Samsung D series FBr fix discussion - Page 52

The E series i have has an overly aggressive Automatic Brightness Limiter which causes strobing on brighter scenes and some flickering on darker scenes. Wish i'd never bought the thing it drives me crazy. The support i had from Samsung here in the UK was by far my worst experience ever.

However there is no brightness popping on the black bars like i read is common with most of the D series.

I am aware of the aggressive ABL on Samsung plasmas. My D series has the hockey pops too. It does not bother me though as this inherent in all plasmas. Panasonic does have a less aggressive ABL and shifts the white levels much slower and gradually so that it is not as noticeable. However my eye prefers the Samsung, and along with the IR problem of Panny I would not buy.

Do you have an 8000 or 7000 series? I ask because I read that the ABL is more aggressive on the 8000, but who knows?
Edited by Icon13 - 4/2/13 at 11:29am

New Firmware Update 1017.3 see below. I updated my tv pn59d6500 and the logic board is still 11-11-04

Upgrade File(USB type) (Firmware) (ver.1017.3)
Title 2011 PDP Firmware
Applicable Model D6450, D6500, D6900, D7000
Carrier or Corporate Customer All Customers
Description This firmware supports Verizon App. This firmware supports Netflix 3.1. This firmware makes TV available for 3D explore and Compassion apps. This firmware improves picture quality on SD picture This firmware enhances TV security(Widget encryption, Widget key security, obfuscation). New code is added for verizon app service(Caption, Cookie, DRM).

Strange, my new E7000 has an abl that is almost unnoticeable. Peaks whites on a full white screen are not as high, but no "hockey pops." No fbr either. The overall PQ is much better than the D that I had; like watching the action through a window. I could actually see the individual pixels in the blue sky while playing COD, something never present in my D series' 3 panels. Jaw dropping

Despite reviews 3d crosstalk is about the same, but due to the much crisper, sharp image it has improved.

If anybody else has a return of the pops then go through the proper channels and you will not be sorry. Good luck.

Goodbye fbr thread

I got the 51e450( firmware 1015) and the adc results are,113 for darks and 145 for brights .I'm wondering why it's so different from the default settings on d450 -130 darks 73 brights.

I haven't noticed any Floating blacks but I'm not looking for them too hard as im hoping to not see them.I have seen the flickering brights- not that often and very minimal and not bothersome When it happens.I've seen a few times when it was overly Noticable.im always changing settings as Im experimenting with 130/73 right now and I've noticed a few hockey flickers that may have not been there on 113/145.Neither problem is a real bothersome problem at this point.
Edited by Vic12345 - 11/29/12 at 4:23am

Don't think you've made it clear why you began changing ADC settings on an E series set in the first place, but personlly I think this is unwise if only to address a minor issue (generally speaking, the only reason anyone should consider changing these settings is if they have noticed a sudden change as a result of new firmware). Also, why would you expect the settings to be anything like the D series? Anyway, all I'm saying is, if it ain't broke...

So, after about 180 hours on my third 64D7000 panel the pops have appeared. Turning on CinemaSmooth takes care of the suddenly rising blacks and fortunately I don't see any negative impact on black level (not saying it's not there, just saying that it's not enough for me to tell). However, this panel also has what I assume is what people call hockey pops i.e. sudden changes in light output when watching brighter scenes, and this issue is pretty bad. I wanted to see how much worse it would get with CS off, and much to my surprise disabling CS made the hockey pops stop completely. By now I'm kind of baffled...

My first panel developed flashing red pixels after maybe 800 hours with the logic board fix applied. Therefore, although I have absolutely zero evidence to suggest there's a connection, I'm hesitant to apply the fix on this panel. I'm also a bit suspicious since Samsung never made the fix widely available. Why not, if it works and there's no risk? I only have about one month left on my warranty and don't really want to rock the boat with the set (PQ is great, no pixel problems etc). But it seems both kinds of pops can be dealt with by turning CS on or off:

For brighter movies, especially if they're full-screen i.e. true 16:9 or close (lots of light output), turn CS off to avoid hockey pops.
For darker movies, especially if they're letterboxed, turn CS on to avoid popping blacks.

My set is only used for BD movies so that simplifies things for me a bit.

This is where I'm at. I have a great set with issues that can be almost completely mitigated with selective use of CinemaSmooth. Of course, movies aren't 100% light or 100% dark but usually the visual style is consistent so this way works fairly well. Now, if I was able to spot judder I'd have to watch only dark movies but fortunately I'm not.

Oh, and yes, I suppose I could contact Samsung again. To be honest, after two replacements already I'm kind of tired of dealing with it. It's too time-consuming and there's no doubt at all that the so-called panel lottery is real, at least with Samsung. (Not sure about the other brands.) I know what I have but not what I'd get...

Avidhiker I'm just trying to make the Tv look better.I think the130/73 looks more balanced( less vivid)Than 113/145(wb all set to 128).What is the difference between white balance and adc results?

Update color is better 113/145 now that I changed it again.There's stil somel hockey pops but i think a bit less Noticable.It's a more contrasty black and white vs soft bright look.I'll be on here if I see any floating blacks

Thanks avidH
Edited by Vic12345 - 11/29/12 at 4:19pm

Hi guys, Im new to the forum so forgive me if this info is already covered in this thread. I have the 59d8000 with 1023 installed. I just want to confirm the 1024.8 fix does still correct the brightness pop issue. I have attempted to upgrade but I keep getting, "no file available to upgrade."

Ive been in contact with samsung support and a local service center, but as most of you know they are not of much help.

Welcome kanamit, check the first page of this thread to review the firmware fix version information. Your problem is related to the way the FW was zipped. You simply need to remove the extra folder, like I describe below:

Basically, ADC (L/H value) affects the brightness range of the display. ADC/WB settings are for setting the white balance, and should only be adjusted with a meter.
I would leave the ADC settings at the FACTORY settings of 113/145. There is no reason to believe that they are not optimal for your TV, and it is not likely you can fix any picture fluctuations by messing with them.

I don't know if anybody still tries to use ruCommunicator, but I just noticed that my Norton antivirus program found and removed it because it found malware: Trojan.Komodola

Any progress getting a response from Samsung on the (returned) FBR issue? Do you think theres any chance we'll see another FW to address the issue?

The fix wasn't permanent. I'm guessing the return of the problem is tied to phospor aging. The built-in black level adjustments that gave us FBR had their thresholds "fixed" but soon became the wrong thresholds as the panel ages.

+1 on obveron's post. Im nearing the end of my warranty and dont know what to do regarding the popping (PN59D8000). Im still working on installing 1024.8 but if the pops come back, then what?

Subbed to research when I get home...

Hey guys, I have the PN59D8000 and the 51 as well. I installed the 1024.8 months ago and got rid of the slight brightness pops in the black bars. Around late October I got a free calibration offer from best buy/geeksquad and the guy came out and drastically improved the colors as well as opened up cal day/cal night. The weird thing is while in these modes and watching a blu ray the brightness pops came back. If I switch it back to movie mode with my old settings the pops are completly gone. Same scene on the same movie.

I had the calibratorcome back out and showed him the issue, he called the repair department from geek squad. The repair department then came out and coudlnt figure it out but said he could replace the mainboard and see if that works. So now I have the repair guy coming out on the 15th to replace the mainboard and the calibrator coming back out around two weeks after that to re calibrate and see if the issue was solved.

Questions: Does the TV have to be broken in again (100 hours) before the new calibration considering all they are replacing is the mainboard? Next question is: does the E series plasma have any issues that are more annoying as I am going to ask them to replace the set with a new one if this does not work.

Thanks

Hi, I currently have the Samsung PS51D530 EU version. Can I install the 51DF_DeepBlack.bin on my TV? TV does not have RJ45 connector.

Here is screen (Unlock USB D530 -> D550):



Edited by Qbaas - 3/22/13 at 10:09am

Maybe with a WLAN USB Dongle?
Or with a factory/service remote. You can find them on ebay or at samsung service partners.

+1 Another one that can CONFIRM the return of the fbr.

This is not ABL that I am noticing, it is definitely the more dramatic shifting of black/fbr. I performed the fix update around Sept. of 2012 and noticed it recently after I did two things:
1) painted the wall behind the TV a darker gray
2) UNPLUGGED the power cable from the wall

So..
- either my panel happened to hit an hour mark where the fbr fix stops or the panel changes....
-OR unplugging the power source seemed to have done something to the internals. I'm not hooked up to a network so there was no auto upgrade...
-OR the darker wall makes the fbr shift more noticeable...I think this is least likely because I'm noticing hard/step shifts in black...not the gradual dynamic smooth change in black that the fbr fix reportedly did.

I even tried to re-install the original fbr fix only to have the TV say that it is already updated with the fbr fix (something to that extent - the firmware for fbr matches up).

Nontheless, I'll still be checking this thread to see if there are any further updates or if ppl are having success maybe getting a new TV or a new panel or something and having it work out.

To date, I have had only 1 brightness pop on my E series ever, and that was probably source material related. My D series was absolute crap in comparison. Buyer beware!

So I updated my PN51d550 to version 1019.5 firmware. Worked flawlessly, all was well. I just had to mess around in Service mode, and wouldnt you know it I triggered the dreaded Micom update procedure. Needless to say my tv is now bricked. I have already done a bunch of research and it seems that the only remedy for this is to install a new mainboard. If this is the way I have to proceed, does anyone know which mainboard is the one that has the Micom chip on it?
Secondly, has any new info surfaced about flashing the empty Micom chip?

Cheers

I feel terrible for your situation. When you get a chance, can you please offer us some advice on how to prevent a situation like that? I was considering upgrading my fw by USB to either a newer fw or going back with SamyGo. I'm trying ti improve my blacks. Do upgrades like that ever require going into the service mode like you did? If so, how can we avoid what happened? I've read it can happen easily and Accidently..

thanks for the heads up, appreciate the info

Doing a simple firmware upgrade via usb is not dangerous at all except in the event of a power failure or manually turning off the tv during the upgrade process. When you put the tv into service mode and start poking around in menus that you have no experience with thats when you can run into problems, a serious one in my case. There is quite a bit of info on calibration on this forum, stick to that stuff and you should be fine. If you see Micom for any reason, run in the other direction!

Moving to the appropriate thread, hoping Larry sees it....

Larry, are you sure? My 64D7000 most certainly has the pops. On my original panel I installed the logic board fix which worked fine. I then got a replacement panel due to a handful of blinking red pixels (and then immediately a second replacement due to severe uniformity issues...), and on my current panel I have not installed the logic board fix. It's had the pops since I received it, by now for 600 hours, and it's on FW version 1017. If I'm reading your post correctly, I shouldn't have the issue on my up-to-date D7000?

(Enabling CinemaSmooth takes care of the problem but of course it sacrifices black level. Interestingly, not having CS on makes ABL much less aggressive. However, since I only watch movies the brightness pops are a much bigger issue for me than ABL because of the letterbox bars.)
Edited by willieconway - 5/8/13 at 8:32pm

Willie,

If I remember correctly, when the panel is replaced only your original power supply and main board are retained. I don't think that the logic board is. You can check using the 7-3-7 method described in post #1.

If you need to update the logic, you will first have to roll back the software because Samsung prevented access to the remote emulator with version 1017.3.

Larry

You're right, the replacement panel comes with a new logic board. But I understood from your post that an official fix was distributed (via FW) so I don't see how that would matter since I'm on the latest firmware.

I'm hesitant to roll back and update the logic board. On my first panel that I did do it with, flashing red pixels appeared after 11 months. I have no reason to believe that the logic board fix caused it, but since I'm now out of warranty I'm not willing to risk it. I've learned to live with the pops which aren't that bad anyway.

Thanks for your reply!

Sorry if I mislead you. For some reason known only to Samsung, the newer logic boards do not have the updated logic. Why not? I don't know.

I have had to roll the software back in order to access some of the service menu items only available using the emulator. For a while, I had been updating again to the latest software after doing what I wanted in the service menu. But since I have almost no use for the apps updates I leave it at a lower version. I've never had any problem with the roll back process.

Larry