Archive through September 28, 2003
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Raghuveer Reddy | Anybody have any opinions on the Samsung DLP that just came out? I'm debating about plasma vs the Samsung... |
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Anonymous | Pls. check www.avsforum.com. They have lots of discussion on Samsung DLP. |
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| The first HLM507W I bought had tint and picture stability problems. Samsung exchanged it and everything is great. Picture is highly detailed and bright. Color rendition is good. Internal scaler works well. This fixed pixel display beats out plasma with better blacks and contrast at half the price. 50 inch display ways only 68 pounds and is a mere 18 inches deep. |
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George Ross | I saw a 50" Samsung DLP @ Best Buy but wasn't impressed. My 2 main complaints are: 1) Between scenes while all other TVs faded to black the Samsung was a navy blue. 2) Anything white had all kinds of weird distortion at the brightest portions of the white field. On the plus side it was a sharp, detailed picture. |
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Anonymous | What is better for a dual application tv. I want to use my tv as a computer monitor as well as a tv. My computer resolution is 1027x768. Will a plasma tv be better that dlp? I am considering the Samsung HLM507W DLP or the Panasonic PT-42PHD4-P plasma tv. What will look better as a computer display as well? |
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Tweeterguy | Hey Mark, I'm thinking you got one of the first generation chips in your first DLP. And then when they replaced it, you got one with the second generation chip. There were some issues with the first generation chip that the Sam. rep. said have been addressed and fixed. I can only hope he was telling the truth, because we have had 156 work orders written on the HLM507W's since we started selling them a couple of months ago in the northeast region. |
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George Ross | Tweeterguy, Have you seen any of the issues I pointed out earlier? "I saw a 50" Samsung DLP @ Best Buy but wasn't impressed. My 2 main complaints are: 1) Between scenes while all other TVs faded to black the Samsung was a navy blue. 2) Anything white had all kinds of weird distortion at the brightest portions of the white field. On the plus side it was a sharp, detailed picture." |
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| Best Buy doesnt sell the hlm507. They only carry the 5065. Big difference in my mind. If your in the kc area you can see the 507 at Brands Mart. |
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George Ross | Hi Gary, I did see a 507 at another store & it had problems, too. With a Samsung ATSC tuner hooked up the picture displayed a raining-like effect of various colors with a washed HD picture in the background. The store owner tried several sets of the HD cables which did not help. While playing a DVD the picture was fine & I did not see any of the black level issues or video distortion as seen on the 5065 at Best Buy. Clearly these sets have problems. I was waiting to see the HLM617 but now I don't know if it will be worth the wait. |
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TV Guy | George, the problem isn't the reception equipment. It's the number of spliters in his store and likely the lack of a good HDTV feed. I have one of these and it's flawless. |
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Randy Gad | I am contemplating buying the Sony 60XBR800 or the Samsung HLM617W. Can some onle please tell me which is better or if I should not buy any and wait some more. |
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| Can someone tell me the difference between the 5065 (offered at Best Buy) and the 507? I've shopped around and see a better price on the 507 than the 5065. |
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| If this TV is so good, howcome six months after its initial marketing its hardly anywhwere? I can find it in only one store in Indianapolis, and that's a premium store where you pay an inflated premium price. It sure seems to me that revolutionary new gizmo isn't getting around much, which makes me wonder if it is all that good. I was really impressed by the picture the thing had at the one store I have seen it in, but months have gone by and the 507W has not made it into any other stores. I have to really question a product that can't even get into the stores. |
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Dave | I bought the 507 at ABC Warehouse in November 2002. Cost about $3500. It's great. I'd looked at plasma (too costly) and some of the Sony line. It may be that the display goes to dark blue instead of black--but I certainly don't notice it. It's easy to use and even my non-tech spouse likes it. |
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| I am hearing that some new version is coming out, with an "N" designation, i.e., the HLN507. Anybody know anything about this and whether I should weight for the HLN version? |
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Anonymous | Work at Best Buy. Far as I know, we only offer the 507. |
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| The HLN model is the new model, I called Samsung there are 6 new models coming out, there will be a 46", 51", 56". Some models will only be sold by Tweeter and professional installers. The HLN4365W is available right now.From what I heard the major difference between the HLN507 and the HLN4365W is 4:3 pull down support, the HNL507 will be sold for about $4200. |
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| I do not understand the distribution problems with this new DLP television. Why are some models only sold by professional installers? I have not seen the set in Best Buy, or any mainstream store yet, and I have been looking. The one premium speciality store where I have seen it says it has been selling very well, but I remain frustrated and perplexed that the distribution of this set, after nearly a year on the market, remains bottled up. Do they not want to mass produce this thing? Are they not interested in distribution to a wider market? |
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doug s | As I understand it, there are 2 different lines (ie, HLN4365 and HLN437) and the difference is that the xx7 line has an extremely high quality scaler and deinterlacer (faroudja) while the xx65 is some pathetic average scaler. I'm not exactly sure what the difference between M and N is. Anyone? |
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steve ken | I have a problem with my 507 not rendering black and low light scenes adequately, blacks are dark gray and low light scenes washed out. any suggestions? |
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Steven Engles | Samsung has 3 Tantus DLP models and two non-Tantus DLP models (for the US). The Tantus models have the Faroudja chip. The 61" Tantus has the latest & greatest (FLI 23000) chip while the 43"/50" Tantus models have the FLI 22000 chip. I recently received a letter from a Samsung tech rep who stated that the 2003 Tantus models will have the FLI 23000 chip. The non-Tantus models use a proprietary Samsung (non-Faroudja) product. In my case, I'm looking for a set that can work with an existing collection of VHS tapes and have a decent picture while still looking great for DVD's and anamorphic DVD's. I was considering a direct view tube, but like the 43" Samsung Tantus because of it's size, weight & performance. The 43"/50" models have a bulb that will last approximately 8000 hours while the 61" set's bulb will last about 6000 hours. Can't wait for the 2003 models. |
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| Can't seem to get a straight answer! I originally wanted to HLM-437W, now I heard it's been replaced by HLN-4365W. Per Samsung rep, the HLN-4365 does not have the 4:3 pull down (the HLM-437W does) I was told there is a HLN-437W by a Samsung customer service... and then was told there's no such model from a reputable authorized dealer. There's no information on the HLN series on the Samsung site. Anyone have any information as to which model IS really superior? Thank you. |
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Greg Shelley | The HLN437W, HLN507W, HLN467W and the HLN567W have not been released yet. The HLN5065W (that has the non-Faroudja processing)is in stock now at Best Buy. All the HLM series models are from last year. |
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| Greg, I just saw the HLN5065W in Best Buy. What makes the Faroudja processing better and why is the "non-Faroudja processing" not as good? |
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| Correction. I have heard from reliable sources that the HLN5065 is internally identical, to include use of the Faroudja processing, to the HLN series Samsung DLP's. I think the only differences are cosmetic and in support. |
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| Someone, Please Help !!! I would like to know the difference between the HLN5065W & the HLN507W Is one better than the other & why? I'm looking to buy one of these soon & would like to make the right choice THX |
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| Darryl, based on my research the difference between the HLN5065 and the HLM507W is cosmetic. The picture quality and performance should be the same. |
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ANDRE | I just spoke to a rep from Samsung, he said alot of people have been calling in about the Faroudja processing support.I guess the guys at best buy have been giving out incorrect info. The HLN4364W does NOT have Faroudja processing. The HLN437 does have Faroudja processing, the HLN437 is a higher end TV.Hope this helps |
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Anonymous | I recently purchased the HLN437 DLP and am having difficulties with integrating my PS2. It appears that there is a .5 sec delay from what the PS2 is processing and what is being displayed on the Samsung. As such, the timing from the controller is off. Has any one else experienced this? Found a work around? Thanks, Mike |
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| Well I hope these are good, Im getting one of these through work and when I finally went to order the 507m they said it was discontinued and replaced with the 507n...I guess this is lucky as it seems the n should be better? I mostly am buying this because I have a 36" height limit and this is the biggest non plasma that would fit. |
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| I just recieved my new Samsung HLN 507w. I unpacked it, attched cable to rear and plugged it in and turned it on. I was so amazed to see such a perfect picture. The color is so vived and rich it is hard to believe. The sound is also great. Direct Tv is comming next week to install hdtv dish. I also purchased Samsung tsi-sr160 hd reciever. I cant believe that this will make it even sharper. I am so pleased with this purchase. I had been searching for about 1 year. I had looked at every type of large wide screen. This set looks better than plazma. The colors flow on to the screen. You don`t see the lines as you can on plazma. I had originally ordered the hlm 507w but was informed that they were out of stock so the sent me this hln 507w. My serial # is 200074p, so it seems that it is one of the first to hit the States.I got this set from DataVision of New York(888-888-2087 ext 708 ask for Keith ). These people were great. They handled everythig very professionly. I was worried ordering something so expensive over the phone, but I see that they are a first rate company. I am a 59 year old X Marine, and everything I said above is the the honest to god truth.I hope this message is helpful to someone out there. Now i`m going to lie down and watch some great tv. Sincerely; Barry H Carb |
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| I'm interested in the soon to be released new Samsung HLN467w. Any and all info (price,etc) would be appreciated. Thanks, you can email me at KMil123@msn.com |
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| I've been researching these by reading the specs where I can find them. In the "M" series, only the 61" had the "Samsung DNIe Video Enhancer", which is supposed to improve white level, contrast, some audio (search that term for more information). This appears to be incorporated in all the "N's". In the "M's" the HLM__65W's had no Faroudja processing vs. the HLM__7W's that do. So I'm waiting for the HLN507W and thank Barry for his comments which underscores my decision. |
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Steve | I was told by a guy at Tweeter that the HLN4365 was the same as the HLN437 and that the HLN4365 was better only because it had a better 3:2 pulldown. Anyone know the real deal on these TV's Why doesnt Samsung update thier website already...good greif |
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Bowtieman | Anyone have any ideas on what the factory warranty period is for Samsung DLP t.v.'s. I am looking to purchase a HLN507W and can find zero warranty information online about it. Probably will have to buy it online as none of the local stores stock that model. Has anyone had a large ticket HD type tv's buying experience from any vendors online that they could pass on. TIA |
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Anonymous | I just saw this offical press release that talks about the 2003 line-up from Samsung. It talks about the different models. http://news.designtechnica.com/article158.html |
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Steven Engles | TVAUTHORITY (http://www.tvauthority.com) lists 9 different Samsung DLP models (with the following five being discontinued: HLM437W, HLM507W, HLM617W (all 2002 Tantus series). Also being discontinued are the HLM4365W and HLM5065W (non-Tantus models). New for 2003 are the HLN437 & HLN4365, HLN507 & HLN617. In addition a 46" model will soon be available that offers a much thinner bezel (followed by a 51" & 56" model). These last 3 sets were talked about at CE2003 earlier this year. A seperate email from the Marketing manager at Genesis-Microchip (parent corporation of Faroudja Labs) states the following: The three Tantus HLM models were originally designed with the FLi2200 (deinterlacer) & FLI2200 (enhancer) but were replaced by manufacturing sometime in September of 2002 with the single chip FLI2310 which adds a better scaler and additional Noise Reduction, so most recent HLM Tantus models have the (prized) single chip Faroudja DCDi chip. The HLN437 will have the single FLI2310 chip while the HLN4364 will not (however it will have a Samsung proprietary 3:2 reverse pulldown). A rumor has it that it could also have Faroudja technology but that Samsung cannot advertise it). This rumor has been partially confirmed in a seperate email from a Samsung Tech Rep. Until I get positive confirmation, I'm treating it as a rumor. To make it easier to identify the 2003 models that have the DCDi FLI2310 chip, Samsung is making them with black bezels, while the 2003 silver bezel models will have the proprietary Samsung chip (and sold at Sears & Best Buy). The local Tweeter has it as well, while the local Ultimate Electronics carries the HLN437W in their system & will have it in stock & on display by 5/7/03. Supposedly if you enter the service menu, there is a setting which has information about the 3:2 pulldown circuitry (FLI23xx, FLI22xx, Samsung, etc ...). The new HLN models will all have the DNIe chip that the HLM617 had last year. The DNIe (sometimes pronounced as Deny) chip "Digital Natural Image engine" improves the picture vastly and only last years 43" & 50" HLM models didn't have this. This years 2003 & last years 61" had it. Hope this helps out. |
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Susan Salis | I have read recently on the AVS Forum that Samsung may be offering an upgrade pkge to include the new Faroudja chip, firmware and DNIe chip for those of us that purchased the HLM Tantus models. Does anyone have any info on this |
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Anonymous | Hi, I was looking for a few experienced oppinions. I was thinking about buying a Samsung DLP HLN617 (60" DLP Projection TV) mail order. As I am stuck on a budget, the store price seems to be about another $1000 above mail order. I am obviously somewhat worried about this, mostly installation, etc. I don't know much about the ins and outs of home theater, but I was a HW engineer, and am now a software engineer. What I am trying to say is that I am not a technology idiot, but I am not an expert on this stuff either. Anybody have any comments recomendations, etc. Anyone seen one of these sets working up close? Thanks!! |
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John Leung | You can find the specs and brochures for the 2003 DLP TV's can be found by at the www.samsungusa.com site. Instead of detouring through www.samsung.com, go directly to http://www.samsungusa.com/av/tv The brochures are pretty informative - it's pretty clear the 5065 doesn't have the Faroudja process, while the 507 does. For those, like me, wondering what all the fuss is about Faroudja - here is the excerpt from the 507 brochure. "Faroudja Film Mode 3:2 Pull Down correction circuity senses motion found in unconverted 480i DVD video based on 24 fps file productions. Especially important when converting to a progressive video image, the result is an elimination of visible motion artifacts. This feature is by-passed on 480P, 720P and 1080i inputs." DVDi (tm) is a trademark of Faroudja. |
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Anonymous | When using the HLN5065W as a computer monitor, what is the highest pixel resolution possible? Also, at what screen refresh rate can the HLN5065W use when acting as a computer monitor? Higher than 60 hertz? I'm wanting higher than 1024 x 768 with something higher than 60 hertz? Anyone here using their HLN5065W as their computer's monitor? What has been your experience? Please reply... thanks!! |
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Anonymous | Yesterday I stopped at Circuit City and talked with the manager re the 43-inch HLN437W. He estimated that they would be in stock within a month but was not able to give a firm date. To lock in the quote of $3,325 and to get my name on the list, I placed an order with a down payment. Throughout the years I have resisted buying a service contract on electronic equipment. However the hefty fee might be worth it in this case, since my understanding is that it would cover the replacement bulb if/when it goes. Any comments? |
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CDR Scotty | I saw the 507W at Best Buy yesterday. Wow! I had been considering the Sony KF60XBR800 but not any more. Black levels seem superior and the images were amazingly crisp and clear. Was by far the best picture in the place, even compared to plasma. Too bad Best Buy does not sell the 617 (61 inch screen). Does anyone have any insights or experience with the 61 inch version? Also, any thoughts on post-purchase calibration for this or any other TV's like this???? The high-end home theater press would lead to to believe that this is essential for any decent large screen HDTV monitor. Any and all feedback is welcome. |
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blitzer454 | I am running a computer on my HLM507W at a resolution of 1280x720 at 60Hz. The next lower setting is 800x600. The scan frequency really doesn't matter since the TV does not use CRT technology. There is no flicker with the TI DMD device. My only wish was that I could select a resolution between 800x600 and 1280x720. Using the higher resolution results in the text being just a little too small to read comfortably from my sitting distance (about 12') and the lower resolution does not use the entire screen area. |
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| Scotty, the calibration thing is an issue for the now standard CRT projectors to align the three CRT tubes that create the image. The Samsung DLP does not have three CRT tubes, operating off the Digital Light Processing mirror device. Bottom line, no calibration thingy for this TV. |
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Dave B | As mentioned in the previous posting the HLN507 uses the Faroudja film mode 3:2 pull down, while the HLN5065 has the film mode 3:2 pull down but not the Faroudja process. Can someone tell me is this significant? The store I wish to purchase the TV carries the 5065 but not the 507. The fact the Samsung has two models where this is the only difference leads me to believe there must be some differentiation. |
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| Dave, I have heard repeatedy, to include from owners of the sets, that the HLN5065 is internally identical to the HLN507W. I think Samsung does not discuss that much in order to justify the price difference, but it appears to be the case. |
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| Hi; My HLN507W lists it`s internals, silk screened on the front of the cabinet as follows. DLP by texas instrument technolgy. DNIe. DCD by Faroudia. Vertial Dolby surround. In my comparisons , the 5065, does not have the Faroudia system. If you shop smart you can get the hln507w, which has the latest technolgy, at a good price. Sincerely, Barry |
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ron | I just purchased a HLN507W online and should have it in about 2 weeks. If I get a progressive scan DVD (outputs 480p), what is the need for the Faroudia system? If it is bypassed except for 480i input I guess a VHS source would be improved, but outside of that, assuming most people would upgrade to a 480p DVD player, what use would the faroudia get? |
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| I am going to Bestbuy to get one today. I called Samsung and they said that the only difference was the Faroudja line doubler. I asked if that was enough of a differnce to make me want the 507 instead of the 5065. They said no. Since Best Buy is doing 24 months interest free right now, I am going to bail on the 507 with its Faroudja line doubler, and the black bezel. |
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Steven Engles | The successor to the HL(M)-437W is the HL(N)-437W, not the HL(N)-4365W. While both units are similar, the HLN437-W has the Faroudja DCDi reverse 3:2 pulldown based on the FLI 2300 chipset, while the HLN-4365W uses a proprietary Samsung chipset for reverse 3:2 pulldown. The TV's debuted at some stores in early May. I got mine at Ultimate Electronics. Final price after taxes & in-store rebate was $3126. As a recap, the HLM series were the 2002 models, while the HLN are the 2003 models. Black bezeled units (437, 507 & 617) have the DCDi chips from Faroudja, while silver bezeled (4365 & 5065) units have the proprietary Samsung chips. Checkout the following: http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=HLN437WX%2fXAA |
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Anonymous | STEVEN, I FOUND AFTER A MONTH OF CHECKING PLASMA VS DLP THE HLN437 IS THE WAY TO GO FOR ALL YOU GET ALSO THE SPEC'S MEET OR EXCEED THE HDTV CABLE SUPPLIER'S SPEC'S IN THE MARYLAND/DC AREA. MOST PLASMA ARE NOT TRUE HDTV COMPATABLE AND HAVE A LESS THEN ATTRACTIVE LIFE SPAN. |
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James S. | I too am looking at getting either the Samsung HLN507W or the HLN617W. I am not sure on the clarity difference between the two. I would rather go with the 61" as long as the image sharpness is the same as the 50". Has anyone seen these two tv's side by side? |
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Anonymous | Has ANYBODY seen the picture on an HLN617? |
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Cmdr Scotty | The HLN617W seems practically non-existent. The Samsung web page directs you to Circuit City and Sears when you do the store locator thing but I went to both and neither place had it. The guy at Sears looked in his book and said he did not have it available and had no indication that they would. They do have the 50 tho. Most of the web pages that claim to sell it do not have it in stock (yet). Found the 61 on eBay but at suspiciously low prices (CAUTION!). Maybe Samsung is still filling the supply chain? E-mails to Samsung get absolutely no response. |
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| So I just got my HLN507W last week and I am not that impressed. DVD's look good and my xbox looks good with the hd hookup. But regular TV is so bad that my wife wants to return it and get a plasma. Any suggestions? |
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Anonymous | I have very little technical background so many of the plusses and minuses that are debated get lost on me. Can someone explain to me why/why not having discrete codes is an advantage and what having these codes means? I have seen several postings that make discrete coding something to look for but I have no idea why or what its advantages are. Thank you. |
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Jerry Manas | Justin, I just got the HLN61W and the way it comes shipped, regular TV looks awful (like an old VCR). I found that if you don't use the "Dynamic" mode for picture (which is the default), it makes a big difference. The dynamic mode is meant for rooms in direct sunlight (or to compete with other TV's in a store). It looks great with the HDTV demo channel, but makes everything else look awful. Instead, select the "Custom" mode, and then "Adjust". I'd lower the contrast, brightness and sharpness a bit, and I'd turn the color level down a lot. The default sets the color level so high that everything but the best HDTV broadcast looks washed out and saturated. Lowering the color level makes a big difference. ALso, I'd wathc regular TV in NORMAL mode. I find the other modes degrade the quality too much (besides, you won't get burn-in with this TV, so it's OK). |
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Anonymous | Like many others here, I am looking forward to the 61" HLN617W too, and I asked my local store to call me when demo unit is available. I played with the HLN507W extensively in the store, where they have the top-of-line plasma panels line up right behind the HLN517W, and sever Sony CRT models nearby. Most TVs played the SAME demo DVD. That gave me a great chance to compare them together. I love photography and VERY picky on color. I have to admit that the HLN517W's performance is very close to CRT TVs and the top of line rear projections (Pioneer Elit and Mitsubishi Diamond), and better than plasmas. Of cause, you need to adjust the TV. In most case, TVs are not adjusted right in stores. If I need a HDTV today, I will buy the HLN507W for sure. But our cable company won't carry HD program until September, so I will wait for the 61". Those proud HLN617W owners, please post your experience. Will the bigger screen compromise the color? |
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Steve G | Several posts above have mentioned angst in choosing the best model, so I will offer some data that could help a little. The 437 & 507 models both use a 100 watt projector bulb, and the 617 uses a 120 watt. They all use the same DLP image chip which has a resolution of 720x1280 or 921,600 pixels. The relationship between the models for max brightness and relative resolution would be as follows. To keep it uncomplicated I will just use watts as the unit for available brightness and round off the results for general comparison. Since all results get lower with larger size, I will treat the 43" as 100% to get the comparitive figure for the others. Size----Sq in---Watts---Wt/sq in----Maxbrt 43-------785------100------.127------100% 50------1066------100------.094-------75% 61------1606------120------.075-------60% For the screen resolution again using the smallest as the reference or 100%. Size---Sq in---Pixels---Pxl/sq in---Ap res 43------785-----922k------1174-------100% 50-----1066-----922k-------864--------75% 61-----1606-----922k-------574--------50% The farter you sit from the screen, the less you are aware of any dots, lines, or pixels. I have seen all three and the .155 dot pitch on these units makes the pixels almost seamless, so the size may just be a matter of how much field of view you wish it to occupy and the maximum brightness. They all have very wide viewing angle, so should be watchable anywhere in the room. The 437 is obviously the brightest and sharpest, but the viewing distance, room brightness, and perception all matter as well. It obviously has brightness to spare. So if Barry above thinks the picture on his 507 is plenty bright and says it's sharp, then anyone with a same or darker room and a same or similar viewing distance would agree. If you are the type who likes to sit up front at the theater, the bigger the better. For me, I want the maximum performance as a PC monitor while watching TV so I am buying the 437 first. I was only waiting for the new release to arrive. I will place it in a family room with about 10-12' viewing distance and large bright windows, so I will find out just how bright or dark it can handle. I can also simulate the brightness of the bigger units to see what kind of room adjustments work best. Then if all goes well, I'll replace it with the 507 or 617 and move the 437 to my audiophile alcove in the living room, (which is only 17" deep), where it will accompany a high end surround sound system for all my old music collections and laser discs and other relics! Bottom line; if your going to sit within 10 feet and your room is bright, go for the 43. If you have a bigger room and not too much direct light, maybe the 50. If you have a theater setup with the proper lighting, hell spend the dough and get the 617. After 2 years of research I don't think there is a better Hi Def set for the money, and personally think the 437 is quite superior to plasma, which consumes way too much power, can't display perfect reds, and heats up the room. I really hope I can make the larger one work, and will post my results after some experimenting. Hope this is of some help. |
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Steve G | One more thing. The link for the new 2003 'N' models specs and brochures is: http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_subtype.jsp?eUser=&prod_path=%2fAudio+and+Video%2fTV%2fDLP+TV |
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Steve G | The previous link appears to be corrupt. I'll try one more time, but if this doesn't work, at least it gets you within 3 clicks. http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_subtype.jsp?prod_path=/Audio%20and%20Video/TV/DLP%20TV&eUser= |
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Doug | Does anyone have the dimensions for the new 56" Samsung DLP. Article in DealerScope http://www.dealerscope.com/doc/277399152255115.bsp says the new 46" has the same cabinet size as the old 43" -- which would indicate the bezel of the new models are about 1.5" smaller. Frustrating that Samsung introduces a new product and then no information on thier web site. |
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Cmdr Scotty | Thanks, Steve. Very informative post! Sounds like the 617 for me? From what you said, the 50" may be OK. The room I am building is 14 x 20 and will have no windows. TV will be at on end of the long axis in the room. We are putting in dark carpeting and paint. Bascially designing it for theater setting. Will the 61" be too much? Any thoughts? |
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| I ended up returning that HLN570W that I had. I had it hooked up to a samsung progressive scan dvd player it looked bad. The screen was flickering and text was unreadable. I called samsung and they told me to turn off progressive scanning on the dvd player. Well that stopped the flickering but it looked grainy running at 480i. What is the point of buying a 4000 dollar tv if I have to run my dvd player at 480i. Then the tv is doing the line doubling. Just the same as hooking up regular cable. I returned it because I wasn't sure what exactly to do about it. Has anyone else had issues with screen flicker. |
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Anonymous | steve g hows the 437w.. my concern is how the pic looks on digital cable .. i dont like the stretch mode on the samsung as well as the 50xbr800.. both the sony and the samsung are weak on "true" black colors .. but most of my watching will be in 4:3 format until more porgraming in hdtv is picked up... i do have aol time warner and do have a hdtv box... |
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Anonymous | I am interested in the Samsung hln4365 tv, but I've heard that dlp displays have 2 problems: the rainbow effect and poor rendition of the color black. These would be unacceptable for me, because I watch lots of black and white films. How well does the hln 4365 display black and white films? |
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| QUESTIONS for anyone with the HLN507 or 617... 1. Standard TV - Does it look Awful, Ok, or Good? 2. VCR - Same question. 3. DVD - I saw the Samsung HD931 DVD player (DVI output) with the demo... Will my Progressive Scan, component video out Sony DVD player look close? 4. HDTV - Directv has an HD tuner which will give you access to the few HD satellite and local HD broadcasts... Anyone have experience with this? And how do they look on the Samsung DLPs? Any help appreciated. |
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Chuck | Just hooked up the HLN507. Although the HDTV channels look great, the picture in live sporting events is blurred when not in a close up mode. costant flickering of pixels as well. Anybody else experience these problems. |
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ron | I placed an order for an HLN507W almost 3 weeks ago and it is still on backorder. I'm kinda backin' off now...It looked great when I saw it at BestBuy (OK, so that one was a HLN650W, not a big difference), but I must have rocks in my head for spending $4000 on a TV setup. TV is a drag. So, what am I going to watch on HDTV? Jay Leno? That's a lot of $$$ to watch Leno. If I get this thing, my ex-wife will be coming over here with her two adult children to watch DVD's they rented from Blockbuster - lame ones to boot - and sit on their butt for 8 hours at a time. Think about it - what is it on TV that needs to be seen - that's the problem with this country, too much TV!!! Put on music instead, or better yet, take up an instrument. |
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| What I have heard now from a couple of sources is that standard TV feeds, VCR and video games all look grainy, out of focus and sub-par. This is in keeping with what I observed at the store: The in-house antennae feed was grainy and the store guys kept telling me it was just a bad feed (even though many other TVs showing that same feed seemed fine). Depressing. |
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Anonymous | I just purchased a hln5065w, and am overall very impressed, except for one thing. I sometimes notice "ghost" images on the right side of the screen, when the background is black, and there is a very bright image on the left side. When viewing the light-saver battles in the latest star wars movie, for example, I get shadow/ghost image of a light-saver on the right side whenever a light-saver appears on the left side. It seems as if some light is somehow being reflected inside the unit. Is this normal for this type of display? Has anyone else seen this? I can make it go away by tweaking contrast and brightness so much that the picture degrades, but that doesn't seem like a good fix. |
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| My HLN507w was delievered today and I am not at all happy with the PQ. Green, green, green. In just about everything I watched the picture was overwhelmed with green tint, almost looked like green noise/static. Anybody else have this type of problem with their set? I'm not at all a videophile and I am really not sure where to begin to correct the color issues with my set. I've been reading a thread on avsforums about HLN series tweaks, but for not it's a little over my head. I've only watched the set for about 2 hours, but as of right now, it could be back at Circuit City by Saturday. Somebody please share some wisdom and maybe help get my going in the right direction. |
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| Ok I just got my HLN4365w in, I was told it was the HLN437W when I ordered it but when it came it was the other model. I am debating now if I should keep it, get then HLN437W or just got with a sony plasma. My Observations The good HDTV- I have direct tv with a sony 700 HD tuner using a monster DVI cable. HDHBO and HDShowtime look great. I do see some pixelazation but its not that bad overall a clean look. DVD- I have a Sony ES player with monster THX component cables. DVD looks great, I played monsters INC and the colors were amazing. DVDs look almost as good as HD. Please note I think the dvd player has alot to do with this. The blacks look great to me, I loaded superbit fifth element and the blacks were the best I have ever seen. The bad Satellite- Normal channels just dont look very good. They are stretched very bad and very dirty looking. Sports are pretty bad as well. Watching baseball all the stats and numbers are very blown up. Now with this said if you change the aspect to normal it looks pretty good, but this shrinks the pitchure to about a 27' tv size. Overall I like the TV but I dont know if I can stand the normal TV picture, if every channel was HD I would love it. What I am trying to find out now is if the HLN437W is better then the HLN4365W. |
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| Also make sure to calabrate your tv before making any judgement. Our tv has diffrent settings for all connections so make sure to do it for all of them. |
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Jenis | Could anyone tell me how well dlp tvs show black and white fims? |
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| Brian, Do me a favor, and if you have it, watch chapter 29 of the Matrix and tell me how it looks if you have it. My tv had a real hard time displaying the dust in that scene. The picture had a green haze over it almost. Very hard to watch. Most everything I've watched is oversaturated, and the blacks look very poor. Definately not the vivid display I saw in stores. I'm not enough of a videophile to tweak the image on this tv to any degree, but I know what a good picture is, and my tv is a little off. I've already called Circuit City and they are willing to deliver a new model as soon as one gets in stock. I'm waiting for Samsung to let me know when they can send a tech out. |
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| Justin, I will once I get home from work. The best looking movie I have seen so far is Star wars 2 on HD on HBOHD the other night. The colors were amazing everything was brilliant looking. |
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David Wolf | Hello all, I just got the HLN617W and I love and hate it. I had been doing research for a long time prior to purchasing the Samsung. Some of my other considerations, to give you an idea of what I was comparing, were the 65" Mitsubishi Diamond, The 64" Pioneer elite CRT, the 50" Pioneer elite plasma Toshiba's Lcos and Sony's Grand Wega LCD's. All of the above were great TV's however I just kept coming back to the Samsung. When I got the TV however the picture for regular TV in the factory settings was horrible. Very pixilated around faces, very blurry background images, un-natural coloring, and sharp rather then smooth transitioning between colors. In fact it was so bad that my wife and I both had headaches trying to watch it. She wanted to send it back within an hour. So she went to the Internet and found some good advise in this message board. Watch regular TV in 4:3 don't worry about burn in with this TV. Change the factory setting from the default of "Dynamic" to "custom" and bring down all the settings; brightness, sharpness, contrast, and most of all color. This made regular broadcasts look 90% better. DVD on the other hand looks great. I purchased Samsungs new HD DVD player. Yes HD DVD! I had not heard about it and it apparently just got released in June of 2003. It up converts regular DVD's to 720P or 1080i. Samsung is supposedly the first to release one of these but others will soon follow. I can't even tell you how good the picture looks. It is like nothing I have ever seen and This DVD player also has a DVI out which is a first for DVD players I am told. So from the DVD player to the TV is all digital (no analog conversion like with component video). I am yet to see what the HD broadcasts look like in my home but from what I read and saw in the store they are outstanding. I will likely pick up the Zenith HD receiver in the next month and keep people posted on how the TV looks. I also just bought a Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner. I am hoping this helps to clean up the TV broadcast even further. I will keep you posted as soon as I get it hooked up and play with it a bit. |
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| Cmdr Scotty, I would say the 617 was created just for you. Sounds like a great setup. Good luck. |
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| Brian - Thanks for the detailed post. If you don't mind, can you read David Wolf's post about regular TV and the adjustments he made? I would be very interested in seeing if those solutions work for you as well - particularly with sports. I saw the HD DVD player demo'd on the TV as well. Phenomenal. I'm still on the fence though. Have a couple of weeks before I will make this purchase. |
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John Schnaar | Anyone know when the HLN567W thin black bezel Samsung will be released? Thanks! |
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Anonymous | OK? what is the difference between the HLN507W & the HLN567W? I have been looking at the HLN507W and am about ready to buy it, should I wait? |
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Will Clark | I really appreciate all of the techy and neophyte comments and experiences especially with regard to Standard TV reception. I too am awaiting the arrival of HLN567, so about two weeks ago I wrote Samsung from the office. They responded a few days later that the 567 was to be released in July. Don't know if that means in the stores or start shipping. Having been in Cable and TV engineering since the 60's, my own impression seeing a 507 at FRY's in Phoenix was "it's about time" that a superior picture showed up beside the archaic three gun rear projector and the outlandishly expensive plasma/LCDs. My wife and I were blown away by the clarity, brilliance and viewing angle. So many advantages to the DLP over other technologies. We placed an order and then cancelled it when I found out the 56" was on its way. I do think we can expect more Pixels in the next generation maybe a year or two down the road since there are plans to introduce the methodology for Digital Theaters sometime soon. Check out www.dlp.com.... I'll probably wait a little while until there are enough boxes in the pipeline to bring the price down a bit, but the HLN567W is on the horizon for us. If Qwest doesn't get us HDTV soon I may have to opt for Direct or Dish for this Set. Whats the off-satellite HD viewing like out there?? And how much programming? Comments, Friends? |
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Will Clark | By the way I found this site that lists the cities, by state, that have OFF-AIR HDTV broadcasting capablities. It is noted there that much of the programming is likely not in much higher quality than the Standard, unless they advertise HDTV programming as such. The DTV channels are all in the UHF Spectrum and not viewable on standard TV's. I have found this presentation below from PBS that is pretty good about revealing the art in DTV or as the FCC says ATSC (for Advanced Television Systems Committee) http://www.pbs.org/opb/crashcourse/ The specialized off-air DTV tuner if not already in your set (and its not in Samsung's TVs yet) is about $400 to 800. Because the DTV Satellite recievers already have their own standard digital outputs, and Cable TV formats are usually different than the OFF-AIR, the purchase of an internal DTV tuner seems questionable unless you are in the urban broadcast environment. Many of the Satellite receivers, including the Samsung Set-top box, can accommodate an Off-Air DTV tuner module for seamless channel selection. The Samsung is going to be appealing because it has the DVI output for the TV. The VHF channels 2-13 will have to be abandoned within ten years and the FCC is planning to auction the radio space for other services. At that time if you still have standard TV you will need to buy a translator to convert DTV to the old system. Unfortunately, we have a mountain between us and the antennas in Phoenix so we can't receive the direct broadcasts. Have to wait for Cable or opt for Satellite. |
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John Leung | Consider buying a service contract. I bought my HLN-5065W on May 4 from Best Buy and brought it home. Since this was my first large-screen TV, I bought the service contract. The power to the TV runs through a home theater power center to protect from spikes. I am not a videophile, so for what it is worth, I am happy with the picture quality, whether from cable, DVD or VCR. However, on June 15 the video became dim and adjusting the brightness didn't improve things. This last weekend, the system failed altogether, with the three LEDs in front blinking. The user's manual said it was the bulb subsystem and time to call a factory technician. Today, June 23, I called Best Buy service and the soonest they can get someone to my house is July 3. I am not particularly happy with the speed of service, but I'm glad I have someone to crab at. |
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| I purchased the HLN5065W from Best Buy on April 19 2003 & it was delivered on April 23, 2003. I was trying to watch the NBA game, the picture close up was good of the players, but when it was full court I couldn't make out the jersey numbers. I then went into Best Buy & asked if I needed to do some tweaking or maybe it needed some adjustment from a service center. They said to call Samsung. I called Samsung & they asked if I had an HD receiver then I would get a clearer picture. I went out & purchased a Samsung HD receiver & called Direct TV to have my dish upgraded. Still the picture was the same. I called back Best Buy because I purchased the protection plan & they set up an appointment for a serice call, it took 3 appointments & cancellations from there end. Someone came to my house on May 14, 2003; turned the TV on and said thats the picture your going to get with High Definition. I called Best Buy & they said to bring the TV back & they will replace it with a new one. I told them it was to large for me to bring in. I asked if they could come & pick it up, they said no (I did pay to have the TV deliverd & at the store when I was purchasing the set they said any problems they would come and pick it up). On June 16, 2003 I went to turn the set on & it would'nt come on, the three LED lights were flashing. I called Samsung & they said the lamp needed to be replaced. Samsung asked if we had any problems before this, of course the answer was yes. I called Best Buy & was given the name of a service repair center. I called & they said it would be one month before they could take a look at the TV. I called Best Buy back & the only other service center available was the one who came out before & knew nothing about the TV. I then had several calls with Best Buy & they finally agreed to change the TV out with a new one. I went to the store with my original reciept to do the paper work & was told the TV was no longer in stock & had no idea when or if they would ever get any in. They told me I could pick out another set (didn't like any). They would not refund my money but they did give me store credit. I don't know what to do now that I have store credit & no TV. |
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| Does anyone know the remote control key presses to get into the service menu for a HLN507W Samsung DLP HDTV? I'm not a neophite to service menus, so never fear. I am just aiming to do some fine adjustment to the horizonal shift. Thanks! |
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Sean Blumenthal | Nevermind. Got it. Thanks! |
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| im seriously considering of buying the HLN617W. I use my playstation as my dvd player, anyone know how well its gonna work. i would like to know what the dvd is converted to 480i, 480P, 1080i, or 720P, if anyone knows please answer yakubovmichael@yahoo.com |
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Video Tweaker | I have found these comments to be useful so I am adding a few of my own. I visited Ultimate Electronics and had the chance to compare HDTV feeds to what I think was an HLN4365W DLP Samsung and a 50 inch plasma ($13000) television. The plasma TV color was much better than the DLP for all the factory settings. I changed to a custom setting and was able to get the picture close to what I saw on the plasma. Here are the settings I used in the store: Contrast 94 Bright 93 Sharp 65 Color 43 Tint 54/46 The greens were a little off but maybe with some more adjustment (warm/cold) that could be improved. My viewing distance will be about 8 to 9 feet and after looking at the 61 inch Samsung DLP I concluded that 50 or 56 inch screen would be more appropriate. I was not impressed with the 61 inch DLP but that may have been due to signal quality (it was a Monster Inc. DVD feed to multiple units). Any comments about viewing distance? I fully understand the engineering concepts about this but do any of you have viewing experience at home for 50 to 61 inch screens at less than 10 feet? |
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ronb | OK, I have gone back to the HLN507W - for awhile I was looking at crt based RP. I have heard of the rainbow complaints ( I did see this at the store ) and pixelization ( I noticed this too - it is a strange digital motion pixelization that is hard to describe while watching a standard TV broadcast ), but the HD picture is great and the angle of view is MUCH better that any crt RP of the same size. I ordered one again and this time I will not cancel |
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Video Tweaker | I had a chance at another store to see a HLN617W 61 inch Samsung DLP television with a HD signal. The picture looked un-natural with the factory default setting. I tried the settings I mentioned in my last post with this TV (HLN617W) and they clearly were not appropriate. I was able to get a good, natural picture using the custom menu with brighness and sharp set much lower. Don't look at animations when evaluating these televisions since you can't know what they look like in reality. Nature scenes are great with sky, grass, trees, and water. Salesman keep trying to use animated pictures and other than providing a saturated color field I think they are of limited use. The thing that concerns me now is the fact that I had to turn the brighness and contrast up that high on the 43 inch TV. I am going to write down the settings I make on the TV with my desired screen size and see if there is a large variation from unit to unit that might imply quality control problems. Incidently "if" these televisions are powered by a halogen lamp it is worth knowing that the energy radiated and the color temperature is a function of time. This means that the picture will dim and become optically warmer as time goes on (way before lamp failure). Any comments on Samsung quality control? You think this is a 6-sigma company (lol)? |
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Video Tweaker | Regarding D. Sirizzotti's post I would comment that my experiences with Best Buy are mixed. They have been great about making good on some things but I have also had bad experiences. This company goes "by the book". If the book is in your favor it is a wonderful experience but do NOT, expect employees to exercise judgement in your particular case if the book is not in your favor - regardless of what may be fair. Also, beware of the fact that sometimes they sell used equipment in boxes that are not marked as such. Buyer beware is good advise even for these large chains that may have made you feel comfortable in the past. Of course your only option may be to wait until they have a TV that you want, however, Best Buy does not specialize in high end equipment (with some exceptions). |
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Gerod | I'm purchasing the HLN617 w/in the next 2 weeks from my friend at Tweeter. I have a table that this unit will fit on (which matches the room perfectly) but the table is the wrong size. The depth and width are dead on perfect but the height is 17" higher than the stand that Samsung sells. I will be viewing the TV in a pretty closed in room (college kid) and think that maybe those 17" will make the vieing angle look like crap with the couch being so close to the TV...what do yall think? |
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Anonymous | I am new at this BBS format, and wish to thank those preceding posters for providing much valuable input. I also am interested in a widescreen DLP projection unit and have spent far too much time researching the subject. Video Tweaker's and Mr. Engles' comments summarize Samsung's models well, clarifying the improvements incorporated in the "N" versions, "-xxx7W models, and their differentiating black vs. silver bezels. There appear to be some ongoing questions as to the "best" size and viewing distances for individual applications. Steve G's (June 07, 2003 -- 09:04PM) posting sets reasonable ground rules, together with informative postings from owners of the various sized units. There are various resources available addressing viewing distances. Some video authorities suggest a minimum viewing distance of 1.5 times the screen width (to minimize seeing pixels) and a maximum viewing distance of 2.5 times the screen width, with the minimum distance more closely simulating a theatrical experience. Personal preferences may take priority. I wish to add comments on the high settings (brightness, contrast, etc.) observed in retail stores by a couple of posters. The high settings (probably not harmful to a DLP set) would seem reasonable based on the high ambient light levels typical on display floors. Settings in the typical home would be lower (relevant to same size screens) when adjusted to industry recommended levels using any of the widely publicized video setup disks. On the subject of bulb light output, some manufacturers hint that when the high-pressure light bulb is in need of (mandatory) replacement, the light output would be nearly ½ that of the original output (a reduction sure to be noticeable on the screen. This gradual reduction might be made less noticeable by periodic set adjustments likely to be successful under the usual, low light level home viewing conditions). Since DLP is relatively new, and therefore reliability and maintenance historical data is not yet available, it might be prudent to purchase an extended warranty. In summary, the smaller size DLP sets seem most appropriate under normal home conditions. As one considers purchase of the largest available DLP rear projection set, most likely for home theatre application, one might also consider a front projector with 100-inch diagonal gray screen as an alternative that will more closely duplicate the theatrical experience, if such is desired. Albeit, with front projection there will be other issues to be resolved, such as DLP vs. LCD projectors, room darkening (also possibly an issue with very large DLP rear projection sets), screen type/mounting method, cables, etc., which in the overall scheme may not be suitable to the individual viewer. |
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| Ok..I have been looking at the Samsung HLN507W at Tweeters and have decided that it or the HLN567W (when it comes out later this summer) will be my next set...but a couple of things I am still concerned about..the difference between the 507 and 5065 models..I understand that the main difference is that the 5065 (Best Buy and Sears) does not have the Faroudja chip even though both models have Film mode 3:2 pull down enhancement..some information I have read says that the 5065 still has the Faroudja chip even though it is not advertised...others say no..only the 507 has it..a Best Buy store near me with the 5065 says on its info card that it HAS the Faroudja chip...Circuit City and Tweeters carry the 507...Sears and Best Buy the 5065..all at $3999...does anyone know the "real" facts on this...are both models really the same or is the 507 really the superior tv?...it would be nice to know the truth on the matter as aside from the $3999 price at all stores..extended warranties vary considerably among the 4 stores..can anyone answer this?..thanks.. |
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Video Tweaker | In my last, slightly obsessive, trip to Ultimate Electronics I saw the HLN617 with an HD signal loop. There was also a $13,000 Sony plasma TV next to it. This was a great opportunity to compare the performance. The ambient light level was not that high (see anonymous comment). I spent a while adjusting the Samsung and was able to get a "good" picture but the plasma was still superior. I noticed that the plasma was better at displaying the subtle changes in color in ocean pictures. The Samsung showed blue ocean water without the changes to turquoise in the foreground. Changes in the viewing angle of the camera relative to the ocean surface create the color changes. These changes are not insignficant in that they help create the 3D illusion. In my experience, such as it is, I was not able to get the 61 inch TV to reproduce these colors. Another important observation concerns the black level. When I attempted to get the HLN617 to match the plasma picture I had to turn the brightness and contrast up and this, unfortunately, has the effect of hurting the black level. When I got the HLN617 picture close to the plasma (ignoring the slight color reproduction differences) the black level of the HLN617 was not as good as the Sony. I think the factory default, normal, setting is there to make the black level good great when comparing it to other sets in the store. Unfortunately when the black level looks good you wind up losing some of the details in the picture. In fact, in a boxing scene I could not see a lot of the people in the crowd until I turned up the brightness - in the process "significantly" losing the good black level. Perhaps this is due to internal reflections in the TV radiating back out. I read a comment about painting the inside of the set flat black?? In conclusion, I would not buy a CRT, plasma, or any set where I could not hook up a computer. Next, if I needed a TV right now I would seriously consider Samsung DLP. My inclination right now is to wait for the next generation to see if they solve the black level and color issues I noticed. These conclusions are subject to change. I am still interested if anyone has experience viewing large screens under 10 feet away. |
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Anonymous | Vin - Try this. http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_subtype.jsp?eUser=&prod_path=%2fAudio+and+Video%2fTV%2fDLP+TV,http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_subtype.jsp?eUser=&prod_path=%2fAudio+and+Video%2fTV%2fDLP+TV} |
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Anonymous | Vin - Sorry the last link I suggested went nowhere. Try www.samsung.com, choose "Visit your country site", choose "USA" site, and then click on "TV" (NOT THE PICTURE OF THE 507) and proceed from there for details on the 5065 and 507. |
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Will Clark | I found this article about the Samsung HLN507W by Nick Stam at EXTREME TECH to be very helpful. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1119467,00.asp A magazine writer relates his experiences in search of HIS ideal HDTV set. Sometimes amusing, and generally informative, it introduces the would-be buyer (like me) to the idea that all of the affordable HDTV sets available today will likely be a compromise choice depending on your circumstance. Clearly, (pun intended) a 1920 X 1080 true HDTV receiver is still out of the reach of most of our pocketbooks, and/or weigh 300+ lbs. I liked Nick Stam's article because he investigated as many operational and input modes of his new Samsung HLN507 as practical. He also offered comparisons to his prior experiences in purchasing (and returning) some sets I might have considered, too. I have seen recently that Hitachi, RCA-Sceniun, and Panasonic have introduced products with DLP technology but they don't seem to offer the many input options of the Samsung. An on-line retailer told me today the HLN567 is still a month away, maybe more. Maybe the article will move the fence sitters. |
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Will Clark | About the Nick Stam article above - OOPS - I should have said HLN4365 the 43 Inch - Just wishful thinking I guess. |
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John Fritz | I've been looking at a HLM5065W at Costco. Only one in stock at $2999. Salesperson said it has only been in the store "a couple of weeks". Above I've read that 1) the "M" is a 2002 model which I believe lacks DNTe and 2) also doesn't have the Faroudja chip. The picture was fantactic on the demo and was superior to three plasma displays there. Is this a good value or does the 2002 lacks too many important features? Advice/opinions please. |
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Video Tweaker | John I was interested in your comments about the picture quality. Did you read my earlier comments? You did not mention the conditions under which you were viewing the picture. Were all the sets connected to the same true HD signal? Were the plasma displays set to factory default? Not all plasma displays look good, you did not mention what you were comparing the HLM5065W to and what the pictures were (nature, animation, etc). Generally, animation is so saturated that it is not good material to compare subtle details in contrast, black level, and realistic color. It is good, however, for looking at problems in displaying a color field. I have noticed pixilating problems (sort of like noise) in color fields. The salesman claims that it is because so many TVs are connected on the same line (perhaps). Before spending that kind of money make sure you find a store that will hook up the DVD player that you are going to buy to the TV and evaluate it yourself. You can return the set but it is a pain. As far as the "M" version is concerned I can't address that since I would only get the latest version. I am strongly leaning towards waiting for the next generation since my TV has not failed yet. |
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Sliderman | Does anyone know when the 46" DLPs would be out? I heard conflicting reports. Samsung says they were released in May 2003; I called a dealer and he said they won't be out until October 2003! The 46" seems to me an ideal compromise between the 43 and 50" screens since my viewing distance is about 10' Thanks |
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Anonymous | Cambridge Soundworks, Concord, CA has the 46DLP on display. Apparently uses the same casing as the 43 except the bezel is about 1/2" wide and silver. Note: they had a 61" on display. Looked horrible. They said it was the first problem they had and were waiting for Samsung repair. hmmm hln567 should be anyday. whatever. |
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Anonymous | Hello All, thanks for the questions and answers, it helps a lot. Anyway I purchased the HLN507W from Circuit City on July 11... they said they'd deliver as soon as Tuesday the next week, but on Friday 7/16 they said the set was on backorder from Samsung... no Circuit City stores had any. I was told they'd ship to CC around August 1... but I'm not sure I believe them and I already received the bill for the first payment. Should I hold out for delivery, or cancel now? I will say I do like the display in the store, but Circuit City can't even give me a realistic date now, and I hate the uncertainty! Thanks very much.... John |
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Anonymous | What is best pricing you have seen on the newest 43" HLN437W? Are they available?? |
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Anonymous | What is best pricing you have seen on the newest 43" HLN437W? Are they available?? |
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Anonymous | I just place an order for the HLM507W. Great price 2999. Free Delivery and no tax. Should I pay the extra bucks for the HLN series. Are the features that much better for the bucks? |
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Aaron | Many of you have asked what is the difference between the HLN5065 and HLN507w Series. I called around, and finally got to a good represenative at Samsung and hears what I have found. Internaly almmost identical. The only thing that is different is the 3:2 Pulldown technology is better in the HLN507w. How much better I don't know, but according to Samsung customer service it is an improved or better version The Second thing different is Cosemtics. The HLN507w has the black trim. That's it. Hope that helps. |
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Gerry | I have a great deal lined up on a HLN437, but am considering the HLN467 since it has a thinner bezel. The 467 is a "Tantus" model. Does anyone know what "tantus" buys me? |
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Anonymous | Gerry - Visit the Samsung www Site. (At Samsung's www site, the steps are: "Visit Your Country Site", "USA", "Quick Product Link", "TV, Video & Audio", "TV", "DLP", and finally choose the HLN467). The Tantus gets you the Faroudja 3:2 pulldown (same as the HLN437), instead of the Samsung designed 3:2 pulldown circuit incorporated in the ..x65 models. |
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Anonymous | We'll here is another alleged difference between the hln5065 and the hln507- I spoke with a Best Buy salesman and he said the 5065 has a different resolution than the 507. He said that currently the 507 would give you a better picture with an analog signal. However when HD broadcasting goes more widespead the 5065 will have the best picture. Does this make any sense to anyone?? |
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Anonymous | No, this does not make any sense. The sales person as Best Buy does not know where he/she is talking about or is trying to convice you to buy the 5056 since that is all they sell. The only difference between the 5056 and 507 is the 507 has the Faroudja chip for the 3:2 pulldown while the 5056 has a Samsung proprietary 3:2 pulldown. All the Samsung DLP sets have the exact same DLP chip so the resolution is exactly the same |
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Anonymous | What's the cost for the lamp on HLN507? Thanks. |
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Daniel | I am interested in purchasing a SAMSUNG HLN437W but Im trying to take into consideration the bulb replacement costs. Any one have an Idea? It says the bulb last 8,000 hours or 335 days running at 24 hours a day. It also says its a 100 watt bulb. How expensive can this be? Is it near the price of a projector bulb $395-460? Any information would be great, thanks. |
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| I'm having a problem maybe I can get the answer here! I've purchases a HLN507w, a stand TR5050, Samsung DVD HD931 and a Samsung Set top box TS160. This would almost be good except I am using surround sound. The main problem is the number of DVI outlets. The TV has 1 in, the set top box has one out and the DVD has one out. This doesn't even take into consideration future needs. As good as component video is it's still analog. I have a older Denon receiver with no DVI and just barely adequate optical connections.I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to replace this! Is this the way to go? Does anyone know of a receiver/amplifier that is loaded with these connections.(Bye the Bye a tuner is no big thing for me as it's never used.) Hoping for some help. |
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| I just purchased and had deliveryed from Circuit City, a new Samsung HLN617W. They matched the best web price <$4K, and offered free delivery, and extended warranty. Either they were desperate for sales, or they are finally realizing the power of internet sales! The TV was deliveryed and setup in 3 days. The TV is not in the stores! You have to asked the sales people about it. and if you want them to match the price, you have to ask for the floor manager. The regular sales people don't have the authority to drop $1K+ This is the best TV I have seen, I even checked out the new Sonys and it doesn't even compare in quality and clarity. |
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IKE MANNING | I JUST BOUGHT A 63 INCH SAMSUNG PLASMA.WOW IS THE SHORTEST DESCRIPTION I CAN GIVE ON THIS,I KNOW IM NOT TALKING TO EVERYONE WHEN I SAY THAT 14000 IS A WISE INVESTMENT ON A TV,BUT WHEN THEY FINISHED INTALLING IT I THOUGHT I WAS DREAMING.GOT A GREAT DEAL FROM DATAVISION(CALLED KEITH 888-888-2087 X 708)WAS EXCELLENT SERVICE. |
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| I am having trouble hooking up my PS2 to the DLP with the 5 component plug. If soemone can email me with directions, as in do I need to change PS2's system configs, I'd appreciate it |
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| Have a HLN467W. I am looking for a source for IR discrete codes. Anyone know where to find them? Thanks |
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Rob | I am looking to buy a Samsung HLM507W and would appreciate any suggestions on where to buy it. I have seen it for as low as $2,999 on the Internet at HypeAudio or $3,900 at the local Best Buy. I am very skeptical of buying it on the Internet though. I live in NY (Westchester County). Thank you. |
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william harper | just purchased a samsung 43" dlp tv and had comcast cable hook up the digital and high definition transmission; do i need to use the "zoom" feature to fill out the screen for hd programs??? (the "normal" feature does not fill out the entire screen for high definition programs!!) |
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Cmdr Scotty | TO: John G. How did you get Circuit City to match a web price? I thought they only matched local prices. Did you take in a printout from a web page or something. I think a lot of folks in this forum would like to hear how you did it. I am ready to by the 617W and see it for $1k less on a lot of web pages but would rather deal with Circuit City. The last C.C. salesperson I talked to was not real helpful on this front. Please give us any insights you might have. |
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| How to negotiate at Circuit City... I went to the local North Olmsted, OH (Cleveland) during the middle of the week (Tues ~ 3pm). I really just wanted to check out the 43/50inch Samsung DLP, and was set at buying online for $3999 from a number of websites. I checked out the Sony and Samsung side-by-side for several minutes, while playing with each of the remotes. I really had no intention of buying the Samsung for full retail. $4999 The sales man came over to inquiry if he could help. I told him I was interested in the 61inch version of the Samsung unit. He mentioned that they carry it, but not in the store (HLN617W). I asked what the price was on it, he checked and it was $4999. I told him, too bad, as I was ready to buy it today, but their price was too high. He asked what I had seen the TV for, and I told him $3999 on several websites. He said he couldn't offer at that price, but he would get the floor manager. The floor manager came over, we talked about the webprice, he said he couldn't match it. I said too bad, that I was willing to pay today and walk out with a TV. And I would also buy the extended warranty with it, but only if he would match the price. He asked me to wait, then he came back a few minutes later, and offered the TV at $3999 +$499 for the warranty, with free delivery, 0% financing for 18 months. I told him write it up! That's it...straight forward negotiating. I did go to the store dressed fairly nice, since I left work early, and was straight with them about buying the TV from them, but only if they would match the pricing I have seen on the web. |
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| Since there seems to be some discussion about the brightness and color being "tuned" for the hln43w at 100w versus the hln61n at 120w bulb (excellent post from Steve G on June 7th) it makes me wonder if there is an aftermarket upgrade opportunity for the hln61n bulb to, say, 150w, or so. Has anyone asked Samsung about this idea or have any insights about an aftermarket bulb "upgrade"? |
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Anonymous | FYI, I just purchased a hln5065w and in service menu says it has a fli2300 which is a Faroudja chip from what I understand. |
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Mike | So, is the consensus a yes or no on the HLN437W? Is there anything else at 43" similar in quality that I should be looking at? Thanks |
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Anonymous | Had an HLN617W with goasting also (white/green upside down image on bottom right of screen when light image in top left). This is a known Samsung issue for which there is a fix. They just have to replace the optical engine with the latest revision. Get it done before the your warranty runs out! |
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Mike C | I am considering purchasing either the Samsung HLN617W (DLP) or Sony's KF-60XBR800 (LCD). My viewing will consist of DVD, digital cable, and (eventually) HD cable. I have heard that sets such as the above display "regular" cable rather poorly. I can't tell if these comments are relative to better signal sources such as DVD and HD, or compared to a direct view (not projection) CRT TV. I currently own a 36" direct view Mitsubishi and to my (untrained) eye the digital cable (non HD) PQ is very good. I would not want to spend $5K+ and end up with a poorer PQ when viewing non HD digital cable, even though other signal sources might be better. Can anyone comment on digital cable PQ for these high-end sets vs. direct view CRTs? |
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Brian | I am a custom installer and have personally installed 4 of these sets. My first impression is this set is beautiful , easy to work with and has lots of inputs. My second impression is it is well above and beyond the quality of current LCD screens. Theres a few reasons why us custom installers get a slighty different version too, for all you have inquired above. First is we have been trained to setup a DLP front/rear projection screen properly. We understand its plus and minuses therefore when choosing the type of screen for a clients home we can make the correct decision. Secondly, most of us are ISF certified or atleast skilled in tuning a set. All sets need tuning for optimum results. For you who will argue that, good for you. When I choose this system the first question I ask is what are you putting on it. If they say mostly dvd's I only use the Samsung HD931 or the denon model with the FLI chipset. DVI is the best way to approach this tv becuase the A/D chip is based on the FLI2300 chipset. LOVES PURE DIGITAL. If they say cable, i laugh normally. Even digital cable carries mostly a soft digital signal on lower end channels. Only satellite gives atleast 480i on local channels and low band UHF. This tv will take a crap signal and normally make it worse, any digital based set will. You like cable, buy a DVDO or FOCUS Enhancement scaler. CRT tube is the best all around choice for air and cable signal. Again, if your spending money on the set be prepaired to outfit it correctly. Another wonderfull thing about this set is the only thing you should have to replace is the lamp. You get about 4 years of good use before the tv needs servicing, pop in a bulb and your ready to go. By that time most rear projection tvs need proper calibration, LCD screens have bad pixels and plasma's are approaching half life burnout. Again, if that scares you, buy a regular tv! Its like buying a corvette and complaining about the higher costs in servicing. Lastly, for those who use the web as a place to buy electronic products. You ever wonder what that guy in his one bedroom apartment who sells you the product looks like. You ever wonder what your "B" product had happen before you got it! And most importantly, your job maybe on the net one day! The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Brian | By the way, I saw ROB Monday, August 18, 2003 - 09:47 am had a few questions from Westchester. We are located in Rockland, right over the TZ. Visit the site and feel free to contact us if you have anyquestions! The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Anonymous | Sixth Avenue Electronics in West Patterson, NJ (at least I think it was this store and and not the Paramus store--I was the passenger in a friend's car) had an RCA Scenium HDLP50W151 on floor yesterday. That's a 50" screen. Price was $3499. They are also featuring it on the first page of their latest 12 page handout. Unfortunately, it was not set up yet. An engineer from Texas Instruments was there and had just started to do this but was complaining that he could not find the remote. Has anyone seen this working? The price is right. |
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Brian | RCA is pretty nice, has the ATSC tuner built in it already. HDTV built in is always a plus: HELLO SAMSUNG FOLLOW THE TREND!! Plus infocus make the DLP engine, same they use in there screenplay 7200 front projection minues the FLI2300 chipset. Great set, but the decoder isnt the greatest, of couse all that can be avoided by using DVI. Either way im sure it will preform as good all Scenium tvs do. My only complaint about the set is that RCA is a pain in the butt to get service on so you almost have to get the warranty for it,but remeber, DLP has three different chip sets out now, so we are going to see a great deal of differntials on these sets in the next year or so. Wont be apples and oranges but there will distinct differences. The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Dave Holmes | How important is it to use an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) with the Samsung DLP. The salesguy proclaimed that in the event of a power outage, there's a good chance the bulb will burn out because the fan won't run. Hogwash? thanks |
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| Can somebody please tell me if HDTV over cable is any good? How does it compare to Direct TV? Thanks |
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Anonymous | Mike - Some details until the experts respond: Visit www.directcabletv.com and others, which state a 40% better quality than regular cable TV. HDTV is better at 1080x1920 into the 16:9 format. Visit www.hometheatermag.com/showfaq.cgi?38 for a discussion on HDTV resolution. DVD is 720x480. |
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Matt | wow, lots of great info. i think it's clear the xx7's have the Faroudja chip and the xx65's dont. the question is when does this come into play? It says "This feature is by-passed on 480P, 720P and 1080i inputs." so only a 480i VHS source would be improved as indicated above? are there any other sources that would be better on the xx7's than the xx65's? thank you... |
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Brian | WEll to be honest, they both really feature the same scaler. You see a company called SAGE owns Faroudja, just you hear the name Faroudja more becuase of its common place in the consumer market. Sage well show its face more often in the professional AV market. The reason I heard they dont actually advertise is it as the same chipset is licensing issues. The amount they have to pay to Faroudja to use that name on the advertising and print media. Now that is coming directly from my Samsung Rep. Hopefully Ill know for you all after CEDIA. The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Ken P | I've had a DLP437 43" set for three weeks now and thought I'd give a report. First, I purchased it at Tweeter here in MA; bought the Tweeter service policy, too. (I don't usually buy SP's, but I was wary of both Samsung and the technology involved). Bottom line is: I am blown away by the picture quality with digital sources; I am unimpressed by Samsung's initial product quality; and I am curious about an audio/video timing problem I am having. First, picture quality. This is one bright, beautiful picture! Colors are fabulous; no washed-out reds.I also purchased a Samsung 931 DVD player with DVI; the picture from DVD's is to die for. Second, the set arrived DOA -- wouldn't power on; a flashing LED complained that the lamp access cover was ajar. Called Tweeter service; they found a plastic tab was broken, and jumpered around a microswitch. It should not have been shipped from the factory with a broken access cover! Then, when the set powered on, the color wheel (which spins at, what -- 9000 RPM?) whined like a banshee. The tech proceeded to order a replacement, for which I am waiting. That's TWO defects in one TV! But, fortunately, the latter problem doesn't interfere with viewing. Third, I have an issue with DVD's I watch that the video lags the audio by a fraction of a second. I am not sure if this is an artifact of the DVD player or the TV, but in either case I DON'T LIKE IT! Has anyone else experienced this? I need to check and see if this happens with other sources, as well. Finally, with regard to viewing standard TV on a large-screen digital set, here's my two cents: Upconversion from 480i to the 720-line screen is going to introduce artifacts. Plus, you're probably looking at a bigger screen than you're used to. I got up close to my Sony 32" XBR CRT set and looked at the picture as I would see it at my normal viewing distance on the DLP437; you can see plenty of flaws in the picture based purely on signal quality on cable. So you see them, too, on the larger set. But I bought the DLP437 primarily for DVD's and, eventually, HDTV, and so I'll put up with artifacts inroduced into my standard TV pictures. (Hey, if you want best possible reception of standard TV, DVDs, and HDTV, buy a CRT that actually does all of the scans; don't buy a set with pixel technology that HAS to do conversions!) |
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Brian | Ken, im curios, you love your HD931 mostly becuase it has the FLI-2300 chipset and that is really a match made in heaven for your new set. But you mentioned that your unhappy with your cable. I bet you feel the same about VCR tapes and other inputs like video games. Perhaps you might want to looking into a scaler. I sell a ton of the $1000 Focus Enhancements with DLP and LCD sets and people are amazed what their current cable and others sources can looked when they are scaled properly. While your set does have a standard scaler built in, that will introduce artificats, an aftermarket scaler will solve a lot of that problem with any source you put at it. Just a suggestion..... you might refall in love with your set all over  The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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| I am confused as heck after reading this. I recently ordered the HLN507W from Circuit City(which I got a call came in today). I then got a catalog from Crutchfield that had the HLN567W (Tantus). What is the difference besides size? Did I just purchase outdate technology? Is the HLN507W good? Also what is 3:2 pulldown feature? Last, what HD tuner do you recommend? |
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Ken P | Scott, the first two numerals in the model number are the screen size. This board has debated the merits of the HLNxx7 series vs. the HLNxx65 series, which may (or may not, in reality) contain slightly different technology. The HLN series IS different from (better than??) last year's HLM series. |
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Anonymous | Dear Wire Guy: Tell us more about this "scaler" that you mentioned. Is it really a magic bullet for improving standard definition sources (such as directv & vcr tapes)? Pardon the scepticism, but if whatever chips are built into these $1000 to $3000 + scalers are THAT good, (and I know they are not that expensive on a manufacturing level)......then why wouldn't the rear-projection manufacturers & plasma manufacturers put them into their boxes at a lot lower of an add-on price? If this is a dumb question, let me know. I would gladly pay $1,000 if I could achieve a significant & meaningful improvement on my sd picture quality. Please tell us more. |
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| OK...so I have another question. I have read the full thread and what I got was that most everyone seems happy with their Samsung HLN507W. I am very new to the HD, tech type of world. But I have bought a Samsung HLN507W and I am taking delivery of it today. What I am now looking for is advice on what to use with it...what DVD player is best, what cable hook-ups should be used, should I do Direct TV or not, is there some better HD broadcast I should know about, what HD tuner should I get. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Right now all I have is digital cable. (does my newbieness show?) |
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| Thanks for all the good and diverse info. Has anyone heard about upcoming DPL TVs with HD2+ technology? I know this new technology thing never ends but if it will appear soon, I would rather drop my thousands on the latest thingy. Here is what TI says: HD2+ DLP technology takes advantage of a new manufacturing process which enables projectors that feature it to deliver even higher contrast ratios, thus extending still further the leadership DLP technology enjoys as the technology of choice for home cinema and home theater applications. It also features dark video enhancement (DVE) made possible by changes to the color wheel to give even better video performance in dark scenes. Projectors featuring HD2+ will ship during the fourth quarter of 2003. There is also the 3-chip HD2 which I'm sure will be beyond my short financial reach. |
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Anonymous | Troy - Thanks for the timely update on TI's HD2+. I was unaware of it. InFocus (manufacturer of Toshiba units, as well as others to come) had a $1000 rebate on their Model 7200 (HD2) front projector thru August, which, in my personal opinion, is overpriced). Looks like InFocus may be reducing current inventory for new models with TI's newer chip, consistent with TI's announcement. I would guess retail prices on current DLP HD2 models will drop, and the newer models will move to the upper pricing tier. Hopefully, competition will lower overall prices. |
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brian | K, well lets answer the first question. For those who never heard of a "scaler" chances are you never cracked open a hometheater magazine,stepped foot into anywhere but Best Buy or CC and use the speaker cable that comes standard with your 500 surround system! For those of you who wish to learn a few things listen up. Every pro-end and high end commercial/hometheater starts with some sort of display. Every display has its natural native resolution. All devices then need a source to input information into that display device. When a device recieves the signal it will do what ever is necessary to make the signal compatible. This means sometimes over scaling a signal with line doubling, upconverting with noise interjection and the worst, leaving it in its natural state. For an example lets look at the much wanted and praised Runco CRT projectors. While sporting wonderfully high resolutions and built in active scalers no one in there right mind would hook that up directly out of the box. What you would be left with a $60,000 projector that is using half of its display power. So whats the thing to do, buy a $10,000 video scaler and make sure that every image and signal is brought into the projector in its best possible state. This leaves the projector completly free of distorting, resizing and scaling the signal.Thats the award wining image that you crave, in part becuase of the wonderfull magic of a scaler. So why does a scaler cost so much, well theres many reasons. First off your Samsung DLP set does have a Faroudja chipset, its the most scaled down version of the award winning FLI2300 chipset you can find. Not every DLP projector with that chip will look the same. In fact so much more goes into the scaling and resizing outside of this chip. Becuase this chipset must change every signal the set gets it has been programmed to upscale everything. Now while great for conventional sources such as DVI, DVD, HDTV, it kills low end sources such as cable, vcr, sat(non high def.)They have to put some sort of a scaler in this set becuase its a digital set. Now take into affect the pixel processor, or the over used DCDi chipset. While this set uses the DCDi chipset, it is in no way calibrated and manufactured with specs as something as the Infocus Screenplay 7200 HD Mustang chipset. To do so would cost more and Samsung knows that most of you dont know or care. Now companys such as Faroudja, Focus, AMX, Crestron, DVDO and others realize that people still use BETA, VCR, HI8, interlaced DVD and other low end sources, so instead of them letting that $15 dollar chip do all the work in the set they allow an outside fully licsensed integrator take over. Hence that fact the Faroudja sells the REAL FLI2300 chipset and DCDi scaler for over $4000. Inside there is an onboard CPU with downloaded resolutions that allows you to custom match everything before it even touches the tv to be treated the same as HDTV. Now does this mean that it will look amazing if the source sucks to begin with, NO! Infact your set will only ever look as good as its source, BUT, with proper HUE, COLOR, SATURATION, CONTRAST, PIXEL MOTION, Scan Rate, Interlacing and scaling it can only get better. A dedicated scaler normally has over five chipsets on each main board. This allows it to distinguish what needs work and what doesn't. Color comes alive, black levels are improved on digital signals and artifacts slowly disapear. If you dont believe me, before you open your mouth and shout out and opinion that helps no one on these boards, TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF! If you find the right store that is honest and has a good return policy you can always return it too. And for you who said this set can't be ISF calibrated, I saw a Samsung rep at CEDIA yesterday in front of everyone calibrate this set and it was amazing. If they only left the factory that way. As for the new chipsets, I saw the new HD2+ chipset up and running on the screenplay 7205, and it is very nice. Even though it wont be anything like the DLP sets, Samsung only said they might include an ATSC decoder next model. So dont count on the new chip right away. Oh and by the way, the 7200 for $9000 is a steal! Love the new Optoma DLP sets by the way, amazingly better detail, contrast and brightness compared to samsung, plus have built in DVDO scalers, the real type with Pixel Pro 450 chipset, VERY NICE!! Not as pretty as the samung in bezel looks, but much better in picture. The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Jake Louis | Re the bulbs --- I have a 43" (fits on my bookshelves !) but in little over 4 - 5 months of use, the bulb is dimming -- A LOT. A. It's under warranty, they're coming tomorrow. B. I REALLY like the TV, but C. Jeez, that's quick on the bulb. I HOPE the next bulb lasts longer, but the warranty isn't forever. Does ANYBODY know where replacement bulbs are available and for How much ?? |
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Anonymous | First of all, Scott I would say congrats on your purchase. Then, if you really want the best picture for tv with dvd. Samsung has a dvd player with DVI outputs compatible with the tv. This will give you the absolute best signal to your tv for the dvd player. The next best would be the component video which is the best analog signal you can get. As far as directv, they are pretty good and most of the stations are pretty. Make sure you have the satellite receiver with DVI outputs again for the best signal. Have fun with your tv. Brian, thanks for all of the info. That was extremely helpful. I guess the next best thing is to see where all of the honest dealers are here in the city. Thanks again. Jake, I'm a little disappointed with the comment you made about the bulb. Hopefully, someone had put their hand on the bulb that wasn't suppose to. I understand your frustration. I purchased my tv from best buy so i have a couple of years and I will make sure I extend the warranty. Good luck and keep us informed on way you find. Sorry, I don't know how much the bulbs are. |
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Troy | Samsung DLP vs RCA DLP or others.. The RCA Scenium HDLP50W151 has a built in ATSC decoder and seems to have most of the bells and whistles of the Samsung HLN507W. Has anyone seen one of these displays, any comments? Thanks Brian for providing some insight that few of us could ever hope to find. We're all looking for Corvettes and you're driving a Ferrari 575 GTC, but the info is still very helpful. |
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Brian | Saw the RCA at CEDIA, thought it look great and beautiful, awesome price, returned three days later to take a picture and talk to RCA rep, set was down for repair..........spooky RCA quality still looms! The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Mike | I just purchased the HLN437W. Does anyone have any recommendations for a DVD player? I am on a budget and would like the best picture for my buck. Also what cables would produce the best picture? Finally I am running Dish network, What kinda picture should I expect and does it pay to switch to digital cable or go for the HD sat? I know I sound like I am all over the road here (Corvette needs alignment) but I am excited about the TV and want to get the most out of it without freakin out my wife. |
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Anonymous | Mike, How does the Dish Signal look on the new TV? I'm considering the 507, and would be watching mostly Dish programming. |
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Mike | I have not received it yet. I bought it through my wifes shopping program and it takes 7 to 12 business days, 5 to 10 left. I will let you know when I get it. |
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Kevin | My bulb on my HLN4365W burnt out after 8 months. It will be a week befor they come and fix it. The question is what bulb does it take, I can then order one and have it available the next time it goes out. But with out knowing what to order I'm sort of at a loss. I did not find any referance to the bulb in my manual (maybe I missed it). |
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scott | Brian, Thanks for the information. Very helpful. Makes me feel like I need to go out and purchase a hometheater magazine. Do you recommend calibrating the Sammy HLM 707w? |
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Brian | DLP is an odd technology in terms of calibration. The tools can be very expensive and most consumer tvs are preset with picture profiles. They do this so a consumer cannot mess up the tv to bad and also to extend bulb life. If you want to do the best you can and really enhance the picture, get the new Video Essentials Disc, the new one, its like $30. If your using the new samsung HD931 dvd player with it set at 720p you can really tweak that bad boy, if not, make sure your atleast in progressive scan mode. When we calibrate we go the whole nine yards, but sometimes a consumer doesnt want to pay the extra money so we use this disc during our basic install. Hope that helps scott! The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Mark | I am looking to purchase the Samsung 61" DLP but cannot find the set anywhere. A handful of stores have told me there is a nationwide back-order until mid-October. Any thoughts? |
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Anonymous | Could someone explain the difference between the HLN507W and the HLN5065W? They seem the same. |
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Anonymous | I just got my 46" DLP Samsung and I love it! I am not a big technophile and some postings on this board made me worry. But it turns out that I made the best buy ever. Already with factory settings the Samsung looks as good as my old 32" analogue TV on cable but with panoramic setting = huge picture! DVDs are awesome! I also have Tivo and the picture quality via S-Video is good. This weekend I will try to improve the settings with the Avia DVD. I have no HDTV yet but I'll have a look at this next. Normal cable was my biggest worry but turns out this TV kicks a... |
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| Hello all - loads of info here, lots of repeating of issues which don't all appear to have an answer. We have a similar dilemna which has appeared with others: 1. Have a HLN617W - got a great price by shopping hard and working the retail game harder.... 2. We purchased mid-June, immediately noticed really horrible shadowing, called Samsung, got the run around but then got knowingly defective optical unit replaced by a really poor service guy 3. Service guy improperly mounted the optical unit (amoung other things ruining the solid wood table this sits on) 4. On to second replacement of optical unit by unfortunately same company... no better because he mounted crooked with broken tabs and can't align it 5. So Samsung calls us and they want to send a new unit - great! We took them up on it, don't want to deal with their service provider any more! 6. Got the new HLN617W yesterday, and the picture has black bars and distortion beyond that on right side and bottom - misalignment yet again but this time out of the box! 7. AND there is shadowing, which we suspected would be the case because why would they bother to replace the iaging units on systems they have in wherehouse ;-> So, now we are back to square one. Would love to be able to do some fine tuning of the set without having to go to an incompetent Samsung service rep. We will have to get the optical unit replaced again it appears and are awaiting what takes a long time for someone appropriate at Samsung to get in touch with us. A new issue that showed up in the replacement unit is a oval circular area at the front of the set below the system light indicators which is lit up and you can clearly see inside the unit. Does anyoneelse have this? Our first one didn't and we think (suspect) that this will not be visible when they replace and properly resit the optical engine. Now we are just hoping we can get a different service provider out here. Any advice on fine tuning would be appreciated, any advice on the shadowing besides the obvious is also appreciated and of course, we would love to hear if anyone else gets this weird light at the front bottom of the set. TIA!!! |
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Mark | As I previously posted, I have been looking for a 61" Samsung. After hearing your story Michelle, I am not so certain! Wow, what a mess I have been told by every retail and internet store the 61" is on nationwide back-order. Everyone is telling me shipments are due the first or second week of October. I am more inclined to think you might have received a refurbished unit. I plan to purchase the unit from a local retail store and leverage their service agreement. Dealing with a large company like Samsung is dealing with a huge ball of red tape |
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Anonymous | How does digital cable look on the 507W? I have to assume that the posts regarding poor regular TV picture quality is non-digital cable, is this the case? Thanks |
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Anonymous | It's the old "garbage in - garbage out" problem but with the twist that you blow-up the picture onto a big screen. If you have an "old" analogue TV with a 32" tube -- all the irregularities you see will be blown-up to 50" with the Samsung - digital cable or not. Even worse: some of the picture problems you did not see on the 32" because they were too small are now visible on the 50". Now the good news: this is why the Samsung comes with all the technology: DNIe, Farudja chip, 3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter etc. And hey, it does a good job. I have a HLN467W and the cable picture is as good as it was on my analogue 32" tube TV. This is already a huge step forward for a big screen projection TV compared to older models. Now the good news: may be I am not enough of a purist but my girlfriend and I enjoy normal cable in panoramic mode. We feel the quality is good enough and it fills up the screen (if you are not disturbed by the distortions on each side -- not good for sports on TV). Meaning we watch now normal TV on a 46" widescreen and we love it. Not to mention DVDs or Xbox -- just extraordinary! The real kick is HDTV. Most local stations are available over the air (sitcoms, news, sports!!!!) and DirectTV has a good offer (sports & movies!!!!). They even plan a HDTV Tivo DirectTV receiver for the end of the year -- this will be my next step. This will give me some 15 channels in HDTV (have a look at http://www.directtv.com/DTVAPP/imagine/HDTV_pricing.jsp and http://www.americansatellite.com/support/hdtv101_programming.asp?SID=G9TP4G7682132KC5YSRXWGJANOIS9RQYO#offair ). Then, I will have about 80% of what I watch normally in HDTV (high resolution and widescreen). Hope this is helpful. Ralph |
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Anonymous | I am planning to buy the Samsung HLN467W. I see TI has just released the HD2+ DLP chip. It seems to address some of the problems I've seen on DLP sets in stores. Should I postpone my purchase to wait for a new version with the HD2+ chip? If so, when might a set with the HD2+ be available? |
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Anonymous | It seems that TVs now go the way of the PC: there is always a new and better technology around the corner. The moment you buy a new PC (or now a TV) it is yesterday technology. Next year's TVs will be better and cheaper. The question is: do you want to wait or not? Ralph |
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Brian | Dont count on the HD2+ sets anytime..Samsung said at CEDIA they have nothing planned as of now for those chipsets. Even there new projectors are using the regular HD2. Only thing new model might have is ATSC tuner. The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Eugene | HLN437w vs. Plasma I almost bought Panasonic Plasma based on reviews. When I went to Sears I was stunned by excellent performance of Samsung HLM4365 and very poor picture of Panasonic 42" EDTV. Samsung was showing HD Discovery channel, and Panasonic non HD channel. Salesman could not put both sets to the same channel. However, he assured me that difference is not just HD channel vs. non HD channel, but Samsung's unique DLP HLM4365 (or newer HLN437) in general show better picture than either EDTV or HDTV 42" Panasonic plasma. Can somebody comment on it. The difference in price between HLN437 and 42" plasma is not that big. I plan to watch mainly cable. There are multiple "HD" channels available from Cablevision in our area (Northern New Jersey) Which TV set will show better picture for HD, and non-HD "digital cable" channel. I saw Brian's comments above: "If they say cable, i laugh normally ... You like cable, buy a DVDO or FOCUS Enhancement scaler. CRT tube is the best all around choice for air and cable signal" I cannot get CRT because of its depth. I am not allowed to put satellite dish due to community regulations. So what would be the best choice under such limitations. |
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| Two weeks ago I purchased the 50" Samsung DLP at Best Buy. I am so totally happy with this set. I am hooked up with direct TV and have the Samsung HD receiver from Direct TV and I bought the new Samsung "HD" DVD player. If there is a better picture out there in this price range or even in most other ranges I haven't seen it, and I shopped for 2 years. All the Direct TV stations have at least the quality of an average DVD. For some reason, I get a very strong upper 90% signal on all stations on my dish. The HD stations are stunning, as are the movies on the HD DVD player. I get my locals in digital off the air with a simple antenna in the attic that I picked up at radio shack. There is a good deal of HD programs here as well. I would recommend this set to anyone. Crystal clear picture with dazzling colors. It is, in a word, awesome. |
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Troy | I started looking at plasma TVs and was turned off by the drawbacks expressed in many forums. When I found DLP I thought my search was over, except for brand, model, and price. This forum has been a great source of useful information. I think if Samsung had included a ATSC decoder I probably would have just done it. But no, I had to keep looking. Now I've found LCOS, specifically the Philips 55PL9773. While it has no ATSC decoder it no rainbow effect, it's larger than the Samsung 507W for the same price. Here's a thread http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158571 . I know this search can go on forever but if anyone has some input it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks |
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| Hey, I just received my HLN-437w. I am running dish network (non-hd) through s-video (through a receiver) as well as the analog coax. The picture in a word is disappointing. In all the store they were running the typical hd loop and it looked awsome. The picture is a bit muddy and my wife who is less critical than I is saying "This is what we paid 2800 for?" DVDs are good but they all seem to be on the red/green side (I am running them through component cables and I suspect that the blue is not all the way in). Lastly I noticed a white line about an 1/8th of an inch on the left of the screen only when in normal aspect mode. Has anyone else seen this and is there anything I can do to improve the picture. I dont have a lot of cash as I blew it all on the TV and dvd player as well as cables. I want to go HD but for 8 channels I dont see it being worth it. |
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| Troy, I have a Philips 55pl9773 for two weeks. I have seen rainbows left and right. i am returning it. DirectTV signal (no HD) very disappointing. I'm starting to look for diferent tv brand, Samsung HLN line perhaps. |
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Troy | Thanks Rod, I saw one today at Good Guys and was disappointed with the greyish looking blacks and contrast was not nearly as good as Samsung DLP. All of the plasmas looked better too. I didn't notice any rainbows but unless someone knows some trick way to adjust this thing, I'll pass on it. Brian (our guru), any comments? Thanks as always |
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Roger Golden | Maybe it is just that I am getting very strong Direct TV and off air antenna signals, or it could be that it is because I am using all matching Samsung Components (50" DLP, HD Receiver, and HD DVD), but with the possible exception of one or two channels which I've never had the desire to watch anyway, the picture quality is outstanding. Even those two stations are very watchable. The detail is very good and the colors are accurate and brilliant. (However, I did use my own custom settings and not the pre-programmed ones.) This set is at it's best for HDTV. It would be nearly impossible to imagine a better picture. Simply breathtaking. However, it also does a very good job with a strong digital signal. I have not seen rainbows or any other problems that some claim to have witnessed. The only problem I have now is that the TV is in our bedroom and there are always neighborhood children, friends and relatives sitting on my bed totally overwhelmed by the picture. Alot of jaw dropping going on. |
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Brian | Guru, hahah thats funny. We just picked up the new 57" LCOS Toshiba set and I have to say its wild. But again, its a three chip, unlike the RCA and Philips. For all of you who where wondering why the gray scale is off, its becuase the contrast ratio. I believe they rate(philips) as a 600:1, but if you actually use the right tools its more of a 400:1 with its lumen outputs. Which is still what most LCD sets put out, but because LCOS has such a stronger pixel structure you tend to see it more becuase in all reality is a better picture. But dont fret, if the LCOS technology does improve it will be an awesome display type. Right now though where staying away from the single chip sets. For those who bought it and are happy, then thats all you need to know. Dont let a forum make you see stuff that you didnt originally notice, it will put a damper on your experience. Also LCOS has a great resolution so you well probably need to invest more than you would on a DLP set, i.e. atleast HDTV satellite, a DVD player with DVI output, or a scaler. I love the DLP sets thats why I come on this forum, becuase I want people to buy them, I want them to come out with bigger sets (70" plasma out next year, DLP cant be far off) and more importantly I want them to improve the sets becuase they continue to sell. My main adivce to all our customers is decide what you like best, dont make your decision on reading, if that was the case Id drive a honda and not a cobra and f150 supercrew. Its your tv, not Home Theater Magazines, or BOB(made up) in Toledo, for you who bought samsung, LOVE IT! I do! The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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| Could someone add a note about the RCA DLP50" or RCA DLP60" vs the Samsung DLP HLN617W. I plan to order one soon. |
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Eric | Hey Brian, How does the new Toshiba LCOS look, please elaborate. ANy side by side comparisons with the new DLPs. -E |
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| HLN437W: Just got the TV last Saturday and am quite pleased....with the exception of some analog and digital stations. All DVD's are superb. My 3 year old thinks she's watching new movies (me too!). The cable chanels however are quite sporatic with their reception. On one hand they come in clear and consise, but at other times they are quiet blurry and pixelated. I find that I can't watch Comcast Digital Encore at all. Very pixelated. They are coming out this Friday to install the Motorola DCT 5100 HV box. I'm hoping it will improve my reception for standard chanels as they can be routed to 480p. I guess I'll see. |
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Anonymous | Eugene The FCC says they cannot say you cannot have a dish |
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Mike P | Steve, I have the HLN-437w and I found that when the Dish receiver is set to 16:9 the picture gets muddier and blurry. I set the box back to 4:3 and the picture cleaned up. I still have issues with some channels but I am happy that it was the signal and not the TV. Also watch in panarama mode works well. Brian, Do you have any advice on how to improve the picture even more so without spending all of my Porsche fund ? |
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Brian | Yeah, to clear up your dish signal make sure your television is not set up on any adnormal screen settings, such as zoom1 or 2, pan and scan etc. Leave it normal(native). Then set the dish box up to 16:9, this should clear up this problem. Also some channels even though HD can be sending upscaled interlaced program every once and a while. I live in NY and I have dish and ATSC. My upn sometimes looks amazing(usually commercials, go figure) and sometimes blurry and out of focus. Fox is only upscaled interlaced programming despite being a DTV channel, they plan on sending high resolution feeds at the end of this year. CBS looks great, but nothing looks too amazing unless it was shot in HDTV. I normally use titantv.com to see whos showing what in HD that night and those are what I watch. Im spoiled. Ive seen the RCA DLP set, loved the built in ATSC decoder, thought picture was great personally. Cabinet is also pretty, but as I said, it was broke three days into the show....RCA(thompson electronics) quality still scares me. Lets say I don't go around recommended an RCA product to often. But if your price drive( Samsung helped develop DLP)the RCA is a great tv, extended warranty should put more Z's into your sleep. Lastly, the three chip 57" LCOS Toshiba TV. WHY ANYBODY WITH THAT MUCH MONEY TO SPEND WOULD LOOK ELSEWHERE I DO NOT KNOW!!!! I mean if you need flat, plasma is ok, Im a front projector fan but sometimes you cant control light. So you have this money, what do you do! You buy this set. The picture without the set being tweaked and running of a basic HDNET drop and JVC DVHS(which is something all you should be looking to buy, you get a great deal at ecost.com on them, all movies 1080i AMAZING!!!) was simply the most amazing picture I have seen today on a tv. In fact I walked by that set three times on three different days and stopped and smiled. Its beautfil, and im sure Ill sell a ton!!!! If this set is in your budget, run out and look at it when it hits stores! As for comparison with the new DLP sets, there is none. First, its a three chip system, so theres one LCOS chip for each color( AMAZING) Its a true native 1080i set, and it looks like a beautiful plasma display suspended on a black bezel. Its gorgoues. Im sure this thing will take lots of awards and reviews this year. Thought id help out...back to work! The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Mike P | Hey one more question.... Brian, By the way I am running non-HDtv Dish network and the picture changes from station to station. When watching regular tv (non-hd) I see a transparent line on the left of the screen when in normal mode. I also see it when the picture is being sent in letter box on the bottom of the screen. Its not terrible but I notice it. Should I call Samsung to have someone come out and look at it? The tv (HLN-437w) is only a week old and I want to make sure that its not a manufacturing defect. Thanks |
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Brian | Oh well if its non high def then its the scaler. You might be seeing some effects of comb filter and upconversion. Best bet is to make sure you have all the reality controls off, try to adjust the tv to the most natural way. Also take out your component cables and try a good quality SVIDEO cable. The tv well then treat this as a higher end cable feed and that might work out better till you get the HD box. Also that line is probably a convergence line, the tv might have wacked out a little in transport. I would def. call samsung and have then send an authorized repair center out. He will enter the hidden menus and fix that up in no time at all. Maybe you can ask him to increase the contrast at that point, sometimes those guys no a little more than you think!!! Just a hint. Hope that helps. The Wire Guy As always, support your local custom home theater installer! www.thewireguys.net |
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Roger Golden | Re: FYI on PICTURE CLARITY (Direct TV vs Antenna): (I'm using the Samsung HD receiver supplied by Direct TV for $399 with my Sam 50" DLP, which is also connected to a traditional antenna purchased from Radio Shack and placed in the attic) In side by side comparisons (flipping back and forth between the satellite and antenna signals of the same stations) the off air (antenna)signal produces a superb picture that is cleaner and clearer than the satellite in regular digital programming. In HD programs, the picture quality is essentially equal. Therefore, even though my local stations are on Direct TV, I watch them off my antenna because the oicture is clearer and many of the shows are in HD Contrary to popular belief, Direct TV does not give you your local signals in HD. In my opinion, if you are not taking advantage of the HD programming available to watch on this set, you are really missing out. There are several great football and baseball games on each week on ESPN HD, Mon Night Football ABC HD, many network evening programs, HD NET Movies. Even the local news is in HD. Don't waste this set on DVDs only!!! |
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| I just bought the 50" HLM507, and while the picture is excellent, I can't quite adjust the color settings to look true to life. It may be my eyes, but can anybody tell me what settings to use for tint, brigtness, etc.? The standard settings don't seem quite right either. Thanks! |
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Anonymous | Bought the HLN437w last week and really like it. Salesman said the 46" model was brighter and had exactly the same footprint due to thinner bezel. The M is last year's model and we paid $3250 at Magnolia Hi Fi with the $250 in store rebate. Circuit City had the same or better price. When you buy with a VISA Gold or Platinum you double the manufacturer's warranty up to one year. I've used this happily on 3 different purchases. I looked at the LCOS and Plasma but the bulb cost and unit lifespan looked really poor compared to the DLP. Bulbs for the 43" are $279 online. Samsung gave me the info. Enjoy. |
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| Follow up to my previous post. I still love the Sammy HLN437w. Got the HD from Comcast hooked up on Friday. Totally amazing. I"m finding it very hard to switch back to the normal channels and can't wait for more to be added. On a different note. I"ve noticed that there is a higher pitched whine that turns on after the set is turned on and stays on until I switch it off. On switching it off, the sound appears to go away when the lamp/color wheel turn off. The fan is still running and that isn't so bad. Has anyone else noticed this? Is that the "whine" of the color wheel and is it normal? It's not too bad, but if I should have Circuit City swap or not my time is running out. Thanks |
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