I saw the new Samsung plasmas, HP-S5053 and HP-S4253, today at my local Fry's and they look amazing. The picture is detailed, the finish is nice (piano black), and they ae not as expensive as I thought they would be (may be due to lack of cable card and IEEE 1394 inputs).
Has anyone esle seen one OR OWN one and have a review? MSRP?
Specs: (missing is firewire and cable card)
• New Samsung Gen-5 panel
- 10,000:1 contrast ratio
- 1,300 cd/m2 brightness
• 60,000 hour panel life* (27 years @ 6 hours/day)
• 1366(H) x 768(V) pixel resolution
• 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
• Built-in HDTV tuner (NTSC/ATSC)
• 13-bit processing (549 billion colors)
• Split screen & picture in picture
• Samsung DNIe™ (Digital Natural Image engine)
• 175°(H/V) viewing angle
• 3D Y/C digital comb filter
• Auto pixel shift (burn in resistance)
• TrueWide design with hidden speaker
• FilterBright™ anti-glare filter
• Power save feature
A u d i o
• 10-watt per channel built-in audio amplifier
• Built-in 1-way, 2-speaker system
• SRS TruSurround XT™
Rear A/V connections
• 2 HDMI – High Definition Multimedia Interface
• 2 component video inputs (Y,Pb,Pr)
• S-Video and composite video input
• PC (RGB) input
Side A/V connections
• S-Video and composite video input
• Headphone jack

I saw the new Samsung plasmas, HP-S5053 and HP-S4253, today at my local Fry's and they look amazing. The picture is detailed, the finish is nice (piano black), and they ae not as expensive as I thought they would be (may be due to lack of cable card and IEEE 1394 inputs).
Has anyone esle seen one OR OWN one and have a review? MSRP?
Specs: (missing is firewire and cable card)
• New Samsung Gen-5 panel
- 10,000:1 contrast ratio
- 1,300 cd/m2 brightness
• 60,000 hour panel life* (27 years @ 6 hours/day)
• 1366(H) x 768(V) pixel resolution
• 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
• Built-in HDTV tuner (NTSC/ATSC)
• 13-bit processing (549 billion colors)
• Split screen & picture in picture
• Samsung DNIe™ (Digital Natural Image engine)
• 175°(H/V) viewing angle
• 3D Y/C digital comb filter
• Auto pixel shift (burn in resistance)
• TrueWide design with hidden speaker
• FilterBright™ anti-glare filter
• Power save feature
A u d i o
• 10-watt per channel built-in audio amplifier
• Built-in 1-way, 2-speaker system
• SRS TruSurround XT™
Rear A/V connections
• 2 HDMI – High Definition Multimedia Interface
• 2 component video inputs (Y,Pb,Pr)
• S-Video and composite video input
• PC (RGB) input
Side A/V connections
• S-Video and composite video input
• Headphone jack


I just saw one at the local Sears. The finish is great. One of the best I seen. But the 50 inch was sitting next to a new Panasonic and the Pany looked much better. Also, the 42 inch was nex to a new Toshiba and I would give the Toshiba the edge. With similiar specs, the Toshiba was cheaper.

Has anyone seen this side by side with the new sharp 37 or 45 d40u. What do you think and which one would you rather have? Also is the frame on the sammy 4253 the same as the new ED sammy sp-s4243, pictures on the net look the same but i hear the 4253 has a piano black finish?

The ED is a flat finish and 480p ad the HD is piano black (It looks sweet) and is 768p.
Does anyone know why there is no Cable card or firewire? Also, Both the ED, and 42" and 50" HD have a game mode. Not sure what the game mode is but it has it.

What's improved over the 2005 4250? (I just bit circuit city special).

I was reading the manual for the HP-S5053 and it looks pretty nice. I was excited to see that the RGB port actually accepts 1280x720 and 1360x768 resolutions.

The one thing I didn't like was the zoom/stretch modes. According to the manual it has:

16:9 - Sets the picture to 16:9 wide mode
Zoom1 - Magnifies the size of the picture on the screen
Zoom2 - Expands the Zoom1 format picture
4:3 - Sets the picture to 4:3 normal mode

Anyone with a Samsung set that is familiar with the zoom/stretch modes? I'd love to have a non-linear horizontal stretch that many sets have where the middle isn't stretched much but the sides are stretched more. Makes viewing stretched 4:3 content a bit better looking.

Hopefully that's the only flaw the TV has. I still haven't seen it, but hopefully my local BestBuy/Sears/CircuitCity will have it soon.

What about a qam tuner? I now it lacks a cable card and firewire but does it have a qam tuner? I really like the look and picture but I worry that without firewire how will I record HD material when HD-dvd or BR have burners?

I saw the 42 inch models in Best Buy today side by side with several other 42" plasmas including the new Panasonics, Pioneers, Hitachis, LG's and others. Bottom line to me was that is compared extremely well. I have to say that over all the Samsung presented the best balance of detail, color, contrast and feature set. I liked it far better than everything else including the Panasonic. (including models priced $1500 more, e.g. Pioneers) Admittedly the Panny was very good but unfortunately the 42 and 37 " models wash out facial feature details (skin marks, freckles, dimples and the like) as well as fine detail on bright surfaces such as snow, ice etc. To the contrary the Samsung did remarkably well in maintaining clarity and fine detail in almost all circumstances. Also sunsets and the like were more stunning on the Samsung than on any other panel I was comparing it to due to it's ability to present subtle differences in hue and intensity. If you can't tell I am sold and will be picking one of these bad boys up!

I'm interested in the HP-Sxx53 models as well
500+ billion colors compared to the 100 billion max every other Plasma has.

PLUS this seems to be the only Samsung panel that lets you turn off the DlNe, unless that was a typo.
Can anyone confirm this??

BTW if your seeing it at the store are you sure it's the new model?
CC & Best Buy have this as the latest model: Samsung 42" Plasma HDTV (HP-R4252)

NOT the "S" model:
http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/PlasmaTV/HPS4253XXAA.asp?page=Features

I seen the set as well/The Samsung compared to others has nice saturated colors that dont bleed over and a sharp picture.The Sammy does have a nice picture except in the shadow detal and depth.Panasonic gradually fades into other colors instead of dropping off and looks more natural..Skin tones are awful on the Panasonic.If your looking that price range i would go with the Samsung..Even over Toshiba HP and LG..All 3 of the manufactures just names use LG glass.Toshibas were the bomb last year and i would say edged out the Panasonics but this year from whayt i seen in the 42 they just fell off.Im going to check the settings tomorrow to see if they been moved.

WTFER:I think you maybe able to.Im going to check tomorrow on seeing if you can and i will let everyone know.You can turn it off on the new rear projections but you cant turn it off on the LNSxx52D flat panels(LCD).

I'm interested in the HP-Sxx53 models as well
500+ billion colors compared to the 100 billion max every other Plasma has.

PLUS this seems to be the only Samsung panel that lets you turn off the DlNe, unless that was a typo.
Can anyone confirm this??

BTW if your seeing it at the store are you sure it's the new model?
CC & Best Buy have this as the latest model: Samsung 42" Plasma HDTV (HP-R4252)

NOT the "S" model:
http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/PlasmaTV/HPS4253XXAA.asp?page=Features

Just exchanged the sharp 37d40u for the the sammy 4253 and yes you can turn off dnie in the menu and yes this tv smokes the new sharp lcd's.

Just exchanged the sharp 37d40u for the the sammy 4253 and yes you can turn off dnie in the menu and yes this tv smokes the new sharp lcd's.

How does it look with SD? I've always read the Panny's handle it well. Does the Sammy do a good job with SD?

I can confirm that DNie can be turned off. I was at Best Buy in nyc and it was the first setting I headed for. TV has seriously KICK ass quality both PQ and design.

I am def going to buy this. Samsung may have dropped the ball last year, but this year this hit this out the park.

My sister in law who has the new panny 5060U saw this Samsung on display in the store, turns around and asked me...why did i get the panasonic. this samsung looks So much better.

I could not find a flaw with the Pq I saw, awesome blacks, deep rich colors.

I purchased the Samsung HP-S4253 5 days ago. [EDIT]I am hoping to get a lot of bang for buck with this tv.

I can confirm that the DNIe can be turned off completely, as can almost every other annoying feature. I am still trying to find the right settings for the picture and am considering AVIA Home Theatre to assist me.

The finish is exceptional and can be easily kept clean by the wife with the superb cloth provided! The two HDMI slots is a real bonus, although this seems to be the standard for 2006 models.

My concerns with the tv are the extreme heat that coming from the top/rear. Although I am told this is normal for Plasmas this Sammy runs extremely hot. To ease my concerns I visited Sears and luckily a Hitachi was sitting next to the HP-S4253. I can confirm that both produced very similar heat. The silence of the tv from liquid cooling has the comprimise of a higher temperature. However, I doubt this will be a huge issue.

My other concern is the detail of dark colours during night time scenes of movies etc. The black shadows or dark areas of the screen are missing detail that other sets seem to show. For example, the Panny 60X during Cinderalla Man showed almost twice as many faces in the crowd over the Samsung HP-S4253. Once again though, I must state this is probably due to mis calibration and hopefully AVIA will solve this. If anyone has an opinion on the optimum settings for this tv please share.

I have not got HDTV going on this yet. Sadly I tried analogue cable and it looked poor but that is the source over the tv. My Xbox 360 works very well in either 720P or 1080i; the games are a little dark but once again probably have the set mis calibrated.

I am considering the new Samsung HD-DVD860 (?) upconverting DVD player which matches this set to watch DVD's at a level this tv deserves.

Overall I am satisfied due to the price I paid. Somehow I feel I expected more but have not put the correct source into the TV to justify this yet. Furthermore, my previous set in the UK was a Bang & Olufson TV which for some reason produced a picture equal to or better than USA HD tv on every channel I watched. Hopefully once Comcast hooks up my HDTV this will become, and I quote from the box 'the centrepiece of the living room'!

Nice Tv PhilH, can you please check for noise in the picture. ie does DNIe really remove or does it make the picture worst by adding " snow" like dust in the images.

thx

Nice Tv PhilH, can you please check for noise in the picture. ie does DNIe really remove or does it make the picture worst by adding " snow" like dust in the images.

thx

In my opinion the DNIe is very subjective. I can see the difference between having it on or off. I have not seen any snow like dust in the images with it turned on for either DVD or analogue cable.

However, I feel the best picture comes with DNIe turned off so I leave it that way. I only wish I could plug the tv into my HD comcast source to give better feedback to your question.

nice thanks, so overall esp. for the money this is a great buy. I will keep an eye out for the 50" version. cant wait to pick it up later on.

thanks phil

Just put a down payment on this badboy (the 5053). I will be getting it on Friday. I will share details with everyone. I chose this set over the Panny 5060u. Lets hope that was a wise decision as the price is exactly the same.

One word: VGA Port!

Mod7

Without using Avia yet I am starting to get better levels of detail during dark scenes. Luckily Fifa 2006 World Cup on my Xbox 360 has a calibrator included in the options. Now I can see all the levels of black to white the tv is showing much greater detail. My only concern is that both contrast and brightness are around 75% to achieve this.

Without using Avia yet I am starting to get better levels of detail during dark scenes. Luckily Fifa 2006 World Cup on my Xbox 360 has a calibrator included in the options. Now I can see all the levels of black to white the tv is showing much greater detail. My only concern is that both contrast and brightness are around 75% to achieve this.

Phil- Good to know. I noticed this issue on a 4272 model. We need to find out what an acceptable level is for these features. Especially during the break in period. Anyone out there calibrated the new Samsung Plasma's?


EDIT: Phil - Have you tried game mode yet?

My other concern is the detail of dark colours during night time scenes of movies etc. The black shadows or dark areas of the screen are missing detail that other sets seem to show. For example, the Panny 60X during Cinderalla Man showed almost twice as many faces in the crowd over the Samsung HP-S4253. Once again though, I must state this is probably due to mis calibration and hopefully AVIA will solve this. If anyone has an opinion on the optimum settings for this tv please share.

was the DlNe on when you saw the lack of detail in dark scenes?
DlNe number one problem is just that, it screws up details in dark scenes.


I have not got HDTV going on this yet. Sadly I tried analogue cable and it looked poor but that is the source over the tv.

are you sure you didn't get any HD channels? If you have basic/analog Cable you should get all your local channels in HD, try inputting either channel 07.1 or 11.1 or try looking in the 100.1+ channels to see if your local channels are there.

this Plasma does have a built in tuner right?

btw did you notice any dot crawl on the panel?
Plamsa panels suppoably lack the full color scale to reproduce smooth colors like a CRT can

This is what a CRT without dot crawl would look like:
http://www.webstyleguide.com/graphics/graphics/7.10a.jpg

This is what a Plasma with (extreme case of) dot crawl would look like:
http://www.webstyleguide.com/graphics/graphics/7.10b.gif

did you notice that on the 360 or any of your DVDs?

I now have DNIe turned off and have noticed an improvement in dark scenes during dvd playback. However I did also increase contrast to about 65% and brightness to 75% which gave me the full range of black to white in a calibration test on Xbox360.

I have not received any HD analogue tv yet through the set. From what I gather this has a tuner built in; however to receive HD signals in analogue I am under the impression it must be by 'air' and not 'cable' analogue. I was using only cable analogue and do not have the required aerial to receive 'air' HD local channels.

The only time dot crawl seems at all evident would be on the analogue cable SD broadcast. However I think this is more a low resolution image being stretched to fit the 42" and that is why it is low quality. On the intended input of DVD or HD through my Xbox 360 I have not noticed any dot crawl. I am now using the game mode with my Xbox 360 which has further enhanced the gaming feel.

Please note my opinions are subjective and this tv has not yet been calibrated with Avia or similar and has not had a HD broadcast from comcast yet. But I have seen enough so far to be pleased with the purchase.

At the end of the day on SD this tv looks no better if not slightly worse than tube tvs in this house. However the tube tvs are 15" so they will make SD analogue look better than a 42" tv. BUt, I did not buy this tv for SD. When HD feeds into this tv it comes into its own.

I have not received any HD analogue tv yet through the set. From what I gather this has a tuner built in; however to receive HD signals in analogue I am under the impression it must be by 'air' and not 'cable' analogue. I was using only cable analogue and do not have the required aerial to receive 'air' HD local channels.


hmm you should be getting OTA HD channels (not cable HD channels though) with your cable.
select "cable" & not "air" & do a automatic channel search or whatever it is called on the Samsung.
Then search your normal channels, with a regular antenna to view say ch.4 NBC HD, you would need to have it on ch. 4.1 instead of ch.4

With basic cable though they usually have the OTA HD channels on a different higher up channels.
like ABC will be on 85.1 or 104.1 instead of just ch. 4.1

I went through a lot of info when I first tried getting OTA HD channels with my HD w/ Built in tuner

I will run that test tomorrow and try to receive HD analogue cable tv and will let you know the results.

Thanks for keeping us posted Phil. I look forward to some pix and your master tweaks.

If possible post some xbox 360 shots :)

did anyone else purchase this set... 42 or 50 if so what are your reviews

Screen glare has always been an issue for me. This set is supposed to have what they call "Filter Brite anti glare screen" Can anyone tell me if if it does the job?

The screen on this TV (mine is the HP-S4253) reminds me very much of the screen on my old Bang and Olufson 6000 set in the UK. However I do not have it set up in a normal environment at the moment as I don;t move into my apartment until May 5th. My apartment has a large window in the living room which will be the acid test for the screen on this tv.

Personally from apearence I am confident this will handle it as it really does remind me of the Bang & Olufson set as mentioned above.

Hey Phil any luck with figuring out the OTA HD channels? I just bought this t.v. last night and hooked it up to my basic cable and of course it doesn't look that good. So I'm wondering what my next step is... do I now upgrade my cable service to digital/HD cable or go out and buy a regular VH/UHF antenna and try experimenting with OTA HD? Also if you can pass onto me any setup tips it would be highly appreciated. Thanks,
CH :)

also looking for reveiws on this unit as I am most interested in this tv. thx

Hey Phil any luck with figuring out the OTA HD channels? I just bought this t.v. last night and hooked it up to my basic cable and of course it doesn't look that good. So I'm wondering what my next step is... do I now upgrade my cable service to digital/HD cable or go out and buy a regular VH/UHF antenna and try experimenting with OTA HD? Also if you can pass onto me any setup tips it would be highly appreciated. Thanks,
CH :)

I never got OTA HD going as was going to wait for my HD Digital Cable service next Saturday. It can be done, however I am not too famliar with how as I just moved here from the UK and was used to a Dish setup there. I believe you plug your coax cable into Antenna 1 and then in Antenna 2 buy a small aerial that can receive HD. I have seen them for under fifty dollars.

Being honest I bought this TV on its exceptional HD performance. SD does not look pretty when I tried (on a poor coax connection). It may improve next week through Digital Cable. I would recommend upgrading your service to digital cable and HDTV to get the most out of this tv.

I have no set up tips to pass on as I am breaking in the tv this week and awaiting delivery of Avia Guide To Home Theatre. Then I should be able to find optimum setup for my conditions. Bare in mind everyones living conditions and light levels vary from place to place so whats good for me may not work for others.

BTW if your seeing it at the store are you sure it's the new model?
CC & Best Buy have this as the latest model: Samsung 42" Plasma HDTV (HP-R4252)

NOT the "S" model:
http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/PlasmaTV/HPS4253XXAA.asp?page=Features
HPR's are the previous model yet they are also relatively new. The latest Samsungs in both LCD and PDP carry the "S" designation. Samsung showed a bunch of 1080P plasma's in Germany back in March and you wonder is a 63" 1080P on the horizon to match up with the Panny 65"? The HPR 63" has been dropping in price and usually that's pre-emptive to perhaps a "S" Series 1080P in that beautiful piano black housing with built in stand or it may be my own wishful thinking.

All I've seen are very impressive and better than the HPR series and most reports are you can now turn off DNie if one chooses. The prices have also dropped on the "s" series - Ecost has them for much nicer value than the B&M's. :)

Thanks Phil,
You validated what I'm doing too whew! This Wednesday is when they'll hook up digital/HD cable. I did go out and buy one of those HD antennas and connected up to OTA HD... ugh not good. Firstly, the picture wasn't in 16:9... it had side black sections. Secondly, picture and sound would cut out and thirdly the picture quality wasn't all that good.
What is the difference between the "R" series and "S" series?

ALso that AVia guide... wonder if I should get that as well.

thanks,
CH

I just finished buying this tv 2 days ago. i also have hd service running to the tv and a upscaling dvd player as i got the matching samsung ht-p1200 surround sound with it.
The picture on this thing is 1 of the best ive seen from any plasm.ven though i have it tuned down to low settings so i can break in the tv, it still gives off eye candy.DVD looks amazing, The only thing i havent checked is my xbox360 due to it being in repair shop at m$ and just cause im waiting to break in the tv before doing anything, as im still a little worried bout burn in. As to any features for burn in prevention it comes with "white wash", "Pixel shifter", and "signal pattern"....

The only thing is do not get mis-guided by the game mode. it is not a feature to prevent burn in. Its just there to enhance the viewing of your gaming experience, as i was misinformed at the time of my purchase.

all in all i give this tv a
4 out 5 -only reason i havent gave it a 5 is because its not calibrated yet.


The only thing i am wondering since i havent tried gaming on it yet is if theres any "ghosting" and if anyone knows the response time on this tv can they share it. =D

This years model is so much improved over last year. The color capabilities are amazing. If you're comparing to Panny, the Samsung has 13 bit compared to 10 (549 billion vs 12 billion), as well as higher resolution- 1366x768 compared to 1024x768. Plus, the cabinet is so much more appealing than the silver, plastic looking Panny.

Samsung is definitely stepping up to be a major competitor this time around.

I have not experienced any ghosting with my Xbox 360 and the Samsung HP-S4253. However I have only used my 360 in very short bursts as I am trying to break the tv in. Games I have played include Fifa World Cup, Oblivion and PGR. All OK although slightly dark as I have settings very low for initial tv period.

Am waiting for the SVCD to be formatted to DVD so I can run that loop for hours on end to help break this tv in. Other than that I let the signal test run for a few hours every day and since this everytime I go back to the TV I feel the picture is getting better!

The Avia Guide To Home Theatre can be found on Amazon. An alternative is Digital Video Essentials (DVE) and is almost half the price of Avia. DVE is very difficult to use and intepret according to experts on this forum. I went for Avia as just using a basic calibration test in Fifa World Cup amazed me how far off standard settings were. Avia is easier for a novice at tv tuning (me) and very informative. Basically from what I read it optimises your tv for your environment. I'll let you know what I actually think of it once I have it!

Thanks Phil,
You validated what I'm doing too whew! This Wednesday is when they'll hook up digital/HD cable. I did go out and buy one of those HD antennas and connected up to OTA HD... ugh not good. Firstly, the picture wasn't in 16:9... it had side black sections. Secondly, picture and sound would cut out and thirdly the picture quality wasn't all that good.
What is the difference between the "R" series and "S" series?

ALso that AVia guide... wonder if I should get that as well.

thanks,
CH

Well... the good news is that you WERE getting a digital OTA signal.

Could be that you needed to move the antenna to the compass heading of the transmission site(which you can find easily by doing a google search for OTA HD). That is the nature of the beast with any digital signal. There isn't such a thing as "snow" like there is with analog. With digital, either you have a picture or you don't, with the first sign of a degrading signal being the sound dropping or the picture getting "blocky" and freezing up.

The black bars on the sides only mean that the program you were watching wasn't recorded in HD. It was still being transmitted digitally. Most local stations don't pull a TNT-HD and upconvert everything, they just broadcast in all digital(on the digital channel) and that allows them to shows that are recorded or live broadcast in HD(for example... your local ABC news will most likely not be in HD and will have the black bars on the sides, however Lost will be in HD and take up the entire screen. I'm sure you have seen the TV shows that say "Broadcast in HD where available")

I guess the jist of this post is that you are there... just need a HD show to watch and reposition the antenna.

BTW, you don't really need one of the "fancy" HD amplifying antennas that are going for $30-100... you can get the digital signal with a standard set of "rabbit ears" as long a you have a digital tuner on your TV...

Thanks Kev,
I kinda picked up on the "you don't need an HD antenna" idea from an OTA HD site but didn't take heed and still thought it was necessary (I can still take it back). I know it all depends on how far I am from towers etc... for OTA transmission but you suppose I should now try a standard outdoor antenna now? Or just wait for my digital/HD set-top cable box to come Wednesday?
CH

Thanks Kev,
I kinda picked up on the "you don't need an HD antenna" idea from an OTA HD site but didn't take heed and still thought it was necessary (I can still take it back). I know it all depends on how far I am from towers etc... for OTA transmission but you suppose I should now try a standard outdoor antenna now? Or just wait for my digital/HD set-top cable box to come Wednesday?
CH

If you want to see what the TV will do you can certainly try the outdoor antenna. If it isn't wired or installed yet, I'd personally wait, but if it has been there for a while it certainly wouldn't hurt anything.

I'm hearing really good things about this 42" model... :-)

Looking forward to hearing about or seeing one in action...

I watched Law and Order last night OTA and it looked amazing. The broadcast was 1080i 16:9. I temporarily turned up the brightness and contrast and was VERY pleased. It really did look like it was coming from a cable box.

720p also looked good with Nascar on fox OTA. Not as good as Law and Order 1080i.

Mod7

Edit: This is on the 5053.

Today I began browsing the OTA HD channels and came across channel 7's HD NBA playoffs. Finally got to see a good picture on this and I am happy :p . Now it seems its being transmitted in 780p, what is that? Other DTV channels come in 1080i and look horrible and don't fill the screen. Can you guys expand on this a lil? Thankyou,
CH

The 1080i feeds you saw are most likely not 16:9. It will expand the picture once it recieves true 16:9.

I need to get this up on the wall, does this take a universal mounting pattern? I'd sure like to be able to pull it out and angle it, can you suggest a wall mount for this? Tomorrow is when my cable company comes out to hook up digital cable... I'll let you know how it all works out.
CH

I just finished buying this tv 2 days ago. i also have hd service running to the tv and a upscaling dvd player as i got the matching samsung ht-p1200 surround sound with it.


Hey, how are the samsung ht-p1200, how would u rate them. I saw them yesterday in nyc from the looks, very classy.

i love em i wouldnt change em for nothin only thing that kinda caught me awkward was u plug all the speaker wires into the sub, as the sub is the amp or something around that line.but that kinda makes it look classy in my own weird way of liking it. sound quality is great,people have jumped out there seat due to the sound.(gotta love random gun shots in movies) and it all matches which makes it even more sexier. and u cant beat the fact it runs divx and all other types of burnable media.

through HDMI the upscaling dvd player it comes with makes it worth it all.
I heard retail is like $1000.If you got a local brandsmart they got em in stock and i tucked them down to $700(very persuasive speaker).
so you can check there.


If anyone can put 2 cents on if i wanted to expand my surround system later on how would i go around doing it, if everything connects thru the sub?

Has anybody seen or heard anything about the 5073? I believe its 1080P.

Has anybody seen or heard anything about the 5073? I believe its 1080P.
It's 720P
I had a URL for you, but as a new member, it won't let me post a url until I have 5 posts.

Here's the URL:
[EDIT]ww.tvauthority.com/Coming-Soon/Samsung-HP-S5073
I'm trying to figure out what's the difference between the S5053 and the S5073.

The screen on this TV (mine is the HP-S4253) reminds me very much of the screen on my old Bang and Olufson 6000 set in the UK. However I do not have it set up in a normal environment at the moment as I don;t move into my apartment until May 5th. My apartment has a large window in the living room which will be the acid test for the screen on this tv.

Personally from apearence I am confident this will handle it as it really does remind me of the Bang & Olufson set as mentioned above.

I'm waiting for your "glare" test .. please report back!

This years model is so much improved over last year. The color capabilities are amazing. If you're comparing to Panny, the Samsung has 13 bit compared to 10 (549 billion vs 12 billion), as well as higher resolution- 1366x768 compared to 1024x768.

Is the resolution of the S4253 1366x768 or 1024x768? I like the 42" plasma panels but I don't know qualitatively how much I'm losing with 1024x768 resolution vs. an LCD that's 1366x768 resolution.

- M

So was last year's model no good? The HPR5052 i think it is.....the 50" plasma. The set looks pretty good to me at a local store.......should i not buy it?

Folks,

I'm looking to buy a 42" Plasma and would REALLY APPRECAITE your feedback.
So, far the list is:

1. Samsung HP-S4253 (was initially lokking at HP-R4272)
2. Philips 50PF7320A/37
3. Philips 42PF7220A/37

Basically, I'm comparing Philips with Sammy, because:
- Philips got all the features Sammy has + more!!
- PRICE!! (I can get 50" with 300 more as compared to 42" Sammy)

Questions:

1. The only diff b/w HP-R4272 & HP-S4253 is TWO HDMI ports in HP-S model?
3. Any experince with Philips 42PF7220A/37 or 50PF7320A/37 ?
4. Between Philips and Samsung - which one ??

thanks (in advance)

/Ikram.

Saw the HP-S5053 and HP-S4253 today at Circuit city, and wow, I"m impressed. It was on par if not better than the Panny, with better anti-glare. On the Panny 60u, you could clearly see the full reflection of the fluroscent store lighting, whereas on the Samsung's it was WAY more diffused. Reminds me of the great anti-glare coating on my current Sony GWIII 50" RPLCD.

I loved the piano black shiny bezel at first, but it got a bit annoying with the reflections flashign back at me. I much prefer a matte black.

I LIke how it has speakers but you can't even see them "invisispeaker" i think they call it. I hate the dumbo ear speakers that many other models have that aren't detachable (eg. The Philips models).

Now my dilemna is:

1. New Samsung or HP which is about $700 less
2. Where to buy it from? Local is good for return policy (Eg. costco) but i want to avoid sales tax! (~$300 sales tax for me in WA)

can someone with either the HP-S5053 and or 42" version post any reviews on xbox 360 quality. ie what resolution is your xbox at or if any of you have managed to plug in the vga port.

pix would be nice of some pc or 360 action. :D

since I would most likely use this set for HTPC as well.

thanks in advance.

ikram I would def pick the Samsung HP-S4253 or HP-S5053 over the philips plasma.

samsung has great design, top notch quality.

Hi folks,
Just chiming in here. I work part time at Circuit City and we got the new HP-S5053 in last night while I was working. I was so impressed with this set after we hooked it up that I bought it on the spot. I have to wait until Saturday to pick it up though since we were already out of stock on the unit. We sold the two units we had in the warehouse before we even put the display out!

I bought the LN-S3251D about 3 weeks ago because my old Sony 32" Trinitron died on me and I needed a TV to tie me over. I regret that I am going to return the LN-S3251D because I also like this set too but I can't afford two HDTV's right now. My original plan was to hold out for a 1080p set but after thinking this through, 1080p plasma's and LCD TV's are going to be pricey this year and probably next year as well and Sony's SXRD sets are also going to break the bank for a 60" or bigger. I got a great employee discount on the 5053 last night and could not pass it up. Once I get this TV all set up in my room this weekend and calibrated using my Digital Video Essentials and Circuit City calibration DVD's, I will share my setting with you all.

This is the biggest TV I have ever owned so I am pretty excited about the coming weekend! I will post more after I get everything set up.

Peace :D

Hi folks,
Just chiming in here. I work part time at Circuit City and we got the new HP-S5053 in last night while I was working. I was so impressed with this set after we hooked it up that I bought it on the spot.

Well, I guess I'd call that a good review! :) Can't wait to check it out.

Well, I guess I'd call that a good review! :) Can't wait to check it out.

Keep in mind, I view and get to play with all of these TV's about 3 or 4 nights a week on the job and I can tell you the picture quality just stands out on its own with this set compared to the other plasmas around it. Only the new panny's are on par with this set. I think the Samsung has the edge however due to design (the piano black cabinet really makes this set look elegant) and the pixel shift technology that prevents the set from experiencing burn in problems. I don't think the panny's have this feature but I could be mistaken.

One "oh by the way,
Our store manager and a fellow employee I work with in the store also purchased the 4253 model same time as I got my 5053.

I'm almost set on buying this set.. I just need to find a way to:

1. Avoid sales tax
2. Get at least 10% off on some deal
3. Buy it from a store with good warranty

I figure because of #3, i'm goign to have to buy local. I can only hope that Costco or Sears gets the Sammy 5053 in stock.

[EDIT]

I'm almost set on buying this set.. I just need to find a way to:

1. Avoid sales tax
2. Get at least 10% off on some deal
3. Buy it from a store with good warranty

I figure because of #3, i'm goign to have to buy local. I can only hope that Costco or Sears gets the Sammy 5053 in stock.

[EDIT]


I saw it in the local Sears (Hicksville, NY) this past weekend.

Hey all. New to this forum as I just purchased a 4253 that was delivered last week. I love the set although probably needs to be professionally calibrated. but I have noticed what I hope is not a problem.

I have the set hooked up to a D* H20 receiver that is also brand new. sometimes when I change a channel, I get a fairly loud buzzing noise that comes from the TV. I can't tell if the problem is with the H20 or the TV or if the noise is normal (can't imagine it is). I am not sure how else to test the source. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them.

Thanks.

Any professional reviews on these new Sammy plasmas?

hey guys, also just chiming in. Earlier tonight, i went with my buddy to get his new plasma--we both had our hearts set on the 42" Panny EDTVs, especially since the '05 models were on sale in preparation for the incoming '06 models. He decided to bite the bullet, and we headed to our local BB to get one of the last two in all the BB's of Columbus, OH. While scoppingn out the competition, i stumbled upon the one of the new Sammy 42" EDTV, displayed right over one of the new 42" Panny HDTVs. I stood there for seriously about 45 minutes, cuz i felt like my eyes were deceiving me--it was very clear to me that the new Sammy had significantly better PQ than the new Panny below it, despite the fact that the Panny was even HD! I called one of the floor guys and asked him if it were just me, but he agreed with me, said it might be something with the fact that they recently moved the Panny over from a different display shelf. In any case, this thread and what i saw tonight has sold me on the 42" Sammy EDTV. Anyone out there have the EDTV, or everyone a HDTV buyer?

I really hope to read some good reviews. It's really hard for me to tell in the store what's better than what. They all look pretty close to me in that environment. A coulple of good reviews and it may be time to pull the trigger! :cool:

According to most things I have read last year's Samsung HPR5052 had bad reviews. PQ was an issue.........has this year's model changed drastically? You can find the 5052 for almost 1K cheaper than the new model. Is it worth it to get the new model??

worth it yes it is. pq is drastically improved and alot of people are prefering this tv over the panny's this yr. i know i did =D

1 quick question if any one can answer it...
Whats the response time on this tv? anyone kno?

worth it yes it is. pq is drastically improved and alot of people are prefering this tv over the panny's this yr. i know i did =D

1 quick question if any one can answer it...
Whats the response time on this tv? anyone kno?

I agree with you. See my earlier post in this thread. I can't wait until Saturday to get this 5053 in my house. I felt that the picture quality was better than the panny and the styling was way better too. As far as response time, I am looking into that for you.

Whats the response time on this tv? anyone kno?

Response time isn't an issue with plasmas, as the individual pixels refresh faster than the human eye can detect. If there's artifacting or something like that on a plasma, it's most likely a result of the internal scaler.

ahh ok i get you. So response on a plasma will always be superior to lcd's? or it jus matters on the scaler in the tv model

From what I know response times on Plasmas are far superior to LCDs. If you need a flat panel tv for fast moving images always go for Plasma over LCD at this moment in time.

Regrading my posts on page 1 and 2:

The heat issue seems to be very low now on my HP-4253. I am 70 hours in to my 100 hr break in period using the SVCD by Evangelo2. This tv is running great at the current moment in time and my concerns with heat have gone now.

Can't wait for Saturday when I finally have HD Digital Cable hooked up to this and once I break 100hours so I can finally use my Xbox 360 on it!

I ordered by s5053 over a week ago from hideflifestyle. They don't have it in stock yet... hopefully by Friday. I put the wall mount plate up last night, so this thing will be ready to hang as soon as it gets to my house!

The suspense is killing me!

hey Paulluse I need to come up with an appropriate wall mount for my HP-S4253... is there a uniformed pattern or type I should be getting that you know of?
thx,
CH

yeh i would also know if this thing can take universal wall mounts. Glad someone has mounted or gonna mount it. Before i go wasting my money on somethin that dont work.

I looked through the thread and haven't seen anything on this...

What are the abilities of the Sammy to zoom or change the aspect ratio of: Component and HDMI inputs?
Can it zoom a 1080i or 720p input?

Also... what are the adjustments like.
Are they limited to the typical Brightness, Contrast, sharpness, etc... or do they include gamma, individual color controls, color temp. etc?

Thanks

shane

I'm so close to getting this screen.........!

and its getting so annoying not finding any professional reviews of it! :D

Also....the HDMI interface does not support PC inputs...which is almost preventing me from buying the 50"...

I looked at this set a CC today and it is really pretty nice. Of course they had the out of the box settings on them but I thought (after 5 minutes of looking at them) that it was as good as the Panasonic 50/60U in the same store. Nice aesthetics to the set as well. Impressive.

Is there a bigger set like this coming out from Samsung?

can somebody explain what torch mode and breaking in are considered. I hit the 100hr mark and im bout to do the avia dvd. Ill post my settings sometime tommorow see if they match up with any of the other owners to see if im doing anything wrong.(this is my first plasma)

Also....the HDMI interface does not support PC inputs...which is almost preventing me from buying the 50"...

What do you mean the HDMI doesn't support PC inputs?

can somebody explain what torch mode and breaking in are considered. I hit the 100hr mark and im bout to do the avia dvd. Ill post my settings sometime tommorow see if they match up with any of the other owners to see if im doing anything wrong.(this is my first plasma)

Torch mode is generally considered to be the out of the box superbright, super-colorful settings (factory default) that plasma tv's seem to have from the factory. See Panasonics' "vivid" mode. I assume it is for attracting the average consumer in a store who is looking at more than one panel brand.

Most folks use 100 hours as a minimum breakin and some would state to take it easy for the next 900 hours. I've read here where the panels have gotten so much better that maybe just the first 100 hours is critical, if that, anymore. Some folks do not concern themselves with it at all. Read the master burn in sticky at the top of this forum, or parts of it. :D

What do you mean the HDMI doesn't support PC inputs?



if you look in the manual section that talks about HDMI inputs, it states: "The HDMI/DVI IN jack is not compatible with PC."

:(

Well yesterday my cable company installed the digital set-top box. And to be perfectly honest with ya I'm now more confused than ever. I bought this nice tv thinking that every channel will be great (my first plasma). Sure it potentially puts out an incredible picture ie; HD 720p but it seems not every broadcast station is "making the grade" with this format. Please forgive my newbie explanation of all this. But I assumed that when you buy a kickass 42" 16:9 plasma that ALLLLL your channels should come out clear and 16:9!! This cable guy had mentioned how by 2008 or so that everyone will be broadcasting in HD... I hope so. 480i,1080i,1080p,720p, HD, SD... MAN! too many formats, plz somebody uniform these various formats!
CH (plasma newb has spoken)

But I assumed that when you buy a kickass 42" 16:9 plasma that ALLLLL your channels should come out clear and 16:9!!

Sorry CH -- you assumed wrong. There are a lot of crappy standard definition (SD) broadcasts that look worse on a large flat panel. :mad:

Well yesterday my cable company installed the digital set-top box. And to be perfectly honest with ya I'm now more confused than ever. I bought this nice tv thinking that every channel will be great (my first plasma). Sure it potentially puts out an incredible picture ie; HD 720p but it seems not every broadcast station is "making the grade" with this format. Please forgive my newbie explanation of all this. But I assumed that when you buy a kickass 42" 16:9 plasma that ALLLLL your channels should come out clear and 16:9!! This cable guy had mentioned how by 2008 or so that everyone will be broadcasting in HD... I hope so. 480i,1080i,1080p,720p, HD, SD... MAN! too many formats, plz somebody uniform these various formats!
CH (plasma newb has spoken)

What I did with my cable box is default to 480p for SD and 1080i for HD. These settings seem to give me the best PQ for their corresponding resolutions.

shane

hey guys, also just chiming in. Earlier tonight, i went with my buddy to get his new plasma--we both had our hearts set on the 42" Panny EDTVs, especially since the '05 models were on sale in preparation for the incoming '06 models. He decided to bite the bullet, and we headed to our local BB to get one of the last two in all the BB's of Columbus, OH. While scoppingn out the competition, i stumbled upon the one of the new Sammy 42" EDTV, displayed right over one of the new 42" Panny HDTVs. I stood there for seriously about 45 minutes, cuz i felt like my eyes were deceiving me--it was very clear to me that the new Sammy had significantly better PQ than the new Panny below it, despite the fact that the Panny was even HD! I called one of the floor guys and asked him if it were just me, but he agreed with me, said it might be something with the fact that they recently moved the Panny over from a different display shelf. In any case, this thread and what i saw tonight has sold me on the 42" Sammy EDTV. Anyone out there have the EDTV, or everyone a HDTV buyer?

Were they playing a standard DVD as the source material? If so you wouldn't be able to see a PQ increase from an EDTV to an HDTV, the HDTV might even look worse if the source material were a DVD.

well i did the avia thing, first time using it and i dont know if i did it correct.
here are the settings i came up with, tell me if any of you have the same or close to it please.

brightness 61
contrast 83
sharpness 75
color 60

(for some reason the tint category is greyed out any info on this?)

Hello everyone, Last night my brother and I both purchased the Samsung HP-S5053 for [EDIT]; 1st Plasma either of us own. I also own a 36' Sony Wega HDTV CRT; owned it for three years (excellent in all aspects). I connected the set to my Adelphia provided HD set top box, LG Upconversin DVD player and even tried the Xbox 360 after playing with the TV of some 2-3 hours and I'm confused.... On some HD channels it looks freaking outstanding while on other HD programming it looks, well somewhat FUZZY (shows the digital effects and somtimes darker in some spots), but only with certain content. I switched the HD cables back & forth between the 5053 and my Wega36' HD and noticed that the FUZZiness appeared on both, more noticable on the 5053 because of it's size. Everyone here has a theory that you have to break in the set before playing games and or using a DVD player, is this fact and if so can someone please assist this PLASMA NEWBIE??? Don't get me wrong the Panel is beautiful and does look great, but I was expecting something better then what I already own. Perhaps I'm not setting the calibrations correctly for this tv and would appreciate somne helpful tips, as to what works for those out there who also purchased the 5053. Also I played Episode 3 on my Upconversion player and the BLACK looks extremely dark. I want to keep the set, but if I can't get it the way I want it I'll have to return it before 5 days for a full money back fom Brandsmart, but then again I think I'm doing something wrong if most people on here are pleased with the sets. PLEASE HELP!!! ANYONE...

well i did the avia thing, first time using it and i dont know if i did it correct.
here are the settings i came up with, tell me if any of you have the same or close to it please.

brightness 61
contrast 83
sharpness 75
color 60

(for some reason the tint category is greyed out any info on this?)


I remember reading in the manual that tint becomes unavailable on certain sources.

Avia arrvied today. I plan to use it on Saturday when I get my TV hooked up in its new environment. I have the HP-S4253. Once this is done, I will post my results here so you can compare against mine.

Out of curiousity, how are the black levels now during dark scenes? As marcapi said, I too have noticed a lack of detail and very dark areas during dark scenes. I figured it was down to the calibration as a greyscale showed I was missed 4 or 5 of the darker greys / blacks therefore no distinction was there. How are your settings for dark scenes?

well i did the avia thing, first time using it and i dont know if i did it correct.
here are the settings i came up with, tell me if any of you have the same or close to it please.

brightness 61
contrast 83
sharpness 75
color 60

(for some reason the tint category is greyed out any info on this?)

Can you adjust the aspect ratio (Zoom - Image size - stretch) with and HDMI or other HD source?

Is there an overscan adjustment? How about individual color or gamma? How about color temp?

In other words I'd like to know how adjustable the image is for various sources, since the 'tint' is unavailable with some...

Thanks

shane

edit: also... are settings memorized for each input?

@PhilH930 - Black scenes have improved alot i can actually make out dark scenes which i never doubted i kept it low on the brightness during break in anyways.

@Shane55 - In HDMI and HD Component's i can only do 16:9 and 4:3. Which is not a problem for me because my Adelphia HD DVR takes care of any zooming and stretching and i can switch it on the fly through there. About overscan,individual color,and,gamma it has it in the service menu,But im too nervous to touch anything there besides checking my plasma display time. It does have color temps on the regular menu as Cool1,Cool2,Normal,Warm1,and Warm2.

And last but not least yes settings are memorized by each input,I found that to be very relaxing.lol.

Quick note i just recently edited the settings a little as it seemed too bright for nighttime viewing so here are my most recent

Contrast 75
Brightness 61
Sharpness 75
Color 53

With a color temp of Cool1.

@Shane55 - In HDMI and HD Component's i can only do 16:9 and 4:3. Which is not a problem for me because my Adelphia HD DVR takes care of any zooming and stretching and i can switch it on the fly through there. About overscan,individual color,and,gamma it has it in the service menu,But im too nervous to touch anything there besides checking my plasma display time. It does have color temps on the regular menu as Cool1,Cool2,Normal,Warm1,and Warm2.

And last but not least yes settings are memorized by each input,I found that to be very relaxing.lol.

Thanks S.E.
This Sammy sounds pretty right-on. I'll try to check one out this weekend. The Pio I bought from Costco last weekend is a real POS and is going back Sat. morning. I"ll need a replacement... fast! :eek:

BTW... congrats on your new Sammy.

shane

I checked one out today at my local Sears and, well, was not really impressed with the picture: maybe because it was a POS antenna cable and not component, but it did not look nice at all.

Also, maybe its just that I want to have control over anything but the settings in the menu do not allow much of a control over the picture...

Going to Circiut city tomorrow...

thats weird mustve been how they had it setup cuz trust me its an impressive picture =D

..well they did not have it setup ...I set it up. The guy that worked in the TV dept. must have been 105 years old :D

I just hooked up the antenna cable...

..well they did not have it setup ...I set it up. The guy that worked in the TV dept. must have been 105 years old :D

I just hooked up the antenna cable...

I bought the HP-S4253 and hooked up an antenna cable to make sure it worked. Well, I got a picture, but thats about it. On that kind of connection no widescreen large Plasma tv will look good. Its simple, a resolution that bad being stretched to a larger screen will always disappoint.

Trust me when I say on HD this TV bursts into life. Side by side with most other manufacturers (I exclude Pioneer and Hitachi) my opinion is this TV is on par if not better than the competition. I am yet to see how it looks on my Digital Cable SD channels (hopefully better than the antenna cable) as that will not be hooked up until Saturday.

My honest concerns with this TV are:
- A slight red push
- Slight lack of detail in dark scenes

Both of these concerns only regard PQ. However, it must be noted that I have not run AVIA yet and know my contrast and brightness settings are way off as even a simple Xbox 360 game calibration test showed how far off my blacks to white were as 4 of 12 boxes were not visible (solid black). Simple tuning gave back the definition, but for the break in period I kept every setting under 40%.

Thank you for the clarification Phil....
I'm sure this TV is great, I just wish I could find one that was properly setup...

I checked one out today at my local Sears and, well, was not really impressed with the picture: maybe because it was a POS antenna cable and not component, but it did not look nice at all.

Ditto! My Sears had some lame fish aquarium feed running on every screen and it was not impressive -- so I won't comment on PQ. But I was actually more disappointed in the packaging! The "piano" black frame is really shiny (plexiglas) and you can see warping or sink marks along the bottom when looking from the side -- probably at locations where the unit is screwed together. Cheaper looking than I had hoped. :(

I've been following this thread religiously. Philh930, I'm really looking forward to your xbox 360 impressions once you get past the break-in period. I am curious to see if it looks better with the 360 set at 720p or 1080i. I'm hoping it handles 720p very well.

Have you thought about using the full screen visualization in the music player menu on the 360 to get some time on the tv during the break-in period? It gives you random patterns, so there doesn't seem to be any risk of burn-in from those images. You would need to turn off the screen saver (auto-dimmer) in the system/console settings menu. The only potential problem I can think of is if the music player gets to the end of the playlist, it may go back to the menus, which would pose some risk if you aren't monitoring it.

Ryu i can clarify calibrated that this tv looks superb on 720 running xbox360. Ive tested Ghost Recon, Oblivion, Need for Speed, The Outfit, Blazing Angels, And Tomb Raider. All look great. The only thing i can think of is how am I gonna factor in game mode as it seems to make the picture darker but more defined at the same time.

Ghost Recon on a new Sammy plasma. . . . (drool). . .

Given the wicked contrasts with sunlight and shadows in Ghost Recon, plus the variety in times of day that the levels are set in, I'd think that game would be a very demanding test.

S.E, you said game mode makes it look darker but more defined. If you are looking at an area with intense sunlight as well as shadows, do the black levels look more refined in the shadow areas with game mode on than with it off?

One other question - You can still adjust the display settings in game mode, right?

Hello to ALL,
last night I sat down and teaked my HP-S5053 until it showed off it's full potential and PEOLPE...it looks like I'm keeping the Darn Thing. Yesterday I wrote that i was considering returning it back to the store, but F*@# THAT it's definately a keeper. Try these settings:
Contrast 75
Brightness 70
Color 55
Sharp 75

Color temp. either Cool1 or Standard..

I have one for the Xbox360 and my LG Upconv't DVD player as well. I'll post those after work (Memory Leak)....

If you'll remember I really was confused and wanted to return the set, but after setting it to my preference and having my expectations met; I can now say that whoever owns one of these 42 or 50' BAdAss Plasma's should be ecstatic!!!!

You can adjust display with it on game mode. I see it as a template to first put it on then use that to adjust to your liking.the sunlight in Ghost Recon with game mode on seems to show shadows a darker black and make it blend better but you will have to fix the brightness after u set game mode,i had to because game mode made it slightly darker to play in. I see sometimes my self turnin it on and turnin it back off im just picky that way.

I finally pulled the trigger and bought the Sammy 4253 today
(from BestBuy)....this is my first Plasma TV - so the question I
have:

- Should I buy the protection plan ? (it is $299 for 4 yr)
[includes parts & labor]


thanks,
/Ikram.

1) I'm torn between 42" and 50" as i'll be at about 9.5' viewing distance. In my previous house, i was sitting same distance from my Sony 50" RP LCD and even though SD was sub-optimal the larger size was GREAT for movies and HD content. I actually got used to the poor look of SD to be honest.

On my Sony RPLCD, i watched all 4:3 content as 4:3 since there was no burn-in risk. So 4:3 content on a 42" 16:9 is equivalent to a 34" 4:3 image. Since i previuosly upgraded from a 36" 4:3 CRT, i didn't want to go smaller in size. 4:3 content on a 50" 16:9 is equivalent to a 40".

However, now since my media center has great zoom/stretch modes, and risk of burn-in/IR on plasma is higher, i'll watch the 4:3 stretched. So everything I watch will be larger, which makes we question whether i want a 42" or 50" version of this set.

2) How is the reflectivity of the glass? While this doesn't face a window, My living room is where this will sit and the patio glass door sits on the wall to the left so there will be glare from the side. Admittedly most of my viewing is done at night, but I hate having to draw the curtains and make my living room like the Bat cave just to watch TV..

bobby
You sound like me... :D

I've heard it said that screens never seem go grow... only shrink. I've also heard it said that few regret getting the larger of the two choices.

Just something to consider. YMMV

shane

how's the TV do at deinterlacing? i'm considering the 42" ED version. Here's a noob question: if i want the TV to do the deinterlacing instead of my DVD player, is it as simple as turning the pro-scan off from my DVD player? Or does something need to be enabled/disabled in the TV settings?

1) I'm torn between 42" and 50" as i'll be at about 9.5' viewing distance. In my previous house, i was sitting same distance from my Sony 50" RP LCD and even though SD was sub-optimal the larger size was GREAT for movies and HD content. I actually got used to the poor look of SD to be honest.

On my Sony RPLCD, i watched all 4:3 content as 4:3 since there was no burn-in risk. So 4:3 content on a 42" 16:9 is equivalent to a 34" 4:3 image. Since i previuosly upgraded from a 36" 4:3 CRT, i didn't want to go smaller in size. 4:3 content on a 50" 16:9 is equivalent to a 40".

However, now since my media center has great zoom/stretch modes, and risk of burn-in/IR on plasma is higher, i'll watch the 4:3 stretched. So everything I watch will be larger, which makes we question whether i want a 42" or 50" version of this set.

2) How is the reflectivity of the glass? While this doesn't face a window, My living room is where this will sit and the patio glass door sits on the wall to the left so there will be glare from the side. Admittedly most of my viewing is done at night, but I hate having to draw the curtains and make my living room like the Bat cave just to watch TV..

in addition to these questions, I'm wondering what stands people are using. I'm considering wall mounting this thing which should be the best solution overall for aesthetics, but I know you can't run power cables through the walls for safety issues. How are people wall mounting these? What do you do with the cables?

I would install an outlet behind the unit.

I would install an outlet behind the unit.

then run the componetn and HDMI wires through the wall?

then run the componetn and HDMI wires through the wall?
Yes sir.Thats what i did.Mounted my TV,put the outlet behind the wall.Then i ran my 2 component video and audio along with a HDMI down the wall.

Hello to ALL,
last night I sat down and teaked my HP-S5053 until it showed off it's full potential and PEOLPE...it looks like I'm keeping the Darn Thing. Yesterday I wrote that i was considering returning it back to the store, but F*@# THAT it's definately a keeper. Try these settings:
Contrast 75
Brightness 70
Color 55
Sharp 75

Color temp. either Cool1 or Standard..

I have one for the Xbox360 and my LG Upconv't DVD player as well. I'll post those after work (Memory Leak)....

If you'll remember I really was confused and wanted to return the set, but after setting it to my preference and having my expectations met; I can now say that whoever owns one of these 42 or 50' BAdAss Plasma's should be ecstatic!!!!
Dude how do the blacks do? Cause generally you dont want to have the brightness that high or close to the contrast.Sharpness really doesnt have to be that high either.Have you let your TV play around 100 hours yet?

Yes sir.Thats what i did.Mounted my TV,put the outlet behind the wall.Then i ran my 2 component video and audio along with a HDMI down the wall.

Mounting the TV shouldn't be that hard, i figure find the studs, screw it in at teh right height and I'm good to go. I'm guessing it's best to go with some articulating and swiveling wall mount (like a Sanus).

However, definitely going to have to get someone to do that work for me then.. i"m not that handy with electrical and installing an electrical outlet behind the TV may be tricky. Also, I wonder for longer term whether it's a good idea. I may wan tot rent out my condo later and move out and having an electrical outlet rigth in the middle of a wall may seem weird :)

I finally pulled the trigger and bought the Sammy 4253 today
(from BestBuy)....this is my first Plasma TV - so the question I
have:

- Should I buy the protection plan ? (it is $299 for 4 yr)
[includes parts & labor]


thanks,
/Ikram.

Ikram,

Since it seems that no one will answer your question... I'll give you my 2 pennies...

I've never really been a fan of "extended warranties" simply due to the fact that they are pure profit for the store. It all has to do with the contract and the company paying the repair outfit a flat fee to do the service.

Anyway... I don't really see the point of buying a $150 warranty on a $500 couch... but, at the same time you put out a lot of money for this TV, and yeah... things happen. I'd say that all in all $299 isn't a bad deal for 4 years... considering CC wants $529 for 5 years on a warranty for this TV...

I would ask them what the warranty covers... and doesn't cover. Is there a "lemon clause"?(if they have to fix the tv 3 times over the warranty, they will replace it with something of equal purchase value...)

So me... at the price of this TV, I'd go for it... but in the end... it is your decision...

Also keep in mind that these warranties usually take effect on the date of purchase... so basically it will overwrite the manufacturers warranty...

Ikram,

Since it seems that no one will answer your question... I'll give you my 2 pennies...

I've never really been a fan of "extended warranties" simply due to the fact that they are pure profit for the store. It all has to do with the contract and the company paying the repair outfit a flat fee to do the service.

Anyway... I don't really see the point of buying a $150 warranty on a $500 couch... but, at the same time you put out a lot of money for this TV, and yeah... things happen. I'd say that all in all $299 isn't a bad deal for 4 years... considering CC wants $529 for 5 years on a warranty for this TV...

I would ask them what the warranty covers... and doesn't cover. Is there a "lemon clause"?(if they have to fix the tv 3 times over the warranty, they will replace it with something of equal purchase value...)

So me... at the price of this TV, I'd go for it... but in the end... it is your decision...

Also keep in mind that these warranties usually take effect on the date of purchase... so basically it will overwrite the manufacturers warranty...


Kevin49er,

First, thanks for the reply.....appreciated...

The warranty covers everything, except physical damage i.e. if I
drop the TV and things like that...beside that it is fully covered
(both parts and labor). Infact, per BB, they will pick the TV from
home and deliver it back too....I also think $299 for $2.1K is not
bad.....just wanted to make sure that I'm not just throwing my
money away...

BTW, I'm also *not* a fan of extended warranties...hence the
question... :)

/Ikram.

Sorry for slow update - I've had limited internet access.

My Digital Cable is hooked up on a weak signal which was improved by a booster. My HD looks incredible now. I have that almost perfect. However, my SD looks absolutely awful. Is there anything I can do to improve it? Has anyone found any secrets with this set for SD?

My current settings are as follows:
Contrast 68
Brightness 74
Sharpness 55
Color 32
Normal Temp.

I am also having problems with getting the image to fill the whole screen. Certain HD channels do fill the screen in 16:9 format. However, my local HD channels continue to be in a more 4:3 format, even though the tv is set to run in 16:9.

Whats strange is my father in laws tv (LG 42" Plasma) fills the screen with the same service on same channels, yet my Samsung HP-S4253 will not fill the screen - constantly leaving black bars to the sides. An example is Seabiscuit on ABC. On SD it completely filled my father in laws screen. On HD it went into letterbox format on his tv. On my Samsung SD broadcast in what looked like 4:3 due to black lines down the sides. HD also came through in the same size format. How did he manage true widescreen yet this Samsung is only using almost half the screen.

Have you told your cable box that your tv is 16:9?

Hi all,

I'm very very new to this, and need your help. I can't decide which one to buy:

- The hpr4272 seems to have the most features at that price range
- The hps4253 is newer and can turn off DNIe (questions below)
- Panasonic TH-42PX60U (more people -- in threads I read -- prefer Panny to Sammy...), but no PIP and PC input (not my main concern but still...)
- Maybe others (under $3000 and hopefully around $2500)?


So my questions below; I would really appreciate your input...

1) Is DNIe really annoying? Is it more obvious on DLP screens, or on plasmas as well?
2) How come the Samsung models can display 5XX billions of colors, while the Panasonics can only show 8 billions? (That's a huge difference!)
3) We are mostly on SD channels and sometimes watch DVDs and VCDs, but might upgrade to HD in the future (planning to keep the new tv for at least 5 years). Is plasma really for me?

Thanks in advance!

so what's the difference between the 5053 and the 5073?

so what's the difference between the 5053 and the 5073?

apparently the 5073 has cablecard, one more HDMI and the Menu controls for picture and color adjustments is much more detailed....

apparently the 5073 has cablecard, one more HDMI and the Menu controls for picture and color adjustments is much more detailed....

Any idea when it's due in stores?

shane

Sorry for slow update - I've had limited internet access.

My Digital Cable is hooked up on a weak signal which was improved by a booster. My HD looks incredible now. I have that almost perfect. However, my SD looks absolutely awful. Is there anything I can do to improve it? Has anyone found any secrets with this set for SD?

My current settings are as follows:
Contrast 68
Brightness 74
Sharpness 55
Color 32
Normal Temp.

I am also having problems with getting the image to fill the whole screen. Certain HD channels do fill the screen in 16:9 format. However, my local HD channels continue to be in a more 4:3 format, even though the tv is set to run in 16:9.

Whats strange is my father in laws tv (LG 42" Plasma) fills the screen with the same service on same channels, yet my Samsung HP-S4253 will not fill the screen - constantly leaving black bars to the sides. An example is Seabiscuit on ABC. On SD it completely filled my father in laws screen. On HD it went into letterbox format on his tv. On my Samsung SD broadcast in what looked like 4:3 due to black lines down the sides. HD also came through in the same size format. How did he manage true widescreen yet this Samsung is only using almost half the screen.

PhilH930, I don't have the TV but since no one else is answering your questions, I'll give it a shot.
How are you feeding cable to the plasma? Via coax or do you have a cable box? What are you using to connect the cable box to the plasma? Sometimes SD can look worse if you are feeding it via component or HDMI. If you find that coax is better, you could try splitting the cable just before it goes into the cable box and send one line of coax directly to the TV for SD only.

Also, I'm assuming you are using different settings for HD and SD. Usually turning the sharpness down makes SD look somewhat better. Maybe you should just play more xbox 360 instead of watching that shoddy SD material. :-)

As far as the question about 4:3 ratio for SD and black bars on the side, you should be able to either use the cable box or the plasma to stretch the 4:3 image to make it fill the screen.

Why local HD is showing in 4:3 is not clear to me. I know Seabiscuit was broadcast in 16:9 Are you saying Seabiscuit broadcast in 4:3 in an HD channel on your plasma? That seems rather odd. I know that there are local SD channels that will show upconverted SD 4:3 aspect ratio material with black bars on the sides. In fact, a lot of daytime programming is like this on the local channels.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Any idea when it's due in stores?

shane


Its already there! Saw it today!

Why local HD is showing in 4:3 is not clear to me. I know Seabiscuit was broadcast in 16:9 Are you saying Seabiscuit broadcast in 4:3 in an HD channel on your plasma? That seems rather odd. I know that there are local SD channels that will show upconverted SD 4:3 aspect ratio material with black bars on the sides. In fact, a lot of daytime programming is like this on the local channels.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Sometimes the Broadcaster's CHEAT, compressing and sending in 4:3 which is a rip. I don't waste my time with those broadcasts - it's easy to tell when you have a native 1080 display and you've seen it in HD already and you know the channel is throwing the public CRAP and calling it HD because true 1080i displayed in 1:1 displays as the director intended and it's a huge difference from that crap they peddle sometimes. ABC did it with Sound of Music. Just watch GMA in HD and then switch to NBC Today show - huge difference at NBC in the negative. GMA, ESPN Sportcenter, Discovery HD, PBS HD, and the CBS evening lineup and sports can be amazing.

However, Golf Tournaments are known for cheating and forcing 4:3 - the Masters was perfect in 1080i even the commercials but the regular golf tournaments suck after watching the Masters - what are they Blind over at those channels that the consumers cannot see the friggin difference? Burns your butt because they'll only make the HD Cameras available for the Premium Tournaments yet an average College football game can have HD. You feel cheated after viewing these events in the real deal and then for them to push that 4:3 crap - it is not HD and if they sell it as such they are damn liars as you'd have to be blind not to see the obvious difference..:)

I'm a newby to this site from the Rochester NY area. I've been trying to decide between the Samsung 5053 and the Panny 50px60u. I'm also considering the Sharp Aquos 45D40U. The only places nearby I can really look at these are CC and Sears. Each time I've been in either store, the sales staff will allow you to change the TV configurations, but won't really do any physical setup changes. I'm pretty sure the PQ between the two plasma's wouldn't be so drastically different that I would dislike either one.

What kills me is, no matter where you look, there is no 50" TV that has all the right features combined with great looks too, at the price people are looking for (the magic $3000 mark).

The Samsung really has all the features I'm looking for. In fact, it was in the lead for my search until I saw that ugly framing. I can't bring myself to purchase something for that much money that's going to sit in my living room for years to come, and looks like something that came out of my baby son's A55! The only other minus on the Samsung seems to be the limits to configuration options. But I do believe there's enough to achieve well above satisfactory PQ.

The Panny has the best PQ when configured correctly. Smooth, clear motion. Even though the silver plastic housing is still a little on the cheap looking side, I believe it does beat the Samsung in that department by leaps and bounds. What drives me crazy is... why would they not include PIP/split screen and PC connectivity? It's such a downfall. I think I saw a post that they'll have a model out later this year with those features, but at what price difference? I'm sure to "get it all" at the same price, it will be at least another year. What a shame. You go to buy this TV now that the timing is oh so right, and the product is not "just in time". If I buy now, will I regret not having those features?

So it's between the Sharp Aquos and the Panny. I don't think I'm going to wait for the new models to come down in price once they hit the market. Probly wont come down until Christmas or later. And If they are all going to be 1080p/30, I think I will probly want to skip them anyway. From what I've read and seen, the 1080p sets are awesome with 1080 material. But horrible whenever the TV had to work at upconverting, or got hit with 720p/60 material.

The plasma is soo hot. A great feature in the cold winters. But might be torture in the hot summer (I don't have air). The Aquos is another fine TV, but I don't think I can live with the poor contrast for the next several years. My last trip to Sears had the Sharp Aquos 45 right next to the 50" Panny and the Panny outshined it in every way, except the PIP and PC compat.. I'm not sure what the problem was with the Sharp Aquos 45, because I've seen it shine at other times. It was having real bad motion artifacts at all edges during motion. Now I've seen the VERY slight blur on this set before when playing the same HD material compared to the Panny. But this was really bad. I think they must have had a weak signal or something on this particular set.

Everyone keeps talking about Lack of PC connectivity on the Panny 60u's, but you know that you can do a DVI-->HDMI converter and still do the conenction, right?

[EDIT]

Everyone keeps talking about Lack of PC connectivity on the Panny 60u's, but you know that you can do a DVI-->HDMI converter and still do the conenction, right?

[EDIT]

...and it can do 1:1 pixel mapping?

Have you told your cable box that your tv is 16:9?

How do I tell my cable box that my tv is running 16:9? I have Comcast Cable in the Atlanta region and have a HDTV / DVR box. I can't see anywhere where I would change the settings to let the box know I run the tv in 16:9.

Its driving me crazy. This tv will end up with black bars down the sides as every channel comes through in that format.

I purchased the 'S4253' at Frys last weekend for $2249. Short of spending a few thousand more on a LCD screen I absolutely love it! I've spent most of the weekend using Avia to tweek the picture settings, and aside from having a headache I think I have finally gotten the settings I like, though I feel the Brightness is a bit elevated so I may lower that some.

My current settings are:

Contrast 75
Brightness 87
Sharpness 37
Color 40
Normal Temp

I decided to be on the safe side and take precautions with the picture settings on the screen for the first few hundred hours so I will not be actually using the above settings until later this week.

...and it can do 1:1 pixel mapping?

You shoudl be able to get close to 1:1 pixel mapping if not dead on (reminder, i don't own this set, but have a Sony gWIII that I"m dang near close to 1:1 with DVI connectoin).

Also, I've read (not confirmed) that DVI/HDMI connection is preferred over RGB/VGA input because DVI/HDMI is all digital whereas VGA input does a digital->analog-->digital conversion. Anyone know if this is true?

You shoudl be able to get close to 1:1 pixel mapping if not dead on (reminder, i don't own this set, but have a Sony gWIII that I"m dang near close to 1:1 with DVI connectoin).

Also, I've read (not confirmed) that DVI/HDMI connection is preferred over RGB/VGA input because DVI/HDMI is all digital whereas VGA input does a digital->analog-->digital conversion. Anyone know if this is true?
Not if he wants to change resolutions of the display. HDMI is the worst when it comes to this. It is not meant to be used as computer use. DVI is a little more res-friendly but... the VGA will provide most flexibility with resolutions. More importantly if he is going to be PC-gaming, VGA is *required*. With HDMI he may get stuck with one or two res in the game, that's it.

Not if he wants to change resolutions of the display. HDMI is the worst when it comes to this. It is not meant to be used as computer use. DVI is a little more res-friendly but... the VGA will provide most flexibility with resolutions. More importantly if he is going to be PC-gaming, VGA is *required*. With HDMI he may get stuck with one or two res in the game, that's it.

Good point about changing resolutions.. for me I don't care because all i need is a near 1:1 for my Media Center PC. Perfect 1:1 would be better :)

I ddint' realized that HDMI was different than DVI for hooking up a PC. I thought simple converter was all that was required and it was the same thing as DVI?

How do I tell my cable box that my tv is running 16:9? I have Comcast Cable in the Atlanta region and have a HDTV / DVR box. I can't see anywhere where I would change the settings to let the box know I run the tv in 16:9.

Its driving me crazy. This tv will end up with black bars down the sides as every channel comes through in that format.

Are you getting any HD channels at all in widescreen (16:9)? If not, something in your settings on box or TV is wrong, or you are using the wrong cables to connect box to plasma.

Are you getting some HD channels in widescreen but local "HD" channels are appearing in 4:3? If so, it may just be due to the locals' broadcasting of 4:3 material (see Westa's post above). If you check during a major network primetime show or event, it should be widescreen, so in that case, no worries, you know it's not your set-up, it's their broadcast format.

Also, have you figured out how to stretch SD to fill the screen?

How do I tell my cable box that my tv is running 16:9? I have Comcast Cable in the Atlanta region and have a HDTV / DVR box. I can't see anywhere where I would change the settings to let the box know I run the tv in 16:9.

Its driving me crazy. This tv will end up with black bars down the sides as every channel comes through in that format.

Phil-
Try these links. You need to setup the box...

DVR Self Install Guide (pdf) (http://www.comcast.com/Media/1-2/CM/VanityURL/documents/2367-MotorDVRSelfMoto.pdf)
Comcast - Digital Video Recorder (http://www.comcast.com/dvrmotorola/)

philh930:

if you have a box by Scientific Atlanta, I can help you.

Hey guys, the S4253 sounds good. It's apparently getting to the stores here in Adelaide Australia this week and I'll be checking it out.

I've seen the older model R4272 already and was wandering what the main differences were between the two? Any PQ difference? A lot of people tend to rag on the Sammy plasma's but apparently they've got their act together on this one? I don't get it as the R4272 and S4253 seem to be the same apart from some additional connectors...

Cheers

Hey guys, the S4253 sounds good. It's apparently getting to the stores here in Adelaide Australia this week and I'll be checking it out.

I've seen the older model R4272 already and was wandering what the main differences were between the two? Any PQ difference? A lot of people tend to rag on the Sammy plasma's but apparently they've got their act together on this one? I don't get it as the R4272 and S4253 seem to be the same apart from some additional connectors...

Cheers
The new S models allow you to turn DNIe off. Do a search for DNIe or read the threads on last year's models if you want to hear about the problems with DNIe.

@tonehenge

You're not alone.. Everybody is wondering what the differences exactly might be, the Samsung hotliners do not seem to know either ...

@all

Guys, it really scares me when i'm looking at the setting you are running on your Sammies.. Brightness at 87% and you are satisfied with the picture? How are your black-levels looking, what kinda set-up tool have you used..?

I own the PS-50P5H which is the european version of HP-R5072. However it was released almost a year later than the HP-R5072 in U.S., so many people believe that Samsung did some changes in the meantime.. None of the serious problems people were complaining about with the HP-Rs are present. The picture is well balanced at contrast=70-75, brightness=49-51 depending on taste and environmental conditions. This is exactly the range these panels were made for, I cannot believe that values like the above really work!

One slight problem with the PS-50P5H ist the automatic brightness adjustment which was already mentioned earlier .. Can be partially remedied by setting brightness down a bit to 48-49. Did you observe similar effects on your new sammies? However with brightness set to 87% you wouldn't notice even if the panel releases all of its gas at once.. :D

Ciao

I've read in this thread that these new Sammy's still don't have the same amount of picture adjustment in the menus that the Panny 60u's have. Can someone confirm or deny this?

Not if he wants to change resolutions of the display. HDMI is the worst when it comes to this. It is not meant to be used as computer use. DVI is a little more res-friendly but... the VGA will provide most flexibility with resolutions. More importantly if he is going to be PC-gaming, VGA is *required*. With HDMI he may get stuck with one or two res in the game, that's it.

Also, how is the DVI-HDMI connection going to look with a 50 ft. run (which is what I have.). I don't think there will be a problem with VGA on long runs.

I've read in this thread that these new Sammy's still don't have the same amount of picture adjustment in the menus that the Panny 60u's have. Can someone confirm or deny this?

I can confirm that the 5053 does not have the single color adjustments! At least not in the menu.....
there might be something in the service menu but I'm not sure!

The 5072-5073 have all the single color adjustment in the menu....

I just purchased a HP-S5053 last night, it won't be in until Wednesday. The specs make no reference to reverse 3:2 pulldown. I assume it has it built in, right? The manual seems pretty clear that 480i images won't be displayed from the HDMI input. Can that be confirmed? I'm worried about my receiver's OSD working through HDMI.

I have been keeping a qeen eye on this thread, great progress guys,

I received my HPS4253 this morning, before leaving for work I played a little with it, it looks amazing, I inmediately noticed the dark areas issue but I will try it further after doing a good calibration with Avia.

I am having similar issues to PhilH930 with comcast, I will try talking with them today. And figure out whats witht he 4:3 issue. Phil, which box do you use? I will post my specs (I dont have them off hand here in the office) and maybe we will find a way to overcome the double bar issue... My connection to the box is HDMI... but I will do tests today with coax and component.

thanks! :)

I have been keeping a qeen eye on this thread, great progress guys,

I received my HPS4253 this morning, before leaving for work I played a little with it, it looks amazing, I inmediately noticed the dark areas issue but I will try it further after doing a good calibration with Avia.

I am having similar issues to PhilH930 with comcast, I will try talking with them today. And figure out whats witht he 4:3 issue. Phil, which box do you use? I will post my specs (I dont have them off hand here in the office) and maybe we will find a way to overcome the double bar issue... My connection to the box is HDMI... but I will do tests today with coax and component.

thanks! :)
Hi xpat78,

Can you you check if the picture setting (memory) recognized individually on each source ?

Appreciated, hotrsx.

Anyone got recommendations for how high of a TV stand we need for the 50"? (i'm not planning on wall mounting). My couch is a standard hieght AFAIK, so wondering what the "ideal" TV stand height for this unit is.

since you guys own this. I hope you can put my concerns/fears to rest. I was at best buy today and the picture just did not look too bright. maybe it was the fact that they had high bright lights on directed above the units.

regardless, the program playing was a bit noisier on the samsung than say the maxent 50" sitting next to it. on the other hand, the 42" version did look pretty good.

I am debating if to buy a the samsung 42" , 50 , or get a high 1080p lcd monitor since I plan on buying an xbox 360 and would very much love to have htpc one day.

what a man to do. quality 42" 1080p lcd...or 42" or 50" samsung.

I have been keeping a qeen eye on this thread, great progress guys,

I received my HPS4253 this morning, before leaving for work I played a little with it, it looks amazing, I inmediately noticed the dark areas issue but I will try it further after doing a good calibration with Avia.

I am having similar issues to PhilH930 with comcast, I will try talking with them today. And figure out whats witht he 4:3 issue. Phil, which box do you use? I will post my specs (I dont have them off hand here in the office) and maybe we will find a way to overcome the double bar issue... My connection to the box is HDMI... but I will do tests today with coax and component.

thanks! :)

I was able to fix my 4:3 problem. I have a Comcast 6412 box with HDMI (I believe my box is an early HDMI version and not Phase III that I wanted and will try to get).

To adjust SD channels to fill the entire screen you have to edit the comcast box. I did this by using the buttons on the front of the digital box. First step is to power down, then press the menu button which brings up the diagnostics page. The main options you have here are (option followed by my current setting):

TV Size: 16:9
HDMI / YpBpR : 1080i (although considering going back to 720p)
4:3 Override: 480p (I can confirm that 480i does not display at all)

(Note: to change use the arrow keys on the front of the box)

Then press either menu or power on the front of the box to save settings.

----------------------------------

Now that problem is fixed my next issue is calibration. I have been using the preset movie mode for almost everything (especially SD which is big improvement). I can't seem to find the correct levels of contrast and brightness to display all details in black while maintaining solid blacks.

I will run AVIA again, however I am interested in what settings everyone else is using now these sets seem to be out for public testing!

Hi xpat78,

Can you you check if the picture setting (memory) recognized individually on each source ?

Appreciated, hotrsx.

The picture settings are held in memory for each source. My proof comes from 4 sources at present (HDMI Digital Cable, Coax Cable (tests), Component Xbox 360 and AV1 DVD player).

When I found optimum settings I switched source to watch a DVD only to find my settings did not carry across. This is good as I play my Xbox 360 on completely different settings.

The picture settings are held in memory for each source. My proof comes from 4 sources at present (HDMI Digital Cable, Coax Cable (tests), Component Xbox 360 and AV1 DVD player).

When I found optimum settings I switched source to watch a DVD only to find my settings did not carry across. This is good as I play my Xbox 360 on completely different settings.
Thank you.

Has anyone compared the Samsung HP-R5072 with the HP-S5053? If so, what differences did you find between the two?

So apart from an extra HDMI connection and the ability to turn off DNIe, there are no PQ differences between the R4272 and S4253?

I thought the R looked quite good, but a friend working at a retailer told me they have had three R4272 sets in a row that have had problems with stuck pixels. I was able to see it clearly when he changed channels and lighter colours were displayed in the problem area.

He also just generally advised to stay away from Sammy plasmas but recommended their lcd's. I was very interested in these plasma's but that's a bit worrying. I'll have a look at the S4253 when it comes in this week, but if there's no real diff between it and the R4272 I might look at something else.

Does the HP-S5053 have a cable card slot? I did not see one listed in the specs on the Samsung website.

No cablecard or QAM tuner. I'm kinda bummed about that. You'll need to step up to the HP-R5072 (or HP-S5073) to get that functionality.

Does the HP-S5053 have a cable card slot? I did not see one listed in the specs on the Samsung website.
Yea, that was a deal-breaker for me too.
I've since been thinking about Samsung DLPs.

Hi phil,

I did do those configuration settings last night, I actually found that info on that pdf file that was posted in a reply earlier for you. Thanks for the help on that.

Although, comcast must have screwed up something on that box, cause I am getting an HDCP error from the TV saying that my content protection has been compromised.. what is this?

I spent on the phone with comcast yesterday about an hour, trying to fix the issue, here are the sympthoms: (they were unable to fix this, so they are sending a technician next week... I honestly believe the problem is somewhere in my account settings and they didnt enable my HDTV access correctly, why? see this):

1. If I connect to the box thru HDMI, when I go into that soruce, I see signal for abou t 2 secs and then I get a GREEN screen (sometimes I also get that HDCP error message). This leads me to believe that given the strictily digital nature of HDMI it must have additional checks for HDTV signal to verify HDCP protection... hense the green window.

2. If I connect thru Component or for testing purposes S-VIDEO cable to the comcast box, I get the channels, but I never get anything from the HDTV channels, it stays there with a continous message saying that the channel will be available in a few moments (never comes though) ... which leads me to believe that I am definetly blocked from HDTV for some reason. Comcast insists that my account is setup correctly. Although definetly i DO NOT have the 4:3 issue since the box is configured now to output widescreen ratio.


I have purchased the AVIA guide, and its on the way, when I do the calibration I will post my results. On the other hand, I will run the DVD for the break in... Phil what were your results with this?

I also couldn't resist, and bought the OPPO upscaling DVD Player, I'll let you know my experience with it and the hps4253... (I will use DVI to HDMI with that one).

I will post any updates on the comcast issue as it progresses...

thanks!

since you guys own this. I hope you can put my concerns/fears to rest. I was at best buy today and the picture just did not look too bright. maybe it was the fact that they had high bright lights on directed above the units.

regardless, the program playing was a bit noisier on the samsung than say the maxent 50" sitting next to it. on the other hand, the 42" version did look pretty good.

I am debating if to buy a the samsung 42" , 50 , or get a high 1080p lcd monitor since I plan on buying an xbox 360 and would very much love to have htpc one day.

what a man to do. quality 42" 1080p lcd...or 42" or 50" samsung.

Hi Shinraven,

I actually bought the 42" HPS4253 TV from Best buy as well, (got them to match the amazon discount and got it for 1999 and same with all cables I got from them).

I was debating the same issue (1080p) before I bought this tv, now I really couldnt wait anymore, and also realized (after doing a balance of time) how much time I used the tv for movies and how much for XBOX or pc games, then I made teh desition of getting this TV because it has GREAT performance as a plasma... and better colors than LCDs (IMHO). Now, it all depends on how long you want to wait (I was looking at the Westing Huse 42" monitor that has 1080p since Best buy also carries it and did a comparison on how DVDs looked on each, since i am a film collector, and what I used it for the most is to watch movies) vs your needs.

On regard to the dark areas... well, these last 2 days I noticed that when there is dim light in the room (dark courtains and dim sunlight coming in from the right of the TV) the image looks very good... (BARE IN MIND I have not done AVIA calibration yet since I am waiting for it to arrive :) ) , but last night, watching another movie, I played a bit with the setting within the boundaries of no-abuse cause I am still under 100 hours, and realized that in dark room you definetly need to switch settings (this i ASSUME is obvious for videophiles with more experience). But again, I will run avia and post my results once its here...

HOpe that helps a little...

thanks,

-X :)

Any people here notice colored green or yellow trails on very fast moving shot/pans. This problem would be especially noticable in games that have a free look camera. Just pan the camera and look at the edges of objects and look for a coloured trail/smear. Usually it's more noticable on white objects moving against dark backgrounds or vice versa. Both the Panny and the Pio have this really bad and I do alot of gaming and need a display without this problem. BTW, it's called phosphor decay.

Now that I bought the Sammy (HP-S4253)...I need to buy the component cables.
I'm leaning towards "Monster THX 1000 4ft component cable" (need three). Any
recommendations for locations (good pricing) ??

TIA!!

Now that I bought the Sammy (HP-S4253)...I need to buy the component cables.
I'm leaning towards "Monster THX 1000 4ft component cable" (need three). Any
recommendations for locations (good pricing) ??

TIA!!
People have been saying stay away from overpriced monster cables.
I recently bookmarked this link for cables:
http://bluejeanscable.com/

Part of the reason that the new Samsung models, and other manufacturers for that matter, do not include CableCARD slots is because it is a dead standard. The lack of two-way communication and mixed support from the cable companies led to its demise. It is being replaced by OCAP, the Open Cable Application Platform. Think of it as Java for digital cable. It would have been nice if a QAM tuner was included. Unfortunately, you probably won't find anything more than an ATSC tuner on entry-level models because nothing more is required.

thanks xpat78, i am still on the fence about this. I may go the lcd route. esp after i saw them at best buy. both samsung and westy looking great.

Any people here notice colored green or yellow trails on very fast moving shot/pans. This problem would be especially noticable in games that have a free look camera. Just pan the camera and look at the edges of objects and look for a coloured trail/smear. Usually it's more noticable on white objects moving against dark backgrounds or vice versa. Both the Panny and the Pio have this really bad and I do alot of gaming and need a display without this problem. BTW, it's called phosphor decay.

That doesn't sound like phosphor decay, that sounds like a problem in response time. Phosphor decay is generally when the overall plasma will deteriorate and the colors and brightness decrease.

ANyone have any shots of this unit with daytime glare on it from a window?

Specifically I'm interested in seeing glare coming from either left or right window :)

i have the 42 inch and dish network..and i think the picture sucks. I am using s video and i see pixel shifts..grainy image and poor colors. When I watched a dvd is was pretty good..but dish is bad. I don't know what to think. I am upgrading to the hdtv reciever in a month...but will the standard def channels alwasy look this bad? When I spoke to dish they said it is because it is being bumped up to such a high resolution. But that seems crazy...i get a great t.v with a great resolution..but it looks bad. Will the hdmi cable make the world of difference?

ANyone have any shots of this unit with daytime glare on it from a window?

Specifically I'm interested in seeing glare coming from either left or right window :)

This I can do! Give me a few mins!

Its because your watching a standard definition channel on a large TV, its going to look bad. Just wait till you get the HD channels then you want to watch SD TV anymore.

All pictures were taken on VGA mode using a Sony DSC-V1 camera. The pictures were taken at 11:45am. The blind we normally keep down in the living room for privacy was raised for the pictures. Also note our living room window faces east so natural daylight was at its brightest through this window at this time.

The pictures are taken with tv in standby mode and then using Discovery HD. The TV is the HP-S4253 and was taken on movie mode as I'm still under 500 hours. I've even lowered some of the movie mode settings (contrast abd brightness both 50, sharpness 20 and colour 40, temp normal).

Its because your watching a standard definition channel on a large TV, its going to look bad. Just wait till you get the HD channels then you want to watch SD TV anymore.


However, it's some TVs handle SD better than others. I'm wondeirng how this Sammy compares to the Panny 60U in terms of SD?

Second batch. Forgot to add the pictures were taken from the two seating positions in the room (the big sofa mine, and the loveseat for the lady)!

Second batch. Forgot to add the pictures were taken from the two seating positions in the room (the big sofa mine, and the loveseat for the lady)!

Phil--> Thanks!

This sammy seems to handle glare VERY well. I was scared after looking at your first few shots, but this was without any picture on the screen. In the second set you posted up, you actually have the TV on and you can barely see the reflection.

This seems to be MUCH better than the Panny 60u. Here's a thread where someone posted up a picture:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7300736&highlight=glare#post7300736

I've re-saved and attached the pics. The first shot shows how many windows this guy has (and the great view from his condo :)). The second one shows the glare.. you can clearly make out everything in the reflection.

Yea, that was a deal-breaker for me too.
I've since been thinking about Samsung DLPs.

Samsung makes several CableCARD-ready DLPs, ranging in size from 42" to 71". The smallest of these (HL-R4266W; not shown on their site, but offered at some retailers) is interesting in several aspects: the bottom-mounted speaker pair (common among all Samsung DLPs and plasmas) enables the option of cabinet placement (even in cabinets rated for 36" sets), yet it's priced like its older RPTV relatives (the big bulky two hundred-plus-pound behemoths that usually require current or former NFL linemen to move). The CableCARD-ready DLPs *all* have model numbers beginning with HL-R (as opposed to the STB-requiring HL-S models). Given the difficulties that retailers are having keeping this smallest DLP in stock (especially since Samsung's own site says nothing about it) would seem to indicate that the set is selling purely by word-of-mouth.

Thats why I felt it was important to take the pictures from the seating positions, which in our current living room set up reduce the glare you will see as the light source comes mainly from behind you.

However, I could do a shot of comparison to that Panny by taking one in the entry to the living room. I also plan on taking some shots of a HD Sports Game later tonight - its just stunning!

Part of me wished I had bought the Panasonic, probably for piece of mind. However, after seeing all those pictures that Bobby_t1 linked I am delighted. The actual screen pictures of tv just look unrealistic. The colours don't look natural at all. I understand his tv is probably not calibrated correctly, but hell, neither is mine yet I have natural tones (in my opinion).

The more time I spend with this tv the more the risk of going Samsung seems to be paying off.

so standard def is going to look bad...that is terrible. I can understand it not looking as good as high def..but it should just look good. Right now it looks worse than the picture from my 1984 zenith. Why should i accept a crappy picture from a plasma tv. Will the hdmi cable help this?

Thats why I felt it was important to take the pictures from the seating positions, which in our current living room set up reduce the glare you will see as the light source comes mainly from behind you.

However, I could do a shot of comparison to that Panny by taking one in the entry to the living room. I also plan on taking some shots of a HD Sports Game later tonight - its just stunning!

PhilH930: Do you mind sharing the info about the console?

I'm looking to buy a stand/console for my sammy (4253) and the size in your pics looks good....I cannot go beyond 59" (in length).

/Ikram.

so standard def is going to look bad...that is terrible. I can understand it not looking as good as high def..but it should just look good. Right now it looks worse than the picture from my 1984 zenith. Why should i accept a crappy picture from a plasma tv. Will the hdmi cable help this?

Your problems IMO are with Dish and s-video.Hate to use a cliche and be harsh but garbage in = garbage out.I have comcast w/cablecard on a 50px50 and analog sd is usually pretty good(at least as good as my 27" crt),digital sd can be really good and obviously hd rules.You may want to try cable if you can.

ok,

since my last update, I have tested the sammy with comcast with S-VIDEO, component, HDMI and well, seems like the box is screwed up for HDTV, I keep getting the "HDCP protection on your tv has been compromised" when I use HDMI, and when I use S-VIDEO or Component, I never get the image from the HD channels.. so they are coming on monday morning to figure out what the heck is going on.

Phil, are you using a SINGLE tuner DVR HD box? or DOUBLE tuner? meaning, can you record stuff while you watch something else and/or record 2 channels simultaneously? (this would mean you have a dual tuner). They are starting to imply that dual tunners are not working with my TV.. which I think its bull ****!

Now, using component cable and watching SD channels, they LOOK definitely like crap, but that is, when I do 4:3 conversion from the box into 480p, and I am outputting 720p from it. The best SD image I got (ironically it looks better with S-video thatn with component) was doing 4:3 to 480i and outputting from the box in 1080i. Otherwise, the SD channels look like watching a stupid 240x180 video in quick time from your 42 inch tv :)

So, for those people having issues with your SD channels, I recommend playing with the 4:3 conversion (don't use stretch). Try to play with your regular output configuration (comcast boxes support 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) and the 4:3 default conversion (stretch, 480i or 480p). Play with those and try to figure out what works better for you. For some reason my best configuration for SD is:
4:3 to 480i with output set in the box to 1080i WITH S-VIDEO cable
with the component cable it looks very fussy, imagine ... lots of blur very little sharpness in the images... Also, calibrating is a must! this tv requires different settings for all these situations:
-DVD
-HDTV
-SDTV
-PC
-XBOX

No calibration is good for all 5 ... even switching with the game mode or film mode...
So, for me it has become a problem, because I pass XBOX AND dvd thru my HK receiver and component cables... although now thats going to change when my new OPPO player arrives (HDMI to DVI). So I am standing by the SAMMY.. i still think its a good purchase, but I feel the pain with the SDTV...
I wonder how it works with the COAX cable from the box? LOL :p

On the glare subject, definitely NO problems at all.. side window and all image still looks good.

Will keep you guys updated...

PhilH930: Do you mind sharing the info about the console?

I'm looking to buy a stand/console for my sammy (4253) and the size in your pics looks good....I cannot go beyond 59" (in length).

/Ikram.

The console came from American Signature Furniture. It is the 60" version. They also have a 48" version, however that only has two compartments for boxes and I required 4 (Digital Cable, DVD, Xbox 360, Home Theatre / PS3!!!). They have two like this in American Sig Furniture; our one is classed as Cherry and the other is described as chocolate. They are from different collections however they look almost identical except for a different shade of brown.

It was the closest piece of furniture we could find that matched our coffee table and end tables.

ok,


Phil, are you using a SINGLE tuner DVR HD box? or DOUBLE tuner? meaning, can you record stuff while you watch something else and/or record 2 channels simultaneously? (this would mean you have a dual tuner). They are starting to imply that dual tunners are not working with my TV.. which I think its bull ****!

Now, using component cable and watching SD channels, they LOOK definitely like crap, but that is, when I do 4:3 conversion from the box into 480p, and I am outputting 720p from it. The best SD image I got (ironically it looks better with S-video thatn with component) was doing 4:3 to 480i and outputting from the box in 1080i. Otherwise, the SD channels look like watching a stupid 240x180 video in quick time from your 42 inch tv :)

So, for those people having issues with your SD channels, I recommend playing with the 4:3 conversion (don't use stretch). Try to play with your regular output configuration (comcast boxes support 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) and the 4:3 default conversion (stretch, 480i or 480p). Play with those and try to figure out what works better for you. For some reason my best configuration for SD is:
4:3 to 480i with output set in the box to 1080i WITH S-VIDEO cable
with the component cable it looks very fussy, imagine ... lots of blur very little sharpness in the images... Also, calibrating is a must! this tv requires different settings for all these situations:
-DVD
-HDTV
-SDTV
-PC
-XBOX

No calibration is good for all 5 ... even switching with the game mode or film mode...


Will keep you guys updated...

I have the dual tuner DVR / HDTV box. I believe it is the Phase I though and I am trying to upgrade to the latest phase III which is supposed to help for SD. I am able to record one channel and watch another, or record to shows and watch one of them. The only strange thing that happened once was while watching a show I decided to record it, however the box would not let me change channel without stopping the recording. However, if I started the recording while on a different channel and selected my desired show thorugh the TV Guide it was fine. Maybe a slight glitch. I am due a firmware update as I'm still on vxx.22 (I believe xx is 12, but would need to check).

My box settings are:
TV: 19:9
HDMI: 1080i (still playing between that and 720p).
4:3 Overide: 480p (480i won't work through my HDMI cable).

Regrading the SD TV. Its just never going to look good, especially after watching so much in HD now! However, I always watch SD TV in movie mode (with colour lowered to 40). Although somewhat annoying, all I have to do is press the red button on my samsumg remote and go from my custom settings for HDTV to the Movie mode. Then when I go back to HD I go back to my custom using the same button. I guess to some its annoying, but it doesn't really bother me that much as as I don't channel surf. But, please, for a couple of days just try watching SD TV in Movie mode and you will find it more acceptable.

Finally with the different settings for different inputs. Thankfully this tv stores settings for each input. So when I go to component 1 for Xbox 360 it automatically goes to game mode. Back to HDTV and I'm back to my custom setting. But I agree 100% the tv requires different settings for each input.

isn't dish network digital? Why would I be getting a shotty signal if it digital?

Hey Phil what are your final settings for the xbox360,watching tv,and watching dvd's?

isn't dish network digital? Why would I be getting a shotty signal if it digital?

Digital SD TV won't look any better than Analogue SD TV. The reason it looks bad compared to older smaller TV's is that you are stretching the same screen resolution over a larger area which makes it look less detailed. Its one of the bad points of larger tvs. The problem is more evident in the USA (NTSC format) than the UK (PAL) system.

The Digital TV will improve your HDTV reception compared to over the air HD. Furthermore, HDTV will benefit from Dish over Cable due to greater bandwidth, therefore they are able to transmit higher quality signals through dish than cable and the end result is a higher quality HD picture.

What you see now is just how bad SD TV is!

Hey Phil what are your final settings for the xbox360,watching tv,and watching dvd's?

Not finalised yet, however I currently use:

Xbox360: Game Mode with Colour lowered to 40

TV: In movie mode as I haven't used Avia again!

DVD: Same as TV for now, still using movie mode.

Personally I like movie mode the more I watch it. However, I am still playing with contrast / brightness. I think they both go well at about 70. Sharpness seems good below 30 and colour at below 40. For me this gives a natural picture.

I'll run Avia again and let you know what I come up with.

Part of me wished I had bought the Panasonic, probably for piece of mind. However, after seeing all those pictures that Bobby_t1 linked I am delighted. The actual screen pictures of tv just look unrealistic. The colours don't look natural at all. I understand his tv is probably not calibrated correctly, but hell, neither is mine yet I have natural tones (in my opinion).

The more time I spend with this tv the more the risk of going Samsung seems to be paying off.

This is good to hear.. I'm still deliberating between the 2. So far my thought process is:

Panny 60u:
Pros: lots of good reviews, reported great picture quality
Cons: glare, no PC input, poor aesthetics

Samsung
Pros: PC input, seemingly great anti-glare, great cabinet
Cons: less reviews, picture quality (?)

One question -- in this thread is seems ppl run their brightness WAY higher than other brands of TVs. I saw brightness settings at 70+. Is this normal?

Hmm I asked the same question couple of posts above.. but with no reaction. It is actually not normal.. On my Samsung PS-50P5H (=HP-R5072) brightness higher than 50-53 (depending on input, digital higher, analogue lower) are not necessary and values like 70 are completely ridiculous....


..Digital SD TV won't look any better than Analogue SD TV. The reason it looks bad compared to older smaller TV's is that you are stretching the same screen resolution over a larger area which makes it look less detailed. Its one of the bad points of larger tvs...
This is not completely true, you can see the difference when watching a DVD which is basically the same... DTV can look stunningly good even on 50" if broadcasted with sufficient bandwith, not too low compression rates and in anamorphic 16:9 format. However the difference between SD and ED (PAL) is a good point...

The scale of brightness would be relative per model of television, right? I don't believe the levels of 1-100 are based an industry determined fixed ratio of a TV's brightness scale to the scientific range of brightness. A 70 on the new Sammy plasma TV might be the same as a 52 on a new Panny plasma. Remember Spinal Tap? This amp's louder 'cuz it goes to 11? :-)

Having said that, I agree that the high settings do have me a little worried. We really need a professional review on one of these babies.

Digital SD TV won't look any better than Analogue SD TV. The reason it looks bad compared to older smaller TV's is that you are stretching the same screen resolution over a larger area which makes it look less detailed. Its one of the bad points of larger tvs. The problem is more evident in the USA (NTSC format) than the UK (PAL) system.

The Digital TV will improve your HDTV reception compared to over the air HD. Furthermore, HDTV will benefit from Dish over Cable due to greater bandwidth, therefore they are able to transmit higher quality signals through dish than cable and the end result is a higher quality HD picture.

What you see now is just how bad SD TV is!


Incorrect, Digital SD will (should) look quite a bit better than analog in almost every case....some lower tier channels will likely still look poor, but most should be improved.

This set looks impressive in the store, but seems to be getting a lukewarm purchase response from forum members. No offense to the guys that have already purchased it, but would be nice to have some more "veterans" chime in with a review. As I thought it went toe for toe with the Panny in mutliple stores. Plus the Sammy bezel looks 100 times better than the Panny.

Seems like a lot of newby's buying this set and then being shocked that all channels arent magically HD and 16:9 :eek: :eek: :eek:

GBFreek, I agree with you. I really like the Pannys, but the bezel is sooooooo ugly. I like the Samsung's bezel, but prefer the ne HP's. However, I am reading a few not so positive reports regarding the new LG panels (HP and Toshiba use them), especially with image retention.

I picked up my HP-S5053 last night. I bought a cheap RCA antenna, and I was rockin in an HD world!

First impressions:

Physical appearance - Flat out stunning. By far the best looking plasma that was on my short list.

Hookups - plenty. I'll mostly use the cable antenna and cable inputs, one hdmi, and maybe the component. I like the side AV hookups and I may use the PC input one day.

Menu organization - Very intuitive. I had no problem picking up the remote and modifying the various settings.

Startup - The first time you power on the unit, it step through a setup. It sets the time, timezone, and will program the channels. It defaults to the vivid picture mode, which looks kind of chunky to me. Everything is on, DNIe, Noise reduction, pixel shift. I immediately switched to custom, and turned the contrast and brightness down to 50 as recommended for the breakin period.

OTA - I bought a RCA ANT501 antenna. I had it sitting on the floor in my basement. I'm about 30 miles from the towers here in the twin cities. I was able to get about half of the channels with no effort. I think with a proper antenna configuration, I should be good to go for OTA.

PQ - I watched "Cold Case" on CBS and "ER" on NBC last night in HD. The CBS feed looked much better than the NBC feed. The picture was very dark with all the settings turned down for breakin. It was hard to discern the outline of say, a dark suit in a dimly lit scene. My concerns there were immediately put to rest when I switched to the default "standard" mode. There were no contrast and brightness issues in that mode. The color on this plasma absolutely pops. Incredible color. The black levels were good. Not as good as my Mitsu CRT, but that's to be expected. I have absolutely no fear about the image quality. After the breakin period, when it can be fine tuned with Avia or the like, it will be phenomenal. The open air SD was OK with a decent signal, not great. I have got a chance to run a DVD through it yet, that's my next test.

Conclusion - As of right now, I couldn't be happier that I choose the Sammy over the Panny, LG, Vizio, etc. I compared the Panny and Sammy in at least 4 different stores, and it was always the Sammy that caught my eye. I can't speak to durability or customer service yet, and there are many other image configs to try, but thumbs up so far. :D

I picked up my HP-S5053 last night. I bought a cheap RCA antenna, and I was rockin in an HD world!


OTA - I bought a RCA ANT501 antenna. I had it sitting on the floor in my basement. I'm about 30 miles from the towers here in the twin cities. I was able to get about half of the channels with no effort. I think with a proper antenna configuration, I should be good to go for OTA.
d there are many other image configs to try, but thumbs up so far. :D


O.k..so I have a question. I have to wait until earlly june for my new dish hd receiver, so how can i get the "over the air" hd broadcasts. I really don't understand this.. I have my standar dish receiver plugged in thru svideo. Do I need to get another antenna? And how does that work?

This is a good place to start:
http://www.checkhd.com/aw/welcome.aspx

I picked up my HP-S5053 last night. I bought a cheap RCA antenna, and I was rockin in an HD world!

First impressions:

Physical appearance - Flat out stunning. By far the best looking plasma that was on my short list.

Hookups - plenty. I'll mostly use the cable antenna and cable inputs, one hdmi, and maybe the component. I like the side AV hookups and I may use the PC input one day.

Menu organization - Very intuitive. I had no problem picking up the remote and modifying the various settings.

Startup - The first time you power on the unit, it step through a setup. It sets the time, timezone, and will program the channels. It defaults to the vivid picture mode, which looks kind of chunky to me. Everything is on, DNIe, Noise reduction, pixel shift. I immediately switched to custom, and turned the contrast and brightness down to 50 as recommended for the breakin period.

OTA - I bought a RCA ANT501 antenna. I had it sitting on the floor in my basement. I'm about 30 miles from the towers here in the twin cities. I was able to get about half of the channels with no effort. I think with a proper antenna configuration, I should be good to go for OTA.

PQ - I watched "Cold Case" on CBS and "ER" on NBC last night in HD. The CBS feed looked much better than the NBC feed. The picture was very dark with all the settings turned down for breakin. It was hard to discern the outline of say, a dark suit in a dimly lit scene. My concerns there were immediately put to rest when I switched to the default "standard" mode. There were no contrast and brightness issues in that mode. The color on this plasma absolutely pops. Incredible color. The black levels were good. Not as good as my Mitsu CRT, but that's to be expected. I have absolutely no fear about the image quality. After the breakin period, when it can be fine tuned with Avia or the like, it will be phenomenal. The open air SD was OK with a decent signal, not great. I have got a chance to run a DVD through it yet, that's my next test.

Conclusion - As of right now, I couldn't be happier that I choose the Sammy over the Panny, LG, Vizio, etc. I compared the Panny and Sammy in at least 4 different stores, and it was always the Sammy that caught my eye. I can't speak to durability or customer service yet, and there are many other image configs to try, but thumbs up so far. :D


Great review....any chance you can get some photos up of your set up and the varying sources (HD, SD, DVD)??

Out of curiosity, how far back is your viewing distance? 10ft, etc...

Jhanson123, thanks for the informative review. It's great to hear it coming from someone who has another HDTV to compare. I'm sure everyone following this thread would appreciate more details as you continue to break it in, especially your recommended settings, do you alway have DNIe off, etc.
Enjoy.

Thanks guys. I'll continue to post, and will get pictures up after I hang it on the wall.

Sorry been gone for a while guys. Alot of business travel. This tv is excellent. I own the 50 inch version and my buddy has the older 4272 Samsung. This box fixes all the issues with the older models. Nothing can be perfect however. SD most likely looks better on a Panny. Reds probably look better on the panny as well. BUT THATS IT. IMHO HD and everything else blows the panny away. Maybe if more people on this fourm thought for themselves instead of like the crowd we would all have one of these.

I will post a real review after my break in period is over.

2 cents,

Mod7

Mod, what are you doing specifically to break it in?

Maybe if more people on this fourm thought for themselves instead of like the crowd we would all have one of these.
Mod7

I thought for myself and went Panasonic. I always think for myself.

i am prob not picking up the sammy cuz i saw a lot of pixelazation on fast moving images at best buy..while the maxent next to it..did not do that. as for picking up a panasonic...my sister in law has one. I cant stand how SD looks on it.

One question -- in this thread is seems ppl run their brightness WAY higher than other brands of TVs. I saw brightness settings at 70+. Is this normal?

I believe this is the norm for the Samsung.

Still in break in my Samsung is on Movie mode, whereby both contrast and brightness are at 55 (Samsung scale is 0 - 100). This looks very natural, however I know once through the break in period I will increase these to add detail in dark areas. To find the right balance between contrast and brightness is very difficult for me, especially as this is my first Plasma and experience at adjusting these values.

I think to get the best picture contrast or brightness needs to be 70 to 75. However, my other thought is these are built to go to 100, so if the tv couldn't do it then it wouldn't be an option. I guess what i'm trying to say is that if the option is there on something I paid a significant amount of money for then I'm not afraid to use it.

My one and only concern with this TV is getting the full detail in dark scenes. I know they are there when I increase either contrast or brightness, but I just can't find a level I was happy with during testing. My one attempt at Avia did not have these settings high enough to display detail in dark scenes (Avia calibrated contrast at 62 and brightness at 68). Once C was 70 and B was 76 detail was present, but not calibrated according to Avia! Painful learning experience!

Question for you bobby_t1:
You seem to have more experience with Plasmas. Is it incorrect to have both the contrast and brightness values so close to each other (eg, both at 55 or 70 depending on setting)?

"This set looks impressive in the store, but seems to be getting a lukewarm purchase response from forum members. No offense to the guys that have already purchased it, but would be nice to have some more "veterans" chime in with a review. As I thought it went toe for toe with the Panny in mutliple stores. Plus the Sammy bezel looks 100 times better than the Panny.

I originally purchased the Panny 42" 60U and I have to say that the Panny does have incredibly good black levels but after awhile they almost struck me as being unnatural. Blacks seemed more like black holes in space than naturally occurring black tones. But the killer which caused me to return it was it's complete inability to consistently display anything that approached acceptable flesh tones coupled with what my wife referred to as "Odo Faces" (which I think people here refer to as clay faces?). Facial features and detail seemed to be blurred or just lacking no matter how much I tweaked the settings. Being completely unhappy after 28 days of viewing I returned the set and picked up the Sammie HP-S4253 and since then I could not be happier. The black tones and levels are more than acceptable and very natural looking. The Colors are fantastic, skin tones look great and faces have spectacular detail to them. Watching HD Discovery just makes us drool now!

Bottom line having owned both I would definitely recommend the Sammie over the Panny, I know others will disagree but that has been my personal experience. Both my wife and I couldn't be happier that we returned the Panny and got the Sammie instead. :)

"Seems like a lot of newby's buying this set and then being shocked that all channels arent magically HD and 16:9 :eek: :eek: :eek:

What I have noticed is that on the same station some HD programs are 4:3 and others come through in 16:9. Disappointing but I think it's all in the broadcast and has little to do with the TV.

I originally purchased the Panny 42" 60U and I have to say that the Panny does have incredibly good black levels but after awhile they almost struck me as being unnatural. Blacks seemed more like black holes in space than naturally occurring black tones. But the killer which caused me to return it was it's complete inability to consistently display anything that approached acceptable flesh tones coupled with what my wife referred to as "Odo Faces" (which I think people here refer to as clay faces?). Facial features and detail seemed to be blurred or just lacking no matter how much I tweaked the settings. Being completely unhappy after 28 days of viewing I returned the set and picked up the Sammie HP-S4253 and since then I could not be happier. The black tones and levels are more than acceptable and very natural looking. The Colors are fantastic, skin tones look great and faces have spectacular detail to them. Watching HD Discovery just makes us drool now!

Bottom line having owned both I would definitely recommend the Sammie over the Panny, I know others will disagree but that has been my personal experience. Both my wife and I couldn't be happier that we returned the Panny and got the Sammie instead. :)



What I have noticed is that on the same station some HD programs are 4:3 and others come through in 16:9. Disappointing but I think it's all in the broadcast and has little to do with the TV.

I am curious of your settings to achieve the good black levels. What are you currently running contrast and brightness on?

I agree 100% that this Samsung produces a natural looking picture. I've had complete trust in my eyes and ears for the last 24 years and when choosing between the Sammy and Panasonic my eyes did not let me down.

The problem in HD of 4:3 or 16:9 is broadcasting. I believe it normally is this:
4:3 HD broadcasting will be local broadcasting
16:9 is more national broadcasting

Thats why you tend to see adverts go to 4:3 while watching a 16:9 show.

Question for you bobby_t1:
You seem to have more experience with Plasmas. Is it incorrect to have both the contrast and brightness values so close to each other (eg, both at 55 or 70 depending on setting)?


LOL! The funny thing is that I don't even own a plasma and never calibrated one! I currently own a Sony GWIII Rear proj LCD and am selling it for a plasma, quite possibly the Sammy S5053 :)

I am curious of your settings to achieve the good black levels. What are you currently running contrast and brightness on?

I agree 100% that this Samsung produces a natural looking picture. I've had complete trust in my eyes and ears for the last 24 years and when choosing between the Sammy and Panasonic my eyes did not let me down.

The problem in HD of 4:3 or 16:9 is broadcasting. I believe it normally is this:
4:3 HD broadcasting will be local broadcasting
16:9 is more national broadcasting

Thats why you tend to see adverts go to 4:3 while watching a 16:9 show.

I am actually still in the break in period for the Sammie. I have just over 100 hours on it and my current settings are:

Contrast:50
Brightness:50
Sharpness:48
Color:32
Color Temperature:Normal
DNIE: On (what can I say, I like it!) :rolleyes:


Truthfully though even with these conservative settings the picture is just great as long as I am not fighting too much room/sunlight, in which case a little more contrast and brightness would obviously help.

Any owners have an opinion on the quality of the standard sound output? I'm looking for a unit to mount above a mantle and don't want to clutter with a bunch of audio componets/speakers, so I need something that sounds decent out of the box.

Anyone got good reviews on SD on the 5053? I'm going to be watching SD from my MCE 2005 HTPC.

Any owners have an opinion on the quality of the standard sound output? I'm looking for a unit to mount above a mantle and don't want to clutter with a bunch of audio componets/speakers, so I need something that sounds decent out of the box.

I think the sound is nice. It's full and very audible. The way they mounted the speakers is pure genius. I love the uncluttered look of the 5053.

I believe this is the norm for the Samsung.
No! These are extraordinarily exceptional values..Believe me, i have calibrated and tested many Samsung PDPs...

Still in break in my Samsung is on Movie mode, whereby both contrast and brightness are at 55 (Samsung scale is 0 - 100). This looks very natural, however I know once through the break in period I will increase these to add detail in dark areas. To find the right balance between contrast and brightness is very difficult for me, especially as this is my first Plasma and experience at adjusting these values.
Who told you about this "break in" thing..? In my opinion this not necessary on Samsung screens. Very few retention issues, no matter how many hours the screens were running.

To find the right balance between contrast and brightness on a 5-th generation sammy is indeed not easy. It depends on the input you are using, typically HDMI have lower blacks than the analog inputs and the environmental light conditions. For my Sammy, good ratios are 62/49 on analog inputs and 65/52 on HDMI. Color saturation and "My Color Control" (is this feature still available on the 2006 models?) also play a role and have to be tuned in with the actual contrast and brightness values..

...Who told you about this "break in" thing..? In my opinion this not necessary on Samsung screens. Very few retention issues, no matter how many hours the screens were running.

To find the right balance between contrast and brightness on a 5-th generation sammy is indeed not easy. It depends on the input you are using, typically HDMI have lower blacks than the analog inputs and the environmental light conditions. For my Sammy, good ratios are 62/49 on analog inputs and 65/52 on HDMI. Color saturation and "My Color Control" (is this feature still available on the 2006 models?) also play a role and have to be tuned in with the actual contrast and brightness values..

Break in...
I've read that the first 100 hours of viewing should be done with care. The contrast and brightness should be turned down to mitigate any burn in risk. As you state, probably not a huge issue.

Thanks for the settings baseline. That will help when I go to tune.

OK...after 2 weeks of shopping and 3 days of reading...the ONE THING I MUST say is an absolute is "THANK YOU FOR THIS FORUM.." GRIN

I just ripped out my media room (last Monday), sold my 65" Mits and AWESOME cherry cabinent to my neighbor (his gain, my loss in a way) and have embarked on the next major project in my basement...

To set the stage, I am NO stranger to HD. I have 3 other HD/ED sets in the House (Zenith LCD 44", Toshiba DLP 44" and a Sharp Aquos 17"). I have DTV and have the Samsung TS-360s (I LOVE THEM) all through the house. I will be upgrading to the UGLY DTV HD DVR on the entertainment system. I have a NICE HD OTA signal (I have all of 5 miles for the local OTA attenea!). ALL of my current connections are component, and none of my current sets have HDMI. All the sets I am looking at seem to be this standard...so I will take that leap too.

SO

I just took a 20x16 room and turned in into a 20x20 room. Am custom fitting the 7.1 and building something for the senses...GRIN

My INITIAL purchase was going to be the SRND 60" Sony rear project. Downside...my contractor wants to build mid height to ceiling columns (that I think will look great!) and he says the Sony will take up too much of the rooms floor space for proper fitting.

So off I went in search of an alternative flat panel. (50"...NO smaller)...

Wife looked at consumer reports and Pany was 1/2/3. Sammy was rated poorly with others in between.

After a full week of shopping (when I could) I have narrowed my focus after "SEVERAL visits to CC/BB and Brandsmart."
Here are the top 3...

1. Sammy 5053- Even the wife (who usually has no opinion says its the best pic)
Pro-PQ and Price (2999 any way you slice it) and PC input
Cons -Smaller footprint, no swivle base, and ho-hum PiP

2. LG 50PX5D (what can I say..I kinda like it)
Pro - Inputs galor, PiP ROCKS, VERY NICE swivle base and the casing is appealing to me.
Cons-PQ is average to all the other sets I have looked at, its about 300 MORE than the Sammy

3. Sony 60' LCD SRXD (screw the contractor???)
Pro - PQ is REALLY NICE, good look, probably less worries over the Plasma's
Cons - BIG, not a lot of inputs

One last footnote...I can get Phillips at Employee discount, but have not heard great things about the Phillips. Their top of the line retail unit (6K is 2300 my cost).

So...for all you buyers out there like me....(and I know that this is more of a Sammy Theard)...what are you thoughts?

Opinions VERY welcome.

Balz

Just got back from CC -- both of these new models have:

Image Retention!

Something burned into the upper left corner. None of the others had any IR.

Just got back from CC -- both of these new models have:

Image Retention!

Something burned into the upper left corner. None of the others had any IR.

Has anyone else noticed this? I was at BB/CC and Sears today, and did not. Though I must admit to being a novice and pehaps not being able to pick it up well.

Just got back from CC -- both of these new models have:

Image Retention!

Something burned into the upper left corner. None of the others had any IR.

Could be an isolated case? Perhaps they are running it in full torch mode and ran it with a logo in the corner for longer than the other sets?

Could be an isolated case? Perhaps they are running it in full torch mode and ran it with a logo in the corner for longer than the other sets?

I brought it up to an employee. He said the work "component" appears in the corner when 1st powered up in the morning and blamed that. He then turned on a white screen type of screen saver and said it would be gone in 15 minutes....

15 minutes later it was unchanged. The older Sammys on display at CC had no IR, just these two new models. It might be temporary. They weren't burned last time I was there. This was around 2pm CST -- they've been on for quite a while. I'd be concerned.

OK...after 2 weeks of shopping and 3 days of reading...the ONE THING I MUST say is an absolute is "THANK YOU FOR THIS FORUM.." GRIN

I just ripped out my media room (last Monday), sold my 65" Mits and AWESOME cherry cabinent to my neighbor (his gain, my loss in a way) and have embarked on the next major project in my basement...

To set the stage, I am NO stranger to HD. I have 3 other HD/ED sets in the House (Zenith LCD 44", Toshiba DLP 44" and a Sharp Aquos 17"). I have DTV and have the Samsung TS-360s (I LOVE THEM) all through the house. I will be upgrading to the UGLY DTV HD DVR on the entertainment system. I have a NICE HD OTA signal (I have all of 5 miles for the local OTA attenea!). ALL of my current connections are component, and none of my current sets have HDMI. All the sets I am looking at seem to be this standard...so I will take that leap too.

SO

I just took a 20x16 room and turned in into a 20x20 room. Am custom fitting the 7.1 and building something for the senses...GRIN

My INITIAL purchase was going to be the SRND 60" Sony rear project. Downside...my contractor wants to build mid height to ceiling columns (that I think will look great!) and he says the Sony will take up too much of the rooms floor space for proper fitting.

So off I went in search of an alternative flat panel. (50"...NO smaller)...

Wife looked at consumer reports and Pany was 1/2/3. Sammy was rated poorly with others in between.

After a full week of shopping (when I could) I have narrowed my focus after "SEVERAL visits to CC/BB and Brandsmart."
Here are the top 3...

1. Sammy 5053- Even the wife (who usually has no opinion says its the best pic)
Pro-PQ and Price (2999 any way you slice it) and PC input
Cons -Smaller footprint, no swivle base, and ho-hum PiP

2. LG 50PX5D (what can I say..I kinda like it)
Pro - Inputs galor, PiP ROCKS, VERY NICE swivle base and the casing is appealing to me.
Cons-PQ is average to all the other sets I have looked at, its about 300 MORE than the Sammy

3. Sony 60' LCD SRXD (screw the contractor???)
Pro - PQ is REALLY NICE, good look, probably less worries over the Plasma's
Cons - BIG, not a lot of inputs

One last footnote...I can get Phillips at Employee discount, but have not heard great things about the Phillips. Their top of the line retail unit (6K is 2300 my cost).

So...for all you buyers out there like me....(and I know that this is more of a Sammy Theard)...what are you thoughts?

Opinions VERY welcome.

Balz
Hooksup? Only thing is doesnt have is 1080p inputs.Other than that it has any HDTV connection you need.Also if you like the PQ on the LG i would more look towards the LG 50PC3D.The reason why its the same TV but it MRSP for 3499.99 because it doesnt have the DVR.Only thing about that is you only get 1 HDMI.

Hooksup? Only thing is doesnt have is 1080p inputs.Other than that it has any HDTV connection you need.Also if you like the PQ on the LG i would more look towards the LG 50PC3D.The reason why its the same TV but it MRSP for 3499.99 because it doesnt have the DVR.Only thing about that is you only get 1 HDMI.


Comparing the LG PQ to the Samsung PQ....NO COMPARISON.....Sammy really smoked everything on the wall....Biggest question would be could it be the settings on the "other" sets? Astetically, I love the LG....the Samsung is too short for my tastes with the speakers built in...but the PQ I saw compared to the other sets I have seen was a lot better....probably the most important issue..RIGHT? GRIN

can any hp-S5053 owners comment on the wall mounts they have used with their plasmas? I am getting ready to make my purchase and I would love to know what you have used. :D

I picked up a Peerless DFPT420S before I even bought my 5053. It's a tilting unit that seems as functional as mounts costing a $100 bucks more. Check CC's website, that's where I got mine. It looks like it's going to work fine, but I haven't actually tried to mount it yet.

[moderator]

please don't post pricing on this forum

The amount listed only references it's price in relation to other mounts of similar design. My apologies if I stepped beyond the well intentioned rules of the forum.

Well I've got it narrowed down to the 5053 samsung or the new panasonic 50 inch. Believe it or not I'm leaning toward the samsung primarily because of the pip. I have to be able to watch two games at one time! My plan is to get digital cable and use an over the air antenna to get HD from my built in tuner and be able to pip or split screen two games in HD at once. So, can anyone review the pip on the samsung or share if they think I'll be able to pip the OTA HD through another tuner.

So far so good with the TV. I have had 2 days. I went from a Hitachi 53" HDTV Projection (5 1/2yrs old) to the Plasma HP-S5053.
I have a question regarding PIP...I cant seem to do it. I have Standard Cable plugged in to ANT1, Directv DVR (SD) in S-Video, Xbox 360 in Component 1, and Directv DVR (HD) in Component 2. No matter what "source" or input I have displayed I cannot choose PiP..i keep getting "Not available in this Mode" or similar message. The manual says to check VChip if it is enabled...it isnt turned on.
Does anyone have any idea what I am doing incorrectly?
Also, only negative so far is not being able to custom name the "sources" or inputs like I could with the Hitatchi..but the list I have to choose from is ok.
thanks
Drew

I am planning on mounting a hps5053 in the living room above a mantle. The height of the plasma is 39.3" and the height of the space I am planning on using is 48".
I know the plasmas produce alot of heat so I was wondering if I would be ok mounting the tv in this space. leaving approximately 4" of space on the top and bottom of the tv. This area isn't enclosed, like in a entertainment center. Above the TV would be the ceiling and below it would be a mantle that sticks out about 6 inches. Im assuming this would provide enough room for airflow?

Has anyone experience problems mounting the Sammi's (or any plasma) in tight spaces?

I am planning on mounting a hps5053 in the living room above a mantle. The height of the plasma is 39.3" and the height of the space I am planning on using is 48".
I know the plasmas produce alot of heat so I was wondering if I would be ok mounting the tv in this space. leaving approximately 4" of space on the top and bottom of the tv. This area isn't enclosed, like in a entertainment center. Above the TV would be the ceiling and below it would be a mantle that sticks out about 6 inches. Im assuming this would provide enough room for airflow?

Has anyone experience problems mounting the Sammi's (or any plasma) in tight spaces?

I don't see how that would be a problem. Mine is going above a fireplace as well. I love salesman, "Don't get it too hot by the fire.". Thanks Einstein.

Well guys...I did it. I went to CC today to look at the new 46 inch SONY Bravia LCD and it was not available on display. I was looking at the SHARP aquos and the SONY 40inch XBR Bravia when I turned my head and I saw this amazing looking SAMSUNG out of the corner of my eye. I was lookng at the HP-S5053 which was displayed right next to the Panny. I have to say that I have always loved pannys, but this samsung had it going on. Beautiful bezel and great picture. I spent the entire day reading this entire thread and at midnight, I called crutchfield and bought one. It is the single most expensive item I have ever purchased and I am a little nervous about it.

If someone out there has one of these and loves it...please send me a quick note. It would feel good to know that there are people out there loving this TV. I should be getting mine in roughly 10 days. Again - thank you all for all the information provided in this thread. I will be definately adding my experieces as I go through them.

After reading this thread I really wish the Sammy panel was rated above 6500 ft... I'm getting my parents a screen for their living room in a new home and their house is just below 7400 ft. So, I'm pretty much forced to go with the Panny (supposedly rated to 7800 ft) which I guess isn't all that terrible, but I just think my folks would like the look of the Sammy more and I'd appreciate its performance. Living in Colorado has a lot of great benefits, but the altitude factor with plasmas is rather frustrating...

is anyone here playing an xbox 360 on their samsung plasma. if so..is it safe ?

I am very much torn between getting the 50" samy or a westingh since i play games and would love to run xp media. would be safe to run xp media on this as well.

So I whimped out....I went with the Sony SRXD 60"......The picture is a little softer......BUT...its one of the "best values" for the size out there.

The old saying "TV's don't grow" finally got to me.

I am building a "dedicated" theater room and I really needed the size for the "Theater effect." I went back and forth on what to get, and I have a bitter sweet feeling about passing on the Samsung.

For ANYONE out there looking at the 5053, IMHO, it has the best picture of anything I saw out there, and I did a lot of looking. I can't believe the cost difference between it and the Pioneer's out there in the same footprint. The Samsung was on-par, if not better.

I wish there was a S6063 (GRIN) out there! I looked at the other 60" plasmas, but the PQ on the units was "ok" compared to the 5053 (Sammy, you ruined me) and the cost was prohibitive compared to the SRXD. I did opt for the 4 year maintenance with BB, just incase I have any issues.

The good news...if I become dis-satisfied with the unit at a later date, I can always stick something else in the whole I created for the "beast" and get the contractor to close it in. The Sammy's panel would not allow for this...it is one of the smallest format 50's out there, so this would limit the ability to "grow" a TV.

Will keep you posted....

A quick question for you guys...

I purchased the 5053 from CC this past weekend and have been really thrilled with it. I am waiting on the HDMI cable that I ordered and am currently just running component video cables. I am really happy with the PQ especially when viewing high def content after using the settings that have been mentioned here.

My question though is that I hear a slight humming from the unit and was just wondering if that is normal for this or all plasma units. It is not really noticable when the sound is up, but if the sound is off then it is quite easy to hear. Thanks for any input.

(i have posted this in the other thread as well on these units..not sure where is the correct one..thanks)

A quick question for you guys...

I purchased the 5053 from CC this past weekend and have been really thrilled with it. I am waiting on the HDMI cable that I ordered and am currently just running component video cables. I am really happy with the PQ especially when viewing high def content after using the settings that have been mentioned here.

My question though is that I hear a slight humming from the unit and was just wondering if that is normal for this or all plasma units. It is not really noticable when the sound is up, but if the sound is off then it is quite easy to hear. Thanks for any input.

(i have posted this in the other thread as well on these units..not sure where is the correct one..thanks)

I noticed a very slight hum in one display 5053. I had to have my ear about a foot away from the back panel to hear it though. I couldn't hear it from the front at all. My 5053 puts out very little noise, at least not enough for it to be disturbing.

is anyone here playing an xbox 360 on their samsung plasma. if so..is it safe ?

I am very much torn between getting the 50" samy or a westingh since i play games and would love to run xp media. would be safe to run xp media on this as well.

There is nothing unsafe specifically about running Xbox or Media center on the samsung. Read the master burn-in thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=608677

Can any owners of the Sammy 5053 share their experience with the PIP function?

thanks in advance

I currently have a HP-R4252 and if the 4253 and 5053 are as good as mine in the PQ dept. You are getting a great plasma for your Hard earned cash.

Jorge

That I love my HP-S4253! Was at my sister's house for Mother's Day and couldn't believe how crappy her Panasonic's HD was compared to mine. I tried to adjust the controls but to no avail. Now if only they'd make ALLLLL the channels HD, we'd have it made. Guess I'll ask you while I'm here... does an HDMI cable make a drastic improvement for standard cable than a component cable? Cuz If I can just improve the standard cable programming then everything will just be hunky dory.
Ken

After reading this thread I really wish the Sammy panel was rated above 6500 ft... I'm getting my parents a screen for their living room in a new home and their house is just below 7400 ft. So, I'm pretty much forced to go with the Panny (supposedly rated to 7800 ft) which I guess isn't all that terrible, but I just think my folks would like the look of the Sammy more and I'd appreciate its performance. Living in Colorado has a lot of great benefits, but the altitude factor with plasmas is rather frustrating...
I am not sure at that altitude I would be going with a Plasma at all...they are not generally altitude friendly. Have you completely ruled out LCD's?

So far so good with the TV. I have had 2 days. I went from a Hitachi 53" HDTV Projection (5 1/2yrs old) to the Plasma HP-S5053.
I have a question regarding PIP...I cant seem to do it. I have Standard Cable plugged in to ANT1, Directv DVR (SD) in S-Video, Xbox 360 in Component 1, and Directv DVR (HD) in Component 2. No matter what "source" or input I have displayed I cannot choose PiP..i keep getting "Not available in this Mode" or similar message. The manual says to check VChip if it is enabled...it isnt turned on.
Does anyone have any idea what I am doing incorrectly?
Also, only negative so far is not being able to custom name the "sources" or inputs like I could with the Hitatchi..but the list I have to choose from is ok.
thanks
Drew


Did you go to the Picture Settings and define the PIP sources for each mode you are trying to use PIP from? When I set mine up I noticed you could only have one of the ANT's as the alternative source when you were viewing any non-ant. source.

I am not sure at that altitude I would be going with a Plasma at all...they are not generally altitude friendly. Have you completely ruled out LCD's?
Yeah, it always surprises me that the local BestBuys, CCs, Sears, etc all just sell regular plasmas to unsuspecting consumers... Colorado Springs' elevation ranges from 6000-7000+ ft (I'm at 6800 personally) and folks buy these things right and left. Ah well.

So, you really think even though Panasonic says their panel is rated to above 7800 ft, that it would be a bad idea? I hadn't completely ruled out an LCD, but price/performance of the Panny TH-42PX60U is considerably better than most of the 40" LCDs I see out there. I was initially leaning toward the 40" LCDs due to altitude and because they typically have a little less problem with glare (this will be in a fairly well-lit living room with decent windows). However, once I read the Panny 9th gen panels were rated to 7800+ ft I felt more comfortable going with one.

I know this isn't the place to ask, but any model recommendations if I were to go with a 40" LCD?

I've had the hps 5053 for about two weeks now. When I first got the tv I was unimpressed, the standard def channels did not look good. I got directv hd about 5 days ago and the pq is incredible. I've been watching the nba playoffs in hd and it looks beautiful. Discovery hd is my new favorite channel. Even standard def channels look better through the hdmi connection. I have only one problem with the set. Watching dvds does not look that great. Some of the dvds i've watched have looked good, but most look grainy and washed out. My jvc xv-n512 is connected through the component connection. This is a hugh problem for me since I watch a lot of dvds. Is anyone experiencing the same downgrade in pq while watching dvd. I thought dvd was supposed to look better on a high def set. It looked better on my old sony wega.

Bugs187, I cant find much info on your dvd player. what little I found, I am not sure if your dvd player upconverts. which makes a WORLD of diff. esp using the hdmi and on the plasma you have.

My sister in law has pany 60U and Panasonic DVD-S97 DVD player using hdmi. who needs HDDVD or bluer ray. It looks that good.

by the way, on your sammy , when there is fast action, does it pixalate alot. maybe it was the source I saw at best buy. I am on the market for either this plasma or a nice Lcd.

let me know. thanks

That I love my HP-S4253! Was at my sister's house for Mother's Day and couldn't believe how crappy her Panasonic's HD was compared to mine. I tried to adjust the controls but to no avail. Now if only they'd make ALLLLL the channels HD, we'd have it made. Guess I'll ask you while I'm here... does an HDMI cable make a drastic improvement for standard cable than a component cable? Cuz If I can just improve the standard cable programming then everything will just be hunky dory.
Ken

That's the exact opposite of the experience I had this weekend. Great Panny. Lousy, pixilating during fast motion, Sammy. Oh, well! :cool:

I guess i am not the only one who spoted all the fast motion pixels. That very much turned me off. still on the fence now as to what plasma to get.

Bugs187, I cant find much info on your dvd player. what little I found, I am not sure if your dvd player upconverts. which makes a WORLD of diff. esp using the hdmi and on the plasma you have.

My sister in law has pany 60U and Panasonic DVD-S97 DVD player using hdmi. who needs HDDVD or bluer ray. It looks that good.

by the way, on your sammy , when there is fast action, does it pixalate alot. maybe it was the source I saw at best buy. I am on the market for either this plasma or a nice Lcd.

let me know. thanks

Thanks for the info, I figured it probably is the dvd player. I was looking into upgrading to a upconverting dvd player. As far as the pixelation on fast moving images its very strange. It only occurs sometimes. During the heats vs. nets game I didn't notice any pixelation, but during the suns vs. clippers game I noticed a lot of pixelation during fast moving action. I don't know why that is.

Thanks mate. the Panasonic DVD-S97 or the samsung dvd that upconverts are both great buys. both have kick ass upscaler. and yet it will make a huge difference on quality.

13 bit processing, 549 billion colors for Sammy, 10 bit, 12 billion for Panny. You can see the difference.

bugz187,

you should check this thread out:

AVS Forum > Video Components > DVD Players (Standard Def)

And go to the "Upconverting DVD Player Options/Impressions"

(I cant post URLs yet :) )

After reading thru it... I opted to buy the OPPO over the panasonic player...
but make your own impressions, the thread covers the best upconverting players in the scene.

good luck! :rolleyes:

13 bit processing, 549 billion colors for Sammy, 10 bit, 12 billion for Panny. You can see the difference.

That's a load of bull. If you didn't have spec sheets in front of you are you saying you
would know how many billion colors you were looking at. C'mon! :D Some people get taken in by numbers instead of picture. Be careful not to fall into that trap.

Ok,

so, I have been visited by comcast guy, he fixed the issue of the HD channels, seems like for HD to work, you need a direct feed from the cable source, in the middle of the source, some techsavy-not cable guy had set a spitter and sent signal over to my cable modem and the cable plug... so the HD signal was lost, most be some sort of protection scheme, to protect from digital tapping the signal on the way to your box... (digital signals shouldn't be affected -like that- due to strength).

Any ways, now i have HD, but for some reason, when I connect the cable box thru HDMI to my TV, i still get that annoying HDCP message (DARN IT!), and its very reddish (the image)... So, I opted for the Component cable now... its working fine, and HD looks great, but I would like to be using HDMI... I will try in a month or two, to get a different box ... we'll see how this progresses...

Still in my break-in period... so, did any one figure out if this affects last generation plasmas like these? I sure would like to start setting that contrast and brightness higher... looks so dark!

Also... is there a practical way to figure out how many hours in your break-in period you are? ... I am calculating about 2 to 3 hours a day.. but.. this is very inaccurate...

I will let you guys know once i am out of that and with the OPPO upconverting dvd player what my settings are after calibrating...

Good luck!

can any hp-S5053 owners comment on the wall mounts they have used with their plasmas? I am getting ready to make my purchase and I would love to know what you have used. :D

Omnimount U3TILT

In case anyone is interested, I just ordered the 4253 from Amazon for [EDIT] plus no interest financing

Sweet deal

Yeah, it always surprises me that the local BestBuys, CCs, Sears, etc all just sell regular plasmas to unsuspecting consumers... Colorado Springs' elevation ranges from 6000-7000+ ft (I'm at 6800 personally) and folks buy these things right and left. Ah well.

So, you really think even though Panasonic says their panel is rated to above 7800 ft, that it would be a bad idea? I hadn't completely ruled out an LCD, but price/performance of the Panny TH-42PX60U is considerably better than most of the 40" LCDs I see out there. I was initially leaning toward the 40" LCDs due to altitude and because they typically have a little less problem with glare (this will be in a fairly well-lit living room with decent windows). However, once I read the Panny 9th gen panels were rated to 7800+ ft I felt more comfortable going with one.

I know this isn't the place to ask, but any model recommendations if I were to go with a 40" LCD?

When I was looking there were a few 37"-40" LCD's that were nice to look at including the Panny, Samsung, Sony XBR and LG models. Not to mention the 46" LN-S4692D Sammie and the 42" DU-42LZ30 LG. I don't necessarily think they are up to the Plasma standard (yes I have a preference but it is just that... a personal preference) :rolleyes: , but they were all pretty nice.

Thanks for the info, I figured it probably is the dvd player. I was looking into upgrading to a upconverting dvd player. As far as the pixelation on fast moving images its very strange. It only occurs sometimes. During the heats vs. nets game I didn't notice any pixelation, but during the suns vs. clippers game I noticed a lot of pixelation during fast moving action. I don't know why that is.


My experience is that most anomalies in HD (worse yet SD converted to HD) pictures have to do with the quality of the signal and are probably (not definitely but probably) not related to the Panel Display at all.