Samsung Series 9 Owners - Observations, Comments and Advice

[berthman]

Here it is, Boys and Girls.

Let's keep it in the LCD / LED Family here...

No Fighting, or b1tch fights like we got to in the review thread. Peace and tranquility only.

Feel the love

[slumpey326]

I got my ln46a950 on saturday and so far I have been lovin it. I have been watching everything in standard mode and the only setting I touched so far was AMP. AMP is defaulted to medium, but I turned it to low for cable viewing and off for blu ray (AMP needs to be set to off to get 1080/24). What does others who have this tv have AMP set to?

Other owners please chime in here. My only problem so far is with my harmony remote. I cant get the inputs to switch correctly, but I think I found a solution on this forum which I will test tonight.

[stepmback]

Originally Posted by slumpey326

I got my ln46a950 on saturday and so far I have been lovin it. I have been watching everything in standard mode and the only setting I touched so far was AMP. AMP is defaulted to medium, but I turned it to low for cable viewing and off for blu ray (AMP needs to be set to off to get 1080/24).

Other owners please chime in here. My only problem so far is with my harmony remote. I cant get the inputs to switch correctly, but I think I found a solution on this forum which I will test tonight.

Do you have any calibration equipment? What is the real cr on this set? How are the colors based on 709 spectrum? What iris setting does it have and how well do those work?

[berthman]

I think PMPdesigns has potentially watched 100 hours of TV on his new set...we've not seen him much - that's a good sign

PMP are you looking to have professional calibration?

[slumpey326]

no calibration equipment which I why I wish someone who had this type of equipment could do a real test and review.

[berthman]

Originally Posted by slumpey326

no calibration equipment which I why I wish someone who had this type of equipment could do a real test and review.

I'll have calibration done once I have a ton of hours under it's belt. I'm debating on BBY Calibration or seek another non-Chain specialist to do it.

I know BBY will be $300, they are also offering HD Advantage so if you spend over $1000 on an HDTV you get calibration at $150 instead of $300 if you order at the time of purchase.

Come to my store to buy / order your TV!! in AZ

I have asked a few times and had no response (That I have seen) to how BBY vs average stand alone calibration tech performs on results. Depending on experience of course I'm sure there is a difference. (not assumptions or speculation or Rants) would be appreciated

[JamE55]

When BBY or CC does this "Calibration" do they use some type/sort of equipment to do it or what?

I thought when you calibrate these LCD's/Plasma's you just change the value's of the factory settings no?

[berthman]

Originally Posted by JamE55

When BBY or CC does this "Calibration" do they use some type/sort of equipment to do it or what?

I thought when you calibrate these LCD's/Plasma's you just change the value's of the factory settings no?

Calibration uses the visual equivalent of a microphone to detect the amount of Color / Grayscales and a lot more information. The process attempts to get the settings and 'temperature' of the display to as near 6500k (kalvin) as possible as this is seen as the reference of what accurate reproduction is.

The 'Calibration' you are probably seeing referenced are the settings achieved during someone paying for calibration, (And paying the money) then giving that $ away to others to get it for free.

This is all well and good, but with each set, and each production run, and then also Firmware etc. you will probably (maybe not actually notice) not have quite the same settings for each set.

It's best to have it done yourself...I would suggest, and make the others pay to get theirs optimized for their own home / Setting, this is also a consideration in Calibration.

This is from what I know and accuracy of my info maybe skewed or incorrect, please fill me in

[taurus2007]

Originally Posted by berthman

Calibration uses the visual equivalent of a microphone to detect the amount of Color / Grayscales and a lot more information. The process attempts to get the settings and 'temperature' of the display to as near 6500k (kalvin) as possible as this is seen as the reference of what accurate reproduction is.

6500K! That is even hotter than the surface of the Sun?

[spenbrad]

Finally an Owner's Thread!!

I got mine on Wednesday last week and am loving it. The only issue I am having in some distortion from my right speaker with volume above 25. Anybody else having this issue??

I have AMP on mine to low also.

[djap2]

I am expecting delivery of my 55" A950 tomorrow.

I will be joining the 'family' soon enough

I have an Onkyo 805 and expect my Denon 3808CI to arrive in a few days.

I'm a plasma owner, so this will be the perspective of where I am coming from and what I think of it...

For those that have not read my other posts, I'm most concerned with Motion Blu and clay faces, but was told clay faces are no longer an issue so already I'm not using the correct terms

I'll be watching some tv tomorrow, that's fa sure!

[paul416]

Originally Posted by djap2

I am expecting delivery of my 55" A950 tomorrow.

I will be joining the 'family' soon enough

I have an Onkyo 805 and expect my Denon 3808CI to arrive in a few days.

I'm a plasma owner, so this will be the perspective of where I am coming from and what I think of it...

For those that have not read my other posts, I'm most concerned with Motion Blu and clay faces, but was told clay faces are no longer an issue so already I'm not using the correct terms

I'll be watching some tv tomorrow, that's fa sure!

Could you tell me where you were able to buy this set. I went to a Tweeter store today with a mailer in hand touting a Labor day Sale in the store running from 8/24 to 9/6. The mailer was for Samsung sets only(all the new series), with sales prices. This included the 950 series. When I got to the Tweeter store(in suburban Chicago) I was told they did not have any of the advertised sets and the salesman told me Samsung hadn't even shipped these sets to the USA. Is this guy full of it??

[Auzo]

I have had my 46" A950 for about 5 days now.

So far I am loving it. Although the reflections can sometimes become a minor annoyance 96% of the time they are not enough to distract me from whatever I am watching.

For the most part I have left AMP on Medium. I have primarily played video games and watched tv, so far. I havent fully watched any Blu-ray movies yet.

Sometimes while watching I think I notice AMP overdoing it a bit, but at medium setting it is subtle enough for me to not be sure if its AMP or just me conjuring it up in my mind (being that I am looking for it).

As for AMP on High setting, I think for most people it is definitely a case of AMP being to powerful for its own good. It is really an interesting experience watching certain things on High setting. I can't say that I dislike it, but its not what I am used to seeing. Some times I actually enjoy it.

These are some of my opinions so far. Overall I am very happy with my purchase.

-John

[lordcaptain]

Originally Posted by taurus2007

6500K! That is even hotter than the surface of the Sun?

There's a different scale for color temperature, pretty sure it doesn't have to do anything with physical temperature

[slumpey326]

Originally Posted by Auzo

I have had my 46" A950 for about 5 days now.

So far I am loving it. Although the reflections can sometimes become a minor annoyance 96% of the time they are not enough to distract me from whatever I am watching.

For the most part I have left AMP on Medium. I have primarily played video games and watched tv, so far. I havent fully watched any Blu-ray movies yet.

Sometimes while watching I think I notice AMP overdoing it a bit, but at medium setting it is subtle enough for me to not be sure if its AMP or just me conjuring it up in my mind (being that I am looking for it).

As for AMP on High setting, I think for most people it is definitely a case of AMP being to powerful for its own good. It is really an interesting experience watching certain things on High setting. I can't say that I dislike it, but its not what I am used to seeing. Some times I actually enjoy it.

These are some of my opinions so far. Overall I am very happy with my purchase.

-John

are you using dynamic, standard or movie mode. Have you changed any settings.

[bosng]

okay you owners. in a completely dark room with dark materials

how does this set perform? does it go from really well to not so good depending on the scene?

what dvd's did you use for evaluating? black bars dissappear completely on all material?

thanks

[kyler13]

Originally Posted by lordcaptain

There's a different scale for color temperature, pretty sure it doesn't have to do anything with physical temperature

It does have to do with temperature, but only as a reference point. If you heated an object assumed to be a perfect emitter to 6500K, it would appear white (hence the D65 reference). Any higher would tend toward blue and any lower would tend toward yellow.

[chevydude26]

i bought my 52a750 july 6th...any chance i can trade in my a750 for the 55a950 and pay the difference?

[Auzo]

I use Standard mode and Dynamic mode mainly. Standard Mode making up around 70% of the time. Dynamic mode really livens up the picture and the colors become nice and saturated. I like standard mode better for most viewing but certain HD channels just look stunning in Dynamic mode.

I have made some minor tweaks to the settings for both modes. I am not a professional calibrator so I can't say I know what I am doing but I just try to make the picture look a little better to me.

[slumpey326]

do you have DNR off, I changed it from auto to off is this correct

[bosng]

what about viewing in complete darkness??? i'm not knocking i'm thinking of purchasing this set

[spark1135]

Here are my posts from the Review thread, hope this helps some people:

OVERALL:
It's a great set. I love the styling and the picture quality is great. I wouldn't say it's leaps and bounds over the 750 but it's definitely better.

The biggest thing I can notice are the much deeper black levels.

The fact that it doesn't swivel is a bit annoying but I'll get over that. I'm not a big fan of the AMP so I turn it off, and it still looks great, definitely less blur then 60hz sets.

There is no real noise from the TV, no fans (that I can tell) and definitely no buzz. No Halo either.

Playing 360 and PS3, there is a bit of input lag, but it's no worse then most LCD tvs out there. Game mode actually does decrease input lag but I doesnt look as good and you cant control picture options. I tested input lag with Rock Band.

It's a beatiful set, I can highly recommend it, esp it you get a good discount.


GAMING:
Ok here are my thoughts (my personal opinions) on gaming on this set.

FYI, I game more then I watch anything. And I game...a lot.

This set is fine for gaming. If you're used to playing games on an LCD, then you have probably gotten used to a little bit of input lag. If you're coming straight from a CRT, the lag may bother you, no matter what set you get.

This TV has input lag, not much, but it has it, and it's defiintely less then my old sammy 4095D.

One factor that hugely (actually not hugely, more like slightly) effects input lag is what mode you are watching in, and how many "features" you have enabled. Now, I almost always turn off things that would take extra processing and introduce more lag, these things include, dynamic contrast, edge enchancement, DNIE, AMP, etc., etc.

Game mode DOES help to decrese input lag, by a decent amount as well, but like many have pointed out, almost no picture controls are customizable in game mode.

My point is, if you're that worried about lag, use game mode (and SLIGHTLY sacrifice picture quality) or stay with a CRT. In my experience, if you play on an LCD for a while you become accustomed to the lag, and as your skill level increases you adjust to it, without even knowing or thinking about it. (keep in mind this is only for slight lag, severe lag is a whole different story).

My second point is, just don't be too concerned with lag . I still whoop in COD4 and Halo 3, WITHOUT using game mode, and I've never looked back.


LED DIMMING ZONE TEST:
OK people, I did the dimming zone test (46A950) as per that link that was provided a page ago.

I have good news and bad, but knowing people on here, prepare to be devastated .

I count 8 zones horizontal, and 8 zones vertical . Yes, you read that right, 8x8. The same amount in both directions for a measly 64 total zones. Which is significantly less then the 81f according to naruto's test. I didn't believe it either, but I checked, and rechecked. I connected my PC to the TV using D sub if you think that makes any difference.

Now for the good (i guess) news. These zones are not soley one at a time "on/off", not completely at least. If you move the cursor around, yes, you see a new large zone light up as the one you left shuts off. But if you move the cursor very slowly between zones, there are "inbetween" stages, where 2 zones are on with equal or different (but dimmer) brightness. Take that for what it's worth.

Anyway, yeah, I'm a bit dissapointed, BUT to be perfectly honest, the set still looks great, still has the blackest black I've ever seen on an LCD, and yes, I'm still very much happy with my choice.

People wonder why it's so cheap (kinda) and why I (and some other people) were able to get HEAVY discounts, well, now you know!

It would be great if someone else can do this test as well, just to confirm that I wasn't completely spaced out or something.

[taurus2007]

Originally Posted by chevydude26

i bought my 52a750 july 6th...any chance i can trade in my a750 for the 55a950 and pay the difference?

Not from a store. Graigslist that sucker and buy the A950. I think that is your best option now.

[Auzo]

I actually have DNR set to off currently. I don't think there is a wrong or right setting for this. I played around with DNR a bit and didn't see much difference between DNR set to off or on.

[ntrisKKT]

Originally Posted by spark1135

People wonder why it's so cheap (kinda) and why I (and some other people) were able to get HEAVY discounts, well, now you know!

$3100 is anything but cheap, but it's not a high price tag either.
By the way can you give me the info on how to purchase a LN46A950 for cheap?, I probably missed it.

[shiggity80]

Originally Posted by ntrisKKT

$3100 is anything but cheap, but it's not a high price tag either.
By the way can you give me the info on how to purchase a LN46A950 for cheap?, I probably missed it.

I'm getting mine super cheap. $1,985 (through employer). I can't wait to get it.

[djap2]

Originally Posted by paul416

Could you tell me where you were able to buy this set. I went to a Tweeter store today with a mailer in hand touting a Labor day Sale in the store running from 8/24 to 9/6. The mailer was for Samsung sets only(all the new series), with sales prices. This included the 950 series. When I got to the Tweeter store(in suburban Chicago) I was told they did not have any of the advertised sets and the salesman told me Samsung hadn't even shipped these sets to the USA. Is this guy full of it??

Yeah, I'm full of it...sure. Do some research yourself before making claims.
There are several people who have the sets or have them in shipping, why do you think this thread was started????

We have all discussed our time of order, place of purchase, price, shipping date, etc...

So, yes, I'll be full of it - 55" of HD goodness.

[Fanaticalism]

Originally Posted by djap2

Yeah, I'm full of it...sure. Do some research yourself before making claims.
There are several people who have the sets or have them in shipping, why do you think this thread was started????

We have all discussed our time of order, place of purchase, price, shipping date, etc...

So, yes, I'll be full of it - 55" of HD goodness.

He is asking if the guy at tweeter is full of it, not you, heh.

[agustus]

Originally Posted by djap2

Yeah, I'm full of it...sure. Do some research yourself before making claims.
There are several people who have the sets or have them in shipping, why do you think this thread was started????

We have all discussed our time of order, place of purchase, price, shipping date, etc...

So, yes, I'll be full of it - 55" of HD goodness.

I don't think he was talking about you. Unless you were that "salesman".

[wallstreet123456]

Originally Posted by slumpey326

AMP is defaulted to medium, but I turned it to low for cable viewing and off for blu ray (AMP needs to be set to off to get 1080/24).

Can this be set individually for each device or does it have to be done each time you switch?