AVS Forum banner

Official Samsung LNxxA650 Owner's Thread

4M views 24K replies 3K participants last post by  matthewuf2015 
#1 ·
I got a couple requests for an owners thread, so thats why im starting this one. Most of you who have been follwing the other thread on these know that I have had mine since Tuesday and love it. I would recommend anyone interested in one to go to a big bix store and try it out for the 30 days. I really like the color, but its a personal preference.


I think the amp has been toned down a bit but it seems to be working nicely. I mentioned last night I was able to watch Lost last night without any stutter or judder( I still dont really know the difference) where as i could never watch that show with any amp with my 69.


Give it a shot and you will enjoy!



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

May 14 2008 Update:


A New firmware has been put out for this set. ver 2001.3


Click on the link to see what it does

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/do...sp_nm=LN46A650





May 3 2008 Update:


FIRMWARE UPGRADES


The LNxxA650 LCD series had a flaw in the first run production units that caused the TV to turn off & on sporadically.

Samsung released firmware 1003.G after a few weeks of the TV's release to fix this.

The firmware not only fixed the reset problem, but also increased the strength of the Auto Motion Plus feature, but it had a bug that caused the AMP to be stuck & not be turned off when set to off.

The current firmware, 1003.M, was released 3 or so days afterthe 1003.G firmware. The new firmware fixed the reset problem & the stuck AMP bug, but also toned down the AMP strength to previous levels.


The current 1003.M firmware can be found at:
http://www.mediafire.com/?jexhkgj2uhl


The previous firmware 1003.G. can be found at:
http://www.mediafire.com/?4d5lz449etu



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

BUGS & KNOWN PROBLEMS


There are currently two know bugs still present with the TV. A audio bug where if you mute the sound & have it being run through a receiver or headphones, the sound will un-mute itself.

More posts talking about the audio bug can be found here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=5016
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=2743
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=6267
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=6727


There is also a bug where selecting a 1080p resolution over component will cause frequent dropouts, selecting any resolution other than 1080p will fix this.

The component dropout have also been confirmed to be on the Samsung LNxxA650 DLP series as well.


There have also been some reports of the stand of the TV being loose & wobbly.



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

PURPLE HAZE


There have been reports that some models of this TV have a purple haze to them. There has been no correlation on which models have this. There have been rumors that the haze may be from anti-reflective coating, but nothing has been proven. The haze seems to be a isolated incident with few owners reporting it in. The haze some have reported might also be from off-axis vertical viewing & not off axis horizontal viewing, as the vertical viewing angles seem to not be as good as Samsungs previous 71f LCD.


Pictures of the purple haze:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=6957
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5...0135160za9.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5...0135160za9.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5...0135160za9.jpg


Here is a picture of the German model with the purple haze:
http://i28.tinypic.com/hrwom1.png


Here is a off axis vertical picture showing the purple haze:



Here is some information on dialing down the purple haze:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=7265


The majority of owners have claimed to not have this haze at all.

Here are some picture of off angle viewing with no purple haze:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=7134
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=7135



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

AUTO MOTION PLUS


The strength of the AMP by default is toned down from than the previous version in the Samsung xx71f series LCD, but it can be upped to the same levels by going into the service menu:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=5192
Quote:
Originally Posted by RiVoLT /forum/post/13638106


For those that need to juice up AMP - FYI - I take no responsibility this is easy but it is at your own risk. Do not mess with settings that you are unsure of.


To increase AMP in the SM what you need to do is:


1. Turn off the TV

2. Press 'Mute' '1' '8' '2' 'Power'

3. The TV will start and you will be in the SM (give it a few extra seconds).


NOTICE: On this screen you will see an 'FRCM_Option' that is greyed out. ALSO take note of the 'View Log' option - you will need this in the end.


4. The first item is 'Optionbyte' go into that menu.

5. There will be an 'FRCM Option'

6. Click and set it to ON

7. Hit Return (maybe hit it 2x) to go back to the main menu

8. Now you will notice that the FRCM_Option is not greyed out.

9. Go into the 'FRCM_Option' menu

10. You will see Film_Low - Film_Medi - Film_High listed 4 times each. (SD or HD and 22 and 32)

11. To change say AMP 'High' setting change ALL FOUR Film_High options

12. Remember that '32' is off and '0' is full blast. I assume you are looking to make all four Film_High_?D_#2 options to '0' instead of 10 (default in 1003.M)


13. Once the changes are made hit return to go back to main menu.

14. Go back to OptionByte and turn off the 'FRCM Option'

15. Go back to the Main SM menu and you will see FRCM_Option greyed out again.

16. Go to the 'View Log' option and choose 'Delete Log'

17. Press the 'Right' corner of the 'wheel' on the remote or just right direction on another universal remote. The word 'OK' should appear to confirm that its deleted.

18. Go back and select 'View Log' instead of 'Delete Log' and it should say 'Log does not exist!!'



19. Now that you've 'covered your tracks'. You can hit 'Power' to turn off the tv and then turn it back on and magically your 'AMP' will be 'Juiced up'.


20. Enjoy!
.

Increasing the strength can cause more motion artifacts & Samsung states that going into the service menu will void your warranty.



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

SERVICE MENU


In case you need to know what the original values of the service menu were, RiVoLT took pictures of the service menus in all three firmwares available:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=4816

SM Screens for 1002.3 (~35MB)

SM Screens for 1003.G (~35MB)

SM Screens for 1003.M (~35MB)


His observations of the differences between the three firmware changes:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=4828



It is also possible to reset all the settings back to what they were when you bought the TV if for whatever reason you need to.

Znutz had posted how to perform a factory reset:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=7134

Quote:
Originally Posted by znutz /forum/post/13768070


A. Factory Reset[/b]

1. Turn off the TV

2. Press 'Mute' '1' '8' '2' 'Power'

3. The TV will start and you will be in the SM (give it a few extra seconds).

4. Select Optionbyte

5. Select Factory Reset twice


____________________________________________________________ __________________________

TOUCH OF RED & GLOSSY SCREEN


The LNxxA650 has a dark crimson colored bezel, that can be seen in extreme lighting conditions, here are some pictures that show the crimson:
http://www.fuelslut.net/ihost/files/17006/TVBlack2.JPG


Samsung also announced that there would be multi colors of the bezels for the A650 series during CES, but there has been absolutely no information of any new colors being available anytime soon:




The LNxxA650 also has a glossy screen, which is said to have slightly better anti-reflective coating over the previous Samsung 71f LCD series.


Here are some comparison pictures of the matted Samsung LNxxA550 LCD vs. the glossy LNxxA650 LCD (thanks to the A550 thread):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attac...3&d=1206562261



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

UPSCALER


The A650 has a very good upscaler, vastly superior to the previous ones Samsung & most other LCD makers has used:

Some pics of shadow hearts running at 480i:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=6592



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

BACKLIGHT CLOUDING/MURA/FLASHLIGHTS


Some owners have complained that their sets have flashlight on the corners of the TV:
http://i26.tinypic.com/2ccmipd.jpg

or some backlight clouding/bleed/mura (example):
http://i29.tinypic.com/2zi7oqp.jpg


Here is the official LNxxA650 thread for Clouding & flashlights:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1018338


Here is a tip to try AND remove or lessen the problems:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...78&postcount=6


The official Sony backlight thread can be viewed here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748779

The thread has nearly 9,000 posts about backlight bleeding about the Sony XBR2/3 series, but the discussion can be applied to any LCD.



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

CONTRAST & RESPONSE TIME NUMBERS


The Samsung LNxxA650 series has a quoted dynamic contrast of 50,000:1, but Podol, a Korean ISF calibrator that did a review of this set came up with different numbers:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...9&postcount=61
Quote:
Originally Posted by Podol /forum/post/13515899



Regarding contrast ratio, 71F's dynamic CR's are better in my measurement.

But A650 is better in panel's static CR with turning off any dynamic backlight control.

71F(Korean Model# F81BD)'s Max CR measured 27525:1(even better than Samsung's own 25000:1 spec) and then blacks read 0.012 nits that time.

That's close to Pioneer Kuro's blacks(0.013 cd/m² initially, 0.006 cd/m² after few seconds)

On the other hands, A650's max dynamic CR is limited to around 10K to 1, still better static CR than 71F.


Most new TV's from any major brand, IMO, have enough blacks and CR's unless you're watching it in a darkened room


A650 has around 2000 to 1 non-dynamic, static CR.(2291 : 1 for my measurement)

And that's pretty good enough and better than 71F, I think.

I assume Samsung changed their dynamic backlight control algorithm less aggressively this time and that's why 71F has more CR.

But A650's panels static CR's higher than 71F.

The TV is quoted to have a response time of 4ms. How that figures into real numbers has not been tested yet, but as a indication hometheatermag.com tested Samsung's previous 120hz model with 8ms. response time & they came up with 600 lines motion resolution.
http://hometheatermag.com/images/arc...8hdtest.5b.jpg


____________________________________________________________ __________________________

CALIBRATION


The Offical Samsung LNxxA650 Calibration thread is here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9#post13515899


cNet calibration for this TV is here:
http://help.cnet.com/9602-12576_39-0...sageID=2510694



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

REVIEWS


cNet review of the LN 52A650 is here:
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...7.html?tag=tpr


Podol's Korean review is here (translated by google):
http://www.google.com/translate?u=ht...&hl=en&ie=UTF8


A Youtube video review can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBAXH9LvX74



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

INPUT LAG & AMP MOTION ARTIFACTS


borf posted numbers on input lag on his Samsung's xx69f 120hz LCD series here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=960548


All that information can be applied to the xxA650 series as well. The only difference is that Game mode on these sets seem to really reduce input lag.

INFORMATION & PICTURES OF MOTION INTERPOLATION ARTIFACTS

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=342


All these can be applied to the A650, except the stutter which seems to have been reduced greatly.



____________________________________________________________ __________________________

INSIDE THE PANEL


Mikl1984 has posted info & picturs on the actual panel inside the frame:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=142
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=173
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=590



THE GAMERS INPUT LAG THREAD


Samsung LNxxA650 Gamer's (Input Lag) Thread
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1110472




FYI Big River is a codename for Amazon.com people invented here, so quit asking.
[/quote][/quote][/quote]
 
See less See more
5
#15,701 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gmo0ve /forum/post/14611853


If you haven't already turn off Edge Enhancement and DNR and see if that helps. Also, what firmware you have? I ask because there were issues in the past of AMP being stuck even if you have AMP off. I believe from the 1003.M (or maybe 1003.G) firmware it was fixed.


I do already have Edge Enhancement and Digital NR off.


The firmware that I'm using is:

Module: T-AMBAUSC- 1003.M


thanks for ur help
 
#15,702 ·
It could be the signal itself. Does this happen with all of your channels when watching football?


Have you tried bypassing the Onkyo and hooking up the cable straight to the TV and see if there's a difference?
 
#15,704 ·
Hello,


Just got my 650. Very happy with picture - both dish network and blue ray from my ps3.


However, I am having problems while navigating on the home screen of my PS3 and while playing some games. While playing Cars, my screen would flicker and become blank for about a couple of seconds at regular intervals. Would sometimes show a little snow during the flicker. It also happens sometimes when I am moving between menu items on the PS3 home screen. I tested my PS3 with a 120Hz Phillips and it works just fine with no flicker.


Other games that don't involve very fast motion were generally OK for the short duration I played them - e.g. Lego Indiana Jones.


I will call Samsung, but if anyone has a quick solution, I will appreciate it very much.


On another note, where do you recommend I set my AMP - low, medium, high? Bourne Ultimatum was making me a bit dizzy at times with AMP set to high.
 
#15,705 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by messyme /forum/post/14612961


On another note, where do you recommend I set my AMP - low, medium, high? Bourne Ultimatum was making me a bit dizzy at times with AMP set to high.

It's better to start out AMP to Off or low.
 
#15,706 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by messyme /forum/post/14612961


Hello,


Just got my 650. Very happy with picture - both dish network and blue ray from my ps3.


However, I am having problems while navigating on the home screen of my PS3 and while playing some games. While playing Cars, my screen would flicker and become blank for about a couple of seconds at regular intervals. Would sometimes show a little snow during the flicker. It also happens sometimes when I am moving between menu items on the PS3 home screen. I tested my PS3 with a 120Hz Phillips and it works just fine with no flicker.


Other games that don't involve very fast motion were generally OK for the short duration I played them - e.g. Lego Indiana Jones.


I will call Samsung, but if anyone has a quick solution, I will appreciate it very much.


On another note, where do you recommend I set my AMP - low, medium, high? Bourne Ultimatum was making me a bit dizzy at times with AMP set to high.

What firmeware do you have on the TV?
 
#15,707 ·
Question: I performed a calibration using the suggested settings someone previously posted and it looks pretty good on some channels (the people's faces) from my Dish HD programs but on some programs (other channels) the people's faces look pastey. Is this normal? Or how can I compensate?
 
#15,710 ·
Hey guys, I'm in the market for a new TV and I'm really interested in buying a Sammy LN40A650. My only concern is how this set handles SD programming. Unfortunately, most of my programming is still SD so it's a big concern to me. I know that LCDs (in general) aren't very good when it comes to displaying SD programming but I know that some sets handle it better than others, so what does everyone think about the 650 (or at least what's the general concensus)? The other LCD set I'm looking at is the 550 series Samsungs - do they handle SD any better than the 650 series? Also, are there any pics of SD programming on the 650? I appreciate all the help I can get on this. Thanks
 
#15,711 ·
just recieved my ln52a650 today and i must say that it is a wonderful tv. myonly two small problems are:

1. was my tv supposed to come with a sticker on the upper left corner because it didn't.

2. my stand swivels clockwise but not counter clockwise, is the stand setup wrong or what.


TV was purchased brand new from best buy by the way.
 
#15,712 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TenEightyC /forum/post/14613989


just recieved my ln52a650 today and i must say that it is a wonderful tv. myonly two small problems are:

1. was my tv supposed to come with a sticker on the upper left corner because it didn't.

2. my stand swivels clockwise but not counter clockwise, is the stand setup wrong or what.


TV was purchased brand new from best buy by the way.

1. yes, mine did. mind you i have the 46", but i'm pretty sure all new Samsung sets come with that sticker.

2. i think it was installed wrong or something... its supposed to swivel both ways.


does the stand come installed with the 52"? sounds to me yours was an open box. i would return it and complain.
 
#15,713 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TenEightyC /forum/post/14613989


just recieved my ln52a650 today and i must say that it is a wonderful tv. myonly two small problems are:

1. was my tv supposed to come with a sticker on the upper left corner because it didn't.

2. my stand swivels clockwise but not counter clockwise, is the stand setup wrong or what.


TV was purchased brand new from best buy by the way.

For 1, it is normal. Mine didn't have any stickers. And many ppl in this forum didn't have any stickers. Wasn't a big deal for me because I would have taken them off as soon as the return period elapsed.

For 2, check the installation. The larger axis of the oval base has to be in the same line as the TV panel when facing front.
 
#15,714 ·
I have the 46a650 and mine didn't come with stickers. Everything else seemed intact when i opened it. I got mine from amazon btw. The only sticker I got was the plastic stuck to the bottom of the base that came off. Should I call and exchange it or is it common that most tvs don't come with stickers?
 
#15,716 ·
Hey guys, I am new to this forum and I hope this is the proper place to post this...but, I recieved my new 46a650 this week and to my surprise, I plugged in just a plain old coaxial cable to the input and it picked up all of my comcast digital channels without a cable box. (Including HD channels.) My question is I also have a Samsung 4095 LCD that is fairly new (1.5 years) and says that it has built in tuners also, but why does that tv not pick up the digital channels that my new a650 pick up? I am extremely happy with the picture of the a650.


Thanks
 
#15,717 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by MiamiCane /forum/post/14613900


Hey guys, I'm in the market for a new TV and I'm really interested in buying a Sammy LN40A650. My only concern is how this set handles SD programming. Unfortunately, most of my programming is still SD so it's a big concern to me. I know that LCDs (in general) aren't very good when it comes to displaying SD programming but I know that some sets handle it better than others, so what does everyone think about the 650 (or at least what's the general concensus)? The other LCD set I'm looking at is the 550 series Samsungs - do they handle SD any better than the 650 series? Also, are there any pics of SD programming on the 650? I appreciate all the help I can get on this. Thanks

The tv handles SD very good. The first week I had my tv I had a series 2 tivo and older cable box with only svideo outputs. The video was hideous, there was no setting I could change to make it look good. I was gonna switch to hd anyway but for the first week I had my old equipment hooked up it it sucked. So I finally ditched the tivo and traded my old cable box for an hdmi box and now it displays 480p on regular SD programming and 1080i/720p on HD. All regular channels look very good now.
 
#15,719 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by poopoolarson /forum/post/14607016


Thanks. I have not ruled out another Samsung 650 or maybe the 7 or 8 series.


When you say the picture was fantastic were you watching a Blu-Ray Disc, DVD or cable/satellite/FIOS type broadcast?

One of the things that no one seems to have noticed is that you (poopoolarson) stated that the graphics in the bottom corner of the screen looked great. Those graphics are typically at the best quality of the station. If there was a problem with the TV, the graphics would have looked bad also. I think it is the program that was being broadcast. Even though a station is an HD station, they also show programs that were not filmed in HD (example, some older sitcoms). I have seen this on a lot of HD stations. Typically, in the prime time timeslot, most programs on HD channels were filmed in HD (at least newer programs). Other things are likely just upscaled.
 
#15,720 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by fortinjlf /forum/post/14598933


Having display problems with linksys. It seems that at first the stock ticker hasn't been updated for about a week. Then today I noticed the news ticker had failed. However, the weather section still is working OK as far as I can tell.

Update - just tried to exit from linksys and COULDN'T. I had to turn the TV on and off.

Anyone else having problems or have any insight? I DO use the info quite a bit.

I have had the same problems with the linkstick as you. For me (tested again this past weekend), weather and stocks work fine. The news selection is a huge issue. When I select for News to display, I have Sports up as the selection. The box appears, and the articles start scrolling. I then cannot exit out of it. Without shutting the TV off, I found a different trick to get out of it. Hit the Wiselink button. It will eventually come up with a box saying something like it can't read anything. The box will have an OK to select in it. Select the "OK" and get ready to immediately hit the "Blue" button to exit the News scroll window. There seems to be about a second of control before it is lost again. Hope that helps.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top