Samsung PN**B450 Picture Settings - Page 34

I have the 50" version and I do gaming on it via my PS3 but it's not doing pure gaming. I will game for about 2 hours or so a night, maybe more on the weekends if there's any time between house items and the kids.

I've had the set now for about 2 months and at first was using Game mode but noticed some IR with it. After running the screen wash it went away but then after that I switched it over to Movie and since that time no IR from my gaming sessions.

I use my set primarily for gaming. I have been playing 4 hour session of Final Fantasy XIII the past couple weeks and no burn-in. I have gotten image retention but it was hardly noticeable and went away quickly.

First let me say that I am a graduate engineer with +30 years of experience.

I too bought this set and allowed a 100-200 hour burn-in. I attempted to calibrate the set using an Eye-one color meter and calibration dvd. Although I was able to obtain gray scale tracking to under a 10 % error, the primary color setpoint, which showed LARGE errors with green and cyan are not user or service menu adjustable. Because this cannot be corrected, THERE IS NO WAY THIS SET CAN PRODUCE THE PROPER COLORS!!!

After MANY... MANY... MANY... calls to Samsung and finally speaking to a real technician, there is a KNOWN DEFECT WITH THE LOGIC CIRCUIT BOARD! The existing board needs to be replaced under warranty. It appears this defect was reported in August of 2009.

This is why for those of you who try to adjust white balance, the GREEN GAIN needs to turned down and the RED GAIN up, as well as the TINT set towards the RED and away from the GREEN.

Please note, this may or may not affect your set, since it is my understanding that is production date sensitive. Good luck!

This post is for anyone serious about gaming on this set with a 360. I know EVERYONE either has their set on Standard or Movie. But after some serious hours tuning with the most popular settings on this thread, I still was never happy the way CoD MW2 looked or even felt...

First let me give you a little background on the reasons I believe these settings everyone has thrown around aren't optimum for gaming. I had over 35 days (yes days)logged in for the first CoD MW. These hours were both competitive MLG based tournaments and casual gaming on a 34" Sony CRT.

After getting the B450 the game became noticeably harder. I became frustrated and reverted to my swearing and rants of that while using many of my friend's LCD tv's. It just wasn't the same "response" of my CRT, not sure if thats the term.

I've read all the articles on response times of lcd vs crt vs plasma, and that is indistinguishable to the human eye. But I'll take my hundreds of hours of gaming and the frustrations of being owned over and over on this tv using the "optimum" settings everyone has posted.

The colors may be a little saturated for some people's taste, but for CoD Mw it is easier on my eyes, sharper models, more accurate shadows, and what seems to be faster response times.

Mode: Dynamic
Cell Light: 2
Contrast: 55
Brightness: 48
Sharpness: 0
Color: 57
Tint: G52/R48

Color Tone: Norm
Digital NR: OFF

I know the colors won't really match those dvd calibration discs, but for motion purposes these settings far exceed that of any settings listed on these 19 pages. Even watching fast motion HD content looks more "lively". I dunno, I may be wrong but I will stick with these and will never set them back while gaming.

So you do not use game mode?

No game mode because A: its mostly a marketing ploy and or B:tested on a one of the most taxing games on the 360's cores which is op. just cause 2 demo. Go ahead and fly a helicopter over 391 sq. miles of vibrant colorful tropical paradise spinning it in circles and turn game mode off and on. C: I never liked "cinema" or "game" modes on anything home entertainment based audio or video.

Well, I would like to know more about this, having bought my set in early July of 2009.

Is there some kind of service bulletin, or can you share the contact information of the "real technician" you were able to reach? How does one determine the production date of his or her set? What is the date range of the affected sets? Have you had the board replaced in your set? How did you arrange it? Did it correct the problem you were having?

Edited to add: I see that you were talking about the 50" model; do you know whether the 42" models were affected?

My guess is that it effects all sets since this is a common board. Its the program that is embedded in the board that is affected. Call 877-532-6022 (Darren), a service provider for Samsung and have him check your model, serial number, and version, located on a sticker on the right side of your set for outstanding service bulletins. My set was built in Feb of 2010, and still did not get the updated board. I don't think they really want to change out the board unless they (Samsung) really have to and you complain about poor color performance (the board I received was assembled March 9, 2010!). I was ready for Samsung to take the set back. They have sent me the new board, and will be installed Thursday, they didn't want me to replace the part myself. Hopefully, this will correct the problem.

Added: You may also need a Firmware update, check with the service company to see if your set needs updating.

If anyone has enabled the Cal Day/Cal Night settings, would you please publish your settings for each of your 5 modes: eg Dynamic/Standard/Movie/Cal Night/Cal Day?

Thanks!

ps. To make this easier, I imagine that most settings would not change at all; these could be omitted or put in a common section. I guess the differences would be mainly things like: Cell Light, Sharpness, Brightness, Tint??

Thanks. I like these even for HD cable viewing but post yours anyways please. Question: What's your color tone setting?

after 4 monthes here new settings:

modemovie
warm2
cell light:9
contrast:74
brightness:52(hdmi) 48(tnt sd/hd+ scart) 56(component)
color:43(hdmi,tnt,scart) 41(component)
sharpness 4(hdmi),14(tnt+scart) 24(component)
tint:g48/r52
dynamic contrast: off
white settings:
r offset:25
g offset:25
b offset:24
red gain:31
green gain:25
blue gain:29
flesh tone:0
gamma: 0
color space: auto
edge enhancementff
size:16/9
digital noise: off
éco mode: off
movie mode: auto

these settings look fantastic...i tried tons of settings for the movie mode option but eventually always ended up going back to standard...Now movie mode is FINALLY acceptable.

P.S I switched just last night also to component over HDMI for my dig. cable box and it's so ironic that you gave these settings with component numbers included...thanks!

thanks!

The problem most of you are having is because the primary color setpoints which are set at the factory are WRONG!.. The white balance settings you have (try turning down COLOR to "37" )may help a lot... but flesh tones will still be going to move around from a green tinge to a slight magenta depending upon the actual flesh tone required at the time. The TINT control won't help. This is not because its a cheap entry level set... its because its set wrong at the factory.

I have reported this to the actual Samsung technical department (the ones the field service people call when they can't fix a set and will hopefully forward the report to the Engineering dept. and let me know). The regular customer service people are just hired off the street (call center) and unfortunately, the field service repair people can only swap out boards... that's their (believe me I've been an Engineer long enough to know the difference) level of training (the use of a screwdriver, regardless of what they may tell you).

I have also noticed a strange response of the Brightness control... maybe someone can verify the same behavior on your set... In a dark room, with no picture (blank screen) and the Brightness setting of about 52-56, note the background level of panel illumination HDMI input source (what we call a raster level). Now decrease the brightness to below 45, does the screen suddenly darken to the level where it looks like the set is turned off (wait till all the adjustment and menu items have been removed --- blank screen) ? If you advance the brightness above 51 in steps, does the background level increase every 2-3 counts in step changes. If it does.... Samsung has done some strange programing (maybe its just my set).

Also with a brightness level of about 55 (the correct value for a calibrated set, with contrast set(80) to produce the proper illumination of about 30ftL at 100% signal), and with no signal present, does the background level look pretty much about the same as seen on LCD type display... cause Plasma should be a lot darker!

Thanks for your help in advance. If you guys need some help or settings, let me known, although each set is going to be a little different, but hopefully not that much. I have limited the calibrations to just the HDMI inputs at this time.

I would love if you could post your settings. I've tried every set of settings posted in this thread over the past 6 months and I just can't find any that look right.

Also, I see that many settings list the HDMI Black Level. I do have that setting but it's "grayed out" and not something that I can change. Am I missing something?

Thanks

I too am finally happy with some Movie mode settings, I've been on Dallows' Standard settings for quite a while. Face21's movie settings look great so far, I've had the set about 8 months now.

The color settings on this set will never look right because the factory set the wrong internal adjusts during manufacture! You can get the picture better, but it will never be right until the internal settings are corrected, something I'm trying Samsung to do, but don't hold your breath.

To set color balance properly, you need test equipment, however you can get close using a B&W picture. With a B&W picture on the screen, look at the very dark areas of the image. Any color contamination in the dark areas can be removed with the appropriate color "OFFSET" control. If you find the dark areas appear a little green, as an example, decrease the setting of the GREEN OFFSET. The offset controls effect the dark areas of the picture. When you are satisfied with the dark areas, turn your attention to the bright areas, the color "GAIN" controls are used to correct any contamination in the bright areas, just as the OFFSET did for the dark areas. You may need to go back and forth a couple of times as the two adjustments do interact with each other.

As for my settings, they are as follows, and produce an as close to a "technically correct" setting as my set is capable of, but remember, you may have to tweak these a little for your taste and set. These settings won't make the picture "pop" but they should produce a more natural looking image. The peak illumination with these settings is about 30ftL (a reference level), which might be a little bright for a really dim room, if so, turn BOTH the contrast and brightness down a bit, Face21's levels for brightness and contrast seem about right for those levels.

MODE: MOVIE, CELL: 8, CONTRAST 79, BRIGHT: 55, SHARP: 20, COLOR:37, TINT: 37G/63R

WHITE BAL: RED(off): 32, GREEN(off): 28, BLUE(off): 20
RED(gain): 44, GREEN(gain): 29, BLUE(gain): 37

COLOR TEMP: WARM-2, GAMMA: +1, COLOR SPACE: AUTO All other picture enhancements OFF!

If you find the black levels a little too light for you taste, you may set the GAMMA to 0, however you will be losing some dark detail with the colors appearing more saturated. You may want to check the white balance against a B&W picture, to see if it needs a little tweaking, since these settings are adjusted to balance my set.

As for menu items that are grayed out, that is because these settings are not applicable or meaningful, with the current inputs or settings of the set. For instance, HDMI black levels refers to RGB signal coding (mostly from video game equipment) , however, your current signal is xyY coded (most likely from a DVD player) , making an RGB adjust both impossible and meaningless (that's why its grayed out).

if u check my posting here:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...990&highlight=

even though this is the pn50a450
look at the green in the pics i attached, is this what you are talking about "green tinge in fleshtones" (well in first pic at least) just wondering if a450 has this problem as well.

btw, i think i have the same set as you pn50b450 with build date of feb. 2010 from Mexico (replacement from samsung who could not repair or admit to exact defect for a450). good luck with samsung customer service runaround machine, maddening to say the least but i suppose you are starting to experience that already, hope i don't need to go down this path again.

guys i just got Samsung PNB450. i was applying settings here but something seems wrong. i have cable service from dish network. i made hd settings from reciever like hrc 1080i and 16:9.. and i use hdmi cable to connect it to plasma.is that right? and tv seems like a little bit dark. i wasnt expected that. and i cannot change hdmi black level when im watching tv.but when i turn on ps3 it allows me to do change hdmi black level. what should i do? thank you

Yes I think its the same problem... I thought the "A" model had a color management system to correct for this... guess not. As I said before, the problem is the green primary. After talking with the real Samsung tech support, their only guess was maybe, and it was a guess, that the main board might have a problem. I set up to have the board replaced.

I was set-up with AT&T tech repair. A guy calls me up who is going to do the repair and describes himself as a computer consultant...? He works out of his house, has no formal degree in computers, or anything else... Has no idea how a TV works, no service manual, not even a voltmeter! He tells me he has been trained and certified by Samsung. Yea right... Samsumg has taught him how to use a screwdriver, swap a circuit board, and not hurt himself in the process. If fact, he tells me how he determines if the set is working right.... his answer.... if it turns on!!! After we "spoke" a while, he decided not to take the call I wonder why?

Anyway, it got transferred to another "service company". I am awaiting for the board replacement.... I'll really be surprised if the this fixes the problem... my guess is that my set will hopefully work the same, but probably worse, since any power supply voltage adjustments required (when the board is replaced) will either not be made, or adjusted on a cheap, out of calibration (if even capable of calibration) Radio Shack meter! What a poor excuse of "service", and what a poor, could care less company Samsung is. By the way, the computer consultant service guy said he also had a contract with Panasonic and Vizio. Its really scary out there.

BTW: yes same built date and production location. Very disappointed with the black levels.

As for menu items that are grayed out, that is because these settings are not applicable or meaningful, with the current inputs or settings of the set. For instance, HDMI black levels refers to RGB signal coding (mostly from video game equipment like a PS3 system) , however, your current signal is xyY coded (most likely from a DVD player or (cable box)) , making an RGB adjust both impossible and meaningless (that's why its grayed out).

You might want to set GAMMA to +1, to see if that helps.

thank you

You are welcome

If I call someone nuts do I get banned or something?

I sure hope you weren't referring to me? Being educated, having engineering degrees, being knowledgeable and experienced, and expecting a product to work properly or trying to help other people... does that make someone a nut? You sure show a lot of class... or lack of it, especially for a senior member. I thought this forum was a bit more professional than that... but I guess one would have to be a professional to know that.

FYI: The engineering department did get in touch with me concerning this issue to my surprise, and there may well be some incorrect coefficients in their programming.

Why haven't you posted any data to backup your claims?

I got two problems. I've had he TV for about six months now. I noticed yesterday that I have some burn in. It's probably from watching too much 4:3 content since my daughter watches Nick Jr. about 28 hours a day on it. I had previously dismissed it as image retention but I turned it on this morning and the 4:3 bars are still there. My second problem is that my settings keep reverting back to Dynamic which is why the burn probably happened in the first place. I also just found this out this morning after noticing it happen a few times last night.

Is there any way to get rid of the burn-in or at least reduce it? I was thinking about photoshopping a jpeg of a screen with white bars on the sides with a black screen in the middle in a 4:3 ratio. Would his work? What are the measurements that I should make so everything lines up?

Also, does anyone have any idea why my picture settings are no saving and it keeps reverting back to dynamic? Its doing this everytime I turn off the tv.

edit: It looks as though all picture settings are reverting back to default in each mode. Am I missing "save" button or something? I just did a factory reset and now everytime I turn it off/on it is reverting to standard with all its settings at default. Also, is there any chance that I could get my tv replaced/repaired within Samsung's warranty if its due to a manufacturer's defect with it defaulting to dynamic?

It is not in shop mode.

OK, so it looks like I solved it by changing my HDMI input to HDMI 2 instead of 1. This burn is really pissing me off though. Everytime something in 4:3 comes on my blood pressure goes up. Does anyone know if my jpeg idea would work or if Samsung would cover this?

well, not sure if you tried this already but in picture options choose the scrolling function and leave it on for an hour and this is supposed to eliminate after images. i used this function after i did an initial scan of my cable channels which felt like forever (i think it was over 45 minutes) and the on screen display of the progress for the channels found was still there in the background, so after running the scrolling function for an hour and then watching some varied content for a while everything was ok. i mean these samsung engineers created a somewhat translucent on-screen main menu for this set to prevent IR so i don't know why they didn't make all the on-screen functions translucent, especially the one function they knew would be displayed on screen the longest.

but i know what you mean when you have 4:3 content, letterboxing, tickers, CNN's garrish logo on too long you start getting anxious.

Yeah, I left the scroll on for about an hour today and its still there. Can I just make a pure 1280x720 white rectangle with photoshop and run it for a few hours? Is this a correct white field? How long should I run it for? I also read turning the tv off for a few days would help but I don't think I can go for that long without it.

best advice i can give to reduce screen burn in is 1. when first buying tv do the recommended 150hour break in period...

2. after that if you watch it in standard mode never put cell light above 4.

3. never use the dynamic mode

4. if watching a 4:3 ratio program stretch the image either with the digital cable/sat. remote or the sammy remote.

if you follow these rules you shouldnt have to worry about burn in...even if you watch a channel with a static image/logo on it..because as more time goes by the chances of burn in are greatly diminished.

IF you think you have burn in already...use the scrolling burn in protection feature in the tv for up to 5 hours. if tried this already put the tv on a broadcast channel with no signal...(I.E STATIC) and just leave it on for as long as the tv needs for the burn in to go away. Remember leaving the tv on is NOT bad...when i first got mine i pretty much left it on 24/7 for about a week ...When i was done watching tv i would just goto the cartoon network and zoom it until the logo went away and left it on.