Official Samsung UNXXES6500 Owner's Thread - Page 13

OK, last night I watched several of the 3D demos...and now I definitely see flashlighting and clouding. Flashlighting in all four corners and some clouding bottom center. Why would it only seem to appear when entering/exiting/watching 3D?! Do any of the "fixes" really work (massaging, loosening screws, etc.)?

I also encountered the CE dimming thing last night for the first time. Is Movie mode the only way to avoid it? I thought I read something about adjusting Brightness up or down to make it stop?

After exchanging two Vizios (which had noticeable flashlighting and clouding under all conditions) and now bringing the Samsung home, I'm getting tired of hauling this s**t back and forth. That's three 50"-55" TVs from two different manufacturers and two different stores within a month. I'm seriously considering just getting my money back and going back to my old DLP.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

I'm considering the same switch. It would cost me $300 more, but it would be 5" larger and have micro dimming, dual core processor, and a faster refresh rate. Would the 240Hz make a noticeable difference over 120Hz when watching 3D?

Please let me know what you decide and how it goes. Thanks.

Movie "mode" is the only way. But, keep in mind, those aren't really "modes"... they're just names for presets. You can make Movie look like any of the other presets by selecting it and changing the picture settings. I originally set up my picture based on Standard, but when I noticed the dimming and found the work around, I just selected Movie and then adjusted it to exactly the same settings I applied to Standard.

let me save you another return trip - all of this is documented within many ESxxxx owners threads.

CE dimming "work around"

• turn up brightness to around 52/53
• adjust white balance settings - R/G/B offsets to around 17 (offsets the brightness problem caused by previous setting)

For your flashlighting issue during 3D, adjust your Backlight settting while in 3D mode. By default, when the TV goes into 3D mode, the Backlight is set for max value of 20. You need to adjust this based on your room lighting.

Well, that worked for a couple days. Just yesterday it started doing it again. Plus now sometimes the smart menu flashes on the screen. This issue obviously isn't fixed.

Apparently, one gets a much better class of Samsung support if one uses the Samsung Cares app and the Remote Support option in it to get their attention. For those with the Smart Hub flash issue, it won't fix anything immediately, but it will add a voice and that may start to bubble up to the PTBs that can fix the problem.

I'll point out that, under Symptom, you can select Quality/Trouble>Firmware>Firmware

Make sure you uncheck the terms and conditions agreement for Syncplus or it will come back.

As for the SmartHub flash, this is a new problem all together. Many of us are calling Samsung to report the issue - I would suggest you do the same.

Yup, did that the first time and like I said it worked like charm for almost a week. As for the new issue with the SmartHub flash, that's when the same problems came back that were linked to the Syncplus app. I tried disabling the network like mentioned earlier and so far no random flash yet.

I called Samsung twice and they're no help at all. In fact, after the first call they said they will get back to me about the "sync" issue and the only thing I got 2 days later was a "how did we do?" survey in my email.

You should use the Samsung Care's app to open a service call.... best customer service I have ever received from Samsung. Its not their normal support group, but a small specialized tier 2 TV support team. Very knowledgeable about these panels and do not give you the run around. I would highly suggest using this for any service related calls in the future.

Just had a sort of weird partial reboot while watching the set. Screen went black, Power light blinked. Had audio for all but a split second of it. In all, it took about 10 seconds. Got the Smart Hub flash shortly afterward.

Hope it was a fluke.

Do you still have the Smarthub "flash" at 2 minutes?

Yup

I just had the SmartHub flash for the first time. I've had the TV for a week and haven't seen it until now. I let the TV update to 1024 the first night I had it, so it wasn't the firmware update that caused it...

Meanwhile, I finally hooked up the Samsung HW-E450 soundbar a couple nights ago, and its packed with ridiculous bugs all its own. It supports ARC, so I have an HDMI cable from the cable box to the soundbar and another from there to the TV. Anynet is turned on on both devices, so it should work. But now the TV shows two HDMI-2 ports (HDMI-2 is the ARC port), and no matter which I pick there are issues. If I go to Vudu and back, the TV shows "No Signal" and I have to select the source again. I can't control the EQ or even simple treble and bass settings on the soundbar. If I select HDMI instead of TV ARC on the soundbar, it reverts to TV ARC on its own (and they're the same port) and then the TV shows "No Source" again. And while the soundbar will automatically power off with the TV via HDMI-ARC, it will not power on with the TV unless I use a digital optical cable instead of or in conjunction with HDMI...which of course defeats the entire purpose of ARC.

That's about it for me. TV and soundbar are going back. I've owned 3 Samsung TVs since 2007, and was happy with the first two. But after one week of use and reading all the ES series threads here, I've decided Samsung's 2012 lineup sucks.

"Updating" notification on my set this morning when I turned it on. Sadly, the Smart Hub flash is still there. The Smart Hub version number is still the same, so something else must have updated.

Lovely that something else decided that it's worthy of interrupting my viewing without telling me why.

@EarlMagnus' tweet on the Smart Hub flash issue was retweeted this weekend and received this response from @SamsungSupport

https://twitter.com/SamsungSupport/status/277810376979144705

Got an email today:

I got the same email. But correcting the SmartHub flash will presumably require a firmware upgrade.

Yeah... I thought there might be a backend update signaling an update on the sets, but no luck. I had a "updating" message on my screen again this morning, but no relief on the screen flash issue.

So I spend some time reading this entire thread, for the most part everything seem pretty negative regarding this TV, is it really that bad? I am trying to find a 46-50 inch TV in the $1000-1200 range, but alot of the reviews I read are negative regarding LED TVs. Are their any owners satisfied with their purchase?

I contacted Samsung support and was advised that a firmware update will be released on 12/20, which is supposed to address the smart hub flash issue. Since the firmware update on 12/12, MyTV is also shutting off by itself. I scheduled a service appnt to resolve this issue.

With the exception of the Smart Hub flash issue, I'm pretty happy. I was a bit disappointed with the viewing angle, but my couch doesn't move around that much. When I'm on the elliptical, I can swivel the screen on the stand. Service sucks unless you use the Samsung Cares app on the set. I've been trialing the Hulu app and it works pretty well. I added the camera and tried out Skype, which works pretty well, too. I as able to pair a random bluetooth keyboard without issue.

You have to remember that forums like this are like a hospital... nobody stops by to say their feeling fine.

After 2 days of using the 1025 firmware, I was on 1020.1 from a replacement Main board,
I noticed a huge lag on images, images are shearing, am not too happy with the colors as well,
plus, I suddenly had the Smart Hub flash, in which I did not have on my 1020.1 then,...

Therefore I requested another Main board, it was installed today, and luckily its on 1020.1 again,
and from now on, I am sticking with this firmware, I'm done updating my unit,...

regards,...

Going to pick up my 65" 6550 from Costco today. It was a great deal, but after reading about all the problems, I'm a bit worried. Almost want to get a refund and order the 60" 7150 bundle, but I really want as big a screen as I can fit (65" or 70").

Would anyone advise keeping the TV off the network when I hook it up? The Smart TV features are redundant since I have TiVo, Apple TV, and a Sony 3D Blu Ray player with all the network features.

Any advice for a newbie?

Thanks,
John

Set up the 65" 6550 TV yesterday and it is AMAZING! Skipped the network set up because I don't need the Smart TV features and I don't want a software update to ruin the picture quality I've dialed in. If there is a good reason to connect it to the network, please let me know. I turned off Eco dimming and put Motion Plus on Clear (Standard and higher were too Soap-Opera-y). Didn't touch much else since the picture quality out of the box looked so perfect.

Had some clouding in the center, but wiping the screen down with the included shammy worked perfectly. With the backlight to about 7, I don't see any clouding or flashlighting.

Kind of disappointed that the TV did not come with 3D glasses. Thought that was standard with an multi-thousand dollar set. Oh well, the battery ones are only $20 each.

Can't wait to try out the 3D and watch some more movies on it.
--John

Has anyone updated to the software that was supposedly released on the 20th? What issues were resolved?

The release has been delayed. https://twitter.com/earlmagnus/status/282128551875080193

Of course. Thanks for the update!

Its actually not "that bad" and I'm still considering keeping it. I've now compared it to three Vizio M3D550SLs and my old Samsung HL-S5086 DLP, and the 50" ES6500 is clearly better within seconds of turning it on. The colors, contrast, black levels, brightness, motion and clarity are just head and shoulders above the Vizio...they're not even in the same class.

The flashlighting and clouding on my set are only noticeable when the backlight is blasted all the way up with no dimming, such as entering and exiting 3D. As soon as the content starts rolling, the screen is uniform again. No flashlighting or clouding is apparent when watching letterbox or pillarbox, and the black bars are pitch black. All three Vizios were crap in that regard; all black/dark screens and any horizontal/vertical bars displayed obvious flashlighting and clouding that I just couldn't accept. Whatever Samsung is doing to hide it, it works...and its not the Eco Sensor or Auto Motion Dimming, because I turned those Off.

In my opinion, the Smart Hub flash isn't a big deal. It rarely happens, and when it does it lasts less than a second. The only reason I even noticed it was because I'd read this thread before it happened.

The ES6500 is also much sharper and appears to actually be using a higher resolution than the Vizios in both 1080p and SD, but this may be because its 5" smaller and has a tighter pixel pitch.

My only real complaints are:

- CE Dimming because I like Standard instead of Movie mode. You should be able to turn it off, period. Its rarely a problem for me, but if all you watch is outer space stuff, it might bother you.

- 3D. The Samsung 3D is definitely better than Vizio's. In fact, the Samsung 2D to 3D conversion is about as good as Vizio's full 3D, and since Vizio has no conversion, chances to even use 3D are limited. However, I HATE the Samsung glasses. They're way too flimsy and narrow vertically, especially since I have to wear them over normal glasses. Vizio's glasses are more comfortable, fit better, and are easier to use. End result, I hardly ever use 3D on the Samsung even though its better.

- There are a few minor but annoying issues using the ES6500 with the HW-E450 audio bar. However, to be fair these are caused by the sound bar rather than the TV.

So after using it for awhile, and especially in comparison with my other TVs, I actually like the ES6500.
Edited by ewright27 - 12/24/12 at 12:16pm

Those of you still that still have this TV up and running, are you not noticing any of the green halos/shimmering in dark/black scenes? it seems to outline people, hair, etc. I still have it, and try my best to ignore it. I'm way past any replacement that could be done through Best Buy.

I have a new 40es6500 and am running into aspect ratio issues.
1) The adjust picture size feature seems to be greyed out/disabled when runnning Smart Hub apps, so it makes it impossible to fix something like
The Amazon app which stretches 4:3 content to 16X9. This makes older shows, and especially older movies unwatchable with no way to fix the picture.
Is there something wrong with my set or is this normal, and is there a workaround I'm missing? I can't imagine why Samsung would eliminate a simple aspect adjustment from any viewing mode. Thanks for any responses.