Samsung PNXXB850 & PNXXB860 Owner's Discussion Thread - Page 100

I have a January 2010 860, it looks identical to the one on the earth in the picture. I don't have any buzzing issues.

50 inch Slickman?

Like blairco mentioned....it seems like the 50 inch changed its back but the 58 inch kept the same ones.

Is the buzzing more prevalent in the 50 inch?

Yes I have the 50 inch.

Take it for what it is, but the guy who calibrated my 860 said he had just finished a 650 and felt that they were close on black level but the 860 was better. Also said it was easier to calibrate and get closer to accurate. Again, take it for what it is worth. Only set I have ever had that got darker then the 860 was my older RPTV...

I was told today by a member of the Magnolia team at Best Buy that the buzzing was caused by a missing gromet on the back of the panel and that all of the newer models are NOT experiencing the buzzing.

Can anyone else confirm this?

I have an 860 and just upgraded the firmware to 1017 with hope that Blu-Ray via PS3 would not have sync issues post-update. Unfortunately, the update has had no effect. Enabling game mode is still the only "fix" I've found.

I had a 550 before the 860 that crapped out after a few weeks after I purchased it. I went to return it and there were no more in stock so I went for the 860. The 550 did not have the audio sync problems. It's so frustrating to have gone from a lower-end panel to a higher-end one only to lose out on audio sync.

I'm using a receiver and external speakers. Supposedly this Denon will allow you to adjust audio timing, but still. It would be nice if it just worked :P

Depending on the Denon receiver you have (I have a 3310ci) there are a couple of things you can try. There is a menu setting in the Denon that turns lip sync on/off. Obviously, you need to turn it on. You must also have your ps3 hooked up to the Denon and from there to the tv. Any other configuration (i.e. ps3 to tv, optical to Denon)and you won't get the lip sync feature but you probably already know that. The ps3 must also be able to accept the lip sync meta data and I have no idea if it does or doesn't. I can say that with a Sony standalone BD player with v1017 I don't see any lip sync issues even when using Cinema Smooth (1017 supposedly fixed LS issue when in 24P mode).

Finally, I would be surprised if you receiver does NOT have a delay capability. For most sources (cable box, DVHS deck) I found 110ms to be about right.

Well I kept my older build date due to the lack of non scratches. I put both tv's side by side and watched the same programming, switching back and forth every half hour so to compare picture quality and noise level. They were identical in both, so I kept the unscratched one.

It's been fine, however, last night I was watching "V" on the DVR and about half way through, I saw tons of little green dots dancing on the screen, I have seen others mention this as too much brightness or contrast, but I have both turned down and it only showed itself during this program and started halfway through. Any ideas what that was about?

See my recent post on the B650 thread. Have just started to get into using the i1 D2 and the CalMAN software. When I am comfortable with it all, I will generate reports and post screen shots. Would dearly love to do a comparison in-house on the B860 but Chad B has already done a calibration posted on Cleveland Plasma website.

Thanks for the insight. And CRAP! I have the 850 (not the 860). Which means the "Cinema Smooth" is activated automatically, if I remember correctly. I have a Denon AVR-590 and I did confirm that lip sync was enabled on the receiver. The PS3 is plugged in to the Denon and the TV is plugged in to the Denon as well. Supposedly the PS3 is 1.3 compliant, so I was thinking that maybe the Inglorious Basterds BD was the culprit. But I keep going back to the fact that the 550 and currently "Game Mode" repair the issue so surely it wouldn't be the source.

The AVR-590 does have timing adjustments and it's looking like I need to go ahead and start playing with those settings.

Thanks a lot for your time.

I thought in the 850 SM you could enable the CS switch in the menu? I know it comes on automatically with 1080p@24. As to why is anybody's guess.

Cool, I'll dig around and find out how to get in to the SM and set it to a selectable mode. Probably the same way I got in to the 550, but I'm just guessing.

Power off. Then press Mute, 1,8,2 I think, then power on. I know it is some sequence of these numbers. Remember that your settings reset when you leave the SM so have a complete listing of them, meaning every detail for every mode/input you have adjusted. If you're only using the factory settings then no problem. As to the Cinema Smooth, should be a setting with the CS letters or even partial words. My B650 actually has it listed as 1080P@24. You should see a value to the right which is not greyed out. If so, you should be able to toggle to a different setting. If greyed out then SOoL.

I'm getting the dreaded "Connection Error (606)" when trying to do the firmware update. Samsung only has 1012.3 posted and 1017 is the newest firmware. Does anyone know how to get this firmware? Thanks.

What FW do you currently have on your set?

I have the LS delay as of firmware 1017 with a PS3 and Onkyo receiver. I just use the audio delay option on the Onkyo and it solved it rather painlessly.

I'd check the buzzing thread, but your first problem is listening to a best buy employee.

As I recall many of the complaints were not sourced to a physical vibration, but they describe it much better in the thread.

I currently have firmware version 1012.3.

IF you are connecting to your set with an ethernet cable, you may want to check to see if your router is assigning it an IP address. Does it pass the network config test in the TV menu?

You don't mention what Onkyo you have and I really don't know much about them. If your Onkyo is Ethernet capable, you might want to check for a firmware upgrade for that too. However, as you say, the delay feature does solve the problem rather painlessly.

I have the TX-SR607. There is no Ethernet port on the receiver although I'm not sure why the firmware for that would need upgraded? I might have missed that, though!

Regards,

Rob

YES, I can confirm that the Magnolia Best Buy piece of garbage was trying to fill your ears with GARBAGE!!! This is exactly why I hate Best Try........they don't try that hard honestly,.

All plasmas buzz , you just have to get close enough to hear it.

Dude, will you stop saying this stuff. your doing a disservice to everyone who complains about it. It's real, and it's not my imagination. I"m sitting here with my daughter watching cartoons and the buzzing noise changes to different pitches as the brightness in the cartoon changes........it's a problem...period!!

After nearly three years of lurking, I thought I'd finally weigh in on my experience with a PN58B860 I've had for a month. What I've found is a wonderful TV that perfectly fits my particular needs. I have noticed some of the idiosyncrasies others have reported, but none of them have any effect on the quality, which I think is outstanding from all my sources - roof antenna via the DTVPAL DVR, Oppo BDP-83, Roku for Netflix streaming, Wii. Here are some observations:

1. Calibration: I used the Spears & Munsil disk that came with the Oppo. I also tried some of the settings in the calibration/settings thread, settling on this one:

"http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18214486#post18214486"

I checked the results on Spears & Munsil to make sure it wasn't off. The results were a very nice and natural looking picture, at least to my eyes. Golf, hockey, opera, movies, bright and dark all look great (as long as the source material was reasonable). While such a setting may not work for everyone, it did for me. I'm sure a professional calibration would improve things further, but for now, ignorance is bliss.

2. Slow pans: Not jerky, on both video and film based material. Cinema smooth improved things immensely for 24p sources.

3. Black level: When the screen goes to all black, it isn't. But when I have real program material on the screen, even dark scenes in a dark room, I don't even notice it. Yes you can tell that blacks on the screen are lighter than the bezel, but they still seem black in contrast to the other onscreen information, even a star field. I suppose I'd really notice the difference if it were put up against a Kuro, but again, without the comparison, this ignorant slut things it looks superb

4. Horizontal Banding: I didn't notice anything until I saw it reported on AVS. I only notice it on screens with text and plain backgrounds, like the green movie preview screen. Even then it is faint. Bottom line - a non-issue for me.

5. Buzzing: It is a non-issue since I can only hear it in a silent room with my ear a few inches from the TV. My heart goes out to those who have big issues. I know I'd be extremely disappointed if it happened to me. Because of this potential issue, I bought the TV from a friendly local high-end audio/video dealer who gave me a great price and white glove delivery.

My only gripe is my inability to keep all the cables tightly adhered to the back of the TV so they don't show from the front. The stickum on the cable holders doesn't hold well enough. But they are asked to hold three HDMIs, the power cord, a toslink, a composite video and antenna cable (analog passthru for some Canadian channels). Perhaps some crazy glue would help?

So my power cord is too short for my situation. Is it possible to get a longer one? I noticed that there is a panel where the power goes into the tv that can be removed with one screw. Don't know if this will void the warranty or not. Is a heavy duty extension cord ok to use?

Yes, Monoprice sells longer power cords with the 90 degree turn just like the one Samsung uses....in different lenghths..........no problemo

First full week of owning the Sammy 860 and I'm in pure TV/Movie viewing bliss! I came from an early model 1080i Sammy DLP that was decent for what it was, but this, this plasma... is incredible! Everyone that has seen this beautiful thing, has commented on the colors, the blacks, the crispness of even SD content over their own LCD or LED displays. I haven't made any adjustments to it, and quite frankly, to MY EYES, I can't imagine it getting much better than this.

Any issues with it? Nah, not so far, I haven't had any of the buzzing (at least, it's not audible to my ears); I also haven't had much IR at all. The only instance of IR was during the Masters this weekend, but it didn't last long at all.

I mostly match the Sammy 860 up with my HTPC for, primarily, 720p+ content, as well as the usual array of streaming content providers.

Anyway, just thought I'd chime in as one of the ones that hasn't had some of the usual problems that others are plagued with. That said, I'm not the power user with my TV at least, that some of you are, so I'm sure that when I get more serious about the source of my content, and the settings and calibration, I may start to notice some of the issues that have been pointed out.

Just picked up a PN50B860. I do have the buzzing described by many. It is audible from just a few feet away or up to 8 feet away as long as the volume is on mute. It seems to change levels when the channel is switched and/or the brightness of the display changes.

The buzzing is practically inaudible unless the rest of the room is dead silent. I have a home theater system and when listening to most broadcasts, the buzz doesn't really bother me. My xbox360 is much louder when powered on. Even my Scientific Atlantic HD-DVR cable box makes more noise.

I understand Plasma panel buzz is a normal phenomenon and have read a few posts regarding a samsung tsb and the install of rubber washers/grommets on the back panel. I am unsure whether or not this will actually fix the problem? I am also within my 30 days to return/exchange the unit and have considered trying another B860 only because many avs members have mentioned (no buzz).

Not sure whether to open a service request to try the samsung tsb, try swapping it out for another or just keep what I have and be happy

My B860 was manufactured in Mexico Feb. 2010

It's getting an IP. The internet TV works but it wont pull in the firmware update. Could it be because I'm in Canada?