Samsung PN50A450 Offical Owners Thread. - Page 5

Thanks for sharing these setting LV. Was wondering what the lighting conditions are for yourself?

also i have the 450 not the 1080p and anytime i try an other res on 360 other then 1365 it says mode not supported ? so how am i gonna get those modes

strange...it must not like that over VGA.... I have my 360 outputting 1080p and it works fine

Hey guys, I almost ready to go and get this set today. Only the 42 inch version since it will be going in a bedroom. Quick question, the tv will be 6 to 8 feet away when being watched. 720p should be ideal for that distance and that size, right? Also, how would you guys compare this set to the panasonics 80/85 u's?

Thanks for any info.

Question for everybody. I have the PN50A450 and I use it for HTPC display. I have the resolution on my monitor set to 1360x768 or something very close to that. There are black sidebars on the tv that are each about 1/2 inch wide. I have tried pressing the "picture size" button on the remote, but that doesn't work. Any suggestions on how to get rid of these black side bars? The PC will not let me adjust the resolution any higher than 1360x768 (or thereabouts...I'm posting on this forum using my wife's PC...and I'm too lazy to go downstairs). But, if you need the EXACT resolution the my PC is outputting in order to offer advice, I'll be glad to let you know.

menu and press auto adjustment

the Panny's have better blacks but the colors aren't as good

it's atrade off
I was actually looking at the px80, kuro, and a450 and decided that I liked the a450 best because of it's outstanding colors that really set it apart from the others.

and yes, 720p would be good for that distance

Man , you are too late...Already enjoying the 450 LOl

Thanks, after seeing them side by side I have to agree with you. the blacks are a bit better on the panny's but the color is soo nice on the samsung. the price was sweet also, i went to ABT and was gonna have them price match amazon since yesterday abt had the 450 for 200ish dollars more. Well today Abt had it for 50 bucks less than amazon. It was worth paying the tax to get it today.

Already hooked up ps3 to it and hd dvd player, looks so good. I can only see a difference between the 720p and 1080p when I walk in front of the set 2 feet away. Normal viewing distance i can't see a difference at all.And i am very picky when it comes to Tv's, so you know I am looking for anything wrong hehe. Also, I was surprise about the weight on the set. Seem to weigh only a little more than the 42 inch philips lcd I just took back. That was a plus for me.

I too was surprised.......... by how heavy the 50" was I swear it has to be like 30lbs heavier than my 56" dlp.... but I guess that's cuz glass is heavier than plastic

so what do you think is going to look better on 360 ( games and hd video files) component or VGA or HDMI, and if so what TV settings for the one you believe will output a better picture on this specific tv.

I'd say component just because of the ability to tweak the picture more

that's why I liked used component more on my old tv over vga with 360

viper u have ur 360 outputting 1080p on the 450?

ya
I'm using 1080p over hdmi.... .I figure if it's gonna scale the image I'd rather it scale it from 1920x1080 to 1366x768 than 1280x720 to 1366x768

is it a good idea to play ps3 on it? before the break in period?

i meant to say i hooked up the ps3 for the blu rays only. I tried COD4 on the 360 for a couple of minutes just to check it out. Damn, it was awesome lol

i do have all the settings turned down some, can't wait till it breaks in some and I can set it up to how i want to.

how important is breaking it in on a modern plasma?

I've had the break in dvd running for approx 20 hours so far but I wonder how much it REALLY matters these days

Bradtn...you told me to: "menu and press auto adjustment" to get rid of the 3 dead pixels on either side of the display. Well, when I press menu I do not get an auto-adjustment option...and the option for "wide-fit" is greyed out.

Everybody - if you use this TV as a PC monitor, then you might go through the same hassle that I'm dealing with now. My PC outputs at 1360x768, but this TV has a resolution of 1366x768. That means there are 3 dark pixels on each side. I'm afraid that this will cause IR.

Does anybody know how I can scale my PC display so that it fills the entire TV screen? Bradtn, if you DO know how to do this, can you clarify your instructions because I cannot follow them! I've downloaded ATI drivers and I cannot seem to fix this problem.

Why in the world did Samsung make a TV with a resolution that is not kosher with PC outputs???

So I just came home with the PN42A450 and I'm impressed so far.

To be honest, I'm waiting on my PS3 and only have a PS2 for DVD's. The picture doesn't seem as good as the photos I'm seeing Viper throw up -- is this simply because I'm running old hardware at the lowest end spec? This is my first Plasma ever (had a Sharp 23" box TV before this). What sort of things should I be sure to do? I don't want to ruin it within the first month. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Edit -- I know this about the 50" model, but the lack of dedicated threads and Vipers constant activity made me feel like it'd be a better place.

You will see a dramatic difference when you hook up that PS3. Running an old DvD player (PS2) will significantly display lesser quality. At that point the capacity in which you can display will be limited by the DvD player instead of the other way around. With the Blu-Ray the PN42A450 will be holding you back seeing that you will only be able to view in 720 instead of 1080.

**As for the Advice on what you should do to keep your picture looking new.**

In my opinion there really isn't a huge problem with burn in and image retention like there was when the technology was new. You can compare the PN42A450 to a brand new car. Just think if you abuse it there is a high possibility that you will have problems with the car. If you understand that analogy then you probably get the point.

In other words don't leave the thing on full brightness and contrast. Do not allow images to remain in the same place for hours at a time. Set the black bars to a gray shade instead of deep black when watching Standard Def tv or non wide screen movies.

Congrats BTW!!

I bought this TV for use with my HTPC.

I cannot figure out how to scale the majority of my movies or TV broadcasts to fill the entire TV screen. What compounds my problems is the fact that Samsung chose an oddball resolution of 1366x768 instead of 1360x768. That means that I have 3 columns of black pixels on either side of media that I CAN fit almost to the entire screen.

If you are thinking of buying this TV for use with an HTPC, do not make the same mistake that I did!!! That is, until somebody on this forum answers these questions!

Also, coming from the PC, this TV CANNOT make the side and top bars grey instead of black. That is not an option. I repeat, the TV does NOT do this for computer input.

I wish that I had kept my 32" tube TV...either that, or I should have gotten an LCD so I wouldn't have to worry about burn-in.

PHUCK!

Anyone have a good suggestion on what surge protector to buy for this beast? I just bought mine yesterday, but didn't wanna spend another 130 bucks for the ones they recommended at BB. I've never dealt with a tv this large, so I was unsure of how pricey of a protector to get.

Any suggestions to a site with quality protectors at a reasonable price would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hey BongKong, What type of video card do you have? some software allows you to force custom resolutions. You can also try PowerStrip http://entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm The link may not be supported by the forum, just goog "power strip" and it should be first hit.

Yes....Using VGA you might as well use the Native Res.
Native is best all around... but these scalers work so well nowadays (with newer GPU cards) it is "nice" to use the native res of the "Source Material" exp. 1080p movies/720p satellite etc.

But for games you might as well stick to the Native, Unless you go with HDMI and you just have to display 1080p,...hehe..Remember you get more FPS @ 768 than you would at 1080p...This is why i would/use Native 768 for my games.

Kidkit,

I have a GIGABYTE GA-MA69G-S3H with onboard video. Here is a link to the motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128052

I'll try using that software that you suggested.

I'm pissed because my cheap-@ss dvd player automatically scales my DVDs and such to fill the entire screen (when I choose the widefit option on the TV) but my super-smart PC requires that take an Indiana Jones journey to figure this shyte out.

Thanks,
BK

Does anyone know how this set compares to the t5064. I know the 5064 has the ultra filter bright, but beyond that I am not sure.

Has anyone tried the 3D out?

I bought a APC surge protector. $35 at BB.

can anyone comment on your experiences with reflection? I want to get one for my basement, it does have windows that let in some sunlight, nothing too major.. under normal conditions (not too much sunlight), is it a nuisance or not really a problem?

Ok, I finally got the 42 inch 450 plasma. I want to check with you guys. I hear a pretty faint, faint buzz from behind the tv. I can also hear it EVER SO SLIGHTLY in COMPLETE silence from 9-10 feet away when the screen gets real bright. It's definitley not as loud as last years model.

Is this normal? Isn't this just the backlight and every plasma as a slight buzz? I just want to confirm with you guys,

By the way the pictue is amazing

thanks

Ok. I am getting the 450 tomorrow and have been looking at the cnet review of the 550 for calibration tips. What they recommend is similar to what London Viking said his settings were after pro calibration.

Question 1: Is it fair to use the 550 calibration as a guide for the 450?

Question 2: If some has calibration done, does it actually result in these various menu options being changed or does the change happen at a more "internal" level. In other words, if I were to do it and arbitrarily set my contrast to 80. Then,after the ISF calibration is done and the picture looks different, has the contrast setting number changed to reflect the new setting that the contrast is actually different? Or does is stay at 80, and 80 just now has a new value?

Question 3. Most people say to turn the contrast down by half to avoid burn-in in at first. What is a realistic setting post break in period?