Samsung PN63B550 Owner's Discussion Thread [NO PRICE TALK] - Page 49

i am pondering as well, I have a 50" B650 and i am very happy with the black levels, can someone confirm that the black levels on the 590 will be the same in a dark room? I understand each model has different degrees of reflection protection but if the black levels and color are more or less the same as the 650 on a 63" screen then i am sold.

I am sure Best Buy is running a BluRay Disc @ 1080P, which is twice the clairty you will get on a cable or OTA channel.

I need help from those experienced with this set.
Been on vacation so only really had this set for 3-4 days worth of viewing. Running the break in DVD a bit too and am using the recommended settings found throughout.

I mentioned in another thread the dust speck for which I have not done anything about as of yet as it is not visible form viewing area.Hesitant to exchange it as I don't have the buzz issue and am afraid I will get it potentially on an exchange.

However, I too have two issues with the set:

1) no question there is a perfect darker line running horizontally across the set bout 3rd of way down. Most noticeable on the break in DVD/slides when paler or white colour is showing. Occasionally visible with regular viewing if there is a vertical panning shot with a background that is monotone colour. Seems this band is commonly mentioned on here. Does everyone have it? Those that "don't" is it they haven't noticed it cuz weren't looking. those that don't have it could u look at your screen with a white or pale uniform background and look?
Hard to see on red blue or green colours.

2) Again not noticeable on regular viewing, and not quite banding but almost some unevenness of the cell panel giving a slight dirty appearance say when watching hockey and the shot pans. Had same issue on a sharp LCD but was recently at my brothers in USA on comcast cable using same connections from same cable box to his panasonic S1 and did not see this. Is this a flaw in the signal? The panel? If the panel is it maybe that the phosphors are new so not evenly worn and this will improve?

Already returned the Sharp which was a hassle and well this Samsung is the only >60 inch TV available in Canada for under 3000$ by comparison the PAnny if you can find it is over 4000$ so I would prefer to stick with this model if these are issues that improve with time or I just have a bad panel that can be exchanged or replaced.
I can't get my money back at this store but 3rd option is taking store credit and waiting till next batch comes out.
I have to say the colours are real and vibrant and the picture is very nice etc. but at 2800$ plus tax I want my TV perfect. I am just limited by budget and need to go >60 given my 15 foot viewing distance.

Ok here is a pic from my phone hopefully you can see the white is kinda cloudy uneven and you can see faint horizontal band.

I purchased a 63 550 to replace my Sony XBR 50" DLP when the light engine started going,,

have calibrated it and presently at 400+ hours,, I thought the Sony had a great picture but this 63 is several levels above it and the black levels are almost hard to adjust too as they seem too black,, I run the color level at 32 as any greater and the picture starts looking like a cartoon,, never been a fan of driving those colors hard,,

before buying this set I sat with one of the better 65" Pannys next to it for over an hour with both remotes adjusting the sets,, even the salesman thought the Sammy had the better picture,, I could not get the whites on the Panny to be as white as the Sammy,, they both had exceptional colors and shadow detail,,

no hum or black strips, just a really great TV,,

tried for a photo with a decent screen but due to slow shutter speed they were all blurred so the MAC Olympic add had to do,,

the stand is one from American that I had with the Sony and was rated for 150 lbs and works great with the Sammy,,

Derry

My Samsung 63B550, less than 2 months old, just died on Saturday. A pal stopped over to pick up some cables from me, and he wanted to see my new Oppo 83SE. So I popped in a good 'demo' disc, I Robot, the menu started to load, I heard a click and the TV was back in standby with the red LED on.

I thought I'd bumped a remote button accidentally, so I tried turning the set back on. It was unresponsive to the remote. I tried another remote that's programed for the Samsung - no luck with that. I tried unplugging it, and plugging it back in - still will not come out of standby - even when pushing the power button on the front panel (which I didn't even realize I had a power button on the front panel until I was reading thru the owner's manual.

I then left the set unplugged over night, and plugged it back in. I heard a relay clicking several times, and then it went back to eternal, unchanging standby. It remains completely unresponsive to front panel controls or remote controls. I have this set powered thru a Belkin Pure AV power center, so it's been protected against power spikes and such.

Anyone else had problems with their 63"? I had my 42" Samsung for over 3 years without a problem, and friends bought Samsung plasmas on my recommendation - they've had theirs for well over a year. Consumer Reports even states that Samsung plasmas are very reliable - however now my faith in Samsung is very shaken to have a $2300 set die without warning after less than 2 months.

I purchased mine thru Butterfly Photo, and bought the 3 year in home warranty. Has anyone had any experiences with Butterfly, or getting repairs on their Samsung? I'm assuming this is going to be a major headache, and based on web research I've done on other Samsungs with problems, I'm expecting it will likely take weeks to get someone out here to look at it, and even then the repair will be problematic. I'm already mentally prepared to be very unhappy with Butterfly, Samsung, and the warranty service, based on some of the horror stories I've read.

noone with opinions or comparisons?

I called Butterfly Photo this AM - the rep informed me that my in home service warranty does not take effect until the 1 year Samsung warranty expires at the end of December. She gave me the number at Samsung to call.

Well, after 25 minutes on the phone with Samsung, I finally have a service order number. Most of that time was consumed by the process of determining that it is impossible to troubleshoot the set over the phone since the set has power but cannot be powered on (well, duh! - that is what I explained at the onset)

Now I have to wait for the local service center to contact me. I was warned that may take up to 48 hrs.

Anyone willing to wager or bet how long it will take before my ~1 1/2 month old Samsung 63" plasma is functioning properly again?

I have a PN63B590 and I like the pq much better than my old 57" rptv Hitachi. On the Sammy, the menu for Mode gives me a selection for Dynamic, Standard and Movie. I happen to like Dynamic because I like my picture bright.

I read here that you can go to the service menu and tweak something to get the Cal-Day and Cal-Night. So what is the difference between the Cals and Dynamic? Will I lose the Dynamic Mode? Is Cal-Day for daytime viewing and Cal-Night for nightime? If that is the case I would rather not toggle between the two and stay with Dynamic. Any thoughts?

Well I called the store and while they will exchange it they want to charge me shipping to pick up and deliver another set. This set is too big to bring back myself.Waiting to hear back from them to see if they will waive shipping.
In meantime called Samsung and they said a technician will call in next 1-2 days. I will see which option works out best.
Frankly maybe I am being overly picky as for almost all viewing the picture looks great!
Guess I want that perfect set.
Like buyoing a new car with a cpl of little rattles that annoy you and u know u will likely have to live with short of replacing the car.

Canadoc, I've noticed a bit of 'dirtiness' to the whites while watching hockey. I think some of it is image retention from the previous frame(s).

That dark line is not normal, however.

Canny, let us know when Samsung's tech calls you. I'm curious to how long this takes - I called at 10:30 this morning and am anxiously awaiting the tech's call. Of course at least you can watch yours - I've got a $2400 brick - LOL

Thanks for the reply. That dirtiness I don't think is IR as it can occur from a cold start of the TV. Also while running in the break in DVD slides I can see when viewing from an angle that the image colors are a little bit splotchy. I am wondering if maybe it is the anti refelctive coating that is not perfectly even. It really isn't that noticeable except in hockey or fast panning of monotone color like in golf. If I hadn't had luxury of seieng hockey on my brother in laws panny 65s1 I would have thought maybe the problem was on the camera end filming things but his screen did not show this dirty window phenomena. As for the banding horizontal line thing, I took a weird photo with my iphone face on and it showed aternting horizontal bands of dark and lighter stripes. Clear it must be some sort of refresh rate thing as to my naked eye I didn not see this. I suspect it is how this panel works. That said, seems even to the naked eye given a bit of edge contrast difference between the bands, they can be noticeable on a white or light background.

For instance in an Apple commercial where almost whole screen is white there will be faint horizontal darker line on the screen.

I will keep you all apprised of what will happen.

Derry, this is a very nice looking room
I'm curious, what brand speakers are these?

Keep faith, a friend of mine had his panel replaced within one week after contacting Samsung. They seem very responsive, and my friend was happy with the service.

Well the shop called and said they are going to replace my set. It is coming Wednesday.**
Wish me luck. It is really a great looking tv in terms of colour and clarity. Blacks are plenty good for me and much better than my 3 year old panasonic. Hope the replacement is free of defects.

Thanks! A service company rep contacted me last night, and had me give him the version number of the set. He said he was going to order the parts that night, and he should be able to come out either Thursday or Friday to repair - he's going to call in advance and let me know. So I'm more optimistic now than I was yesterday morning.

Jcleve, I sent you a PM on the power issue,,

Tightrope,, thanks for the compliment on the room,,

re my speaker set up supporting my Sammy 63"

Marantz SR9600 for the receiver,,

Altec Voice of Theater for front L&R,,

Def Tech 2500 for the center

Def Tec 7002 for the sides - they split out so you can use the woofers for the subs,,

Def Tec BPX for the rears

sounds very good,, still wanting some wall rattling bass so looking for a nice sub,,

Derry

Derry, thanks for trying to help. The tv set, if left plugged in, periodically makes clicking sounds, as if it's trying to run thru some sort of internal cycle and reset itself. I notice the amp gauge on my power center will surge up about 2 amps when this happens.

I gather from what I've read online that these sounds are very diagnostic of power supply problems with Samsung plasma sets. Shame on Samsung for knowing their sets have these power supply issues and not doing enough to correct the problem.

I was hoping that I'd hear something from the repair service today, but no calls. I'm going to call them tomorrow afternoon if I don't hear anything from them by then.

Derry, I want those Altecs!
Nice stuff, and dont those give you enough bass without adding a sub?

Well, the service rep just called me. The parts are arriving from Samsung later today, but because of the snow storm in the East he can't come out today or tomorrow. He's planning on Monday - so will call me then.

Nice couch!

thanks TonsofSteel, is very comfy,, teenage grandson loves sleeping on it,,

does anyone know or have any history - data if there is a known power supply problem on Sammy plasmas,,??

Derry

The service tech called me today - he said the weather wasn't as bad as he expected, and he really wanted to get my TV fixed this week, so would I be available? Heck, yeah - he wasn't the only one who wanted it fixed this week!

So he came out about two pm - it was the power supply board - very easy modular replacement. The TV is back up and running 100% again. The service tech was very nice and a knowledgable guy. Their TV store in Bath has been family owned since the 50s - but they closed the brick and mortar store a couple years ago. The son handles the satellitte, and the father handles the repairs.

He had some of the boards on Wednesday, but he called and ordered others (including the power supply board) and those didn't arrive until early this afternoon. He did not want to make two trips to the house here if one could fix it.

He also told me that Samsung is probably the only big screen TV maker that offers in-home warranty service to all customers, even those in rural towns like me. Samsung pays the repair contractors $1.25 a mile both ways for repairs over 50 miles. A lot of other big screen makers have a disclaimer - "in home service provided where available". So I guess another positive for Samsung. I called Samsung Monday am, and my TV was fixed Friday afternoon, so 4 days is pretty quick service.

So overall, the repair process was quick, and about as good as something like this can reasonably be expected to be resolved. Neither Samsung nor the tech can be faulted because a big Nor-easter. I'm back to liking Samsung again.

time to amend your review on Amazon then?

Canadoc-- Did you get your new TV? Did it get rid of the banding?

That was done before I posted here, actually.

See, I told you to keep faith
I'm glad your TV is working fine now.

time to relax and enjoy now,,

Derry

I have the Sammy PN63b550. It sits on a stand. I plan to use the rear screw holes for the wall mount to secure it to a wall stud. I will use a nylon strap secured with a screw from the TV to the wall. Prob is, no where in the manual does it say what size/# screw fit the TV's rear screw holes. Does anyone have this info. Thanks in advance

Yep, in fact I watched the Canada-Slovakia Olympic Hockey game last night on the Sammie - it was sure nice to have her up and running again! Hockey just isn't hockey unless watched on a big screen TV in HD broadcast.