AVS Forum banner

Official Samsung LNxxC530, LNxxC550 Owners Thread

111K views 258 replies 116 participants last post by  Geezer 
#1 ·
It was a toss up between this and the Sony KDL40EX400, but the LN40C550 won out. I have never owned an HDTV before, but I am more than satisfied wiwth the picture quality and stand stability.


I like that the remote has CC (Closed Captioning) on it, not buried deep in a menu, but the PIP function still is buried. Sometimes the remote double-taps when I'm changing channels by typing in a number, but I haven't used it enough to rule out that I'm just using it wrong.


The LN40C550 has a network jack! Anyone know how I can use it for something? I downloaded the My PC Manager from Samsung, but nothing shows up. Advice?


-KP
 
#202 ·
Decided to finally bite and picked up the LN46C540 today. Not much info out there about it but it appears to be branded for the big box stores and specs seem to put it somewhere between the C530 and C550 which makes sense considering the model number.


Model numver on the box is LN46C540F2FXZC (not sure what the XZC is since most Samsung models don't seem to have those last three characters) and the panel version is AA03 but based on some posts earlier in this thread (#124, 126 & 128) I take it that isn't always a bad thing with this model? Won't have a chance to set it up till tomorrow or the next day. Have to move a bunch of stuff around.
 
#203 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nielo TM /forum/post/19208821


Actually, AUO's A-MVA3 is the best general purpose displays as does everything to a high level of standard.


S-PVA does provide deep blacks (0.03), but has higher input lag, higher pixel lag and inverse ghosting

So I take it AA03 is a AUO A-MVA3 panel then? Any well to tell for sure? If so I like the sound of that, I'd rather have overall better performance (especially less input lag) at the cost of sacrificing some deeper blacks.


Edit: oh uh, looks like it might not be a MVA3 panel but the older inferior... MVA, damn why do they make this stuff so confusing! They should all be the same based on the model number.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=855


So how do I tell if my TV has the older A-MVA panel or the newer A-MVA3 one? Someone in the thread above said all panels made after about the second half of 2010 should be A-MVA3 but then someone else says that AA03 is MVA only. So confusing!


Edit 2: The debate and confusion continues, according to this guy who seems to be pretty adament, anything after April of 2010 (based on his post date) above 40" should be the new MVA3 panel, at this point though who knows, all your panels are belong to us

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...0#post18534950
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...3#post18554943


Edit 3: if there is an easier way to tell I'd be ever so grateful, as a long time and diligent tech forum poster and helper, I cry uncle, I've spent at least a dozen hours the last couple days looking into this and am not that much closer to an answer, the dangers of AV (and IT) research on the internet when you care!



Edit 4: I've taken my search to the panel thread since it seemed a more fitting spot for these questions. Long story short, I think it is the new panel. Not verified though.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...3#post20158923
 
#204 ·
I decided I just couldn't put up with the SDE of my 720p plasma anymore and just picked up one of these LN40C530's with a CN01 panel, so far I love it, no flash lighting, backlight bleed, or clouding that I can see. However before I purchased it I had no idea about the samsung panel lotto.


I'm quite impressed with the black levels of this set too far deeper than my LG 50PJ350.


Did anyone have crinkled manuals or a bent edge of the metal back panel when they pulled it out of the box?


The edge of the metal back panel by the stand had the corner bent on it, but other then that I see no problems with it.


All the packing materials seemed to be there the bag that the screws for the stand had a small hole in it and the batteries for the remote was in the bottom of the box.


I got mine from Walmart (are we allowed to say that?) Anyone think it was a return?
 
#205 ·
Right so I had a A550 and it needed to be replaced due to burn in. They replaced it with this at the store.

It seems to be rather poor in comparison. Is this supposed to be better? Am I just not seeing things correctly? Not calibrated as well? I already checked,it is an S pannel which is what I had with the 550. There's not a ton of difference I've seen with Blu-ray (only watched a couple of scenes) but an Xbox 360 hooked up through VGA and regular cable (well HD) are pretty bad it seems.
 
#206 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegaz /forum/post/20165441


Right so I had a A550 and it needed to be replaced due to burn in. They replaced it with this at the store.

It seems to be rather poor in comparison. Is this supposed to be better? Am I just not seeing things correctly? Not calibrated as well? I already checked,it is an S pannel which is what I had with the 550. There's not a ton of difference I've seen with Blu-ray (only watched a couple of scenes) but an Xbox 360 hooked up through VGA and regular cable (well HD) are pretty bad it seems.

I don't use VGA, just a HDPVR and PS3 via HDMI and Wii via component but out of the box mine was way too bright with way too much color at first I found. A couple adjustments to tone it down to reasonable levels and things just pop. I'm pretty happy and I haven't' even had any time yet to calibrate mine. Have to take back the one I got since it has a very noticeable dead pixel in the middle of the screen. Only in very dark scenes, but still, might as well get one without it and all the panels at my local store are AA03 anyway.
 
#208 ·
I've got an older 360 so HDMI isn't an option and my PS3 has been broken since like 2008.


360 seems to be suffering from black crush.


On cable people look too orangish,even on 'cool' and no I'm not watching Jersery Shore.
 
#209 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by boldaslove /forum/post/20166302


I just went to several stores today incl. Best Buy and spent a couple hours looking at many TVs, the angles, etc. and I was very impressed by the Samsung LN46C610N1FXZC I saw. Here is the link to the Canadian BB TV link site (I'm a canuck), do you guys think this is a good deal?

I almost pulled the trigger on that one but based on the C630/C650 thread decided against it. A lot of people didn't seem that happy with the series and I heard input lag was pretty bad. That and I don't care for the 120Hz look at all either so I'd just end up turning it off. Walmart has the LN46C540 for $698 right now so that's the one I ended up buying.


All that being said, no that is not a good deal. Leons, Visions and Memory Express all had the LN46C610 on sale for $799.
 
#210 ·
I saw the 540 in Wal-mart and it looked a lot better than the 530. Got this one at Futureshop though. Think I got the 360 and Blu-ray to where they need to be but cable is still pretty poor.
 
#211 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegaz /forum/post/20176398


I saw the 540 in Wal-mart and it looked a lot better than the 530. Got this one at Futureshop though. Think I got the 360 and Blu-ray to where they need to be but cable is still pretty poor.

HD Cable looks amazing on my 540. SD isn't too shabby either all things considered.
 
#213 ·
Does anyone have any settings for this TV? (LN40C530)


I don't have a calibration disk yet, and I don't want to get a pro calibration.

But no matter what I do I seem to get a sort of brownish tint to everything and the picture seems somewhat washed out. (And no I'm not looking on an angle either.)


Here's the settings I've been using:


Mode: Movie

Backlight: 7

Contrast: 100

Brightness: 48

Sharpness: 0

Color: 52

Tint: 48/52


Eco Solution: Off


Advanced Settings

Black Tone: Off

Dynamics Contrast: Off

Shadow Detail: 0

Gamma: +1

RGB Mode: Off

Color Space: Auto

Flesh Tone: 0

Edge Enhancement: Off


White Balance: Unchanged Factory Default.


Picture options

Color tone: Warm2 (Tried Warm 1 and Normal).

Size: 16:9

Filters: Off

HDMI black level: Normal (Grayed Out).


If I turn it to torch mode (dynamic) or Natural the brownish tint goes away but it looks like crap and the Backlight is cranked all the way to 20.


Any suggestions? I may be able to post pictures later if needed.


BTW this TV has the CN01 (S-MVA) panel which I know isn't the greatest but my local Walmart doesn't have any left and in fact other than a few Sanyo's they don't have much at all left. Even the display that was hanging on the wall is gone as well. So exchanging it is out.


I mostly watch my Charter HD cable and my upscaled dvds along with a couple of blurays. Really really bright scenes seem ok, dark scenes seem alright but its anything in between that really seems to suck.


edit: I'm watching it with the vertical blinds shut very little light gets into the room.
 
#214 ·
Does anyone know if a C1A1 panel is manufactured by Chi Mei and is the same as a CN01 panel? I have a friend who works in an AV Store and he checked the back of a LE37C530 model and found it's a C1A1. Maybe he didn't check the right string?


L.E.: The full code was something like UJ100...C1A1. I'm guessing this is not the version number, just some serial number.
 
#215 ·
I just came across this thread, read the last three pages, and thought I'd fill in a couple things in case anyone might be curious....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim9710
Does anyone have the LN32C540 that could let me know what picture settings they are using? I think I have the set adjusted pretty well but the reds seem to be slightly more towards orange than they should be.
Other people's setting won't work on your display: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1055906

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pedroshin
PS: What I mean by Color is the slider that makes the screen go black & white when you set it to 0. I think it controls saturation.
The Color control adjusts Chroma Gain, not Saturation. If your colors seem dull, increase the gain. It's won't oversaturate the colors.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maverickaim9
How is the viewing angle on this panel? Are the colors washes out if viewed from the sides? Thanks in advance.
Welcome to LCD land. Outside of 30 degrees off center, saturation and black level is reduced, thus squashing Contrast Ratio, the single most important picture quality. I believe the LG panels are something of an exception to this rule.


Once you go less than the Samsung 600 series you lose a lot. The 500 series and below has no Color Management System. It would be under Advanced: Color Space: Custom and I don't think the 500s offer this. Also, you only get a 2 point White Balance adjustment ability instead of both a 2 point AND a 10 point so achieving accurate Grayscale and dead flat Gamma is out of the question.


The bottom line is, don't pay for a professional ISF/THX calibrator as you'd be wasting your money. He could do his best with the 2 point grayscale and the clunky gamma control and that would be the end of it. Other than these two items, you can do the rest yourself, FREE.


Go here , download the disc and the patterns manual, and have at it.
 
#216 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy_Man2 /forum/post/20190824


Does anyone have any settings for this TV? (LN40C530)


I don't have a calibration disk yet, and I don't want to get a pro calibration.

But no matter what I do I seem to get a sort of brownish tint to everything and the picture seems somewhat washed out. (And no I'm not looking on an angle either.)


Here's the settings I've been using:


Mode: Movie

Backlight: 7

Contrast: 100

Brightness: 48

Sharpness: 0

Color: 52

Tint: 48/52


Eco Solution: Off


Advanced Settings

Black Tone: Off

Dynamics Contrast: Off

Shadow Detail: 0

Gamma: +1

RGB Mode: Off

Color Space: Auto

Flesh Tone: 0

Edge Enhancement: Off


White Balance: Unchanged Factory Default.


Picture options

Color tone: Warm2 (Tried Warm 1 and Normal).

Size: 16:9

Filters: Off

HDMI black level: Normal (Grayed Out).


If I turn it to torch mode (dynamic) or Natural the brownish tint goes away but it looks like crap and the Backlight is cranked all the way to 20.


Any suggestions? I may be able to post pictures later if needed.


BTW this TV has the CN01 (S-MVA) panel which I know isn't the greatest but my local Walmart doesn't have any left and in fact other than a few Sanyo's they don't have much at all left. Even the display that was hanging on the wall is gone as well. So exchanging it is out.


I mostly watch my Charter HD cable and my upscaled dvds along with a couple of blurays. Really really bright scenes seem ok, dark scenes seem alright but its anything in between that really seems to suck.


edit: I'm watching it with the vertical blinds shut very little light gets into the room.

My settings are similar on my 550 but I have the backlight way down at 3.
 
#217 ·
Just bought a le37c530f1wxxh. It is made in Hungary and I want to know if it's an AOU A-MVA panel.


When I go to Contact Samsung in the Support menu, all I get is the firmware version T-MSX5DEUC-2010.1, but no panel code. I looked through the grill and all I can see is: Panel UJ100820C1A01 BN96-13171B. I read this thread from beginning to end and I can't figure out if this panel is made by AUO, Chi Mei or Samsung as it has no SQ, AA or CN anywhere on the back.


I'm using it as a PC monitor and I played a bit with the settings, but can't get the Windows 7 fonts to be crisp like I had them on my 37" Westinghouse. Also, there seems to be some clouding in the middle left, while the rightmost part of the screen seems a tad darker. Not really happy about this but I heard that if I leave a completely white background on the screen for 24H, the homogeneity can improve and this also prevents screen burns that can occur later on, so I'm going to do that right away.
 
#220 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by buzzard767 /forum/post/20214801



Once you go less than the Samsung 600 series you lose a lot. The 500 series and below has no Color Management System. It would be under Advanced: Color Space: Custom and I don't think the 500s offer this. Also, you only get a 2 point White Balance adjustment ability instead of both a 2 point AND a 10 point so achieving accurate Grayscale and dead flat Gamma is out of the question.


Go here , download the disc and the patterns manual, and have at it.

You can enable color managment system in the 500 series, bij service menu, set colour space from sathue to rgb and you can use the 10 point menu.
 
#221 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Devil-Strike /forum/post/20258375


You can enable color managment system in the 500 series, bij service menu, set colour space from sathue to rgb and you can use the 10 point menu.

I think I'm going to calibrat a 500 series soon.


You say "the 10 point menu". I assume that is the 10 point grayscale adjustment? ie. Intervals 1-10, each with a R,G, & B adjustment?


Also, do you see Color > Custom > and then R, G, B, Y, C, M color adjustment options? This would be the CMS.
 
#223 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by buzzard767 /forum/post/20258581


I think I'm going to calibrat a 500 series soon.


You say "the 10 point menu". I assume that is the 10 point grayscale adjustment? ie. Intervals 1-10, each with a R,G, & B adjustment?


Also, do you see Color > Custom > and then R, G, B, Y, C, M color adjustment options? This would be the CMS.

Here are the screenshots whene i change color space in service menu from sathue to rgb, a get this options under menu.


See Attachments. this is after i change from huesat to rgb in service menu, i have the samsung 37c530 with mstar soc.


 
#224 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Devil-Strike /forum/post/20264086


Here are the screenshots whene i change color space in service menu from sathue to rgb, a get this options under menu.

Yep. That's the full 3D (saturation, hue, & luminance) Color Management System. This is the tool, along with the 10 point Grayscale/Gamma module, that a calibrator will use to make a display sparkle.


It is REALLY irritating that the manufacturer would withhold adjustability in the 500 series relative to the 600 series to help "justify" the difference in price.


Thanks for the info, Devil-Strike.
 
#225 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by buzzard767 /forum/post/20264101


Yep. That's the full 3D (saturation, hue, & luminance) Color Management System. This is the tool, along with the 10 point Grayscale/Gamma module, that a calibrator will use to make a display sparkle.


It is REALLY irritating that the manufacturer would withhold adjustability in the 500 series relative to the 600 series to help "justify" the difference in price.


Thanks for the info, Devil-Strike.

No problem,


Is indeed only some settings that they have disabled in service menu, even the mstar soc is same on 5 series en 6 series(you can see it bij unpacking mstar firmware and the img files with 7zip on msx5 and msx6 series firmwares)
 
#226 ·
What is the difference between Film Mode: Auto1 and Auto2 like whats it do or supposed to do? I really don't see it do anything.


Here is my settings I've come up after running THX optimizer (CARS DVD) I'm fairly happy with these:


Mode: Movie

Backlight: 10 ( I know 10 seems high but I can't stand it any lower because it seems like I'm watching through dark sunglasses.)

Contrast: 100

Brightness: 44

Sharpness: 20

Color: 53

Tint: G47/R53


Eco Solution: Off


Advanced Settings

Black Tone: Off

Dynamics Contrast: Low

Shadow Detail: 0

Gamma: 0

RGB Mode: Off

Color Space: Auto

Flesh Tone: 0

Edge Enhancement: Off


White Balance: Unchanged Factory Default.


Picture options

Color tone: Normal

Size: 16:9

Both Filters: Low (when watching cable, off when watching blu ray).

Film Mode: Auto 2

HDMI black level: Normal (Grayed Out).


Apparently my LG BD-550 can't show the drop shadow on the brightness test?
 
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