Samsung 1080p Owner's Thread --- HLRxxx8W DLP Models - Page 2

I am frustrated, I will admit. A Fighter Pilot gets that way! But, thank you UCSB for the input. I have a Harman Kardon AVR with RCA switching. I am probably going to stay put until more hit the market. I have a Pioneer from the old days and it works great...can't say enough good about them. It pushes my whole house audio with the HK a stand alone in the FR for just the TV and 6.1. I have a 950 coming as well as a 942 for my HD PVR. Just look at how to hook it all up. I think I have done enough reseatch to get me started. Found that elsewhere.

Get a Harmony remote. Easiest thing to program and use for a TV with multiple inputs coupled with a receiver. Avoid receiver switching. Go direct to TV with inputs.

UCSB, I'm sure there will be plenty of us in the group who will be eager to assist with the game testing. I'm guessing I'll get my 5078 a few days later than the first batch of 68's that have gone out, but I can volunteer time (as if it'll be so rough!) to test both my Xbox and PS2 over component. I play mostly hockey and racing games, but have other titles and am more than willing to rent a game here or there to try certain things out.

Let us know if you need any suggestions on the process. Looking forward to sharing with everyone!

Right!

I won't interfere.

I agree. How many times have these new cost-cutting wobulated displays been delayed?
I've read one review in AV Guide and it was quite negative.

But now you have given me the idea to start the new Sony SXRD owners (wanna-be) thread. How exciting. I can tell you right now that the picture quality is fantastic too It has to be so, as newer is always better!

My apologies to post to an owners thread when no-one owns these units. I guess I'm just plain stupid. But it is nice to read the advertising and speculation.

My generic advice (with any high technology) is to always be second, as there is always bugs or limitations you will live to regret.
Also be wary of posters who are strong supporters of a radical new technology that they have never actually critically viewed.

I'm also trying to figure out what receiver to buy. Even the new ones coming out only have 2 or 3 hdmi inputs. This has lead me to think about doing my switching before the signals reach the receiver. I would like someone to confirm that if I feed the hdmi to the Samsung and then take the audio out from the Samsung to my receiver, that the Samsung internals pass the dolby digital 5.1 - I know there have been issues with hdmi passing 5.1 vice stereo. The receiver I'm leaning toward is the Sunfire Ultimate II - one thing I really like about it is the low heat output. UCSB mentions an audio delay feature. Is lip sync still an issue? Anyone know if the Sunfire receiver has this - I doubt it.

After ~5 years of trying to buy an HDTV system - it's finally coming together, I ordered a 6168 on 7/4. My 50" Pioneer is now 16 years old. Back then, I was hoping to wait for HD, but my previous TV was dying and I needed a replacement. This HD world seems to crawl.

For a stand - I'm going to build a plywood stand laid out how I think I'd like it. And after I've used the setup for a while, build the final stand.

we also will need seperate owner's threads for the xx88, xx68, xx78 threads, not lumped into xxx8 because the models are somewhat different

PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Please don't do that. At least, not yet.

Early on, a lot of the questions about these sets will likely be the same (lag, lip sync, PQ, settings, etc.) and I really do not expect the responses/solutions to be much different. Let's keep the thread list simple (and the content confused) until we see that the info/interest for the sets would best be served by separate threads. FWIW.

I, too, am in need of a new receiver / amplifier to go with my 6168. After reading and re-reading the owner's manual and reviewing all the connections and switching the xx68 has built in, Ive come to the conclusion that I do not need any external switching at all. I seem to have all I need provided by the tv. My intended setup is like this:
No external tuner/cable box - I'm using the cable card
Samsung DVD-950 connected to HDMI-1
Computer connected via PC-In
8MM VCP connected via AV-1 (S)
Computer doubles as DTV-Recorder via D-Net (1394) with software from Vividlogic ($99). Better than TIVO, since I can archive to DVD.
DV Camera (Samsung) connected via 2nd D-Net (1394)
Audio connected to Receiver / Amplifier via Digital Audio Out and RCA Audio Out.
After all that, I still have plenty of connections left for additional devices.

Anyone - please educate me why I would have a need for external switching. Right now I am considering the Onkyo TX-LR552R which I can buy from U-Bid for $169 with 1 cent shipping (factory refurb).

Where am I going wrong?

If the individual sources have their own controls for the calibration settings, you can modify the calibration procedure to ensure appropriate calibration settings are used for each source. If your sources do not have individual calibration controls you might be better off using dedicated inputs rather than using switching.

I asked a similar question in the video processing forum a couple of months ago because I was confused as to which setting to change since the DVD player, video processor and TV all have the same controls for brightness, contrast, etc. I was told that I could use basically two approaches:

#1. Using whatever calibration DVD you want, set the DVD player's controls such that no enhancements to color, contrast, brightness, etc. are implemented. For example, turn off the ability of the DVD to pass blacker than black. Now using ONLY the controls on the TV, calibrate the TV as best you can. Now, calibrate the TV for each of the individual sources but using only the calibration controls on the sources. For example, turn on whatever enhancements you have on your DVD player and calibrate the TV to the best PQ you can get using only the DVD controls. If you use a video processor before the receiver, you could calibrate for sources such as VCRs and STBs, which do not normally (AFSIK) have such controls, using only the calibrations settings of the video processor. Ideally, you'd want the calibration signal to come from the source device though that does not seem practical to me in all situations.

#2. Essentially, set the TV to default settings and do all of the calibration using the source controls. Again, this is a non-starter if the sources do not have the necessary controls.

Let's hope someone with actual experience can verify whether this is worthwhile. FWIW.

(Edit: Hmmm.... Looks like the original posting was deleted.)

Based on absolutely everything put out by Samsung (including FCC submittals), all of the electronics in the HLRxxx8 sets are identical. The only known difference between any of the sets is that the 67" and larger sets have a 120W/132W bulb versus a 100W/120W bulb in the smaller sizes.

Setting up separate threads would simply dilute the information and make it harder to find.

Agree 100%.

Yes, But I have constantly asked questions of the experts

I will never acheive membership to that class so never replied to questions I saw you posting, but if the 950 model you are referring to is the Outlaw pre, I own one. I never attempted to cable it using the 950 for switching, I prefer to stick to straight shots to everything possible to reduce any possibility of degradation or interference. It did not bother me to loose the OSD once past the heavy interaction of initial setup I can do everything I need from remote conveniently enough to live without that feature. I cable video straight in to display and am happy sticking to that method whenever possible in setups. As regards whether you should use component Vs HDMI, that is a test I believe every display owner should cable for comparison in their own system. (Unfortunately this means purchasing (or borrowing) multiple cable types to determine which connections best suit your system) The electronics can sometimes be subpar in any given unit for one output/input Vs higher quality in the alternative choice. Some systems report better PQ when using component Vs the theoretically higher quality passthru of DVI/HDMI etc. Part of this (I feel) is affected by the source output quality of whatever feed your dealing with (various STB's/DVD players etc). Therefore I think you should cable trying both your component and HDMI connections to see which provides the better PQ to your display, due to the large variations in quality possible, in the electronics of sources you might own.

FLapilot, stomping your feet, sometimes does wake people up, your type A is showing. Forgive posters who get overexcited and hyped on waiting, rubbing hands gleefully together, for first reports valid questions (setup option questions etc) are missed not really due to rudeness but rather more the distracted all- over-the-map topic jumping and talk which is going on, during the wait period. It does not help you now since you asked your questions in the hopes of being prepared pre-delivery, - but several owners will post eventually who have tested all configurations and found which work best for their particular situation. You have the opportunity of being one of the firsts to do this for others since you are in the pre-order Que. I hope you will post your findings once you are setup!

You would only need "external switching" if you required more of a particular type of input than is present on the TV. For example, a lot of folks believe that superior PQ is achieved by keeping the signal in the digital domain and using HDMI (DVI, etc.) for source output and TV input. Thus if the TV has two HDMI inputs and you have three sources (eg., DVD, STB and game console) that per your perference absolutely must be HDMI to HDMI, then external switching is needed. In your case, at least for now, you are satisfied with your soucre & input combinations, so why bother with switching. Try this. After you get the set, play around with different inputs for the various sources. If you determine for example that a worth while improvement in PQ can be obtained using more HDMI inputs than are available, then consider external switching.

I have a question for you in regard to: Audio connected to Receiver / Amplifier via Digital Audio Out and RCA Audio Out.

I assume the Digital Audio Out and RCA Audio Out are from the TV. Does your cable card pass Dolby Digital 5.1 into the TV. If so, will the TV take the Dolby Digital from the card and pass it out over the Digital Audio Out.

That is my assumption. I would expect the internal cable tuner to be similar to a cable box, where you split out digital and analog audio to you amplifier. What else would the "Digital Out" be for? The manual seems to indicate it is exactly for that purpose (p.26) - for any source with digital audio (internal cable tuner as well as HDMI inputs). I hope I am correct.

Thanks. Sounds good. FYI. On earlier models, without HDMI or digital audio inputs, there were digital audio outs that passed DD 5.1 only for OTA signal inputs. I was just wondering...

donb1948,
Thankyou for your reply on calibration and external switching. I had moved the post to "Samsung 2005 DLP HDTV Discussion --- HLRxxxxW Models" because I thought it might fit that thread better. You must have posted just after I moved it.

Duffin,

I did purchase a Harmony remote to go with the new TV. Works great with my current stuff. Think I will lean down that path.

Thanks Mary, how could you figure out I was on the right side of Type A! Thanks to all who have provided inputs. I am leaning towards the type setup SpringTX posted. Now, to get ordering the cables. TV will show by FRI I hope.

Last I heard, about 37 people had been charged for a TV, so officially that makes them owners. Personally, I'm glad UCSB started the thread and don't mind the banter about donkeys. I just wish they had more donkeys since I am probably about 150th on the list for a 5668.

Regarding the gaming, I can definitely assist with this too. I haven't played as much Xbox recently due to other commitments; however, I am willing to take one for the team and hunker down for a couple hours of 'testing'. I'm sure my son and nephews won't mind assisting with the testing as well.

I hope you are having a better day today FLAPilot. Like you, I think I am going to hold off on the receiver until the August-October timeframe. If a receiver comes out with HDMI switching that isn't too expensive (less than $700), I will get one then. Otherwise, I will buy a cheaper 7.1 receiver for now and go high-end next year.

Ugh, if you guys are still waiting, when is my donkey going to trot all the way up to the frozen canadian north and give me my TV?

I'm going to wait for a receiver that can handle the new codecs with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. I'll get an HDMI switch to hold me until then.

Do you have a model number of the HDMI switch? I have heard others mention them, but haven't been able to find any more info on them.

CES 2006 is only 172 days away.

I was looking at the Gefen switch. they are supposed to have a new one that switches 4 or 6 HDMI ports. Or I'll just get a 2x1 switch and also use the DVI pass through in my iscanHD. The models ar eon the Gefen website.

I also took a look at the 6178 at Tweeter

I just complimented your wisdom in another thread, and now I find out that you are actually sadistic.