Official Samsung PNXXE7000 - PNXXE8000 owners thread - Page 53

For what it's worth I called Samsung just now to report the FBr issue, and I described exactly what it looks like when it happens. He talked to a manager and said he was told to tell me to turn off ECO settings. Lol. I told him it's off and this is a very well-known issue in the forums, it's not something new, and that Samsung should be well aware of the issue by now (I also called them last night and gave them some additional info about the screen turning off during black screens - I told them how getting the brightness set past a certain level will prevent the screen turning off, and the rep put me on hold and then told me it's been passed on to both their supervisor and manager).

At this point he decided to transfer me to another department to set up a tech visit. I described in detail both the fluctuating brightness and the screen turning off. Initially she wanted to send a repair tech to service the tv and maybe get a replacement. I then told her that I do not believe the tv needs service or replacement because even CNET mentioned the screen turning off in their review, and there is a lot of talk about the fluctuating brightness in the forums, so if not completely necessary I'd rather not swap out the tv for no reason. I told her I think if I had 10 more of these side-by-side they would all act the same way, and that a firmware fix would be the answer, rather than just swapping out the tv when there's nothing actually broken. She then advised me to wait a few weeks while they look closer at these issues and hopefully offer an update to address them. She also said she'd email me her personal contact info so if I don't see a firmware fix in the next few weeks I could contact her directly and see if maybe there is a fix that has not been released to the public. She said she hasn't read CNET's review on this model but seemed interested when I told her they mention the screen turning off during black scenes.

So I don't know if this will make a lick of difference but hopefully they will keep their word and actually look at these issues.

Well I'm aware of that thread, in fact I used to own the D7000. But that thread is for the D series, not the E series, and it actually addresses a different issue I believe. The E series no longer fluctuates during dark scenes like the D series did. The problem is the brightness pops during bright scenes.

I didn't say I expect perfection, but obviously something's wrong when the tv turns the screen off when it shows black, since no other manufacturer's plasmas do that.

Well, suum quique, my D series didn't have the issue nor has it been established that it's a problem with the entire E series....nor did I say you expected perfection but maybe you actually do. Panasonic has had the issue, so has Samsung. BFD.

Very correct. These are 2 different issues. The fluctuating during dark scenes has been fixed - I have not yet seen it happen even once yet with the E8000. The fluctuating during bright scenes is entirely different and has not been fixed, that's why I called Samsung.

Is it noticeable outside of Hockey? Well it was quite distracting during the film "Tree of Life" near the end, and also during a scene in Battlestar Galactica where they were at a beach and it was very bright and the screen was going nuts with fluctuations. In fact just this minute I looked over at the tv which has "Chronicles of Narnia:Voyage of the Dawn Treader" playing and there is a scene near the end at the beach and the screen got very bright and the brightness started fluctuating.

You didn't say I expected perfection, but you quoted me and said "some people will still expect only perfection". You also pointed to a D-series thread for a fix when it doesn't apply to the E series. And the fact that I'm noticing it on my E8000 means it is obviously a problem with the E series, or am I just making it up?

No I don't expect perfection, but I expect the screen not to turn off when I'm watching it, and I expect the tv not to filp out any time there's a bright scene in a movie.

Not that you should have to, but have you tried turning down the contrast and / or cell light to see if you can reduce the occurrence of the fluctuations?

Haven't tried that, no. Just figured out last night that with the brightness setting on 48 the screen won't turn off. The problem is I would like to turn that down a bit more but can't without that issue returning.

I would like to see what you're talking about, and I happen to have that entire series. Can you tell me which season and which episode? I'd like to see it.

Sure can - season 3, episode 7. Starts around 25 minutes in, the entire scene during Baltar's questioning, while in his mind he's at the beach. The beach scenes are very bright. First time watching the series through.

It's a matter of correct language. Your one experience does not represent the entire "E" series let alone make it obvious. I'd say you have a defective set.

I know the scene you mean at the beach with quite a few direct sun shots. I have this movie on BD and it plays flawlessly on my D-series - absolutely no fluctuations in any of the brightly lit scenes. Btw, this is a great movie to use for reference color (sky, grass, skin tones, yellow in sunflowers, lilac blue, many others)

I don't buy it for a second. It's 2 weeks old, and it is not defective. Is it defective also that the screen turns off when it displays a black screen? No, because even CNET said that happens, as well as others in this thread.

It is not a defective tv. Funny how every time an issue comes up with these tv's the first thing people say is "it must be defective". Was my ST50 defective when it couldn't recognize side-by-side video properly much of the time? According to other users, they experienced the same thing. It couldn't possibly be that these sets all exhibit the same behavior? I ask anybody here to turn their brightness to 45 or below and tell me their set doesn't turn off when it gets a solid black screen.

Well both my girlfriend and I noticed the screen popping last night while we were watching it. It certainly was not flawless. It looked fantastic otherwise, but the brightness pops were sudden and noticeable.

I did see a few reports of similar problems in the UK forum with D-series but it's not been reproduced by anyone I know of in the owners or settings threads here.

Turns out the ABL is least aggressive when cell light is set to 20 and contrast is used to reduce output to the desired level, you could try and see if that helps any. The set shutting off during a black signal should be solved with proper setting of brightness.

I just rewatched that Galactica beach scene again - some scenes were stable, but several of the brightest scenes popped, sometimes just once, sometimes several times during the same few second shot. I know what my eyes see.

Cell light is already set to 20 as per CNET's setting. Contrast is also set to their recommendation, 95. Brightness is on 48, any lower and the screen turns off with black signals. And the screen shouldn't be turning off just because some people prefer to set their tv brightness a tad bit darker. CNET lists 45 for their setting and that is the default setting. At that setting my screen turns off.

You should set brightness and contrast using test disks, not cnet. Your panel also contains a good test pattern for setting the color and tint controls along with a red,blue,green only mode for that purpose, I recommend learning how to use them instead of cnet.

Lol, I've already downloaded and used a free calibration disc that is free to download and many in here recommend. I haven't yet used it on this E8000 because to be honest I wanted to start with CNET's settings and tweak from there, and to be honest, CNET's settings were quite close for the ST50. In fact after putting in CNET's ST50 settings, I didn't even have to change anything because according to the calibration disc everything looked right within proper range. I know how to use the test discs.

And that has nothing to do with the fact that the screen should not be turning off just because some people prefer to set their tv a little lower. Nor should the screen be popping in brightness every time I see a bright beach scene. I know how to make my tv look good. In fact the tv looks pretty fantastic, with very accurate looking flesh tones. I don't see how my color preferences should have anything to do with the tv screen shutting off on me.

Please don't automatically assume that users in here don't know what they're doing when they report the tv doing something weird. We all know that these tvs can do some strange things and sometimes firmware fixes are required to correct them. The screen turning off is confirmed issue with this set. Am I an expert? No, I never claim to be. I'm just a guy with a tv. But I've read how to use the calibration/test disc and I have used it with the D7000 and ST50 and I know what looks good. That doesn't change the fact that this tv has a couple issues that should be addressed.

It's times like this I really appreciate the ignore list, whining is obnoxious. over and out.

You've just got fan-boys biting at your heals.

It may not be a BFD (as one person stated) to everyone, but to those who bought a tv for more than just the name it is a BFD.

I know it. You're right in saying that to many people it is indeed a BFD. It's so disappointing that so many in here get aggressive and angry at others just because they're having issues or troubles with their sets, or have questions.

Fan-boys indeed. How dare I say that my (insert fan-boys' favorite brand name here) tv is having an issue? Obviously I must be totally clueless and it's all my fault that my tv turns the screen off when I'm watching it and bugs out with beach scenes.

Look people, I love this set overall. Just because I come here and report a problem I'm experiencing shouldn't warrant me getting blasted by people who claim I don't know what I'm doing. I'm amazed that people will try to defend something like the tv turning off the screen as something I'm doing wrong because I don't know how to set it. Lol.

There are many people in here who are willing to help, and I always appreciate that. There's also a ton of knowledge to gain in here. But there's always some who get defensive for seemingly no reason.

Ignore list, Zoyd? Really? I'm whining because my tv screen turns off while I'm watching it and flips out when I watch beach scenes?

Double.... Triple that Eagle...

which brings me to my previous question about input lag on the e7000/8000...anyone with comments? I seem to have more than i have experienced on other plasmas (ST50) and its a little bothersome. I have changed to Game mode which doesn't help much.

Deja vu all over again.

How fortunate we are to have a Panny fan-girl depositing her little turds of wisdom here


At the risk of being labeled a fanboy (not that that's a bad thing), I have not been able to re-create your issues. I've optioned my E8000 with the CNET settings and even dropped the brightness down to 30 as a test to see if the screen turns off. Mine does not. I don't have any hockey to watch, but I watched some Planet Earth & Ice Road Truckers and I didn't see any "hockey pops". I'm not exactly sure what that is, but everything looked normal. I'm somewhat hesitant to go looking for trouble, but I'd like to know if there is an issue while the TV is brand new. It would torque me off too if the the thing was flickering all the time or turning off at random.

Concerning input lag. I was not impressed with the E7000 compared to the St50. It is passable in game mode but does not feel nearly as responsive as the St50 in custom mode or game mode.

I have a comparison thread I opened up you might find interesting between the ST50 and E7000. I came away pretty impressed with the E7000 for off air or sat viewing but was not at all impressed with its gaming performance due to both input lag and its inability to get real dark at least in teh 60 inch version.

I also noticed the screen going black if the brightness is set to anything lower than 46.

Thanks BiotypeE. I think I saw one of your postings before with a couple of your comments. I will check out the thread you have. I just started really trying to game and i cant get a good setting. I had the screen flicker down a couple time last night and it freaked me out...came back on so I was happy!

If you're not experiencing the tv screen turning off then maybe you just haven't watched any material that has fed the tv a totally black screen? Just a guess, of course I have no idea what you watch. Yellow Submarine did it 2 days ago so bad my girlfriend even commented on it and said how annoying it was, I mentioned where in the film it happens in a previous post. It also did it on "Tree of Life". It does it anytime the screen goes black. With the brightness set to 48 instead of 45 it does not happen, ever. At 47 it still turns off, at 48 it doesn't. For BiotypE he mentions 46. It's obviously a bit different for each set but he says anything less than 46 for him and the screen turns off. For me, it still turns off at 46 and 47 but not at 48.

If your set turns off at any time when you didn't power it off, let alone when it displays a black screen, yes, I'd call that defective. Is it possible that all sets are doing what yours is? I don't think so, show me a significant percentage of those posting in this thread that are having that same issue...just list the post numbers and I'll go read 'em.