel fade into the overall blackness.

forgive a question that has probably been asked and answered:

on the 4695D/96D, can DNIE be turned OFF?

forgive a question that has probably been asked and answered:

on the 4695D/96D, can DNIE be turned OFF?

Just bot 4695D. Yes DNIe can be turned off.

Cocteau,

You can set the SA 8300 to upconvert everything to 1080i, but it's "upconverting" is woeful which is why I am looking into a video processor.

FYI, the DVDO VP50 was announced a few days ago. You should go to the video processor forum and check it out. Even Westa "CSI"Miami" was over there today.

Will the TiVo 3 do a better job?

LOL, I've seen you and Westa on that forum, but I have nothing intelligent to add so I've just been reading.

Sounds to me like a boat load of VP30s are about to flood eBay. :eek:

That might present an opportunity for a dude like me, since there isn't going to be a VP40. So the important matters for me are:

Does the VP30 do a decent job repairing SD ?

Does the VP30 outperform the 4095's internal 1080i -> 1080p ?

Also, what's up with 1:1 mapping? I thought we put that to bed here. I connect via HDMI on everything. Am I at 1:1? Will the VP30 be optimized for my set?

I dare not mention this on the VP50 forum, as I'm kinda rooting around, as it were.

Just bot 4695D. Yes DNIe can be turned off.

Thanks

one more :

what kind of audio outputs are available (if I don't want to use onboard speakers)?

Hi darita. I'm not sure as how to account for the motion blur in the Samsung that you said you witnessed, but perhaps some tweaking of the menu settings of the Sammy will get rid of that picture noise. Until I calibrated my set, the 4695D displayed a lot of fuzziness and had horrible pixelation problems. After I did so, however, such problems were gone.

Just bot 4695 no fuzziness or pixelation problems. I use clean electric surge
protection. Maybe that is helping. The set is fantastic. Picture twice a good
as my 1080i.

Well, got my 4696 set up yesterday and have it hooked up to a Samsung HD960 DVD player. I have the TV set to Warm2 and have all the settings on the DVD player set to 1 (which should apply the filters at the lowest level since there is no 0).

I know Bear5k and Ryu Hyabusa said to have brightness set between 24-31 which I have for the Dynamic Mode. However, after calibrating with DVDs (AVIA and the THX Optimizer on several Disney discs), I've found that my brightness needs to be around 45 and this is with the Energy saving on OFF!.

I still need to play around as I don't have my HD satellite or Xbox 360 hooked up yet but just DVD viewing has been FANTASTIC. Monsters Inc and The Incredibles looks amazing. Ultraviolet (crappy movie) looked great as well. I tried the Lord of the Rings series and found some of the coloring of the skin to be too green or pale but then again, those movies were muted.

In any case, I'll post pictures after I have everything completely set up and all wires managed. On another note, I don't hear any fan on the TV and will not be using a Cablecard so I am happy. Also, on the 4696, there is a glass bezel underneath the TV where as on the 95 series, it is metal. I like the glass better :)

Thanks

one more :

what kind of audio outputs are available (if I don't want to use onboard speakers)?

I have to do a few more posts before I can post a URL. However,
go to Sam Sung site, list model, then on the right side middle there
is manuals. Click and dowload manual instantly. You can save it as well..

http://www.samsung.com/support/productsupport/download/Model_Select2.aspx?type=TV&subtype=LCD+TV&model=LN%2DS4696D&fileType=UM&LSSI=%2Finclude%2FSSI%2Fus%5Fleft%2FLMenu%5FTV%5FLCDTV%2Esec&RSSI=%2Finclude%2FSSI%2Fus%5Fright%2FRMenu%5FTV%2Esec

link for manual for 4696D

Also, on the 4696, there is a glass bezel underneath the TV where as on the 95 series, it is metal. I like the glass better :)

Show off. ;p

hey guys...the 5296 is now on samsung's website!

http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/LNS5296DXXAA.asp

i wonder how much this baby is gonna be! i was originally looking for a 50" plasma then switched to LCD but that topped out at 46" until now! looks like i maybe to wait a while longer to check this out...says out in september!
Check out the real price at datavis an authorized Samsung Dealer.

For more entertainment I just came across this Samsung announcement and forgive me if I'm repeating but didn't see it posted. Samsung will bring big screen 70" LCD with 120hz with this baby next year. :)

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6364378.html
http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/images/l_060821.jpg

EDIT: Psssst . . . Lets test how many Sony LCD Folks are in here - I saw that new Sony with the switchable bezel and it was in it's all silver mode at CC and I regret that in person that was one of the ugliest LCD's I've ever seen - had a retro look to me that wasn't a good one to me anyways - the Samsung panel looked awesome with it's black and being fed Blu-Ray - it and the new 57" Mits DLP were about the best panels in the store but to my eyes the Samsung the best but OMG who thought of that Sony look? Sorry but I thought it had to be one of the ugliest looking LCD's that it detracted from the panel itself - I own a Sony that is great in my kitchen so I'm not anti-Sony I'm anti-ugly panel bezel. ;)

Well the Adelphia guy just left and he *thinks* that BOTH cable cards he tried in the 4696 are bad. He put it in and the tv would shut itself off and when he turned it back on it would hang on "updating firmware" so I'm not sure what the deal was/is. He tried to push a box on me but I told him no... I want them to get the card working....

Jerz

Well the Adelphia guy just left and he *thinks* that BOTH cable cards he tried in the 4696 are bad. He put it in and the tv would shut itself off and when he turned it back on it would hang on "updating firmware" so I'm not sure what the deal was/is. He tried to push a box on me but I told him no... I want them to get the card working....

Jerz

Samsung will send someone, or just return the thing if you can easily.

The 46xx series was delayed due to issues with the card and the card only.

Sorry to hear about your difficulty.

Has anyone that has gotten the 96 series tested the hdmi 1:1 pixel mapping? I dont expect it to be much different then the 95 series.. but would be nice to just check and confim. Thanks!

46" XBR2 [EDIT] Samsung 46 [EDIT] Which begs the question: if they were the same price which would you want (and why)?

I saw a post in reference to someone going to bb or cc and seeing the xbr and sammy on the same feed but the sammy had a lot more pixelation. One simple answer... I'll gurantee you the problem is in the coax cable going to the sammy. I had pixelation problems but my signal strength was only 1 bar and the other channel with no pixelation was at 4 bars... since the adelphia guy fixed a few ends on my cables I now have full bars on every channel with absolutely no pixelation.

(just wish that cable card was working)

Jerz.

Edit: The SD channels look good too... at least a lot better than the projection screen that the 4696 is replacing... i'll post pics soon but just got out of the office aobut an hour ago so I'm still playing.

Also... I will not be adjusting any of the factory settings (they look fine to me) at least until I get the pics posted.

Samsung will send someone, or just return the thing if you can easily.

The 46xx series was delayed due to issues with the card and the card only.

Sorry to hear about your difficulty.

So you *think* it's the tv? Well, maybe but this guy from adelphia was trying to tell me that I wan't getting HD over coax... unfortunately he was way wrong.... I just don't think he had any experience with the cable card. I don't think he understood that it was only supposed to descramble the scrambled channels...

HD Discovery Theatre is JAW DROPPING...

Jerz

Let me first say that I am technically challenged when it comes to TVs, however, I did get a chance to see these two sets side-by-side at CC today. Very simply, the Samsung looked a bit sharper in some scenes, but in fast motion shots, the Samsumg pixelized quite a bit, while the Sony stayed fairly clear. Moreover, while the Samsung appeared to show more detail, there also appeared to be a lot more noise in the picture than the Sony. The salesman said that all sets were being fed by the same source. Was I seeing a true comparison? What might explain what I saw?

A bad cable might explain what you saw... if you could give me something to look at further I'd be glad to but... as far as I can tell there is not the slightest hint of motion blur and absolutely NO PIXELATION.

Jerz

Let me first say that I am technically challenged when it comes to TVs, however, I did get a chance to see these two sets side-by-side at CC today. Very simply, the Samsung looked a bit sharper in some scenes, but in fast motion shots, the Samsumg pixelized quite a bit, while the Sony stayed fairly clear. Moreover, while the Samsung appeared to show more detail, there also appeared to be a lot more noise in the picture than the Sony. The salesman said that all sets were being fed by the same source. Was I seeing a true comparison? What might explain what I saw?


I went to a CC in San Diego today to get a look at the 4695D. I noticed the exact same things (pixelization and blur). The Sammy was hooked up to a BluRay, showing the movie "Stealth." I realize that there may be some fine tuning issues, but the picture didn't look any better than SD on my current TV. I was very disappointed, considering that I've been waiting for this set for several months. Across from the 4695D was the 40" version of the XBR2. It was being fed a 1080p signal from a "black box" source that Sony sent along with the display models. (I couldn't determine if it was hooked up through the HDMI, or if it was something internal.) Essentially, it was random clips of ocean, fields, boats, etc. on a continuous 5 minute loop. The picture was stunning. However, even allowing for the difference in input signal, there was no comparison between the two. I guess I either fork out the extra 1K for the Sony, or wait for the Sharp.

I went to a CC in San Diego today to get a look at the 4695D. I noticed the exact same things (pixelization and blur). The Sammy was hooked up to a BluRay, showing the movie "Stealth." I realize that there may be some fine tuning issues, but the picture didn't look any better than SD on my current TV.

Please post some pics and I'll do the same.

Jerz

Hmmm...I wonder if using the Sapphire X1600Pro with HDMI out will fix the overscanning issue.

My understanding is that these sets are the same with the exception of the 4696 is geared for cable and 4695 for satellite.

Is the PQ the same on these two?

My understanding is that these sets are the same with the exception of the 4696 is geared for cable and 4695 for satellite.

Only in the sense that the 4696 has a cable card, which is cable-only technology. I don't think a 4696 hooked-up to a satellite would look much worse or better than with a 4695.

Is the PQ the same on these two?

Yes except that, depending on what spec sheet you read, the 4696 has either a 6,000:1 contrast ratio (same as the 4695) or a 7,000:1 contrast ratio.

Only in the sense that the 4696 has a cable card, which is cable-only technology. I don't think a 4696 hooked-up to a satellite would look much worse or better than with a 4695.



Yes except that, depending on what spec sheet you read, the 4696 has either a 6,000:1 contrast ratio (same as the 4695) or a 7,000:1 contrast ratio.


I saw that in CC and was awed. It looked twice as good as all the 50 in. Plasmas when they were showing SD.

Can I assume that the 4695 will look as good as the 4692 did, particularly in Standard Def.

Thanks for your input.


By the way, I just mean why would you spend the extra money on the 4696 if you didn't have cable?

I went to a CC in San Diego today to get a look at the 4695D. I noticed the exact same things (pixelization and blur). The Sammy was hooked up to a BluRay, showing the movie "Stealth." I realize that there may be some fine tuning issues, but the picture didn't look any better than SD on my current TV. I was very disappointed, considering that I've been waiting for this set for several months. Across from the 4695D was the 40" version of the XBR2. It was being fed a 1080p signal from a "black box" source that Sony sent along with the display models. (I couldn't determine if it was hooked up through the HDMI, or if it was something internal.) Essentially, it was random clips of ocean, fields, boats, etc. on a continuous 5 minute loop. The picture was stunning. However, even allowing for the difference in input signal, there was no comparison between the two. I guess I either fork out the extra 1K for the Sony, or wait for the Sharp.

Ain't BluRay lovely. ;) It looks like that on all displays. Before deciding between displays make sure you view the same source and play with the settings.

I saw that in CC and was awed. It looked twice as good as all the 50 in. Plasmas when they were showing SD.

Can I assume that the 4695 will look as good as the 4692 did, particularly in Standard Def.

Thanks for your input.


By the way, I just mean why would you spend the extra money on the 4696 if you didn't have cable?


The difference between the 4695 and 4696 may not justify the price difference for everyone, but for some the following differences may matter:

The 4696 has

--- Cable card slot
--- USB port
--- Firewire port
--- better appearance with glass strip on bottom (IMHO)

For me, i bought the 4696 for the USB port and the Glass Strip.

For me, i bought the 4696 for the USB port and the Glass Strip.

Me too... I like the ability to plug in my Iomega 120GB USB hard drive directly into the tv to play some music or watch a slide show of the pictures. Not using a pc imho is a nice feature. I haven't tried hooking up my digital video camera yet via the fire wire but that'll be nice as well.

Jerz

Right. It's all personal preference. Both the glass and metal look nice to me, so it was not worth waiting for the glass one - plus, I didn't want to risk breaking it. Also, I don't really have a need for the extra ports or cablecard, so waiting a longer time to pay more for something I will not use did not make sense.

BTW Jerz or Vo-Man, - can one of you possibly please confirm that the 4696D has a 6000:1 or 7000:1 contrast ratio?

Thanks,
Jared

Does anyone know how good the Monster surge protectors with cable filtering are? A guy at CC tried to sell us one for $90 when we bought the TV. We held off for a bit at the time of sale. Do they really improve picture quality? Also, if they do help with quality, are Monster ones a waste of money since they are so expensive - kind of like how the cable quality at monoprice is equal to monster but cost a lot less?

Thanks,
Jared

For me, i bought the 4696 for the USB port and the Glass Strip.
The 4x95 has a USB port which can be retasked in the service menu.

boy i sure wish ANY store in Chicago had either of these sets (4696 or 4695). I don't know why the second largest city in the country wouldn't have any stores with these sets, but the onese around me don't. Pretty much all i've seen is the 4095, they didn't even have the XBR2 up.

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on the XBR3 but i sure would like to see if the 4696 fits the bill.

any ideas?

Chicago? Abt Electronics? (http://www.**************.com/custserv/abtHours.php3)


Definitely check out ABT. That is where i bought mine and they gave me what I think is a fantastic price.

Bear5k Can you please elaborate more on the 4095 USB port retasking please?
I have been following this thread for a few weeks now.. and had almost landed on 4095 but just held back because of the USB port and also 1:1 on HDMI from PC.

if atleast the USB port is satisfied with 4095 I think it makes a great value deal.
on the 1:1 HDMI from PC, I know XBR2 does it but, what is it that I am really missing ... anybody.
Because, the way I see it, If I am watching a 1080p stuff from PC... but for that I would use my DVD player/ Xbox 360.....
Dont really understand I guess as to what I will be missing If I cant connect my PC through the HDMI port....

Cable card slot... dont really care...

so essentially between 4095 and 4096, the only difference is the USB port (for me).
and between the XBR2 and 4095 is really the styling and PC input on HDMI (from what I hear... other than very very subtle differences in PQ.. which I wouldnt notice if I didnt have both side-by-side)...

Let me know what you guys think?
For me and probably for a lot of others, this might be a one-time buy for a few years....
so want to get something that I dont feel outdated in as early as 3 mo :-)

Chicago? Abt Electronics? (http://www.**************.com/custserv/abtHours.php3)

Well unless they carry different items than are listed on their website they only have the Sony XBR2 and the Samsung 4095. Perhaphs a phone call is in order

I went to a CC in San Diego today to get a look at the 4695D. I noticed the exact same things (pixelization and blur). The Sammy was hooked up to a BluRay, showing the movie "Stealth." I realize that there may be some fine tuning issues, but the picture didn't look any better than SD on my current TV. I was very disappointed, considering that I've been waiting for this set for several months. Across from the 4695D was the 40" version of the XBR2. It was being fed a 1080p signal from a "black box" source that Sony sent along with the display models. (I couldn't determine if it was hooked up through the HDMI, or if it was something internal.) Essentially, it was random clips of ocean, fields, boats, etc. on a continuous 5 minute loop. The picture was stunning. However, even allowing for the difference in input signal, there was no comparison between the two. I guess I either fork out the extra 1K for the Sony, or wait for the Sharp.

This is almost certainly an issue with the source. If you search the archives of this thread for posts by AmirM, who works for Microsoft's HD DVD initiative, you will see that he saw no issues when playing HD DVD on this set.

The 1k difference for the Sony is almost certainly a combination of a better processor and brand name.

As an owner of the 4095D I will say that the set is finicky about the signal. If you have a great source, then it will look great, but if you have a poor source it won't look good. This is why I am looking into getting an external video processor.

The extra 1k for the Sony is almost certainly a combination of a better processor and name brand recognition.

Well unless they carry different items than are listed on their website they only have the Sony XBR2 and the Samsung 4095. Perhaphs a phone call is in order

Do a search on their website for ln-s4696d

Well unless they carry different items than are listed on their website they only have the Sony XBR2 and the Samsung 4095. Perhaphs a phone call is in order

Does anybody know how good hpdirectav is and How good BestPriceCameras is ??

This is almost certainly an issue with the source. If you search the archives of this thread for posts by AmirM, who works for Microsoft's HD DVD initiative, you will see that he saw no issues when playing HD DVD on this set.

The 1k difference for the Sony is almost certainly a combination of a better processor and brand name.

As an owner of the 4095D I will say that the set is finicky about the signal. If you have a great source, then it will look great, but if you have a poor source it won't look good. This is why I am looking into getting an external video processor.

The extra 1k for the Sony is almost certainly a combination of a better processor and name brand recognition.

Since you own a 4095 can you tell me how USB works.
I just saw in a post above and also on one call that it has a USB port... but failed to spot it on samsung specs...

I just thought I would mention that the 4696 is finally displayed on Samsung's Canadian website. One can only hope that the 4x96 series will be available north of the border soon...

Well, i called ABT Electronics and they did in fact carry the 4696, which of course several of you all knew, but it found it strange there was no direct link to the tv on the website, but i digress. They also carry the XBR2 but won't have the XBR3 until next month

I did find the LNS4695 at my local CC though. They had it right below the 46 XBR2, both connected via component, both playing Toy Story 2 on DVD, non-upscaling dvd player. My impressions were that I couldn't really judge picture quality between the two because I find animated movies always look better than real life movies due to the fact that everything is artificial. In addition, I wasn't able to fiddle with the TV's set up, so for all i know they had the TV's calibrated incorrectly, or at the very least factory defaults. Assuming all that, the Sony appeared to be better in both contrast and depth of picture (if that's an actual measurement). On blacks the Sony was displaying a greater range of black whereas the same black was more gray on the Samsung (again this could most likely be changed by simply lowering the brightness, but still...). The picture also seemed to jump off the screen more on the Sony, hence my depth comment, and this had more to do with the physical design of the cabinet versus the actual display. I found the extra wide bezel of the Sony framed the picture better and gave a deeper look to the picture, similar to how a matted photo in a frame looks richer than one that is cropped right to the frame (no matt).

I asked the guy to see SD signal on them but because they were having trouble with their Direct TV box he couldn't get it up <--um scratch that, that's not what I meant! No viagra references please. I'll go back in a couple days to try it out more completely.

My final opinion based upon this visit? I'd give the nod to Sony. I just like the look of the TV more than the Samsung. By look I don't mean picture quality, as I am totally convinced that both sets can be calibrated to appear just as good as one another with the same signal/connection. If not, the two would look so ridiculously similar that I would not be able to tell them apart, especially from the distance I will be viewing them in my living room (13ft). So ultimately it boils down to the things that are intangible, can I play a PS3 game without the HUD being cutoff? What does the cabinet look like? Which has a greater "cool" factor? I think in each case Sony takes the lead. Of course I do not like the XBR2's gray bezel so I am waiting for the XBR3 to make my final decision.

All in all, these tv's are freakin' awesome!

Hi Def:

Standard Def:

does anybody know what when the Samsung LED-Backlit LCD TV coming out? It say next month but is it for the U.S.?

USB Menus:

Nice pics Jerz! Quick questions.

1.- Is the 4696 7,000:1 contrast ratio or 6,000:1 (same as the 4695)? Spec sheets all over the net contradict each other about this, any way the TV's menus or manual read differently?

2.- Have you tested/tried out the set's PIP mode to see more than one source at the same time?

3.- Is there a noticeable difference in picture quality (HD and SD, better or worse) when using the Cable Card?

4.- Are all the 4696 attributes over its 95 sibling worth the extra coin, in your humble opinion? Or is the 4695 model a worthy alternative for those of us that are computer illiterate and wouldn't use a Cable Card (unless you tell us it makes a significant difference in PQ)?

P.S.: Geraldo in HD (a promo I'm assuming) = a very real reason NOT to switch to HD! :eek:

Has anyone had one of these new lcds & a dlp? I have a 5087W right now, but the SSE is killing me. I dont think 20/15 vision & the 8ft distance is helping either.
Im wondering if there would be a noticable PQ difference going from the 50" 1080P DLP to the 46" 1080P LCD. Almost exclusively used for xbox 360, ps3 & hd/blu ray dvd in the future.

The extra 1k for the Sony is almost certainly a combination of a better processor and name brand recognition.

I wish people who keep reporting that the Sony's are $1K more than comparable Samsungs would do a minimal (let alone thorough) price search. The fact is that the Sony's are 100% comparable to the Samsungs on price (S-PVA models), if not slightly CHEAPER.

does anybody know what when the Samsung LED-Backlit LCD TV coming out? It say next month but is it for the U.S.?

Some time in September, check them out:

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/television/samsung-ledbacklit-lcd-tv-coming-next-month-192637.php

http://www.digitimes.com/displays/a20060807A6039.html

-- loeric :rolleyes:

This is almost certainly an issue with the source. If you search the archives of this thread for posts by AmirM, who works for Microsoft's HD DVD initiative, you will see that he saw no issues when playing HD DVD on this set.

The 1k difference for the Sony is almost certainly a combination of a better processor and brand name.

As an owner of the 4095D I will say that the set is finicky about the signal. If you have a great source, then it will look great, but if you have a poor source it won't look good. This is why I am looking into getting an external video processor.

The extra 1k for the Sony is almost certainly a combination of a better processor and name brand recognition.


I went back to CC today, and asked them to change the source. They pulled out the Samsung version of the 1080p signal input that they send along with their display sets - a little device about the size of a surround sound speaker, that plugs in via HDMI (I'm assuming that it sends an uncompressed signal, which should make it spectacular). Unfortunately, this was not a problem with the source as I had hoped. The picture was only marginally better than the BluRay picture, and still didn't hold a candle to the Sony. However, even without the Sony to compare it to, the display just looked average at best. I'm hoping to find another store in the area with a 4695 in the hopes that there is a problem with the display set that I've been seeing.

Nice pics Jerz! Quick questions.
Thanks.


1.- Is the 4696 7,000:1 contrast ratio or 6,000:1 (same as the 4695)? Spec sheets all over the net contradict each other about this, any way the TV's menus or manual read differently?
I'm not sure. As you said there are confilicting documents and becides the documentation I don't know were else to look.


2.- Have you tested/tried out the set's PIP mode to see more than one source at the same time?
No, not yet. My wife is supposed to be getting a cabinet so I haven't really hooked everything up yet.

3.- Is there a noticeable difference in picture quality (HD and SD, better or worse) when using the Cable Card?
Actually, the cable card is not working yet; they've rescheduled for this Tuesday. SD looks like well... like SD. SD looks as good as any of the other 5 or so televisions that I have (actually on the sammy sd looks better than those other sets). The HD channels that I'm getting are the unscramled HD channel which by the way look brilliant. I hooked up the HD box I got for the other TV and personally felt like there is way too much garbag programming on the boxes... All the VOD stuff to me is a rip off; there is some free VOD but it seems that it makes a tv overly difficult to use (but that is just me). I can look up the guide if needed on the laptop.

4.- Are all the 4696 attributes over its 95 sibling worth the extra coin, in your humble opinion? Or is the 4695 model a worthy alternative for those of us that are computer illiterate and wouldn't use a Cable Card (unless you tell us it makes a significant difference in PQ)?
I think so... to me the difference is personal opinion/need. But then again isn't there only a few hundred dollar difference? The usb port for me allows the ability for music and pictures without a pc. To me that is worth the extra coin in itself. I doubt there would be any picture quality; I hooked up the HD receiver from the other tv last night and didn't notice a difference in picture quality but then again I wasn't looking either. The HD box imho to me is a pita way too many options... if I want to watch a movie I'll buy the dvd; if I want to watch a game I'll turn on the channel; if I want VOD I'll use the Replay TV. I just don't have a use for all of the options. The set without the box imho is easier to use simply plug the coax directly into this set and you get all channels that aren't scramled and of those are about 5 HD channels. I'll be getting quite a few more HD channels just as soon as they get the cablecard working.

Cheers!

Jerz

The difference between the 4695 and 4696 may not justify the price difference for everyone, but for some the following differences may matter:

The 4696 has

--- Cable card slot
--- USB port
--- Firewire port
--- better appearance with glass strip on bottom (IMHO)
Glass strip on bottom?

To me both the 4695 & 4696 look the same.

Can you explain or show this to me?

Are you sure you weren't comparing the 4692 & 4696?

Thanks.

Glass strip on bottom?

To me both the 4695 & 4696 look the same.

Can you explain or show this to me?

Are you sure you weren't comparing the 4692 & 4696?

Thanks.


The 4695 and 4696 have a different strip on the bottom and a different style stand. On the 4696 the strip is glass, on the 4695, it is not. Some people find the 4696 to be better looking:


http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/images/b2c_l_lns4696d.jpg

http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/images/b2c_l_lns4695.jpg

The 4695 and 4696 have a different strip on the bottom and a different style stand. On the 4696 the strip is glass, on the 4695, it is not. Some people find the 4696 to be better looking:


http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/images/b2c_l_lns4696d.jpg

http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/images/b2c_l_lns4695.jpg

Honestly, I can't notice the difference in looks at all. I don't need the cable feature, so for me I guess it's got to be the 4695!

check this out guys...i like glass strip on the 4696....but i prefer the rectagular base of the 4695! why can't they make things the way I WANT! oh, well...can't have everything...i'll prolly go w/the 4696!

I took my samsung 4696 back to the store today because we could not get the cable card working. Picked up a 4695 instead, hooked it up to a Cox HD box and everything looks great! Cant tell the difference between the sets except for the glass strip and oval stand. Also the blue eye on the 4696 is a lot cooler but besides that they look the same. I am a little skeptical of those cable cards now but I think the concept is a good idea. Both sets have tremendous pictures!

dave12, are you sure you notice no difference whatsoever (picture-wise) between the 4695 and the 4696? Nobody can tell us for sure if the 4695 is 6,000:1 contrast ratio, the 4696 7,000:1 or if both are 6,000:1 (the spec sheets online contradict each other). And even if they were different, is there a noticeable better PQ with 7,000 vs. 6,000:1 contrast ratio anyway?

Okay... I just got my 4695D. So far I love it. All I've done thus far is turn DNIe off... I'll worry about calibration when I get my pc hooked up. Anyways... seeing as how everyone on the forum has helped me and I know how you people like pics... I took some of DOA4. I wouldn't say HD has a big impact on doa4... but I have Madden 07 and it makes a huuuge impact. I'll post some madden shots later tonight, it looks magnificent. Anyways, here are some pics for the heck of it :P

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/doa/1.jpg

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/doa/2.jpg

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/doa/3.jpg

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/doa/4.jpg

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/doa/5.jpg

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/doa/6.jpg

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/doa/7.jpg

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/doa/8.jpg



If anyone has any requests, I'll be glad to see what I can do. I can download the demos if I don't have the games!

copybeaver, there's a thread on the Xbox section of this site where people post pictures of their HDTV's playing anything 360. Your 'DOA4' and 'Madden' pictures will be as welcomed there as they will be here (maybe even more).

Oh yeah, forgot that that was there... I'll go dump my doa4 pictures there right now too :P.

[QUOTE=copybeaver]Okay... I just got my 4695D. So far I love it. All I've done thus far is turn DNIe off... I'll worry about calibration when I get my pc hooked up. Anyways... seeing as how everyone on the forum has helped me and I know how you people like pics... I took some of DOA4. I wouldn't say HD has a big impact on doa4...
......

QUOTE]


Just Curious:
What resolution were you running at when you took these shots?

[QUOTE=copybeaver]Okay... I just got my 4695D. So far I love it. All I've done thus far is turn DNIe off... I'll worry about calibration when I get my pc hooked up. Anyways... seeing as how everyone on the forum has helped me and I know how you people like pics... I took some of DOA4. I wouldn't say HD has a big impact on doa4...
......

QUOTE]


Just Curious:
What resolution were you running at when you took these shots?


720p :P

dave12, are you sure you notice no difference whatsoever (picture-wise) between the 4695 and the 4696? Nobody can tell us for sure if the 4695 is 6,000:1 contrast ratio, the 4696 7,000:1 or if both are 6,000:1 (the spec sheets online contradict each other). And even if they were different, is there a noticeable better PQ with 7,000 vs. 6,000:1 contrast ratio anyway?

Both of my sets (4696 and 4695) had stickers on the front that said the contrast was 6000:1, I sure could not tell any difference, they both looked great!

Copybeaver -

I'm extremely interested if the 92% underscan (8% overscan) is defeatable on the sammy 1080p lcds when fed a 1920x1080p 60Hz signal from pc.

TigerDave has a useful 1920x1080 gif @ http://www.tigerdave.com/images/testpatterns/1920x1080_overscan.gif

In looking through the manual on Samsung's site, it seems like this "feature" is not defeatable (pg 80 in the manual / 82 on the pdf). If you could let me know, I'd be indebted to you.

No 1:1 pixel mapping would be a deal-breaker for me - forcing me to go with one of the Sonys.

The pics look great by the way.

Thanks -

Mark

Copybeaver -

I'm extremely interested if the 92% underscan (8% overscan) is defeatable on the sammy 1080p lcds when fed a 1920x1080p 60Hz signal from pc.

TigerDave has a useful 1920x1080 gif @ http://www.tigerdave.com/images/testpatterns/1920x1080_overscan.gif

In looking through the manual on Samsung's site, it seems like this "feature" is not defeatable (pg 80 in the manual / 82 on the pdf). If you could let me know, I'd be indebted to you.

No 1:1 pixel mapping would be a deal-breaker for me - forcing me to go with one of the Sonys.

The pics look great by the way.

Thanks -

Mark

Yeah, I'm interested too. Unfortunately I don't a DVI->HDMI cable at the moment... I can try vga. I don't remember who has tried/failed/succeeded. I'll give it a shot though. I'll try it tomorrow(sunday). I have a 6800... we'll see how that works out. I'll try that powerstrip stuff out too.

In the mean time... all the pics I've taken from the 360 are here:

Click me! (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=607834&page=32&pp=30)

It has one "Just Cause" shot, a few more doa shots, and 2 madden shots. This'll be it for now unless someone wants me to take pictures of anything. Even though they don't say much, people seem to like them :P.

Okay... I just got my 4695D. So far I love it. All I've done thus far is turn DNIe off... I'll worry about calibration when I get my pc hooked up. Anyways... seeing as how everyone on the forum has helped me and I know how you people like pics... I took some of DOA4. I wouldn't say HD has a big impact on doa4... but I have Madden 07 and it makes a huuuge impact. I'll post some madden shots later tonight, it looks magnificent. Anyways, here are some pics for the heck of it :P


If anyone has any requests, I'll be glad to see what I can do. I can download the demos if I don't have the games!

Do you have GRAW?
If so could you maybe post a pic that shows the HUD so I could see how bad the overscan is.

Thank you
Brandon

Do you have GRAW?
If so could you maybe post a pic that shows the HUD so I could see how bad the overscan is.

Thank you
Brandon
I have a 360 hooked up to my 4095 at 1080 - GRAW looks amazing. I see no issues with overscan at all.

Copybeaver -

I'm extremely interested if the 92% underscan (8% overscan) is defeatable on the sammy 1080p lcds when fed a 1920x1080p 60Hz signal from pc.

TigerDave has a useful 1920x1080 gif @ http://www.tigerdave.com/images/testpatterns/1920x1080_overscan.gif

In looking through the manual on Samsung's site, it seems like this "feature" is not defeatable (pg 80 in the manual / 82 on the pdf). If you could let me know, I'd be indebted to you.

No 1:1 pixel mapping would be a deal-breaker for me - forcing me to go with one of the Sonys.

The pics look great by the way.

Thanks -

Mark


Can someone please test this with DVI and/or HDMI using 1920x1080x32 @ 60Hz? (I am very picky about 1:1)

http://www.tigerdave.com/images/testpatterns/1920x1080_overscan.gif

Also, anyone heard if this TV will be upgraded to the HDMI version 1.3 spec soon?

I would love to use this TV for PC Gaming, PC 1080P Blu-Ray Movies & PS3!

Can someone please test this with DVI and/or HDMI using 1920x1080x32 @ 60Hz? (I am very picky about 1:1)

http://www.tigerdave.com/images/testpatterns/1920x1080_overscan.gif

Also, anyone heard if this TV will be upgraded to the HDMI version 1.3 spec soon?

I would love to use this TV for PC Gaming, PC 1080P Blu-Ray Movies & PS3!

The overscan issue has been asked and answered a LOT in this and other threads (search is your friend).

Definitively: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8164057&&#post8164057

Why would changing the test pattern produce a different result than what I get with my signal generator and/or video processor?

As for HDMI 1.3, wait until next year's models for most of them. You will not see an "upgrade" until then.

Later,
Bill

on the samsung website, the 4696 is listed as having an integrated DCR tuner while the 5296 is listed as having an integrated tuner...is there a difference?

The overscan issue has been asked and answered a LOT in this and other threads (search is your friend).

Definitively: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8164057&&#post8164057

Why would changing the test pattern produce a different result than what I get with my signal generator and/or video processor?

As for HDMI 1.3, wait until next year's models for most of them. You will not see an "upgrade" until then.

Later,
Bill

I'm just trying to understand what your saying. Are you saying that a LCD that doesn't overscan can't be made, or that you've simply tested this on the 4095 and it does overscan there. I guess what many of us are looking for is someone to confirm (the act of actually testing) an HDMI output into the 4696.

on the samsung website, the 4696 is listed as having an integrated DCR tuner while the 5296 is listed as having an integrated tuner...is there a difference?
DCR= Digital Cable Ready Tuner I believe that the Cable Company configures - a one way device at this time without OD features.

I believe integrated Tuner may reference the HD Tuner for OTA signals? Or it could be synonymous with DCR. I don't own the TV but it seems to fit. ;)

Well, I had written off the 4695d because of the lack of 1:1 pixel mapping in HDMI/DVI.

But I really can't ignore the Datavis pricing for the 52" Samsung.

So afte reading through the manual again for the 4695, can someone try using HDMI to DVI cable for his/her PC and set the TV to 4:3. The way the manual explains 4:3 makes me think that it might be equivalent to SONY's full pixel mode, which allows for 1:1 mapping over HDMI.

If it works out, this might be a great "hack" for the Samsungs, and get a lot more people off the XBR2/3 bandwagon.

The overscan issue has been asked and answered a LOT in this and other threads (search is your friend).

Definitively: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8164057&&#post8164057

Why would changing the test pattern produce a different result than what I get with my signal generator and/or video processor?

As for HDMI 1.3, wait until next year's models for most of them. You will not see an "upgrade" until then.

Later,
Bill

SONY overscans too by default when using HDMI/DVI. It's just that it has the "full pixel" mode that controls the overscan.

It seems like the 4:3 mode, if I read it correctly in the Samsung manual, might not have overscan, but I need someone to test this possible "hack."

SONY overscans too by default when using HDMI/DVI. It's just that it has the "full pixel" mode that controls the overscan.

It seems like the 4:3 mode, if I read it correctly in the Samsung manual, might not have overscan, but I need someone to test this possible "hack."

I'd honestly give it a try if someone gave me the bones to go buy the DVI->HDMI converter :P. I just dropped a heft amount on the tv... I need to stop spending for a bit :) On a good note, I do believe it has 1:1 pixel mapping over VGA. Softer... colors aren't as poppy... but it's a good alternative right now.

SONY overscans too by default when using HDMI/DVI. It's just that it has the "full pixel" mode that controls the overscan.

It seems like the 4:3 mode, if I read it correctly in the Samsung manual, might not have overscan, but I need someone to test this possible "hack."


This did not work for me with my Powerbook (dvi > hdmi @1080). When switching to 4:3 mode, it scales the desktop into the 4:3 space with black bars on the side. Not pretty.

Chris

I believe Samsung's "DCR" means it has a cablecard slot.

I've been reading this thread looking for "black level" references. So far I've found that the black level and detail is very good for this type of TV and the new Sony as well. But that it's still not quite to the level of CRT's and plasmas.

What I would like to know is what type of CRTs are people talking about. I'm coming from a 32" SD RCA tube set. I've got the picture tuned pretty damn good with my Avia disc and IMO the blacks are great on it. I haven't watched *ANY* HD CRT sets where I know the picture has been calibrated so I don't know how, if at all, the black level has been improved. I can just barely make out the letterboxes compared to the blackity-black border on the TV. I've seen some plasmas in the stores that don't hold a candle to our set at home. A Hitachi plasma I looked at had greenish-gray blacks and when I dialed it down, I crushed the blacks horribly.

I'm just wondering if blacks on CRTs have improved since 2002 when my wife bought the TV or if they're pretty much the same. Are the Sammy's black levels being compared to current CRTs or do pretty much ALL decent CRT sets in the past 4-5 years have better black levels?

Otherwise I'm REALLY impressed with the new Sammys. I haven't seen the new Sony to compare. Anytime I've seen the new ones, I notice how three dimensional the picture looks compared to sets around them showing the same programming.

I believe Samsung's "DCR" means it has a cablecard slot.

ok so the 4696 has cablecard slot and the 5296 doesn't? well that sux!

Questions about the Samsung LNS4695D:

I just ran across this thread and checked a number of recent pages but not all of them, so I hope this isn't redundant. This set looks like a lot of quality at a good price. But some of my concerns are:

1. Compatibility with Blu-Ray. Any further comments on the problem someone noted with a "handshake" requiring the set be turned off and on again to lock up in 1080P native input. Is this each time you use it? This seems unacceptable if it's the case.

2. Input selection. There is no direct selection of HDMI, component, etc. inputs, only a menu cycling feature between all inputs. I am hoping to create a macro on my Sony remote commander, to automatically switch between three inputs. There is no practical limit to the number of steps in the sequence. But I need to know, if you "arrow up" to the top of the input selection menu, does it stop there, or go back to the bottom of the list and continue recycling. The bottom line-- there needs to be a way to reset to a specific input in order to then go up or down the list to the input you want. Hope this isn't too confusing.

3. I'm not clear on stretch/fill display modes. If you are set for normal 16x9 display on HDTV, and you then switch to a non-hd 4x3 channel (I have Dish network and plan on getting their HD receiver.. don't know if this makes a difference or not) is the picture the normal 4x3 shape or does it automatically stretch horizontally to fill the screen? I do not want any automatic stretch modes, and don't want to change the menu setup every time I change channels, just to maintain the right proportions on 4x3 and 16x9.

4. Anyone notice any objectionable dead pixels? Apparently it's not uncommon to have a few, but any real problems with this?

5. Why should there be anything wrong with connecting a computer thru normal PC input? I'm not clear on why this is not as good as HDMI (which apparently doesn't work well on this set.) I am only planning to use computer display for watching digital vacation pics.

Questions about the Samsung LNS4695D:



1. Compatibility with Blu-Ray. ....

2. Input selection. There is no direct selection of HDMI, component, etc. inputs, only a menu cycling feature between all inputs. I am hoping to create a macro ...

3. I'm not clear on stretch/fill display modes. ..

4. Anyone notice any objectionable dead pixels? Apparently it's not uncommon to have a few, but any real problems with this?

5. Why should there be anything wrong with connecting a computer thru normal PC input? ....

My answers are based on my LN-S4696d which should apply to the LN-S4695

1) Don't have a Blue ray, can't comment

2) You should be able to make a macro by pressing menu, and then using the cursor keys to select the desired input from the menu.

3) I have a Moxi cable box and I leave the TV on 16:9 all the time. No stretching occurs. Black bars appear on the side when the should. Your cable box may vary.

4) Everyone of those two million pixels is alive and well

5) You can get a debate started with this question... But People run higher resolution desktop monitors with the VGA port (and no HDMI port) all the time without trouble.

This did not work for me with my Powerbook (dvi > hdmi @1080). When switching to 4:3 mode, it scales the desktop into the 4:3 space with black bars on the side. Not pretty.

Chris

Thanks for trying, after talking about the available options at length with my wife, we have decided to get a little Samsung 244T so we can finally have something to watch that is cheap and will be used for work monitor when we get an LCD TV in 6 months.

She likes the Samsung cabinetry, and for that matter, the Samsung decoding, but understands that 1:1 is important.

We are giving up and are sitting this round out.

"3) I have a Moxi cable box and I leave the TV on 16:9 all the time. No stretching occurs. Black bars appear on the side when the should. Your cable box may vary. "

Do you have your cable box set to send the 4:3 SD channels upconverted to 720/1080 or passing through the 480 signal? If you have it set to upconvert the 4:3 channels then it has nothing to do with the tv as the box is putting the black bars on the channel and sending it as a 16:9 signal. I'd love to know how the tv handles it when the cable box sends 4:3 at 480i, and you change from SD to HD and back, etc.

I'd love to know how the tv handles it when the cable box sends 4:3 at 480i, and you change from SD to HD and back, etc.

Well... I'm not sure if this is what you mean but I'm using the built in tuner on the 4696 and when I switch to an HD channel such as HD Discovery it is 16:9, then to a sd channel it is 4:3, then to Fox 5 in hd and it is in 4:3 so I change it to stretch, go back to HD Discovery and it's still in 16:9 and go back to Fox 5 and the tv remembers that I stretched Fox 5.

Whatever feed the tuner gets is the aspect ratio that it uses unless you change it and then it remembers it. Over the week that I've had it I haven't noticed anything different so I'm not sure if it forgets a setting after a period of time. Generally speaking though imho the built in tuner handles the aspect ratios switching from hd 4:3, hd 16:9 and sd 4:3 perfectly.

Jerz

PS: The cable guy is coming again to try and get the cable card to work. If it doesn't work this time then I'll call samsung.

Hi all,

I am close to pulling the trigger on purchasing the ln-s4695 or the 96. However, I have some lingering doubts which are holding me back. So, I am turning to you knowledgeable folks for help.

I will be using the Sammy with an HTPC (Which I'll be building). Having read through all the posts in this thread, I realize that there is an issue with 1:1 pixel mapping over HDMI with the Sammy. This is one of the reasons I'm holding back, although I'm not sure that it SHOULD be a reason to hold back. How critical is it to have 1:1 pixel mapping over HDMI since I will be hooking up my HTPC to the Sammy over HDMI?. Does it affect the picture quality of say, a DVD playing on the HTPC, or is it that the edges of the picture will be clipped? (I am not a gamer, if that makes any difference).

Questions about the Samsung LNS4695D:

5. Why should there be anything wrong with connecting a computer thru normal PC input? I'm not clear on why this is not as good as HDMI (which apparently doesn't work well on this set.) I am only planning to use computer display for watching digital vacation pics.

I can't answer this for TV's, HOWEVER, I think the deal is can YOU tell the difference between a digital signal and an analog one. Just use your PC to test it out. Connect your computer via DVI, look at it, make a mental picture. Then connect your PC via analog. Look at it. Is it the same to you? Less sharp perhaps? If not, then it's likely you won't notice the difference on the TV either.

This is just a hypothesis as I have never connected a computer to a TV any which way.

I got 4695 from CC. It has the most stunning picture that I have seen. I was distracted by XBR2 at CC which seemed to have better picture but at best buy I looked at both with exact same feeds and I liked 4695 picture better and at home it is giving me stunning picture. Off air HD is as good as cable HD.
Cons: How can a TV this expensive doesn't come with decent PIP features. You can't swap PIP. How horrible is that. Even the older CRTs have this feature. Can anyone figure out how to do this? Is there a way around? Have I missed something? It seems too limited.

FYI - If you did a pre-order on the 4696 from ************** you might want to look into their price match guarentee, they've lowered the price on their web site from the pre-order price.

Some on line retailors have it in the six thousand dollar range. Making it close to two thousand more than the 4696D


Crutchfield lists it for $4999 and I can't wait to see one in person :D

jerz - thanks for the info, yes that is generally the info I'm looking for as to how the tv handles those situations. Now I just need to see if it handles signals from a cable box over HMDI and/or component similarly.

Hi all,

I will be using the Sammy with an HTPC (Which I'll be building). Having read through all the posts in this thread, I realize that there is an issue with 1:1 pixel mapping over HDMI with the Sammy. This is one of the reasons I'm holding back, although I'm not sure that it SHOULD be a reason to hold back. How critical is it to have 1:1 pixel mapping over HDMI since I will be hooking up my HTPC to the Sammy over HDMI?. Does it affect the picture quality of say, a DVD playing on the HTPC, or is it that the edges of the picture will be clipped? (I am not a gamer, if that makes any difference).

Hi Don,

I'm a PC builder myself. :)

These 1080p sets (Sony and Samsung) do a limited amount of overscan at the edges (1% -2% of the entire frame) to chop out distrubances from SD signals mainly.

There isn't any real compromise, it helps the picture. With digital sources like HTPC, you'll see the bottom of your toolbar clipped a bit.

On my dually LCD PC I remeber not seeing the rounded lower edges when XP came out, but it's really a non-event in my opinion.

These 1080p sets (Sony and Samsung) do a limited amount of overscan at the edges (1% -2% of the entire frame) to chop out distrubances from SD signals mainly.

There isn't any real compromise, it helps the picture. With digital sources like HTPC, you'll see the bottom of your toolbar clipped a bit.


It is a huge compromise, especially when connected to a HTPC for non-video applications. I have never seen an LCD panel that didn't look fuzzy when run at non-native resolutions .. which is exactly what the overscanning does to a 1080p input. If it could crop the image without scaling it, it would look fine (except for a small black border), but that is not what is happening here.

Hey guys! This is my first time posting so be gentle. I was reading this thread and it seems like you guys surely know what are the ups and downs on all these LCD's, so here’s a question… I know this is only 46-4096D thread... but what do you personally think of its little brother the LN-S3296D??? Are the specs the same or are my eyes deceiving me? Also... did anybody with the television have any problems playing video games? from my experience (correct me if im wrong) there seems to be some on lag due to the crappy response time on many televisions out today and was wondering if this one was one of them. I am looking forward to buying an HDTV for when the PS3 comes out and want to make a smart investment. Thanks in advance!

It is a huge compromise, especially when connected to a HTPC for non-video applications. I have never seen an LCD panel that didn't look fuzzy when run at non-native resolutions .. which is exactly what the overscanning does to a 1080p input. If it could crop the image without scaling it, it would look fine (except for a small black border), but that is not what is happening here.

I can live with it if the compromise is only for non-video applications. My primary concern is whether the 1:1 pixel-mapping issue will compromise the playback of high-definition material from the HTPC (including mpeg-2 video from a HD camcorder, and, in the future, blue-ray and HD-DVD material).

On a different note, I had initially crossed off the 4695 from my list because of its lack of firewire and USB inputs, but when I decided that I would go the HTPC route, that became a non-issue and therefore I am now leaning towards the 4695 especially since it is several hundred dollars cheaper than the 4696 (I don't need the DCR on the 4696)

Cons: How can a TV this expensive doesn't come with decent PIP features. You can't swap PIP. How horrible is that. Even the older CRTs have this feature. Can anyone figure out how to do this? Is there a way around? Have I missed something? It seems too limited.

I believe you can swap PIP by going into the Menu and selecting the PIP size (50:50, etc.) and then the SWAP button on the remote. I tried this on a 4051 Samsung model though, not the 4695's. Give it a shot!

I'm just trying to understand what your saying. Are you saying that a LCD that doesn't overscan can't be made, or that you've simply tested this on the 4095 and it does overscan there. I guess what many of us are looking for is someone to confirm (the act of actually testing) an HDMI output into the 4696.

I'm pretty sure Bear is saying that a 1%- 2% overscan at the edges is nothing new, and is helpful in eliminating twittering from lower quality signals.

It's a small nuisance for those that want their PC toolbars to look 100% though.

It is a huge compromise, especially when connected to a HTPC for non-video applications. I have never seen an LCD panel that didn't look fuzzy when run at non-native resolutions .. which is exactly what the overscanning does to a 1080p input. If it could crop the image without scaling it, it would look fine (except for a small black border), but that is not what is happening here.

My understanding is that the overscan activity is limited to very edges on the frame, and isn't a "huge compromise".

My understanding is that the overscan activity is limited to very edges on the frame, and isn't a "huge compromise".

For that to be true, the scaling would have to be non-linear, which would result in some very strange artifacts with text.

XBR2/3 do not overscan. Simply click on full pixel mode will get you 1:1 mapping via HDMI.

It is too bad that Samsung chose to ruin their great TV by not having a 1:1 pixel mode. But I guess that's how SONY is able to charge more for their 46" XBR3 than the Samsung 52" 1080p sets. :mad:

Hey guys! This is my first time posting so be gentle. I was reading this thread and it seems like you guys surely know what are the ups and downs on all these LCD's, so here’s a question… I know this is only 46-4096D thread... but what do you personally think of its little brother the LN-S3296D??? Are the specs the same or are my eyes deceiving me? Also... did anybody with the television have any problems playing video games? from my experience (correct me if im wrong) there seems to be some on lag due to the crappy response time on many televisions out today and was wondering if this one was one of them. I am looking forward to buying an HDTV for when the PS3 comes out and want to make a smart investment. Thanks in advance!

Hi worm! The main difference between the 3296D and the sets mainly discussed in this thread (Besides the size factor) is the 3296 is a 720p display whereas the other ones are 1080p panels.

Sincerely,
Jared

Does anyone know how good the Monster surge protectors with cable filtering are? A guy at CC tried to sell us one for $90 when we bought the TV. We held off at the time of sale. Do they really improve picture quality? Also, if they do help with quality, are Monster ones a waste of money since they are so expensive - kind of like how the cable quality at monoprice is equal to monster but cost a lot less?

Thanks,
Jared

Sorry for posting it again, but I thought it might have been read over in a myriad of posts made at the time. Does anyone perhaps have any comments on this now? I would be really interested to see if my 4695D picture could get even better with this surge protector/cable cleaner.

Thanks again,
Jared

Hi guys. I have a few questions. What is overscanning? What is pixel mapping? I am currently considering the Samsung 4695 or Sony XBR2 lcds. I don't do any gaming and will not be hooking up a pc. Has anyone posted any pictures of SD content? If not, can someone please post some if possible? Also, my cousin has the Sony XBR1 40 in lcd and during the world cup, I could see what looks like trails when the players were running on the pitch. Is this common to all LCDs? Thanks for any input.

Just ordered the S4095 from BB.

I was on the fence for a while, but I spent some quality time with the Sony XBR2, Sharp 37D90U and the S4095. As well as HD content from Blu Ray, I also checked out progressive scan DVD and it looks good as well. You need a decent DVD player (at least 480p component) but it definitely looked good to me.

I definitely won't be using it as a PC display so the 1-2.5% overscan does not bother me too much although I would much rather it be configurable. I really like the menus and its one of the first LCDs I did not have to go to the extremes to get decent contrast and color.

Also, even though I am sure DNIe is often not a good idea there is a DNIe comparison/demo mode in which half the screen was showing DNIe turned on and half turned off and for some sources I think it actually improved the image. Its just like other digital processing modes. They are no good in may situations but can help in others. And of course you can just turn it off.

The only thing I will probably miss is the individual settings for each input that the XBR2 saves. Not that big of a deal since I always tweak the settings anyway but still a very nice feature that is missing.

For the most part, I was very impressed with the HD picture quality. The Blu Ray movie demo looked pretty amazing. You have to keep in mind that every DVD/HDDVD/Blu Ray etc is not made to the exact same standards. I always found that adjusting the color, contrast, etc could improve the image quite a bit with this set (and all sets I saw). Most people don't even want to bother with that but I always do and the menu system is very simply and quick to make these adjustments.

So now it just comes down to how good I can get it looking with the Xbox 360, 480P DVD, HD cable, and future HD sources. I will most likely wait as long as possible before getting any HD (DVD or Blu) because I don't plan on buying them just renting them. So whichever format ends up at Netflix first will probably make my decision for me :)

Thanks for all the input here and I will definitely post my impressions next week after I get the set in my living room.

For people out there that actually have the 4095/4096 I would like to see you impressions on how well it does with the Xbox 360 over component and/or over the PC (RGB) inputs. Am I correct in thinking the PC(RGB) connector is the same as a PC VGA? No sure about that one.

I was just reading the manual for the LN-S4695D and noted that it states "HDMI/DVI in terminal does not support PC" This has me concerned because I am almost ready to take the plunge and buy this LCD panel. Could some one in the know clarify this for me because I am planning to use an HTPC over HDMI and not being able to use the HTPC over HDMI would be a deal breaker for me.

I was just reading the manual for the LN-S4695D and noted that it states "HDMI/DVI in terminal does not support PC" This has me concerned because I am almost ready to take the plunge and buy this LCD panel. Could some one in the know clarify this for me because I am planning to use an HTPC over HDMI and not being able to use the HTPC over HDMI would be a deal breaker for me.

I believe people have gotten it to work but it overscans.

My eyes are going crossed searching this thread for the comparison. At BB today, a salesman told me that the 4696 has a "better" processor than the 4695, which results in better colors. Is this true? What are the differences between the two?

Just picked up the 4095d from BB. All I can say is WOW! I had the sony 40xbr1 for 4 days... and this set just puts it to shame. [EDIT]

For people out there that actually have the 4095/4096 I would like to see you impressions on how well it does with the Xbox 360 over component and/or over the PC (RGB) inputs. Am I correct in thinking the PC(RGB) connector is the same as a PC VGA? No sure about that one.

I know pics don't say much, but I posted some a few pages back and in the Xbox thread. This thing really is awesome for the 360.

And here are just two more pics...

This is the final fantasy xiii trailer being run off vga...

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/newdoa/ffxiii.jpg

And... pirates of the carribbean when it was on... I can't remember what channel :P

http://kelceyville.frihost.net/newdoa/pirates.jpg

Hello Everyone,
I am a new member of this forum as I am a new Samsung Ln s4096D. I got mine at the same price of a 4096D, It was a great deal. I also got 6 year warranty

Allright!!!! It looks like our speculations are over. THe cause of our confusion has been fixed

The specs had been updated in the Samsung website.The Sammy 96 series can do 1080P thru component as well.
I am glad because I ordered mine right in the middle of the uncertainty about this feature being included. Thanks to whoever called SAmsung.
.
I will be posting on my experience. :)

I know pics don't say much, but I posted some a few pages back and in the Xbox thread. This thing really is awesome for the 360.


Thats for that. Gaming is the #1 reason for gettin a wide screen HDTV for me. I have the 360 and I was getting very tired of playing everything squished down to an even smaller size.

So you have the Xbox 360 hooked up with the VGA cable?

Do you feel this was an improvement over component? And by how much?

Is the amount of overscan the same for VGA versus component?

Thanks for any info.

Hi worm! The main difference between the 3296D and the sets mainly discussed in this thread (Besides the size factor) is the 3296 is a 720p display whereas the other ones are 1080p panels.

Sincerely,
Jared

Thanks for the explanation. I just just checked out both sets (LN-S4096D - LN-S4696D) and i cant make a compromise over which one i want more... its only a 500$ difference it seems. theres also a space issue in my room..

(the issue)
:: cant insert image because i need to post at least 5 posts :: (will insert later)

it needs to fit on this desk becuase my right wall already has a tv cabinet and is a clutter.. and the cabinet limits what kind of tv i can put in there (27" is the limit) so my plan is to leave the tv where it is and just get a new desk that will fit both the samsung hdtv, computer, and ps3.. but then im worried about the viewing distance. i think from where i sit it would be aroudn 3-4 feet so a 46" would be too large maybe. any suggestions about the tv or desk, etc. would help alot! :D

Thats for that. Gaming is the #1 reason for gettin a wide screen HDTV for me. I have the 360 and I was getting very tired of playing everything squished down to an even smaller size.

So you have the Xbox 360 hooked up with the VGA cable?

Do you feel this was an improvement over component? And by how much?

Is the amount of overscan the same for VGA versus component?

Thanks for any info.

Actually I just tried hooking it up via vga... got a "not supported" on the screen. I'm sure there's some setting to change, but it looks absolutely great in component anyways.

I have been following the posts here for some time. Does the 4696 accept a 1080P signal or is it just a 1080P panel like the JVC?

I want this TV for HD Cable and BlueRay which is 1080P.

Thx

(the issue)
:: cant insert image because i need to post at least 5 posts :: (will insert later) im so sorry. i just realized both pics were posted as attachments in my last post. well there are 2 pics of my crappy setup. still have the issue with the space although i think i have found a solution. get rid of the lcd i have right now, get a computer desk and use the tv as a monitor/tv. what do you think? also, has anybody tried the 40 or 46 for a pc monitor?

does anyone have the xbox 360 hooked up via vga into their 4095d?

I noticed that my S4095D has 11 stuck pixels. Do you think this is par for the course or should I bring it up with samsung?

does anyone have the xbox 360 hooked up via vga into their 4095d?

I noticed that my S4095D has 11 stuck pixels. Do you think this is par for the course or should I bring it up with samsung?

Be aware that eventually all those stuck pixels will exhaust the gas inside and become dead pixels. I have a feeling Samsung will tell you that 11 defective pixels is within specification. Your only recourse may be to return the unit through the selling dealer.

Best Buy already hates me...... I have returned 2 TV's this week! I will just have to live with it, I guess.

Update... I just called Samsung and they will be sending out someone for servicing.

Update... I just called Samsung and they will be sending out someone for servicing.

Just don't tell the dude you return so many sets. ;)

Now's the time to work the sympathy angle. Tell the guy you heard the stuck pixels change to dead ones, and that you're not a satisfied customer etc....

Good luck. It would be neat to get a new set.

I will keep you updated.

For that to be true, the scaling would have to be non-linear, which would result in some very strange artifacts with text.

I'm hoping Bear steps in here with more knowledge.....

But yes, as the overscan effects the 1-2% of the edge, it is non-linear.

However, the vast majority of the picture 98% remains linear, and nobody is reporting problems reading text.

Text usually doesn't exist all the way out to the edge of the picture anyhow.

For something like Bloomberg TV with the scrolling tape, you might see a little something though.

I'm hoping Bear steps in here with more knowledge.....

But yes, as the overscan effects the 1-2% of the edge, it is non-linear.

However, the vast majority of the picture 98% remains linear, and nobody is reporting problems reading text.

Text usually doesn't exist all the way out to the edge of the picture anyhow.

For something like Bloomberg TV with the scrolling tape, you might see a little something though.

I am concerned specifically about HTPC use. I plan to spend a substantial amount of my time running my new TV as a huge computer monitor, and there will be text all the way to the edges of the screen...and at smaller point sizes it will be very noticable. This is a big deal for me, so I will wait. With TV text like Bloomberg I doubt there is any way I would notice a difference... it isn't crisp and sharp to begin with. With TV sources, DVD's, even HD sources, I doubt the overscan will result in any noticable artifacts, even though it is less than ideal, especially in the case of blu-ray/hd-dvd.

Has anyone seen if overscan is defeatable or adjustable in the service menu? Apparently this is something that can be done in the service menu of certain Samsung DLP models. The fact that it can be done on the Sony leads me to believe that its possible, just not readily accessible on the Samsung.

I am concerned specifically about HTPC use. I plan to spend a substantial amount of my time running my new TV as a huge computer monitor.

It's a very long thread, but a few posters put up pictures of their XP desktops a while back. You might speak with them. many are gaming on the thing too.

Other posters showed test patterns with the 4095 at 1:1 mapping. I believe they just tweaked the display with some third party software. I forgot the name, but it's in this thread.

Good luck.

Has anyone seen if overscan is defeatable or adjustable in the service menu? Apparently this is something that can be done in the service menu of certain Samsung DLP models. The fact that it can be done on the Sony leads me to believe that its possible, just not readily accessible on the Samsung.

Good question.

I've only read that posters tweaked to 1:1 using 3rd party software.

That sounds like powerstrip. That's what I used with my old RPTV @ 540p, which I paid $6000 for and now can't find anyone who'll buy it in like-new condition for $500 ;)

OK, so i have a question. These tvs apparently overscane with a pc. Do they also do this with blu-ray or hd-dvd via hdmi? if they dont, then why do they with pc and not other players?

That sounds like powerstrip. That's what I used with my old RPTV @ 540p, which I paid $6000 for and now can't find anyone who'll buy it in like-new condition for $500 ;)

That's it, Powerstrip.

Someone was tweaking with Powerstrip, and they posted a pic with the test at 1:1 mapping. I'm not sure of the connection they used.

I'm sure some ears are burning around here reading this, as we already showed these sets can do 1:1.

OK, so i have a question. These tvs apparently overscane with a pc. Do they also do this with blu-ray or hd-dvd via hdmi? if they dont, then why do they with pc and not other players?

It will overscan blu-ray and hd-dvd as well. Obviously it would better to pass the images unchanged. You have 1920x1080 source material and a 1920x1080 display and the material still passes through a scaler. It's tragic. And at the same time, if you didn't know it was happening I doubt you'd ever notice it except possibly on some test patterns or with HTPC usage.

It is probably possible to get 1:1 mapping on HTPC use with powerstrip by not using the scaled region of the image at all (i.e. keep a black border around it). Lousy compromise IMO.

I know pics don't say much, but I posted some a few pages back and in the Xbox thread. This thing really is awesome for the 360.



These pics are great. I need to put some up too. :)

So how much of the screen border (in inches) does overscanning effect? I am trying to figure out if i can live with this or not.

It's a very long thread, but a few posters put up pictures of their XP desktops a while back. You might speak with them. many are gaming on the thing too.

Other posters showed test patterns with the 4095 at 1:1 mapping. I believe they just tweaked the display with some third party software. I forgot the name, but it's in this thread.

Good luck.


Speaking of "overscan" -- I have my DLINK DSM 520 hooked up through HDMI, and I don't remember seeing any "overscan". I'll have to check but I play .AVI (xvid) files all the time and I don't think there are any gaps on the screen whatsoever ---

Speaking of "overscan" -- I have my DLINK DSM 520 hooked up through HDMI, and I don't remember seeing any "overscan". I'll have to check but I play .AVI (xvid) files all the time and I don't think there are any gaps on the screen whatsoever ---

I'm not sure what you are trying to say. Overscan does not leave gaps on the screen. It is similar to a crop/zoom.

So are you guys saying due to overscan that this TV doesn't really do True 1080p?

So are you guys saying due to overscan that this TV doesn't really do True 1080p?

How do you define "True 1080p"?

The panel truly has 1920x1080 pixels. What you get on the screen is apparently scaled and cropped around the edges slightly, based on what others are saying. So if you define "True 1080p" as "1080p inputs are displayed without scaling" then the answer to your question is "yes."

I am going to try to read (suffer) through this entire thread eventually...

Aside: I really wish this forum software would let me have more than 60 posts on a page! 500 posts per page would be great.

Is is possible to turn off the scaling through the service menu?

So if i have a blu-ray player and buy one of these new samsungs, will it crop out part of the picture? I am still a bit confused as to what the downsides are to overscanning other than possibly more processing.

does anyone have the xbox 360 hooked up via vga into their 4095d?
I could not get it to work. Apparently it doesn't support 1280x720 resolution which is a shame considering Samsung is a partner with Microsoft/XBOX 360.

On a side note; I was one who returned the set due to SD quality looking so bad, blurring, macro blocking- even on HD channels, and vertical banding etc... To make a long story short, I returned the set for a Panasonic 50PX60U and was quite happy with it but... The macro blocking and blur was still there just not as severe. The Panasonic was also a lemon as it automatically switched between component 1 and 2. I took it back and despite my displeasure over the previously stated problems, decided to get the 4095 once again.

Guess what!? This set has NONE of the problems I had with the first 4095. No macro blocking, no vertical banding, no blur, and SD looks surprisingly good. When I was considering returning it I posted some of my problems here and Mrfoggarty (sp?) had similar issues. Some suggested it might be a source problem because XBOX 360 looked awesome. Turns out it wasn't a source issue at all, I must have had a bum set. Needless to say I am loving my set and my returning days are over (knock on wood). Best Buy must be breathing a sigh of relief! :)

Is is possible to turn off the scaling through the service menu?

Apparently not. At least nothing I can find after searching through this entire topic.

Also HDMI only supports up to 1920x1080p @ 30 Hz. No 60 Hz.

VGA input supports 1920x1080p @ 60 Hz. The workaround mentioned previously involves using something in the nVidia display drivers called HDTV overscan compensation. I think all it does is reduce the effective size of the desktop even though the card continues to output 1920x1080. Your effective desktop size would be 1-2% smaller. It just makes sure nothing is cropped off the screen. I think powerstrip can do the same thing, but I'm not sure -- I haven't played with powerstrip for years. It does not address the fact that the pixel mapping is not 1:1

So if i have a blu-ray player and buy one of these new samsungs, will it crop out part of the picture? I am still a bit confused as to what the downsides are to overscanning other than possibly more processing.

Yes, you'll lose 1-2% of the image at the edges, and there is the potential for scaling artifacts with certain scenes.

pretty weak that they would do this...... oh well. I am sick of looking for a TV, and I am keeping this set. Seems every set has a problem of some sort.

Here are the TV's I have had the last 2 weeks

HItachi 42sd69> Sony XBR1 > LN-S4095D. Best Buy hates me.