Official Samsung 2011 PNxxD6500 (PNxxD6900 in Canada?) Thread - Page 7

+ a black stand instead of a silver one

I've had this TV for about 2 weeks, I have been doing the break in with low backlight/brightness/contrast, sometimes I'll run the slides but mostly I just watch Netflix and stuff off my NAS.

Either way I have been starting to notice occasional brightness pops, they are intermittent and sometimes do not reoccur if you replay the same scene. Does anyone know what causes this, I can't imagine its the panel; is it firmware related? What is the latest firmware available? Does Samsung have any response to this?

I have all the eco options turned off. So I was wondering if this is just part of plasma tech or a bad TV, I really don't want to return this as it is already the 3rd one I have had delivered/exhcanged and it is a big PITA.

Many people have reported this problem when viewing Netflix content. The consensus has been the problem is on Netflix end, not the TV.

I used this website (including and especially this thread) while researching my new TV, so I feel like I should share my experience. I'll try to keep it brief.

I've always had LCD tvs in the past, never plasma, but I've always been told how much better plasmas are. I decided to give it a shot and bought a 59D6500 (upgrading from a 40" Sony LCD). I absolutely loved it. The black levels were amazing (although the white levels are terrible compared to LCD...), fast motion looked phenomenal, etc.

After about a week, I noticed the buzzing. It got extremely loud at times. So loud that I could hear over the sound of the show I was watching, even with the volume at 20. I've heard some of you say that you can just ignore it, but I simply couldn't. It sounded like high voltage power lines in my living room. After reading that several people have tried exchanging them multiple times, only to get buzzing tvs over and over, I decided to return it and go back to LCD.

Now I have a Samsung UN55D6420 LED LCD. Not only is it silent, the picture quality (including the black levels) is easily just as good as the plasma (in my opinion). I actually like it better, because whites actually look white instead of light gray like on the D6500.

Maybe I'm just not a plasma person, but I gave it a try. Hopefully this helps someone else that is currently looking for a new tv.

Maybe that is true. I do use the instant watch feature a lot and have not yet tried a bluray or OTA. I have played some games but didn't notice the brightness pops, however when I am playing content off of my server I notice the pops as well so maybe it occurs when watching compressed video content. I never noticed it on my LCD but maybe its not just a plasma thing? Either way it is still somewhat annoying, hopefully there is a firmware fix.

To me the buzzing is just inherent in the design, the panel is powered by high frequency drivers (ballast) and it has a high voltage so it creates noise. LCD and LED LCD TVs have these too but LED is such a low voltage it probably doesn't make any noticeable noise. I didn't notice a buzz when I had the D6420 but my old LCD (Sammy LNT4065) did buzz (and worse than the D6500.)

So to me its not a TV issue maybe some are worse than others but I have had 2 D6500s in my house and they both buzzed. I was concerned about that aspect as I am extremely sensitive to mechanical & electrical noise, but I generally don't notice it, its quite directional and the (center) of my TV is mounted slightly higher than eye level, it seems i only hear it when i turn my ear directly toward the TV.

As far as the PQ is concerned to each his own but I disagree. I had a D6500 which I had for a week but returned because it was cosmetically damaged during shipping, I loved the picture but its big, the box is big (I move a lot), it uses a lot more electricity and buzzes so I decided to get the D6420. The moment I turned it on I was disappointed. The edge lighting on the left side created a light band which had some lensing effect, and the backlighting was cloudy and flashlight ridden. It also had terrible off angle viewing, on a black field when viewed from the side it was literally purple! I also thought the motion was jerky and I really can't stand the True motion BS. Maybe I just got a "bad" panel but in reality I think that is a bunch of BS, I shouldn't have to return a TV 3 times to get one that is acceptable, they would probably all be similar.

Its been said before but no TV is perfect, and until some AMOLED stuff shows up you have to compromise for me it was the buzz, as the edge-lit issue constantly drew my eyes to it and I couldn't enjoy what I was watching. For me it was all about PQ, so I went with the plasma.

Anyone have any thoughts on whether the antireflective screen is comparable to the antireflective louvre technology of the Pana GT30A. The screen will be in a bright room and has lots of reflections. Can't decide between the two. The D7000 is not available in Aus. and the D8000's stand is too flimsy for our kids.

Anyone interested in trading their D6900 stand for a D6500 stand? I much prefer the black over the silver.

Why is this thread like the red headed stepchild of the Samsung Plasma threads?

Lol wtf??

hahaha. classic line (I was born in SC and grew up in Florida). i live in california now and nobody has ever heard that line and i always get strange responses when i use it.

anyways, i think the D6500 is the sweet spot for the samsung lineup. you can't really go and brag about it because it's not the top of the line (no RBF) but it's also not the first step into the big boys (D550). i'm hoping this thread gets more life once i get my tv delivered next week. has anyone used the calibration settings from the D7000 settings? i'm interested in trying out Larry's settings. also, does the android app work on the D6500/D6900?

But it doesn't come in a 64"

this is true. probably another reason it's not being talked about as much as the other models. i'm coming from a 46" so i thought a 59" was a modest enough upgrade.

I was originally gonna go with that one but the wait was too long so I went with the 64d550. let me tell you. Size does matter

Heres mine in the office my room will be ready after 2 weeks i calibrated a little and will leave it for 150 hours on pics slide show before i calibrate i really like that bazel it goes silver with screen and dark when its dark.

The people at Best Buy said the same thing about the buzzing. I understand that it's supposed to buzz a little, but I truly believe that mine was excessive. I can't say that for a fact since this was my first plasma, but it seemed a lot worse than what other people have described.

The fact that yours is mounted above eye level probably makes a huge difference. I had mine on a stand where the center of the TV was at perfect eye level. The buzz was very directional, so I probably would have had much more luck if I mounted it.


I don't have any noticeable clouding, and almost no flashlighting. You have to look very closely at the corners to notice the tiny bit of light that shows. I was hesitant to buy the 6420 because of the posts I read from other people experiencing these issues, but I decided to take a chance anyway. I guess I got lucky. Some people have said that if you loosen the screws on the back closest to the corners, the flashlighting will decrease after a few days. Have you tried that?

I agree with you that the motion can be a little jerky, at least compared to a plasma. And the true motion thing is horrible (fortunately it can be turned off)!

that bezel looks like a D7000. is that a U.S. D6500? i thought it was a black plastic (but maybe it's silver in the picture because of the lighting).

i 100% agree. i need some form of anti-reflective filter because i have windows directly behind my couch (with decent blinds though). also, the bigger you get the higher the pricing difference is (a 64D550 is roughly $350 more than a 59D6500).

Haha didn't realize it was an east coast/south line.

I want this thread to get some life because I'm ordering next week once the promotion starts getting the blu ray player and 3D kit free. I have a PS3 for the living room but I can always use a blu ray player for the bedroom, win/win for me.

I more or less want a few calibration settings to try once I get some hours on it. So far there isn't any info for this model although Im sure the 7000 settings would work pretty well.

I have had the D6500 mounted and running for about 10 days now.

No buzzing to report.
I have not run slides yet. Plan to do it this weekend and finish the final Cal using Spears-Munsil.

The TV is plugged into a hospital grade surge protecting outlet and the whole house is power conditioned and surge protected as well. I am not sure if this reduced or eliminated the buzz.

PQ is amazing and glare is quite tolerable even during the day.

I will post more once I have the final Cal settings.

Cell phone pics...

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Attachment 214360

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Samsung PN59D6500
Denon AVR-991
Sony PS3
Panasonic DMP-BDT110
Motorola QIP 7232
DT Mythos XTR-50
Polk FXi
Polk DSW-500

It's The Europe 59 D6910 which is Titanium BLACK (Special Color for some countries in Europe it's something like test bazel i think first they release like that) when its light you see nice silver bazel when its dark you see nice black bazel this is why i say its so awesome and picture always at best level. Bazel is natural dark silver but when lights go off and room is dark screen is black and bazel looks is black lol when it's light room as you see screen silver bazel silver :P

I have windows directly behind mine too put up drapes and barely notice any reflection (cheap ones from giant tiger). Also with being able to convert your tv to the 6900 or 7000 model you get the 10pt for Cali. The only I would like to have that I don't is smart apps (can buy the lg thing) and how thin the tv is. That's what I like most about the 6 series.

Hey fellas,

I have searched through this thread and haven't seen this specific question asked yet, to my surprise. Unless it's an assumed level of knowledge.

I live in Australia and we don't get a 7 Series here. Just a 6 series: D6900 which I'm sure is the equivalent to the US market D6500, and an 8 series D8000.

So I was trying to find the exact differences between the US D6500/AUS D6900 and the D8000. I assume, because it hasn't been talked about here, that they are the same panel and I know that the 6 Series doesn't have the real black filter, is that correct?

If so what are the other differences? I've been trying to look around but can't find much!

Cheers

See post #1

Sorry mate, I meant the differences between the US D6500 and the AUS D6900 as one TV, Vs. the D8000.

First posts has the differences between the D6900 and the D6500. Basically what features/options would one miss out on if getting the D6500 instead of the D8000?

My bad. The 7000 has the real black filter, brushed metal bezel. The 8000 has a quad leg stand, real black filter, skype compatability, Local contrast enhancer (which may not do anything noticeable), and a full web browser. All 3 have the same anti glare treatment and panel as well as 10 point greyscale adjustment.

So can I use the calibration settings for the d8000 on the d6500?? Would appreciate if someone would post their calibrated settings for the d6500 please.

Thanks mate!

looks like I'll go for the 6 Series then. Not enought to warrant the purchase of an 8 IMO

i saw a d550 in store, and it looked too reflective for my taste. has anyone had a chance to compare the d550 to the d6500?? does the d6500 have some sort of AR coating?? i've heard reports of this coating, but its not on their spec sheet. i'm asking only about the AR coating not the Rel Black Filter (d7000 and d8000)

Yep I saw the D550 and the D6500 next to each other on the weekend and the difference is very noticeable. D550 is very reflective, I would not even consider getting it.