Official Samsung UNxxES8000 Owner's Thread - Page 341

Originally Posted by cmay91472 

Good news and bad news!

The good news.... I'm not crazy. I took the 7th ES8000 panel back to BB tonight and actually had them hook it up and view the 3D on Kung Fu Panda 2 after it displayed the same 3D background errors on both the Oppo 103 and PS3. They immediately noticed the excessive crosstalk infused backgrounds and how they were hazy, out of focus with 3D errors (where things in the backgrounds were not properly in the background instead floating in the middle so to speak... background clouds were the best example of this type of 3D error where they just kind of floated in the foreground or middle) and said this can't be right. Keep in mind neither of the two Magnolia reps have ever actually viewed 3D on a 60ES8000 nor had a 60 instore display hooked up so would they really know if it was a defective set or the 3D on certain movies is just that bad with the 60ES8000. I say certain movies, because a number of ones I tested were fine with only a few things muddled in the background, where as other movies like Kung Fu Panda, Monsters Vs. Aliens, and Frankenweenie all displayed excessive background crosstalk and/or cloudy/hazy backgrounds in multiple scenes. I didn't notice any background errors on live action 3D blus, only on the animated 3D blus. Also the sample size was only about 6 movies or so. None of these errors occurred with the 65ES8000s, but did on 3 straight 60ES8000s. The only thing I can think of since no one else has reported any problems with cross talk similar to what I have posted is that maybe transporting the sets laying flat face up is somehow damaging or messing up the 3D function since 3 of the 4 60ES8000s had problems displaying 3D correctly.

The bad news.... I finally got the warning for excessive returns on this my 7th BB return of an ES8000. Obviously, I wasn't going to keep the set after confirming I wasn't imagining the problems with the 3D, so instead of exchanging again I just had them refund the money this time. So i'm now banned for 90 days from exchanging at BB. They did re-confirm that if I did need to make a return/exchange, just to bring my wife with me and use her ID, but at this point I figured it was pointless.

I really did like the set and would have loved it if I actually received one that wasn't defect free. Now I just have to be patient I guess and see which will come out first, the new Pannys or new Sammys..... but I highly doubt quality control will be any better on the 65F8000s and fully expect frequent dead pixels and vertical banding on those as well.

I soooooooo wish I didn't get rid of the 65ES8000 as in hindsight, the level of vertical banding on the set I had is something I could have lived with if I knew that the 3D on the 60 was going to be this big of a problem due to either quality control problems or just being an inferior 3D image to the 65.

Originally Posted by chrisjmccord 

So what exactly is the "Prime Time Anytime" for? My wife records a lot of shows, but can't get to them right away due to kids, family, life etc...so if there is a time limit on the Prime Time Anytime stuff, its just not a feature that we could use. The DVR is the best feature, its really your shows when you want to watch them. Thats what we need. And me I love sports, and high quality picture. All this other stuff is muddying up the waters for me...Hopper/Joey is the same as Genie, so I just need to fine tune what I'd use and not use. I did like that travel dish that Dish Network offers, for tailgating...that could be useful, does DirecTV have anything like it?

Originally Posted by chrisjmccord 

Thats a lot of work for a TV...did you box it back up each time and return it? Do they charge restocking fees, well I guess not for defective stuff? You tried the 60" or just 65"?

Originally Posted by cmay91472 

Tried 3 65ES8000s. First two had dead pixels, third one after testing it for a week decided I was not happy with the vertical banding especially on anything that panned.

Tried 4 60ES8000s. First had dead pixels, second the 3D didn't work correctly, third had dead pixels, and the 4th and final also had 3D that didn't work correctly (or the 3D on the 60ES8000 is just that bad). Now on the 4th and final, I can't confirm the 3D was definitely defective because the BB could not test on a second set to see if it was the same, but either way I was not going to keep a panel that could not translate the entire 3D image correctly.

I think a couple people put it best earlier that ignorance is bliss and I do know there are alot of 60ES8000 owners who swear their sets are perfect or do not put a high priority on a sets 3D performace.... but bad 3D on 3 out of 4 (and most likely 4, but I never tested it on the 4th due to the dead pixels) is not a coincidence. I even took Garnochs advice and took the 60 ES8000 over to my dads so we could do a side by side comparison with the old 65VT30. When he viewed the ES8000, he didn't think anything was necessarily wrong at first, but when we did the side by side (he also had a copy of KFP2 so we had them both running next to each other) he then realized the issues the 60ES8000 has and immediately noticed the problems I tried to describe about the 60ES8000 not being able tor translate background scenery correctly, instead displaying many parts of a background as hazy and out of focus crosstalk.

This could have been a unique issue with just the 60ES8000 october HS01 builds I received, or alot of 60ES8000 owners have not viewed enough 3D material to run into the specific movies or scenes that the 60ES8000 has trouble translating correctly or they have nothing to compare it to and don't realize that the 3D is not supposed to look like this. Again.... for the most part this issue only manifested itself on a handful of occasions on the movies I played, but on certain movies like KFP2 and Monsters vs, Aliens, it was so bad that the movie was unwatchable.... similar to how the vertical banding on the 65 was only noticeable on a handful of scenes in most of the movies I tested, but then on certain movies the banding made them unwatchable.

But in the end, I have returned to my opinion that Samsung did a terrible job by making a 65 panel that has major vertical banding issues, and a 60 that does not perform 3D correctly. If they can just create either a 60 or 65 that can do both, then they really would have the perfect panel then.

Originally Posted by Cap'n Preshoot 

NO SOUND !!

Turned off last night, all was well. Turned on this morning, no sound. Dead.
Can switch over to antenna input and all is well, but no sound from external device (TIVO)

Suspecting the TIVO box, I swapped it with one from the bedroom. No Joy. Still no sound.
All that's left is cabling, though I doubt that's the problem. We have an HW e450 which I switched off and on (going back to regular TV speakers) but still no sound.

ANyone else ever had this problem?

Originally Posted by Bladerunner1959 

Samsara: was there a 3d combo pack released or is this just a 2d release?

Originally Posted by gamermwm 

Prime Time Anytime basically records the 4 major networks during prime time hours. You can then access the Prime Time list and select certain shows that have been recorded to "save" what you want, or you can pick a show such as the Office for example, and set an option for it to always be saved and added to your folder (Dad,Mom,Kids,Etc.). It comes in handy, and there have been a few times I've been working, only to come home and gladly find that P.T.A. recorded Monday Night Football for me (or whatever else was on that I might have missed)

The shows that you don't save are erased after so many days. But the ones you select to save don't take up any of your DVR space either. I think that the function actually works like VOD, because it did not seem to be streaming when played back. But when you check each show saved from P.T.A. it shows that it is taking up 0% of your DVR space (not that you need much extra space with the Hopper anyway)

The auto-hop feature is enabled on all P.T.A. recocrdings and saves you from having to press the skip or fast forward button basically

Hope this helps. You can't really go wrong either way

Originally Posted by cmay91472 

Good news and bad news!

The good news.... I'm not crazy. I took the 7th ES8000 panel back to BB tonight and actually had them hook it up and view the 3D on Kung Fu Panda 2 after it displayed the same 3D background errors on both the Oppo 103 and PS3. They immediately noticed the excessive crosstalk infused backgrounds and how they were hazy, out of focus with 3D errors (where things in the backgrounds were not properly in the background instead floating in the middle so to speak... background clouds were the best example of this type of 3D error where they just kind of floated in the foreground or middle) and said this can't be right. Keep in mind neither of the two Magnolia reps have ever actually viewed 3D on a 60ES8000 nor had a 60 instore display hooked up so would they really know if it was a defective set or the 3D on certain movies is just that bad with the 60ES8000. I say certain movies, because a number of ones I tested were fine with only a few things muddled in the background, where as other movies like Kung Fu Panda, Monsters Vs. Aliens, and Frankenweenie all displayed excessive background crosstalk and/or cloudy/hazy backgrounds in multiple scenes. I didn't notice any background errors on live action 3D blus, only on the animated 3D blus. Also the sample size was only about 6 movies or so. None of these errors occurred with the 65ES8000s, but did on 3 straight 60ES8000s. The only thing I can think of since no one else has reported any problems with cross talk similar to what I have posted is that maybe transporting the sets laying flat face up is somehow damaging or messing up the 3D function since 3 of the 4 60ES8000s had problems displaying 3D correctly.

The bad news.... I finally got the warning for excessive returns on this my 7th BB return of an ES8000. Obviously, I wasn't going to keep the set after confirming I wasn't imagining the problems with the 3D, so instead of exchanging again I just had them refund the money this time. So i'm now banned for 90 days from exchanging at BB. They did re-confirm that if I did need to make a return/exchange, just to bring my wife with me and use her ID, but at this point I figured it was pointless.

I really did like the set and would have loved it if I actually received one that wasn't defect free. Now I just have to be patient I guess and see which will come out first, the new Pannys or new Sammys..... but I highly doubt quality control will be any better on the 65F8000s and fully expect frequent dead pixels and vertical banding on those as well.

I soooooooo wish I didn't get rid of the 65ES8000 as in hindsight, the level of vertical banding on the set I had is something I could have lived with if I knew that the 3D on the 60 was going to be this big of a problem due to either quality control problems or just being an inferior 3D image to the 65.

Originally Posted by Cap'n Preshoot 

NO SOUND !!

Turned off last night, all was well. Turned on this morning, no sound. Dead.
Can switch over to antenna input and all is well, but no sound from external device (TIVO)

Suspecting the TIVO box, I swapped it with one from the bedroom. No Joy. Still no sound.
All that's left is cabling, though I doubt that's the problem. We have an HW e450 which I switched off and on (going back to regular TV speakers) but still no sound.

ANyone else ever had this problem?

Originally Posted by Garnoch 

I'm glad you had them hook it up and see for themselves though so they didn't think you were crazy. I only have blurred backgrounds that look odd when things are out of focus to begin with but my point is I think I know exactly what you're talking about although I never categorized that as crosstalk so to speak. We were talking about this issue or at least a similar one with The Avengers a couple months back.

Originally Posted by Cap'n Preshoot 

NO SOUND !!

Turned off last night, all was well. Turned on this morning, no sound. Dead.
Can switch over to antenna input and all is well, but no sound from external device (TIVO)

Suspecting the TIVO box, I swapped it with one from the bedroom. No Joy. Still no sound.
All that's left is cabling, though I doubt that's the problem. We have an HW e450 which I switched off and on (going back to regular TV speakers) but still no sound.

ANyone else ever had this problem?

Originally Posted by Anthony5362 

Cmay,

I can't even tell you if I notice a difference between my 65" and 60" because I don't even have my 60" connected to a blu ray player to check the 3D. If I get a chance, I take a look, but I haven't heard of the 3D being different between the 60" and the 65" before. I'm sorry your going though this hassle

Originally Posted by cmay91472 

I never did get a chance to put Avengers in to see if it happened with that one as well, but it definitely sounds similar to what I have an issue with..... and if I never had the 65VT50, let alone the 65ES8000 which had the best 3D image of all three, I probably would never have thought anything of it and thought like many 60 owners that all was good. But having recently watched a ton of 3D on the 65ES8000, it was fresh in my mind how it is supposed to look and if indeed the 3D on the three 60s in particular were not defective, then the only other thing I can chalk it up to is that the panel in the 65, albeit a vertical banning one, does have superior capabilities in regards to properly translating the 3D image. Maybe the 60 just can't do the 3D algorithm correctly hence the 3D errors.

For those 60 owners who have the Avengers and participated in that discussion..... if the 3D on the Avengers does not look as razor sharp as the 2D version, then that is the problem I am encountering as the Avengers was razor sharp in 3D on both the 65VT50 and 65ES8000. Kung Fu Panda 2 and Monsters Vs Aliens are good examples as well. I think as many of you watch more 3D whether it be new releases or finally watching older catalog titles, you will begin to notice what I am referring to.

Perhaps the evolution kit will fix this defect on the 60ES8000s, or maybe the Sharp made panel is just not capable of it as I've read that 3D on the Sharp Elites is actually the worst of all the major brands, despite the 2D being one of the best.

Originally Posted by Anthony5362 

Thanks man...

I just want to say thanks for all the info on Direct TV and Dish. You guys would make great sales men. I am now considering getting rid of Comcast HD and going with Direct TV thanks to you guys

Originally Posted by cmay91472 

I soooooooo wish I didn't get rid of the 65ES8000 as in hindsight, the level of vertical banding on the set I had is something I could have lived with if I knew that the 3D on the 60 was going to be this big of a problem due to either quality control problems or just being an inferior 3D image to the 65.

Originally Posted by thebignewt 

Separate question about Direct TV: what are the 3D channels and are they any better than "fake 3D" that we can see on our sets? We watched that IMAX Under the Sea 3D movie last night and that was amazing!

Originally Posted by thebignewt 

I said several pages back that you shouldn't keep trying these TVs and get another brand. Unfortunately there are so many features in these things that can be imperfect that a perfectionist is going to drive himself nuts with one. And you can't really fault BB for basically shutting you off with returns. There has to be a limit somewhere. I would have shut it off at 3 and given a refund. I don't even want to search for dead pixels. Why? Because if I can't see them watching shows and discs they don't affect me.
Separate question about Direct TV: what are the 3D channels and are they any better than "fake 3D" that we can see on our sets? We watched that IMAX Under the Sea 3D movie last night and that was amazing!

Originally Posted by cmay91472 

I'm considering trying the Sony 65HX950. The GM of my local BB this morning said he would override all returns in regards to my 90 day ban so they go through if I need to make more exchanges. At the moment, I'm just not sure I want to pay $5,000 for a Sony but am considering it since I'm not 100% keen on plasma so the 65ZT or VT 60s may still not be the best fit for me and I'm most likely never going to try another Samsung after this many defective sets ruling out the F8000. The HX950 just came out this past fall so Sony most likely won't have another flagship offering for quite some time as well.

Trust me, I really wish I wouldn't notice stuff like dead pixels, vertical banding and 3D errors, but I have a keen eye and unfortunately easily notice this stuff..... and there is a huge difference between you being able to watch and be happy not knowing if there are dead pixels compared to me that can spot them from 8ft away even if I'm not searching for them.... in my case it would be settling for a defective product since I know they are there which I'm not willing to do.

If more people took the attitude of not settling for dead pixels, banding, etc.... these manufacturers would be forced to improve quality control, but unfortunately your mindset is more the norm than mine is. Also, I bet the majority of the people in this thread would not keep a TV if there were any dead pixels and they had the ability to return.

Originally Posted by Garnoch 

Just make sure you check out the 950 thread because banding and pixel issues seems to be about the same there - though I think uniformity seems better on the 950. 3D is close to the ES but it's not quite the same. This is just what I gather from trying to keep up with that thread. It's also much heavier which can be good or bad. .