Samsung 71' 1080P DLP HL-S7178W (owners) - Page 39

Hi everybody,

Does anybody have their XBOX 360 or their PC plugged into the VGA port on the back of the 7178? If so, do you have the problem with the picture alignment being off, like it needs to be tilted?

Also, I am thinking about getting my system calibrated, but I have no idea what the cost for this type of service is and which company I should go with.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Mike

I briefly had mine connected to the VGA input....I didnt have the tilt problem. I use component for my 360.

As for calibration, look to spend around $300-500 most likely. Avical (link is in my sig) is wonderful and in my opinion, the best out there.

I second that emotion. The difference is night and day. It's almost worth having it uncalibrated for a while, then having them come in around month 2 or 3 so you can REALLY see what you were missing. They do a phenomenal job.

Thanks for the quick response.

Do you think the tilt problem I am having Samsung should be able to fix it? The tech I talked to last time said they don't really support the VGA connection, which I find is bs. Or do you think when I get the set calibrated that they possibly could fix that too?

Has anyone tried comparing the xbox 360 on this set using component vs VGA cables? Just curious as to which I should go with for this set in the bonus room. I have a week or two till the TV arrives and I'm thinking of ordering some cables before it shows up.
Maybe a quick pros and cons on each if you have that would help me out alot making up my mind.
Cheers

Well, if you know the SM, you can adjust the vertical and horizontal picture yourself for that input. I dont remember the exact area of the SM though.

I dont want to speak for Eliab and David, but they do adjust vertical and horizontal for the other inputs. I would think they would for the VGA one also. I dont know though. If thats the basic need to solve this.

I compared and didnt like the VGA versus component. BUT, I dont know if David calibrated my VGA input when he came out. I dont think he did (cause I didnt ask him to ). So, it might have just been an issue with calibration.

Im very happy with the 360 on component though. No issues for me. It DOES display games at 1080p, just not dvds (vga does all 1080p I think).

I believe the component is better for gaming versus the VGA, because the VGA seems to be washed out or lighter. Maybe adjusting the settings in the 360 might fix it. Unfortunately, I have to use VGA for the HD DVD player so I can get 1080P.

Anyone know if pixels can die on a DLP? Last night while watching TV, I see this bright white dot appear that's right in the middle of the screen... anyone know what this can be? Any solution? It's so annoying... I keep starring at it

If a DLP mirror is stuck in the on position you would see a white dot the size of two pixels on the screen. If you see the white dot for all inputs and at all times then it's time to call Samsung.

Ya its on all inputs You're right it's like 2 pixels. I hope it's covered in the warranty. It's only 6 months old

Thanks for your reply htwaits

I think it will be because the mirror is stuck ON which is much worse than being stuck OFF. It's a rare failure but it does happen.

Have any 7178 owners upgraded from a 6187/6188 and now wish you could go back? I have been a very happy 6187 owner for over 6 months and I'm just looking for confirmation that I won't be disappointed if I go bigger. Thanks.

That's very personal. You need to find the HLS7178 in a store where you can watch it from the same distance that you want to watch your TV at home.

If you stay at the same distance you use for a 61" set you might see flaws that you haven't noticed. You might introduce eye movement that would make it easier to see rainbows. You also might find movies more immersive as you get closer to the viewing angle of a movie theater.

My experience can't inform your choice. I have a friend who went from a 61" RPTV to a 73" RPTV, and then to a 128" screen with a front projector. He is still sitting in the same spot and loving it. Unfortunately that doesn't mean that you will too.

I went from an Sammy HLP6163 (720p DLP) set. I am EXTREMELY satisfied, but only AFTER professional calibration by avical. Before the calibration, I thought the picture was worse than my HLP (at least in some ways).

Now, I think it looks spectacular. IMO, this set only shines after proper calibration by a professional.

I am not disappointed. I got the smaller set because of the lead time involved, the 6188 was supposed to be in the next week. (It wasn't) When I needed a replacement, I waited the nessary time the last time arround.

Carl

Appreciate and understand your reply. My thanks to others for their replies as well. We watch 6187 from 10 feet. As a result of some in-process remodeling our viewing distance will soon increase to 12 feet. Haven't actually seen a 7178 yet. I guess that's the next step.

I watch from 10ft. In SoCal, Magnolia has the set on display.

Carl

I recentely received my 7178 and I have it connected to a Comcast STB from Motorola via Component cables. The STB does not have HDMI, but does have a DVI-D out. I also have a progressive scan DVD connected via component cables as well.

When I play a DVD, the image fits the screen left to right with proper aspect, but I do have about 2 inches of screen top and bottom with no image.

The HD output from the Comcast STB is worse yet. In 16:9 more, the image is stretched wide. In 4:3 mode the image aspect ratio looks right, but the image is in the center of the screen with large black no image boarders on all sides.
If I use Zoom1, the image fits the screen left to right, but the image extends beyond the screen top and bottom.
The comcast box has no apparent adjustment.

What is the trick to make the image fit the screen?

If I tell you something you already know please disregard it.

By the time I posted my reply you had added that your STB has DVI. We still need to know if you are watching HD programs or SD programs to understand your examples.


What model STB do you have? Unless it's a very old one it should at least have a DVI output port. If it does then you can connect to your TV's HDMI port with a HDMI cable that has a DVI connector on one end. Of course if you don't have a HD STB then component outputs are all you will have. You diidn't mention HDTV so we don't know what you are watching on your new HD TV set.

Your Comcast STB does have configuration screens. You need to contact Comcast to get instructions for entering the configuration screens. If you provide the model of your STB someone here can probably help you.

One thing you need to double check is that the STB is configured to work with a wide screen TV and that it's not configured to work with an older 4x3 CRT TV.


Movies come in several different widths. You can read about that by following the "Black Bars" link at the bottom of my post. Depending on the movie, black bars can be normal top and bottom. They can also be normal on each side of the image, and in some cases they are normal on all four sides of the image.

Your DVD player also needs to be configured to work with a wide screen TV. If you just replace an older 4x3 CRT TV or just bought a new DVD player, the chances are that it's not configured to work with a wide screen TV. You need to find a setup option where your choices are 16x9(wide screen) or 4x3 (standard screen) and be sure that 16x9 is selected.


Both the STB and the TV have to have the correct settings. I don't own a HLS TV but you should have a "Picture Size" option using your remote that give you an image the perfectly fills your screen provided you are actually watching a HDTV broadcast.


That's exactly how the image should look.


Again that's exactly how Zoom1 should look.


It has options for selecting the output resolution you want it to use, and an option to tell it what type TV screen you have.


If the image wasn't created to exactly match your screen size, then the only way to fill the screen is to enlarge, crop and/or distort the image.

SDTV comes with an image that is 1.33 units wide for each unit high.

HDTV comes with an image that is 1.78 units wide for each unit high.

Your HDTV comes with a screen that is 1.78 units wide for each unit high.

Some movies come with an image that is 1.78 units wide for each unit high, or 1.85 units wide for each unit high. These movies will fill your screen without any loss of picture quality.

Some movies come with an image that is 2.35 units wide for each unit high. These movies will need black bars top and bottom, or you will have to crop some of the image.

Some movies come with an image that is 1.33 units wide for each unit high, which is the same as SDTV. To fill the screen with these movies you will have to distort than by stretching them if you want to fill the screen.

What you own is a TV with a fixed size screen. The screen size is a compromise because one screen size can't fit all the different medial sizes that are available.

Your question is a very common one, so every once in a while I try to explain it from a slightly different angle.

The comcast box is a Dual Tuner DVR. The model number is DCT6412/2005

If anyone knows how to get into the configuration screens, I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

I have a Motorola DCT6412 III Dual Tuner DVR so the method should be the same.

Turn on your TV first and select the input that the STB is connected to.

With the STB OFF press the "Guide" and "Menu" buttons at the same time.

You will get a black and white screen. Use the Up and Down arrows to select the option you want to change. You can use the Right or Left arrows to move between options. When you are finished turn your STB OFF.

I have my STB set to:

1. 16:9

2. HDMI/YpbPr Output 720p

3. 4:3 Override OFF

Others are using different settings.

When I first received the STB I couldn't get digital audio output from the optical port. I had to call Comcast support to get them to do a special key combination to activate my STB.

It was the cable STB. It was set to the lowest setting. Setting it to 1080i, fixed the problem.

Htwaits, why are you using 720p mode.....do you find it delivers a better picture?

My TV is 720p so that's it's best choice.

Some people with 1080p sets also use 720p for their STB output. Others use 1080i. I don't know which is best.

Theoretically having the STB pass on the TV signal without changing it would be best, but that causes the TV to pause each time the channel is changed.

I notice on my set, when looking at a Blu-ray test pattern, that one of the gray bars actually looks pink. I also notice, on all sources (including Blu-ray and broadcast HD), lots of dithering or color banding... is this something that is part of going digital, and something we have to tolerate, or is it specific to the DLP?

Will a pro calibration fix the above issues?

For the color issue ... I would say yes, a calibration would fix it. Every color-related issue I had with my set was fixed after Eliab's calibration.

As for the banding/dithering, I'm not sure what to tell you. I did not have much of an issue prior to the calibration. Certain low-def sources show some dithering, but high-def sources show none at all ... so I assume it's a factor of the source over much of anything else. Are you seeing dithering on EVERYthing?

Are you connected via component? I noticed banding via component only. With HDMI, I see none.

I'm booking Dave Abrams to do the calibration on 3/11 -- he's going to be here in the Phoenix area. I'm hoping this will get rid of the pink in the grayscale.

As far as the dithering/color banding, yes I see it on everything. I see it on satellite HD and SD broadcasts, I see it on Blu-ray and SD DVD movies, and I see it on my PS3. It's always visible in areas of color gradation, like a sunset, a glow, or a menu with a gradated color background. You can see the gradation of color, in bands or steps, rather than in a smooth continuous tone. The only thing in common with all of my components is the TV and routing the HDMI switching through my Denon AVR4306 receiver. I've set the receiver to Ycbr (whatever) and also to RGB, but the image looks the same either way.

OK. I have to ask this question as it is driving me crazy. Concerning DVE, when it comes to adjusting color space, one needs to go into the SM... turn off CCA, (temporarily as stated in the Avical tutorial) exit the SM, do the color adjustments, reenter the SM, turn on CCA again, exit the SM. Now since all user adjustments are reset upon entering the SM, does this not nix the settings just changed? Or do the color adjustments retain their settings and you need to go back and redo the brightness/contrast/ so on and so on.......
Now I am most definitely going to have David calibrate my set in the near future..after I decide on what HD player to purchase, but in the interim I just want to try and tweak these settings for the best possible PQ. Maybe I'm just not "getting it" but has anyone sucessfully tried to do these adjustments? Thanks in advance for any help my feeble mind can't comprehend.....

Record your settings before you enter the SM for any reason.