My Unofficial Guide to Samsung HLN Series DLP Sets - Page 9

I just bought the 43" Sammy today at Best Buy and of course they wanted to sell me the $299 extended 4 year warranty. They said it only comes with a 90 day in-home labor warranty standard and after that it would have to be shipped back to Chicago (from SoCal) for warranty. Eighty bucks for shipping each way. Sounds like BS to me since there are several authorized service agencies nearby. The sales guy also made it sound like this unit could need a lot of expensive repairs... for example, he maintained that the lamp needs replacement every 2 years at a cost of $400 plus. I know the lamps do need replacement but isn't that an easy DIY?
Is anyone picking up an extended warranty? Generally, I never buy the warranty, but with this new technology should I make an exception?

My understanding is that Samsung's warrenty is for 1 year, parts and labor.
And Samsung will extend that to 15 months, if you send in the warrenty card within 10 days....

Also, from what I've read here, most extended warrenties don't usually cover the bulb replacement, since it's considered a "consumable". But I decided to go with one anyway.

The lamps are DIY, but are not cheap - $200-250 or so. But not $400.

If you get a warranty extension, see if you can find one that does cover an early lamp (2-3 yr) failure.

Arungupta,
Your Guide to the HLN DLPs is a great piece of work. I just printed it out and its looks like a very comprehensive, well thought out reference guide.

I really appreciate your work. Thanks.

P.S. You might add page numbers in a footer for those who choose to print out duplex copies. I did.

Just swapped out from a Mitsu 55511 to the 507W. I didn't like the lack of DVI input on the Mitsu. Also, I couldn't take my eyes of the DLP units whenever I was in the shops locally. The clarity over the other RPTV's was astounding.

Then they knocked another $400 off the price for me, and that made it an easy swap within my 30 days buy it/try it from Ultimate Electronics.

The set just came in yesterday...I currently do not have ANY HD viewing. I've got a DTV TIVO and a Go-Video player.

I'm not a overly discerning viewer, as I actually felt most of the SD coming from DTV yesterday was fine on this set. My living room is subject to a lot of natural light, and this set is hands down better than the Mitsu in bright light.

I was just about to plunk some cash down on a Progressive Scan DVD player, until I happened upon Arun's write-up which said stick w/ Interlaced DVD until you can get a DVI DVD unit. Thanks Arun, great write-up!

1. Rather than getting a HD DTV STB now, I wanted to wait until the HD DTV TIVO's come out at year's end. So that leaves me w/ OTA for some HD NFL viewing this Fall, I guess? But if I get an attic antennae for OTA...I still need a HD STB for that, correct? So, I'm screwed out of waiting for HD TIVO if I want HD NFL, right?

2. Do I need to enter the SM to get my version? Will that tell me if discretes are available or not yet? Or is it confirmed the 50" does not/will not have discretes available?

Only one day of standard def watching, but I'm happy so far...and I imagine it will only get better with a little cash expenditure.

I think my wife is fine w/ SD viewing for the most part. We both want great DVD viewing, and I'll want HD NFL when possible. As NFL is just around the corner, I think I'll have to look into HD STB for DTV and a good attic attennae. Then, I would think about upgrading the DVD to DVI, but the single DVI input will then be taken up by the STB. I swapped up for DVI input, but I already see that having just one DVI input is going to be very limiting in the next year!

[quote]Originally posted by ride525
[b]My understanding is that Samsung's warrenty is for 1 year, parts and labor.
And Samsung will extend that to 15 months, if you send in the warrenty card within 10 days....

RIDE525: Does the "15 month extension" refer to Samsung getting the card "within 10 days" OR having it postmarked within 10 days? Also, would the 10 days be from the day you PLACE the order, the day it is shipped, OR.......within 10 days after you have signed the shipping receipt. Its these "little things", as you know, that give manufacturers "wiggle room" to get out of their promises. As Ronald Regan once said about negotiating on the ABM treaty with the Russians: "Trust but verify". Translated, "cover your a**!"

kmil,
You can register online to alleviate those timing concerns. Do it while the delivery guys are still setting it up!

The card just says "fill out and return this survey within 10 days of purchase and we will extend the warranty by 3 months. That says to me you have to mail it within 10 days. I would guess they are not going to be sticklers about it....it could get held up in the mail, etc.

I also heard you could do this online...but haven't looked online yet....

[quote]Originally posted by ride525
[b]The card just says "fill out and return this survey within 10 days of purchase and we will extend the warranty by 3 months.


Wouldn't we be even lucky to GET the set "within 10 days" of purchase, let alone return the card. It sounds like our chances of getting the warranty extended are, for all intents and purposes, practically nil. Your thoughts?

Well, for me, the purchase date and delivery date were the same.....I think Samsung just wants to get the card back, and won't quibble about a day or two or three.....And to me the "purchase" isn't completed until you take delivery of the set......

There must be something more worthwhile to worry about.

Do any of you owners or wantabe owners of the HLN willing to measure the actual screen Height and Width and post it here. I have a Mits 50 IN 4:3 and I am trying to decide if I want to get a 50 IN or 56 IN DLP for the replacement. It is not easy to envision how a set on display will look in my theater.

Arun's chart in the guide could be updated to reflect these measurements.

I used to have a link to a site that had a great calculator for determining screen dimensions for both 4:3 and 16:9 but I have lost it.

Thanks.

This involes in solving a simple geometry problem. The width of the 16:9 screen is the diagonal measurement x 0.8716, and the screen height is the diagonal measurement x 0.4903. For example, the 50" diagonal wide screen (16:9) would have screen width of 50" x 0.8716 = 43.58" and screen heigh of 50" x 0.4903 = 24.52".

Just to be complete: The 4:3 screen multipliers are: 0.8 (for the width), and 0.6 (for the height). For example, on a 35" 4:3 screen, the width of the screen is 35" x 0.8 = 28", and the height is 35" x 0.6 = 21".

Geez, what took you guys so long. I go and search for an screen aspect ratio calculator and come back and everything is posted already. Great Job. Sure takes the work out of the equation.

OK guys, using the 56" and 50" dimensions above for the screen size and the overall cabinet widths from page 4 of the "Unoffical Guide" for the same two units, I come up with a calculated bezel width of :

HLN567W 49.9 Width - 48.8096 Screen width = 1.09 / 2 = 0.545 inches

HLN507W 46.6 width - 43.58 Screen width = 3.02 / 2 = 1.51 inches

Does this seem to be about the correct width for the bezels - slighly more than 1/2 inch for the new 56 IN screen and 1 1/2 inches for the 50 IN?

In the few pictures of the new units that I have seen in print (a onecall ad and the two page inside cover of most of the recent A/V magazines), the charcoal bezel looks more like one inch or so rather than 1/2 inch.

Any comments?

Thanks.

[quote]Originally posted by kmil
[b]
Well, I just registered my HLN437, which I received on 7/3/03, today online and my "registered products" status screen shows "Yes" under warranty extension. So, I'm guessing that 10-day window isn't all that strictly enforced (or it's a 30-day window instead). HTH.

Arun Gupta: a discussion in the LCOS thread led to a question about the relative energy efficiency of various TVs. We have general agreement about plasmas being big consumers, some info on LCOS putting out heat and using more power than comparable CRT RPs, but no one has found clear facts on various DLP models' power consumption. Does your manual list the power consumption for your unit, and do you or others have data on any of the other models? The Samsung USA site does not list it, and I think it would be great if the next version of your guide contained that hard to get info. It's clear the Samsung has a low consumption sleep mode, because it has the Energy Star. But how much above the 100W bulb minimum does the unit consume?

According to the downloadable manual for the HLM4365, all the sets consume 200W of power. There are no numbers listed for the standby modes. In comparison, the Samsung HDTV CRT HCH551W consumes 245w and .95 in standby.

Thanks, Andrew67. That is in the range I'd hoped it would be. Is the manual on the Samsumgusa site?

Yes it is. Check here:

http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/na...ideo/TV&eUser=

The Sammy manual says 200 watts.

I researched this issue to purchase a UPS system for my Sammy. With record heat here in Salt Lake City, the power goes out a few times a week. Now, if the power goes out, the UPS will give me a few minutes to turn off the TV and allow the fan to cool the bulb.

Getting a UPS may be a good idea for all Sammy owners.

Arun,

Why don't you add a section to your guide regarding 'best' heights for the Samsung DLP's ? I am waiting for the HLN467W and the top of the set
will be 56" from the floor. Is that an OK height, I will be sitting on normal size chairs ( My wife and I are 5' 6" and 5' 4" )

Dick

You guys, especially Arun Gupta, are the best. I just saw some of these amazing sets for the first time yesterday. Circuit City had the HLN507W for $3799.99. Best Buy had the HLN5065 for $3999.99. For the life of me, I couldn't distinguish between these sets. Then I downloaded the brochures from Samsungusa.com. Aha, I thought, the CHEAPER one has Faroudja processing.

Then I read through this enlightening thread, and downloaded Mr Gupta's thorough documentation. Now I know. They all got Faroudja. The difference is in the bezel!!!!

Was Samsung once in the mattress business?? ;-)

I've also learned that the $1K Denon DVD player I bought a couple of months so I'd have component video, and quality DVD-A and SACD playback, will now primarily be an audio player. I've ordered the Bravo D1, and will be heading to Circuit City after work.

Thanks guys!
(apologies if there are gals I need to thank too: thank you. it's just that I never seem to see any on these forums!)

Phaseshift - congrats on your purchase - you should LOVE the 507 combined with the Bravo! You're also being a remarkably good sport about the Denon purchase turning out to not be what you thought you needed!

Cheers,
RDaneel

Circuit City has no idea when they'll have the 507 in stock. Almost next door, Best Buy wanted 3999 for the 5065, but armed with what I learned on this thread, I was able to convince the guy that the 507 and the 5065 were essentially identical, and he gave me $100 off on the 5065. Should arrive Thursday.

The upgrade that's available would only bring me discrete codes, right?

RDaneel: At least I had time to cancel the order for a quality component cable I'd put in!