Anyone have an answer for this problem?

Watching Minn vs Purdue on ESPN through coax cable, SD channel ESPN2. There are blurs and blotches (darker green tones) blotchy throughout the turf field. These blotches move, disappear and reappear as the action moves around. Any one know of the problem and if there is a solution? My settings are Movie etc as discussed on this thread. Is it my cable box? the coax hookup?, the SD channel? Help. Thanks.

I am swapping out the old box for the HD cable box just to pick up some HD channels today. I wish Comcast had more than 15 or 16 non subscription HD channels though.

I'm not sure if this is your issue, but all field turf looks like *bleep* because there are blotches on the field. That is because they put ground up tire rubber on the field. It has a tendency to pile up in certain areas. This leads to dark green or black blotches on the field. Different camera angles with cause it to show up more. Not sure if this is your issue, but if it only shows up when you watch field turf games that may be it.

edit: Looked up the Metrodome info. Field turf was installed in 2004. The rubber is usually replaced every 3 years. This is when the blotchiness is at it's worst. After more play it is better distributed, and is ground more into the surface. I am an Ohio State fan, and they just installed field turf. It looks horrible, and there are clear dark green and black lines/blotches on the field. As the camera moves, the blotches that are no longer directly in front of the camera disappear, but new ones show up because they are now in direct sight line with the camera. Since you are watching in SD they are probably blurred more and look like a problem with the tv. In HD it's clear it's a part of the field.

[QUOTE=Joey Cusack;11708760]Wow, all this time and still problems....well hey..

Like most people are starting to do you need to take some action against Samsung. Too many people are letting them get away with this. I am on tv #5. Check out this link and I think Samsung will start listening a little.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ts/070911/10378876.html?.v=3

I just got mine from amazon. Delivery was excellent but i also have the samsung smile i would say its less than 1/4 in on both sides. Now just have to decide which is more annoying that or the purple prism on the led set i returned.....lol

Wrong thread, sorry.

THIS IS A COPY OF A POSTING I PUT ON THE SONY KDS**A2020 OWNER'S THREAD:

As another poster noted, most people read these postings because they are considering buying a KDS, or having a problem with the one they have.

For those of you considering buying a KDS, I just dumped a Samsung 61" DLP for a KDS60A2020. My first day opinion is WOOHOO! Whether or not I'll feel this way a few months down the road...only time will tell. I owned the Samsung for 8 months. I put up with curvature of the edges of the picture, a tilted picture, screen going blank and losing input sources frequently, very noisy cooling fan, light engine replacement..netting me a light engine with a picture inferior to my original, service technicians who failed to show up for appointments and didn't return phone calls, and three levels of customer care reps that had no technical knowledge whatsoever and refused to admit known issues with their TV's.
Go look at the Samsung HLT owners thread, and look at all the postings about bowed edges, and tilted pictures. I had this, the HLT I looked at at Sam's Club had this, the one at Circuit City had this, but in all fairness, I saw one at Sears that did not. Samsung's Customer Care said they weren't aware of this issue. Come on. Anyway, tired of all the hassle, I contacted the store manager of Sam's Club (where I bought the Samsung), who worked out a very favorable deal for me to dump the Samsung and take home the Sony.
I can't say enough about Sam's Club. Every "big ticket" item I buy will be from them from now on, even if they aren't the lowest price.
Sam's Sony model# is KDS60AL120. The AL in the number means it comes with a Sony stand. The TV is marked KDS60A2020. This is a KDS60A2000 with a black case. Sam's Club price is $1987.32 including stand.
I did think the Samsungs had brighter pictures in the showrooms than the KDS, but that was in the showrooms. One of the first things I did with the Samsung was turn down the brightness when it was in my living room, so I see no advantage to the Samsung's brightness. Picture quality in HD between the two sets was virtually indistinguishable. Picture quality in SD was better with the Sony after some cursory adjustment.
As I said...right now I feel very good about dumping the Samsung. We will see what happens as time goes by. For now...

Goodby to:
Clay faces
Bowed picture
Tilted picture
Noisy fan
Blank screens
Lost signal sources
Inferior light engine replacement
Flimsy screen and case
Missed service appointment
Very poor customer care

Hello to:
Razor straight picture edges
Dead level picture
Silent fan
Flat screen and rock solid case
Endless tweaking menus
Better SD picture
Much better sound

POSTED FOR ALL THE FENCE SITTERS OUT THERE. I WAS ONE AND
WOULD HAVE LOVED TO COME ACCROSS A POST LIKE THIS.

You forgot to say goodbye to 1080p over component.. ;)

You forgot to say goodbye to 1080p over component.. ;)

AHAHAHAHAHHAHAA. Goodbye to glare reduction also.

My Samsung HL-T5676 DLP Review:

I read these forums about the Samsung DLP's and NEARLY didn't buy it because of this. I was reading better reviews on Sony DLPs, but didnt like the bulkiness and poor picture at the store. So I went ahead and bought the Samsung.

I hooked it up to regular cable w/out a box, my yamaha reciever, speakers, surround, sub, and my yamaha DVD 5disc.

The picture is AMAZING with regular cable. Circuit City showed us a DLP without HD cable and it looked awful. I suppose they intentionally do this to sell you cable as well... Football will NEVER be the same! :D However, we are getting DVR-HD soon!

DVD's are fantastic as well! What a picture!! We have alot of windows in our TV room and the glare that was on the tube TV is now GONE!!! We couldn't be more happy with our 56" DLP!!!

Cheers!!! :D

Jon

OMG. I looked at the 76S in Circuit City today and the reports about severe picture distortion from pressing on the cabinet are totally true...as are the reports about the flimsyness of the cabinet.

By pressing only "medium" hard on the cab at the top of the screen, I could deflect (and warp) the picture by at least 3 or 4 inches. I could also grab the trim piece at the top of the cab and easily lift it up enough to slide my fingers under it. If it were strong enough you could use it as a handle to carry the TV around.

I also saw the 87S slim line and the geometry issue was incredibly bad. Samsung did themselves a REAL DIS-SERVICE by releasing these things. Seriously. This coming from someone who likes Samsung and will probably buy their T5884 plasma.

My replacement (via samsung) 5076s is due on Friday. Is there anyone with a straight one?? Should my hopes be up that I actually get a good one?

I am impressed with their service that it has been about 12 days or so and the delivery is already scheduled.

You forgot to say goodbye to 1080p over component.. ;)

AHAHAHAHAHHAHAA. Goodbye to glare reduction also.

Well I am with you guys there. I love samsung, but your statements are no longer the case.

The new sony a3000 now accepts 1080p over component and I have yet to hear any complaints about glare.

If the sony a3000 proves to TRULY have accurate primary colors atleast on par with samsung's DLPs and also a reliable and great PC input also on par with samsung's DLPs I am afraid I am going with Sony.

Also sony's a3000 now accepts 1080p/24, runs at 120 hz, and also has that new motion technology known as Auto-Motion Plus on Samsung's LCDs.

One week so far, no distortion. It's in place and good to go. I will try not to poke the screen and lift on the cabinet... It will be hard, but I will try... I love my TV!!! :D

My replacement (via samsung) 5076s is due on Friday. Is there anyone with a straight one?? Should my hopes be up that I actually get a good one?

I am impressed with their service that it has been about 12 days or so and the delivery is already scheduled.

I received my replacement set from Samsung & promptly sent it back as it was worst than my current set. Samsung has agreed to send another. Nice if them, eh?;)
I've read a few posts where they had good geometry with the xx76s. Did I say few?
But still, I still wouldn't replace my Sammy for a Sony. Joey Cusack loves his Sony. It's a great set & everyone must decide for themselves. All I can say is when I exchanged the 5076 for an 50A2020 even my wife noticed a difference, which is saying a lot. I don't want to rant so let's just say we agreed the 5076 had a sharper, brighter picture with more realistic colors. Maybe the A3000 is different, but, the A2020 was no match. So, we replaced the A2020 for another 5076 & will keep having Samsung replace it until they get it right.

Well I am with you guys there. I love samsung, but your statements are no longer the case.

The new sony a3000 now accepts 1080p over component and I have yet to hear any complaints about glare.

If the sony a3000 proves to TRULY have accurate primary colors atleast on par with samsung's DLPs and also a reliable and great PC input also on par with samsung's DLPs I am afraid I am going with Sony.

Also sony's a3000 now accepts 1080p/24, runs at 120 hz, and also has that new motion technology known as Auto-Motion Plus on Samsung's LCDs.

I was just trying to make a funny...but not as good as the other guy. I have two older Sony's that have been through hell for many many years and never had ANY problems. Damn good manufacturer IMO and I suspect the A3000 will be great. Let us know if the 120 Hz makes a difference.

OK. I got my replacement and kept it. NO Bowing. Wow. Straight menu at the bottom. NOW, I have a couple of small problems to see if I can fix.

1. VERY slight leftward tilt.
2. Smudges on the screen or mirror. I might try to clean. I popped the porthole on the back and there was a little dust on the glass right below it.


HELP! Where do I find the adjustment screws?? I looked around and didnt find them. Anyone got a pic of a crude diagram of where to find them??

Thanks!
-My TV no longer smiles, but I do. :)

I've had my HL-T5676 for about a month and I must say I could not be happier with it so far. I've done lots of tweaking to get it looking awesome with all sources. No signs of bowing or RBE. One very small thing though, every now and then I hear a very soft "pop" from the left of the unit. It does NOT come out of the speaker. I only notice it once every hour or so-no real pattern. I have eliminated all my other equipment as causing this. Could it just be the plastic that the frame/housing is made of expanding or contracting with heat/cooling? Just curious if anyone has heard of this. I am 99.9% happy with my purchase and would recommend this set. :D

I received the HLT-5676s as a replacement for a 2006 HLS-5687W with bad pincushioning. This one, in my opinion, has even worse geometry with the very noticeable and distracting smile-type bowing. The tech that took a look at it said they all have this problem and there is no fix. Said I would have been better off with the S-87W model. Samsung has offered to send out another 5676s.

Like most people, I'm pretty dissatisfied with this -- to me it's very noticeable and I've been pretty patient with them (bought the original TV in January) and it took them until June to send me the new one.

Anyway, two questions: 1) It seems like recently people on this board have been getting sets with better geometry. Does this seem accurate? I love the TV in every other regard, but the geometry is just so noticeable. 2) Anybody have any success with getting Samsung to just refund the money at the purchase price? One more messed up tv, and I just don't want to deal with it any more.

Thanks.

OK. I got my replacement and kept it. NO Bowing. Wow. Straight menu at the bottom. NOW, I have a couple of small problems to see if I can fix.

1. VERY slight leftward tilt.
2. Smudges on the screen or mirror. I might try to clean. I popped the porthole on the back and there was a little dust on the glass right below it.


HELP! Where do I find the adjustment screws?? I looked around and didnt find them. Anyone got a pic of a crude diagram of where to find them??

Thanks!
-My TV no longer smiles, but I do. :)


FYI. The screws are easy to adjust, but only seem to affect the lower 1/3rd of the picture. The are on the back of the TV near the top. 2 small phillips head ones on each side to loosen, then 1 regular slotted head (on each side) to adjust after loosening the phillips ones. They basically move the lower corners in and out. I wish I could slightly adjust the tilt, or the top corners.

Is there ANY geometry type stuff in the service menu? OR any other adjustment screws?

There are actually four phillips screws, two more near the center. All four must be loosened before adjusting the two cam screws. The other adjustments require removal of the lower back panel. You loosen the two screws that hold the light engine in place and twist it to change overall tilt. There's two backup screws you back out to hold it in place. There's also three more tilt screws surrounding the DLP heat sink.

What does the light engine look like? I would like to adjust my slight tilt, but dont want to hurt anything. Do you have any pictures detailing adjusting the tilt shinka?

I received my replacement set from Samsung & promptly sent it back as it was worst than my current set. Samsung has agreed to send another. Nice if them, eh?;)
I've read a few posts where they had good geometry with the xx76s. Did I say few?
But still, I still wouldn't replace my Sammy for a Sony. Joey Cusack loves his Sony. It's a great set & everyone must decide for themselves. All I can say is when I exchanged the 5076 for an 50A2020 even my wife noticed a difference, which is saying a lot. I don't want to rant so let's just say we agreed the 5076 had a sharper, brighter picture with more realistic colors. Maybe the A3000 is different, but, the A2020 was no match. So, we replaced the A2020 for another 5076 & will keep having Samsung replace it until they get it right.

I was beginning to wonder if Samsung would ever get it right. The 5th set arrived today & has, dare I say, near perfect geometry. The horseshoe that was a leaner, is now a ringer. I couldn't be happier. So, I can answer to the question, "Is there anyone with a straight one??", I can say...Yes!
I would advise all who have complained about bows to stay on Samsung until you can say yes, too.:)

I notice on my 6187s that when it is dark i can see a blue image right below the no signal box. its kind of an x shaped and it doesnt go away if there is a signal. Cant see it normally but on dark dvd's you can.

I have also noticed my tv is a little fuzzy.

The store said they would exchange it but i am scared i will get a worse tv. Any ideas as to how to go from here. I called samsung and they would send a tech but waht i dont want is someone out that will leave me in a worse spot than im in now. Any ideas or advice would be great.

Hey all, new to forum.

I purchased my first set (HL-T5676s). When I got it home it had some geometry issues not to terribly bad but definitely noticeable esp. on menu screens. So just for kicks I swapped it out for another that had a newer manufacture date and the geometry is almost perfect, the very dead center shows some curvature but not bad at all maybe an 1/8". The color is fantastic, the blacks are as pure black as the outer bezel, no blue-ing, no connectivity issues, overall the picture is unreal, hd programming is great. I will say that 1080I (interlaced) does have some screen door/pixelated grain on high motion scenes, where as 1080p does not, even 720p does not seem to display it, so with that said interlaced has picture issues vs. progressive which is clear. Also as for a TRUE HD test everyone needs to do themselves a favor and buy the BBC (david attenborough narrated) Planet Earth on blu-ray. I have the new samsung bd-p1400 player and when playing this series the picture, color, and clarity are phenominal!!!!! There is no other High def media better than this series IMO. One final note make sure that if you have a dvd/5.1 surround combo, check the res abilities. When I first hook up my bdp-1400 thru my samsung surround combo that is only 1080i compatable it looked bad (obviously) you'll need to go direct to the set w/ hdmi and to the reciever with digital optical for sound. Also as of today my buddy who has the same set (bad geometry) has spoke with a samsung service rep that fully acknowledges the bowing picutre and says that it is a combination of the new acrylic screens (they claim to be fixing from the manufacturing level) and the slim-fit design which puts the reflecting mirror nearly perpendicular to the screen, which as we all know personifies the slightest screen defects. She told him that they will bring a (newer) new screen as well as trying to adjust the mirror and light engine housing. Seems like a good answer, I'll keep everyone posted. Its a shame that the QC isn't better, otherwise this tv would be a dominating product. All in all I'm very pleased.

has it been determined what manufacture dates have good geometry? Mine was made in May, and it has very slight bowing. i can deal w/ it, but i'd like a sturdier cab as i will be moving it around soon.

oh yeah, i'm new here and have had the HLT 5676s for a week now. no real problems..

I just received an HL-T5676S as a warranty replacement for my HL-S5688W.

I notice extreme geometry issues when the menu is up. Affects any horizontal line.

I noticed there's a "warning: don't place objects on top" sticker. If you lift up the frame the geometry corrects itself. So the set is weighing itself down... Anyone have a good way to fix this?

edit: after looking around...
Also as of today my buddy who has the same set (bad geometry) has spoke with a samsung service rep that fully acknowledges the bowing picutre and says that it is a combination of the new acrylic screens (they claim to be fixing from the manufacturing level) and the slim-fit design which puts the reflecting mirror nearly perpendicular to the screen, which as we all know personifies the slightest screen defects. She told him that they will bring a (newer) new screen as well as trying to adjust the mirror and light engine housing. Seems like a good answer, I'll keep everyone posted. Its a shame that the QC isn't better, otherwise this tv would be a dominating product. All in all I'm very pleased.

Is this the only solution to the geometry screw up?

Also, I noticed TEARING on my PS3 during a game. Never saw this on the 5688.

Also, overscan? Is there a way to turn it off? I searched through the service menu and the overscan option is GONE. It looks like my screen is zoomed in... is there any way to alleviate this?
edit
You just press the Psize button on the remote until it says 'just scan'.
That's how to turn off overscan?

I miss my 5688 a little... :(

I just bought the HL-T5676S, which is connected to DirecTV. When I view non-high def channels broadcast in 4:3 format, there are grey bars on the side. I used to have a Mitsubishi DLP and the bars were black. And if I watch a high def channel broadcast in 4:3 mode the bars also are black. The grey bars are quite distracting. Does anyone know if there's a way to make them black so blend in with the background. Thanks.

I just bought the HL-T5676S, which is connected to DirecTV. When I view non-high def channels broadcast in 4:3 format, there are grey bars on the side. I used to have a Mitsubishi DLP and the bars were black. And if I watch a high def channel broadcast in 4:3 mode the bars also are black. The grey bars are quite distracting. Does anyone know if there's a way to make them black so blend in with the background. Thanks.

That's not the TV doing that. It's the channel you are watching.

Some of my local channels do that on their OTA signal. Yes, it's annoying, but there's nothing you can do. Unless it's a DirectTV setting.

I don't think it's the channel or DirecTV, because it wasn't doing that with the Mitsubishi DLP, unless I accidentialy changed a setting when I was installing the Samsung.

I don't think it's the channel or DirecTV, because it wasn't doing that with the Mitsubishi DLP, unless I accidentialy changed a setting when I was installing the Samsung.

It's DirecTV & it doesn't matter how it got changed. If you want black sides you'll need to fix this in DirecTVs preference setup.
On your remote press SETUP button. In the QUICK MENU scroll up to SETTINGS & select. In this menu scroll down to SETUP & select. In the next menu you'll scroll down to DISPLAY & select. BAR COLOR is in the middle of the menu. Change to BLACK.
HTH

thank you, that was the problem. I don't know how I did that!

Until reading this thread, I didn't realize that my set has geometry issues as well. I don't notice it at all when I'm simply watching a program, only when there is a graphic or menu screen. But now that I see the problem, I can't stop noticing it and it really bothers me. Is this something Samsung should fix or the place I bought it? I bought it online and would hate to wait the 2+ weeks to send it back and then wait to get a new one.

Until reading this thread, I didn't realize that my set has geometry issues as well. I don't notice it at all when I'm simply watching a program, only when there is a graphic or menu screen. But now that I see the problem, I can't stop noticing it and it really bothers me. Is this something Samsung should fix or the place I bought it? I bought it online and would hate to wait the 2+ weeks to send it back and then wait to get a new one.

I am going to call Samsung when I get off work to see where this is going to go. I would advise you to do the same. Customer support has always been helpful.

I went from a 5688 that had perfect picture, but a broken feature, to a 5676 that has a broken picture, but working features. Ugh.

This whole process has made me sick to the stomach.

OK, I got off the phone with Samsung.

The woman on the phone said there's a write up on their support about this geometry issue for these sets so they do know about it. There was a number I was supposed to be forwarded to but it was closed for the day. Instead she set me up with a tech to come fix it.

I suggest everyone call in to Samsung first and get this fixed ASAP.

OK, I got off the phone with Samsung.

The woman on the phone said there's a write up on their support about this geometry issue for these sets so they do know about it. There was a number I was supposed to be forwarded to but it was closed for the day. Instead she set me up with a tech to come fix it.

I suggest everyone call in to Samsung first and get this fixed ASAP.

mooninite, MitchellR
Please, do yourself a favor & read previous posts in this thread. Samsung ECR (Emergency Costumer Relations) will tell you there is a fix. However, Samsung Service Department Managers (Samsung's experts who assist techs in the field) say there isn't.
I've had 3 techs in my home. The 3rd tech called Samsung Service while at my home for assistance & told me after the call there wasn't a fix. That the Samsung Service Manager said there were 3 options; replace, refund or accept it. Samsung considers any bow less than 7mm (a little over 1/4") normal & you would only notice the bow when channel guides were on the screen.
Some, myself included, have received replacement sets lately that have little if any bow. I went through 4 before the 5th was good. Maybe more recently manufactured sets are OK now & maybe, too, a fix procedure has been developed for field techs. Times change, but, remember the 3 options; replace, refund or accept it. Replace worked for me & a few others, too!;)
HTH

I received a replacement for a 5076 and it has NO bowing, but a tiny bit of picture tilt. I think thats fixable.

Hello all. I'm fresh and green to all of this. Just purchased a 5676S and which is my first big screen. If been reading this thread and read a post that referred to the manufacture date in regard to the geometry issues. Does anyone have the dates to post?

Thanks in advance

(I'm about to look for the bowing. One thing I will say is out of the box in HD I can see things I never could...even the pores on the pitcher's face watching the playoffs...I'm happily excited with my new toy)

My Setup

Signal from Standard Def DirecTV Tivo unit... been in place for almost a year with no problems

Surround sound via Onkyo receiver to 3 front, 2 rear and powered woofer, ditto use for a year with no problems

Replaced previous CRT projection TV with Samsung HLT5676S about 2 weeks ago... TV signal from DTivo box is via 3-wire component (same as was going to previous TV)

Problem

TV sound by itself seems OK, Onkyo by itself hasn't changed... but when I have the TV on and turn on the surround sound there is an ECHO that is very annoying

It sounds like one of the units (Samsung or Onkyo) has a fractional delay in the sound that was NOT present before

I can't find any sound setting in the Samsung menu

Any ideas?

Adjust your delay on the input to the receiver or get a delay box to put in front of the sound signal. The TV takes longer to process the video than your old crt and there is nothing you can do to speed that up. Only delay the audio path to match the video

mooninite, MitchellR
Please, do yourself a favor & read previous posts in this thread. Samsung ECR (Emergency Costumer Relations) will tell you there is a fix. However, Samsung Service Department Managers (Samsung's experts who assist techs in the field) say there isn't.
I've had 3 techs in my home. The 3rd tech called Samsung Service while at my home for assistance & told me after the call there wasn't a fix. That the Samsung Service Manager said there were 3 options; replace, refund or accept it. Samsung considers any bow less than 7mm (a little over 1/4") normal & you would only notice the bow when channel guides were on the screen.
Some, myself included, have received replacement sets lately that have little if any bow. I went through 4 before the 5th was good. Maybe more recently manufactured sets are OK now & maybe, too, a fix procedure has been developed for field techs. Times change, but, remember the 3 options; replace, refund or accept it. Replace worked for me & a few others, too!;)
HTH

I am not dealing with ECR. I have dealt with them in the past, and I know when I am talking to ECR. I'm dealing with Tier 1 support.

Samsung didn't give enough auth. to the tech to come fix it, so I'm still waiting.

edit: and for the record, my bow is more than 1/4 inch... Try more like 1 full inch. I see it on letterbox (non-16:9) movies and on my PS3 when I bring up the (P) menu (two white horizontal lines are not straight at all).

Adjust your delay on the input to the receiver or get a delay box to put in front of the sound signal. The TV takes longer to process the video than your old crt and there is nothing you can do to speed that up. Only delay the audio path to match the video

Hmm... never thought of that... Thanks!

Now, I will dig out the Onkyo manual (or find a PDF online) to figure out if this brand has an audio delay setting

John

Added... looked in the Onkyo manual, can't find any type of "delay" setting

Since I've never heard of such, could someone point me to a brand/model of delay, with a web link if possible?

Added2... never mind about a standalone delay unit... Googled last night

I'm just going to buy a 5.1 Receiver that has the delay "lip sync" circuit built in

wow! bump

Anyone going to talk about good features found or calibration settings instead of bowing or where & how much paid? How about firmware? I'll start; my 56" was built May '07 and has 1018, my 61" was built July '07 and has version 1020.

Check your firmware by going to menu, setup, go up to function help (must be on), press select, press info. Read the first number at top of screen.

Anyone have any easy instructions for removing slight tilt? Anything in the service menu, or location of tilt adjusing screws?

A quick update:

The 3rd party repair tech confirmed with Samsung that it is the *screen* that needs to be replaced to fix the bowing. They are coming out Friday to repair it. I'll keep you guys posted.

edit: The new, fixed screens are on back order... roughly 10 days to get them in. Looks like this new "cheaper" design has Samsung spending lots of money. *sigh*

I'll try to post my firmware later. Mine was built in May. Delivered last week straight from a Samsung warehouse.

Anyone have any easy instructions for removing slight tilt? Anything in the service menu, or location of tilt adjusing screws?

There's screws on the outside to adjust the tilt of just the bottom image in previous posts. To adjust tilt of the top image, you have to go inside.

I have noticed on my tv the geo is good but when i show no signal i can see blue shadowing below the no signal box. During movies in dark scenes i can see some blueing also. I have went thru 4 sets from abc warehouse. Anybody else seeing this?

There's screws on the outside to adjust the tilt of just the bottom image in previous posts. To adjust tilt of the top image, you have to go inside.

Can you give me an idea where inside the back panel to look at this? I know how to remove the entire back lower plate, but then do not know where to look to adjust the tilt. The top screws are GREAT, but my tilt it most noticable at the top of the screen. I straightened out the bottom with the adjustment screws.


Side note: As others have mentioned my replacement is not bowing, so I think it must have a different screen. It seems a little dimmer though. My contrast settings are about 10 higher than the last set to acheive the same realistic look. Maybe the new screens are thicker and let a little less light through.

Maybe the new screens are thicker and let a little less light through.
I think you might be right. The repair center specifically asked if I pressed on the screen does it bow worse, and I said yes (because it does) and so they knew then it was the defective screen.

If you think about it, this will help our contrast ratio even more ^^.

My 56" firmware is 1020, 5-9-2007.

Can you give me an idea where inside the back panel to look at this? I know how to remove the entire back lower plate, but then do not know where to look to adjust the tilt.
Look at post #1019

Thanks, I dont know what I am looking for. Whats the light engine look like?

I recently got the 50" version and after setting everything up it has been flawless.
My only problem comes when trying to use my desktop computer on the set. The computer recognized it as a 1080p television and set the resolution to 1920x1080 but there is still about an inch or so on every side that is being cut off. I tried using Nvidia's resizing tool in their control panel but to no avail. I am using an HDMI output and the card is an MSI 8500.
Any suggestions?

I recently got the 50" version and after setting everything up it has been flawless.
My only problem comes when trying to use my desktop computer on the set. The computer recognized it as a 1080p television and set the resolution to 1920x1080 but there is still about an inch or so on every side that is being cut off. I tried using Nvidia's resizing tool in their control panel but to no avail. I am using an HDMI output and the card is an MSI 8500.
Any suggestions?

Hm... can you bring up the menu and is it completely straight all the way across?

Your cutoff screen also makes me want to believe that overscan is being forced on us now with no way to disable it. There is no way to zoom in/out the screen on these new models.

I recently purchased the 50" 76S and love it thus far, no problems at all. I heard a rumor that it supported 120hz (maybe it's not true), so 1080p/24 would be nice, but eh, it's all good.

I was interested by the USB port and the Firmware Upgrade option, does Samsung release firmware upgrades to their TVs to end users?

The menu displays across the entire screen with no cut-off, it only appears on the desktop. I assumed it was a symptom of overscan as no other p.size option would remedy the problem and was just wondering if anyone knew a way to circumvent it.

The menu displays across the entire screen with no cut-off, it only appears on the desktop.

I'm talking about the TV menu. It should be a completely straight and flat horizontal line. It *should NOT* be a line that looks like a smile or "3D" look with curled ends.

Have anyone tried to hook computer/laptop to the Samsung 76S Unltra slim line? Does it work well? I am trying to decide between Sharp Aquos and Samsung 76S unltra slim line... Have anyone compare the picture quality between these two? Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm talking about the TV menu. It should be a completely straight and flat horizontal line. It *should NOT* be a line that looks like a smile or "3D" look with curled ends.
Menu is perfectly straight across with no curling or bowing at all.

Does this tv have any major or really apparent issues with rainbow effect? And how easy or costly is it to repair or exchange a color wheel? Compared to a Sony 3LCD RP which would be easier to fix?

So with all this bowing I guess caused by thin bezel will mounting my center channel speaker on top and behind my set with a center channel speaker mount cause bowing at that location (top of the screen and center).

Like this
http://img156.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc03607ta8.jpg

So with all this bowing I guess caused by thin bezel will mounting my center channel speaker on top and behind my set with a center channel speaker mount cause bowing at that location (top of the screen and center).

Like this
http://img156.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc03607ta8.jpg

Yeah... you can't do that. There's even a sticker on the top of the TV saying don't put anything on it.

I checked some of the units at Best Buy yesterday. They do not have noticeable bowing. However, if I looked closely I could see it, but it was far better than my current unit.

Any word on this new "screen"?

Really don't feel like going through the hassle of samsung unless they have somewhat of a descent fix for it.

As posted above, do NOT mount your center on top of the TV. It will look like ) ( and have a HUGE smile

Yeah... you can't do that. There's even a sticker on the top of the TV saying don't put anything on it.

I checked some of the units at Best Buy yesterday. They do not have noticeable bowing. However, if I looked closely I could see it, but it was far better than my current unit.

Yea I was at the store today and the guy pressed down on where the sticker is and the screen buldged out. I'm like wow it came out probably an inch or more at about the bottom of the screen. I ended up picking up the Sony
50" E3000

The menu displays across the entire screen with no cut-off, it only appears on the desktop. I assumed it was a symptom of overscan as no other p.size option would remedy the problem and was just wondering if anyone knew a way to circumvent it.
Have not tried this but I thought I read that you could hold down the P-Size button for a few seconds (10?) and it would zoom the TV to its full size without overscan. But you would loose your 1:1 pixel mapping. Give it a try and report back if this works.

Did nothing.

Our 50" has dark smudges that look like a dirty screen. Viewing the screen through the porthole in the rear of the set, I can see the smudges on the screen.

I took photos - with the camera flash enabled, the smudges appear as bright defects in the same locations.

The unit was manufactured in Mexico, May 2007.

We're trying to get an exchange.

I have a 5676S on the way. Does anyone know if the Display supports "sleep mode" within a PC environment? I am going to have my Mac Mini hooked up via DVI --> HDMI cable. I have my current monitor setup to go to sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity and didn't know if these DLP sets supported that.

If anyone knows I'd appreciate some feedback. Thanks!

...for a HLS6187W. When it is delivered, what would be the best and quickest way to check for screen bowing/pin cushion? I have the feeling that Samsung's third-party delivery people will not actually be willing to stick around, and I have to make a decision to keep, or refuse.

Is there a grid test pattern in the service menu? If so, where is it? I have DVE and Avia, but I don't think they have what I need to check it out. Any ideas?

I have a 5676S on the way. Does anyone know if the Display supports "sleep mode" within a PC environment?

Nope, The lamp stays on until you shut the TV off.

. When it is delivered, what would be the best and quickest way to check for screen bowing/pin cushion?
Anything with edge to edge horizontal lines in the mid section such as a tv guide listing. That's the only time I can see the bowing. Mine's bad but I don't see it with letterbox, 4:3 pillar box, or news banners so I don't care that much. There's no pincushion as the edges are perfect, It's the mid section away from the edges that sags.

Anything with edge to edge horizontal lines in the mid section such as a tv guide listing. That's the only time I can see the bowing. Mine's bad but I don't see it with letterbox, 4:3 pillar box, or news banners so I don't care that much. There's no pincushion as the edges are perfect, It's the mid section away from the edges that sags.

So you spent $2k on a defective item and you don't care?

What happens when in 1 year and 1 day from now when your warranty runs out and you buy a console or Blu-ray player and notice the bowing?

Just call and get a replacement screen.

Anyone know if these TV's take a 1080p/24 signal like from the newer HD DVD players? Does anything need to be done to them for it to work?

Anyone know if these TV's take a 1080p/24 signal like from the newer HD DVD players? Does anything need to be done to them for it to work?

If you can point me to a 24fps Blu-ray movie I will test it. I have a PS3 and a 5676S. I only have normal Blu-ray movies.

I think any of them can be played at 24fps. You just have to select it somewhere in the PS3's menus.

I think any of them can be played at 24fps. You just have to select it somewhere in the PS3's menus.

Oh, I was under the assumption that it was limited to some movies. I've read up on it and all Blu-ray movies are 24FPS.

I switched the PS3 from 24FPS Automatic to On and then played Casino Royale. The TV says "1920x1080 @ 24Hz" when I hit Info. The movie looks fantastic as ever. No jumpy-ness.

I say it is safe to say that the TV supports 24FPS...

FYI info on the hl-t5076sx/xaa model I own.
Just skimming through the thread and hope to help out with info.

For most of the time awaiting a couple weeks delay for my test set, many were complaining about screen image distortion. When mine arrived I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have to send it back.
I am either more sensitive to screen distortion now or it is getting worse. I will be taking measurements.
The problem I have is in setting the service menu parameters to get it calibrated correctly. The settings don't seem to "take" or they come out wrong.
My test equipment manufacturer has what looks like a good process on earlier models., but mine has more choices.

auto settingson the samsung for my mythic dragon home media center when running PCLOS linux were impressive. I would put up a new install or whatever, and hit auto under pc and it seemed to do a good job matching to the screen.
The settings problem seem to be reported as a problem in the led sets, but I think I have the same problems of settings not "taking" or wrong values.
I am in process of documenting my set for now so will help out. I am slowly finding which hoops to jump etc, when a short procedure from Samsung would fix that.
From past experience with Samsung, they don't ignore you, just takes a long time to sink in. They are not a small company.

Well, this happens to be my very first post. And I want to use it to express some observations I made.

First of all, I currently own a 720p HL-T5075S, which I bought as part of a package deal (with Xbox 360 & Halo3) at BestBuy.com almost four weeks ago. I would have been complete happy with it, if I wouldn't have noticed this arching scratch on the screen, which, although not very noticeable, really bothered me. It wasn't caused by me (I never touched the screen), so I called BestBuy and told them that I wanted to return it. Without any hassle, they scheduled a return and it is now going to be picked up on Thursday.

What does this have to do with the 1080p HL-T5076S? Well, I was happy with the quality of the 720p unit I had, but figured I could now use this opportunity to shop around for a 1080p unit. So I found a good deal at a different online store and actually placed an order with them yesterday afternoon. That was BEFORE I discovered this threat. I have to tell you guys, after spending a good three hours trying to read every post in this thread, I was totally scared and had a sleepless night figuring out what I should do with my order. So today, during my lunch break, I went to a local BestBuy and looked at the various Samsung DLP sets there. I asked a sales person if I could borrow the remote for a while, then played around with the test pictures in the service menu of the various Samsungs. And I have to tell you: The 5076S is just a pice of junk! It had the most fragile frame/housing of all the Samsungs I looked at, had noticeable bowing and the screen was warping outwards. I knew right then that I had to stop my order. So I called the online retailer again and they called their loading dock to stop their workers from loading it onto a truck. Phew! That was last minute! I was extremely relieved.

So after work I went back to BestBuy and looked more closely at two other Samsungs they had there. One was the HL-T5687S, the other the HL-T6176S. Neither had noticeable bowing. Perhaps the former actually had a little bit of bowing on the sides, noticeable on a 4:3 picture, as it looked a bit like this: ) (. The 6176 only had very (very) slight bowing at the bottom, hardly noticeable. And both sets where of much better build quality than the 5076, even though the 61" set also was of the 76 series.

But here is my theory as to why both sets seemed to have a much stronger casing: As opposed to the 5076, the 5687 and 6176 both appeared to have the entire projection mechanism & mirrows located at the base instead of the top. And the base is inherently more stable and much stronger than the flimsy top of the 5076.

Long story short, I am now playing with the idea of getting the 5087S, as it has my preferred size of 50", but also has the projection system & mirrors located at the base. And since the 5075S I currently still have is rock-solid (nothing moves when I push or screeze the frame), I am hoping for similar stability in the 5087S, which seems to have a very similar housing.

Well, those were my two cents. Or maybe more like 200 cents, given the lenght of my first contribution here.

Over and out.
-J

Does this tv have any major or really apparent issues with rainbow effect? And how easy or costly is it to repair or exchange a color wheel? Compared to a Sony 3LCD RP which would be easier to fix?

If you see rainbow effects on CRT sets, then you'll see them on Samsung DLP sets, too.

...for a HLS6187W. When it is delivered, what would be the best and quickest way to check for screen bowing/pin cushion? I have the feeling that Samsung's third-party delivery people will not actually be willing to stick around, and I have to make a decision to keep, or refuse.

Is there a grid test pattern in the service menu? If so, where is it? I have DVE and Avia, but I don't think they have what I need to check it out. Any ideas?

If you got cable, simply tune the set to CNBC and see if the info bars look straight.

the guy that mentioned rainbow effects on crt misunderstands. He is probably talking about convergence.
I see rainbow effect on my set, just much less than when I first saw a dlp home set. A business dlp projector i use has really annoying rainbows.
My hl-t5076 is ok, but I wish rainbows were gone. I am immune to headaches, but feel a tighness between the eyes when sitting close.

I still would love to know how the HLT series DLPs compare to their older brothers the HLS series DLPs.

No one has yet said that the HLTs even look on par with the HLS. If this continues I might as well look for an HLS model.

I still would love to know how the HLT series DLPs compare to their older brothers the HLS series DLPs.

No one has yet said that the HLTs even look on par with the HLS. If this continues I might as well look for an HLS model.

Read my posts... I came from an HL-S5688W.

Mooninite,

Thanks for checking! Hey, straight out of the box my 6176 had a great picture and no bowing I could notice. Sorry to hear there's been so many issues. Did you get your issues fixed?

Well I called Samsung executive department and asked about the bowing and the loud popping. I got transferred to tech support and told the guy that my tv was bowing bad and popping really loud from the casing. He said the popping was normal and the bowing could be fixed. He is going to setup a service appointment but I know I will run into problems because there is no service center within 50 miles of me. I am really dissapointed with quality of this tv. My HL-S 6187 was a much better tv beside the bulb going out after 4 months which caused me to get the new one in exchange.

Can anyone here email me or point me into a direction of some instructions to fix a slight tilt?

My set is darn near perfect, minus a little leftward lean. I squared up the bottom with the adjustment screws, but the top is off by 1/2 across total width of the set. I have been looking for this for a few weeks now with no luck.

Thanks!
jcarson1@ptd.net

Read my posts... I came from an HL-S5688W.

Well what would you have to say about the PQ between the HLS and the HLT?

I have a 1 month old Samsung HL-T5676S, and since I got it, I've noticed several black dots appearing on the screen. Not really "dots", but more like shadows of dust. One particular speck is even noticable from my normal viewing position of 8'! I'm guessing that it's dust on the bulb or mirror, and I was wondering if any of you guys had run into this problem, and what you did to fix it. Would spraying one of those compressed air cans in there be a good idea? Where's the best place to spray?Thanks!:)

Pop open the porthole on the back and see if the lens cover on the bottom has anything on it. You can reach in and wipe it clean with the cloth that came with the set.

Whats killing me right now is how the sony A3000 owners thread (started much later than the samsung HLt owners's) is up to 122 pages and this one is almost dead with only 37.

Man I hope I like the tv when I get it.

Can anyone here email me or point me into a direction of some instructions to fix a slight tilt?

My set is darn near perfect, minus a little leftward lean. I squared up the bottom with the adjustment screws, but the top is off by 1/2 across total width of the set. I have been looking for this for a few weeks now with no luck.

Thanks!
jcarson1@ptd.net

Put a thick piece of cardboard under one end of the set.

I bought one of these this week, and like the set for the most part. I don't have any bowing, but it does seem like the image has a shiny, grainy quality to it. Not the screen...the image. Almost like noise. Hard to describe...almost a mother of pearl sheen without the rainbow colors.

Anyone else have this?

I'm sorry if I don't know more to describe it, but my 42 plasma doesn't have anything like this.

My settings are loosely based on some I found in this forum, and I turned sharpness to 0 to see if it helped. Nope.

I'm running HDMI from cable/dvr box. High def channels look pretty amazing, but I still see this noise, and also see it in some movies. My dvd player is an Oppo upconverting player.

I opened the back and wiped the lens cover, but it didn't seem to change anything.

Any suggestions?

Got a PS3 last week. I have the HLT-6176s

Can someone explain the difference of the 1080p 60hz and the 1080 p 24 hz. There is a menu option to force 1080p 24hz but I really don't know the difference. The TV does display the difference when you change it in the menu and hit info. I have never seen the 120 hz on anything?

Thanks

I was bummed out when I found out I can hookup all my hdmi inputs to the TV and get a optical out pass-thru 5.1 to the receiver.

Here are some settings for THIS set that I stumbled across in another thread(haven't been able to find it again..lol) They seem to work very well.

Movie
Contrast:27
Brightness:51 (I adjusted to 58 as this was to dark for PS3 and dark scenes)
Sharpness:40
Color:65
Tint: G-55 R-45
Color Tone:Normal
Everything else OFF

I have used these settings with my DirecTV HD receiver, PS3, and upconverting DVD player and am very satisfied. I hope they work for you as well.

FYI I tried these settings on my new 5676S (except I put Sharpness at 0) and they work perfectly. Beautiful picture. I left brightness at 51, works great even for dark games like Gears.

Is it wise to return my 50 Sony E3000 for the 50 Samsung 76S, mostly because the blacks on the Sony are sometimes almost not acceptable and the SDE can get pretty bad? But then I will have to pay at least $250 extra for the Sammy. Is it worth it? Alot of this thread is about issues with this set, but what I saw at the store the Samsung has a noticeably more appealing look, from richer colors to deeper blacks, and even though the tv size is a bit smaller than the Sony the screen looks a bit bigger on the Samsung. Also I do alot of gaming, what would you say go ahead and take the plunge dispite all these bowing issue and hope for the best or keep the Sony?

IMHO...yes. Make sure your new Sammy is reasonably bow-free; if not, replace it until it is.
HTH

I took delivery Friday of my 5676S and it looks great. No bowing, or any of the other issues that seem to be plaguing people here. PQ is excellent and I watched football/baseball all day yesterday. Makes me wonder if people here just would be better off building their own TV's. :D

Ok, my replacement is going into the shop tomorrow. Small smudges on the screen, and an overall tilt (measure about 1/2" difference side to side). I love this TV, too bad its plagued with geometry problems. :(

I looked at a friends HLS series that I thought was straight, nope, its pincushioned. Then I looked at sams at the 61" sammy with stand. Geometry problems there too. Looked REAL bad (geometry-wise) next to the sony that was dead straight. I think the sammys pic was better though.

I am thinking I may have picked the wrong brand. :( I just want a square picture. I could give a little on PQ if it was square.

Mooninite,

Thanks for checking! Hey, straight out of the box my 6176 had a great picture and no bowing I could notice. Sorry to hear there's been so many issues. Did you get your issues fixed?

TV repair tech just finished working on my TV. They replaced the screens. No difference. Still heavy bowing and it looks like it is worse with the screen change... another good term is "sagging" since the center of the screen looks like it sags.

The tech says he knows what it is (used a term I'm not familiar with) and will recommend they do it next time, although he said they might have to 1) replace the set or 2) take my set off-site to their repair place to fix it.

Pro question
The tech said that watching 4:3 material in normal aspect ratio (leaving black bars) will burn-in to the optics. I was unaware that burn-in affected DLPs? Is this true? He said over time you will notice the box. After owning a 5688 and leaving it 4:3 for a year I didn't notice a box when I used 16:9 material...

TV repair tech just finished working on my TV. They replaced the screens. No difference. Still heavy bowing and it looks like it is worse with the screen change... another good term is "sagging" since the center of the screen looks like it sags.

The tech says he knows what it is (used a term I'm not familiar with) and will recommend they do it next time, although he said they might have to 1) replace the set or 2) take my set off-site to their repair place to fix it.

Pro question
The tech said that watching 4:3 material in normal aspect ratio (leaving black bars) will burn-in to the optics. I was unaware that burn-in affected DLPs? Is this true? He said over time you will notice the box. After owning a 5688 and leaving it 4:3 for a year I didn't notice a box when I used 16:9 material...

Baloney!:eek: This is a great example of how useless some of these techs are. Get it from the horses mouth; Samsung's website. Here's a quote from Samsung's website & the Q & A page.
HTH

"Are DLP's Subject To Burn In Or Image Retention?
No. DLPs are not affected by burn in or image retention. The DLP TV by Samsung simply processes light, so there is no risk of burn-in or screen aging."

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/faqs/supportFaqList.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=dlptv&model_nm=HL-T5076S&prd_ia_cd=02010300&mType=&dType=D&vType=R

Baloney!:eek: This is a great example of how useless some of these techs are. Get it from the horses mouth; Samsung's website. Here's a quote from Samsung's website & the Q & A page.
HTH

"Are DLP's Subject To Burn In Or Image Retention?
No. DLPs are not affected by burn in or image retention. The DLP TV by Samsung simply processes light, so there is no risk of burn-in or screen aging."

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/faqs/supportFaqList.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=dlptv&model_nm=HL-T5076S&prd_ia_cd=02010300&mType=&dType=D&vType=R
Exactly! I have researched DLPs for over a year and I found every website said that DLPs are burn-in proof. What is there to burn-in anyway? Nothing!

People have tried to speculate parts that would burn-in, but even those parts are theoretical and haven't been known to burn-in. (DLP itself)

Pop open the porthole on the back and see if the lens cover on the bottom has anything on it. You can reach in and wipe it clean with the cloth that came with the set.

Okay so i've tried this. Wiped everything clean, and the few black spots are still there. On top of that, i now have a few horizontal, light streaks running across the center of the screen. Guess i'll have to open it back up to see if i left any smudges.:(

Folks, I'm getting a new 6176 next week to replace a bowing HLS6187W. It seems the new posters are not having the same issues with bowing.

Could it be with newer sets? Can folks also post their Built Dates????

Okay so i've tried this. Wiped everything clean, and the few black spots are still there. On top of that, i now have a few horizontal, light streaks running across the center of the screen. Guess i'll have to open it back up to see if i left any smudges.:(

Your black spots might be between the "sanwiched" screens. I've seen sets that had dirt/smudges from the factory process, but only on the HLS series. I thought Samsung had fixed the issue.

Got a PS3 last week. I have the HLT-6176s

Can someone explain the difference of the 1080p 60hz and the 1080 p 24 hz. There is a menu option to force 1080p 24hz but I really don't know the difference. The TV does display the difference when you change it in the menu and hit info. I have never seen the 120 hz on anything?

Thanks

I was bummed out when I found out I can hookup all my hdmi inputs to the TV and get a optical out pass-thru 5.1 to the receiver.


no help on this?

no help on this?

it has been covered before but ill try to reiterate. first off your tv has to support 1080p/24 in order for it to work.. Blu Rays are recorded at 24 frames a second so when a Blu Ray that has 24 frames a second is displayed at 60 frames a second the frames display for different amounts of time because 60 is not evenly divisable by 24.. im sure that doesnt make sense to anyone but myself so just try googling 1080p/24 im sure you will find something to help out.

it has been covered before but ill try to reiterate. first off your tv has to support 1080p/24 in order for it to work.. Blu Rays are recorded at 24 frames a second so when a Blu Ray that has 24 frames a second is displayed at 60 frames a second the frames display for different amounts of time because 60 is not evenly divisable by 24.. im sure that doesnt make sense to anyone but myself so just try googling 1080p/24 im sure you will find something to help out.

The TV does say 1080 @24hz when I press info when a blue-ray is in the PS3. I wonder if that is what it's displaying or just what is being imputed. What's the story with 120hz?

The TV does say 1080 @24hz when I press info when a blue-ray is in the PS3. I wonder if that is what it's displaying or just what is being imputed. What's the story with 120hz?

Just 1 page back I posted I watched several Blu-ray movies on my PS3 at 24Hz.

The TV supports 24Hz not 120Hz. End of story.

The TV does say 1080 @24hz when I press info when a blue-ray is in the PS3. I wonder if that is what it's displaying or just what is being imputed. What's the story with 120hz?

On my tv which is a sony, displays 1080p/24 when the input changes, I assume you could check somehow but I am not sure, the story on 120hz is that everything is divisible into 120.... 60hz, 24hz it all goes in there evenly so no motion artifacts are present.. and since 120hz is a faster refresh rate, action scenes are supposidly smoother.

Does anyone have pictures of this set displaying HD, SD, BD/HD-DVD, or gaming?

I went to the local CC and this set looked horrible in SD. I hope it's just their feed, because the majority of my viewing will be done in SD. Thank you in advance.

bump

Can't wait to get this tv and test this all these things out.

can you post pics of what you call shimming

I bought one of these this week, and like the set for the most part. I don't have any bowing, but it does seem like the image has a shiny, grainy quality to it. Not the screen...the image. Almost like noise. Hard to describe...almost a mother of pearl sheen without the rainbow colors.



I think you're seeing SSE, silk screen effect. I sometimes see something similar on my set, mostly on brightly lit scenes. It appears as a slightly grainy quality on the image, but I think it's really the screen. I also have a 50" plasma, and don't see it on the plasma at all, so I believe it's a function of the tv.

I think you're seeing SSE, silk screen effect. I sometimes see something similar on my set, mostly on brightly lit scenes. It appears as a slightly grainy quality on the image, but I think it's really the screen. I also have a 50" plasma, and don't see it on the plasma at all, so I believe it's a function of the tv.

That's exactly what it is. THANK YOU.

Amazon is picking up the tv this week, and I have a Panny 77u 50 inch on the way.

Same price, smaller screen, not 1080P...

But I have it's lil brother, the 42 inch, in my living room...

AND IT ROCKS!!!:D:D:D

I only see that effect when using a cable feed and when it is at 1080p - otherwise when on the HDMI, it is perfect!

After replacing the screens, the sagging/smiling/etc still not fixed, Samsung wanted the repair place to take it in to their shop and look at it. This was three days ago and I still don't have my TV. This is ridiculous. I've been without a 100% working TV for a *YEAR* now. I've lost the little faith I had left. My next HDTV will not be Samsung. Sony it is.

not sure if anyone plays video games on this TV, but the lag on guitar hero 3 (on PS3) is terrible! I changed the lag to 60ms and it is better, but there are still problems. Outside of that, i still love this tv (even with the very tiny bowing that occurs only when menus are on screen).

After replacing the screens, the sagging/smiling/etc still not fixed, Samsung wanted the repair place to take it in to their shop and look at it. This was three days ago and I still don't have my TV. This is ridiculous. I've been without a 100% working TV for a *YEAR* now. I've lost the little faith I had left. My next HDTV will not be Samsung. Sony it is.

I feel your pain. After one year of local repair guys, a field technician, and then finally making arrangements to replace a bowing HLS6187W, Samsung failed me yet again. A new HLT6176S arrived yesterday with a severe bow in the bottom left quadrant of the screen. Of course, I refused it. Does Samsung actually expect people not to notice?

Well, my second set was just attempted to be repaired.

Set 1. Bowing REAL bad. Replaced with a brand new one.
Set 2. Slight tilt and spots on screen. Repair place was told by Samsung that it cannot get the parts to repair!? WHAT? This is a new set. Still current model.. 5076s. Ugh.

The samsung ecr actually said "Wow, sounds like this model is a lemon.." Too bad I dont have that on tape. They offered to replace again. Sorry Samsung. Fool me once.. Uh, nevermind.

I have decided to get a refund and go get a panny plasma or samsung plasma. (Anyone got suggestions? PM Me)

Hey guys I just picked up this TV last night. I dont think mine bows as bad as ive seen, but it still does. Right in the center of the screen, its like they made it way too flexible. If you push on the center you can correct the bowing/smiley face.

Just wondering though, I am watching TV and it seems like the screen sparkles when I look at it. Does anyone know what that is? And it looks like there is a spot on the top left corner like a dirt mark behind it.

I'm thinking of picking up the 46" version (HLT4675S). Does the 46" also have the bowing problem?

Best Buy here in Canada had that TV on sale for awhile, and then cancelled selling it. They are all the slim depth cabinets, and im betting that the smaller the dimensions/cabinet, the worse it would be. Thus why most 61"ers seem to have less of a problem. But go check it out in person if you can.

Listen to how g@y this is: Today, my wife decided to "clean" the screen on my 5676, even tough there was nothing on it. She sprayed WAY too much Windex on the screen, and some of it ran to the bottom and somehow seeped up in between the two panes that make up the screen. I used a hair dryer to try to dry it, but as you can imagine, any deflection of light is very noticable. So now, I have a half-dozen or so, perfectly vertical, 3-inch lines in the bottom-right corner of my screen. What are my options if this becomes too much of a nuisance? I doubt the warranty would cover this. Maybe I can trade in my wife!

Well, my second set was just attempted to be repaired.

Set 1. Bowing REAL bad. Replaced with a brand new one.
Set 2. Slight tilt and spots on screen. Repair place was told by Samsung that it cannot get the parts to repair!? WHAT? This is a new set. Still current model.. 5076s. Ugh.

The samsung ecr actually said "Wow, sounds like this model is a lemon.." Too bad I dont have that on tape. They offered to replace again. Sorry Samsung. Fool me once.. Uh, nevermind.

I have decided to get a refund and go get a panny plasma or samsung plasma. (Anyone got suggestions? PM Me)

Samsung plasma should be A LOT better. This is a great case in point for why much review and research should be done on any major purchase no matter how big and reputable the company is. The key idea is different product lines are produced by different workgroups. The IBM laptop group kicks out badass professional laptops but their desktop group (antiquated) kind of stinks. The Samsung plasma guys make a great display but their DLP guys are way behind the eight ball.

Listen to how g@y this is: Today, my wife decided to "clean" the screen on my 5676, even tough there was nothing on it. She sprayed WAY too much Windex on the screen, and some of it ran to the bottom and somehow seeped up in between the two panes that make up the screen. I used a hair dryer to try to dry it, but as you can imagine, any deflection of light is very noticable. So now, I have a half-dozen or so, perfectly vertical, 3-inch lines in the bottom-right corner of my screen. What are my options if this becomes too much of a nuisance? I doubt the warranty would cover this. Maybe I can trade in my wife!

Since I watched the tech replace my screens, I can tell you that it's real easy to get the screens out.

You have to tear the set completely apart, but don't let that sound bad. There's just a dozen screws and all the pieces come out easily and in big chunks so there's no little pieces to break. The tech tore it all out and put the new screens in in about 45 minutes. I helped because the 56" set is a little too much for one person to handle.

Unfortunately for me, I only found these forums once I had already purchased my HL-T5676.

After checking TVs in various stores I decided I was going to buy this one as I felt it had the best PQ of all the other DLP sets. After setting it up I was horrified by the terrible geometry. It was particularly bad in the lower left hand corner and could be seen in the menus and any DVDs with an AR > 1.85:1. This particular set was manufactured June 2007.

I exchanged the set for a new one this evening and crossed my fingers that the geometry would be better. The new set has perfect geometry. Interestingly this set was manufactured May 2007.

Overall, I'm pleased with how the set looks and once I have it calibrated properly I'll be extremely satisfied.

Just picked up my HLT5676S two days ago. I love the picture. I have a little overscan (less than 5% all around) but no geometry problems.

However, I have some pretty annoying audio problems. When I hook my DVD player up to HDMI 1, I experience numerous short "audio dropouts" where there is complete silence for a very short period (a second or less). The picture is normal during the audio silence. I've used this DVD player for over a year with a CRT TV and HDMI and never experienced this problem before.

Has anyone else had a similar problem? I've requested a firmware update from Samsung, but still waiting on them to send it out.

Thanks!

I heard there was a firmware fix for hdmi audio dropouts according to a tech I spoke with on the phone. Call them. :) 1800samsung.

I heard there was a firmware fix for hdmi audio dropouts according to a tech I spoke with on the phone. Call them. :) 1800samsung.

I opened a support call with them yesterday. They have supposedly sent me the updated firmware three times, but I have not received it. I called again this morning and they said I should receive it by tomorrow morning. We'll see how it goes this time...

I have the Toshiba A30 HD-DVD player and it is set to 1080p/24hz. However when I hit the info button during a movie it tells me "1920x1080 @ 60hz."

Can this TV do 24hz? If not should I just set the DVD player to 1080i ?

I have the HL-T5676s

I have a blue-ray player (PS3) and the tv does 24hz. It says it when you hit info.

I have the hlt-6176s

I exchanged the set for a new one this evening and crossed my fingers that the geometry would be better. The new set has perfect geometry. Interestingly this set was manufactured May 2007.

Just don't look at it too hard or it might start bowing again... ;-)

Listen to how g@y this is: Today, my wife decided to "clean" the screen on my 5676, even tough there was nothing on it. She sprayed WAY too much Windex on the screen, and some of it ran to the bottom and somehow seeped up in between the two panes that make up the screen.

I'm sure you yourself know it, but you are only supposed to use a soft cloth with a little bit of water. No other cleaning agents or chemicals. What was she thinking...?

I opened a support call with them yesterday. They have supposedly sent me the updated firmware three times, but I have not received it. I called again this morning and they said I should receive it by tomorrow morning. We'll see how it goes this time...

Could you post it on an upload site when you get it? (rapidshare, etc.)

Before and after versions, too. We're all nerds here. :p

Could you post it on an upload site when you get it? (rapidshare, etc.)

Before and after versions, too. We're all nerds here. :p

Sure, but is there a way to export or back up the current firmware version before doing the upgrade? Otherwise, I have no way to upload my current version.

Im trying to get my ps3 to look its best with this tv,I have it set to 1080p 24 hrtz through hdmi in the sonys settings,does the super white mode help any?

It looks great but for some reason there seems to be alot of noise in the picture,more so than 1080i with my hd tivo

I have the tv set to movie mode with
contrast-45
brightness-42
shrpness-0
color-50
warm2

how do you force the tv into 24hrtz mode in the menu?

Im trying to get my ps3 to look its best with this tv,I have it set to 1080p 24 hrtz through hdmi in the sonys settings,does the super white mode help any?

It looks great but for some reason there seems to be alot of noise in the picture,more so than 1080i with my hd tivo

I have the tv set to movie mode with
contrast-45
brightness-42
shrpness-0
color-50
warm2

how do you force the tv into 24hrtz mode in the menu?

.... You can't force the TV into a mode that it isn't receiving.

It will only display 24Hz during Blu-ray movies. No, it doesn't suck. You want 60Hz during games.

Sure, but is there a way to export or back up the current firmware version before doing the upgrade? Otherwise, I have no way to upload my current version.

I mean post your version numbers, not the firmwares.

Well, post the new firmware. ;)

ok beyond the 24htz thing,what else can be done to clean the picture up of noise,it may be SSE im not sure

The TV repair place called me and said my TV was fixed.

They brought it in and I turned it on. Now the picture is wavy instead of just a single bow. They also left a lot of DIRT and HAIR behind the screen. I've lost my temper.

Samsung ECR isn't open today so I have to wait until Monday to yell at someone.

Anyone know what the MPC function is in the service menu? When on it seems to generate a whole lot more light. Could some folk please let me know if this is on or off with your set? Thanks

I just purchased the HLT6176S, it was working great, then it turned off and wont turn back on!!!

this is just annoying, do I need to replace it or is there something I can do to fix this?

Boy this thread is scary! I'm the new guy, BTW. I just purchased the Samsung HLT5676S last night at C.C., because I thought the picture was the best, and the price was right $1619.00(after a little haggling of the $1799 they had it marked at).

I haven't even popped the box open yet, since I have to move my 36" Sony Wega, that weighs 225 lbs. Waiting on a neighbor to give a hand.

Anyway, I love the site, and this thread has been very informative. I will let you know how I make out with the set, and I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions.
'Blues

BTW, that last post scared me the most, lol.

hey guys, thanks for all the posts. this forum helped me make the decision to buy 5676 3 days ago. i just noticed a small black dot on the screen. it looks like its on the inside of the screen...has anyone had anything similar to this happen? i don't want to go opening the case because im not sure if it will void the warranty. should i call samsung?

hey guys, thanks for all the posts. this forum helped me make the decision to buy 5676 3 days ago. i just noticed a small black dot on the screen. it looks like its on the inside of the screen...has anyone had anything similar to this happen? i don't want to go opening the case because im not sure if it will void the warranty. should i call samsung?

Either call Samsung (for a service call) or the store to exchange it. Or you could try your luck opening one of the port holes nearest the dot and see if you can reach in with a soft, lint-free cloth.

I am personally surprised that people still buy the **76S series with all those major geometry/bowing issues and the flimsy frame. Have those issue been resolved in newer production dates?

New to the forum here. Just purchased the 6176 at CC yesterday with a killer price via sale, pickup discount, and a really good negotiating wife. Got this set along with the Onkyo 605 and a PS3. Just wanted to thank each and every one of you for all of your hard and honest opinions about all the products discussed on the forums.

OK, finally have everything hooked up, and the TV looks incredible. I see no sign of bowing. Just finished watching some football, and the lines on the field weren't wavy, or odd looking. The cable onscreen guide looks as straight as an arrow as well.

The picture looks incredible! I have an HD DVD player(Xbox360peripheral)and played some scenes from the HD "King Kong" disc. Spectacular. After watching for a bit, I tried tweeking the settings as someone posted a few posts back. Looks even better, although I want to try tweaking it a bit myself. I have plenty of discs with the THX set up feature on them. Will give that a go as well.

XBox360 games look fantastic as well. Just played a little bit of "Call of Duty 4", and this set really brings the game to life. Haven't tried the "Wii" yet, but that's not a big concern for me.

I'm really happy, and I'm hoping I don't get hit with any of the other problems associated with these TVs. Now, gotta start reading the manual to figure out what half of this stuff does.
'Blues

Hello all,

After spending nearly 2-3 hours reading this forum, I am looking for any possible answers? Do the newest versions of these sets still have the bowing problem? Has Samsung fessed up to the issues?

I don't want to buy a TV dealing with what some of the others individuals have dealt with. I am in need of a 50" max HDTV. In doing research I prefer either LCoS or DLP over LCD / Plasma.

I was initially going to be the Sony 50A3000 or the Samsung 5087 (LED DLP) but decided I did not need to spend the extra money. I now recently have been looking at the Sony 50E3000 but really like Samsung. I also have a 32" FLAT LCD which is GREAT! Any help would be greatly appreciated as I havent bought anything yet!

I was initially going to be the Sony 50A3000 or the Samsung 5087 (LED DLP) but decided I did not need to spend the extra money.

My two cents: Unfortunately the build quality of the **76S series is still very unreliable. Just check it out in a store yourself and mildy press down on the top of the frame and watch the screen warping outwards.

The **87S or Sony A3000 are your best bet, in my opinion. Both have their own quirks, but none as drastic as the bowing issue of the **76S series (in my opinion).

Hey guys first post here. I purchased a 5076 from amazon last week before i read this forum. I was so nervous after hearing all the problems with bowing, geometry, etc. I just set it up tonight and it is amazing. NO problems with bowing! The manufacture date is September 2007. Maybe they fixed the issue in the newer production models? Anyway I hope other people have the same luck.

I have been reading these threads for awhile now and I felt the need to join and post my experience with the 5076S.I just moved into my new home last August.I wanted 2 new Flat screen DLP HD tv's.One for the upstairs den and one for the great room basement.After much research online and in stores I bought 2 Sammy 5076S simply because it has the best picture of any DLP set available.My sets were made in July 07.I have had NO problems.The PQ blows all my friends and family away! I think there are alot of people who get a little carried away with this bowing and flimsy issue.I think mosy of them are really trying hard to find a problem and as with anything made by humans you can find faults with it if you try hard enough.The Bowing that is talked about so much on here I have not noticed on my 5076. If you have a real problem with your set I hope you get it resolved to your satisfaction and can enjoy your set.I love mine and couldn't be happier.Just my 2 cents, KC

After reading through this forum I decided to go to Sears and check out this model for myself. Long story short; the 50" looked great while the 56" had horrible bowing issues. I also pressed against both frames to see this warping effect and boy are these frames flimsy. I've since narrowed my rear-projection search down to the Mitsu 57734, and the Sony 55A3000. Good luck to all you Sammy 76S owners.

New to the forum here myself. I also recently purchased the HLT5676S. Unfortunately I have some bowing issues on it. I showed it to some of my family and they didn't seem to think it was all that bad. So maybe mine is a little better than others. And aside from this geometry issue, the TV is operating really well.

New topic though. I just had FIOS TV put in yesterday. Anyone have this TV hooked up to FIOS? Any issues? I've just now heard about a potential compatibility issue with Samsumgs and FIOS. But I'm not sure if it's legit on ALL TV's or just specific models. I read something regarding LCD and/or Plasma's, but nothing on DLP's.

Anyway, the tech himself made a mention of it causually. He used HDMI with the HD DVR receiver and the HD looks pretty good. However, the SD content was pretty bad. He then also hooked up S-Video and some audio cables, and the SD was a bit better. But now I have to switch sources constantly when going from HD to SD.

Is this my best option? Anything else I could try? Different settings??

I have to admit, I'm not techie, but I enjoy reading this site to gain some info. Any help would be much appreciated.

I just had FIOS TV put in yesterday.

[...]

Anyway, the tech himself made a mention of it causually. He used HDMI with the HD DVR receiver and the HD looks pretty good. However, the SD content was pretty bad.

What DVR model do you have? Is there a user or hidden menu that allows you to specify the upconversion settings through HDMI? You want to try it both ways, turn all upconversion on the DVR off (and implicityly have the TV do all the work) or vice versa.

What DVR model do you have? Is there a user or hidden menu that allows you to specify the upconversion settings through HDMI? You want to try it both ways, turn all upconversion on the DVR off (and implicityly have the TV do all the work) or vice versa.

I believe the model is a Motorola QIP 6416. I believe it does have a menu but I have not done anything with it. I'll try what you suggest and see how it turns out.

Thanks for the response and help.

I've been tweaking my TV for a few days now, going over all the functions and settings.
For the life of me, I can't figure out how to remove the coax iput from the source menu, ie., when I scroll thru the input settings, there is the regular cable source still there, although I have nothing hooked up. Is there a way to eliminate that source from the list? I hate to have an extra un-used source to have to skip over all the time.
'Blues

Also, I am using a Comcast Motorola DVR cable box, and was wondering if anyone knows the code to use to program into the Samsung remote. The code in the manual only allows me to adjust volume.
'B

I believe the model is a Motorola QIP 6416. I believe it does have a menu but I have not done anything with it. I'll try what you suggest and see how it turns out.

Thanks for the response and help.

In my Motorola DCH-3416, there is a hidden menu that gives me access to these settings. I can get to it as follows: With the TV and the DVR turned on, I press the off button on the DVR and immediately afterwards the menu button in the front of the dvr. This gives you access to some kind of service menu.

Try that on your model.

In my Motorola DCH-3416, there is a hidden menu that gives me access to these settings. I can get to it as follows: With the TV and the DVR turned on, I press the off button on the DVR and immediately afterwards the menu button in the front of the dvr. This gives you access to some kind of service menu.

Try that on your model.

Will do...I'll try this tonight. Thanks again.

Samsung won't give me any money back. They are forcing yet another repair call on me. I have to wait until Friday to get it picked up and probably another week for them to bring it back.

The TV repair place said it was within spec so they don't know what to do. WITHIN SPEC? A wavey picture and tilted clock-wise is WITHIN SPEC? And Samsung won't give me a new set either. I'm running into brick walls.

Avoid this model at all costs, even if you have a "working" one.

OK, folks. I should have taken pictures sooner, but I just started taking them.

Here's the most revealing picture using the Blu-ray test.

edit: link removed -- thanks for your opinions.

Please look at this and tell me what you think of it. Am I being too picky?

Also, look at the other pictures in that album.

Just wanted to ask again, I can't figure out how to remove the coax input from the source menu, ie., when I scroll thru the input settings, there is the regular cable source still there, although I have nothing hooked up. Is there a way to eliminate that source from the list? I hate to have an extra un-used source to have to skip over all the time.
'Blues

OK, folks. I should have taken pictures sooner, but I just started taking them.

Here's the most revealing picture using the Blu-ray test.

http://gallery.cronenworth.com/mike/samsung/11122007242.jpg.html

Please look at this and tell me what you think of it. Am I being too picky?

Also, look at the other pictures in that album.

Heck no! Just the odd way news crawlers would look would drive me crazy. It is not fixed.

Did Samsung offer to replace your set with a new one? I know it's a crap-shoot, but others have noted decent geometry. I am convinced something happens in shipment that effects that screen (settling?). Heck, even the simple moving of mine so I could get a replacement (which was refused), and then moving it back changed the bow.

OK, folks. I should have taken pictures sooner, but I just started taking them.

Here's the most revealing picture using the Blu-ray test.

[Removed URL]

Please look at this and tell me what you think of it. Am I being too picky?

Also, look at the other pictures in that album.

Geez... I thought my first set looked bad. At least it was only smiling at me. They say that they "Fixed" it? Oh sure, I suppose none of the bowing is more extreme than the 1/4" Samsung considers within spec, but that is absolutely unacceptable.

All I can say is, holy $&#%!
No. Not too picky at all. That's a mess. Replace or make 'em fix it right.

Thanks for your opinions guys. It helps calm me down for now... Until two weeks from now when I get it back "fixed" again.

I am going to show these pictures to the TV repair place. I don't think they know/care about the bowing like this.

I feel for you mooninite. I would hate that picture, and wouldn't settle for it, either. My 56" set has none of these issues,...so far. It says it was manufactured in September, so it is a newer set. Maybe they worked out the issues, but still, doesn't help you folks that have had problems with the brand.
I wish you luck,
'Blues

Samsung won't give me any money back. They are forcing yet another repair call on me. I have to wait until Friday to get it picked up and probably another week for them to bring it back.

I looked at your pictures and they are shocking. Perhaps you can send them to the Samsung customer service department?

I'd take a regular smiley face over the wavy patterns on your screen anyday...

So here is my story. I bought the tv (61") back in August from Circuit City (and got a free xbox360...already have a wii and a ps3). I also purchased the 4 yr warrenty. The picture is amazing although I do have a slight bow on the bottom only on both sides...aka the smile. Here is the thing, no one has commented on it as of yet. At any rate, I decided to call in the warrenty and a tech came out yesterday. I showed him the issue and he prompltly told me that this is nothing he can fix (so this guy knows his stuff). So hence my issue, do I have Circuit City swap the tv out for another one and roll the dice on getting a real "bad" set or do I hold out a little longer until I can be sure Samsung has fixed the problem? Getting a differant brand is out of the questions as this picture is the best I have seen. I am leaning towards holding out. You guys have any thoughts?

So here is my story. I bought the tv (61") back in August from Circuit City (and got a free xbox360...already have a wii and a ps3). I also purchased the 4 yr warrenty. The picture is amazing although I do have a slight bow on the bottom only on both sides...aka the smile. Here is the thing, no one has commented on it as of yet. At any rate, I decided to call in the warrenty and a tech came out yesterday. I showed him the issue and he prompltly told me that this is nothing he can fix (so this guy knows his stuff). So hence my issue, do I have Circuit City swap the tv out for another one and roll the dice on getting a real "bad" set or do I hold out a little longer until I can be sure Samsung has fixed the problem? Getting a differant brand is out of the questions as this picture is the best I have seen. I am leaning towards holding out. You guys have any thoughts?

Take it back and get another until you are happy. You did pay $2000+ didn't you? You deserve a good, correct picture.

i am thinking about getting the SAM HLT5676S from circuit city they have a good deal on it right now

but you guys have me worried about this bowing issue

i wouldbe replacing a 42" plasma and im a lil skeptical of going to a DLP RP after having a plasma

Oh my god people, I am at wits end after only a week with my 5076s.

Originally bought it from Sears for 1399.99$ cdn, so it was a good price. I get it home, the bowing problem is there but not as bad as some people see. I ALSO have 3 visible black dots that cannot be cleaned, it is in between the screen and the protective layer and NO im not opening it up. Now, they want me to depart with my TV ( Samsung ) for 10 days to some local shop to see *IF* they can fix it. Naturally I said f*ck it I want my TV for hockey this weekend, why should I have to go 10 days without my 1600$ tv after owning it for a week? I call sears and they tell me well return it/exchange for -20% RESTOCKING FEE EVEN THOUGH I have the SHEET from the TV repair guy saying the model is DEFECTIVE. IM GOING TO SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am thinking about getting the SAM HLT5676S from circuit city they have a good deal on it right now

but you guys have me worried about this bowing issue

i wouldbe replacing a 42" plasma and im a lil skeptical of going to a DLP RP after having a plasma

Avoid the HL-T5676S. Get an LED set. They have no bowing.

Being new to DLP televisions, I was worried about something. I've noticed when my 6 year old son runs through the living room, the picture shakes a bit on the TV. Is this normal, and if so, is there some form of shock absorber that will protect the projector from being shaken around?
'Blues

brianmcj81. read your question 3 pages back. did you ever get your tv to work at 24 hz with the toshiba a30 hd dvd player? Im trying to decide to get the older cheap model of a2 that does 1080i or spend the extra $ and get the 1080p a30,but if the tv will not switch to 24 hz with it why bother.
I do have a ps3 and have set the ps3 to the forced 24 hz mode and the tv does play at 24 hz when the info button is pressed it shows up.

Earlier in this thread someone else commented about magenta banding on their Samsung DLP, just wanted to let you guys know I've been fighting with this banding on 4 different sets now and just tonight found the answer. It was the grounding of my coax cable for digital T.V going into my Motorola receiver that was causing it all. After getting a surge protecting powerbar with coax in/outs and going coax from the wall into the bar, and then from the bar into the receiver everything is perfect. Just had to share it! ;)

Without reading the 500+ pages of posting on that owners forum, do the LED DLP **87S have all the problems like the **76S?

would the 5676 work with the toshiba a30 in 24hz? I have the a3 and was getting ready to exchange it should I get the a30? Is it worth it?

would the 5676 work with the toshiba a30 in 24hz? I have the a3 and was getting ready to exchange it should I get the a30? Is it worth it?

I watched Casino Royale with 60Hz. Then again with 24Hz. I couldn't tell a difference. I guess you'll "feel better" knowing it is showing you 24Hz, but I don't see a visual difference.

it's just I read if you want the a30 to look real good in 1080p it needs to be on 24hz is that true?

I just picked up a 5076 from my BBY I work at and I am NOT impressed with the PQ whatsoever. The set seems really dark and my Blu-ray seems very grainy. I replaced a 37" LG LCD 720p set which seemed much more vivid than this set. Perhaps I have some settings that need to be changed (i tried 2 calibration settings that were posted on here) or maybe I need better HDMI cables. Anyone have any advice for me?

I just picked up a 5076 from my BBY I work at and I am NOT impressed with the PQ whatsoever. The set seems really dark and my Blu-ray seems very grainy. I replaced a 37" LG LCD 720p set which seemed much more vivid than this set. Perhaps I have some settings that need to be changed (i tried 2 calibration settings that were posted on here) or maybe I need better HDMI cables. Anyone have any advice for me?

Do you have any bowing? Bring up the main menu. It should be a *COMPLETELY* straight line all the way across. It should NOT look like it's curving.

As for PQ, set your TV this way:

Mode: Movie
Contrast: 35
Brightness: 55
Sharpness: 0
Color: 60
Tint: 55-45
Color Tone: Normal
Size: Just Scan
Color Mode: sRGB

You do *NOT* need "better" HDMI cables. A *DIGITAL* signal is going through your HDMI cable. It will either get across, or it won't. There will be *NO* interference issues if you see the picture. A "bad" HDMI cable will NOT distort the picture.

I'm having one more serious problem. Its pretty weird, and I dont understand it.

When I watch a blu-ray in 1080p, I'm getting blue snow in the blacks. When i put on my HD-DVD through 1080p, absolutely no problems. I'm running this through my HK AVR-247 Receiver. When I hook up the Blu-ray straight to the TV through 1080p, it works fine, no blue snow. Without having to read the 5 million pages, is this a known issue? I have a BD-P1200 and this blue snow is really pissing me off. Doesnt happen through 720p or 1080i.

i am thinking about getting the SAM HLT5676S from circuit city they have a good deal on it right now

but you guys have me worried about this bowing issue

i wouldbe replacing a 42" plasma and im a lil skeptical of going to a DLP RP after having a plasma

The HLTxx76S is a crap shoot IMO as are the other Samsung DLPs. If it's not bowing, it's uniformity or hot-spotting. I like this slim-line but I'm staying away from this generation. I think Samsung is a competent company, though, and that they have a true committment to improvement. I'd expect the next-gen DLP's to be much better.

i am thinking about getting the SAM HLT5676S from circuit city they have a good deal on it right now

but you guys have me worried about this bowing issue

i wouldbe replacing a 42" plasma and im a lil skeptical of going to a DLP RP after having a plasma

My trials & tribulations with a HL-T5076S are well documented in this thread. At one time I exchanged it for a Sony 50" LCOS. After a week or so we exchanged it for another Samsung because the Sony's PQ never impressed us as much as the Samsung. After a few exchanges with Samsung we received a set without the bow issue & couldn't be happier.
Bottom line; IMO, I rather have the Samsung with bows than a Sony without them. But, to each their own.
Good luck choosing!

Bought a HLT5676S today from Bestbuy - awesome bundle deal with a Xbox 360 - but I am pleased with my set. I don't see any bowing - not that there isn't any but the minimal amount if any is not a distraction to me. HD 1080i source from digital cable looks very good. I am comparing this display to the 46" RP Hitachi and the 42" Vizio Plasma in the house. Screen is much better than the Hitachi and comperable to the Vizio. I'm still tweaking the settings for my viewing room, but the settings listed in this thread (I tried three variations) are good starters as far as I can tell. All three seem to accomplish a very good picture that with different methods of corrections. If I come up with settings that are way different than the ones listed, or I come up with something that makes the set look better than the previously recommended I will post them here. Owners out there please do the same.

After spending hours last night reading about a few people's horror stories, I wanted to add a little something positive to the forum. After discounts and selling off the Xbox360 I'm out $1100. In my opinion the set is well worth that price and on day one I would say it is a good set for hundreds more.

Respectfully,
Mr. No buyers remorse.

id like to see the answer for the above question about the a30 playing in 1080p/24hz on these tvs.does it make a difference and what is it really doing that makes it look better or worse?

Quick question regarding calibration samples posted: it seems that the videophiles here all start off in Movie mode. In my living room Movie mode appears somewhat dark. I suppose it could just be a personal preference thing, or maybe comparing the DLP set to a bright Plasma. Do people out there start calibration in Dynamic or Standard, and why or why not? I'm new to the game here and trying to get the absolute best picture I can.

Quick question regarding calibration samples posted: it seems that the videophiles here all start off in Movie mode. In my living room Movie mode appears somewhat dark. I suppose it could just be a personal preference thing, or maybe comparing the DLP set to a bright Plasma. Do people out there start calibration in Dynamic or Standard, and why or why not? I'm new to the game here and trying to get the absolute best picture I can.

The reason is that Movie is much more realistic skin tones, and color reproduction. At least that has been my experience.

Quick question regarding calibration samples posted: it seems that the videophiles here all start off in Movie mode. In my living room Movie mode appears somewhat dark. I suppose it could just be a personal preference thing, or maybe comparing the DLP set to a bright Plasma. Do people out there start calibration in Dynamic or Standard, and why or why not? I'm new to the game here and trying to get the absolute best picture I can.

I'm no expert, but, I'll try. It's about your sets color temperature, brightness & contrast settings. By color temperature I mean the set's primary colors (red, blue & green) must be equally balanced to produce a proper greyscale at both high & low brightness. This color temperature is measured in Kelvin. D6500 or 6500k (k for Kelvin) is the industry standard for a perfect grayscale. An imbalance of red, blue & green will have an ill effect with your color viewing. In the past sets were calibrated with high color temperatures, meaning too much blue, because most showrooms were less than ideal with bright florescent lights. More blue made the set appear brighter, but of coarse, at the expense of good TV viewing.
Dynamic & Standard appear brighter because of a higher color temperatures meaning more blue & exaggerated brightness & contrast settings.
If you want to view your set as close to what the broadcast standards are select Movie. At this setting red, blue & green are calibrated close to broadcast standards to give natural, well balanced picture. The only way to get it better is to have the set professionally calibrated by a trained ISF tech ($300-$500).
HTH

I have 5676 and was told by a salesperson and an installer that this slimfit is wall mountable.

I found literature online stating that the set is WM-able by a Samsung exec at 2007 CES but I've called Samsung and their reps say otherwise.

Have any of you heard anything regarding this issue or do any of you currently have this set mounted on the wall?

I'm no expert, but, I'll try. It's about your sets color temperature, brightness & contrast settings. By color temperature I mean the set's primary colors (red, blue & green) must be equally balanced to produce a proper greyscale at both high & low brightness. This color temperature is measured in Kelvin. D6500 or 6500k (k for Kelvin) is the industry standard for a perfect grayscale. An imbalance of red, blue & green will have an ill effect with your color viewing. In the past sets were calibrated with high color temperatures, meaning too much blue, because most showrooms were less than ideal with bright florescent lights. More blue made the set appear brighter, but of coarse, at the expense of good TV viewing.
Dynamic & Standard appear brighter because of a higher color temperatures meaning more blue & exaggerated brightness & contrast settings.
If you want to view your set as close to what the broadcast standards are select Movie. At this setting red, blue & green are calibrated close to broadcast standards to give natural, well balanced picture. The only way to get it better is to have the set professionally calibrated by a trained ISF tech ($300-$500).
HTH

Thank you very much for the detailed explanation. I have gone through every thread copying users settings and I'll try them and see what works best for my environment. Perhaps I just need to educate my eyes a bit on what the picture should be.

Just got my HLT6176S today. The picture while watching SD tv is amazing (getting the HD tuner box/DVR in a few days). However, I'm having trouble figuring out two things:
1) Can't get it to pass 5.1 surround sound through my receiver. I have the DVD player sending HDMI output to the tv as well as a digital audio output directly to the receiver. When I play something with 5.1, the screen pops up w/ a messag about "HDMI not supporting 5.1" What am I doing wrong here? Do you HAVE to use an optical audio cable from the tv to the receiver to make this work??
2) When playing any device through the HDMI cable I get five vertical lines running through the display from top to bottom of the screen. If I use the regular RCA cables from my SD cable box, no problem. But when playing the DVD or channeling the cable through the DVD player (which uses the HDMI cable), I get these lines of distortion. They seem evenly spaced (one is dead center, basically split screen...while two are on the right side of the screen and two are on the left). Any ideas about this?
Other than these issues (and the overall flimsiness of the tv), I really like it so far. Thanks for your help.

So I have a tech guy coming by Wed to look at the TV. I really want to get out from under this set. The bowing, flimsy design, and outright concern for long term affects has me really pissed off. What are the chances this guy tries to tell me this is to be expected. It falls within spec. If he does that I'm going to go through the roof. I don't want another TV and a bunch of service calls. I want them to ackowledge the obvious design flaw and give me a refund so I can start looking for another TV.

What do you think my chances are??

Will_22
In an earlier post you said you just received a new HL-T5676S. That was 11-12-07. You didn't say where you purchased it from but places like BB & CC have a 30 day return for exchange/refund policy. If that's the case, go for it.
I stuck it out with my Samsung because of limited options. At the time of purchase only Samsung & Sony made RPTVs that were 1080P in the 50" size. I tried & didn't like the Sony at all & exchanged it for a HL-T5076S. After 2 exchanges I finally got a bow-less set & couldn't be happier.
I your case with a 56" model, there's models from JVC, Toshiba, Sony & Mitsubishi; maybe more.
Happy hunting!

We just got our 50" yesterday and we don't have HD yet (getting installed Friday) so we only have Directv which is connected to the TV with a regular cable cable (sorry - not AV inclined.) The thing is, the picture seems grainy and worse than our 15 year old 27" CRT. It looks this way with the directv signal or with DVDs (older unit with just RCA cables.) Is there something wrong with the TV or is it just that the picture isn't great unless I have a higher resolution going into the TV?

I can take a picture if that would help. Thanks for your help.

Dave

We just got our 50" yesterday and we don't have HD yet (getting installed Friday) so we only have Directv which is connected to the TV with a regular cable cable (sorry - not AV inclined.) The thing is, the picture seems grainy and worse than our 15 year old 27" CRT. It looks this way with the directv signal or with DVDs (older unit with just RCA cables.) Is there something wrong with the TV or is it just that the picture isn't great unless I have a higher resolution going into the TV?

I can take a picture if that would help. Thanks for your help.

Dave
Quality in; quality out. I have DirecTV HD & at times the SD material does look grainy. It depends on the channel. If this is your 1st HDTV you must keep in mind your set is upconverting everything to 1080P; which means it is converting about 300,000 pixels to over 2,000,000. So, if the SD material is so-so from the start, you're making it 6.7x more so.
You won't be disappointed with DirecTVs HD package. It's no way near the holy grail of Blu-Ray or HD DVD, but, it is very good.
Enjoy.

Will_22
In an earlier post you said you just received a new HL-T5676S. That was 11-12-07. You didn't say where you purchased it from but places like BB & CC have a 30 day return for exchange/refund policy. If that's the case, go for it.
I stuck it out with my Samsung because of limited options. At the time of purchase only Samsung & Sony made RPTVs that were 1080P in the 50" size. I tried & didn't like the Sony at all & exchanged it for a HL-T5076S. After 2 exchanges I finally got a bow-less set & couldn't be happier.
I your case with a 56" model, there's models from JVC, Toshiba, Sony & Mitsubishi; maybe more.
Happy hunting!

DERG

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I'm past the 30 days and the place I bought it from is pretty much putting this back on Samsung. They need to acknowledge the design issue first, and that the TV can not be fixed before anything can even be done. And I don't want to get into a position of them trying to sell me that this is within spec. That is totally unacceptable!!!!! My argument will simply be, show me where in any advertisement, promotion, store flyer, spec description, etc. anything at all that a consumer would be looking at that says this!! Show me......

Show me where I bought this TV knowing full well that it came with a known design issue, and a 1/4" is acceptable. I would offer they can show me none of that.

So, we'll see what happens...........

DERG

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I'm past the 30 days and the place I bought it from is pretty much putting this back on Samsung. They need to acknowledge the design issue first, and that the TV can not be fixed before anything can even be done. And I don't want to get into a position of them trying to sell me that this is within spec. That is totally unacceptable!!!!! My argument will simply be, show me where in any advertisement, promotion, store flyer, spec description, etc. anything at all that a consumer would be looking at that says this!! Show me......

Show me where I bought this TV knowing full well that it came with a known design issue, and a 1/4" is acceptable. I would offer they can show me none of that.

So, we'll see what happens...........

I see... :cool:Well, I purchased my set from BB. Exchanged it twice for Samsungs because of bows; then exchanged it for the Sony. The Sony had a color problem. Decided to go back to Samsung & fight it out with them (why beat up BB when Samsung's the problem?). 1-800-SAMSUNG is the service #. Just keep the heat on them until they agree to replace the set. Settle for nothing short of replacement. Once they start replacing, keep rejecting any set that has bows until you get a good one. It's painful but worth it.
Samsung knows they blew it. Your not telling them anything new. Just keep the heat on until they eat it!;)
HTH & good luck!

I see... :cool:Well, I purchased my set from BB. Exchanged it twice for Samsungs because of bows; then exchanged it for the Sony. The Sony had a color problem. Decided to go back to Samsung & fight it out with them (why beat up BB when Samsung's the problem?). 1-800-SAMSUNG is the service #. Just keep the heat on them until they agree to replace the set. Settle for nothing short of replacement. Once they start replacing, keep rejecting any set that has bows until you get a good one. It's painful but worth it.
Samsung knows they blew it. Your not telling them anything new. Just keep the heat on until they eat it!;)
HTH & good luck!

DERG

Once again, I appreciate the reply and good wishes. I'm already off to a great start with these clowns. They just called saying the appointment for tomorrow was really just an estimate based on availability!!! Now they're saying they really have nothing for tomorrow and the first date will be next Tuesday before a tech can come out. I can already see where this is going.

I totally agree with you about Samsung knowing they blew it. The guy I spoke to that set up the appt basically told me that they need to go through the "process". They need to have the tech write it up that it can't be fixed. So, I'll play for a little while, but not long. As a matter of fact, I probably won't even go the replacement route. I want a refund and just get out from under the set. I wish everyone luck with these. I really do. But for me, I just have a bad feeling and want to cut my losses as quickly as possible.

But again, thanks for the feedback and support. I will definitely keep you posted as this plays out.

I Just got a xbox 360 and hooked up hdmi and i get no sound. Anyone have this problem with this set? Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I had to wire the sound directly to my receiver. I do get sound if I turn off the internal mute in the TV.

Thanks for any help.

Hey guys I just got this set (5676s) on order and will be arriving on Sunday, the 25th. I would like to know if there is any way to tell which set is has the newest build date without opening up the box and checking the TV itself.

Is there any way to tell from the serial #, or any other information that is displayed outside the box to ensure that I will receive "minimal problems" with a set? I hope the newer sets have less of the bowing problem.

On a side note, I went into BB and looked at all their Samsung XX76S (50", 56", and 61"), and the bowing down at the bottom looks "acceptable". Not straight by any means, but it has a grin rather then a smile.

I hope this set works out. Any advice is greatly appreciated prior to my pickup. Thanks!

celiboy07, The manufacture date label will be on the box.Mine was made July 07.Great PQ and the grin is not enough to even notice except on the menu/guide.You'll never see it while watching TV picture.Football games in HD are AWESOME on this set!I have 2 of the 5076s and am totally happy with them both.Good luck and enjoy your new set! KC

The reason is because the tv doesnt transfer audio thru the tv to the reciever. Once the hdmi cable sends the audio to the tv it has to be played thru the tv. I had the same thing with my xbox 360 and i hooked it directly up.

I heard this is basically a copyright protection thing. Is this true?
I guess I'm just going to get the optical cable and use it with the xbox dongle.

celiboy07, The manufacture date label will be on the box.Mine was made July 07.Great PQ and the grin is not enough to even notice except on the menu/guide.You'll never see it while watching TV picture.Football games in HD are AWESOME on this set!I have 2 of the 5076s and am totally happy with them both.Good luck and enjoy your new set! KC

That is great to hear! I appreciate the reply, as I will look for that build if available. If it's not, I'll just have to assume the newest build will have the "least" problems. Thanks again!

DERG

Once again, I appreciate the reply and good wishes. I'm already off to a great start with these clowns. They just called saying the appointment for tomorrow was really just an estimate based on availability!!! Now they're saying they really have nothing for tomorrow and the first date will be next Tuesday before a tech can come out. I can already see where this is going.

I totally agree with you about Samsung knowing they blew it. The guy I spoke to that set up the appt basically told me that they need to go through the "process". They need to have the tech write it up that it can't be fixed. So, I'll play for a little while, but not long. As a matter of fact, I probably won't even go the replacement route. I want a refund and just get out from under the set. I wish everyone luck with these. I really do. But for me, I just have a bad feeling and want to cut my losses as quickly as possible.

But again, thanks for the feedback and support. I will definitely keep you posted as this plays out.

Please do; & once again, good luck!

That is great to hear! I appreciate the reply, as I will look for that build if available. If it's not, I'll just have to assume the newest build will have the "least" problems. Thanks again!

Build date means nothing. Some people have recently made sets with bowing problems. Samsung has *NOT* fixed this problem through manufacturing. In fact, they probably are not even making this set anymore and are in R&D for the 2008 model.

I have a set direct from Samsung -- not one you could buy in a store -- and I have huge bowing.

To anyone buying or thinking of buying a XX76S set. DO NOT BUY ONE OR SEND IT BACK. Get an LED XX87/XX89 model.

Hello, I noticed that the settings most people post to use for this set seem a tad dark for gaming. I have an xbox 360, and these settings are way to dark for some of my games. Does anyone have different settings for gaming?

The reason is because the tv doesnt transfer audio thru the tv to the reciever. Once the hdmi cable sends the audio to the tv it has to be played thru the tv. I had the same thing with my xbox 360 and i hooked it directly up.


This was in response to my question about why I can't get the 5.1 surround sound to come through. The manual states very clearly on page 15 that "5.1 CH audio is possible when the TV is connected to an external device supporting 5.1 CH." However, I've seen other people post the same thing as above (i.e. it CAN'T pass 5.1). So....is the manual wrong? In addition to an optical cable going from the TV to the receiver, I also have a digital coax auio cable going straight from the DVD Player to the receiver. But, as you say, it appears that once the signal goes through the HDMI, the audio can only go through the tv (which doesn't support 5.1 surround). Is it really possible that the only way to get 5.1 while using this tv is to skip and HDMI connection and use component or S Video instead? That seems crazy, as those connectors don't pass HD video. You must be able to get both the HD video capability and 5.1 sound at the same time. Right???

I have my Xbox360 hooked up though the component input, with the optic cable going directly into my surround receiver. After reading the above question, I tried sending the optic cable from the TV to the receiver,..and the only signal that was sent to the surround, was my cable STB, which was connected via HDMI. I guess the manual is wrong,...to an extent.

I'm going to purchase an HDMI connector for my 360 today, and I'll report what I find. Maybe it only works using the HDMI inputs.
'Blues

Just picked up the 56" from BB with a free XBOX. Love the TV so far; picture is awesome and it's so thin. Was worried about the bowing; but it is un-noticable when watching motion pictures. The only time i have seen the bowing is when i watch a 4:3 res at 16:9. Streching an image will always look crappy.

I just ordered a HL-T5076S from Amazon as the price was right, then found this thread. I wish I'd found the thread first....heard about this set from a happy customer. I guess I'll have to take my chances, or call Amazon to tell them to cancel shipping (it's already in process....). :(

I am upgrading from a three-year-old HL-P5063W (720p) that has treated me well. It certainly has no bowing.

This situation reminds me of Palm and its (mal)treatment of customers with the 700p, which was buggy, and took forever to partially correct. Many people are leaving Palm over this mistreatment after spending hundreds of dollars on a smartphone.

Just when you thought it can't get any worse, my TV went totally out yesterday!! It will not turn on, and all I get is the three blinking lights! This TV is barely 5 weeks old. So, on Thanksgiving, with a house full of people, I have nothing but a 70 lb paperweight!!! What a piece of crap this is!! And to top it off, Samsung will only add this to my bowing service request, for the tech that's only coming next Tuesday!!! No emergency call, nothing. So now, I am without this TV for the entire holiday weekend. Unbelievable.

I also agree with the previous post. Build date means nothing. My build date is September, 2007.

I finally went to Sam's Club and saw the HL-T6156W there. I didn't see any bowing and the PQ was really good. It's somewhat expensive at nineteen C notes and noticeably thicker than the xx76S TVs. At this point, however, I'm leaning toward Mitsubishi's 734 line since it has no bowing, 6-color wheel, and HDMI 1.3. Decisions, decisions ...

Forgive me if this is somewhere in the thread...I am still working my way through it..but does the 5676 have 1.3? I want to order a couple of HDMI's today and not sure what kind to get or kind I need... I will use for xbox 360 and probably the a2 or a3...very small chance I go with A20.

Thank You

Re: HLT TVs, since 76S apparently doesn't seem to have HDMI 1.3, I don't see any advantage it has over 87S, other than price. 89S is clearly the best (at least in the Samsung DLP family), but there's a very hefty premium for those TVs. :(

So its not 1.3? is it 1.2..1.2a? I am still searching

Hello, I noticed that the settings most people post to use for this set seem a tad dark for gaming. I have an xbox 360, and these settings are way to dark for some of my games. Does anyone have different settings for gaming?
I I tried the below settings on my new 5676S (except I put Sharpness at 0) and they work perfectly. Beautiful picture. I left brightness at 51, works great even for dark games like Gears. What setting are you using? I actually had to turn down the brightness in Gears by one notch.

FYI I had to search for settings too. People here are too busy complaining and detailing their call logs to Samsung to talk about settings lol.

Here are some settings for THIS set that I stumbled across in another thread(haven't been able to find it again..lol) They seem to work very well.

Movie
Contrast:27
Brightness:51 (I adjusted to 58 as this was to dark for PS3 and dark scenes)
Sharpness:40
Color:65
Tint: G-55 R-45
Color Tone:Normal
Everything else OFF

I have used these settings with my DirecTV HD receiver, PS3, and upconverting DVD player and am very satisfied. I hope they work for you as well.

Yes the VGA color issues have been fixed with Spring 2007 Dasboard Update (the latest HD-DVD update also fixes the sound related issues). I haven't noticed any PQ issues with upconverting normal DVDs.

oh forgot to mention, that I am using the VGA cable with the HLT6189 and it looks great.

VGA or SVGA...does it matter...does name? I was thinking of orderng 1 vga for my laptop and 1 component cable for tivo series 2 and a couple of hdmi..i guess 1.2 all from monoprice today.


What about this for my HDMI...HDMI Cable male to male 28AWG - 15ft w/Ferrite Cores (Gold Plated)?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024009&p_id=2529&seq=1&format=2

thanks

so i found the manual online (don't have set yet) thru circuit city and it says to get 1.3 cables

➢ The external devices that support lower versioned HDMI mode may not implement sound output for the TV with the latest HDMI
version (HDMI 1.3).
In this case, connect to HDMI3/DVI IN and DVI IN [R-AUDIO-L] on the side panel of the TV.
➢ Part of lower versioned HDMI cables may cause annoying flickers or no screen display.
In this case use the cable that supports the latest HDMI version (HDMI 1.3).

http://www.circuitcity.com/image/product_documentation/manuals/sam/SAM.HLT6176S.MAN.pdf

Does everyone use 1.3 even though the faq page says this tv doesn't have 1.3?

This was in response to my question about why I can't get the 5.1 surround sound to come through. The manual states very clearly on page 15 that "5.1 CH audio is possible when the TV is connected to an external device supporting 5.1 CH." . You must be able to get both the HD video capability and 5.1 sound at the same time. Right???

The manual is referring to an external amplifier. The set only passes 5.1 sound when you are watching a channel from cable or antenna, it converts all other inputs to stereo.

Hello everyone. I bit the bullet on the 5676 + free xbox deal from BB last week (except I had CC price match it) and I'm already on my 4th set since Monday. This one seems to not have any bowing, but it does have some gray spots/smudges on the screen.

I have heard from a few people that these will go away in time, but I really don't want to take a gamble with this. Any input? Thanks in advance,

Nick

Hello everyone. I bit the bullet on the 5676 + free xbox deal from BB last week (except I had CC price match it) and I'm already on my 4th set since Monday. This one seems to not have any bowing, but it does have some gray spots/smudges on the screen.

I have heard from a few people that these will go away in time, but I really don't want to take a gamble with this. Any input? Thanks in advance,

Nick

Nick,
"Gray spots/smudges on the screen"...doesn't sound good. "On", meaning on the outside of the screen could be cleaned with the supplied cloth. "Inside" could be cleaned too, but, I'd call & have a service tech come out to do that. Try that first, but, do it before your 30 days are up to keep other options open. The fact that your screen isn't bowed is a major +, otherwise, I'd recommend replacement now.
HTH

Just got back to my place again, and took a better look through the porthole. It appears that the back side of the screen is physically scratched (though I have no idea how).

So the tv is def. going back again, leading me to my 5th set since last Monday. CC had better do something spectacular for me or I'm going to be mighty upset.

Just got back to my place again, and took a better look through the porthole. It appears that the back side of the screen is physically scratched (though I have no idea how).

So the tv is def. going back again, leading me to my 5th set since last Monday. CC had better do something spectacular for me or I'm going to be mighty upset.

Can't repair scratches. Get rid of it!

Thanks guys, I just got back from CC again, and I somehow worked some serious magic (although I'm off the Samsung train and hitching a ride on the Sony one now)

I was able to get a Sony 60a3000 + the xbox 360 pro bundle (that I had them price match from BB last week with the 5676S) for $1599. I'm pretty sure I pulled a fast one but it's on paper now so that's that.

Now I just need to find a bigger truck to pick it up :)

Just finally set up my 6176 after 2 weeks from purchase date. Had to finish installing our hardwood floor in the new family room first. Overall picture is fantastic, with no bowing or any other pq problems so far. Just popped in Spiderman 3 for my first look at BD quality and I'm highly impressed so far. Hopefully, my A35 from Amazon will be here by Thursday so I can get a look at HD DVD. Thanks once again to all of you for your opinions and thoughts about this product line.

Well I just put this set on lay away. Got it for $1299 plus 5 year warranty. I made a rash decision and thought this was the new LED version. I am assuming you all gonna tell me to upgrade to the LED model? I don't want to totaly negate the sweet deal this was. Though when the time comes for me to pick this tv up (closing on new house). I have the option to switch to any tv I want, or if the set is priced lower get it at that price. Honestly I really wanted the panny zoou 50", With new house purchase I needed to cut back.

I read some stated this is not hdmi 1.3, on Samsungs website they list the 76s 56" model as being 1.3. Is it possible the 50" is not? Seems odd. It doesn't say what model hdmi it is at all.

I should note my primary uses will be, pc hookup, gaming, video etc.. through laptop hdmi port, gaming and blue ray through ps3, and xbox 360. Also dish HD content, mostly sports.

Hows this rank against the mitsu 57". I can get that right now for a $100 cheaper. They sound problematic, my sis has already replaced here bulb after 4months (a lot of usage though).

Well I just put this set on lay away. Got it for $1299 plus 5 year warranty. I made a rash decision and thought this was the new LED version. I am assuming you all gonna tell me to upgrade to the LED model? I don't want to totaly negate the sweet deal this was. Though when the time comes for me to pick this tv up (closing on new house). I have the option to switch to any tv I want, or if the set is priced lower get it at that price. Honestly I really wanted the panny zoou 50", With new house purchase I needed to cut back.

I read some stated this is not hdmi 1.3, on Samsungs website they list the 76s 56" model as being 1.3. Is it possible the 50" is not? Seems odd. It doesn't say what model hdmi it is at all.

I should note my primary uses will be, pc hookup, gaming, video etc.. through laptop hdmi port, gaming and blue ray through ps3, and xbox 360. Also dish HD content, mostly sports.

Hows this rank against the mitsu 57". I can get that right now for a $100 cheaper. They sound problematic, my sis has already replaced here bulb after 4months (a lot of usage though).

Disranger,
Below is a quote from the HL-Txx76S owner's manual, page 14 (I have a 5076 but no source that is HDMI 1.3). It seems to say that it is. But, at Samsung's website, HDMI 1.3 is only mentioned for the HL-Txx87/89 sets, not the xx76 series.
All I've read about this in avsforums, & this was a while ago, is that it is questionable concerning HDMI v1.3 - mostly over it's compatibility with 1080P-24fps. Reading below it implies it's a combination of HDMI cable quality, meaning the cable itself must meet the HDMI 1.3 spec (older HDMI cables may not) & the source must meet this spec, too. And, of course, the source must be set-up properly as well. Many have posted issues, but it's hard to tell if their source was set-up correctly or if they were using non-compatible cables. Again, I read this awhile back. Do a search for an update. Maybe it has been resolved.
I once saw a 5687 @ BB last summer. It didn't look as bright, but then again, you'll never need to change a $200 bulb! The price at that time was considerably higher than the non-LEDs, so, I took it out of consideration. Do a search @ avsforums for HL-Txx87/89 owners topic for the HDMI 1.3 issue & see how they're doing.
When I was shopping I didn't consider the mitsu 57" because of it's screen size (50" was tops).
HTH

Connecting a DVD Player/Set-Top Box via HDMI
This connection can only be made if there is an HDMI Output jack on the external device.
1 Connect an HDMI Cable between
the HDMI IN 1 (or HDMI IN 2) on
the TV and the HDMI OUT jack on
the DVD Player/Set-Top Box.
What is HDMI?
● HDMI, or high-definition multimedia interface, is a next-generation interface that enables the transmission of digital audio and video
signals using a single cable.
● “Multimedia interface” is a more accurate name for it especially because it allows multiple channels of digital audio (5.1 channels).
The difference between HDMI and DVI is that the HDMI device is smaller in size, has the HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Copy
Protection) coding feature installed, and supports multi-channel digital audio.
➢ Each DVD Player/Set-top box has a different side panel configuration.
➢ When connecting a DVD Player/Set-top box, match the color of the connection terminal to the cable.
➢ When connecting via HDMI, you do not need to connect Audio Cables. You only need to connect Audio cables when connecting
via HDMI/DVI.
➢ The external devices that support lower versioned HDMI mode may not implement sound output for the TV with the latest HDMI
version (HDMI 1.3).
In this case, connect to HDMI3/DVI IN and DVI IN [R-AUDIO-L] on the side panel of the TV.
➢ Part of lower versioned HDMI cables may cause annoying flickers or no screen display.
In this case use the cable that supports the latest HDMI version (HDMI 1.3).

Seem's like mattmarges was the only one to get his problem fixed with the prototype black lens cover. Has anyone else gotten their's repaired without swapping out the entire light engine?

Are we still waiting on a Part # for the lens cover? and a correct Samsung Service Bulletin # that we can reference when we call the Samsung Repair Center?

Still waiting...

Ok guys just got my 5676s last night from BB, and there is some light bowing. It kind of waves towards the lower bottom but not significantly. You can definately tell when there is a grid up or something with lines, but other then that it's fine.

No doubt everyone has warned of the bowing problem, but for the price I picked it up for, it's still worth it. Some people have called techs out to fix the bowing but none successful thus far correct? Not sure if I should deal with the hassle of a tech at this point, although if there is a fix I would like that.

Build Date is September 2007. By the way, the XBOX 360 looks EXCELLENT on this set, although SD through analog cable is not too great. Will be upgrading to digital anyways. Thanks to everyone for their input on this set.

Thanks for the reply. I am inclined to believe it is 1.3. If you look on Samsungs website under the 76s 61" model, it says hdmi v1.3.
(site wont let me post a link)
See the little icons to the lower right of the screen. The 61" is the only one in the 76s lineup that has those icons. I doubt only the 61 has 1.3, but why would they be so inconsistant as to not post that under the different sizes. Always got to leave you guessing, lol. Maybe the manual is generic for all 76s models and its there just for the 61' model. Who knows...

I will look into the 1.3 led issues though. Thanks for that info

Ok I can post a link now, check here http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=dlptv&model_cd=HLT6176SX/XAA

No doubt everyone has warned of the bowing problem, but for the price I picked it up for, it's still worth it. Some people have called techs out to fix the bowing but none successful thus far correct? Not sure if I should deal with the hassle of a tech at this point, although if there is a fix I would like that.


It's worth it to have a crappy picture? What drugs are you guys on? There were *tons* of HDTV deals for ~$1300 with tax that were not Samsung and did not have bowing issues. Why didn't you buy one of those?

There is no fix. The TV case is manufactured incorrectly. It's a 50/50 chance you get a working one. Samsung still has not contacted me after I sent them photos of the problem that is clear as day.

Dude, watch football, or any sports, or play games with horizontal lines. I don't see how you can stand it after paying so much money. Call Samsung and get on the support wagon. Don't let them get away with this.

I was on the CC order confirmation page for a 5076 to pick up today and killed the order. I've been scared straight :-) But now what? I have a place for the TV that's 48" wide, so can only go to a 50" screen size. I want 1080p, just because. It will mostly be TV/Sports/Movies and we sit right at 10-11 ft away in a moderately-lit room. I'm pretty sold on projection. The HLT5087S is at CC (not BB) but very pricey in relation to others. The Sony 50E3000 is at a very good price but I'm not seeing overly great reviews on that. Sigh. Was hoping to watch Monday Night football on a new TV tonight.

It's worth it to have a crappy picture? What drugs are you guys on? There were *tons* of HDTV deals for ~$1300 with tax that were not Samsung and did not have bowing issues. Why didn't you buy one of those?

There is no fix. The TV case is manufactured incorrectly. It's a 50/50 chance you get a working one. Samsung still has not contacted me after I sent them photos of the problem that is clear as day.

Dude, watch football, or any sports, or play games with horizontal lines. I don't see how you can stand it after paying so much money. Call Samsung and get on the support wagon. Don't let them get away with this.

You're probably right that there are much more options out there for an HDTV in this range. Yes there is bowing, but in my opinion not by any significiant amount that would throw off 90% of my viewing.

I will contact Samsung in the near future to see what my options are as far as this set goes. Maybe I'll be lucky and get a set that is OK, or maybe return it altogether.

Against all guidance noted in this forum I ordered a 5076s from amazon, I have a cabinet what is 45.8 inches wide and wanted the largest screen that would fit. I've seen the bowing in the CC set they had on display but the set I just got does not have any bowing that I can see. I did not put up a grid but all of the menu's channel guides are straight. The picture in HD is excellent, in SD in 4:3 it is the same as my sony crt. The only concern that I have and asking for input on is the fan or dlp sound coming from the TV when the volumne is muted. I happen to be sensitive to background noise I can hear the fan from 10 feet away, should I hear anything or should I only be able to detect the fan from up close? Thanks for any owners input. Just a note, a while back in this thread there was mention of a samsung tech saying there was a new model with an x in the model. On the set I got the model code is HLT5076SX/XAA build date is oct 2007.

i took advantage of the best buy ad from last week and got the hlt5676s and xbox 360 for $1500. this was a step up from the hlt5075s(720p) for me. i do not have geometry issues. september 07 build. i do however have a very annoying GREEN PUSH problem going on. the green seems to be taking the place of a scale of gray. has anyone else noticed this? i've never seen green push on any DLP before. i don't want to return it, but if I can't figure out how to correct it, it's going back.

i too have the hlt5676sx/xx model #. who knows if it really means anything. here is a pic of my set showing geometry:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~madperry/Pictures/geometry.jpg

I've got the 5676 and I've got the same issue with a grainy screen. It's almost as if it's got a film on it to protect the picture. No issues with bowing, but the grainy screen is becoming a bit of a problem (I'm not real enthused about the idea of returning the TV, but if that's what's necessary I will).

I've input some of the picture settings some have posted here and it doesn't seem to help.

Any assistance is appreciated.

I got my 76S tonight. It arrived from Amazon's depot near Cincinnati yesterday and instead of waiting a week for the local delivery service to deliver it, I took my SUV over to the depot tonight and brought it home myself.

The PQ is simply stunning. And most importantly, I have absolutely no bowing. I used my DirecTV grid guide to look and I saw no bowing of the horizontal lines. Phew! The build date on my set is October 2007.

I also just bought a Toshiba HD-A35 and watched Planet Earth in HD-DVD.....words cannot describe how good it looks. I watched it with my 720p set a couple of nights ago and while it also looked good, the 1080p picture was simply stunning. I do not feel bad upgrading to a 1080p set after owning my previous set only three years. And the old set will go to my in-laws, who don't know and don't care about 720p vs. 1080p. :)

I just ordered a HL-T5076S from Amazon as the price was right, then found this thread. I wish I'd found the thread first....heard about this set from a happy customer. I guess I'll have to take my chances, or call Amazon to tell them to cancel shipping (it's already in process....). :(

I am upgrading from a three-year-old HL-P5063W (720p) that has treated me well. It certainly has no bowing.

This situation reminds me of Palm and its (mal)treatment of customers with the 700p, which was buggy, and took forever to partially correct. Many people are leaving Palm over this mistreatment after spending hundreds of dollars on a smartphone.

I hope I don't get blocked for this but I'm just not the B&M type. There are enough people in here complaining about the XX76 to start a class action movement if this problem is really this big. Thing is when people have an audience and an ear they end up feeling better but nothing really gets done to resolve the issue at hand.

Telling me of your bowing issue does nothing but make me look at my set every viewing moment waiting for something to be out of alignment vs just enjoying the viewing experience. Sorry but paranoia is not my kinda thing.

Thankfully I'm not having any of the bowing issues and my only complaint is that the company flat out told a long one on the mounting options for my 5676. I designed mounts and had them fabricated to fix my problem and am most happy with my set.

That being said, I don't feel that other's issues are less than important. I figure it to only be a matter of time and I'll have the same issues to vent.

The more people who get in here and vent without pulling something solid together the more we all end up more frustrated while staying in the same silent scream status with Samsung. The need to stand to make things better is real. How about truly pulling together to make our voices heard and quit depending on some contracted repair person to be you saviour?

Just my humble opinion...

Where can i get this display? I just got my 5676 sep 2007 and it may have a slight bow in bottom right corner...but i want a profesional picture to use.


i too have the hlt5676sx/xx model #. who knows if it really means anything. here is a pic of my set showing geometry:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~madperry/Pictures/geometry.jpg

Can someone please confirm that there is in fact a Service Bulletin regarding this bowing issue stating that it can not be fixed. I thought I read a post from someone saying that a Samsung Tech had the bulletin in his hands for this specific problem. And more importantly, it could get worse as time goes by.

I honestly think this is the way to go. If this Bulletin actually exists, then I have to believe this will help the cause.

I am currently fighting the battle with Samsung and need as much ammo as possible to get my money back.

Has anyone used the XBOX 360 HD-DVD Player with this set, via the VGA input? Does it look like any other HD-DVD player, or does the VGA input decrease quality?

Thanks in advance.

WILL_22
Is this what you are referring to?

mooninite, MitchellR
Please, do yourself a favor & read previous posts in this thread. Samsung ECR (Emergency Costumer Relations) will tell you there is a fix. However, Samsung Service Department Managers (Samsung's experts who assist techs in the field) say there isn't.
I've had 3 techs in my home. The 3rd tech called Samsung Service while at my home for assistance & told me after the call there wasn't a fix. That the Samsung Service Manager said there were 3 options; replace, refund or accept it. Samsung considers any bow less than 7mm (a little over 1/4") normal & you would only notice the bow when channel guides were on the screen.
Some, myself included, have received replacement sets lately that have little if any bow. I went through 4 before the 5th was good. Maybe more recently manufactured sets are OK now & maybe, too, a fix procedure has been developed for field techs. Times change, but, remember the 3 options; replace, refund or accept it. Replace worked for me & a few others, too!;)
HTH

All that I went through was in the August/September timeframe. Things do change.
What I saw was a fax from Samsung service to the field tech with instructions how to fix the bow problem. Sorry, the tech took it with him. In this printed fax it read Samsung's policy was anything 7mm or less was considered normal. The instructions were to adjust 4 screws on the back of the set until the picture was bowed 7mm or less as the target.
When the tech did the adjustment nothing improved. Confused, he thought that maybe Samsung had faxed him the wrong service info. I demonstrated that a slight touch at the center of the screen would correct the problem, that I thought whatever causes the parabolic shape of the screen ,was the problem. I then called Samsung & insisted on their service managers to talk with the field tech & guide him through it - before the tech could slip out the door again. It was Samsung's service manager who told the field tech there wasn't a fix, ect...
So, everything was verbal. I don't believe you'll ever see anything in writing that admits any wrong on Samsung's part.
But, don't give up! Remember; they made the mess, not you. Push for satisfaction!

Just wanted to post a coworker and myself both got in on the best buy HLT5676 + xbox deal.. both happy with Tvs... no bowing at all.

This thread scared me.. I'm glad I still got it!

WILL_22
Is this what you are referring to?



All that I went through was in the August/September timeframe. Things do change.
What I saw was a fax from Samsung service to the field tech with instructions how to fix the bow problem. Sorry, the tech took it with him. In this printed fax it read Samsung's policy was anything 7mm or less was considered normal. The instructions were to adjust 4 screws on the back of the set until the picture was bowed 7mm or less as the target.
When the tech did the adjustment nothing improved. Confused, he thought that maybe Samsung had faxed him the wrong service info. I demonstrated that a slight touch at the center of the screen would correct the problem, that I thought whatever causes the parabolic shape of the screen ,was the problem. I then called Samsung & insisted on their service managers to talk with the field tech & guide him through it - before the tech could slip out the door again. It was Samsung's service manager who told the field tech there wasn't a fix, ect...
So, everything was verbal. I don't believe you'll ever see anything in writing that admits any wrong on Samsung's part.
But, don't give up! Remember; they made the mess, not you. Push for satisfaction!


DERG,

As always, thanks for the reply. This one will help. I think there were other posts as well. I'll look for those.

Lastest........The tech came and basically said, yes it's bowing, but probably within spec. And he didn't even try to fix it. His answer. If I try to fix it, I will most likely make it worse!!!! But he did not document that there was a problem at all in his report, and therefore lied to me about what he said he would write.

Anyway, I was back on the phone again today with an ECR rep who seemed to really want to help. She also heard the whole within spec story and said she understood a consumers concern with that answer. So she wants pictures sent so she can escalate the issue to the Case Mgt dept where hopefully there will be some resolution. We'll see.

BTW.....Anyone go the "Office of the President" route. Probably couldn't hurt.

What really surprises me about this thread, is that it has been active since 6/07, yet after reading about the inherent problems with these sets, people are still buying them... It just doesn't make allot of sense to spend the time to research the owner satisfaction, pay the higher premium for 1080p technology to get the best possible picture, and then knowingly go out and purchase one that has well known quality issues because it was a "good deal".

I appreciate all those that wrote into this thread, as they have made me a much more informed buyer. There are so many other HDTVs out there that do not have the design problems this set appears to have. Whether I end up with a different RP, Plasma (most likely), or LCD, it will be one that the majority of owners are mostly satisfied with. It's just not worth the frustration to save a few dollars.

Where can i get this display? I just got my 5676 sep 2007 and it may have a slight bow in bottom right corner...but i want a profesional picture to use.

that is one of the many calibration screens from digital video essentials dvd.

Hey guys forgive me I only read to page 15. I bought my 5076s last night and didn't notice the bowing until I turned it on today. It's not horrible, probably raises an 1/8 of an inch up to the right on the bottom of the screen. Will this effect anything besides what I see with the guide pulled up? And do any of the DLP's out right now not experience this? Thanks.

MadPerry beat me to an answer for porsche. :)

I just calibrated my 5076S with DVE tonight. I had mild graininess out of the box. Color calibration fixed it pretty much. Enjoying the picture!

Can someone please confirm that there is in fact a Service Bulletin regarding this bowing issue stating that it can not be fixed. I thought I read a post from someone saying that a Samsung Tech had the bulletin in his hands for this specific problem. And more importantly, it could get worse as time goes by.

I honestly think this is the way to go. If this Bulletin actually exists, then I have to believe this will help the cause.

I am currently fighting the battle with Samsung and need as much ammo as possible to get my money back.

Yes, there is a brand new Service Bulletin out. I requested Service via the Web and the Tech called yesterday. He needs to order the black rim/cap/whatever. Assuming it arrives on the 4th, he'll be out to install it. He's already done one of these repairs.

I will beg/borrow/plead with him to get a Part # as well as a Service Bulletin #.

I believe it's referred to as the blue/purple smudges defect.

Just hang tight everyone. We'll have a fix in a few days....