Official LNXXA550 Calibration/Settings Thread - Page 108

Hi there, people. This is my first topic here altough I already new the forum.

I finally decided to calibrate my LN40A550 today as I was reading this and other topics. I'm really newbie at it so I was really happy to find this thread.

The problem is, on some input, ATM only HDMI2 (PC), I can't change my picture options. So it's impossible to set it as described on the posts here. I can change simple things like blacklit, brigthness, but that's about it.

I would like to know why. As I said, this is only happening with the PC right now. I wonder if it's the way the computer is sending the data? It's a Win 7 + GeForce GTX 460 handling it. I used to have a Radeon HD 5770 and I wasn't having this problem.

It's quite problematic as you might imagine. I hope it's a simple thing to change, like an NVIDIA Control Panel option or something.

Thank you in advance.

It is completely normal for certain controls to be disabled when you connect a PC (or other source sending RGB video) to your TV. This is because the disabled controls (such as color & tint) relate to decoding color-encoded sources (such as composite, S-Video, analog component (YPbPr) and digital component (YCbCr)) back into RGB. Since your computer apparently is outputting RGB "PC" video, no color decoding is taking place. Your TV is acting as a computer monitor... When was the last time you saw color and tint controls on a "real" PC monitor?

There really should be no reason to do it... but, if your PC graphics card allows it, you can set it to output video that looks like "consumer" video... 1920x1080 @ 59 Hz (59.94 HZ, actually), YCbCr 4:2:2 color format, TV or "limited" grayscale. With those settings, it will look just like any other 1080p video to your TV rather than looking like PC video (don't forget to turn off the "PC" label setting or move the PC to one of the other HDMI inputs) and all of your missing settings will be restored. I suspect that your original video card was configured just that way while this one is configured to output PC video.

You absolutely should be able to calibrate the TV with either PC or TV video source formats (the disabled settings are NOT a handicap)... which one will yield better results really depends on your exact combination of components. Only a careful comparison of results using something like the Spears & Munsil disc will tell you which is better in your case.

==================

Background Info.... just setting your PC to output 1920x1080 does NOT make the output 1080p, which refers to "TV" video standard. Differences between 1920x1080 computer video and 1080p TV video:

Computer

• Resolution: 1920x1080
• Vertical Refresh: 60 Hz
• Color: Full bandwidth RGB (all three primary color channels are present at full bandwidth)
• Grayscale Range: Full (Levels 0-255)

Television

• Resolution: 1920x1080
• Vertical Refresh: 59.94 Hz
• Color: Full bandwidth luminance channel (Y) ONLY, color is encoded on two limited bandwidth color difference channels (Cb & Cr), 4:2:2 sub-sampling
• Grayscale Range: Limited (Levels 16-234)

It's hard to be a newbie. It was just the fact I was labelling it as a PC... Can't believe it... Thank you very much.

What about the Movie Plus feature? You guys usually live it on or off? Why's that?

The only thing I noticed when switching is, when I leave it on, how can I explain... The TV displays less of a "wave" effect. it's the best word I can come up with. As if there is an interference happening. It's like waves moving upon it on some parts... Is it normal?

Hey guys, wondering if you can help. Did a quick Google search but the topics are all over the place and trying to find it in 100+ pages is a pain.

My set is currently being used a PC Monitor, was being used as a TV. But over the past few months its takes about 5 minutes to turn on, while it power cycles on/off.

I read something about a blown capacitor? Not sure if that's valid... I'm pretty tech savvy so I'm not afraid to take it apart and replace something if need be. Plus I trust this forum over others

Thanks guys!

Hi, guys.

I own this TV for about a year and I use it mainly for gaming on my PS3.
I'm kinda OCD, so I'm really obsessed about trying to get the best possible picture for my set.
I'm constantly worried about crushing blacks or whites, but I figured out some settings that work for me and I've been using it for some time.

Recently, tough, I started playing Dead Nation, and the game's calibration image showed me that I was actually REALLY crushing whites (the bar was all white while I was supposed to be seeing different shades of grey).

Anyway, I tried to compromise and come up with some settings that would display all shades of white on the calibration screen and still look good to me, but everything I tried looked bland and not nearly as vibrant as before.

Then I decided to look for help on the web and found this amazing website! I'm really excited to try your settings, but first I need to know my current firmware version. I don't plan to change it -- I read what you all said about changing it only if you're having problems -- I just want to find out witch version my TV uses so I can try the appropriate settings for it.

So, can you guys, please, tell this newbie how to check his current firmware version?

Thanks a lot!

Somebody else might need to verify, but I think to check the firmware version, you go to the SW upgrade in the menu and hit the "info" button.

As for your settings, I'd suggest making sure your HDMI black level agrees with what your PS3 is set to. If your PS3 is set to RGB limited (which I think it does by default), you should make sure the TV's HDMI black level is set to "low".

So what have people considered the definitive settings for the Xbox360 over HDMI to be?

:d

Anyone use a soundbar with this tv? If so, what model and plugs do you use, hmi, rca etc? Mine sound is straight TV from cable box and/or sony dvd player.

Sony HT-CT100 connected using HDMI.

This unit sounds great. The TV and soundbar is in a niche above the fireplace so I mounted the soundbar at the top of the niche above the TV angled down toward the sitting area. Otherwise the mantle would have shielded some of the sound from the sitting position.

1000% better than the TV speakers.

Mine tv is within a niche above a fireplace, decerative only, also.
I guess I need to get one. Thanks

I bought a piece of flat aluminum about 1/8 thick, 1 inch wide from Lowes. I used a piece of cardboard to determine and approx. bent shape so the bar would hang where I wanted it. Then used the cardboard to get the length of bar I needed. You can cut the aluminum very easily with a hacksaw. I bored a mounting hole on one end and a hole to mount the bar on the the other end.

Instead of painting the metal, I bought a roll of black duct tape. I cut a piece longer than the metal and covered the side that shows and wrapped the rest around back. Then I bent the metal into the shape needed.

Here is a side view except the bottom of my L angles upward and the flat metal below that angles backward putting the soundbar at an angle toward the listening position. The bottom of the L can be as long as needed to get the soundbar out out over the TV.

| Mounts to back side of niche wall
|
L_
|
| Mounts to soundbar

Hope this helps. (The bottom 2 | should be at the end of the L_. The spaces I added before them kept getting removed when I posted.)

Thanks

Hello everyone i've had this tv (LN46A550) for 3.5 years now and works great. I need some help though.


First i'm using it with an Onkyo NR807 and was reading about plugging my Xbox 360 directly to the TV so possibly not using the 807 with the 360. Should i still do that even though the 807 probably produces better quality. I have the 807 plugged into HDMI 3, is that okay or should i put it into another one and if so which one?

Next i don't know what FW i have so how do i check without accidently updating? I remember updating once but don't know which version it was. And should i update if i have an older FW? I was reading about people not liking their update and ruining their picture quality.

Next up is that i have a T240HD alongside and for some reason i like the colors better on the T240HD and would like to try to get them as close as possible to the T240HD. Is it possible and any help with doing that would be great.

Wow! My TV is doing the same thing! It has been doing this for quite a few months but has been getting worst! I thought it was my Pioneer receiver and have asked questions on that forum, but have gotten no reply.

The TV takes a good 3-5 minutes to turn on and the red light flashes on and off. Does anyone know what the problem is? HELP!

I just got off the phone with Samsung customer service and they are going to do a one time free service of the capacitor to see if that fixes the problem. If it is something else, I will have to pay for it to be fixed. I'll let you all know how this goes.

I had to call Samsung back because I had not heard anything back. Now they are acting like my TV doesn't qualify for the free service! I will have to call back.

Personally, I prefer to route everything through my Onkyo 707. That's what receivers are designed for and you can be sure the audio will be decoded exactly the way it should. If you program your Onk remote correctly, then you'll only need that one remote as well.
The funny thing is that I tend to use my 360 for everything now as I've just cancelled cable. So I have my games, Netflix, Zune, PC streaming, music etc all going through the Xbox. It kind of makes the receiver a bit more redundant but I wouldn't give up the audio capabilities for anything, that's where they really shine.
As for picture quality, I'm using Clicq's 995 settings with a couple of minor tweaks to suit my room. Movies streamed through the Xbox look amazing (seriously, give it a few days if you don't instantly like it). Games sometimes need a little less of a warm tone, so I change to Standard (using Clicq's Standard settings on post 995) for games and sports. Switching between these two settings is really just like switching between Warm 1 and Warm 2, but easier of course, you only have to change the mode. I prefer not to have drastically different settings, so that you don't 'shock' yourself each time you change settings.
One extra note, if you watching Netflix through the Xbox, expect poor picture quality. I believe a fix is in the works to correct this, Microsoft have already implemented it, but various App providers have to update their apps too. I have correctly calibrated my TV but I'm still getting a poor picture with Netflix. Test with an HD movie from Zune or stream it from your PC.

As for Firmware, only update it if you're having problems that the FW is supposed to fix. It's not like PC drivers or software updates, the TV is supposed to work correctly out of the box. Some batches develop problems which is where a FW fix comes in. Updating to the latest FW is NOT recommended if everything is working fine, in fact it can cause problems. To check your FW, go to SW Update on the Samsung's setup menu. Don't select it, only highlight it and then press 'info'. One of the first numbers will be something like 1004.1

Does anyone have settings that get the LN32A550 as close to sRGB as possible without using the settings that are unavailable when running in PC mode on HDMI2? It's not worth running it as a PC monitor on HDMI1 to get more accurate colors via the monitor settings, as the additional features introduce more latency.

Also, does anyone know what the Gamma settings in the service menu mean? The possible options are:

• OFF
• 0.85
• 0.88
• 0.90
• 0.93
• 0.95
• 0.98
• M1
• M2
• M3
• MP1
• MP2
• MP3

OFF is darker than 0.85. Going from 0.85 through MP3, the picture seems to get progressively darker.
Edited by HunterZ0 - 10/7/12 at 11:23am

I would suggest trying the ICC profile posted way back in the thread: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1020612/official-lnxxa550-calibration-settings-thread/2280#post_15579149

It is for the 46" version but it might be close enough? The ICC profile applies the color correction on your graphics card.

Thanks for this, but Adobe Gamma, Windows 7 and other programs don't seem to know what to do with a .chc file. Is there a way to convert it to a .icc file instead?

Edit: I see this is a Color HCFR file. I can open it in that program, but that doesn't inherently do anything for me either.

I don't understand how to load a .chc file into my video card's gamma LUT.
Edited by HunterZ0 - 10/21/12 at 11:45am

I think some of the attachments were messed up when AVS moved over to this new format. Luckily it was still saved somewhere... this should be it!
samsung46a550.zip 4k .zip file

Had to load it in ICC Profile Inspector and then re-save it before Windows 7 would load it, but then it worked, thanks. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be the right correction for my LN32A550.

I noticed when looking at lagom.nl gamma charts that the blue gamma curve of my monitor matches the red and green best if I use Cool2 instead of Warm2. However, I did a "calibrate fast" mode in CLTest (a really good software calibration tool) in both Warm2 and Cold2 and the former resulted in a LUT with slightly more colors.

I know there are allot of posts in here, but, bear with me, do I need to do anything special to play my Sony Blu-ray player on here? Does the 60HZ hamper the blu-ray

Of course not. Why would it?

Due to newer tvs having 120/240hz refresh rates etc.

No. Refresh rates may affect how blu-rays look, but have no bearing on the ablitiy to play them.