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How Bad is Reflection/glare on Samsung d550? would it suit me?(room diagram given)

post #1 of 21
5/30/11 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 
want to know in specific situation(as given for the room in the fig below) how Bad Can reflection & glare affects be on the 2011 samsung 51" d550 pdp (at default settings), installed in this below given dimly lit room with only 1 window,(7 ft tall,5ft wide)-1 door(7ft tall,4 ft wide)(both have thick big curtains) & 1 skylight (glass ventilator)@ approx 14ft high(no curtains) facing the tv at approx distance of 22-25ft from the tv?

Also,there r about 12 artificial lightings for the room,including tubes,cfls & tb @ various wattages(* all of which r NOT ÓN' all together most of the time)// the diagram below gives the idea),& in addition, when viewing something good like movies,etc( Majority Night time viewing), we prefer a semi dark(light behind tv on)/darkened room,preferably NO lights! (under this circumstance ,my 10 years 29"Philips totalFlat CRT Simply gives brilliant picture & "COMPLETELY" disappears in the dark in black scenes,which i enjoy so much,& done so all through the years!)

Now the moot question here is, can i have an idea of how much reflection be found in this above situation on the plasma 51"D550 to view the tv without much distraction? // my current crt tv does show some reflection but that's not much distracting, if the opposite door& windows r close or curtained & artifical lights r turned on at moderation(*mayb it's a smaller sized tv so).....,but overall i can live with it & moreover happily so! //

The viewing angle is however off axis, strictly cant modify the lounge (tier1 seating>7-8 ft tv,tier 2 seating > 17-18ft from tv) @ 30-35 degree left-right!. The overall length of the room is approx 23-25ft & width about 11-12ft!

Here is a pictorial representation of the room & the place for the tv




Please guide me here all the plasma experts here & particularly those who own a d550 plasma!

i would be really thankful!

cheers
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post #2 of 21
5/31/11 at 6:54am
Thread Starter 
guess any1 have any replies here?
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post #3 of 21
5/31/11 at 7:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AVS Fanboy View Post

guess any1 have any replies here?

The location of your big windows directly across from the screen will be a challenge for any type or model of TV.

The D550 has no Anti-Reflective Filter and is very reflective - kinda like a dark mirror. I suggest you bump it up to a D6500 at least as it has a very good AR Filter. It mutes reflections quite well and will handle that big window much much better. I would not put a D550 in that room.
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post #4 of 21
5/31/11 at 8:12am
Unless you insist on not pulling a curtain (one that does an adequate job at blocking out the light) over that window in daylight, it shouldn't be a major cause for concern.
I have a window directly opposite my D550, around eight feet away - right behind my chair - and yes, I have needed to put up a dark curtain, as too much light for comfort was seeping in through my window blinds, but that's the only thing I had to do make the D550 cope just as well with daylight viewing as my old Samsung M87 LCD did (which is to say that I still prefer to save content with a lot of dark scenes for night time viewing, but overall it handles dark scenes reasonably well even in daylight).

Direct sunlight coming in through the glass terrace doors off to my side doesn't cause any problems. Neither do my normal living room lamps at night - although I do turn most of them off when I watch 3D content (they don't cause obvious flickering in the glasses, but they do put a bit more strain on my eyes than a dark living room).
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post #5 of 21
5/31/11 at 8:57am
The windows/doors are one thing. Light coming through them can be properly eliminated with the right combination of roller blinds and curtains (this wouldn’t be too cheap). The lights are another problem. If you are likely to have them all on when you’re watching TV, you’ll likely want a TV with a decent AR filter, as mentioned in an above post.

My plasma has no AR filter, and my ceiling lights reflected in the set from my viewing angle. I ended up getting two floor lamps and placing them on either side of the TV, so I can light my room dimly while watching TV, and not see any reflections in the screen.

I’m not sure what the price difference is between the D550 and the D6500. If you go with the D550, you can expect some frustration and expense as you try to shade all the light sources from your TV. Of course, I’m not sure how much the AR filter on the D6500 will help and what your tolerance is for reflections. My tolerance is very low, which is why I invested in a couple floor lamps (and it helps that my plasma is in my basement). If you think or know that your tolerance for reflections will be very low, I would strongly suggest buying a set with an AR filter, like the suggested D6500.

Good luck.
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post #6 of 21
5/31/11 at 9:21am
Thread Starter 
thanks very much randy, miths & tim for the helpful replies!.....yes, i'm aware that d550 has not much/or NO AR coating on it...that's why i'm pretty apprehensive about it!....but considering my limited budget i'm in & also the fact that d6500 is not in stock here,..i have also NOT much options open!

just again to bring one thing in attention here....yes,the room does have 1(2 pane) window & a door, but that doesn't look or feel that big,nor does the door(all in comparing to room dimensions) & most imp, the door & the window have 2 separate layer curtains,..one inner curtain of soft linen which is there all throughout most of the daytime & another sheet of big Thick curtains,which is always put on at nights.Now if i put on the thick curtains during daytime,& also close the front door(wooden-which opens outside)...the room(as i described earlier) gets quite darkened & i don't find much reflection on my crt tv,worth distracting. // actually this is one of the primary reason for thinking of a plasma tv here & also viewing a lcd on off axis in this room appears horrendous,tried that//.......now,add to that,during night, most of the artificial lights r off at majority of times except mayb the cfl behind the tv..& at more late hours ,while watching movies ,mayb all the lights are put off!
Now under these circumstances, will the d550 be really troublesome with very bad glares & reflection issues? So will it shine like crazy in my situation....or can i really hope to adjust(mayb bit compromise) & overall expect the tv be acceptable?

*i'm already maxed my budget,though as randy says 6500 would have been better(yes certainly),..but currently that isn't available & So a d550 or nothing for me..what do u ppls say?

* Also can panasonic 42v20 neo pdp be a option for me?....though i really don't want to go for a 42"now,since i have set my sights on the bigger 51" which imho should give me better pop & cinema experience & also the fact that v20 doesn't have 3d..which i'm quite tempted at on the d550... but these things aside, can v20 give me such a Great "exemplary" better picture overall (with lesser screen glare & reflection) so as to negate the positiveness & immersiveness of cinema & 3d on a more bigger samsung 51"d550? ..u knowledgeable ppls pls take the calls!
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post #7 of 21
5/31/11 at 4:33pm
Again, without actually seeing the room conditions it's a bit hard to say with 100% certainty that you will or won't have any issues with reflections.
I can only speak from my own two weeks of experience with the D550, and as mentioned that has been that only light - sunlight or lamps - directly in the path in front of the screen, cause reflections (although obviously any sunlight shining specifically at parts of the screen through my glass terrace doors off to the side, is also a problem, but that can only happen at a specific and brief time during the afternoon or early evening, depending on time of the year).

Aside from general room layout though, a very big difference is that I'm usually the only one watching TV, and I sit directly in front of the screen. Once you start having people off to the sides as in your picture, reflections from lamps or windows to the sides might become visible.

The only general advice I feel I can give is that, yes, the D550 has what I would consider a very reflective screen - when it's turned off it looks very much like a dark gray pane of glass.
In my living room and with my current room layout, I've had very few issues working around this potential problem for daylight viewing (and it was never going to be an issue at night, seeing as I can obviously just turn off any problematic lamps, if there were any). But it did take an extra curtain on top of the window blinds in that one window behind me - but that actually wouldn't have hurt at all with my old LCD TV either, as that wasn't exactly entirely devoid of reflections either in daylight (also with the window blinds closed).
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post #8 of 21
5/31/11 at 4:41pm
You will have to save up for the d7000 if the 6500s arent available to you. Or get the ST30. The reflections will annoy the **** out of you.
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post #9 of 21
5/31/11 at 5:22pm
Thread Starter 
TA Miths..u have been really generous with ur answers...imho..u have been trying to help me to the Best! ...bad..No reps/thanks button here, but whatever, Thanks !
..the thing is, i do have the idea of d550 being reflective,but its also sad that i cannot afford to expand my current budget much as to accommodate a d7000 or 8000!
i have seen a 51"d490 for demo in "daytime" in a showroom(with huge room size window panes across) & the first thing that caught me abt the tv was the sheer amount of reflection & pictures getting bit washed out,particularly the darker areas of the screen.Though I did found that distracting,but i also do opine that this may change in the confines of a dim room in the house!..apart from the fact there r large no of "happy"d450/490 owners at AVS!....now is the d550 as reflective as the d490 or even worse than that?

Any plasma would reflect light 'çoz the front end is glass everywhere,but the mileage varies,with lesser in higher sets...now this being the proposition,what do u ppls think of me getting a 42v20(even though i don't want 2 decrease size,the thin bezel & also 3d of d550,but 42v20 comes within my budget)..would i better off with it & no reflections to bother completely( in my current situation)? ...i really wonder if i'm venturing to a crossroad of what to prefer more,style/features(d550) or substance(v20) ?

Dear hotskins, plz do read that opting for a d7000 or d8000 is NOT an option for me( though they r certainly better), but as u find out,i have already maxed my budget out!
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post #10 of 21
5/31/11 at 6:14pm
Tough choice .
After having upgraded from a 40" to a 51" screen, there's no way I could ever go back to anything smaller than - at the lowest - a 46" screen, and from now on I would certainly prefer to keep it above 50" (but I also have budget restraints that kept me from feeling like paying for a D6500 or D7000, which are both currently substantially more expensive than the D550 here in Denmark, we're talking prices around 40% higher. And the D6500 - or D6905 as its called here - is apparently also a model extremely few stores are currently choosing to sell here).

To state my descriptions of the reflection issue in yet another way. Any reasonably bright light sources - natural or artificial - will almost certainly cause very disruptive and annoying reflections in the D550.
If, like me, you can manage to get those light sources under control, you shouldn't have any problems.

I haven't seen the more expensive plasmas in action, so I honestly don't know if their better antiglare filters make a big impact.
If they still reflect enough light to be an annoyance (and as I know from my old LCD, it certainly still can be even if it's it's not as bright as what's reflected by my D550), you'll still pretty much be in the exact same position as with the D550 - that you will need to get your light sources under control.
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post #11 of 21
5/31/11 at 6:31pm
While the D550 series is a very nice set, given the room layout, I'd suggest also taking a look at the Panasonic ST30 series. The AR filter on the ST series is very good. In fact, I currently have a Matte finish 46" LCD in my family room. If I had to replace it today, I would be considering ST series, and also perhaps GT, in addition to D7000 and 8000 series.
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post #12 of 21
5/31/11 at 6:33pm
I had every intention of buying the 51d550 this weekend, and while I know store lighting is overly bright, the d550 was like a mirror. What sealed it for me was seeing it side by side with a d6500. The 6500 took care of nearly all the reflections save for the obnoxious warehouse lights of bb and hhgregg. It was close, but not quite as good as the ex500 next to it, which is a matte screen lcd.

My room has only a north facing sliding glass door, and I'm afraid that i'll see reflections from the ambient light, never mind direct light.

The 550 seems like a bang for the buck winner this year aside from glare, and now I'm left deciding if I can forego screen size and get a 42st30, or size and perhaps picture and get a 46ex500.

I wish we could swing the extra ~$380-400 for the d6500, but I really want to stick to the budget.
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post #13 of 21
6/1/11 at 5:27am
I would never sacrifice screen size, especially when we're talking a 50" to a 42". If you are confident that you'll be able to control all the light sources in your viewing room, then you shouldn't worry too much. Check with the store you're buying from to see if you can return the TV for a full refund if you're not happy though…there's no real way to tell if you're going to have problems or not until you get that TV in there.

To remedy my situation with glare from my overhead potlights, I bought two floor lamps with dimmers from Ikea and set them up slightly behind and to the side of the TV. My room still gets some dim lighting, and I am reflection free (my plasma's in the basement though, so it's easy for me).
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post #14 of 21
6/2/11 at 2:56am
I have had a 51D550 for the last few days... upgraded from a +/-30" CRT

So my old TV was reflective, but it was also small. This new TV is much bigger, and I find the reflections MUCH more distracting

Even at night, if I have any lights on in the room (even dim), it is distracting... I don't seem to be able to "tune-out" or ignore the reflections, as they are very sharp (not blurred like you get with AR coatings).

So for me, I'm taking the set back

Originally, I wanted the D6500, but it is not available here.
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post #15 of 21
6/2/11 at 7:50am
Thread Starter 
Now Can u guys inform me of one imp thing does CRT tvs (like my Philips flat tv's abt 10-11 yrs old) came with AR Coating?...i'm asking b'çoz currently my 29"flat CRT TV is in the same place where i propose to install the bigger plasma....however,despite the CRT tv's front end also being of glass,which is the same reflective material,...i don't find much reflection/glare which is distracting?....is it b'çoz my CRT TV screen size is small?...or is CRT TV inherent brightness much more than plasma tv,that reflection doesn't matter or does my Old CRT TV comes with some good AR coating that reflections r Not so distracting?
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post #16 of 21
6/2/11 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AVS Fanboy View Post
Now Can u guys inform me of one imp thing does CRT tvs (like my Philips flat tv's abt 10-11 yrs old) came with AR Coating?...i'm asking b'çoz currently my 29"flat CRT TV is in the same place where i propose to install the bigger plasma....however,despite the CRT tv's front end also being of glass,which is the same reflective material,...i don't find much reflection/glare which is distracting?....is it b'çoz my CRT TV screen size is small?...or is CRT TV inherent brightness much more than plasma tv,that reflection doesn't matter or does my Old CRT TV comes with some good AR coating that reflections r Not so distracting?
I actually watched my CRT again today, and it does have similar reflections... but it is mainly the smaller size that make it less distracting to me. The screen surfaces look very similar, so I don't think either have any coating.
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post #17 of 21
6/2/11 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AVS Fanboy View Post
Now Can u guys inform me of one imp thing does CRT tvs (like my Philips flat tv's abt 10-11 yrs old) came with AR Coating?...i'm asking b'çoz currently my 29"flat CRT TV is in the same place where i propose to install the bigger plasma....however,despite the CRT tv's front end also being of glass,which is the same reflective material,...i don't find much reflection/glare which is distracting?....is it b'çoz my CRT TV screen size is small?...or is CRT TV inherent brightness much more than plasma tv,that reflection doesn't matter or does my Old CRT TV comes with some good AR coating that reflections r Not so distracting?
A 29" TV doesn't show a lot of reflection because it's so small to start with. Also, I believe the glass was designed for more of a diffused look as the picture isn't sharp anyway (at least compared to any HDTV). I'm not sure about actual brightness but it's an apples to oranges kind of question since the screen sizes are so radically different. Even if a CRT has higher inherent brightness (not saying it does), it wouldn't seem that way as the overall light output is so much lower.
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post #18 of 21
6/2/11 at 6:32pm
Thread Starter 
thanks hudson for the quick comparison!
....now does any1 have any idea abt what material is the front end of the d550...is it really glass or plexi glass?...coz afaik...plexiglasses give a more than natural reflection/shine/gloss from it compared to real glass & also r more prone to scratches and abrasions in the longer run.If that is indeed so it can be affecting the picture quality of tv in later time period!

I have no idea(only guesses) & hence asking the helpful forum!
* mayb its Not only the d550,but all newer plasma tv's in general!
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post #19 of 21
6/2/11 at 6:58pm
if the d6500 isnt an option than i would get the d550 as the d7000 is sooo much more money for the same exact panel performance. You basically pay hundreds and hundreds more for an AR coating that is prone to peel off, a metal bezel, thinner cabinet, smart tv features, built in wifi, its just extra lil frills but no real pq quality upgrade.

The d6500 is only 200-300 more so its not a terrible compromise but the d7000 and d8000 are rip offs
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post #20 of 21
6/6/11 at 11:10pm
Thread Starter 
^just to inform friends al those chipped in their help...i ultimately got the 51d550... & till now(the tv is very new) ám quite happy with!.. reflections r there, but NOT that distracting in my home/room confines which one find in the very bright settings of the showroom..so'm quite content with it till now!
Thanks all ppl for guiding me !
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post #21 of 21
6/6/11 at 11:14pm
for the d550 series.. you need a total light controlled room. and it helps to have placement off angle so there are minimal reflections.

in my room that it is.. i have a total light controlled room.. can make it pitch black during day..

and i re-arranged the furnature in such a way so the reflections aren't there.

awesome set!! great choice.
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