2008 Samsung HL61A750 LED DLP owners thread and FAQ - Page 2

The Big River currently has the best absolute price (no shipping fee and generally no sales tax) for a reliable vendor. Other businesses may also price match. If you also need a stand and you like the Samsung stand, Crutchfield bundles it with the TV if you ask for it. There is risk to buying remotely, so if you can get a local seller close by to come close it may be a better deal due to the reduced risk even if you might pay a little more.

Yep, they do, and I just pulled the trigger on it this morning. I am kind of bummed that the estimated delevery date is 5-29 though! But a local dealer (Ultimate) couldn't come close to matching it (And they don't even have it in local inventory yet!). Anyway I saved well over $400.00 going with "Big River" and I plan to buy the TV only extended warranty from MACK for $120.00 I just need to do some more research on how fast they handle warranty claims/and reputation. But you can't beat that EW price locally.

hello, according to post number #828 of the 2008 "2008 Samsung DLP's Discussion" thread, this TV does have the DarkChip4

i'd post a link, but i just joined and need to have 3 posts min before i can...

just thought it might be useful for updating the FAQ

although i haven't read through all 100+ pages... so i dunno if it was later found that it doesn't

that would definately explain why my HL61A750 replacement set has deeper blacks than my old HLT5687S it replaced.....happy days!!!

Thanks for starting a seperate thread, I bought one last Thursday from Crutchfield. The free stand was the major factor in me buying it from them, I could have bought it locally for the same price but the free stand and lack of sales tax and it was a done deal.

What do I need to know as soon as I get it? What type of damage should I look for so I can send it back before the delivery guy leaves?

Actually, I second that. I know I can browse through the 100+ pages of the other post, but seeing as this is a FAQ, maybe a quick rundown on how to check for the common problems that people are having? What menu's to get to and how to "analyze" what you're seeing, or something. I've never had a DLP before, or anything other than a CRT, so really I have no idea what I'd even be looking for.

Excellent job so far. I got mine off big river, estimated delivery sometime between 5/28 - 6/3

For everybody anticipating a long delivery time from the Bigriver.

I ordered last Wednesday night and the TV has already arrived in my town, although not at my door yet. It still shows an estimated arrival time of 9-10 days at Bigriver, but it might be here tomorrow.

Ordered mine late night on 5/13/08. Estimated delivery to Chicagoland area was 5/23. Not bad for free shipping, I guess. BUT, I received it Saturday, 5/17 instead! Great delivery service. Even helped me plug in and connect it and navigate to the menu to ensure the picture and sound worked acceptably before signing for it! I'm now the happy owner of a Samsung HL61A750 LED DLP!

The stand will be here on Monday. No problem as the TV sort of fits my stand from my old Toshiba 62HM95, which died of a light engine failure last weekend. The old stand will join the old TV on it's way to TV heaven (or hell, if I had my way) as soon as I can figure out how to dispose of it... (Toshiba can bite my backside!)

I've always enjoyed swimming the BigRiver and this just drives it home even more!!!

And we absolutely LOVE the new TV!!! After a few tweaks to keep from being blinded and dialing in some other basic settings, we've spent a beautiful weekend reaquainting ourselves with the happy world of enjoying a great AV entertainment experience!

We did have the experience of the unexpected shutdown and restart this evening, but having already read about it, within less than 15 minutes I had the new firmware downloaded and flashed to the TV and we were good to go again!

I'm gonna skip the calibration this time around, as we're so happy with the results already attained. I'm looking forward to reading suggestions for settings from other owners as more come aboard and begin tweaking on their own. I'll share too, if I come up with anything beyond just a few basic adjustments!

BillNole, How is the geometry?

Geometry is fine Ramazur! I don't see any evidence of any other shortcomings I've read others occasionally have found, other than the firmware update, which was an amazingly simple thing to remedy.

Here are some of the settings I've been using for my PS3 and Xbox 360, each are connected to the TV directly. I use the PS3 for games, BD and DVD movie playback. The Xbox 360 is mainly for games. I came to these settings using AVCHD 700 (RC1), Avia, DVE (both DVD and Blu-ray versions), as well as some test pattern images loaded on to both my PS3 and 360. This page (http://nicolaspeople.com/ch3rokeesblog/?p=13) described who should be using full range RGB. Their test image shows the 61A750 supports full range RGB. In this mode I had to set my TV's HDMI Black Level to Normal instead of Low, which would be used for limited RGB. These settings affect my PS3's XMB stuff and games. I am using Y Pb/Cb Pe/Cr for Blu-ray and DVD output on the PS3 along with Y Pb/Cb Pe/Cr Super White On. A couple of test images that you can use to adjust Brightness and Contrast for the PS3 XMB and games can be found here: http://sr-388.net/images/patterns/

PS3 connected via HDMI:

Mode: Movie
Contrast: 95
Brightness: 45
Sharpness: 0
Color: 49
Tint (G/R): G50/R50

Detailed Settings:
Black Adjust: Off
Dynamic Contrast: Off
LED Control: Auto (I have lowered it at night when watching movies if it is too bright)
Gamma: -3
White Balance: 0
Flesh Tone: 0
Edge Enhancement: Off
xvYCC: Off

Picture Options:
Color Tone: Warm1
Size: Just Scan
Digital NR: Off
DNIe (grayed out): Off
HDMI Black Level: Normal
Film Mode (grayed out): Off
Color Gamut :sRGB

My PS3 display settings:
Video Output Settings: 1080p
Cross Color Reduction Filter: Off
RGB Full Range (HDMI): Full
Y Pb/Cb Pr/Cr Super White (HDMI): On

My PS3 Blu-ray settings:
Cinema Conversion: Automatic
DVD Wide Display: Letterbox
DVD Upscaler: Normal
BD/DVD Video Output Format (HDMI): Y Pb/Cb Pe/Cr
BD 1080p 24 Hz Output (HDMI): On


Xbox360 connected via component (no HDMI on my 360):

Mode: Movie
Contrast: 95
Brightness: 45
Sharpness: 0
Color: 51
Tint (G/R): G49/R51

Detailed Settings:
Black Adjust: Off
Dynamic Contrast: Off
LED Control: Auto
Gamma: -3
White Balance: 0
Flesh Tone: 0
Edge Enhancement: Off
xvYCC (grayed out): Off

Picture Options:
Color Tone: Warm1
Size: Just Scan
Digital NR: Off
DNIe (grayed out): Off
HDMI Black Level (grayed out): Normal
Film Mode: Off
Color Gamut: sRGB

Xbox 360 Display Settings: 1080p. Black Level (only affects 480p output and DVD playback, which I don't use the 360 for) is currently set to Extended, only because it is correct with the brightness level of 45. The other two modes, while able to display blacker than black, required me to set the brightness to 30 for Standard and 38 for Intermediate, which was then too dark for the dashboard and games.

My Xbox360 output is set to 1080i. At 1080p using component output I had the TV lose sync/black out and come back on intermittently. Not a problem at 1080i though - Update: Firmware update 1005.3 has fixed this problem for me, my 360 works fine now at 1080p over component.

*5/25 - Updated some settings and added the note about firmware fixing Xbox360 1080p component interoperability.
*5/27 - Update details about why I seleted Full RGB for the PS3's XBM and games.

Well....with some reservations, I bought a 61A750 from the local BB. The price was good so I couldn't pass.

A bit of backstory: I had an HLS-5679...the original LED DLP. It was awesome (it was also 4 grand ). It had the power cycle problem and after a couple months of run-arounds, Samsung replaced it with an HLT5689. I saw red and green rainbows. A couple more months run-around and they bought it back. I went 3 months without a TV.

Now....I just hooked it up to my Yamaha rcver that has a Toshiba DVD player and two PS3s hooked to it. The picture is awesome right out of the box. I have a sliding glass door just to the left of the TV. Bright day......shades and door open and the TV still looks great. Now that the sun is down, its even more awesome. I wish I wasn't so tired so I could go back and watch all the Stargate SG-1 episodes all over again. Best of all......I don't see any rainbow action!!!!!!!!! Samsung just might have won me back with this one.


I'll now be taking a look at the suggested settings and trying them out tomorrow.


I feel very............content.

I'll have to connect mine the same way when it arrives (Amazon shipped today, sked. delivery 5/29 - ugh!).

Since this will be my first HDTV (it's replacing an 8 y.o. Sony KP-61S70), just wondering how much improvement I can expect via component? The settings and the tip about 1080i are much appreciated too.

Oh my, it's going to be night and day. How exciting! My TV replaced a five year old HDTV, a Sony Grand Wega XBR LCD/RP, that cost nearly 4k and I notice a big difference in picture quality. One more thing, there is a swtich on the Xbox360 compnent cable, be sure it's set to HDTV. Now the long wait until the 29th..

Cool, I am in the same boat as some other posters here with a scheduled date of 5-29. I was hoping to get this by this weekend.

For those who ordered it on big river: Do they deliver on weekends or after 5pm? Or is it dependant on the area? I'm too new at work to ask for time off, especially for a TV delivery

I've got a delivery window that ends on June 3rd, mine hasn't even shipped yet. **sigh**

It depends on the local carrier. I ordered five days ago with a 12 day delivery time frame. Tracked it to my home town last night and got the call today confirming the best delivery time for me. Sometime between 9 and 11. Five days from order to door, and that counts the weekend. Not bad for free shipping.

My TV came from Big River's warehouse in PA and I live in Kansas City if that matters.

Waiting is killing me, how long does it usually take to ship a TV?

It was in Dallas (3 hrs away) all day yesterday, apparently it got here (Oklahoma) this morning at 6 o'clock. I hope the delivery people get it today so I can set up a delivery time for later today or tonight.

I am going to be pissed if it does not come until Thursday (the scheduled day) my home theater comes in tomorow, if I get that first I am going to stab someone.

Mine arrived today. They put it exactly where I wanted it after unboxing. They offered to take the box away, but I chose to keep it. Just in case. I tracked it to my city on Monday, they called twice to confirm delivery time (9-11AM window), and showed up at 9:15AM this morning. Use the tracking tool on Big River and when it arrives locally expect a phone call and plan to have someone at home the next day.

If someone can provide recommended settings on an xbox 360 hooked up via VGA, that would be fantastic to add to the FAQ.

Lots of tvs and pc monitors accept 1080p over component. There is nothing magical about 1080p, its just another analog signal. PC monitors have been supporting higher resolutions than 1080p via component and vga years before the first 1080p HDTV sets started to appear. Most Samsung tvs that support 1080p input (including the 2007 LED sets) will accept 1080p over component with no issues. These 2008 sets also accept 1080p over component, but they tear and blank on occasion. That is what most people would say was a bug with this model, not some inherent issue with component. BTW, the PS3 is capable of outputting 1080p over component for games. In fact, the 20gb PS3 originally was going to ship without an HDMI port. When Sony was questioned about it by the press, they proudly proclaimed that component supported 1080p just fine.
http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=55089
It was only after they changed the 20gb model to have an HDMI port did they try to suggest that only HDMI could support 1080p. It was just simpler to say "If you want 1080p, you need HDMI" than to try to explain "1080p for games, 1080i for Blu-ray, 480p for DVDs when using component because Hollywood studios are a bunch of paranoid idiots".

Full - Uses PC levels (0-255)
Limited - Uses Video levels (16-235)

If you are displaying video encoded material Limited is the correct setting other wise you will be altering the image. There are many posts on the forums which explains the gory details.

Super White On allows the PS3 to display Blacker than Blacker and Whiter than White. Some content contains both which to keep things accurate they should be displayed accordingly.

Of course one is free to decide what one prefers versus maintaining an accurate image. I think the secret is setting both the PS3 and the set to how the source material is encoded. If all three aren't in sync the image will not be maintained.

so you didnt even google 1080p over component before you posted that or what

not trying to sound mean but (also not talking about you either the guy you quoted - BillyBeatnik)

exactly the guy who said he never herd of it and it isnt in the specs or something like that must not know what he is talking about, I wish people wouldnt just respond to something like that that not even doing a simple search to see if maybe TV's do accept 1080p over component, and things output it over component - less experienced readers might come across this and start spreading rumors to friends like sometimes I here about the massive problem with burn-in and how people I know wont get a Plasma because they herd this from someone that it is a big problem, but not so much anymore if you first take care of the TV in the first couple of weeks of having it - and some TV's have a refresh thingie to help "wash" this away

its simple all you got to do is google something first like say "1080p over component" before you respond saying "I don't think that no 1080p over component is a bug. I'm not aware of any consumer TVs that will accept 1080p over component. Or any consumer source that will output 1080p over component. I don't know whether that is a digital issue or bandwidth issue or what." - yea you just dont know what you are talking about period.

Apparently not good enough. I should certainly have researched what components output 1080p over component. And I should have checked what TVs can accept 1080p over component.

My point, though, was that 1080p is not currently in the component standards, although I believe changes have been submitted to add it to the standard. In the absence of 1080p in the component standard, I'm not sure it can be considered a bug if it does not work correctly all the time.