question for people with the new firmware, was this the file name T-AQMAUSC.exe ?
Yes, but this is a self-extracting file that creates a folder called T-AQMAUSC with the approrpriate files.

Is there a good reason no one is willing to upload the new firmware for the rest of us? It seems getting it through Samsung is luck of the draw at best right now.

If you're worried about us bricking our TVs... I think we'd all be OK with clicking a link that said "use at your own risk".

Also, some of us here are getting very close to the end of our return periods.

I know I might be making a fuss about this... but I don't even have the TV yet and I won't buy it until I know for sure that the new firmware fixes the screen blank, power off and SRS issues... and the only way to know for sure is for everyone here to test the firmware... and the easiest way for that to happen is by helping the others here get it.

This isn't some joe-blow message board... this is AVS... I think most of us here know what we're doing and what the risks can be.


Please... upload the firmware.

How about we start an official "owners" thread. This thread is 63 pages of speculation and one page of actually useful information. I really think we need a new thread for those of us who own this set to share information and calibration information.

Picked my set up yesterday at CC. They were able to price match to an online price, well almost match. I ended up with a 61A750 and a 58 inch stand THC PTV583B, gloss black with glass shelves. No extended warranty and no delivery. Paid 8% sales tax and total cost was just less than the MSRP of the tv alone! I thought this was a good deal. This tv will not fit in the back of a tahoe without laying it down on its back!

So far I am extremely impressed. Slight, very slight bowing on top. Nothing I would complain about, especially on a 5 foot tv that cost < $2k. When compared to the 52 inch Sony XBR I was looking at this thing is a steal.

So far it would seem that the sharpness really needs to be dropped to a setting of 15 or less to avoid SSE. Also the brightness of this set needs to be turned down a lot. Especially at night. This thing is extremely bright, to the point that it strains my eyes. Still waiting on my HDMI cables that I ordered from monoprice. I can't believe what a rip off those things are at retail.

Is there a good reason no one is willing to upload the new firmware for the rest of us? It seems getting it through Samsung is luck of the draw at best right now.

If you're worried about us bricking our TVs... I think we'd all be OK with clicking a link that said "use at your own risk".

Also, some of us here are getting very close to the end of our return periods.

I know I might be making a fuss about this... but I don't even have the TV yet and I won't buy it until I know for sure that the new firmware fixes the screen blank, power off and SRS issues... and the only way to know for sure is for everyone here to test the firmware... and the easiest way for that to happen is by helping the others here get it.

This isn't some joe-blow message board... this is AVS... I think most of us here know what we're doing and what the risks can be.


Please... upload the firmware.



I agree.

So far it would seem that the sharpness really needs to be dropped to a setting of 15 or less to avoid SSE. Also the brightness of this set needs to be turned down a lot. Especially at night. This thing is extremely bright, to the point that it strains my eyes. Still waiting on my HDMI cables that I ordered from monoprice. I can't believe what a rip off those things are at retail.

I would agree we need a new thread for calibration/tweaks, etc. I have my sharpness down to zero, but nothing will get rid of SSE; its always gonna be there. I posted the settings I use a page or 2 back, they seem pretty good so far. Still waiting on definitive answers for gamma level and color settings (warm1,standard,etc). I do notice myself tinkering around with brightness/LED adjust almost every time I sit down, and I would like to not have to do that anymore... but I might always have to I suppose; I just don't remember doing this as much on my old DLP

Here is the self-extracting firmware package that I was sent and so far no problems.

I'm not responsible if you brick your set, so use at your own risk! :D

http://www.ubermicro.com/a750/T-AQMAUSC.exe

If someone else wants to host/mirror it as well that would be cool.

Here is the self-extracting firmware package that I was sent and so far no problems.

I'm not responsible if you brick your set, so use at your own risk! :D

http://www.ubermicro.com/a750/T-AQMAUSC.exe

If someone else wants to host/mirror it as well that would be cool.

Just got mine too. Before starting know these steps and then the attachment!

How to download firmware:
1. Connect a blank USB memory drive to your PC.
2. Click [Download Firmware] and then click [save]
3. In the "Save in" field, select the USB memory drive and click [Save]
4. Click [Open Folder] and double click the Zip File.
5. Click [Run] and an extractor window will open.
6. Click [Browse] to once again select the USB memory drive and then click unzip. You should see a dialogue box indicating that the files have been unzipped successfully. Click [OK] A folder containing the firmware files has been added to your USB memory drive.
7. Safely disconnect the USB memory drive by right clicking the green check mark on the taskbar and then left click "Safely Remove".
8. Click F/W Update Guide (Right) and carefully read the instructions before proceeding with the firmware update.

Enjoy!

I'll ask again, maybe someone can help:

What is the power consumption of the HL56A650 and HL61A650. Currently I cannot download the manuals to find out, as my computer is giving me trouble.

The HL61A50 uses 230 watts in use, right?

I'll ask again, maybe someone can help:

What is the power consumption of the HL56A650 and HL61A650. Currently I cannot download the manuals to find out, as my computer is giving me trouble.

The HL61A50 uses 230 watts in use, right?

Here's the link. It's 32 megs so your computer is going to take awhile to download it.

http://org.downloadcenter.samsung.com/downloadfile/ContentsFile.aspx?CDSite=us&CttFileID=1874860&CDCttType=UM&ModelType=C&ModelName=HL61A650C1F&VPath=UM/200803/20080313223131250_BP68-00660A-002Lang_0211.pdf

Here's the link. It's 32 megs so your computer is going to take awhile to download it.

http://org.downloadcenter.samsung.com/downloadfile/ContentsFile.aspx?CDSite=us&CttFileID=1874860&CDCttType=UM&ModelType=C&ModelName=HL61A650C1F&VPath=UM/200803/20080313223131250_BP68-00660A-002Lang_0211.pdf

If your browser tries to automatically open Adobe to view it when clicking, you can always "right-click, save as" to have it download as a normal file so you can at least see the download progress.

I have a technician coming out to tomorrow from Tekniton,Samsung's service reps in Southern California, to look at and hopefully correct the bowing issue on our set. For us, this concern overshadows the power on/off issue which only happened once to us and seems to be correctable with the firmware update. If the bowing (hourglass shape) can not be fixed, then I will return to CC. We really like the picture on the 750 and am wondering how widespread is the bowing issue. Bottom line - if we exchange our existing set for another 750 are we likely to have the bowing problem?

Otherwise, what is a good alternative in a set that is at least 60" (we have recently moved and our new house has an entertainment room with a really nice built in shelf that is 5 feet high by 7 feet wide with a 2 foot depth) since anything smaller looks really weird in the space we have. Plus the chairs and couch are 9 to 11 feet away from the screen. The room has windows pretty much all around and I am afraid a plasma would have too much reflection. I only have until April 30 to return the set to CC.


Thanks.

If your browser tries to automatically open Adobe to view it when clicking, you can always "right-click, save as" to have it download as a normal file so you can at least see the download progress.

Like I said, my PC has numerous problems and I don't want to format and reinstall Windows just yet. At work, my PC is good but the server won't let me download the file.

Here is the self-extracting firmware package that I was sent and so far no problems.

I'm not responsible if you brick your set, so use at your own risk! :D



If someone else wants to host/mirror it as well that would be cool.

This is listed as a750, will this work on the a650's too?

@ RedBaron420 & harps500

Thank you to you both for uploading the firmware and guides... I'm certain I'm not the only one very appreciative of the links.

Thanks for the hard work... I hope my (and others I'm sure) thanks will be enough.

... our new house has an entertainment room with a really nice built in shelf that is 5 feet high by 7 feet wide with a 2 foot depth) ...

Wow, that is way higher than the ideal viewing height for eye level, unless you watch TV on bar stools. It should really be on a stand that is no higher than about 2 feet. Don't you find it weird looking up at the TV? Still, I'd give the DLP another shot. For the size you want you can't beat the price.

I'm downloading the firmware now and will host and add links to it in my sig after lunch.

@ RedBaron420 & harps500

Thank you to you both for uploading the firmware and guides... I'm certain I'm not the only one very appreciative of the links.

Thanks for the hard work... I hope my (and others I'm sure) thanks will be enough.

Yes, thank you.

I'm pretty sure my account is flagged at Samsung as an indicator to "annoy the heck out of this guy, he calls too much." I spoke with three different reps yesterday, and never received the firmware.

Again, thanks.

Links to firmware added to my sig and the spreadsheet. Firmware is still uploading, so won't be ready to download yet.

Edit: Wow, still uploading. The upload link is slooooow.

Good luck.

Wow, that is way higher than the ideal viewing height for eye level, unless you watch TV on bar stools. It should really be on a stand that is no higher than about 2 feet. Don't you find it weird looking up at the TV? Still, I'd give the DLP another shot. For the size you want you can't beat the price.

I'm downloading the firmware now and will host and add links to it in my sig after lunch.

Those ( 5 feet by 7 feet) are the dimensions for the space inside the shelf. The bottom of the cabinet is 26" off the floor. So the viewing height is fine. I may give the 750 another shot, but the bowing is really annoying, almost impossible to avoid concentrating on once you notice it.

Those ( 5 feet by 7 feet) are the dimensions for the space inside the shelf. The bottom of the cabinet is 26" off the floor. So the viewing height is fine. I may give the 750 another shot, but the bowing is really annoying, almost impossible to avoid concentrating on once you notice it.

how bad is the bowing? Do you have any pics? I have some very slight bowing on mine, but I can only tell if there is a grid up, or a 4:3 pic with bars on the sides. Even then I have to look for it. I was under the impression that bowing was NOT correctable and will just vary by individual set. I would try another a750 if you could. I don't honestly think there is anything comparable for size and price range unless you go with one of the discontinued sony rptv (a2000, a2020, or a3000 i believe)

Mine has slight slanting but to be honest with you I think it might be psychological, because I measured it and we are talking 1 or 2 mm and from viewing distance there is no way I would actually notice that

Yea for some reason no one is able to post pics of the "bowing" yet. I'd really like to see it.

I was at two circuit citys and plan to go to best buy today after work to look at stands. This will be three stores looking at three models of the 61a750 (and 56/61a650). The two at circuit city showed no indication of bowing / slanting by plain viewing at all. i did a measurement on one TV only to find the black bars from a widescreen movie higher on one side than the other. But again that was after a measurement from a pocket tape measure. Otherwise I would have never noticed it, and I looked hard at the images with my glasses on about 8 feet from the TV. My two couches will be about 7 feet and 14 feet away from the TV at home.

Okay I'll host the firmware update for a bit as well to help out. I haven't tested it so use at your own risk!!!

Firmware update for the A750 (http://www.msu.edu/~hagenmi1/index.htm)

My only issue with this TV so far has been the power cycling. Now that's fixed I'm very happy with the set. As others have stated, any geometry issues that I have are not noticable from normal viewing distances. You've got to look for them up close or have a grid up.

I had the 5687SAX before and I can tell you i'm very pleased with the PQ and the extra menu options of the HL61A750. I will also no longer be able to live without picture in picture which i have hooked up to cable.

Looking forward to IFS calibration after a couple more months without any problems. Hopefully this is the last problem i have with this set...

This and every other "main" thread on Samsung DLP since 2002. Nothing new here. Maybe in the past somebody eventually gets an owner's thread going, but unless the first two or three posts are useful FAQ info, its not going to get all the traffic and people will have to follow more than one thread.

How about we start an official "owners" thread. This thread is 63 pages of speculation and one page of actually useful information. I really think we need a new thread for those of us who own this set to share information and calibration information.

Yea for some reason no one is able to post pics of the "bowing" yet. I'd really like to see it.


Take the pics I posted and extrapolate from there. The grid lines won't be straight if you have bowing. Where they deviate and by how much is variable per set. Might be horizontal, might be vertical, might be both. My first set that had geometry issues also had focus issues, but those are hard to spot in pictures at the res I could upload here.

I also previously posted instructions about how to go into the service menu to pull up a grid on the set. So if you get a hold of a remote on a floor model it is easy to check. But even if the floor model is good there is no guarantee the one you get won't be completely different.

Yea for some reason no one is able to post pics of the "bowing" yet. I'd really like to see it.I have looked at six sets and everyone of them have been totally different. I don't think you can judge one set by looking at another. :) If you want to judge a set simply throw up the Grid Pattern via the service menu. It instantly exposes all of its warts including, bowing, tilt and focus.

I called Samsung last night and told them that our TV was now bowing. They said it had to do with our satellite. I said, no it did not because this TV replaced another TV which was also HD and we never had bowing. The woman said she would send out a TV repair service asap. We can only see the bowing when we are watching normal TV in the pillar box. The pillas box is not straight down--the bottom right comes out a bit. I tried changing channels--no difference. I got out a ruler and realized that the bottom was totally off from the top in how wide the black lines were in the pillar.
I did not know what "bowing" meant either until last night when I sat down at the TV and saw it.
Can they fix this? Is this something that can be corrected? Is it even worth someone coming out?

I have looked at six sets and everyone of them have been totally different. I don't think you can judge one set by looking at another. :) If you want to judge a set simply throw up the Grid Pattern via the service menu. It instantly exposes all of its warts including, bowing, tilt and focus.

Where is the service menu?

Update on the repair for the bowing -- I just talked to TV Unlimited in Sunnyvale,CA and he said that bowing is totally fixable. We will see next week when he comes out here. Has anyone else had successful repairs on this issue?

Installed firmware 1004. Thanks all. We shall see.

I do not remember if we posted the method to check current firmware on these sets, but I figured it out. Menu/Setup/SW upgrade - then with SW upgrade highlighted press and hold INFO on your remote control.

Ok, so I am now getting the CSR to send me the firmware. I went through the online support chat option, and look at this:

Samsung: Hello, I am a Samsung HDTV LiveChat representative. How may I assist you today?
Marcus: hi I am trying to get a firmware update for my TV
Samsung: I see.
Samsung: May I know the model number of your TV?
Marcus: Hl61750
Marcus: sorry
Marcus: HL61A750
Samsung: Okay, thanks for the model number.
Samsung: First are you having any specific problem with the unit or just wondering if there is an update?
Marcus: I am having issues where the tv shuts off and tgurns back on
Marcus: in the middle of watching something
Samsung: I see.
Marcus: and people have been calling samsung for this update
Marcus: and some people are getting it, and yesterday I got told it didn't exist
Marcus: which, it's new, so I understand it may take time
Samsung: Yes, there are no firmware updates for your TV.

But then seconds later after pressing him on it:

Marcus: hm thats strange
Marcus: people are saying that there is one
Marcus: version 1004
Samsung: Please give me a moment.
Marcus: yes sure
Samsung: Thanks for holding.
Samsung: May I know the serial number of your TV and its date of purchase?
Marcus: yes hold on a second
Marcus: purchase date is 3/24/08
Samsung: I see that there is a firmware update available for your TV to fix this issue.


It seem's it appeared out of nowhere? I don't know.. strange customer service. Oh and to everyone who is loading the firmware who did not get it from samsung he said that the serial # was required to make it, so it may be embedded in the firmware.

It seem's it appeared out of nowhere? I don't know.. strange customer service. Oh and to everyone who is loading the firmware who did not get it from samsung he said that the serial # was required to make it, so it may be embedded in the firmware.
I can only tell you that from my experience it appeared that the CSR went via his own knowledge in telling me that there wasn't a firmware available. Since it was so new and I pressed him on it, he really had to look it up to be sure one existed which he did.

As to the serial #, I wasn't asked for mine so I doubt there is any relationship between the firmware and the unit.

They are probably talking about the Version number, which for my set was RE01.

(I'm assuming revision 1)

Since a lot of us got fresh off the production line sets, all the new sets they are selling might already have this fix incorporated. So because of that they might be hesitant to hand out the firmware update if you aren't a RE01 batch customer. Who knows :confused:

I used the link on here and updated my firmware with it. No problems. It did fix the SRS issue. I had not seen the power off issue yet.

Received HDMI cable from monoprice today. Good deal there!

Has anyone strated playing with a good setup for gaming? That is next.

Where is the service menu?

Update on the repair for the bowing -- I just talked to TV Unlimited in Sunnyvale,CA and he said that bowing is totally fixable. We will see next week when he comes out here. Has anyone else had successful repairs on this issue?

Please keep us posted on the bowing repair.

Thanks

Hey I'm from the A650 LCD board & was just wondering if you guys are getting black outs with component over 1080p on Xbox 360 too?

Not too many people are talking about it there, but I was wondering if you guys found anything about it?

Hey I'm from the A650 LCD board & was just wondering if you guys are getting black outs with component over 1080p on Xbox 360 too?

Not too many people are talking about it there, but I was wondering if you guys found anything about it?

Yes, but I haven't hooked up the XBox since installing the firmware update that was released yesterday (1004). Another poster mentioned this latest firmware did not fix the screen blanking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTktulta-Qk

Turls also has a video - I believe he mentioned Samsung is aware of this issue as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wXQkbc1JGg&feature=related

Hi guys, been reading this thread since day one 'CES2008' and been wondering if this new range of Samsung DLP will be released in Australia. It's been hard to get any information from Samsung (Australia) because all they say is 'Sorry sir but this is dead technology' :mad: If only he knew that these TV's are HOT!!;) Has anyone over there in the US heard if this TV will be released internationally??

Yes, but I haven't hooked up the XBox since installing the firmware update that was released yesterday (1004). Another poster mentioned this latest firmware did not fix the screen blanking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTktulta-Qk

Turls also has a video - I believe he mentioned Samsung is aware of this issue as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wXQkbc1JGg&feature=related

I didn't see the post that said it didn't fix screen blanking. I changed to VGA the day I loaded the firmware update, and haven't gone back to component (I needed the component input for my old Xbox anyway). I might test soon, but now I've got a dead Wii so I'm wasting way too much time on this stuff. (And Microsoft hasn't even successfully transferred my DRM from my last 360 repair less than 2 months ago). I had faith in Samsung, and they came through with not just putting these out there and dropping support if this really is their last hurrah on DLP. So I'm confident if there is a component blanking issue, they'll eventually fix it.

I didn't see the post that said it didn't fix screen blanking. I changed to VGA the day I loaded the firmware update, and haven't gone back to component (I needed the component input for my old Xbox anyway). I might test soon, but now I've got a dead Wii so I'm wasting way too much time on this stuff. (And Microsoft hasn't even successfully transferred my DRM from my last 360 repair less than 2 months ago). I had faith in Samsung, and they came through with not just putting these out there and dropping support if this really is their last hurrah on DLP. So I'm confident if there is a component blanking issue, they'll eventually fix it.

Post #1977 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13658957#post13658957). I may have incorrectly made the assumption that screen blanking was what the user was referring to.


It fixed the SRS not staying on issue when I updated mine. It didn't fix my Xbox 360 having problems at 1080p over component though. I can live with 1080i as long as the power cycle issue is fixed, and no new issues pop up.

Since updating I noticed that I am unable to set the LED brightness. I can choose auto which appears the brightest, or max which reduces the brightness slightly. The other options seem to do nothing, can anyone else look @ their set?

Can someone please tell me the difference between Edge Enhancement and Sharpness on the 61A750?

I actually like the PQ better with EE turned on (Sharpness then down to about 0) but some folks on here prefer it off. I prefer it on mostly when playing videogames. With it turned off, everything looks "soft".

So then I try turning it off but bumping up the Sharpness a tad, but it's still got a soft look. Just looking to see what the differences are between the two settings and some recommendations. Thanks!

P.S. - got my TV stand delivered today for the new TV and LOVING it!!

Some update for Canadians waiting for the A750 series. I've sent Samsung Canada e-mail regarding the availability and this is the reply I got.

Thank you for submitting your inquiry to Samsung.

The HL61A750 will soon be available here but we have yet to put a date to its launch in Canada. Probably this summer.

It is not listed on our website yet, but as soon as it is launched, it will be posted on the 'Samsung Canada' site.

I guess no A750 till summer... :(
Unless they release it early.

Has anyone strated playing with a good setup for gaming? That is next.

Yep, I just hooked my PS3 and Xbox 360 up to the 61A750 and picked up a new Sony DG720 7.1 receiver which does uncompressed 7.1 PCM via HDMI.
Needless to say I don't want to leave my house now :)

Can someone please tell me the difference between Edge Enhancement and Sharpness on the 61A750?Try these...

http://www.videophile.info/Guide_EE/Page_01.htm
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6330038.html

Try these...

http://www.videophile.info/Guide_EE/Page_01.htm
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6330038.html

Will do.
Thank you for the links.

Very Nice

Thanks Boo025 .. thats not the greatest news. Maybe they're waiting for the Canadian dollar to tank so they can charge more ;). Did they by any chance give any indication of where it might be sold up here ?

The wait is killin me...

Canadian dollar??

I don't think it will matter what our dollar is like, I went into a store here in
Hamilton and they were selling the 6189 for 2700:eek:
Can you imagine what they will be selling the new set for:mad:.
If that is the case I will be getting it in the states, even if it breaks down it will still be cheaper then buying it here. Isn't that crazy.

Canadian dollar??

I don't think it will matter what our dollar is like, I went into a store here in
Hamilton and they were selling the 6189 for 2700:eek:
Can you imagine what they will be selling the new set for:mad:.
If that is the case I will be getting it in the states, even if it breaks down it will still be cheaper then buying it here. Isn't that crazy.

The 6189 was only sold originally in high-end stores, and they intentionally crippled the 6187 (IMO) so they could keep margins on the 6189 high for those stores. I wouldn't read too much into that. The 750 will be available everywhere most likely (since they don't have the 2 seperate groups of LED models like last year), and perhaps at a reasonable price.

First, I'm really glad to hear that Samsung is starting to address the power issues with a firmware release that some folks are having with their A750s. All of you that have been contacting Samsung, documented the problems and have been persistent that Samsung address the problems deserve thanks and congratulations!

Even though at this time I have not experience any power cycle or on/off issues with my A750, I was curious about the firmware version in my TV. I followed the "How to Check Firmware" part of the guide that a numvber of you so generously posted to check but to my surprise, in the Menu, Setup, I do not have a "Function Help" choice? I looked in all the other Menu options and didn't find it. How have all of you been able to check your firmware version?
Thanks,
Erock

What is the lamp life rated at for these models?

I'm trying to decided between these and the last year's LED's. Thanks.

First, I'm really glad to hear that Samsung is starting to address the power issues with a firmware release that some folks are having with their A750s. All of you that have been contacting Samsung, documented the problems and have been persistent that Samsung address the problems deserve thanks and congratulations!

Even though at this time I have not experience any power cycle or on/off issues with my A750, I was curious about the firmware version in my TV. I followed the "How to Check Firmware" part of the guide that a numvber of you so generously posted to check but to my surprise, in the Menu, Setup, I do not have a "Function Help" choice? I looked in all the other Menu options and didn't find it. How have all of you been able to check your firmware version?
Thanks,
Erock


Navigate to the SW Update menu choice, highlight it then press the INFO button on your remote. I believe a few have mentioned it a couple pages back. :)

Navigate to the SW Update menu choice, highlight it then press the INFO button on your remote. I believe a few have mentioned it a couple pages back. :)

Thanks Redbaron, I'll give it a try tonight.
"keep your ammo dry and the sun in their eyes";)

What is the lamp life rated at for these models?

I'm trying to decided between these and the last year's LED's. Thanks.

The 61A750 has no lamps it's LED based and the expected life to 1/2 brightness is 60,000 hrs.

I just registered my TV with Samsung and on the final screen with info on the TV the firmware version IS listed as 1004. Note release date. So I'd expect it to be readily available.

product support list
product support

* HL61A750A1F Firmware (ver.1004.0)
2008-04-18

* HL61A750A1F Firmware (ver.1.0)
2008-04-18

* HL61A750A1F User Manual (ver.1.0)
2008-03-17 :)


It is now on the firmware download page for the 750. It includes the complete (for the 750) installation instructions.

The 6189 was only sold originally in high-end stores, and they intentionally crippled the 6187 (IMO) so they could keep margins on the 6189 high for those stores. I wouldn't read too much into that. The 750 will be available everywhere most likely (since they don't have the 2 seperate groups of LED models like last year), and perhaps at a reasonable price.

Hey Matt I hope you are right:). It is hard to find rptvs in stores up here now:confused:. They all are flat panels. We will have to wait and see, it is a much smaller market.

Mike

Went into Best Buy this morning to buy a new charger for my iPod Nano and ended up buying an HL56A650 (LED models out of consideration due to negative WAF in regard to building over the fireplace precludes anything larger :( ). The price today was another $200 off yesterday's sale price and that lowered the cost of an extended warranty to under $250 for 4 years with one bulb replacement included. Assuming I'll need only one bulb replacement and considering the 1-yr overlap with manufactures warranty, that's about $33/yr for coverage. I just could not pass up the deal. Seems early for a fire sale - makes me wonder what's going on. My local Best Buy does not carry the 650's so I elected to take delivery next Friday.

BB has the 56" 650 on sale for quite a bit under MSRP. Outside of changing out the bulb, which the 4-year plan covers for doing once, what is better on the 750 besides it being LED-based?

BB has the 56" 650 on sale for quite a bit under MSRP. Outside of changing out the bulb, which the 4-year plan covers for doing once, what is better on the 750 besides it being LED-based?

No color wheel = less moving parts = less chance for that moving part to either break or get noisy on you when bearings go out. The 750 is also larger so that is an apples to oranges comparison.

No color wheel = less moving parts = less chance for that moving part to either break or get noisy on you when bearings go out. The 750 is also larger so that is an apples to oranges comparison.

Hmmm - I will probably sell or give away this tv before the warranty ran out so I would hope the wheel lasted that long. I probably should have been more specific. I am wondering how the picture quality is on a 650 compared to a 750.

BB has the 56" 650 on sale for quite a bit under MSRP. Outside of changing out the bulb, which the 4-year plan covers for doing once, what is better on the 750 besides it being LED-based?

I myself just picked up a 56" 650 from BB the other day, the rep told me that they will replace the bulb once and if it does go out again they will replace the whole unit since bulb life (based on their requirements) should be 3 1/2 years. Also make sure you print off the 10% off coupon found on various websites (expired 4/30 so hurry!) and it will knock 175$ off the price more.

Hmmm - I will probably sell or give away this tv before the warranty ran out so I would hope the wheel lasted that long. I probably should have been more specific. I am wondering how the picture quality is on a 650 compared to a 750.

I went into best buy and had them hook up a local PS3 there playing the same demo disc over and over between the sets. No splitter local connections and honestly the 650 looked more vibrant and better.

BB has the 56" 650 on sale for quite a bit under MSRP. Outside of changing out the bulb, which the 4-year plan covers for doing once, what is better on the 750 besides it being LED-based?

No color wheel = less moving parts = less chance for that moving part to either break or get noisy on you when bearings go out. The 750 is also larger so that is an apples to oranges comparison.As noted by Turls, the LED models should be mechanically advantaged over the bulb models. With an extended warranty, this probably is not that big a deal except for the frustration of dealing with Samsung or BB's service people.

In regard to technical specifications, I could not find a difference except that they use different light engines (or, at least, the light engines have different names). I do not know the consequences (if any) of the difference in light engines.

If you are susceptible to rainbow effect then the probability of seeing rainbows is certainly higher with the bulb/color wheel combination.

In my case, constrained to less than the 61" model and not susceptible to rainbows, the bulb model + warranty seems like a good deal. YMMV.

(Edit: Slow typist... I see now that you are more interested in the PQ, of which I have no input at this time.)

I went into best buy and had them hook up a local PS3 there playing the same demo disc over and over between the sets. No splitter local connections and honestly the 650 looked more vibrant and better.That's similar to comparing audio in which the loudest always sounds best. Unless you plan in viewing your set in their showroom I wouldn't put too much weight on the comparison. :)

Where is this Best Buy coupon? I did a quick Google search and couldn't find it?

Also, since Samsung doesn't mention the power consuption of the 650 series (only 750 series) I would assume the 650 series uses more power. How much I don't know.

Crutchfield mentions the power consumption of the 61a750 as 200 watts and says this info is supplied by the manufacturer. I thought Samsung said this TV would use 230 watts, which is what I've read elsewhere.

I know this is off topic but I thought since most members here have had power cycle and other issues with their new sammy sets, this might be as good a place as any to discuss it.

IMHO, I'm pissed at the fact that maufacturers are using us as BETA testers for their products. It seems these days that most maufacturers provide a USB or other mechanism to supposedly "upgrade" a component with new firmware when in fact it they are hastly pushing out expensive components & systems before they are fully tested in-house. I for one don't like it.:mad:

It's not only Samsung either. I have an expensive Denon AVR and have had to update the firmware a few times already to resolve issues that the AVRs have that never should have left the factory with. Never mind the fact that sometimes the firmware update does more harm than good.

Is this what we have to look forwrad to and just accept it? What's your opinion?
Erock

As noted by Turls, the LED models should be mechanically advantaged over the bulb models. With an extended warranty, this probably is not that big a deal except for the frustration of dealing with Samsung or BB's service people.

In regard to technical specifications, I could not find a difference except that they use different light engines (or, at least, the light engines have different names). I do not know the consequences (if any) of the difference in light engines.

If you are susceptible to rainbow effect then the probability of seeing rainbows is certainly higher with the bulb/color wheel combination.

In my case, constrained to less than the 61" model and not susceptible to rainbows, the bulb model + warranty seems like a good deal. YMMV.

(Edit: Slow typist... I see now that you are more interested in the PQ, of which I have no input at this time.)

You can see my posts in this thread for comparison. I was in the same boat. PQ to me was much better on the 650 especially brightness and viewing angles.

I know this is off topic but I thought since most members here have had power cycle and other issues with their new sammy sets, this might be as good a place as any to discuss it.

IMHO, I'm pissed at the fact that maufacturers are using us as BETA testers for their products. It seems these days that most maufacturers provide a USB or other mechanism to supposedly "upgrade" a component with new firmware when in fact it they are hastly pushing out expensive components & systems before they are fully tested in-house. I for one don't like it.:mad:

It's not only Samsung either. I have an expensive Denon AVR and have had to update the firmware a few times already to resolve issues that the AVRs have that never should have left the factory with. Never mind the fact that sometimes the firmware update does more harm than good.

Is this what we have to look forwrad to and just accept it? What's your opinion?
Erock
Personally, this is a double edged sword in my opinion. The lack of the USB option would prevent the ability to resolve issues and force companies to take much longer to release products. Also, with the technology being put into most of these products are just so advanced of what we use to get that it would be extremely difficult to perfect prior to a release. Having said that, I'm completely in agreement that many of the items are ones that should have been found and fixed prior to release.

I guess the issue is the grayness of where the line falls as to what should have been found and what "grace" should been give.

Finally, the other important issue is how honest is the vendor with respect to issues and what speed is being provided to resolving the issues.

So I wasted my lunch break playing around with a 56" 650 at a local Circuit City today. I should have probably dropped the contrast down as they had it at 95 in the store in a reasonably dark area but the SSE bothered me quit a bit. It looked really "sparkly" when the red Circuit City logo and banner came on screen. I am hoping that this effect can be toned down quite a bit with some calibration.

So I wasted my lunch break playing around with a 56" 650 at a local Circuit City today. I should have probably dropped the contrast down as they had it at 95 in the store in a reasonably dark area but the SSE bothered me quit a bit. It looked really "sparkly" when the red Circuit City logo and banner came on screen. I am hoping that this effect can be toned down quite a bit with some calibration.I noticed what I thought was excessive SSE when I viewed a 56A650 at CC yesterday. However, taking the display out of Dynamic mode and playing a bit with the contrast & brightness controls, I was able to tame it significantly. According to Eliab A. & David A, two professional calibrators who previously frequented the Samsung dlp display threads, a good calibration will minimize SSE but will not totally eliminate it (it''s a function of screen magnification). FWIW.

I know this is off topic but I thought since most members here have had power cycle and other issues with their new sammy sets, this might be as good a place as any to discuss it.

IMHO, I'm pissed at the fact that maufacturers are using us as BETA testers for their products. It seems these days that most maufacturers provide a USB or other mechanism to supposedly "upgrade" a component with new firmware when in fact it they are hastly pushing out expensive components & systems before they are fully tested in-house. I for one don't like it.:mad:

It's not only Samsung either. I have an expensive Denon AVR and have had to update the firmware a few times already to resolve issues that the AVRs have that never should have left the factory with. Never mind the fact that sometimes the firmware update does more harm than good.

Is this what we have to look forwrad to and just accept it? What's your opinion?
Erock

I agree 120%!
Sure it's great that the manufacturer provides the means to upgrade and/or patch these things, but what about the average uneducated person who strolls into BB or CC and buys one of these multi dollar lemons because some sales person pushes it, or because the PQ looks good in the store?

I am willing to bet that the vast majority of people buying any large screen TV have no clue that a great forum like this even exists. Can you imagine trying to deal with these issues without the knowlege and expert help we enjoy here on AVS? Scarry! :eek:

I do wish that more people were aware of this forum so that they could either get the help they need, or better yet... so those who are NOT having any problems could tell us that also. In fact, I wonder how many of these sets are not having these issues OOB???

Where is this Best Buy coupon? I did a quick Google search and couldn't find it?https://moversguide.usps.com/img/coupon/bestbuy/200803_clientarea.gif (Best Buy 10% Coupon) (Hmmm.... For some reason,you need to copy and paste that URL into your browser.) However, I do not believe that they will accept the coupon on an "on sale" item.

I agree 120%!
I do wish that more people were aware of this forum so that they could either get the help they need, or better yet... so those who are NOT having any problems could tell us that also. In fact, I wonder how many of these sets are not having these issues OOB???

I have only had the power down issue once, and I do use the tv a LOT. extremely minimal slanting (to the point where even when I am looking for it, I can't notice too much anymore... is there a way that this can improve over time!?!?) and tolerable bowing. I think the average person would be happy with my experience so far. Will try new firmware once its been around longer and I don't hear of any problems it could cause. Can you "downgrade" firmware back to original? Does anyone know this!?

I know some of those types of people, I just tell them to go to Wal-Mart and get an LCD panel. They don't care about the differences between a good RP and a cheap LCD (on the same note they probably don't care about most geometry issues when they watch their 4:3 programming stretched if they do have a RPTV).

At this point in the game, at least with DLP and its gotchas, these people just need to get a little smaller set and stick with LCD.

I am willing to bet that the vast majority of people buying any large screen TV have no clue that a great forum like this even exists. Can you imagine trying to deal with these issues without the knowlege and expert help we enjoy here on AVS? Scarry! :eek:

Will someone else please put load a black test file up on their screens and tell me what happens. My screen shuts off after the Wiselink bars go away. If i click over to the next color file it turns back on. Weird... Please report back to me.

Greg

I know this is off topic but I thought since most members here have had power cycle and other issues with their new sammy sets, this might be as good a place as any to discuss it.

IMHO, I'm pissed at the fact that maufacturers are using us as BETA testers for their products. It seems these days that most maufacturers provide a USB or other mechanism to supposedly "upgrade" a component with new firmware when in fact it they are hastly pushing out expensive components & systems before they are fully tested in-house. I for one don't like it.:mad:

It's not only Samsung either. I have an expensive Denon AVR and have had to update the firmware a few times already to resolve issues that the AVRs have that never should have left the factory with. Never mind the fact that sometimes the firmware update does more harm than good.

Is this what we have to look forwrad to and just accept it? What's your opinion?
Erock

No manufacturer can be assured of selling a product such as this that meets evry possible situation out there. Not everyone has a PS3 or 360 and not everyone has has either of those will have the same games. Not everyone has the same DVD players or BLU ray players or AVRs. If the Samsung had to procure every conceivable piece of equipment that and test it in every possible configuration none of us would be able to afford any TV. Every company out there puts their product out there and has a very good possibility that it's not going to make everyone happy out there. It happens to eveen the real high end equipment.

It's a fact of life. What we need to appreciate is that Samsung responded to the issues this quickly. Since the firmware went from 1000 to 1004 I would suspect that 1002 & 1003 probably took care of some other issues we may or may not know about. I'm very happy that they have responded to these issues and hopefully will address anything remaining as well.

Look at the number of patches both Apple and Microsoft put out. Patches for the MAC are many more than Windows, it's just they don't make a as big a deal over them.

It's all a result of the need for speed they we as consumers require. Bigger, better, newer faster.

:D My 2 cents! :o

Some random shots I took last night (HL61A750)

Pirates III (Blu-Ray)
http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/3441/img4150gg0.jpg

Walk Hard trailer (downloaded from PSN store)
http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/2027/img4152sv3.jpg

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live from Radio City Music Hall (Blu-Ray)
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/2743/img4154dw9.jpg

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/9365/img4158nn0.jpg

MLB 08 The Show (PS3)
http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/57/img4163za1.jpg


For the gamers out there, I'll be playing some Xbox 360 today and will take some shots.
:ohey can you please play halo2 in team snipe and check for lag :Dwhen you scope in for a kill.and a pic of cod4 would be nice thanks for your time

Does anyone know what was causing the power reset to occur. Has the firmware fixed this. It must have cause no one who has installed the latest firmware has complained of the power reset.

The Samsung technician came out today to repair the hourglass bowing on our 750. The Samsung spec is if it is within 7mm then it is okay. The technician put up a grid through the service menu and ours was right around 6-7 mm on the sides and had a left to right upward slant of about 6mm. Since I can still return to CC, he suggested doing that rather than trying to repair. The slant can be fixed by rotating something, but the tech was not sure it would make it better. The bowing is not fixable - he said it was unit specific and was due to the cabinet. Some units have bowing, some don't. He said I should check out the unit in the store before taking home. According to the tech, if the bowing is not present when first using the TV, then absent any damage to the cabinet it will not occur later.

I will return the existing set, but not sure I want to go through the possible bowing issue once again with another 750. Other than the bowing and slant (which are both very apparent once you notice it) the picture is awesome. The technician agreed the picture was outstanding. I may get the new 58" Samsung plasma instead of the 750.

I decided the tilt on my third A750 was also to much. I brought it back to Circuit City. They opened another box and it also had tilt. I checked their floor model. It had no tilt and very little bowing. So I bought the floor model since it couldn't have been on the floor to long (260hrs via service menu) and they exchanged it at open box price. I brought it home and added the firmware. I noticed when I registered the latest tv that you can now download the firmware from the product support page, which is good for future firmware updates since we wont have to call.

If your not happy with your picture, exchange why you can. I was impressed that Circuit City was willing to unbox a tv and hook it up just to check the image.

:ohey can you please play halo2 in team snipe and check for lag :Dwhen you scope in for a kill.and a pic of cod4 would be nice thanks for your time

Yes, I would love to know this too. Team snipe or shotty snipers is a great way to test if your set has any input lag. Or another way to test is hook up your PC and just move the mouse around... you can tell pretty easily if your lagging slightly behind or not. Anyone out there??

I just bought an A3000 which was reported to be fairly lag free. It's better than my XBR2 but it's still a bit off when I play my CRT. I would say input lag is in the 20-25ms range but it's enough it's still bothering me. Im inside my return period for Best Buy (about 6 days to go) and am heavily considering swapping out for the A750.

The A3000 is a great set but I am a little dissapointed how soft the picture is. I have seen the A750 in the stores and to me it had a bit more "pop"... im sure this has to do with the fact the colors are oversatured but I personally like that look "natural" or not. I may take my 360 over to Best Buy tomorrow sometime late and hook up my 360 to the 750 and see if I can test for input lag.

A couple things im concerned about...

1. I hear the XV color is only available in "movie" mode. That's not good... if the PS3 ever comes out with any XV games (any coming at all?) is game mode available in "movie" mode? I know that no BR movies currently support it either... maybe it's still a couple years out..

2. Contrast... is it really that poor? It seems reviews are mixed on here.. I realize a lot of folks say the set is dim but I completely disagree from what I witnessed in BB.. it looked plenty bright to me.

3. PIP... can I use my cable box to output cable to the RF input and use PIP while using HDMI? Is that analog or digital and will it work past this year?

All the other problems... bowing... geometry... are stuff that can be fixed if you take the set back IMO.

Glad the FW is up on their site now, but if I'm not having any problems, I shouldn't bother at this point right? If it ain't broke.....

Anyone who makes the mistake of selecting calibration in the service menu without the proper pattern on the screen will destroy picture colors (I did). To recover you need to display a 8X8 black and white checkerboard pattern and select calibrate again (picture may be better than it was before).

I found the pattern in Calman Pattern Generator (Brightness/Contrast Tab).

There is also a site describing further calibration in previous Samsung DLPs @
http://www.sencore.com/newsletter/July06/SamsungDLP_RPTVwhtbal.htm

Does anyone know what was causing the power reset to occur. Has the firmware fixed this. It must have cause no one who has installed the latest firmware has complained of the power reset.

A level two tech I spoke with about a week and a half ago mentioned that the power cycling issue with their 2008 LCD's was due to a "voltage issue" which was corrected via firmware. Not sure if there is any commonality there...

While I still think it is too early to say with 100% accurary that the issue has been fixed, I have made it through six hours of Blu-Ray playback (1920x1080 24Hz - the resolution I had problems at before) now w/o a power cycle.

When I was having problems (before the firmware), I had three power cycles in the first seven hours of Blu-Ray viewing, and no power cycles in the last four.

How do you check the amount of viewing hours on the 750?

A level two tech I spoke with about a week and a half ago mentioned that the power cycling issue with their 2008 LCD's was due to a "voltage issue" which was corrected via firmware. Not sure if there is any commonality there...

While I still think it is too early to say with 100% accurary that the issue has been fixed, I have made it through six hours of Blu-Ray playback (1920x1080 24Hz - the resolution I had problems at before) now w/o a power cycle.

When I was having problems (before the firmware), I had three power cycles in the first seven hours of Blu-Ray viewing, and no power cycles in the last four.

I've watched 3 blu-rays since updating without the power cycling.

Or another way to test is hook up your PC and just move the mouse around... you can tell pretty easily if your lagging slightly behind or not. Anyone out there??

A couple things im concerned about...

1. I hear the XV color is only available in "movie" mode. That's not good... if the PS3 ever comes out with any XV games (any coming at all?) is game mode available in "movie" mode? I know that no BR movies currently support it either... maybe it's still a couple years out..

2. Contrast... is it really that poor? It seems reviews are mixed on here.. I realize a lot of folks say the set is dim but I completely disagree from what I witnessed in BB.. it looked plenty bright to me.

3. PIP... can I use my cable box to output cable to the RF input and use PIP while using HDMI? Is that analog or digital and will it work past this year?


No lag noticed on a HTPC hooked up to DVI-HDMI input. I haven't noticed any on 360 hooked up to VGA or component either, but I haven't done a ton of gaming yet. I think Samsung took care of this issue long ago, is there a reason it keeps coming up in posts asking about it? I didn't have the issue in my 1st gen DLP and don't have it here. I think it popped up in one version years ago but that is long past isn't it?

On your others:
1)"XV color" on Movie only--no big deal, you can fully adjust the settings in that mode to make it have the same settings as any other mode AFAIK.
2)Contrast/brightness (what you describe is brightness not contrast isn't it?) again I don't agree. I don't think most people that have had this complaint have actually had it in their homes. I have a bright room and it never washes out.
3)If you have analog cable, I guess you can do that for PIP. I only have antenna so it is worthless to me since it won't even use the ATSC tuner. What a bogus feature to even offer if it is that crippled. Luckily I don't care too much for PIP and would prefer 2nd monitor anyway.

How do you check the amount of viewing hours on the 750?

Its easy to find in the service menu.

Its easy to find in the service menu.


Thanks. I haven't received my TV yet but wanted to check the hours to make sure I didn't get a used set. I also don't want to dig around in the service menu and jack something up but if it's easy to navigate, I'll check it out.

Does the 650/750 have a power saving feature where the TV shuts off after a certain amount of time where it recieves no signal? How long is that time frame, and I'm assuming it's the reason for the power cycling issue?

Folks,

I'm bent on getting this 61a750 but I need advice from experts in this forum. I'm thinking of placing the TV on our Sun room with 4 windows on the right side. Also, will this tv be ok for daily/normal viewing?

Thanks a lot!

I have 5 windows in my family room located 20 ft in front of the tv. This thing has no brightness issues at all. I talked to a hhgregg rep in my area. he told me most of these tv's look different at home because at the store the signal input to the tv is split too many times. This tv defintly looks completely different to me at home, extremely sharp, extemely bright picture. I find i have to turn the led's down at night to min to med to avoid hurting mhy eyes during bright scenes. So to make a long story short your windows should not cause a problem.

Folks,

I'm bent on getting this 61a750 but I need advice from experts in this forum. I'm thinking of placing the TV on our Sun room with 4 windows on the right side. Also, will this tv be ok for daily/normal viewing?

Thanks a lot!

We have three 5'h x 3'w windows on the western wall in our great room (17' x 17') - the only window treatments are cellular blinds at the moment. In our kitchen (connected to the great room - pretty open floor plan) is a sliding glass door on the west wall which also brings in a good deal of light. The TV is placed on the south wall.

I would say you should be ok w/ respect to lighting. The A750 replaced an older Hitachi RPTV that had a very light reflective screen. Mid-day viewing, esp. when the sun was directly in the line of sight thru the windows, was a little difficult w/ the Hitachi - haven't had any problems with the Samsung.

well, i went through two diff 750's. thought the picture was ok, but no real "pop" for me. decided i had enough of the probs so i went with the 650. good thing cause it blows the 750 out of the water, imho. picture looks so much better also no menu lag which i hated with the 750. not sure if the firmware update corrected this or not, but it really bothered me. if your on the fence about which one to pick up i would go 650. ive had both at home and the clear winner is the 650

I just brought home my new 61750 but I've got a couple of questions.

When setting the xbox 360 to 1080p it flickers on and off and eventually says "mode not supported". I haven't seen these issues at 720p and was wondering if anyone had any clue what the problem could be.

Also, how do I access the 120hz setting. I assume it's "film mode" but it is never selectable for me. I'll admit I haven't studied the manual thoroughly yet but the manual simply says to activate film mode.

Any help on either of these would be greatly appreciated.

just curious does anyone have any BB or CC 10% off codes or any codes at all... im thinking of getting one this week, the 750 that is... im a little concerned with bowing that you all talk about, the instore model in my area doesnt seem to have this issue while playing HD DVD transformers... im just worried with my luck the tv i do end up getting will have some crap bowing

I just brought home my new 61750 but I've got a couple of questions.

When setting the xbox 360 to 1080p it flickers on and off and eventually says "mode not supported". I haven't seen these issues at 720p and was wondering if anyone had any clue what the problem could be.

Also, how do I access the 120hz setting. I assume it's "film mode" but it is never selectable for me. I'll admit I haven't studied the manual thoroughly yet but the manual simply says to activate film mode.

Any help on either of these would be greatly appreciated.
Are you running the 360 through a reciever or directly to the tv. Older gen recievers don't support 1080p. I had the same problem until I connected directly to the tv via componet cables.

I"m running the 360 directly into the tv via component cables. I've read about others having issues at 1080p using component so it looks like I'm in the same boat. What is the fix though? Firmware or HDMI cables? The PQ is fantastic but this is a little troubling running into this issue the first day.

Nevermind my other question about 120hz. I've read through this entire thread finally and received my answer about 50 pages ago.

I"m running the 360 directly into the tv via component cables. I've read about others having issues at 1080p using component so it looks like I'm in the same boat. What is the fix though? Firmware or HDMI cables? The PQ is fantastic but this is a little troubling running into this issue the first day.

Nevermind my other question about 120hz. I've read through this entire thread finally and received my answer about 50 pages ago.


so instead of saying 1920x1080 24 it will say 1920x1080 120? How so

so instead of saying 1920x1080 24 it will say 1920x1080 120? How so

I can't remember what page it was on but it was explained that the tv itself runs at 120hz at all times. It's not something you can adjust. I was getting it confused with Sony's Motionflow playback. It still says 1920X1080 60 since I don't have anything that playsback 24p currently. My brother is bringing his PS3 over tonight and we're going to the 24p out on that.

I'm still having the issues with 1080p using component on the xbox 360. It happens immediately when switched to it and eventually the screen blanks out saying "mode not supported." Would HDMI solve this?

I'm still having the issues with 1080p using component on the xbox 360. It happens immediately when switched to it and eventually the screen blanks out saying "mode not supported." Would HDMI solve this?

I was having issues w/ 1080p over component on the XBox 360 too, though not quite like what you describe. I would have frequent "screen blanks" where the TV screen would go blank (as if it was adjusting resolutions) for a few seconds and then come back on. Sometimes this would repeat several times in a row and made playing any games impossible...at 1080i I had no such problems.

I tested with an HDMI cable @ 1080p and everything ran fine for approximately an hour and a half.

Have you uploaded the new firmware upgrade? I don't think it's meant to fix the problems that we are having but I was curious if you had and whether you've noticed any results.

i thought i would mention, i went to my local bestbuy, they didnt have the tv on display so i made them open teh box and put it out and hook it up to blu ray... while watching full screen, you cant see any bowing.. but while the black strips are there, if you really look for it, you will see it.. but honestly, its nothing you wouldnt get used to within 3 min seriously...

anyway then i went to my local circuit city, the CC display model had minimal if any bowing, so i think it really just just depend on what set you receive..

again keep in mind you have to REALLY look for this bowing, and your mind will block it out in no more than 5 min

also this model was up next to last years LED model, and to all of you that say its no different, you are wrong.. it is SLIGHTLY brighter, and i feel the colors are better fit =)

to thoes of you who have it, make sue you have 1.3 hdmi cables, helps with the deep colors among other things

well, i went through two diff 750's. thought the picture was ok, but no real "pop" for me. decided i had enough of the probs so i went with the 650. good thing cause it blows the 750 out of the water, imho. picture looks so much better also no menu lag which i hated with the 750. not sure if the firmware update corrected this or not, but it really bothered me. if your on the fence about which one to pick up i would go 650. ive had both at home and the clear winner is the 650
In what ways is the 650 better?

The Samsung technician came out today to repair the hourglass bowing on our 750. The Samsung spec is if it is within 7mm then it is okay. The technician put up a grid through the service menu and ours was right around 6-7 mm on the sides and had a left to right upward slant of about 6mm. Since I can still return to CC, he suggested doing that rather than trying to repair. The slant can be fixed by rotating something, but the tech was not sure it would make it better. The bowing is not fixable - he said it was unit specific and was due to the cabinet. Some units have bowing, some don't. He said I should check out the unit in the store before taking home. According to the tech, if the bowing is not present when first using the TV, then absent any damage to the cabinet it will not occur later.

I will return the existing set, but not sure I want to go through the possible bowing issue once again with another 750. Other than the bowing and slant (which are both very apparent once you notice it) the picture is awesome. The technician agreed the picture was outstanding. I may get the new 58" Samsung plasma instead of the 750.

We returned the 750 today to Circuit City and exchanged for a Sony rear projection 60A3000 that was an open box (floor model) that was in excellent condition and had no bowing - I measured as someone on this forum suggested. Before exchanging we also checked out the 750 on display and, while it had less bowing than the one we returned, felt the cabinet was a bit sturdier on the Sony. Also, looked at the Samsung and Panasonic plasma, but didn't like the pictures as much and the room where the TV will go is loaded with windows. All the plasmas I can afford have too much glare.

So far so good with the Sony. Picture is about the same as Samsung, but is not LED and we will eventually have to change the bulb. Since it was a floor model of a discontinued item, the Sony ended up being about a grand less. I am not complaining with a deal like that.

It will be interesting to see what happens with our bowing on Tuesday. Samsung is sending a tech out to fix it. They said they have already ordered the parts from Samsung and guarantee that they can fix the bowing problem in our home. If they cannot fix it, we will return the TV. Although it is not totally noticeable, it is a feature that I fixate on (now that I see it) and it drives me crazy. I would rather use my old HD Hitachi (53”) rptv that we are now storing in case we have to take this one back. The Samsung is thinner and the picture quality is awesome, but that bowing is too much. Please let me know if anyone else has been able to get their bowing fixed. The post above does not provide much hope.

In what ways is the 650 better?

Picture Quality, brightness, viewing angles


The 2 reasons to own LED are you see Rainbows or you just hate the idea of a bulb/color wheel. PQ however is not one of them.

That said both sets have a fine picture its just some of think the 650 is better.

I have been monitoring this thread and prior years for about a year. Seriously considering the HL61A750 but in no hurry and want to hear more reviews and any issues.

However I am getting more excited about a less known gem that is getting lots of great reviews here on AVS and most recently Editors Choice in PC Mag.

It is the Westinghouse TX-52F480S LCD TV which is wall mountable for only $1499 (Big River). Since my seating area is only 9 feet from screen I have been hesitant about 61" - currently have a 32" Samsung LCD very much like but would like larger eventually.

Not to change the topic of this thread but some of you may be interested and here are the links:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13686724#post13686724
Posted by: Sunnie
On: 04-20-08 09:25 AM
Interesting review:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2283052,00.asp

9 foot viewing distance is no problem for a 61" screen. Heck, that's almost ideal.

I have been monitoring this thread and prior years for about a year. Seriously considering the HL61A750 but in no hurry and want to hear more reviews and any issues.

However I am getting more excited about a less known gem that is getting lots of great reviews here on AVS and most recently Editors Choice in PC Mag.

It is the Westinghouse TX-52F480S LCD TV which is wall mountable for only $1499 (Big River). Since my seating area is only 9 feet from screen I have been hesitant about 61" - currently have a 32" Samsung LCD very much like but would like larger eventually.

Not to change the topic of this thread but some of you may be interested and here are the links:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13686724#post13686724
Posted by: Sunnie
On: 04-20-08 09:25 AM
Interesting review:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2283052,00.asp

Anyone get this thing working 100% with switching inputs on the Harmony 880 remote?

Yes. At first, I reduced the power-on delay from 28s to 8s. This is how much time the Harmony waits, after turning on the TV, to send it an input-change command. I found that it wasn't enough time, and increased from 8s to 12s. All my activities are problem-free now.

Now I am starting to get that not-so-good feeling about this TV.

All of these issues, and two weeks after it was out, CC cut the price by 200. Now, I check again this morning, and the price is back up. What gives? Do they think that since there is a patch to fix ONE of the problems that it's now worth retail?

Heck - I sit 8 feet from 65" and want a 73". With a good DLP you have no SDE and minimal SSE. If you want the cinema feel it works great.

Anyone know the power consumption of the 56" & 61" 650 DLPs with the color wheels? I hope they don't consume more than 250 watts when on. That Westinghouse is at over 450 typical watts according to Crutchfield!!!

Also, I remember someone mentioning an online extended warranty vendor here on AVS that offers better service for less money than what B&M stores charge. Can someone link me to him or his threads?

Anyone know the power consumption of the 56" & 61" 650 DLPs with the color wheels? I hope they don't consume more than 250 watts when on. That Westinghouse is at over 300.

Also, I remember someone mentioning an online extended warranty vendor here on AVS that offers better service for less money than what B&M stores charge. Can someone link me to him or his threads?

For EW: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=826857&highlight=extended+warranty

I am awaiting a 650, will post some things tonight If I can. BTW, I made what I hope is not a crucial mistake. I bought from a online retailer with a special return policy. When I called they said I could turn the thing on and refuse delivery If there was anything wrong so I figured I could recognize slant and bowing better than anyone. Now they are telling me I CANNOT open it. I have to deal with Samsung on this.

I am so angry at myself because I really do my research but I was told something different once it was shipped. Retailer was b u y.com

I suggest NOT ordering from them.

Yes. At first, I reduced the power-on delay from 28s to 8s. This is how much time the Harmony waits, after turning on the TV, to send it an input-change command. I found that it wasn't enough time, and increased from 8s to 12s. All my activities are problem-free now.

However the issue I find is that the input menu (since there is no direct input button) you have to scroll through. I guess if I use the harmony enough it will understand but if you have more than one input used on the TV (component and hdmi) it could cause problems.

Now I am starting to get that not-so-good feeling about this TV.

All of these issues, and two weeks after it was out, CC cut the price by 200. Now, I check again this morning, and the price is back up. What gives? Do they think that since there is a patch to fix ONE of the problems that it's now worth retail?

I'm happy with my purchase now that the firmware fixed the TV power down issue. I have no noticible geometry issues and the people who do are getting replacements.

I wouldn't judge the sales at a circuit city as the basis for the quality of a TV.

Uhh... there are discrete codes, so you can select the input directly with your harmony remote. No need to scroll through a list of inputs.

However the issue I find is that the input menu (since there is no direct input button) you have to scroll through. I guess if I use the harmony enough it will understand but if you have more than one input used on the TV (component and hdmi) it could cause problems.

Have you uploaded the new firmware upgrade? I don't think it's meant to fix the problems that we are having but I was curious if you had and whether you've noticed any results.

Yes, I did install the new firmware specifically for the power cycle issues. I have not tested the XBox w/ component since the firmware, as I picked up another HDMI cable to use for the 360 instead of the component hookups.

Post #1977 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13658957#post13658957) indicates that there may still be issues with 1080p over component with the the 360 even after the firmware update.

Uhh... there are discrete codes, so you can select the input directly with your harmony remote. No need to scroll through a list of inputs.

How would one select these or train buttons for that so I can do that when selecting activities?

Anyone get this thing working 100% with switching inputs on the Harmony 880 remote?

I have the 750 and a Harmony 659 and have no problems with inputs. Using 2 HDMI & 1 component. I'm using 10s.

How would one select these or train buttons for that so I can do that when selecting activities?

It's just one of the options, I think in the initial setup wizard. Don't say that your need to select your input from a list or something like that. I'm not in front of it, can't say for certain now, but there is definitely a way to do it. play around with it and see if you can figure it out, or call Harmony. Makes life much simpler.

Heck - I sit 8 feet from 65" and want a 73". With a good DLP you have no SDE and minimal SSE. If you want the cinema feel it works great.

I agree with you. I set 10ft from a 61 and wouldn't mind a bigger screen.

However the issue I find is that the input menu (since there is no direct input button) you have to scroll through. I guess if I use the harmony enough it will understand but if you have more than one input used on the TV (component and hdmi) it could cause problems.

I programed the 'Source' button (I'm think that's what you're referring to as 'Input') to one of the buttons at the top. You'll need to use the device button and select the TV for5 those options.

Now I am starting to get that not-so-good feeling about this TV.

All of these issues, and two weeks after it was out, CC cut the price by 200. Now, I check again this morning, and the price is back up. What gives? Do they think that since there is a patch to fix ONE of the problems that it's now worth retail?

I've had mine for two weeks and not had the power issues. The bowing that exists is minuscule, you'd REALLY have to be looking for it to see it, and not worth having a service tech come out or do an exchange. The PQ is amazing, and viewing angles are very good for all seating in our great room. Unless something happens further down the line this is definitely a keeper. Maybe you should have jumped on it when it was on sale. :)

I am awaiting a 650, will post some things tonight If I can. BTW, I made what I hope is not a crucial mistake. I bought from a online retailer with a special return policy. When I called they said I could turn the thing on and refuse delivery If there was anything wrong so I figured I could recognize slant and bowing better than anyone. Now they are telling me I CANNOT open it. I have to deal with Samsung on this.

I am so angry at myself because I really do my research but I was told something different once it was shipped. Retailer was b u y.com

I suggest NOT ordering from them.


I had considered that site when I was looking at the LCD I purchased, but decided not to because -


As listed on their web site:

Special Returns Policy
Manufacturer Only Returns (Direct Returns)

*

Due to manufacturer's policies, certain items sold on our website may only be returned directly to the manufacturer. Such items are so marked on the website.
*

Contact the manufacturer directly to arrange the return. Be prepared to provide the manufacturer with the following information: Date of purchase, Serial number, manufacturer part number.
*

A list of manufacturer contacts is available if you need to return a product directly to the manufacturer.


Same thing listed for the 650

:(

I am so angry at myself because I really do my research but I was told something different once it was shipped. Retailer was b u y.com

I suggest NOT ordering from them.

I love them, but would never buy a RPTV from them. I might buy a TV from big river. The price would have to be fantastic to go anywhere else.

Just too much of a crap shoot on the issues mentioned in this thread. If you are set on buying online from a place without a B&M presence to help you out I'd suggest plasma or LCD, or a projector.

That being said, I'm sure you would eventually get satisfaction from Samsung if you needed to.

I programed the 'Source' button (I'm think that's what you're referring to as 'Input') to one of the buttons at the top. You'll need to use the device button and select the TV for5 those options.

It has discrete inputs and Harmony has known the codes for years (basically the same for all DLPs except the very first HLMs). You don't have to do anything except program the Harmony correctly and you can use every input discretely on the TV-no workaround or remote training needed.

This is probably covered in every Samsung DLP thread here, including this one. If you don't want to search, just call Harmony/Logitech. Their support can't be beat.

You said earlier you had it working, so maybe this doesn't apply to you. I was confused by your response above.

Guys i know it or any cant accept 120hz but does the HL61A750 display a framerate of 120hz or 60hz?I need to know this soon as i am contmplating returning my smear fest 52xbr4 for this tv.Also any links with proof would be appreciated.Ive heard its 60hz and at best buy it says 120hz but every where else is listed at 60hz framerate.

the 750 is not 120hz like your thinking of it, itsa misprint, it doesnt look like LCD 120hz atleast.. ive seen a few of them in store, one which was just opened.. but just on a personal note, i dont like the way the 120hz looks, it looks too soap ophera style to me, but when you play blu ray on ps3, you can get the 24fps, so its pretty smooth most definitely

again on a personal note, i wouldnt buy a tv based on the 120hz, but thats just me becuase i dont like how it flows smooth like real life, makes the movie seem more fake to me.

im selling my old 40in lcd tonight actually and getting the 750 hopefully tomorrow. Im just hoping the bowing is tolerable

Idk if best buy.com has them at 120hz then i would think that it does the 120hz framerate at least.People who say its 60hz mean what it accepts but i think anyways it takes the 60hz and shows a framerate of 120hz right?

Did the Crutchfield deal with the free Samsung stand.

The Stand is alright. It looks good but when it's setup for 61" TVs, the glass on the shelves doesn't extend out all the way, making you lose some valuable space for components. I'm sure I could have found a better stand but I can't complain when it was free.

Had the TV for three days and had around 2 power-offs a day. Also had the sound bug where the TV mute resets. Also noticed some slight slanting but not enough for me to freak out. I then installed the firmware update and since have had no power cycles, no sound bugs.

Now for what will be hotly debated for a long time to come. Picture Quality. The reason for confusion is that there are so many freaking settings.
As for Brightness, the main brightness setting actually only affects brightness slightly. The setting that drastically changes things is the LED Control. On Auto and High, I nearly burned my eyes out and had to go to the eye doctor. I still can't find the perfect settings but since most of my viewing is at night, I decided to find a less eye straining mode with good contrast. Here are my settings, they are not final or professional. I am looking for feedback and help since not many people have posted their settings.

Picture:
Movie Mode
Contrast: 85
Brightness: 50 (if you turn up too high, it washes out picture, use LED control to make major changes to brightness)
Sharp: 0
Color: 50
Tint: 53/47

Detailed Settings:
Black Adjust: off (don't even know what this does)
Dynamic Contrast: off (washed picture out when messing with this setting)
LED Control: Medium ( a good medium ground setting )
Gama = 3
White/Flesh = 0
Edge Enhancement = ON (most people turn this off but it made a nice difference and didn't make the picture look worse. If you disagree, please give me examples of when it ruins the picture)
xydcc = ON for PS3, Xbox 360 --- OFF for normal TV viewing

Picture Options:
Warm 1
DR/DNIE = OFF
Film mode = OFF
Black = On inputs where you can adjust, set to LOW, otherwise NORMAL
Gamut = Wide for all inputs using xydcc and sRGB for everything else
*note that with the Xbox 360 3D mode does show up. In the future this is where the 120h will come into play. With special glasses and 3d ready games, two people would be able to see their own screen at the same time.

I tested these settings at night on: Wii using Component; PS3 using HDMI with games, PS3 using HDMI @24h for Blu-Ray; Xbox 360 using HDMI for games and HD-DVD, Series 3 Tivo using HDMI for HD sports, Motorola Comcast Receiver using component for HD programming. I must say that I was pretty blown away especially with Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix on Blu-Ray and ESPN and ABC HD coverage of NBA Playoffs. I'm very pleased but know there is room for improvement after more people post settings.

In conclusion this TV when you play around with the settings easily rivals Plasma for half the price. Also, go read the Plasma and LCD forums. There are problems like Burn-in, Loud Whining coming from the TV, High power Consumption, and Glare. All new generation TVs have their own set of problems.

As for SSE, I'm sure people complaining about this are sitting in tiny apartments 4 feet away from their TV. You need to be further like 8-10 feet away. I hate bugs but love the fact the firmware can be updated. Not being able to do PIP with 2 HDMI or Component inputs is disappointing but are there any TVs capable of this? The only problem left for me is the slight slanting of the picture when there are black bars. I am going to measure it and look more into that but honestly it's not enough to make me want to return the set. I feel bad for the average customer that doesn't know about firmware updates and message forums, but oh well at least I can be happy :)

Dynamic Contrast: off (washed picture out when messing with this setting)
Edge Enhancement = ON (most people turn this off but it made a nice difference and didn't make the picture look worse. If you disagree, please give me examples of when it ruins the picture)Since Dynamic Contrast changes all of the video levels I think you need to set this first and adjust the other settings around it. Presumably High would give you the greatest punch (what most are looking for). Regarding EE it creates rings around dark objects next to light ones. If you happen to watch golf you'll see white lines around the golfers and the flag sticks for example. For details see here...

http://www.videophile.info/Guide_EE/Page_01.htm

I guess I cursed myself, 650 came. I have 1/2" slant and hourglass bowing on 4:3 sources. Well at least thats where you see it. I cant believe I was so stupid to take the word of a customer service person. I called Samsung and they said the slant can be fixed. I dont have bowing on the sides which is more distracting so hopefully I can get the slant fixed.

Picture is awesome though. I'll get some pics up later once I get some patterns on there as well as the Xbox 360.

Does anyone know if the discrete IR codes are the same as the old ones from the HLM/HLN series of TV's?

Wow... for all of the bad that has been thrown at Samsung with the power cycle issue, they called me back today to tell me that there was a patch and that they would send me the USB key. I'm guessing that this is based upon my first call a couple of weeks back. Looks like they were being a little more proactive than folks probably expected. :)

For all of you who has purchased the a750, would you do it again? Knowing everythinig you know about it now. Would you buy this set today? My new house will be done at the end of May. We should be moving in by the 30th. New house equals new TV. I have a few more weeks to make a decision, but I wanted to hear from some who already purchased.
Thanks

For all of you who has purchased the a750, would you do it again? Knowing everythinig you know about it now. Would you buy this set today? My new house will be done at the end of May. We should be moving in by the 30th. New house equals new TV. I have a few more weeks to make a decision, but I wanted to hear from some who already purchased.
Thanks

I have been watching this TV since April 8th with only once or twice blank screen issue. Upgraded firmware. We watch more movies ( DVD with samsung 1080P8 player) , NGC and Discovery channels. Waching Wizards NBA with DirectV HD receiver. No bowing is visible. We have played XBOX 360 games as well with component input.
I am more than happy. I have ONKYO SR800 HTS and everything is really amazing. I wanted to buy Sony 52XBR4 but price, size and PQ = 61a750.

Does anyone know if the discrete IR codes are the same as the old ones from the HLM/HLN series of TV's?

Yes, except there are new inputs that weren't available then. I know at least some of them work because HLM upgraded firmware is what my Harmony remote was set to when I installed the 750 and some of the modes worked OOTB.

We returned the 750 today to Circuit City and exchanged for a Sony rear projection 60A3000 that was an open box (floor model) that was in excellent condition and had no bowing... So far so good with the Sony. Picture is about the same as Samsung, but is not LED and we will eventually have to change the bulb. Since it was a floor model of a discontinued item, the Sony ended up being about a grand less. I am not complaining with a deal like that.

Wow, same thing happened with me. Been following this thread from day one, hoping this Sammy would be all that so I could replace my 46" HLR from 2005.
Read about all the confusion on the 120Mhz, hassles with the power down, issues with the flimsy (less than before, but still an issue for some) case, constant bowing, etc... The list goes on.

Really felt I missed my chance on the KDS-60A3000 once it got discontinued. Here is a tv that had all the bells and whistles (120Mhz for sure, 24fps/1080p, 3 HDMI 1.3 ports, outstanding blacks, etc...) and all of this late last year!

Still planned on getting the 650 this summer when the price was around $1,700, but then I came across one of these beauties from Sony when I walked into my Circuit City this Friday. Came across a Sony KDS-60A3000 that they found in back and put out about three months ago. Was able to get it for $1,350! Guess they really wanted to dump it.

Yeah, Ive read about some problems on these models. How some of these SXRD models have problems with engine degradation, have a huge green shift, and lack of "just scan", but really, no more than I've read (and experienced with both of my friends recently returned HL61A650/750s) concerning these new Sammy's. Just like with these Samsungs, not all are like that.

The bulb has had plenty of use on it but WOW, what an amazing picture. Couldn't pass it up at that price and I already have a replacement bulb on the way. I figure $125 is worth what equates to a new A3000 since it still puts me under the 650's price (and a free stand thrown in!)


What luck!

QTH...MH

For all of you who has purchased the a750, would you do it again? Knowing everythinig you know about it now. Would you buy this set today? My new house will be done at the end of May. We should be moving in by the 30th. New house equals new TV. I have a few more weeks to make a decision, but I wanted to hear from some who already purchased.
Thanks

I don't think you are going to find many people who knew what they were getting into giving up on this set. There are some in this thread who got discouraged by issues OOTB and didn't want to try to return, and others that tried multiple sets and had issues with each one.

The only thing I didn't expect being a 1st gen Samsung DLP owner was the power down issue but they already fixed that.

But yes I went through 2 sets. If you want perfection off the bat, you may be disappointed.

I have been reading this thread from day one. I do not expect perfection. I am pretty laid back so I would know going into it that there could be problems. At this point I am willing to accept it. I know I have a choice of the led or the bulb, but I am leaning towards the led. I guess my question should be, after all the bs, are you happy with your set.

does anyone know the dimentions of the box... or where i can find that, i need to figure if it will fit in my mazda3 hatchback with the seats down, somehow im thinking no..

I don't own one yet, but from what I understand, you can not lay this tv on it's side. It must sit upright all the time. So I doubt it will fit in your Mazda.

21" depth x 60" wide x 43" high - you can place it on its back just don't place it on its front as you might need to clean the inner screen or worse.

I had two in my house and I've looked at several in the store all of them via the service menu grid pattern and my tilt and focus is very good compared to the others. That being the case it appears to be a very nice set and produces a fine image. I like the idea of the LED engine for longevity as well as the reduced electrical usage.

It's plenty bright (for in-home usage) and works nicely with 24fps. With my current understanding there is no differences between it and last year's model? That being the case why not purchase last year's model at close out pricing?

Last years model is another option I am exploring. I guess it all depends on what is in stock in 4 weeks.

the a750 is plenty bright enough. Its so bright that at night i either turn the brightness down or turn a lamp on to reduce eye strain. Dont let anyone tell you the a650 is better. I find em pretty equal. But if you wanna pay for a bulb every other year to get better brightness then go for the a650.

to you who said no difference between this and last years model.. i do not agree. I was at my local BB the other day and this was right next to last years model and i saw the following differences

definitely brighter, colors were slightly better, off angle viewing was better. Just thoes to name a few that i noticed in the time spent looking at them both :)

how can I check how many viewing hours on my 750? I did the mute 1 4 2 8 thing and nothing happened....

Idk if best buy.com has them at 120hz then i would think that it does the 120hz framerate at least.People who say its 60hz mean what it accepts but i think anyways it takes the 60hz and shows a framerate of 120hz right?

My previous post (I really don't see why people think this is "confusing"):
Well, the way I understand how the chip works, it is always displaying pixels at 120hz, no matter what. (Could even be faster...don't think I've seen an official spec on the chip's capability.) They use this ability to allow for 60fps 3D display, if you have a compatible (and probably awfully fast) video card in your computer. When displaying a 24fps source, it just displays the same image 5 times. Some TVs artificially interpolate between frames to smooth out the 24fps to 120.

For all of you who has purchased the a750, would you do it again? Knowing everythinig you know about it now. Would you buy this set today?

Yes, definitely. I probably could have paid a bit less, or shopped around, but I purchased the BB floor model before they could even unbox it.

Still planned on getting the 650 this summer when the price was around $1,700, but then I came across one of these beauties from Sony when I walked into my Circuit City this Friday. Came across a Sony KDS-60A3000 that they found in back and put out about three months ago. Was able to get it for $1,350! Guess they really wanted to dump it.

Yeah, Ive read about some problems on these models. How some of these SXRD models have problems with engine degradation, have a huge green shift, and lack of "just scan", but really, no more than I've read (and experienced with both of my friends recently returned HL61A650/750s) concerning these new Sammy's. Just like with these Samsungs, not all are like that.

I'm glad you got a good price...on a discontinued floor-model TV (well, TV line, really). With deeper blacks, LED engine with no color wheel, Just Scan, more stylish case (IMO), and a continued commitment to RPTVs, I decided to go with the Samsung. I had one reset, but I updated the firmware, and haven't tested the issue. Does Sony even offer the ability to update the firmware? I have barely noticeable bowing and no slanting. Like you said, not all of them have issues. Maybe I'm just lucky...or perhaps I'm more tolerant to nit-picking.

The only thing I feel like Samsung skips out on is the analog-only PIP capability, but that is a minor complaint. My 32" Vizio has near-complete support for PIP on all sources, as long as you don't use the same source type (can't use to ATSC sources, or two HDMI sources at the same time). I can't speak for Sony's PIP support, as I quit following SXRDs with their green-blob issues and discontinuation.

does anyone know the dimentions of the box... or where i can find that, i need to figure if it will fit in my mazda3 hatchback with the seats down, somehow im thinking no..

The HL61A750 will not fit in your Mazda. Trust me. It is 42" tall, about 60" long, and like 20" wide. My wife's SUV only had 32" clearance height in the back...it may have fit if unboxed, but I wouldn't risk it. It should not be laid on either side. You could get dust on either the screen or the projection lens. It's not really heavy, but you will have to have another person help you move it. You should probably rent a truck, at least.

anyone know if there is any type of screw which can adjust tilt on these?I saw in another post a guy said the 2007's had one so i would guess this 2008 must.Or anyone know how to access service menu and any tilt adjust there?

ya i took the tape measure out and im like hmmm maybe sideways??? but no not AT all :)

going tohave to get a truck and just sit back there with it to hold it upright.. hope its not that prone to being knocked over even if it is like 20 in wide, ( itll likely be an open back truck, yay )

to you who said no difference between this and last years model.. i do not agree. I was at my local BB the other day and this was right next to last years model and i saw the following differences

definitely brighter, colors were slightly better, off angle viewing was better. Just thoes to name a few that i noticed in the time spent looking at them both :)Were both sets calibrated... otherwise how could you judge them?

Ok, so here is a quick sum up of the 650 I received today. Number 1 difference in this years model is all the new settings/picture modes. Its very confusing how come options are available on some modes and not others. Its also confusing how my Directtv box coul access thing my 360 couldnt and vice versa. I am not really sure what xvYcc does but I can only get to it in Movie mode and only on the Directtv box.

The other difference is DNIe is only available in Dynamic mode. Thats fine as its a black crusher but still. Movie mode has access to most of the setting but its not made to pop, most people seeing it for the first time think its dull but its really the most accurate. All calibrators start in this mode. Im guessing I will live in Standard for TV/Sports, Dynamic for games and movie mode for movies.

I already reported my problems above. I have a pretty severe screen tilt. I have some bowing but not the usual smile one, this one is more hour glass in the middle which actually really isn't that bad. You cant notice it on viewing, just menus. The entire screen needs to be rotated 1/2" which I am guessing is a DMD adjustment in the light engine. I say this because out of the box the picture was also over to one side by more than 1/2" so it probably got knocked around in shipping. I'm not that worried since Samsung told me its just a service call to fix that.

The picture is dynamite and I had no lag playing Guitar Hero (HDMI) with no game mode.

One last thing, the set has been on all day and no power cycles. I know that seems to be a 750 thing but we still need to watch that. If anyone has any questions, just ask.

Amazon has these for $2099, looks like the best price around. Do any of the AVS sponsors have a special deal for members? Need to replace my HLS6187, thanks in advance.

I was wondering if there was a way to adjust the focus on the a750. By focus I'm meaning how, when you put a grid pattern on the screen you can start to see the white line in 3 different colors instead of one. Is there any way to adjust this or would the only way to do this be to swap for a new tv? When watching 1080p I SWEAR that the parts of the screen that are in perfect focus (bottom and center) are 100 times more clear than the parts that aren't (top and sides).

ok, well I got bored and wanted to see Exactly what options were greyed out depending on the source. I swapped HDMI ports just to make sure it was port specific. I used an Xbox 360 Elite and a Samsung Directtv HR-21.

I will only highlight the differences:

Dynamic mode:
No detailed setting available
360 Directtv
Color Gamut Y Y
Film Mode N Y
HDMI Black Level Y N

Standard Mode:
Detailed menu is available
360 Directtv
Color Gamut Y Y
Film Mode N Y
HDMI Black Level Y N

Movie Mode:
360 Directtv
Color Gamut Y N
Film Mode N Y
HDMI Black Level Y N
XvYCC N Y

In general xvYCC is not available on anything but movie mode. Its curious how film mode is not available on the 360 even in movie mode. I first thought it was greyed out because it is automatically on but on the Directtv box I can set it to auto. If film mode is 3:2 mode then isnt it pointless in a 120hz display anyway?

Its also curious how the HR-21, which is new seems to support more modes. Can anyone with a PS3 go through these menus and see If you can post the different modes to match this list? I have not played with any of the entertainment modes, they are only presets anyway I thought. I could be wrong there.

I was wondering if there was a way to adjust the focus on the a750. By focus I'm meaning how, when you put a grid pattern on the screen you can start to see the white line in 3 different colors instead of one. Is there any way to adjust this or would the only way to do this be to swap for a new tv? When watching 1080p I SWEAR that the parts of the screen that are in perfect focus (bottom and center) are 100 times more clear than the parts that aren't (top and sides).

I noticed that too on the 650. I was going to ask the same thing myself. Anyone?

I was wondering if there was a way to adjust the focus on the a750. By focus I'm meaning how, when you put a grid pattern on the screen you can start to see the white line in 3 different colors instead of one. Is there any way to adjust this or would the only way to do this be to swap for a new tv?I believe it can't be adjusted and the focus is based on the light path of each primary color (reaching the screen).

If you view the service menu grid pattern and all three colors are within one pixel of each other across the entire screen you're doing very well... that's about as good as it gets. From the sets I have seen the focus tends to be off more as it you get to the outer sides of the image.

Every set is like a snow flake such that no two are alike. Being an old DLP front projector guy I tend to judge it this way... if you can see color fringe on small text from your seating distance it's an issue and might be worth swapping for.

Were both sets calibrated... otherwise how could you judge them?


indeed, both were set to storemode, and dynamic contrast, i went into the menu of each... go see for yourself, this is just my opinion :) im getting my 750 tues or wed of this week

I am still confused about why options are greyed out. I have a HR20 hooked up to HDMI 1 and have never gotten the "color gamut" to not be grey.

In any case, you don't want xvYCC unless the source supports it. I think that is mostly the Sony PS3 and some camcorders. None of the content a PS3 plays is going to utilize it unless you use a memory card that was recorded on a camcorder that supports xvYCC, for example.

ok, well I got bored and wanted to see Exactly what options were greyed out depending on the source. I swapped HDMI ports just to make sure it was port specific. I used an Xbox 360 Elite and a Samsung Directtv HR-21.

In general xvYCC is not available on anything but movie mode.

I am still confused about why options are greyed out. I have a HR20 hooked up to HDMI 1 and have never gotten the "color gamut" to not be grey.

In any case, you don't want xvYCC unless the source supports it. I think that is mostly the Sony PS3 and some camcorders. None of the content a PS3 plays is going to utilize it unless you use a memory card that was recorded on a camcorder that supports xvYCC, for example.

It is pretty strange, my guess is it has somthing to do with source but I can't figure out what.

the a750 is plenty bright enough. Its so bright that at night i either turn the brightness down or turn a lamp on to reduce eye strain. Dont let anyone tell you the a650 is better. I find em pretty equal. But if you wanna pay for a bulb every other year to get better brightness then go for the a650.

I agree. I went to CC and had the guy adjust the brightness on the 750. After that, the 650 and 750 looked nearly identical. IF, and that's IF the 650 has a better viewing angle, it's hardly noticable. I spent about 20 minutes just looking at the two side by side, up and down, etc and this is the conclusion I drew.

Well, I pulled the trigger last night on the HL61A750. Too good of a deal to pass up. Got it at Best Buy, used 12% off Reward Zone coupon, triple reward zone points, an extra $100 of the TV, and 3 free Blu Ray's.

This set is replacing my almost 5 year old HLN617. That set has a pretty good picture, (or so I thought), and was well calibrated. But, I was blown away from the moment I turned on the new set. The default Standard viewing mode sure has a lot of "Wow" and "Punch." Brightness had to be nudged up just a tad. I found Dynamic mode pretty useless, way too artificial. Movie mode is good, and maybe the most "accurate", but it definitely lacks the punch that many people would be looking for.

I was blown away by the picture and color in the Standard mode. The color and picture quality is just amazing. I was worried about if this purchase would worth the money as an improvement over my old 61" DLP, but I am very happy. Haven't done any more detailed adjustments, was too busy throwing in Blu Rays and letting my jaw hit the floor.

To dispell some common myths I see here: This set is PLENTY bright. You can give yourself lasik surgery with it if you want to. I found viewing angles to be more than satisfactory. I could stand in my kitchen at an extreme angle and the picture was good.

I didn't check the geometry or focus with a good pattern yet, but noticed nothing bad with 4:3 material, or the tilt adjustment lines pattern in the service menu. Also, still on the original firmware, need to update that. I'll post more as I get into it. I got the set home after 9 last night, so didn't have too much time to play with it, although it did keep me up past midnight! ;-)


The only issue I have noticed so far, is that when I switch to Dynamic mode, I hear some buzzing from the back of the set. Anyone else experience this?I'm not sure what is causing this, sounds like some sort of transformer or something. Not sure why it is only in Dynamic mode. I'll most likely never use that, but if it doesn't go away as the set burns in, I may swap it out. But, if the picture and geometery is all good on this set, I may just keep it, nad not risk a roll of the dice.

1080p is bliss!

Hi,
I was able to get into service menu but not sure how to get to grid display? I know someone posted this earlier but I cannot find it.
Please repost and let me know what else to look to make sure TV is OK.

Thanks in advance
rkm

how did you get into service menu? I am trying to check hours I have logged on my 750?

With the set in the standby mode, press Mute, 1, 8, 2, Power on the remote.
Make sure you press these button quickly.

The set has to be turned on to see them. They are very easy to spot with a solid white or light gray screen. The best way to check the set out (very quickly) is to enter the service mode... you just need power to the set.

1. With the set turned off press the following on the remote...

Mute - 1 - 8 - 2 - Power

2. Arrow down and select the second option
3. Select test patterns

Use the Left and Right arrow keys to cycle through the test patterns. One is gray to check for flecks and another is a grid pattern. With the grid pattern you can check for tilt and convergence issues.

It only takes of couple of minutes tops and you can see exactly how the set stacks up. I agree convergence isn't really the proper word for the issue. It's more of an issue with the three colors not aligning for a variety of reasons.

Finally i found this post.
I checked my TV for tilt and its about 1/4 inch on from top left corner.
Is it easy to fix?
Should I call samsung to get it fixed?

Thanks

Finally i found this post.
I checked my TV for tilt and its about 1/4 inch on from top left corner.
Is it easy to fix?
Should I call samsung to get it fixed?

Thanks

Is it off by 1/4" on all sides or just one?

Can you see it during normal viewing?

If you can't see it do you care its there?

I've also got about 1/4" slant on the left side of the screen but I can't notice it over the ~36" height of the TV. I doubt most people can either.

Did the Crutchfield deal with the free Samsung stand.

The Stand is alright. It looks good but when it's setup for 61" TVs, the glass on the shelves doesn't extend out all the way, making you lose some valuable space for components. I'm sure I could have found a better stand but I can't complain when it was free.

Had the TV for three days and had around 2 power-offs a day. Also had the sound bug where the TV mute resets. Also noticed some slight slanting but not enough for me to freak out. I then installed the firmware update and since have had no power cycles, no sound bugs.

Now for what will be hotly debated for a long time to come. Picture Quality. The reason for confusion is that there are so many freaking settings.
As for Brightness, the main brightness setting actually only affects brightness slightly. The setting that drastically changes things is the LED Control. On Auto and High, I nearly burned my eyes out and had to go to the eye doctor. I still can't find the perfect settings but since most of my viewing is at night, I decided to find a less eye straining mode with good contrast. Here are my settings, they are not final or professional. I am looking for feedback and help since not many people have posted their settings.

Picture:
Movie Mode
Contrast: 85
Brightness: 50 (if you turn up too high, it washes out picture, use LED control to make major changes to brightness)
Sharp: 0
Color: 50
Tint: 53/47

Detailed Settings:
Black Adjust: off (don't even know what this does)
Dynamic Contrast: off (washed picture out when messing with this setting)
LED Control: Medium ( a good medium ground setting )
Gama = 3
White/Flesh = 0
Edge Enhancement = ON (most people turn this off but it made a nice difference and didn't make the picture look worse. If you disagree, please give me examples of when it ruins the picture)
xydcc = ON for PS3, Xbox 360 --- OFF for normal TV viewing

Picture Options:
Warm 1
DR/DNIE = OFF
Film mode = OFF
Black = On inputs where you can adjust, set to LOW, otherwise NORMAL
Gamut = Wide for all inputs using xydcc and sRGB for everything else
*note that with the Xbox 360 3D mode does show up. In the future this is where the 120h will come into play. With special glasses and 3d ready games, two people would be able to see their own screen at the same time.

I tested these settings at night on: Wii using Component; PS3 using HDMI with games, PS3 using HDMI @24h for Blu-Ray; Xbox 360 using HDMI for games and HD-DVD, Series 3 Tivo using HDMI for HD sports, Motorola Comcast Receiver using component for HD programming. I must say that I was pretty blown away especially with Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix on Blu-Ray and ESPN and ABC HD coverage of NBA Playoffs. I'm very pleased but know there is room for improvement after more people post settings.

In conclusion this TV when you play around with the settings easily rivals Plasma for half the price. Also, go read the Plasma and LCD forums. There are problems like Burn-in, Loud Whining coming from the TV, High power Consumption, and Glare. All new generation TVs have their own set of problems.

As for SSE, I'm sure people complaining about this are sitting in tiny apartments 4 feet away from their TV. You need to be further like 8-10 feet away. I hate bugs but love the fact the firmware can be updated. Not being able to do PIP with 2 HDMI or Component inputs is disappointing but are there any TVs capable of this? The only problem left for me is the slight slanting of the picture when there are black bars. I am going to measure it and look more into that but honestly it's not enough to make me want to return the set. I feel bad for the average customer that doesn't know about firmware updates and message forums, but oh well at least I can be happy :)

Thanks for the settings! I am still CONSTANTLY messing around with them and can't seem to get a picture that ALWAYS looks great. IT seems to fluctuate between incredible to not so great every other minute. I might be just a bit too obsessed though and looking for somthing to complain about.....

is it off by 1/4" on all sides or just one?

Can you see it during normal viewing?

If you can't see it do you care its there?

I've also got about 1/4" slant on the left side of the screen but I can't notice it over the ~36" height of the TV. I doubt most people can either.
============
its not that much but if you look carefully, you can notice it. If you look for ESPN score at the bottom, you'll notice only after looking towards left/lower corner.
I am thinking of calling Samsung.

Hi All,

I'm brand new to this forum which I recently found researching tv's. This will be my first big-screen tv so I'm getting information overload reading thru all these threads! I was planning on purchasing a Panasonic 50" PX80 plasma set, but I'm getting cold feet because of the potential "burn-in" issue. Anyway, I figured this would be a good place to ask about DLP's or other RPTV's.

My tv will be used for all types of viewing, but it will definitely see a lot of video gaming (x-box360) as I have two teenage boys, and I also game a bit myself. It's my understanding that DLP's have no burn-in potential and the good ones can have just as good of a picture as plasmas ... would you agree with that? As far as viewing angles are DLP's pretty strong their as well? I don't expect to watch from extreme angles, but nothing worse than losing a picture when your slight to the left/right, or above/below the optimum viewing point. I understand one negative to DLP's is the bulb replacement, but figure that's easier to deal with than burn-in, and maybe the LED sets minimize that issue?

Anyway, if any of you have advice or tips for me I would be greatful as I really want to get this purchase right. I plan to keep this tv for many years and while DLP may not be the latest/greatest technology, I feel it "might" be a good fit for my application???

Thanks,

Kevin
kfb66@mchsi.com

I'm brand new to this forum which I recently found researching tv's. This will be my first big-screen tv so I'm getting information overload reading thru all these threads! I was planning on purchasing a Panasonic 50" PX80 plasma set, but I'm getting cold feet because of the potential "burn-in" issue. Anyway, I figured this would be a good place to ask about DLP's or other RPTV's.

I think this is a valid concern. If I was the only one using the set I could be fairly certain I would avoid this issue, but with kids (I have 2 as well), why take the chance? I have gaming consoles and HTPCs hooked up and use this display for everything under the sun. To me, DLP is an obvious choice. Uses less power too. If you are serious about this, spend a few minutes (hours?) looking through this thread. Its pretty easy to skim past what you don't need.

As far as viewing angles are DLP's pretty strong their as well? I don't expect to watch from extreme angles, but nothing worse than losing a picture when your slight to the left/right, or above/below the optimum viewing point. I understand one negative to DLP's is the bulb replacement, but figure that's easier to deal with than burn-in, and maybe the LED sets minimize that issue?

I guess viewing angles are the negative to any rear projection technology, and some people have complained here on these new models but I don't get it. I can watch off to the side no problem. I can play Rock Band standing up and off to the side and it looks fine. Yes bulb replacement is "minmized" with LED DLP--there isn't any. You don't have any moving part color wheel either. You don't have a bulb that changes brightness significantly over its 1-2 year life. You get "instant on" vs waiting 20-30 seconds for bulb based. My guess is the LED will be consistently bright better than a plasma will over its lifetime.

Anyway, if any of you have advice or tips for me I would be greatful as I really want to get this purchase right. I plan to keep this tv for many years and while DLP may not be the latest/greatest technology, I feel it "might" be a good fit for my application???

I had a 1st gen DLP that was my main TV for almost 6 years, I plan to keep this one even longer. You do need to watch out for geometry and focus issues on the new TV but if you get a good one, you should be in good shape. A service plan is a good investment, for the 750, you can get an extra 3 years warranty for less than $150 from a vendor that has sold in the past in a AVS "power buy" and is still offering the special pricing. One service call would probably more than pay for that.

Good time to remind many here that are nearing 30 days since purchase, if you want the Mack warranty it is probably time for many of us to do that, I just did it this morning.

the a750 is plenty bright enough. Its so bright that at night i either turn the brightness down or turn a lamp on to reduce eye strain. Dont let anyone tell you the a650 is better. I find em pretty equal. But if you wanna pay for a bulb every other year to get better brightness then go for the a650.

I agree about the brightness. Watching the set during the day is no problem even with the sun coming in the windows. I used Charles R's settings as a starting place and used a HT DVD to make a couple minor adjustments.

Yes bulb replacement is "minmized" with LED DLP--there isn't any. You don't have any moving part color wheel either. You don't have a bulb that changes brightness significantly over its 1-2 year life. You get "instant on" vs waiting 20-30 seconds for bulb based. My guess is the LED will be consistently bright better than a plasma will over its lifetime.

You do need to watch out for geometry and focus issues on the new TV but if you get a good one, you should be in good shape. A service plan is a good investment, for the 750, you can get an extra 3 years warranty for less than $150 from a vendor that has sold in the past in a AVS "power buy" and is still offering the special pricing. One service call would probably more than pay for that.

Sorry, I'm not real up on LED technology or TV technology for that matter. So with the new LED DLP's there are NO bulb replacements for the life of the tv?

One other thing, do you have a specific Samsung (or other brand) model that you recommend? I was planning to get a 50" set as seating will be appx 8-12' from the tv ..... looks like the 750 only comes in 61"?

In my area I will likely be buying the tv from American as they seem to have the best selection/price, is this service warranty you mentioned something I should get thru this site? How is that handled for different locations?

Thanks again for your help!

I guess viewing angles are the negative to any rear projection technology, and some people have complained here on these new models but I don't get it. I can watch off to the side no problem.

I don't get it either. Right now our TV is sitting on the floor while we wait for the stand to come in. We have a couch directly in front of the TV, about 9 feet away, and of course it looks great. We also have a chair off at 45 (or more, I would guess) degrees to the left, something like 15 feet away. I would say it is slightly dimmer from the chair, but it still looks clear.

Sorry, I'm not real up on LED technology or TV technology for that matter. So with the new LED DLP's there are NO bulb replacements for the life of the tv?

One other thing, do you have a specific Samsung (or other brand) model that you recommend? I was planning to get a 50" set as seating will be appx 8-12' from the tv ..... looks like the 750 only comes in 61"?

In my area I will likely be buying the tv from American as they seem to have the best selection/price, is this service warranty you mentioned something I should get thru this site? How is that handled for different locations?

Thanks again for your help!

What he's saying is that there is no bulb to replace. It's an LED light source, not a bulb.

Does anyone know specifically what each of the settings do? I have played with the Black level and Dynamic contrast and still am not sure what they effect. If I turn Dynamic Contrast to high, I need to put the contrast level lower, but if I turn it off I need to turn the contrast level up higher, but both settings make the picture appear the same afterwards. It almost seems like you can make bigger changes with the Black level and Dynamic contrast, and the brightness and contrast controls are just used to fine tune. Since I am having the same issue that Charles is having, where if I change to Standard or Dynamic mode and then back to Movie mode, the black level automatically changes to high, I decided to just calibrate movie mode with the black level at high so it would not be an issue.

Also, how are people using the LED level control? Right now I just have it set for medium and adjusted brightness with the basic controls. It is both bright enough and dark enough, but I do need to adjust the brightness in the day time and back down at night. Maybe it would be possible to just calibrate at night with it set at medium, and then instead of changing the brightness control for the day viewing, just change the LED control to High or Auto? What exactly does Auto mean anyway?

The manuals, as well as the on screen prompts, don't tell you anything helpful. If you click on High in the Black level setting, it only says it sets the black level to high!

Anyone have any good tuning recommendations for the A650 or will the A750 mentioned above also work? I know bulb is brighter.

In what ways is the 650 better?

well, I had two 750's at home and there is no question the 650 just has an overall better picture. not a big specs guy but can tell the difference between two pictures, the led just looks a little washed out next to the bulb. could see it instantly. another thing i liked about the 650 is it doesn't have the menu lag that i had with the 750. it is very noticeable, for example every time you switch input devices i would get a two to three second delay, and then more delay when i wanted to get rid of that menu screen. with the 650 almost none of that, to me thats a big deal. the led light source to me just isn't developed enough yet. imo pick up the bulb it will hold you over till the next tech comes along that will blow this away in a few years.

I have not personally seen the two sets side by side but if what he is saying is true about the 650 having a better picture then basically you are looking at:

Pros to 650 better picture possibly

Pros to 750 cost of ownership is a lot less...

Colorwheel, Bulbs, not fun when for 200 more you can do away with all that hassle IMO

I have not personally seen the two sets side by side but if what he is saying is true about the 650 having a better picture then basically you are looking at:

Pros to 650 better picture possibly

Pros to 750 cost of ownership is a lot less...

Colorwheel, Bulbs, not fun when for 200 more you can do away with all that hassle IMO

Assuming you replace one bulb every 2-3 years. The money you save between the sets nets you one bulb. Thats on average 6 years. I would be more than happy to have this set for 6 years. Thats the way I look at it anyway.

I have not personally seen the two sets side by side but if what he is saying is true about the 650 having a better picture then basically you are looking at:

Pros to 650 better picture possibly

Pros to 750 cost of ownership is a lot less...

Colorwheel, Bulbs, not fun when for 200 more you can do away with all that hassle IMO

well i think that is why we buy these nice tv's, Picture Quality. anyway the 650 is about 400 less so there is two bulbs. better viewing angles better picture worth the bulbs imho

well i think that is why we buy these nice tv's, Picture Quality. anyway the 650 is about 400 less so there is two bulbs. better viewing angles better picture worth the bulbs imho


thats true we want the best picture but I am pretty sure you are splitting hairs unless it's a known fact that the new LED without Color wheel/Bulb's have worse picture quality than the standard DLPs.... Maybe that is one downfall to the technology but I can not complain the 750 has it going on....

Is 61" the largest size for the 750's?
I thought I saw "somewhere" in this thread that they were going to make a 67" model???

Assuming you replace one bulb every 2-3 years. The money you save between the sets nets you one bulb. Thats on average 6 years. I would be more than happy to have this set for 6 years. Thats the way I look at it anyway.

The way I look at it: bulbs can die any time. I had one that didn't get me more than 2500 hours. If you don't have a spare, you are out a TV while you wait to get one. Even if your service plan supplies them you get to wait. If you buy a spare off the bat or close to it (which I did), then you might as well factor that in to the price of the set. If you don't use the TV much you may get years out of the bulb, which will change brightness during its lifetime a lot more noticably than LED. And if you get it calibrated, when the bulb ages or you switch to a different one, you've just calibrated a moving target.

As for the technology not being mature enough, this is Samsung's 3rd gen LED, and RP is out of vogue. I don't think this technology is going to get much better--nobody is going to invest the money. Laser may or may not take off.

Menu delays, I don't know what that is about but it sure doesn't have anything to do with the light engine. I haven't noticed the issue being excessive. I already have to wait between channel changes on my DirecTV box that I set to native resolution when it switches between 480x, 720p and 1080i. I'd rather the TV do the conversion.

Is 61" the largest size for the 750's?
I thought I saw "somewhere" in this thread that they were going to make a 67" model???

Yeah, its in the first post ;)

I already have to wait between channel changes on my DirecTV box that I set to native resolution when it switches between 480x, 720p and 1080i. I'd rather the TV do the conversion.I'm using a TiVo HD and was trying to figure out which I preferred the TiVo HD upscaling 720p to 1080p or the set. I ended up letting the TiVo HD as the picture appeared just a little smoother like a few more details were being filled in.

I was using a basketball game for test material since it had a lot of medium and long shots which tend to show off the differences more easily. Still haven't totally decided but I'm leaning towards the TiVo HD.

I don't think the 650 picture is substantially better or worse. Both are good, and if properly setup, are probably quite similar. But, the 750 has the ability to display a wider range of colors due to the nature of the LED light source, instant on, no spinning colorwheel so no high pitch whine, lifetime light source, uses far less power (it's on of the "greenest" TV's you can buy). All features that are totally worth it for me. Viewing angle has not posed any problem whatsoever for me.

Plus, LED's are cool. :p

I'm using a TiVo HD and was trying to figure out which I preferred the TiVo HD upscaling 720p to 1080p or the set. I ended up letting the TiVo HD as the picture appeared just a little smoother like a few more details were being filled in.

I was using a basketball game for test material since it had a lot of medium and long shots which tend to show off the differences more easily. Still haven't totally decided but I'm leaning towards the TiVo HD.

I didn't think the Tivo HD did upscaling to 1080p, highest was 720p/1080i I thought?

I didn't think the Tivo HD did upscaling to 1080p, highest was 720p/1080i I thought?Yes - you are right... it only scales up to 1080i. The set is still deinterlacing. I must have been thinking of the Apple TV. :)

BTW the Harmony issues was fixed, apparently Logitech just added the TV to the DB in the last day or two since when I did it they didn't have the inputs or codes.

does anyone have a working 10% off CC online code that i could use to buy this tv today? thanks

To give an update, I did bump my contrast to 95 to give a little extra punch. And during the day with bright sunlight coming into the house I bump up the Dynamic Contrast to LOW and the LED Control to HIGH to combat the sunlight. Otherwise at night, those settings give a very rich and accurate picture. I watched another Blu-Ray last night and it makes me love movies again.

BTW the Harmony issues was fixed, apparently Logitech just added the TV to the DB in the last day or two since when I did it they didn't have the inputs or codes.

If you are talking about the 750 the codes have been there since at least the beginning of April. One day soon after I got the set the model wasn't even recognized, but when it was it was there a day or two later it was there with discrete codes and all.

So I'm intrigued about what has changed in the last day or two for you. . .

If you are talking about the 750 the codes have been there since at least the beginning of April. One day soon after I got the set the model wasn't even recognized, but when it was it was there a day or two later it was there with discrete codes and all.

So I'm intrigued about what has changed in the last day or two for you. . .

The 650 codes weren't there for me, I never put in a 750.

Since I see a lot of people still considering purchase... I have a 61A750 for under $2k from CC. It will not fit in the back of a Chevy Tahoe standing up. I laid it on its back (screen up) to make it fit, while still fully boxed. It is extremely bright and PQ is truly amazing when using some of the calibrations listed previous. Extreme improvement over what I saw in the store. PS3 and Time Warner HD DVR box both connected via monoprice.com HDMI cables. Firmaware wass upgraded using the download available here. No power cycle or any other abnormal behavior. COD 4 is amazing on this. No lag in game at all. I have been using 'Game' setting. It is probably too bright for some games but it works well for COD on the darker maps. No bowing on the top. VERY slight hourglass when watching 4:3. I would buy it again in a heartbeat! Could not be happier!

Please don't take it as a fact that the 650 is better, brighter, etc, etc vs. the 750. People here are only giving their opinions as nobody has reported any comparison of the two under any sort of controlled conditions. Without any of the following conditions, the assertions are anecdotal:

-controlled environment (not "big box" showroom)
-(ISF) calibrated sets
-expert or experienced opinion

Note that anecdotal doesn't mean false or without merit (or conversely true), only not proven to an accepted standard.

Well said, Failsafe...

I'm using a TiVo HD and was trying to figure out which I preferred the TiVo HD upscaling 720p to 1080p or the set. I ended up letting the TiVo HD as the picture appeared just a little smoother like a few more details were being filled in.

I was using a basketball game for test material since it had a lot of medium and long shots which tend to show off the differences more easily. Still haven't totally decided but I'm leaning towards the TiVo HD.

How did you get the Tivo HD to get to 1080P, on the box it says it goes up to 1080i only, no "P"

Thanks

bytor99999

Figures, I see that someone already posted this, sorry.

hey all just got my 750.... no black flakes, no bowing at all ( to the naked eye havent checked grid ) i likely just got lucky... havent done the firmware update just yet but i will soon...

also i want to add i got this for a total after taxes of 2173.49
If you go into the store and tell them you want the 10% off that you can get online, they should give it to you, but they only do that off the internet price, so i think they took 2299, 10% off that then tax.. sounds maybe right... or if they were dumb they did store price of 2199 then 10% off and tax

either way im very happy with this, but in dynamic mode, i cant seem to find the area in the menu where you can change the LED level etc, if its in tv details it seems to be grayed out for me not sure why...

i was tring to fix a small tilt in my 61a750 but cant find the tilt screws.When i went up to tv and shifted it the picture moves slightly.Being new to rptv i was like wow when it moved the tilt was gone.So i think with a little gentle pressure to the tv bezel in right spots you can minimize if not total get rid of any tilt.

Can anyone tell me what are the little black dots you see in rptv pictures?Are they dead pixels or debris?And is it rare to have a clean screen with none of them?I seen alot in stores at freinds etc and all had like 2 plus black dots.The tv i got has none just wondering if i lucked out or maybe the ones i saw with the dots are rare.

Can anyone tell me what are the little black dots you see in rptv pictures?Are they dead pixels or debris?And is it rare to have a clean screen with none of them?I seen alot in stores at freinds etc and all had like 2 plus black dots.The tv i got has none just wondering if i lucked out or maybe the ones i saw with the dots are rare.

It depends... in general though if the black dot is the exact size of one of the "pixels" then it's probably a dead mirror (in RPTVs).... but if the the speck is larger or smaller than any one pixel... then it's probably dirt or dust.

It's hard to really explain it unless you've seen both.... then you'll just know.

Well... I picked up my HL61A750 yesterday... and I LOVE it. It's TONS better than my old Mits WD-52525 that was junked out through the Best Buy performance plan... so I basically got the new set for free (minus another $400 for a new performance plan).

This is of course my opionion... but I played with both last years LED and this years LED and I could make either one look great... or bad vs the other one.

Also... although I'm sure this TV isn't as bright as a NEW bulb... I think it's plenty bright enough when you're not pitting it against other sets on display... once it's in your home you'll be happy. In fact, I'd say that most will NOT like it on the birghtest settings once you have it in the house... so I'm not sure where all these "brightness" arguments are coming from. My understanding is that the LED is rated at 60,000 hours before it's at half brightness... if you're lucky you'd get what like 1,000-2,000 hours on each bulb before half brightness? At any rate I'm already running the LED on at about half bright just because it is so bright so when things get alittle dim, I'll boost it up again so I would say I'll probably get over 90,000 hours of this set (assuming no major issues come in in that time).

I put the grid up and I lucked out with only some very slight bowing... I'd say less then 1/16th of an inch from top to bottom or side to side... my biggest "problem" is my lower right corner... I think though that the problem is that the screen just isn't seated right so once I get annoyed enough I'll open up the case and press it in some more. I also have very little "convergence" issues... basically you only notice if you're 1ft away fromt the set AND have a grid up, lol... but I don't watch grids. ;)

I've updated to the latest firmware and so far have played around 10hrs of 360 via HDMI at 1080p... I've also watched a few movies at 1080p/24 with no issues... and I've watched a few DVDs/HD-DVDs at 1080p/60 with no issues. ((I have an HD-A35 HD-DVD player)). I've also played a little bit of Wii at 480p with no issues... all these go through my Onkyo 605 AVR btw.



I'm still not sure how I like my settings yet... I'll probably run through DVE on HD-DVD tomorrow and get things a little better.



A few quick questions though... how do I enable the advanced settings in the service menu? Also... I (by mistake) disabled something in the service menu... I think it's like the 5th item down (I'm at work and can't remember)... something like Noise Reduction or color monitor??? (the option below it said "wide", haha)... at any rate, I can't turn it back on lol... anyone know how.... or even what I'm talking about, lol. I tried factory restore but that didn't do it either.



Overall.... would I buy the TV again? yes... would I buy a second one... yes... would I pick another TV over this one... probably not, as I didn't. Do I wish it was laser... sure... or maybe OLED... sure... but this set will hold me over until the next "great" thing shows up.

TK.

so it seems there is some slight bowing when the black bars are on the right and left... but its at max 2 little tick marks of the tape measure.. not sure what that is, but basically its hard to tell and doesnt distract me.. other than that, no issues :) this is my 750 btw

EDIT: i agree with it being too bright at night, i put the LED down to high or med cuz it literally hurts my eyes, and thats WITH room light on.. i saw someone post that i thought htey were nuts.. but seems they were right :)

guys i know a new 650 bulb is brighter but isnt the color deeper,more vivid looking and less washed out on the 750?btw the 750 imo owns i had the 52xbr4,It was garbage next to this smeared like crazy.

guys i know a new 650 bulb is brighter but isnt the color deeper,more vivid looking and less washed out on the 750?btw the 750 imo owns i had the 52xbr4,It was garbage next to this smeared like crazy.

My understanding is that LEDs have a larger color gamut over bulbs so... yes they do have a deeper color... but will you notice?... hard to say.

Where do you go to get a FW update and how is it done. Picking my Sammy HL61A750 up tomorrow at CC.

Bill

bill, its really easy... you DL it from the samsung website, its an exe, you unzip it into your flash drive, it creates a folder... then just plug it into your tvs usb slot... go into the menu and find SW update or something like that, then it searches for it and auto installs....couldnt have made it easier... :)

hey guys i just noticed this... i have the 750 running through my receiver, its the onkyo sr674... and it seems to be downconverting all 1080i signals from cable tv to 720p... and wiht my last LCD it wasnt doing this... and if i hook it up straight to the tv, it displays in 1080i, anyone have any ideas about this? 1080p passesthrough the receiver just fine though...

hey guys i just noticed this... i have the 750 running through my receiver, its the onkyo sr674... and it seems to be downconverting all 1080i signals from cable tv to 720p... and wiht my last LCD it wasnt doing this... and if i hook it up straight to the tv, it displays in 1080i, anyone have any ideas about this? 1080p passesthrough the receiver just fine though...



My setup is doing the same thing... my cable is running via component to my Onkyo 605.... I'm not sure why though. Either the Onkyo isn't upconverting or my settings are messed up... haven't looked into myself.

Also... can anyone tell me why when I turn off my TV I lose sound from my HD-DVD player as well... but I still get sound from my 360 and PC? All my hardware goes to the AVR first and then into the TV via one HDMI input. I know it will sound funny, but I sleep on my couch a lot (not for being in trouble) and like to turn off the TV, but still have the audio going from my favorite TV shows. I could do this with my old TV via HDMI, but now my new TV I lose sound???

Lastly... can anyone give me any tips for getting one to one pixels for my HTPC setup?... I'm currently going through the VGA connector, but I could do a DVI to HDMI input as well.

Thanks.

My setup is doing the same thing... my cable is running via component to my Onkyo 605.... I'm not sure why though. Either the Onkyo isn't upconverting or my settings are messed up... haven't looked into myself.oing through the VGA connector, but I could do a DVI to HDMI input as well.

The Onkyo 605 down converts 1080i to 720p over HDMI. I dont think they supported 1080i until the 606.

hey guys i just noticed this... i have the 750 running through my receiver, its the onkyo sr674... and it seems to be downconverting all 1080i signals from cable tv to 720p... and wiht my last LCD it wasnt doing this... and if i hook it up straight to the tv, it displays in 1080i, anyone have any ideas about this? 1080p passesthrough the receiver just fine though...

I'm guessing you are using component inputs from cable to the receiver? I believe that Onkyo (I have the 805) when it upconverts that component to the HDMI output, it will scale it to 720p, (it's max). It shouldn't do anything but pass through the signal if you connect it via HDMI.

There's still only four feedback listings on Amazon. Let's leave some and help bring some new blood to AVS.

Looks like the price dropped down at the Big River.

Please don't take it as a fact that the 650 is better, brighter, etc, etc vs. the 750. People here are only giving their opinions as nobody has reported any comparison of the two under any sort of controlled conditions. Without any of the following conditions, the assertions are anecdotal:

-controlled environment (not "big box" showroom)
-(ISF) calibrated sets
-expert or experienced opinion

Note that anecdotal doesn't mean false or without merit (or conversely true), only not proven to an accepted standard.

That is not correct. It is fact that the 750 has a 450CD brightness while the bulb set 650 has a 650CD brightness. This is out of the samsung service manual so not only is it brighter but its a lot brighter.

You can also see the review for last years set (6187) where it basically says the LED doesnt touch the usually high rated Bulb models.

http://hometheatermag.com/lcds/208hdface/index1.html

We were used to Samsung winning, or at least coming close to winning, Face Offs. Well, not so much this time. Using LEDs instead of the old-school UHP lamps, the HL-T6187S is at the cutting edge of RPTV design. But in the end, it has to be judged as a TV, not as a tech demo. And judged it was, dead last. The measurements tell part of the story.

This is out of the samsung service manual...Where did you find the "service" manual? I could not find it listed on the "Samsung Parts" site.

That is not correct. It is fact that the 750 has a 450CD brightness while the bulb set 650 has a 650CD brightness.You do realize the 650's bulb typically loses 20-30% of its brightness within a couple of hundred hours? Then remains fairly level until it drops to less than 50% of its original brightness down the road.

A good article covering some of the other advantages...

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/innerworkings/2601/inside-an-led-based-light-engine.html

"There are many advantages to using LEDs instead of conventional lamps in DLP rear-pro sets. For one, LEDs are more reliable and last longer. Where the bulbs in conventional lamps cost several hundred dollars and need to be replaced every 3,000 to 5,000 hours, LEDs last about 120,000 hours — which means you can expect them to last for the life of the TV. LEDs also don't wind up in landfills like spent conventional bulbs, and they don't contain the hazardous substances (such as mercury, xenon, or metal halide) found in arc lamps.

Also, while bulbs require a warm-up period, LEDs turn on instantly. This not only allows the picture to appear immediately with full color and brightness, but (when properly synced with the DLP chip) can also help improve contrast and picture quality. And the simple optical design of PhlatLight LEDs, which use a single emitting area per color instead of an array of small LEDs, allows for shallower cabinet depths.

But maybe the biggest advantages of LEDs are in color reproduction and brightness. Because individual LEDs are used to create the primary colors, they can produce a wider, richer range of colors than sets using a white-light bulb and filters or color wheels to split the light into separate colors. For example, the PhlatLight PT120 chip set used in the Samsung RPTVs can produce about 40% more color than traditional lamp-based sets, according to Luminus. They can also help reduce or eliminate the visual artifact known as "the rainbow effect.""

Where did you find the "service" manual? I could not find it listed on the "Samsung Parts" site.

I have one on order from Samsung

SM-HL61A750A1F SERVICE MANUAL 1 $28.00 $28.00

Lastly... can anyone give me any tips for getting one to one pixels for my HTPC setup?... I'm currently going through the VGA connector, but I could do a DVI to HDMI input as well.

I've setup both ways (VGA and HDMI/DVI) on both the 750 and my previous HLN--just choose wide PC as the size and that is 1:1.

That is not correct. It is fact that the 750 has a 450CD brightness while the bulb set 650 has a 650CD brightness. This is out of the samsung service manual so not only is it brighter but its a lot brighter.

You can also see the review for last years set (6187) where it basically says the LED doesnt touch the usually high rated Bulb models.

http://hometheatermag.com/lcds/208hdface/index1.html

Brightness does not equal better picture quality. That's a big trap that alot of big box retailers use to draw customers to the "better" (i.e. brighter) displays in their showroom, like moths to a flame. The LED TV is plenty bright. And last year is last year. The 650 may have a better picture, but that is not known based on your "facts" and a review of a different set from a year ago.

Question to mainly CharlesR or anyone who wants to help...

Should I calibrate this set? Also, whats the best way I'm kind of new to the whole DLP/Calibration type thing.. Also, I CharlesR your settings are better after you tweaked than the default settings in your opinion, and I'm sure the answer is yes and how so?

It is fact that the 750 has a 450CD brightness while the bulb set 650 has a 650CD brightness.
Assuming these numbers are accurate, isn't that like a choice between two commuter cars: one that goes 200mph, and another that goes 300mph? The extra mph is of no practical value.

IMO, even 450 cd/m^2 is about twice what most people would ever need. My 750 sits against the only windowless wall in my family room. There are windows on the three other sides, and two skylights overhead. During the day, it's not that I need more light output, it's that the dark stuff gets washed out. The contrast setting is fine, but brightness or gamma could help bring up the shadows to the point where I could see them. At night, it's a good thing I (like other owners) could turn down the LED control -- I leave it on Low for TV & DVDs. Higher settings would require SPF30, and that would leave stains:D.

BTW, my HL61A750 replaces a 46" HLP4674. The smaller, bulb-based HLP never got nearly as bright as the 750, and it, too, was plenty bright for the same sunny room.

ok i actuallyed fixed my issue, and yes the 605 will downconvert if you do component to hdmi..... my issue was with verizon fios.. in the cable box menu, for WHATEVER reason, after a firmware update it got reset to 720, i just set it back to display 1080i and it was fine.. weird eh ?

Brightness does not equal better picture quality. That's a big trap that alot of big box retailers use to draw customers to the "better" (i.e. brighter) displays in their showroom, like moths to a flame. The LED TV is plenty bright. And last year is last year. The 650 may have a better picture, but that is not known based on your "facts" and a review of a different set from a year ago.

Brightness certainly affects viewing angles. If you read the article, it claims LED could not produce blacks.

You do realize the 650's bulb typically loses 20-30% of its brightness within a couple of hundred hours? Then remains fairly level until it drops to less than 50% of its original brightness down the road.

A good article covering some of the other advantages...

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/innerworkings/2601/inside-an-led-based-light-engine.html

"There are many advantages to using LEDs instead of conventional lamps in DLP rear-pro sets. For one, LEDs are more reliable and last longer. Where the bulbs in conventional lamps cost several hundred dollars and need to be replaced every 3,000 to 5,000 hours, LEDs last about 120,000 hours — which means you can expect them to last for the life of the TV. LEDs also don't wind up in landfills like spent conventional bulbs, and they don't contain the hazardous substances (such as mercury, xenon, or metal halide) found in arc lamps.

Also, while bulbs require a warm-up period, LEDs turn on instantly. This not only allows the picture to appear immediately with full color and brightness, but (when properly synced with the DLP chip) can also help improve contrast and picture quality. And the simple optical design of PhlatLight LEDs, which use a single emitting area per color instead of an array of small LEDs, allows for shallower cabinet depths.

But maybe the biggest advantages of LEDs are in color reproduction and brightness. Because individual LEDs are used to create the primary colors, they can produce a wider, richer range of colors than sets using a white-light bulb and filters or color wheels to split the light into separate colors. For example, the PhlatLight PT120 chip set used in the Samsung RPTVs can produce about 40% more color than traditional lamp-based sets, according to Luminus. They can also help reduce or eliminate the visual artifact known as "the rainbow effect.""

The poster I responded to simple said the 650 is not brighter. That was not correct. Your stats, while being correct mean that even at a 50% dim the Bulb would still be almost as bright as an LED.

Rainbow effect is totally true. Led is much better for those who see rainbows.

Brightness does not equal better picture quality. That's a big trap that alot of big box retailers use to draw customers to the "better" (i.e. brighter) displays in their showroom, like moths to a flame. The LED TV is plenty bright. And last year is last year. The 650 may have a better picture, but that is not known based on your "facts" and a review of a different set from a year ago.


I owned last years set. I owned the bulb and tested the 6187. Now I own the 650. Aside from the cabinet, they are almost exactly the same. As a matter of fact, they didnt even change the cabinet from last years LED. THere are a ton more viewing options but the brightness level is the same, it is unlikely that they arent the same set inside.

Go to any store and compare a 750 to a 6187 (or 6189). You will not see a difference. They didnt even fix the bowing from the year before and MSRP is cheaper than last years set.

Look, I had an HLS die on me and 2 6176's that had a screen shake issue. I just love the picture of Samsung sets. Im not slamming the 750 but this is a thread for both models and you will not find a rewiew anywhere that claims the LED has a better picture, black production, viewing angle etc that the same year bulb set. Its just a more mature technology.

Can someone confirm if the 750 has an auto shutoff feature if it is not fed a signal in a certain time frame? How long is the time frame before it shuts off?

Brightness certainly affects viewing angles. If you read the article, it claims LED could not produce blacks.

Brightness and the type of screen affect viewing angle. I have no problem with the viewing angle of the 750. LOL, the LED could not produce blacks?? Well, that doesn't lend a lot of credibility to that article. We've already had a user here post measurements with dramatically different contrast numbers than what that article is claiming.

As a matter of fact, they didnt even change the cabinet from last years LED. THere are a ton more viewing options but the brightness level is the same, it is unlikely that they arent the same set inside.

How you can make such generalizations? By looking at the case, which looks similar to some other model, therefor they must be the same??? Samsung and phlatlight have already stated that the LED's have been improved over those used in last years model. Doesn't sound the same to me.

Im not slamming the 750 but this is a thread for both models and you will not find a rewiew anywhere that claims the LED has a better picture, black production, viewing angle etc that the same year bulb set. Its just a more mature technology.
I haven't found any professional reviews of the 750 yet. And I mean the 750, and not last years set.

I guess I wouldn't say you are slamming the 750 exactly, but it sure seems like you are making broad assumptions and generalizations, with little real facts to back them up, to justify your choice of the 650 over the 750.

How about just saying you've looked at both and you think the 650 is better, and that is what you chose?

I have one on order from Samsung

SM-HL61A750A1F SERVICE MANUAL 1 $28.00 $28.00rahull... Thanks. I actually need the 650 service manual but with your info on the item number for the 750, I can make a better guess at what to search for on the Samsung site.

EDIT: For anyone else interested in a Service Manual for the HL56A650, the part number on samsungparts dot com is SM-HL56A650C1F. The price is $28. Most curiously, if you search on just "HL56A650" as the model number, their search engine will not find the manual.

Just got my 750 today and immediately put up a grid from the DVE disc. There is about a 1/2 inch tilt on the bottom of the screen from right to left and on the entire left side of the screen, all of the grid lines show red and green convergence issues. The right side of the screen shows blue convergence issues. Can these be corrected with a service call? I don't have any bowng which is the reason I sent back my 5089. Which option do I select in the service menu to view the amount of veiwing hours? Thanks for the help.

I owned last years set. I owned the bulb and tested the 6187. Now I own the 650. Aside from the cabinet, they are almost exactly the same. As a matter of fact, they didnt even change the cabinet from last years LED. THere are a ton more viewing options but the brightness level is the same, it is unlikely that they arent the same set inside.

Go to any store and compare a 750 to a 6187 (or 6189). You will not see a difference. They didnt even fix the bowing from the year before and MSRP is cheaper than last years set.

Look, I had an HLS die on me and 2 6176's that had a screen shake issue. I just love the picture of Samsung sets. Im not slamming the 750 but this is a thread for both models and you will not find a rewiew anywhere that claims the LED has a better picture, black production, viewing angle etc that the same year bulb set. Its just a more mature technology.
IMO, I could see a difference between the 87 and this A750. Having said that, it is possible that it may have just been similar to the differences that is found within any model.

Anyone here use the 10% off Bsst Buy coupon that was floating around on the web until the link apparently got killed? I have it printed up and sitting at home. If they will accept it I will go ahead and pull the trigger on the 61" 750.

thought i would post my settings for my A750.. see if any of you like this setup, i use this for all the time as i feel the tv is more on the bright side and eats my eyes out, btw im in my 20s so its not cuz im old and approaching death :) here we go...

standard
95
50
40
50
50\50

Detailed settings:
low
medium
high
0
0
0
on
off

picture options
normal
16:9
auto
off
low
off
off
normal
off

like i said, i tend to like this setting for doing anything from games to tv shows to blu ray
sometimes each setting makes little difference, but if you mix settings from a few, you can see a greater change.. ie dynamic contrast and LED control together will get you quite the eye burning experience if necessary :)

There is a difference. Mainly for me is that the 750 doesn't have the blue hue that the previous models had.

Brightness and the type of screen affect viewing angle. I have no problem with the viewing angle of the 750. LOL, the LED could not produce blacks?? Well, that doesn't lend a lot of credibility to that article. We've already had a user here post measurements with dramatically different contrast numbers than what that article is claiming.


How you can make such generalizations? By looking at the case, which looks similar to some other model, therefor they must be the same??? Samsung and phlatlight have already stated that the LED's have been improved over those used in last years model. Doesn't sound the same to me.


I haven't found any professional reviews of the 750 yet. And I mean the 750, and not last years set.

I guess I wouldn't say you are slamming the 750 exactly, but it sure seems like you are making broad assumptions and generalizations, with little real facts to back them up, to justify your choice of the 650 over the 750.

How about just saying you've looked at both and you think the 650 is better, and that is what you chose?


I have already said both are fine sets. The only comparison in reviews I can go by are last years bulb vs last years LED. The original question was in brightness where there is absolute proof that the bulb out of the box is much brighter than the 750. The responses of saying the LED is bright enough or whatever is fine, each his own. However, saying is bright enough is different than saying it is BRIGHTER than the 650 which it is not.

That being said. I could have bought the 750. I didnt. I dont need to justify my purchase. I actually took a chance online and paid way under msrp for the 650. This is my third Samsung bulb set and I have a Samsung 40" 2007 LCD in my bedroom. I have calibrated these sets, tuned them over all components for the last few years. I feel that at least gives me ground to comment based on my experience in an AVS forum about which set I think has the better picture.

If I add to it the reviews for the last 2 generations of LED vs their bulb counterparts I come to the same conclusion. The LED sets do not have the same picture quality as the bulb set. They are a bit washed out, not as sharp and not as bright. You may not have any issues with viewing angles, my TV is caddy cornered so I would. So just because you personally (and Im not saying you directly) dont have vewing angle issues that doesnt mean the 750 has as good of a viewing angle than the 650. The 750 degrades at around 45 degrees off center. I know, I measured it. The 650 degrades around 70 degrees. However if your seating conditions allow for straight on viewing, it really isnt an issue for you.

Maybe there are improvements to the LED this year, it still doesnt make it as good as this years bulb. In the end, its up to you.

I took my friend to CC to see the 2 sets last week. I asked him to stand back about 15 feet and tell me what he thought. I got the remote from the sales guy and tuned the sets a bit. The first thing my friend said was the 750 looked great. I then asked him to stand back further so he could see the 650 as well. He said wow, look how washed out the 750 was and lacked detail. So at first glance he thought it looked great, he just thought the 650 was better. Its just my opinion, the 750 is a fine set, great picture on it. No bulb to mess around with etc. However, as a long time samsung dlp/Lcd owner who has compared many sets I feel the 650 has a better picture and its by a pretty good margin.

I like the way Standard looks too. Mine are pretty close, I think. I can't remember the order, you should add labels. I think I bumped my tint up one or two points. Also, I was debating about the Dynamic contrast. I kind of like the "punch" it gives to the picture. However, it can harm shadow details. It is definitely interesting how all of these settings interact. Is you use the ACS AVC calibration disk, there is a test pattern where there is a small section of white to black bars, as the main background goes from white to grey. With Dynamic contrast on, it's interesting to see which black bars disappear as the screen gets brighter. I've kind of settled on leaving it off most of the time, especially for movies, unless I feel like adding punch or a more video quality.

One of these days I'll bust out the colorimeter and some software and start trying to really map and figure out all of these settings. But for now, I'm just really enjoying the picture with minimal tweaks.

thought i would post my settings for my A750.. see if any of you like this setup, i use this for all the time as i feel the tv is more on the bright side and eats my eyes out, btw im in my 20s so its not cuz im old and approaching death :) here we go...

standard
95
50
40
50
50\50

Detailed settings:
low
medium
high
0
0
0
on
off

picture options
normal
16:9
auto
off
low
off
off
normal
off

like i said, i tend to like this setting for doing anything from games to tv shows to blu ray
sometimes each setting makes little difference, but if you mix settings from a few, you can see a greater change.. ie dynamic contrast and LED control together will get you quite the eye burning experience if necessary :)

Anyone here use the 10% off Bsst Buy coupon that was floating around on the web until the link apparently got killed? I have it printed up and sitting at home. If they will accept it I will go ahead and pull the trigger on the 61" 750.

I actually used one of the Mover's Guide (at Best Buy) cards for 10% off, as we moved about a year ago and still had one. I think the coupon that was floating around was that, and some post offices just direct you to a digital version of it (which is what you have). Most post offices can give you one of those packages if you just ask for one, though. I did use a triple points coupon I got off the Internet, though...still waiting to see the results, but he did scan it and acted like it accepted it.

Finally got everything in place today (new Sony DG720 receiver, new TV stand and light bridge) and snapped some pics of my new 61A750!


My man cave 2.0
(where I disappear to when wifey nags and when the soon-to-be kid has a smelly diaper)

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/2505/243643471753e905efbdbcy5.jpg

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/8004/2437253962926d5c9377bwl7.jpg

Look ma, no viewing angle problems!
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/43/24364348614dc3b94602bjr6.jpg

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/985/img4185ln0bo5.jpg
(I took that pic in Maui, 2004)


LOVING this TV btw. After lots of playing around with settings, I feel that the PQ now rivals my plasma.

.

I cannot get the TV to pass a DD5.1 signal when using the HDMI in. The only time it passes a 5.1 signal is with using OTA.

Does it not support DD51. pass through?

My Denon 3805 doesn't have HDMI and my picture quality is superior with HDMI from my DP622 and Xbox 360. I can run optical from my DP622 but not HDMI and optical from the 360!

Does it not support DD51. pass through?
It does not. From p.15 of the 61A750 manual:
When the TV is displaying a DTV(air) signal, the TV will send out 5.1 channel sound to the Home theater receiver. When the source is a digital component such as a DVD and is connected to the TV via HDMI, only 2 channel sound will be heard from the Home Theater receiver. If you want to hear 5.1 channel audio, connect the DIGITAL AUDIO OUT (OPTICAL) jack on the DVD player or Cable/Satellite Box directly to an Amplifier or Home Theater, not the TV.

I've got a question regarding using HDMI or VGA for my xbox 360. I learned from experience the problems the A61750 has with 1080p over component and have read that 1080p is mostly supported through VGA or HDMI. My question is which would look better? Does anyone here have first hand experience with both? Some have claimed the VGA washes out colors while others have said that is BS, I trust you guys so I'm bringing this up here.

I've got a question regarding using HDMI or VGA for my xbox 360. I learned from experience the problems the A61750 has with 1080p over component and have read that 1080p is mostly supported through VGA or HDMI. My question is which would look better? Does anyone here have first hand experience with both? Some have claimed the VGA washes out colors while others have said that is BS, I trust you guys so I'm bringing this up here.

I have tried both through an Onkyo 705 to a 61A750 (no HDMI cables when the TV arrived) and COD4 runs more smoothly via HDMI. As to color, I can not comment with perfection, as I did not have a side by side scenario. However, I noticed no color difference when switching to HDMI. COD4 is quite dark though.

I have an HTPC with DVI. I tried connecting a DVI-to-HDMI cable to both the HDMI2 and HDMI/DVI3 connectors and noticed that they give me different options for P.Size and picture in general. I see some saying that WidePC gives a 1:1 pixel mapping but this gives me a 1/2" border around the picture. If I use WideTV it overscans a lot. How is this different than 16:9? So many options.

2008 Samsung DLP Tv's

..."The TVs For Long and Narrow Rooms!!!"


:D

perfect for me, i have a house in chicago, all chicago houses are long and narrow

My Denon 3805 doesn't have HDMI and my picture quality is superior with HDMI from my DP622 and Xbox 360. I can run optical from my DP622 but not HDMI and optical from the 360!

You can run optical and hdmi from the 360 at the same time. You either need a little adapter (comes with the Elite) or is included with this:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360hdmiavcable/
or you can do some simple surgery on a 360 video cable
http://www.chadledford.com/?p=50
If you don't want to mod your existing component cable, Toys R' Us is selling official 360 component and VGA cables for ~$8.

perfect for me, i have a house in chicago, all chicago houses are long and narrow

Sorry, Chief, I live in Chicago too, and I KNOW you ain't putting that TV against the rear kitchen window or the front living room window. Nice try, though. ;)

Actually, I made that sarcastic remark after numerous folks said that the viewing angle fell off sharply at after 45º. Thanks to Chodite's posting, I must say that it doesn't look all that bad at the off-angle, which looks to be close to 45º.

THANK YOU, Chodite. I can't believe you're the first to post an angle view.

As for the analog PIP, does this mean that when everything goes digital next February, the PIP will be worthless?

I owned last years set. I owned the bulb and tested the 6187. Now I own the 650. Aside from the cabinet, they are almost exactly the same. As a matter of fact, they didnt even change the cabinet from last years LED. THere are a ton more viewing options but the brightness level is the same, it is unlikely that they arent the same set inside.

Go to any store and compare a 750 to a 6187 (or 6189). You will not see a difference. They didnt even fix the bowing from the year before and MSRP is cheaper than last years set.

Look, I had an HLS die on me and 2 6176's that had a screen shake issue. I just love the picture of Samsung sets. Im not slamming the 750 but this is a thread for both models and you will not find a rewiew anywhere that claims the LED has a better picture, black production, viewing angle etc that the same year bulb set. Its just a more mature technology.
I absolutely disagree with jhferry regarding whether the 61A750 picture looks the same as the 6187. Fry's had both sets side-by-side in their Plano, TX store. I spent about 30 minutes comparing and playing with the settings on both.

The colors were noticeably different on the same settings. The 6187 had more saturated colors on everything, while the 61A750 was more tone-neutral. The 6187 also had a warmer tone (i.e. more reddish) with neutral settings.

The 61A750 was noticeably brighter, which is why I think the saturation was less pronounced.

You can compare two TVs side-by-side in a store or in your home. You might learn a ton about how the out-of-box settings differ, or about how this year's firmware makes adjustments feel different from last year's adjustments, but (aside from geometry-related and viewing-angle issues) you won't immediately learn how the capabilities of the two sets vary.

You could attempt calibrations of each to see how close to reference they can get. Or you could jack the contrast and effects to max to see how far from reference they can get.

Comparing two uncalibrated TVs only tells you how two uncalibrated TVs compare (DUH!), but I don't see the value in such a comparison.