2008 Samsung HL61A750 LED DLP owners thread and FAQ - Page 52

In my case, I am mainly concerned about changing the brightness between daylight shining through and a mostly dark room (except my bias lighting behind it). Eventually I will mess around with having 2 pic modes that handle this, but some movies need it lighter than others/etc so I do it on my own. ANYWAYS....

In activities that DONT require "guide" (watch hd dvd, ps3, 360) I have "guide" set to 61a750-->menu, then the big up and down arrows (typically page up and page down) to 61a750-->up and down, then channel up and down arrows to 61a750--> right and left, and record button to 61a750-->select. This intuitively makes at least a little sense to me. The only activity that needs most of these would be "watch tv" in which case I watch during the day mostly anyways and don't feel the need to mess with it as much.

Just thought I would offer my psuedo solution for ya :-)

Thanks, finsmaniac02

It's actually even faster than this.. I will try to remember later where I saw the details, but their speed is incredible! The 120 hz is how often a complete red green blue combined frame is made.. so...

Yeah, in games I usually only notice it if I am looking. I don't actually notice banding in the XMB smoke trail but in the background gradients when the colors are lighter or in the gray menu that opens when you want to delete a program or something. The Folding-at-Home globe is the only thing that is horrible.

I could probably live with it but it's driving me nuts that a supposedly high end piece of equipment like this is banding over HDMI when I don't notice it on any of my other AV equipment, like my POS cable DVR.

Could someone who has calibrated their 67A750 using the Service Menu parameters, give a short primer on which sub-menu parameters were used?

WB for gray scale?
CCA (or Desaturation?) for color adjustments?

How is anyone tilting their tv for better picture if their stand is too tall? Just wedge something under the backside of the tv? What if it tips over? Thanks.

I read somewhere (can't recall now) that the LEDs cycle at a rate of 2.9k. According to the Luminus website, the LEDs pulse "at up to 48 times the traditional television frame rate." That would be 48 x 60 = 2,880, which is consistent with 2.9k.

Bob

I'm now getting DD5.1 on selected channels via optical using the QAM tuner (e.g. CBS, NBC). I guess I was interpreting the manual a little too literally to make sense of what I was seeing before (only DD2.0 via optical); clearly, though, this was an issue with Time Warner Cable and not my set, or a limitation with optical out.

Sorry for any confusion.

Quick Question about this tv. I hear it does not support 2:3 Standard Def??? Does that mean if I have a standard def satellite input it will not show any picture??? I am looking at buying this tv mainly because its the only LED DLP on the market that I've seen. Any answers are greatly appreciated.

It supports resolutions from 480i to 1080P60. It is just not supposed to do a very good job deinterlacing 480i content while it does a great job deinterlacing 1080i content.

All OTA content is in DD. It could be 1.0, 2.0 5.0, 5.1 etc.(I've seen all those formats broadcast from OTA stations) It just depends on what is being broadcast at the time.

Yeah i will agree with that statement. In general I have gotten good results from OTA digital channels (even with my crappy RCA rabbit ears that plugs in the wall) from ABC, CBS, NBC, CW-11, PBS-HD since they all transmit 720P or 1080i HOWEVER as soon as I flip to a couple of others, PBS-KIDS for example, that transmit in 480i the picture is craptastic.

I disagree. I generally get great looking images across the board! It's certainly better than my previous Toshiba DLP in all resolutions. There are times when I do occasionally get less than great looking images with SD programming, but it's the exception. I also notice that when this is the case, these same images also look less than normal even on our old 27" CRT now residing in another room. I've concluded that the source or transmission has as much to do with it as the TV.

Right, I understand that. But what I was seeing when I originally hooked up the direct cable was only DD2.0 on all stations, even stations that were broadcasting DD5.1 at that time (I would check by switching over to the STB input). This led me to (erroneously) believe that it was the TV downsampling to 2.0 via optical. Why it's different now I haven't a clue, so I've decided to blame TWC.

You can get 120v AC 120mm fans at Radio Shack (and lots of other places, too). They have bare leads coming out of them. Just buy a cheap lamp plug replacement kit at Home Depot for a couple of bucks, snap it onto the lead, and you're in business. I used to cool all of my rack systems with fans like that. No special power supplies needed. Easy peasy.

Edit: And now it looks like people have realized this is an easy way to go, and sell it already set to go on AC: http://www.coolerguys.com/840556028680.html I think I spent $8 total on the last one I bought, but that was quite a few years back.

I'd like to thank everyone on this forum for the wealth of information provided here. I am a newbie to all of this and have really learned a lot. I finally took the plunge and ordered a 67" from Vann's today. Though it hasn't gotten here yet their sales rep was outstanding on the phone with a lot of insights and answers to my questions. One thing I was looking for was a compact home theater to enhance the audio for the TV. I wanted something simple and he recommended the Yamaha YSP-900. (It was even bundled w/the tv for a discount) Does anyone have any opinions on the Yamaha? It supposedly gives you a home theater sound out of one speaker which can be mounted in the tv stand. Sounds perfect for me if it really delivers. Any opinions would be appreciated

It tries to give surround sound with one speaker, in front of you.

Really think it over: How well do you think it works?

It fails at giving surround sound, compared to a real surround sound system. It does deliver some pretty nice sound, however, depending on how demanding you are. My in-laws have one. It sounds "nice". Definitely WAY better than the built-in speakers on their TV, which is probably the only other thing they would do.

But is it truly surround sound (5.1 or better)? Definitely not. An upgrade over stock TV speakers? Heck yeah.

That fan would be too loud at 33dB.
The one I listed is at 8.7dB which you cannot hear unless you put your ear right next to it.

The fan I listed also spins at only 800rpm instead of 2000rpm for the loud one.

Good point... it was just an example.

Find a big, quiet fan that runs on AC, is my point, to simplify everything.

great thread, glad I found it, as I'm about to buy a new TV this week (giving my sister my current Toshiba 57H84 which has served me quite well and still looks as good today as when I bought it).

I was looking to pick-up a Sony KDS60A3000 - dad has one and the picture is excellent. However, since Sony discontinued their RP line, finding one isn't easy.

So it's come down to this 750 model. The big question is the 61" or 67". I leaning toward the 67" as it would just be ridiculously big (and I sit about 8 ft from the TV) but the height with a stand is a little cause for concern. Still a 67" for under $2500 bucks is a steal.

It's going to be a coin flipper, I'll have to see them side by side tomorrow before I buy it. Anyone have a good stand they'd like to recommend? perhaps a very low profile one (with the 67" in mind) so the thing it's pushing toward the ceiling, lol.

thanks,
d

I am back for round 2 of "settings chasers" lol. Mainly, I noticed something new last night.

I, like many others, made the judgement that "auto" for LED control basically kept it somewhere around "max" and "high" the whole time and thought that the tv was too bright, and that it lightened blacks up a little too. I hence forth left "auto" behind and hadn't touched it since.

Last night I was watching the new "Dark City" bluray (awesome movie btw) with the lady friend and was messing around with brightness settings and she said she really thought "auto" looked better on that particular frame (and I agreed... was a little brighter, but had AWESOME contrast, no black crush, and DEEP blacks) so I left it on auto for a while. I think that auto is actually working correctly (at least what I think would be "correct") now?!?!?. It makes every screen have the deepest blacks possible considering what else is on the picture. When the picture is completely black (fade out or lights out in the movie or whatever) it looks like the LED basically turns OFF (actually, a little distracting). When the picture is mostly black but there is a bright object or light on the screen, the black level is a little lighter than in other moments, and when the picture is basically all dark then the black level is INKY but all the details stand out also (no black crush). It IS a little distracting to have a varying black level like that, and I don't know if its worth getting used to or not... but I thought I would share this experience.

The 2 main differences between now and when I tried originally is that I am on 1005.3 firmware (was on original firmware when I dismissed the "auto" setting) and I use a bias light behind the TV (ideallume, florescent light with a "dimmer" filter and such) now. Its funny... because "auto" LED seems to be doing what I thought Dynamic Contrast would do as I thought the LED control was supposed to judge ambient light and figure out how much juice to put through the LED.

The rest of my settings mainly follow the posted settings on the front page. I believe they are as follows:
contrast: 97
color:48
tint:51/49
brightness:varies
warm2
gamma -3
dynamic contrast: off
black level enhance: off
LED: varies (used to use from med to min depending on ambient light)

I forget what else is important as its early in the morning, but nothing differs that much from what's posted

Has anyone noticed something like this? I was under the impression we all basically thought "auto" wasn't working correctly and was just always on high.

I wanted to get an idea from all owners of 61" or 67" TV about extended warranty. I am planning to buy 67A750 but need recommendation to get extended warranty, which company? Has anyone heard about NSI, any feedback is welcome.
In FAQ, Mack Warranty is recomended but I was looking from 5 years.

Thanks in advance.
rkm

WB and CCA are the two you use. If you look at the first few pages here you'll find the steps. Big thing is you have to go back and forth between service and user menu to measure then adjust. Adjust user menu items, measure, service menu, adjust WB, redo user menu values, measure, service menu, adjust, redo user menu values, service menu, adjust etc. After gray scale and FL are set (LED brightness user menu) turn off CCA, adjust secondaries. turn on CCA, user menu, reset user menu values, measure, adjust.

When you talk about readjusting the user menu items after each exit from the service menu, are you referring to ALL the user menu items, or just the detailed settings (gamma, dynamic, edge.etc)? Why not start out with the contrast, brightness, color and tint at default values before measuring and just adjust in the service menu?

My 67" was delivered with damage to the plastic grills on the lower back of the tv. Vanns where I purchased it has offered me a refund if I will keep the TV--the amount has yet to be determined. But I don't know what's behind that grill and if it could be damaged at all. The tv seems to run fine except that I noticed today while looking at the damage again that the air coming out of the tv at the bottom grills was hot, even to touch the dust covers on the sides--they were quite warm. I've read where other say the tv doesn't seem to be giving off any heat at all so now I'm concerned that perhaps there is a fan inside that isn't working or something. I haven't ever heard any fan noises at all from this TV.
Has anyone who owns one of these TV's or a service manual know what's in the TV at the rear about 5-6 inches to the right of the label on the back of the TV?
Does your TV exhaust hot air at the bottom if it's been on say for 6 hours?If the damage is purely cosmetic then I'll take the refund but otherwise I think it should be replaced.

Here's a user review of the HL61A750 that was posted yesterday on Amazon:

"Excellent price. shipping was a little slow but arrived nicely packed. Great Picture. Hooked my TV up to a surround sound now it's movie night every night. My kids hook TV to their video games without problem, have not tried to connect to computer yet don't know if that would be necessary for my usage. Anyway I would highly recommend. Only thing I am thinking about is purchasing extra blubs just to have on hand."

I resisted the temptation to post a snarky response.

My TV is incredibly quiet, to the point where you wouldn't know it was on. If I put my ear right up to the left side of the cabinet, I can ear the movement of air, but that is it. Are the grills blocked because of the damage? The TV certainly needs those openings, because excessive heat can cause quicker failure of the LED. My TV puts out air from the back that can barely be described as warm. This set stays cool. I don't know what your environment is like, but if it is putting hot air out, it could mean trouble. If an impact was bad enough to damage the grills, it could certainly have damaged something else, considering how close everything is bunched together. If you don't mind waiting again, it might be best to swap out for another one, because you will probably always be worrying about it, instead of enjoying a great set. But I'm sure that some on here would say that if your geometry is ok and you have a warranty on the set, it might be best to keep it and hope for the best. It is a difficult judgement call. Maybe you should just flip a coin!.....

I agree. My 61" is barely audiable when I put my head behind the set. I have forgotten it's on several times after turning off the Wii/XBOX/PS3/etc... LoL

I need to see if there is some sort of timer on there that will turn it off if it doesn't receive a signal for a certain period of time...

I hear the fan in my set all the time if I have the volume down. It is louder than I thought it would be but I can't hear it at normal volume levels.
I wonder if the firmware affects the fan speed since I put 1005.3 on but it came with 1006.1