HLP5674W/HLP4674W Owners Thread/Problems/Tweaks/Service Menu/Discretes etc. - Page 2

Anyone using a PC with this set yet? I'm very interested to hear how this set handles a PC input. Hopefully better then the Mits does and hopefully it will do a better job of POP with the PC.

Also, hows the PQ compared to the Mits (haven't found a dealer near me that has these sets yet?

The horizontal viewing angle is excellent, the picture still looks good to me over 60 deg. off axis. The vertical angle is much tighter, maybe 15 deg.

As far as video settings, yes each input can be set independently.

f300v10

How high is the TV? Looks like about 35 inches?

Gus

Gus,

Check these out:

Technical drawings:
http://www.samsungusa.com/pdf/hlp5674_drawing.pdf
http://www.samsungusa.com/pdf/hlp4674_drawing.pdf

It details just about every imagineable measurement.

Brad

Sorry I meant in the cabinet....

Hey tjk
Have you tested the DVI connection between the 46 and the 3910? What are your initial impressions of the player and TV?

Gus

tjk...you mentioned a couple posts back that you calibrated the set with Avia. What is Avia? Is it worth purchasing? Price (MSRP of course)? How does it stack up against a commercial/professional calibration in your opinion? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

There are a lot of people using the Samsung DLP sets with computers. You can find them in this forum or in the Home Theater Computers forum.

I'm using mine to play movies from the PC's DVD drive and from hard disk. All you need is a fairly good graphics card with a DVI output.

I'm using an ATI Radeon 9000 series card connected to the DVI port on a HLP5063. The current ATI drivers recognize the TV as a Plug & Play flat panel device at 1280x720. There is a learning curve involving drivers and computer software but there is a lot of help available.

As soon as I put up an antenna I'll install a HDTV card and use it for that too. After that I might start exploring all the PQ improvement options that are available with a PC. Right now it looks pretty good.

Gus -

Haven't done DVI out of the 3910. Should be the same as HDMI, which is what I am using (DVI is output from my DirecTV receiver). Would there be any reason to think DVI will look any different? I don't think so, but I'll try it if you really want me to.

The DVD picture is awesome. Naturally some movies look better than others, but I popped in The Empire Strikes Back just to sample a couple of scenes and couldn't turn it off. And while this isn't the right forum, the DVD Audio and SACD playback is amazing. I haven't even played a redbook CD yet because I'm enjoying the multi-channel stuff too much.

The Denon really makes the 4674 look great, and vice-versa.

Avia is a do it yourself calibration DVD. It sells for around $35 and can be had at places like Amazon. It is a must, along with a sound level meter from Radio Shack if you have a 5.1 setup. The other popular choice is Digital Video Essentials, which I've never used but is a little cheaper.

Avia is very easy to follow and helps you calibrate all of your audio and video settings with pretty easy to follow instructions.

I've never had a professional calibration. I'm sure it is well worth it, but I'm pretty happy with my PQ on the 4674. After having an analog CRT for so long, I'm fine with the settings I dialed in using Avia.

I would agree - the vertical angle is pretty bad. My TV stand is 24" high, so the set is right at eye level when I'm seated. When I stand up, there is a noticable loss in PQ, especially when I move towards the set.

One more argument for being a couch potato.

Hey guys, I just recently discovered some issues with my newly purchased Toshiba DLP 46HM84 set (HD2+) that are almost forcing me to return the set and go with a Sammy. I would be very very grateful if anybody reading this who has the xx74 models and a PS2 and/or XBOX could answer some technical questions . I've only got a few days left to return my toshiba set or I'm stuck with it.

Basically dvds look awesome on my tosh set but the videogames are quite a disappointment. I'm a game artist and I tend to be anal about the slightest visual issues, but this goes way beyond that. It's easily noticeable for even the most casual observers. Any medium to fast camera pans on xbox or ps2 (svideo or component) produce a combination of dithering and polarization artifacts. Another way to describe this is that it looks like a group of ants on the screen and on certain textures they will bleed out red and violet hues as the image pans. (it intensifies as speed increases-- goes away as camera slows down) I'm not talking about any DLP related rainbow effects here but a specific type of color bleed and dithering issue (among other issues). Nothing within the regular menu options allows me to improve these shortcomings I'm afraid.

It would help me out tremendously if somebody was able to test any of the following on their samsung xx74 sets to see these problems are noticeable or not (I'm running out of time and might not be able to test these in a showroom myself). If you don't have these games then attempting generic camera pans on other 3d games should be sufficient:

**PS2** (the issues are most obvious on this set)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metal Gear Solid 2: -- go to first person mode, pan camera back and forth near a few walls and see if the low saturated colors turn to heavily saturated and high contrast color bands as the camera speeds up

Ace Combat Series: -- fly slow and point camera towards ground. There will be a "clay faces" type effect. Increase speed and constantly turn jet so that you are going in a circle. The clouds will turn to small dots and there will be flickering lines (not aliasing issues) near the ground and horizon

Grand Theft Auto 3: -- use 1st person camera to look around. Pixels will bleed funky colors like crazy and the dithering will be easily apparent as well.


**XBOX** (the issues aren't as obvious as PS2 but still noticeable)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crimson skies : just move plane around in the 1st level and see if the skybox and water give dithering artifacts as you move camera back and forth. It doesn't take much movement to see this on my tosh. Also if you fly near the large rock structures and force camera to pan the textures will show obvious polarization "bleeding". (do this with any large structures)

Ninja Gaiden: Run back and forth at beginning of 1st level in front of waterfall. Look at the rocky wall textures. See if there are polarization bleeding issues as the camera speeds up. The grey rock detail will actually bleed off reds and purples.


Thanks for any info you guys can provide and sorry for my novel.

- Brian

Brian, I know exactly what you're describing. Although I don't have nor have I seen a xx74, IMHO the problem you're describing is, unfortunately, inherent to DLP. I have yet to see any DLP without this problem, including the xx85.

The other thing that bothers me is the swarming noise affect in dark areas of the picture.

Gus,

The shelf the set is on is 24" high. That puts the center of the screen at roughly 41" from the floor.

TJK

Findings your info informative! How would I "google" to find vendors for this Avia calibration DVD. Glad to hear you like the 3910 as this is at the top of my list alone with the 3805 AV receiver.

drool continues!

M

TJK

Follow up ?: How does the 4674 compare in PQ with your previous set on SD broadcasts?

thanks

M

For your question on Avia, just type Avia into any search engine. You'll get tons of hits. It's not a hart to find disc.

As for your question on SD, my last set was an 8 year old 31" Panasonic CRT (which I broke trying to transport it to my brother's house. That set gave me years of good service). I think a comparison is sort of apples to oranges.

I will say this - I find SD through the S-video input to be fine. Last night, my wife and I watched a recording of Desperate Housewives off of our SD Ultimate TV receiver. We used the full-screen mode, rather than the 4:3, because I didn't find the stretching of the picuture too distracting, and I liked filling the whole screen. That being said, HD is infinitely better, which is a big reason to buy the set in the first place.

Can someone out there who is obviously less clueless than I am provide a simple explantion of color tone (cool 1, warm 1, etc)? The manual just says to select it, but doesn't provide any information.

Factor default is warm 1. Should I keep it there?

Thanks.

For what it's worth, I find SD on my hlp 6163 (via DVI from a Comcast moto6200) to be much better than on my old Proscan 36"-er that I had for ~9 years. As everyone has said, though, this still pales in comparision to a good HD source.

in general warm = red/pinkish cast.

cool = bluish cast

white (neutral) = whiteish

And usually the Warmest or "reddish/pinkish" is closest to the industry standard, but results may vary which is what ISF Calibration is for.

Millerwill

So you telling me that the SD picture will be much better on my 8 yr old Mits rear projection set (Comcast Digital cable FYI)? I just brought up this issue because at Frye's and Magnolia HIFI when the sets were not playing a spiffy DVD they looked like -- meh...

M

tjk,
In the 3910 forum, some folks have mentioned some differences between DVI and HDMI.

Mismatched: Try Amazon.....they have it in stock!

Also, for those of you waiting on the 5674, like myself, TVA is expecting them on Friday (11/12).

Gus

SD

mismatched: Maybe my old Proscan was particularly bad (one could barely read the small print on the 'credits' after a movie, while thye are quite clear and sharp on my hlp). I find the SD--even the analog channels (#'s below 100) to be quite watchable (unless one has gotten too spoiled with good HD!) on my hlp 6163. But I do admit that I try to find something on the HD channels since it is so much more spectacular. So if it's something I truly want to see on an SD channel, it is quite acceptible.

I imagine the story is similar for the hlp xx74's, but I haven't seen them.

TVA

Excuse my ignorance but what where is TVA??

thanks

M

TV Authority. They are a big internet retailer of HDTV's, and have done many 'power buys' for AVS members.

f300v10

What are power buys?? And do they also deal in DVD players and A/V receivers??

How do I use TV authority??

What about warranties and returns repairs etc.

thanks

M

f300v10
Well...tell us about your initial impressions of your 4674...

Gus

mismatched,

A 'power buy' is when a large group of AVS users commit to buying a certain type of TV, and TVA sets a group price that is in theory cheaper due to the large number of sets being purchased. There was a power buy last spring on the HLP 63 series, and there have been others. I will let someone who as actually used TVA comment on your other questions. TVA does have an ad on the top of these forums.

Gus or anyone else

The 74s dont' show up for me on the TVA website. Am I missing something here??

M