The OFFICIAL SAMSUNG PNXXE550 OWNERS THREAD - Page 2

That's probably the E530, basically the 550 minus 3D.

Played around with it a bit more.

Using my OPPO BDP83 and the E550 I worked through the Spears & Munsil calibration disc.

I used Cinema mode, Contrast is at 77, Panel brightness at 15, brightness at 39, sharpness 20, did not mess with color or tint (no need to). I turn off all of the settings that muck up picture.

It also passed all of the tests (jaggies, motion adaptive, etc.), but that is mostly the superior OPPO doing the work.

Liking the TV! It looks fabulous. Being my first plasma, I do have to ask if the black levels improve over time. Remember hearing that somewhere. And when they improve, is it because the whole TV darkens, or just the blacks get better?

I see a firmware upgrade for the E550 that was posted April 19th. Not sure if the Tv already has it.

It is Firmware ver.1009.3

"1) Resolves compatability issues with DLNA devices. 2) Improves picture quality."

Anyone?

Thanks to those who have posted so far. I'm also very interested in everyone's opinions of their purchase. We hope to get one of these in the near future.

I'm never clear on whether it's okay to discuss prices here, but I noticed today that the major chains have dropped this by $50 over the weekend. Might want to check your price protection policy if you have a recent purchase.

I'm also very interested in hearing how the web browser functions, and what devices are used to view web pages - remote, keyboard, other?

I think for many this might be a balance of price point and features for a new plasma having 3D, some glasses, and a web browser. Here's hoping that Samsung has a winner in the 550 series this year.

Rhys

Has anyone tried the update yet? I am really curious what "Improves picture quality" means. Samsung has always been secretive about what updates do (at least with their blu ray players).

Maybe it fixes the fade to black issue a few people have complained about. What else is there to improve? Anybody?

Curious about the firmware update as well, it appears to be the same as the E6500 firmware so maybe there's more similarity in picture quality between the two models than originally thought.

In regards to the fade to black issue check out my post here, it appears to be an issue that can be calibrated out:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6#post21967276

There may be other combinations of settings that can offset it as well.

Looked at your "fix". But at that brightness it is too high for my calibration. I used the Spears & Munsil disc and 39 is just right.

Do you get any fade to black issues with those settings?

I have yet to see the back-and-forth you talk about. It does switch off briefly and kick back on, but most fades are so fast it is not noticeable.

I owned the E550 for a week before exchanging it for the E6500. Picture quality is very similar between the two except for one major difference: glare. The E550 is extremely reflective whereas the E6500 performs well in bright rooms. There are a few other differences worth mentioning. Colors are seemingly more accurate on the E6500. This is a subjective opinion, but the E550 had a slight green tint whereas the E6500 seems spot on. That's with both set to Movie and no further adjustments. Black levels are very similar, although slightly darker on the E6500. Again, just my observation. I don't have numbers to back that up. Finally, the bezel of the E6500 looks significantly nicer and more refined. Don't get me wrong, the E550 is a great TV for the price, but I personally feel the E6500 is worth the premium.

Regarding the fade to black issue, the only time I've noticed this on either TV is while loading a Blu-ray. While watching content, neither screen has ever shut off even when 100% black is displayed for a prolonged period of time. This is with both sets running the most recent firmware.

So you updated through usb drive? What exactly did it fix? Anything noticeable?

Well, I finally saw the off-on-off-on again flicker during a fade. I was watching the movie Hellboy and it was right at the beginning (after the words about the 7 demons or whatever appear on the screen). It goes black for about five seconds and the screen flickered back and forth several times. Not a deal breaker, but it was a bit jarring.

On the bright side, the picture was fantastic! I have watched that movie on DVD, Collector's Edition DVD, and Blu Ray on several displays (1080i projection TV, 720p Mitsubishi projector, and now this plasma) and it has never looked this good! Fantastic!

Yeah I'm starting to dig this TV more and more, especially now that (for my personal settings anyways) the flickering fades have been adjusted. Initially I was disappointed with the black levels, going from LCD to plasma I was expecting super duper ink; that's not what you get with this TV but the black levels are certainly more richer and deeper than my LCD, dark scenes--while still glowing somewhat--look much more realistic and detailed than dark scenes on my LCD.

Thanks for the input, sambel. Might I ask which size of each model you had/have?

I upgraded from the 51D7000 to the 64E550. The picture quality is about the same on both units except for the E550 having slightly better blacks but not sure if that's because the larger screen (since it was reported that the larger D series sammys had better blacks) or the E series just has better blacks in general. Unfortunately the E550 I received does buzz and I can hear it sitting on my couch about 9 feet away at any volume level below 20 in the evening.

I called Amazon yesterday and they will be replacing the unit today (fast service). If the 2nd unit also has a loud buzz, I'm thinking of just giving up and go for the panny 65ST50. My only concern is losing picture quality.
Does anyone know how the pannys hold up against the sammys as far as picture quality goes?

I had/have the 51" size for each. Someone asked about the difference between firmware versions. I've only run the most recent (ver.1009.3) so I can't comment on possible differences, if any. Sorry.

My 2nd one is going back to Best Buy this weekend.....going to wait for the 65ST50 to come out since I'm not gonna press my luck with 3rd panel. It's too bad since this tv has a lot of promise, but the quality control is laughable at best.

played with an E550 today, brought in my own sammy remote & tried all settings i could think of, and nothing looked good at all(too dim, even with cell light turned all the way up)................going to w8 for the st50 prices to come down and go with that.

Well, this is all adding up to a lot more negatives than positives, with too many returns. I can't even find these panels on Samsung's own web site, which seems pretty lame for early May. I'd love to see some dealer or expert reviews, but this thread is almost enough to make me look at something else.

Who wants to spend close to $1,000 for these headaches? I spent that much for my huge Sony Wega CRT in 2004 and never had one concern, and it still works perfectly. Never so much as touched the menu picture or color settings, let alone having to calibrate it. It just works.

After months of reading all of the hand-wringing and gripes on these forums, sometimes I really wonder about HDTV.

Rhys

Wait for the ST50 to come out? I was under the impression that it was out already since amazon has so many positive user reviews regarding it.

I brought the 51 inch version home last night. I was aware of the buzz issues, but after several hours of operation I have not been able to hear anything like has been described on this and other forums.

The image quality is outstanding. I made some minor adjustments...like cell level to bring the brightness up a bit. I will wait until it breaks in a bit more to play with it. Yes, the screen has a high sheen, but I do not have much of a problem with glare as my remodeled viewing room has very good natural and artificial light control.

I bought the Samsung 3D Blue Ray with the TV. I watched part of the new Star Trek movie. It was outstanding. The black levels and detail was something I have never seen even in the store or at any home. I shut off all the lights in the room and it was just like being in the movie theatre.

The Web Browser functions are a bit of a kludge mostly due to the pointing device problems. I plan to connect a USB keyboard and mouse. Set-up on the TV and BR player could not have been simpler. The BR player and TV both had to update software, but neither took but about 2 minutes. The only issue I had was with setting up the free Pandora account. I have the code, but I could not get the Pandora registration site to work correctly. I was not able to check one of the boxes on the registration and therefore could not continue. I suspect problems with the built in browser, which also updated the first time I attempted to use it. I will try and complete the registration on a regular PC.

The Samsung remote app for IPhone and Android works very well. It is much easier to input web addresses on your phone where you have a touch keyboard opposed to the on screen cursor around keyboard. I was not very impressed by the remote that came with this TV, but the ability to use my Thrive Android tablet with the remote APP is going to help offset the poor remote.

Tonight I plan to re-arrange the audio connections so the TV feeds my audio amp with toslink. I also plan to test my first 3D movie.

So far, I am very happy with this plasma. I have used a 42 inch Panasonic plasma for the past 5 years and I always thought it had a great picture until I connected the Samsung up. I use Charter and they have very inconsistent HD delivery, I now see that some of the issues were the Panasonic.

I am switching to ATT Uverse in the next few weeks and I hope to get even better results.

I'm not going to apologize for loving this TV. Buzzing? All plasmas buzz to some extent (plenty of Panny complainers too). Mine is so quiet I neet to be close to the TV in a silent room and focusing to find it.

Picture is also VERY good. Nice blacks, good shadow detail, EXCELLENT color. Again, Samsungs regularly get higher marks for color than Pannys.

For the guy who never touched his Rear Projection Bravia, I'll bet it was off to some degree or other. Most people don't notice picture flaws. You have to remember that people here are HARDCORE. In all honesty, my Samsung required very little tweaking from the default Cinema mode, even with a calibration disc. You'll be fine. Any midrange TV now will blow away a 5 year old rear projection. Technology keeps growing, but so do people's expectations. And people's expectations on THIS site are ridiculous. Anyone will be scared looking around here.

I have the 51E550 and it's a very good TV. When I first powered it up I was initially disappointed with the black levels because I was expecting going from an LG LCD to plasma the black levels to be deep ink. Not quite what you get here but dark scenes, while they still glow, have far superior detail and depth and are much more realistic looking than on my LCD.

As far as buzzing, I really recommend to people that have buzzing to try some sort of sound paneling/insulation on the wall behind where your TV is set up (that is, if you have enough room). Mine is set up on the base that comes with it and there's about 1 1/2 feet between it and the wall behind it. There is a directional buzz that I can hear at various parts of the room but fortunately for me it's completely inaudible from my seating position of dead center, eye level at about 7 1/2 feet. In regards to sound paneling, just for an experiment I took a pillow and held it behind the TV between it and the wall and it completely muffled the buzz, when I took it away the buzz came back. If the buzz was really bothering me I'd take some time to nail some foam board up or something but since it doesn't bother me in my seating position I don't really care right now.

[quote=
As far as buzzing, I really recommend to people that have buzzing to try some sort of sound paneling/insulation on the wall behind where your TV is set up (that is, if you have enough room). Mine is set up on the base that comes with it and there's about 1 1/2 feet between it and the wall behind it. There is a directional buzz that I can hear at various parts of the room but fortunately for me it's completely inaudible from my seating position of dead center, eye level at about 7 1/2 feet. In regards to sound paneling, just for an experiment I took a pillow and held it behind the TV between it and the wall and it completely muffled the buzz, when I took it away the buzz came back. If the buzz was really bothering me I'd take some time to nail some foam board up or something but since it doesn't bother me in my seating position I don't really care right now.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I do realize that some fortunate purchasers do not have the "buzzing" that more than a few of us are reporting. Trust me, I wish I didn't hear it from 12-14 feet away with surround sound on at normal level. I will not apologize for frustration with this tv as $2300 is a lot of money for me and I do expect it to not sound like a broken refrigerator and will not spend time or money covering up the sound.

For the record, I have a 2005 50" Samsung plasma that has NO buzzing, perfect picture, and couldn't be happier so I'm not a 1st time plasma owner and the '05 plasma does hum slightly with your ear literally next to the tv.

I am reading all the posts about buzz and the e550 not being what people thought,etc.I am watching the 51e550 right now while typing and I cant find a thing I dont like besides glare from screen only with window facing it during bright days.Mine is absolutely awesome,colors are beautiful blacks are real good and didnt have to calibrate alot like my c550 and d8000.This tv is great for the money its great period! I have zero buzz this is my 5th plasma I have 3 still.I have a slight buzz in the very center of mt c550 when your ear is almost against the set,Can it be I'm lucky?I have no luck at anything else in life so I doubt this tv is good by luck.To each his own but I'm loving this TV more everyday.I cant wait until it breaks in like my others it only gets better.

Do any of you have any experience with connecting an external keyboard and mouse to the PN51E550? The built in browser is basically impossible to use with the remote arrow pointing system. I used the device manager in the TV to set up a Logitech M510 wireless mouse using one of the USB ports. The device manager reported the correct device, but the pointer simply did not work. The device manager also has setting for a bluetooth mouse. Those are impossible to fine at local retail establishments.

Any help would be appreciated with this.

Also, the picture on the E550 I have is overscanning 2.5% on each edge. I have repeatedly set the picture to 16:9 on both the TV and the BD-E5900 Samsung player. I am using the AVS calibration disc. I cannot get the TV to not overscan.

I called Samsung, but the nice tech support person really did not understand the concept and the only advice was to set picture to 16:9, which I had already done. The retailer had no idea and asked if I wanted to return the unit. Again not much concept of overscan.

I really like this TV. I watched the IMAX Legends of Flight in 3D last night. IT was outstanding. Far better than the mush you see at the theatre with those passive glasses.

I have made some slight adjustments using the AVS disc and the picture is really very nice.

Thanks for your help.

Try to look for another display called "Screen Fit" or similar, instead of 16:9
16:9 mode has overscan, screenfit mode has no overscan with HD sources.

Thanks....that did it. I also found an old wired laser mouse works just fine with the TV. The only problem is the cord is not quite long enough. I will try using an extender I have. I can actually use the browser now.

That was me with the Sony, but it wasn't a rear projection Bravia. It is a 36" Trinitron Wega that weights about 250 lbs. When I got it, the flat screens were 3 or 4 thousand and the rear projection TVs never impressed me. (I have NO idea how I'll get it out of the house when I finally decide what to order. The last two sets I got rid of I had to post on Craigslist for free.)

I'm glad to see some more positive posts. This thread almost scared me to the point of paying extra for a Panasonic ST50 but I might just try one of these first.

The browser issue interests me. I exchanged a few e-mails with one of the CNET reviewers about TVs with web browsers. He is hoping to do a review of devices that work best with 2012 panels like this one. It's almost impossible to watch a news show these days without them saying "for more information, go to our web site." It would be nice to fire it up right then and there without a lot of difficulty, and I'd like to know more about what keyboard/mouse options work best.

Rhys

What I am trying to find out is exactly which web browser is used in the Samsung. I often like to watch Leo Laporte on Sunday evenings. I can watch it on my phone, my Thrive android tablet and my regular PC. However, the browser in the Samsung will not stream the video from the TWIT site. I thought it might be a flash issue, but other sites that use flash display correctly.

I also cannot get Pandora to work from the app on the TV. I can access my account via the Samsung browser and log in, but the APP will not work.

I have spent many hours with this set over the weekend and I continue to be thrilled by the image quality. The Samsung BD-E5900 player I bought with it is really good, loads quickly and with the smart hub system the TV knows to switch to the BD player when I load a disc.

If anyone knows the browser used I would appreciate them responding.

Thanks