The Official Samsung SlimFit HDTV Thread... - Page 3

Anybody using the HDMI input on the SlimFit? If yes, with what HD receiver?

With all the new users, it is time for a new poll.

Just bought this set today and I am impressed so far. I bought a Terk $40 indoor antenna and I am getting all channels within 30 miles in HD (6-7). Iwould like to adjust the color and I don't have one of those dvd's that help get it just right. If anyone has adjusted their set and has it right, it would be great if you would post the settings. This is a very good value unless something unexpected comes up. Based on what I have seen so far...I would recommend this set.

J in NC

I'm not sure where you got the idea that the signal would be scaled to 480p (hope it wasn't anything I wrote), but that's not true. 480p is a vertical resolution spec (precisely, it's the number and mechanism of displaying scan lines), and the Slimfit can do true 720p and 1080i vertical. The issue with this set is that the horizontal resolution does not match the vertical, being only on the order of 500 lines (or "dots") across the entire width of the screen. But your game console signal will not be scaled as far as the vertical resolution is concerned.


The 1366x768 display will have far better horizontal resolution than the Slimfit, and this will be visible on some material, but remember that gaming involves a lot of high-speed action, and, subjectively, the human eye will be much less sensitive to resolution under these conditions. My best guess is that you'd be able to see the difference if you're looking, but that it wouldn't bother you in the least during actual play.

x

Has anyone had any problems with the optical audio-out on their SlimFit? I have the my optical audio cable hooked up through the SlimFit's audio-out to the port on my receiver, but my receiver's not picking up anything, no matter what source I use.

I also seem to have an issue with ANY sort of audio-out using component. I hooked up my XBox to Component Input 1, and double-checked all the connections, but the monitor-out isn't sending a signal to my receiver. The funny thing is, everything else works, and if I hook my XBox up to an S-Video or Composite input, the monitor-out works just fine.

This is bizzarre. I'm going to have to call Samsung about this.

Just curious, do you know for a fact that the optical audio input on your receiver works?

x

I purchased the slimfit and the picture is pretty good equivalent to other TVs in it's class. The 34" sony wega with the super fine pitch is sharper and better but it's over 1000 dollars more and is about 250 pounds. The color does suck coming from the unit out of the box. I ended up taking the dynamic mode, and scaling the red a tiny bit back and the brightness a bit back. This seemed to work much better than the other settings.

My choice was a good all around display from 26-32 inch displays. The LCD where good but not great for blackness and the better ones were a lot more expensive. This seem to be a good inexpensive compromise. I got these magnet things, looks like shielding for something but I don't have a clue.

Thank you sir! You answered all my questions

Yep. I used the same cable to connect the optical-out on my PS2 to the optical audio input on my receiver and it works fine and dandy.

Hey Phunktify, did the technician make his visit yet? If so, any news to report? I've had a Slim-Fit for about a month now and I haven't noticed any problems, but I have a feeling that's cause I don't know what to look for. I do know, though, that the picture is significantly better after calibrating using the Sound & Vision and DVE DVDs.

I've thought about getting the set calibrated by someone ISF-certified, but the quote for $400 scared me off.

I've gone into the service menu to look around but I wasn't able to figure out how to kill the velocity scan modulation and reduce redness. Don't know about fixing geometry in the SM either.

I have had my Slimfit for about a week now. Overall, I am very pleased with it. The HD and digital channels from the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD box (Cox Cable) look great. Standard analog channels largely look like crap, but I expected that. I have the cable box hooked up via a component cable, but will soon be switching to HDMI.

The problem I have is with my Xbox. I have the Microsoft HD pack which uses a component connection. The games look great. I fired up Halo 2 and the picture is clear and very nice. However, the video output from the Xbox DVD player looks bad. I can see plenty of noise and artificating. The Xbox dashboard also looks like crap, which makes no sense because that should be 480p based on my settings.

Don't get me wrong, I did not expect the Xbox DVD player to blow me away. To make sure it was not my Xbox or the cables, I hooked up my 3 year old Panasonic non-progressive scan DVD player to the same component connection using a Blue Jeans cable and it too looked bad. Is this because both players are not progressive scans?

I'm hoping that the DVD player on the Xbox holds me over until Xbox 360 comes out (which is definately progressive scan). However, the image quality drves me bananas.

Does anyone have any ideas? This is my first HDTV, so this is all relatively new to me. With my old TV, DVD was the only thing that didn't look bad. Now it is the one thing that does.

I have noticed that on my slimfit DVD picture quality is impacted much more by the TV picture settings than a regular TV signal is. Try and set the picture using one of the calibration DVDs that are available on the market.

Have you tried the other component video input on your TV to see if maybe there is a problem with 1 of the inputs on your tv?

I have an Avia disk on the way from Amazon. I'm also going to try the other component video connection tonight to see if there is an issue with that connection.

While in 4:3 mode you get very light gray bars on this set (30") samsung slimfit is there a way to make the bars black instead of the light gray.. On my Hitachi RP set I can choose black or gray, please let me know if it is possible to do so on this set.. Please explain where to find the feature if it is possible. Thanks.

Please let us know ASAP your experience with the HDMI interface. I also have the SA8300HD and it did not work properly with the SlimFit I bought. I had to return the SlimFit but I would be interested in your experience.

Thanks

The HDMI connection worked like a charm for me. There are several things to be wary of however. For one, not all cable systems have pushed out software that support the HDMI output in the 8300hd. You'll have to check with your cable provider. Also, I did a test to see the difference between component and HDMI (the difference was miniminal by the way). When I tried to go back to HDMI, the box kept component as its default, so I had to unplug and reboot the box. So far, I'm happy with the HDMI connection and the 8300hd. I just want to get my DVD issue resolved.

My Cox cable SA8300HD outputs the video and audio signals on the HDMI interface. The problem is that the SlimFit does not handshake properly the HDCP protocol with the SA8300HD to keep receiving the HDMI signal after a TV shutdown.

Try this: keeping the SlimFit selected at the HDMI interface, shut down the TV, wait 5 minutes and power up the TV again.

Is the HDMI interface active or do you get the HDCP error message on the component video line?

What do you mean "the box kept component as its default"?

So I spoke with a Samsung technical representative today (finally) and I made a shocking discovery:

The AV-Out jack on the back of the TV ONLY works if you're passing it an analog signal. Anything hooked up to the TV through component will not pass the incoming audio signal to the audio-out jacks in the back. Similarly, the optical-out ONLY works if you're passing it a digital HDTV signal.

This is seriously crappy design. Every other TV I've used sends all audio signals out through the AV-out, not just whichever one it feels like. I'm just going to have to get a switcher and hook all my consoles up to that, and send the audio-out from that to my receiver.

Yes the problem with your xbox is that the dvd drive is not progressive scan for movies. The problem with your xbox dashboard can be fixed if you have xbox live. If you have live and are in your dashboard hold down both L&R triggers, and while there held in click down both thumbsticks at the same time. This will turn your dashboard into a simulated 480p. This download was made available through the xbox live server about a year ago. It really cleans up the look of the dashboard. Cheers!

For those that did buy this TV, what stand did you get with it?

I purchased this TV about 3 weeks ago because of the cabinet design. The "Slim" look is very living room decor friendly. However, I recently returned it and exchanged it for a 30" Sony Wega (same price at Circuit City). I noticed within a couple of days of owning the Samsung that the screen bowed considerably at the bottom of the display. The bow extended up the screen at the center about 4 inches. This was very noticeable when watching anything with a ticker or words at the bottom of the screen or when performing any video calibration adjustments. I also noticed that the picture became very blurry at the extreme corners of the screen and no service menu adjustment could fix either of these problems and they seemed to get worse over the course of three weeks. I had planned on returning this model and exchanging it for the same type, but I noticed the one on the showroom floor was doing the exact same thing. If you can live with the screen distortion the High Definition picture on this set is very good and the TV has more than enough video inputs for most people...not to mention the "Slim Fit" design is easy on the eyes. Note: The 30 HD Sony Wega does not have any of these problems and is the same price, but is much more bulky.
**Note: Circuit City would not allow me to post this feedback on their website (even though I purchased this set at CC. I guess it might affect sells for this model? Interestingly the feedback that they did authorize from other purchasers gave this TV a perfect review...hmmm??

I bought the set and have small bowing issues on the sides of the screen when viewing 4:3 content, and it is starting to drive me batty. If anybody could fill me in on how to correct this in the service menu I would be extremely grateful. I've viewed several HD movies and played a couple XBox games in HD and absolutely love the HD PQ, but the 4:3 problem is getting on my last nerve and making me consider returning it for the 30" Sony Wega, which happened to increase to $950, same as the Slimfit increased.

I wonder if people aren't just noticing the problem more because it has been pointed out so often in this thread. Is it possible that most sets have geometry problems that just haven't been reported as much? We have a 22-yr-old Grundig that has been perfect from day one, and a 7-yr-old Mitsubishi that has had minor geometry problems from day one.

Aside from that, it would be great if vendors would make good on their promises on these sets by having them correctly calibrated, but obviously, they would as soon give you your money back and resell them (as refurbished?).

Anyway, if you can't get the store to take care of it, you can always pay for a calibration, which I'm reasonably sure would fix it fine.

x

Phunktify............
did the tech ever come by to look at your set? What were the results?

Does this TV have an option to tell you if the image on your screen is 480i / 480p / 1080i?

I bought the set on memorial day. the image displayed is always 1080i since that is the native resolution. however, the only time you are actually watching a true 1080i image is when you are viewing an hd source, either from OTA or STB. if your dvd player, game system or STB is sending a 480i/480p signal to the tv, then this signal will be upconverted by the tv to 1080i...obviously, you will see the difference between 480i/480p and true 1080i or 720p upconvert.

for what its worth, the tv has impressed me. i haven't had geometry problems at all, although I did have to properly center the picture using the service menu.

The technician came but didn't have the manual with him (apparently the woman who took my call didn't udnerstand my problem). Anyway, he's do back sometime in the next week so I'll keep you posted.

Like many others, I've been looking for a relatively "slim" HDTV w/tuner but didn't want to spend the money on a plasma yet. I saw the SlimFit at BestBuy 2 weeks ago and immediately knew this would be perfect for my home. My living room isn't too deep but it is wide so I needed something that can accomodate all viewing angles (the DLP's or rear projections just doesn't cut it for me). Also, I couldn't get a large CRT since the it would take up a good third of my living room.

For the price, I don't think I could find anything better since I want to watch my sport games on HDTV as well. I'm hoping this can fit my needs for the next two or three years while Plasma prices drop (hopefully) and eventually get one of those to replace this. I think I can live with the some of the slight geometry issues for now and

I ordered my from Best Buy (price matched with Circuit City) last week but they said it is unavailable until the July 22nd. I do have a few questions though and was hoping someone from the thread can help:

1) Does anyone have a good stand to recommend? Since I bought the TV for the "slim" feature, I would like a stand that can accomodate the same (16 inches depth) and wide enough for the TV? I don't think this is a common size so haven't had any luck so far in finding something like this (not to mention to be able to support the weight [120lbs!])

2) Someone mentioned to me that although this TV has an HDTV Tuner built-in, I still would not be able to pick up OTA signals right out of the box. Is this true? I may have been mislead by the salesperson when they told me that I can watch HD signals right out of the box without any further investments (an HD antenna or something?!?!)

Thanks in advance.

About the weight of the set, the majority of weight of any CRT is in the glass so even this slim design will be heavy, until they come up with a lightweight tube you will have a heavy set!!
Quote {2) Someone mentioned to me that although this TV has an HDTV Tuner built-in, I still would not be able to pick up OTA signals right out of the box. Is this true? I may have been mislead by the salesperson when they told me that I can watch HD signals right out of the box without any further investments (an HD antenna or something?!?!)

Thanks in advance. }


Most TV tuners need at least a scan to see what's out there so getting stations out of the box isn't going to happen!!
You still need an antenna!

All you should need is a set-top antenna to get a signal with this set. Your locals may broadcast on VHF or UHF so that will determin what antenna you need. I think this set has a built-in signal strenght meter...