Samsung 2005 DLP HDTV Discussion --- HLRxxxxW Models - Page 2

It looks like the new HLRxx67W's, the 67 series, has a contrast ratio of 2000:1. This is lower than the 2500:1 in the Optoma announcement for their new 720p with the HD4 chip. I guess this leaves us guessing about whether the 67 series is using the HD4 or not.

After the HLR5688W comes out in Feb or so, you will want to revisit the ability of the 1080p sets to support hi-res video games. There has been extensive talk about video game play on the current generation HLPxxxx sets. But, as far as I know game play on the 1080p is an untested area at this point.

Does anyone know what the story is on the black lacquer cases on some of the DLP's? Is this going to be a production case? If so, any idea on which models it will be offered? From the 720p vs 1080p comparison photo posted earlier, it appears that the entire case is black.

Administrator ... thanks for the update! I have changed the spec's at the top of the thread. In addition, since I can not find any other mention of the IEEE 1394 input/output except in the Twice article, I have deleted the 1394 reference that I had in both th 68 and 88 series. This is a shame because I'm sure there are many, myself included that would have been able to use 1394 with the CableCard capabilities on these sets.

Thanks Administrator! I have updated the spec's at the top of this thread.

Below are some of the open issues that I feel would be valuable to better understand. If anyone comes across some additional info on the net or in reviewing their photos or notes from the show, please post. If anyone took a photo of the inputs on the 68 series, it could be used to resolve the IEEE 1394 issue.

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1. What is the PQ on the new 1080p models?

2. What TI DLP chips are used in the new models? TI and Samsung are not discussing chips, simply referring to 1080p chips and 720p chips. One press release from Optoma talked about a HD4 (720p) chip and therefore it is really tough to understand what is going on with these chips. When TI introduced the xHD3 (1080p) they claimed a 5000:1 contrast ratio, so it would seem they have a new chip since this has risen to 10000:1 now.

3. What are the depth measurements, and or dimensions, on the new models by model number? Even a couple of reference points would allow us to see the trend.

4. Which models will offer IEEE 1394 ports? What will be the capability of those ports? A news report from TWICE mentioned 1394, was it just in error? IEEE 1394 info was from www.twice.com (http://www.twice.com/article/CA491026.html).

5. What is the contrast ratio spec's for the HLR5087W 720p pedestal model?

6. Confirm the number of HDMI inputs on the 67 series 720p models. Will there be 1 or 2 HDMI inputs?

7. Are these all of the planned models for 2005, or will Samsung be adding models later in the year? Last year they announced all of the 2004 models at CES.

8. Why aren't there any 46 or 50 1080p sets? I would really like to see a 50. Many have commented that 1080p is not needed or wasted at these sizes, but that does not make sense to me as I sit here working on a small computer monitor with more resolution than a 1080p HDTV.

9. Which of the current models will be continuing? Specifically, what are the plans for the HLPxx74W, Tantus thin bezel models. Many planning to buy in 2005 might want to know the fate of this HD2+ unit.

10. In 720p vs 1080p image comparison photos from the show, there was an all black 720p unit. Does anyone know if Samsung will be offering all black cases on any of their DLP models in 2005?

Thanks pjr! I've updated the spec's. The black lacquer case is an interesting idea.

I've added the following three questions to our list of open questions at the top of thread:

10. Can the 68 series or 88 series 1080p sets accept a 1080p signal via the HDMI input?

11. What computer resolutions are supported on the 1080p 68 and 88 series sets (1920x1080?)?

12. What is the capability of the 68/88 series 1080p sets to handle computer/video gaming?

Here is how I expect to make full use of the 1080p capabilities:

1. I really enjoy movies and I am looking forward to the release of HD DVD's. I will go to HD DVD's when they are available and it is my hope that the 1080p monitors will be compatible with the new 1080p HD DVD's. This really is my #1 requirement long-term.

2. The units will automatically display (convert) broadcast 720p and 1080i into 1080p. I'm hoping that the 1080i signals that are converted to 1080p will be more detailed than they have on my current 720p Samsung DLP.

3. I will be using the 1080p set with a HTPC. I have my movie library on my HTPC and the 1080p sets have enough resolution for people to browse my movie collection in detail right on the monitor. Plus it will be interesting to see if browsing the net and other computer tasks will make more sense given the high resolution. At 720p, it makes more sense to simply use my notebook computer with its 1600x1200 screen. If you are looking for a way to catalog your movie collection, I can recommend (www.dvdprofiler.com) DVDprofiler.

4. I'm a photographer (hobby only) and I hope that the size of the screen and (1920x1080) resolution will make it practical to display my photos on the monitor. My current 720p system simply does not do a good enough job with photos. This seems like a fun idea. I'm not relying on this, but if it worked out then it would be a big plus. I'll still do all my real photographic work on my hi res computer monitors.

I'm looking at this as a BIG purchase and I want it to be able support the new developments (especially HD DVD) over the next few years. I'd like to get several years of use out of the HDTV. Remember, people purchasing the tabletop models will be making their purchases in the second half of this year. I really wish that Samsung would (and maybe they will before these are released) guarantee 1080p HD DVD compatibility.

ADDED: Plus, who knows ... I expect we will be hearing about people running these things in split screen mode playing a video game in one window and watching football in the other. I haven't done the math, but you could probably run four SD shows in four windows at one time if it was offered.

Kyungkim ... thanks for the kind words and many great contributions to the thread. Yes, I agree ... the questions are getting tougher ... I guess that means we are making progress.