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2015 Samsung SEK-3500U/ZA Evolution Kit

2M views 24K replies 991 participants last post by  SaberJet 
#1 ·
Since this is the "Next Big Thing" I thought I would start a new thread. 3-2-1-GO!
 
#16,722 · (Edited)
Must admit I'm always puzzled when people are so concerned about DV functionality on players since none of the discs contain the format. We know HDR-10 will be there since it's contained in the specification.

Regarding you last sentence, are you saying perhaps DV will be on UHD Blu-rays in 2017/2018; or do you have an authoritative source saying it will happen?

Finally, I've never felt "screwed" because my K8500 lacks DV.

Hey rlb,

Perhaps "left out" would have been better—and I'm aware that HDR-10 encoding is part of the UHD spec—but I don't know what else to call it when 4K is just starting to gain traction with consumers, who may or may not be aware of the two (soon to be three based on this: http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/tec...ynamic-range-hdr-premium-upcharge-1201749554/) flavors of HDR until they hear about one or all of them after the fact.

As for DV coming to UHD, there are a few links here that speak to that: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php? t=276448 And as I posted a few weeks ago, I (and surely many others) am baffled at what amounts to yet another format war, this time in the form of a 4K enhancement at a time when HEVC/H.265 and simple 4K isn't enough to get a "true" 4K experience. It's not my intention to be a downer here, but hearing that DV is hardware-based and supposedly superior because it applies HDR to each frame along with increased luminance isn't exactly what owners of 2013-2015 sets want to hear (from any manufacturer), especially after so many warnings about the importance of HEVC and 4K streaming only a few years ago.

Of course, Samsung could rectify this with a 2017 SEK that contains a Dolby Vision chip, among other enhancements, but it's a safe bet that 2015 was the last year for them to produce a true Evolution Kit, preferring that those of us who want DV buy a new TV instead. Because, profits!
 
#16,724 ·
I am now enlightened. Just watched the Revenant and it looked great! Thank you again Musician for your help. I did change it back to movie mode like you suggested on the tv and it kept the backlight at 20 and contrast at 100, so I now know what is happening. The only other things it changed was putting auto motion plus to standard and smart led to high. Should I leave those setting where they are or change them back to off for both or somewhere inbetween?
 
#16,725 ·
For people with the application install loop; has anyone ever did the js mod; install the application that you wanted; then changed the version back to the one it should be?
You can't do that as soon as u chnge version apps are deleted and reinstalled.
 
#16,726 ·
Here are my observations after 1453.0 firmware upgrade.

I am not running in JS mod.


After the 1453.0 started noticing skin tones are not good (too much red push & pasty). btw, this is in movie mode. Picture also felt little dull and it looked like lost the illumination pro. Motion handling is not good ( I use clear).

I tried to install 1440 and tv didn't want to do that. So no downgrading.

Took out the original OCB and hooked it up to TV and installed the latest firmware 1322.0

After this step , I connected 3500 back and skin tones looked good. Not sure what happened ! Is it because of 1322 or TV needed some sort of reset . I am lost:confused:. Just sharing this info , in case if any one happens to notice what I felt.

Now here are my observations with the new firmware 1453.0 with SEK3500.

1)
Seems like there is more picture sharpening happening for OTA channels ( I always have TV sharpness to 0). I could see several sharpening artifacts which I never noticed before. At the same time I could see more details and getting effect of picture on your face on 1080i sources.

Motion handling is ok. Not as it used to be. This may be due to some internal sharpening I still feel things are not correct with respect to motion handling.

2) I did notice sound improvement. Earlier I have to raise tv volume to 11 to 15. Now I could leave around 8.

3) blu-ray : Here comes the shock. I watched "Steve jobs" movie day before upgrade and didn't notice any film grain. btw I never engage any of the "Digital Clean View , MPEG Noise Filter " etc. All are off. With new firmware there is too much film grain and I felt its very intrusive to watch unless I engage "Digital Clean View" to low. By enabling it picture became very soft. I have to now engage the sharpness.

4) some how I feel "peak illumination pro" is not working as good as old version.

Over all I am not happy with the new firmware.
 
#16,727 ·
For people with the application install loop; has anyone ever did the js mod; install the application that you wanted; then changed the version back to the one it should be?
When you change the S/W model some of the apps will need to be reinstalled and others will continue to work. You'll just have to try each app and see whether it still works.
 
#16,728 ·
Wow, that looked super sharp downscaled on my 1080p monitor, so it has to look incredible on YouTube in 4K mode.

I should add that F9000 owners (and perhaps even S9 owners) will want to do the JS9000 mod and use U-T-CL-M68 as the front color as well. My F9000 is a US07 model manufactured in 2014 and truly 10 bit like my 8550. Colorful animated shows like Young Justice on Smart Hub's Netflix app in plain old 1080p is even more stunning now; and on the Samsung F7500, virtually any Blu-ray disc or app stream upscaled to 4K/24p (including Plex MKVs) is just eye candy. I recently returned my K8500 and decided that the JS mod, 4K upscaling, and the occasional Fandango UHD + Vidity download will suffice until the whole HDR-10/Dolby Vision fiasco has settled (i.e., until other TV and player manufacturers follow the LG model and include BOTH formats so the consumer isn't screwed). Perhaps this will be a reality in 2017/2018, when UHD Blu-rays encoded with DV will be commonplace.
did you change your front color to U-T-CL-M68 on your HU8550 too?
 
#16,729 · (Edited)
did you change your front color to U-T-CL-M68 on your HU8550 too?
Yes, I did, slinger, and it looks just as great. The screens and technology on these two TVs are virtually identical according to RTINGS.com—I think the F9000 does hardware and software dimming, while the 8550 does a slightly more advanced form of hardware dimming only. However, with both connected to an SEK-3500 that takes over processing duties, it's really a wash. The JS mod with M68 front color produces truly inky blacks and contrast that really does pop. Just watched Fury on Blu-ray the other day on the 8550, using BD Wise on the F7500. Grisly movie, but astounding picture quality with the mod and everything else working in concert...ain't no placebo effects in my house, lol!

And to anyone who cares, watch Young Justice as much as possible and encourage others to do the same. Lots of rumblings online about Netflix taking notice of the increased viewership and renewing it for a third season! It's probably one of the best-animated shows in recent memory; and it's a great way to see the effects of the JS mod at work for "before/after" comparison viewing.
 
#16,730 ·
I am now enlightened. Just watched the Revenant and it looked great! Thank you again Musician for your help. I did change it back to movie mode like you suggested on the tv and it kept the backlight at 20 and contrast at 100, so I now know what is happening. The only other things it changed was putting auto motion plus to standard and smart led to high. Should I leave those setting where they are or change them back to off for both or somewhere inbetween?
Brilliant aren't I, haha!

These are settings that I would catorgorize as preferences and for me I keep Auto Motion as Clear and Smart LED as High but some guys prefer Smart LED as Medium. High will give your HU8550 + SEK
a little more brightness bringing it more in line to the JS series but you may want to experiment and see what looks best to you.

Enjoy! :)
 
#16,731 · (Edited)
No comments after updating the Original OCB to 1322?
Found a very nice change, putting it much closer to looking like the SEK.
In fact Meter calibration shows a very definite improvement. Had an issue that came up last night, that I realized this morning, so pulled the HU9000 Forum posting, and will be-calibrating tonight. Nits from 374 to 388 - not much, but a little.
SEK will be put back in place probably Sunday night, and re-calibrated. Will be interesting if I see the same, or better improvement than the Original.
Then onto the JS Mod.

Corrected HU900 + Original OCB Calibration now posted on the HU9000 Forum - Nits dropped to 371.3 for 100% Full screen.
 
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#16,732 ·
I have been on order for a month with Samsung and this morning I got an email telling me the SEK3500U is still on back order and it will be 6-11-16 before they will have more. I ordered from Amazon this morning and when I get the shipping confirmation I am cancelling the order with Samsung. Even though the website says they don't charge your card until the item ships, Samsung hit my Paypal account and it showed up on my card the day I ordered. I will have to get a credit from them.
Hope it sorted out for you!
 
#16,733 ·
DTV 4K handshake problem?

It's seems on fw 1453 I'm getting some kind of handshake problem with DTV 4K broadcast channels. If I go to one of these select few channels it gives me No Signal error but if I change change the source briefly and go back to the DTV source the 4K channel will be displayed, (didn't do this before update)which is such a annoyance. I'm not 100% sure what's happening if it's DTV or Samsung issue just wondering if anybody else is having something similar with 4K content sources. Setup is DTV C61K with HR54 server connected to SEK3500u with ARC pass thru to Bose soundtouch 130. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

TIA!
 
#16,734 ·
Yes, I did, slinger, and it looks just as great. The screens and technology on these two TVs are virtually identical according to RTINGS.com—I think the F9000 does hardware and software dimming, while the 8550 does a slightly more advanced form of hardware dimming only. However, with both connected to an SEK-3500 that takes over processing duties, it's really a wash. The JS mod with M68 front color produces truly inky blacks and contrast that really does pop. Just watched Fury on Blu-ray the other day on the 8550, using BD Wise on the F7500. Grisly movie, but astounding picture quality with the mod and everything else working in concert...ain't no placebo effects in my house, lol!

And to anyone who cares, watch Young Justice as much as possible and encourage others to do the same. Lots of rumblings online about Netflix taking notice of the increased viewership and renewing it for a third season! It's probably one of the best-animated shows in recent memory; and it's a great way to see the effects of the JS mod at work for "before/after" comparison viewing.
I also have HU8550 and I did not notice any improvements. How come you change it to U-T-CL-M68? I was scare to mess with the front color so I change it back to U-T-CL-M68 (default for HU8550) after changing to UJS9000. Also did you use JS9000 or JS9500? I use JS9000 because it gives you the Cinema Black option. I don't think Cinema Black makes a difference in out HU8550 because we don't have the hardware for it.
 
#16,735 · (Edited)
I also have HU8550 and I did not notice any improvements. How come you change it to U-T-CL-M68? I was scare to mess with the front color so I change it back to U-T-CL-M68 (default for HU8550) after changing to UJS9000. Also did you use JS9000 or JS9500? I use JS9000 because it gives you the Cinema Black option. I don't think Cinema Black makes a difference in out HU8550 because we don't have the hardware for it.
I'm sure you meant to write that the default for HU8550 is U-UHD-8K, which is what I had my mine set to initially after the JS mod. I also had my F9000 set to U-UHD-9K instead of its default (55A1UUZL), since I figured matching the default front color of the JS9000 to the set it was emulating would be ideal. After seeing so many posts about the distinct benefits of using U-T-CL-M68 instead of the ones above, however, I changed it on both TVs and couldn't be happier.

I also think you're correct about Cinema Black, which was initially on one (or both?) of these models but never seemed to do anything and actually disappeared with the SEK-3500U. Although the JS mod brings it back, and I was glad to have it back initially, I've recently left it off and didn't miss it while watching Fury, 12 Monkeys, Gotham, and a bunch of other shows with many nighttime/dark scenes. In fact, I remember reading a number of posts on AVS and other forums from owners who also have the feature but leave it off, because it tends to interfere with the black levels in the letterbox area.

As for the JS9500, I haven't come across any posts about using whatever the default front color is for that set. I've also read on AVS that it's probably better to use settings in line with other edge-lit models that use the full SEK-3500U instead of ones based on the mini version (like the JS8500) or full-array models like the 9500. That said, M68 fits the bill!
 
#16,736 ·
I'm sure you meant to write that the default for HU8550 is U-UHD-8K, which is what I had my mine set to initially after the JS mod. I also had my F9000 set to U-UHD-9K instead of its default (55A1UUZL), since I figured matching the default front color of the JS9000 to the set it was emulating would be ideal. After seeing so many posts about the distinct benefits of using U-T-CL-M68 instead of the ones above, however, I changed it on both TVs and couldn't be happier.

I also think you're correct about Cinema Black, which was initially on one (or both?) of these models but never seemed to do anything and actually disappeared with the SEK-3500U. Although the JS mod brings it back, and I was glad to have it back initially, I've recently left it off and didn't miss it while watching Fury, 12 Monkeys, Gotham, and a bunch of other shows with many nighttime/dark scenes. In fact, I remember reading a number of posts on AVS and other forums from owners who also have the feature but leave it off, because it tends to interfere with the black levels in the letterbox area.

As for the JS9500, I haven't come across any posts about using whatever the default front color is for that set. I've also read on AVS that it's probably better to use settings in line with other edge-lit models that use the full SEK-3500U instead of ones based on the mini version (like the JS8500) or full-array models like the 9500. That said, M68 fits the bill!


im guessing you don't have a picture comparison of before and after the mod with M68?
 
#16,737 ·
Members are posting preference for UJS9000 over the UJS9500. (Better Colour and Blacks)

The reason that Cinema Black doesn't appear to be working, or working very little compared to when the set first came out of the box is:

# 1 - FW 1440.4 made a sizable jump in PQ quality, including Blacks.

# 2 - Initial Out of the Box, Grayish Black Panel is now almost, but not quite, Black.

Thus, big difference is now down to little difference.
 
#16,738 ·
Thanks Musician! I will experiment with those settings, but last question for now - should I leave the backlight and contrast maxed out or back them off to my calibrated settings in movie mode? Probably a matter of personal preference. I love the look of the UHD HDR so far though!
 
#16,739 ·
im guessing you don't have a picture comparison of before and after the mod with M68?
I don't, unfortunately. But that "Tokyo Shinjuku" YouTube 4K video doctorwizz posted recently (#16699) is a great example of what you can expect after doing the mod. Pictures of TV screen shots uploaded to a site won't be as accurate as your own eyes, however, when you take things like camera quality, resolution, lighting, etc. into account.
 
#16,740 ·
Thanks Musician! I will experiment with those settings, but last question for now - should I leave the backlight and contrast maxed out or back them off to my calibrated settings in movie mode? Probably a matter of personal preference. I love the look of the UHD HDR so far though!
Definitely a matter of personal preference. I let mine stay at 20/100. However, I'm not in a dark room. Maybe if our viewing room was totally black, I might reduce the b/l some. Plus, if my whites ever looked "washed out"; I would experiment with reducing the contrast.
 
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