Samsung PN63B550 Owner's Discussion Thread [NO PRICE TALK] - Page 54

I bought the 58" version of this set about month and half ago and I absolutely love it except for one minor flaw. I noticed the TV tilts back a little bit and down to the left. The stand I have it on is level so I have no idea how to fix it. Anyone else have this problem with the stock stand it came with?

I just got a notice from Samsung that my warranty is expiring soon (1 year already ?). I can continue factory coverage with a 1-year plan at $311.63, or go for the 3-year plan for $545.89. Let me think....no.

I've got free credit card buyer protection for the 2nd year (double manufacturer warranty), which makes this an easy decision. If I didn't have this, the answer would still be....no.

BTW, I still have some buzz at full white level. It's mildly annoying, but I can live with it.

Hello Everyone.

I thought I would add another shot of my Sammy with some bias lighting installed. I ran two packs of the Ikea Dioder lights behind my display. Sorry, for the crappy quality but I need a new camera, especially for dark shots. I added a center channel speaker above my display, since I didn't have much room below my display. Even though my TV is mounted at about seated eye-level people still comment that it looks too low when they enter the room -- guh, at least I know I am right

I have a 63B550 and it now has a black line about 1/16" all the way around the picture about a 1/16" in from the edge any ideas ? Look like a perfect border it is noticed more when the picture is lighter because you can see the lighter picture on the outside of the border

There should be some overscan. IOW, the picture should extend slightly beyond the border, not stop before it. A test pattern would show if you have a problem.

However, the easiest way to check this is simply use what's in your TV - the scrolling pattern for burn-in protection. It's a rolling black / white pattern that spans the entire display. All inputs are bypassed, so there's no question that the problem is in your display.

Picture Options --> Screen Burn-in Protection --> Scrolling.

Hit any key on the remote to stop it.

If the scrolling pattern doesn't cover the entire screen, call for service.

The pattern covers the whole screen so does the picture , but there is like another frame on the outeredge look real hard youll see it as it goes all the way around

That picture helped considerably. I compared it to my own display, which also has the same black border. I think you're looking at a gap between the edge of the display, where the pixels stop, and where the frame starts. IOW, not a problem.

Do you see the white above the and below the black bars very thin strip of white , so when the picture is lighter you can see a border all the way around the piture , lets say there is a person in the picture you will see the top off there head/hair above that black line . I dont think this is normal .

Sorry, all I see are the reflections of the display on the bezel (the plastic border surrounding the glass). The black plastic is reflecting the light from the picture. That's not a problem.

I'm trying to decide between buying the 63B550 display model at my local Costco or a new LG 60PK750 at Sears. I've heard some reliability issues with Samsung plasmas, does this apply to this model? Also what issues should I look for in the display model? Costco does offer a 90 day return and a 2 year warranty so it's kind of safe. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Not sure if it was this forum or not, but the horizontal banding issue that has been brought up numerous times finally caused me to call Samsung and complain. I watch alot of HGTV, golf HD, and hockey etc ... which all have extremly light colored backgrounds and these bands were extremly noticeable (at least to me). They finally sent out a local tech who also confirmed the existance of these bands, even on the screen scrolling feature and all test patterns. He stated that he had never heard or seen of this problem and would check with Samsung. Well, long-story short is they authorized a panel replacement for my TV saying that "perhaps" my screen is defective. Problem is that from what I've read these bands are common among all Samsung Plasmas so I'm not banking on my new panel fixing the issue. Hopefully, my current panel was just much more noticeable than others??

Either way, I'm getting a new panel so I'll let you know what I find. These bands have been extremly annoying in any light colored seen

The larger the panel, the more difficult it is to get rid of those bands. 63" is probably the most noticeable. I had a defective panel due to pink haze at the bottom, which had very noticeable bands. The horizontal bands of the replacement panel were much better. Maybe you'll luck out.

Thanks, I'm not expecting the new panel to completely resolve the issue, but some improvment would be nice. Watching golf with overcast skies is almost unwatchable when they pan up and down as the lines seem to be exaggerated.

Anyways, when they replaced your panel did they just give you a new TV or pop the old screen out and put in a new one? I'm kinda curious how that would go as it would seem easier to just to get a new TV.

They took it to the shop and replaced the panel there. It's basically everything but the frame and maybe a power supply board. "Popping out" 100 pounds of glass is best done on a workbench with lots of room to work.

Got the new panel a few days ago as he replaced it right in my family room. The banding is still clearly evident but I guess it is a bit better than the first one - perhaps more gradual than before. I have also noticed while watching hockey tonight (HD) the dirty ice that you and others have mentioned. Anymore thoughts on why this is occuring - artifact of the signal or the panel itself?

Oh and the line bleed seems worse on this panel. Between the obvious banding, image retention, and line bleed I'm not sure I'd buy this set if given the choice again

I think it's a bit of both panel and signal. There's definitely a dirty ice effect. If you stare at a dirt spot, the ice moves behind it. So, it's part of the panel. I also have coloration spots when watching on the SD channel - that's probably an artifact of SD signal processing.

I won't be buying this set again. I can still hear the buzz during bright white scenes and the amount of heat coming from the display bugs me. The 63" size is a challenge for plasma panels - the larger the size, the more the problems appear.

Hmm, not good.

I have been following this thread and all your problems.

Do you happen to know if all Sammy plasmas show these difficulties, or if it is only this particular series?

I may be receiving one of these as a replacement for a DLP with light tunnel issues. Not very excited about it at this point.

Interesting coincidence. I got this model as a replacement for my 67" Sammy DLP. It first had the light tunnel problem (2 engines replaced). A year later the color wheel exploded at 15,000 rpm (it was fun cleaning up the glass inside the engine), then the digital board went.

This thread is about the 2009 models. You should get the "C" model, which is 2010. Don't get me wrong, the PQ is excellent. Except for watching hockey. Over time, the buzz is annoying and I'm not happy about the amount of heat dumping into my living room. But, it's a few years later and maybe there's something better...

Here's the buzz thread rant: 09 Samsung B series "buzz" thread [NO PRICE TALK]

Hello, fellow owners. I haven't been to this site in quite a while. I purchased my B550 almost two years ago (January 2010) and I see there is a thread about this model! Good grief, 54 pages of discussion! By playing around with the settings, I have found that on my set the best brightness number is in the mid 30's. I occasionally recheck it (when the mood strikes me) when a program fades to black. I pause the DVR and adjust the brightness up and down until I find the number where the screen stops getting darker. It never varies more than a few points from 35. If I set it any higher (like the numbers I am reading here in this thread), the 'black' portion of the screen starts getting lighter, and not giving me a true 'black', so to speak. I have the contrast turned up to 100 and movies seem to look spectacular (along with everything else). I just thought I'd share my tweakings with the other enthusiasts here.
I have one question. I am using the audio output jacks and my stereo equipment for sound, instead of the built-in speakers. These jacks have a fixed output, forcing me to adjust the sound level separately on my amplifier. Is anyone here aware of a way through the software menu to make the line output jacks vary with the remote control?

I didn't see anything in the manual, but don't see why you would want to do this. You'll still have to adjust the stereo's volume control.

With 2 volume controls in series, you have to be careful to set the TV just high enough to not drive the TV's output into saturation (distortion) while not overdriving the stereo. It's easier to use a fixed TV output.

Program the remote to move the stereo volume control instead. I'm not sure you can do this with the Sammy remote, but it would help with your problem.

Thanks for the response. I didn't see anything in the owner's manual either. I figured that it might be possible somehow in software. The reason it would be convenient is because my system uses old school equipment that was made before remote control technology. My amp is a 30 year old JVC and my speakers are Altec Lansing 'Voice of the Theater' models that I purchased used in 1974. They give spectacular sound. It's just an inconvenience to have to go over to the amp to adjust the volume, but it's worth it to me at this point.