HDTV Troubles

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by dugpa

Not true entirely on the soft picture, it depends on the display. I have a Samsung DLP and a Samsung LCD and both are equally sharp. As for rainbows, I told you that you need to give your eyes time to adjust. I've had my DLP 13 months now and I can't remember the last time I noticed any rainbows. I saw them right after I bought it for a few weeks, but once I had been watching a while I never saw them again. You need to learn to be patient.

Ditto on that. When I first got my set, I didn't see any rainbows for a few days. After that, I was seeing them constantly for a few weeks. From then on, I pretty much never see them. It just takes to adjust.

["The Dude"]

Good news / bad news. The tech did make it out today. He replaced one of the same parts he replaced last time - DLP light engine with new bulb and new projector. I showed him the scenes that I have posted in this thread and he says that what I showed him and what's in the pics is "normal". He says that this is digital artifacting and is coming from data compression on the discs. He also said that HDMI is part of the problem.

So is this what I'm looking at or is he just full of B.S.? I'll fully admit that I'm somewhat a HD newbie, so he would probably know more than me. So right now I'm kinda conflicted. I've never seen anything like this before so why am I seeing it now? If it's always been like this and was always been this bad, I would've definately noticed.

Dugpa, don't you pretty much have the same setup as me - Sammy HLS-6187W and Toshiba HD player? If so, can you check out those scenes from Transformers and see if yours looks the same? The two scenes I got screengrabs off of are from Barracade/Bumblebee fight and when Sam is looking for the glasses in his room.

Opinions / comments?

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by "The Dude"

Dugpa, don't you pretty much have the same setup as me - Sammy HLS-6187W and Toshiba HD player? If so, can you check out those scenes from Transformers and see if yours looks the same?

Nothing wrong that I can see here. I checked it on both my 6187 and on the LCD display in my bedroom (forget the model off the top of my head). First pic is the DLP, second is the LCD (image is a bit bright as I had the exposure setting up a bit high). All looks fine and as it did in the theater. No white speckles or whatever you're seeing here. Just the usual Bay film grain filtered look.

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by dugpa

Nothing wrong that I can see here. I checked it on both my 6187 and on the LCD display in my bedroom (forget the model off the top of my head). First pic is the DLP, second is the LCD (image is a bit bright as I had the exposure setting up a bit high). All looks fine and as it did in the theater. No white speckles or whatever you're seeing here. Just the usual Bay film grain filtered look.

Thanks Dugpa. I guess there's nothing wrong then. The way the walls look in that scene just look horrid and just didn't look right. I guess I'll just have to get over it.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by "The Dude"

Thanks Dugpa. I guess there's nothing wrong then. The way the walls look in that scene just look horrid and just didn't look right. I guess I'll just have to get over it.

Use King Kong HD DVD as a reference disc. That movie is pure eye candy and does not have any stylistic grain like Transformers, Superman Returns, or Miami Vice. So it will be a good test to see if your DLP is working good.

["The Dude"]

I don't have King Kong. Any others?

Also, it was mentioned at AVS that when parts like the light engine are replaced, that the tech is suppose to go into the service menu and make adjustments to make sure everything is running at an optimum level. The tech didn't go into the service menu either yesterday or the last time he was here and it was the same guy. Are they really suppose to do this after replacing parts? I want to be sure before I ask samsung about this.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by "The Dude"

I don't have King Kong. Any others?

Also, it was mentioned at AVS that when parts like the light engine are replaced, that the tech is suppose to go into the service menu and make adjustments to make sure everything is running at an optimum level. The tech didn't go into the service menu either yesterday or the last time he was here and it was the same guy. Are they really suppose to do this after replacing parts? I want to be sure before I ask samsung about this.

Why not just rent King Kong from netflix or buy one of them cheaply off ebay? There are other good looking ones, but King Kong is by far the best reference disc IMO and you can test to see if you set is working 100%. We are talking no more than $15 here.

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Why not just rent King Kong from netflix or buy one of them cheaply off ebay? There are other good looking ones, but King Kong is by far the best reference disc IMO and you can test to see if you set is working 100%. We are talking no more than $15 here.

What, you think I'm made of money? What's funny is that I was going to pick this up when Circuit City was doing the BOGO, which ended up only lasting a day. I went in on the day after it started and the deal ended.

I don't know. Looking at Dugpa's pics, ours look almost identical. So that got me to thinking that it's just normal and it's just the material, but then reading over at AVS, the tech is SUPPOSE ot go in to the service menu and make the necessary adjustments, especially after changing out a light engine - which he didn't do either time. So I have no way of telling if a I have a problem or not unless I try out other discs like King Kong.

[Iguana Man]

May I ask what time frame that shot of Dugpas is at? I'm curious to see how it looks on my LcOS via the HDAO since I don't recall seeing any of that weird looking grain or white specs crap.

Edited: Never mind, I blew up Dugpas pic...1:12:something.

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

May I ask what time frame that shot of Dugpas is at? I'm curious to see how it looks on my LcOS via the HDAO since I don't recall seeing any of that weird looking grain or white specs crap.

Edited: Never mind, I blew up Dugpas pic...1:12:something.

yeah. I don't remember the exact time, but it's when Sam goes looking for the glasses in his room. When you pull up the scene index, it's the chapter that has the pic of his parents, his dad holding a bat.

I don't know, maybe me and Dugpa have crappy tv's. I'm curious as to how this scene looks on different displays. Anyone who wants to check and post comments please feel free to do so.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by "The Dude"

yeah. I don't remember the exact time, but it's when Sam goes looking for the glasses in his room. When you pull up the scene index, it's the chapter that has the pic of his parents, his dad holding a bat.

I don't know, maybe me and Dugpa have crappy tv's. I'm curious as to how this scene looks on different displays. Anyone who wants to check and post comments please feel free to do so.

It was his Mom holding the bat. And yes, I was gonna post a pic of that scene but apparently my HDAO has decided to do an update which I cannot cancel and no...it doesn't update. Yay for fucking me.

[Vonner]

I'll post a pic of that scene when I get a chance.

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by "The Dude"

I don't know, maybe me and Dugpa have crappy tv's. I'm curious as to how this scene looks on different displays. Anyone who wants to check and post comments please feel free to do so.

As I pointed out in my post, the two pictures in my post were taken off of two completely different displays. That's how it's suppose to look. That's exactly how it looked in the theater where I endured it. There's nothing wrong with the display if it looks like that. If it doesn't, there is something wrong with your display. The night scenes such as that one are heavily filtered. That's the one thing that drives me nuts about everyone getting into HD - too many people who don't understand filming techniques bitching when their HD doesn't look like a football game on cable. Half the transfers people bitch about here have nothing wrong with them.

[Vonner]

Original image...


With digital re-touching...



That scene is just a little grainy.

[dugpa]

See, exactly the same (the unprocessed one) as the one I posted (except not as badly overexposed as the pic I took). The grain and filtering is normal.

[Iguana Man]

Well here is a shot off my tv, and since I don't know how to let the aperture stay open longer, it's the best I could do.

I see little grain. This shot was taken about 4' away and if I moved really close, then it seemed a bit more pronounced but nothing like The Dudes shots. I dunno man...his shots look bad to me. Real bad (sorry!).

This is via a LcOS JVC 52" set and no, I've not calibrated it.

I say something is wrong 'Dude'.

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by Vonner

Original image...


With digital re-touching...



That scene is just a little grainy.

After seeing more pics, I'll totally agree that it's suppose to look like that. What I'm questioning now is the severity of it. I was able to see this scene at a store last night, as well as a few other scenes. They were using pretty much the same setup - Toshiba XA2 and a 57" DLP RPTV, though it was a Mits and not a Sammy. The scene in question looked just same as these pics. However, it didn't look as harsh as mine. It was a lot more smoother looking and more bearable. Maybe it was just the lighting in the store or the fact it was on a different brand of tv.

The reason I'm questioning the severity is that I don't remember X-Men looking that bad before the light engine and input box switchout. What was pointed out over at AVS, is that in the service manual, for the HLR series anyway, is that after a light engine is replaced, the tech needs to go into the service menu and make adjustments in that menu. The tech didn't do that either time. He just switched out parts and left.

So after seeing Tramsformers at the store last night, I called Sammy when I got home and asked if the tech is suppose to go into that service menu after replacing the light engine and make adjustments. They said that they weren't entirely sure but said that they should be doing that just in case to make sure everything is set right when swapping out parts like that.

I then called the tech this morning and asked if it's possible that the reason my display looks so harsh in those scenes compared to what I saw at the store last night is that my settings needs to be adjusted in the service menu. He said "Nope, all of the settings are preset from the factory and there's no need to go into the service menu". He then goes on to say that if that's even remotely the case, he can't make adjustments in that menu. He said that to do that requires multi-million dollar equipment and he doesn't have access to that.

He pretty much ends the call by saying that it will NEVER look perfect and it will only get worse. If I want perfection, go buy an analog tv. Then he tells me that they just releasesd 1440p tvs (did they?) and that they will look even worse than mine.

Did I also mention that one of the reasons he gave for my picture looking bad the last time he was here was that I'm using HDMI? He hates HDMI and thinks that technology pretty much sucks.

[Sehnzeleid]

Sounds like a real prick.

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by Sehnzeleid

Sounds like a real prick.

Yeah, tell me about it. I just want to be sure that everything is good with my tv. I never expected a perfect picture on this set, with dvd's or HD/BD and never will. Right now I'm just trying to find out what they're saying over at AVS about the service menu is true before I give Sammy a call yet again and tell them what this tech told me. I even asked Sammy last night is they can send someone else out because I don't want to deal with this guy anymore. They said that they can't because it's still within the 30 days since he's worked on it. I guess i could just wait until the end of Nov. and have someone else sent out.

I just want to make sure that I'm getting optimum performance and that all of my setting in the service menu are where they need to be. After seeing what I saw last night and seeing more of your guys' pics, everything I'm seeing in the stores and here just looks so much cleaner and smoother than mine.

[Iguana Man]

Ohh my...

Dude', I may not be the best person to give advice when it comes to countering bad customer service, yet....I so want their phone number and your info needed when calling them because I would like nothing more than to ream them a new buthole on your behalf.

Your pics are showing some serious faults or settings IMO. Something is wrong, again, IMO.

Best of luck man, I do mean that.

[Vonner]

I will add that the scene in my pictures was far less grainy looking when watching it. When I paused it to snap the pictures it looked worse.

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by Vonner

I will add that the scene in my pictures was far less grainy looking when watching it. When I paused it to snap the pictures it looked worse.

Same with mine. My pics came out darker than what they really look like, so mine actually looks worse in real life than the pics. What display are you using Vonner?

["The Dude"]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Ohh my...

Dude', I may not be the best person to give advice when it comes to countering bad customer service, yet....I so want their phone number and your info needed when calling them because I would like nothing more than to ream them a new buthole on your behalf.

Your pics are showing some serious faults or settings IMO. Something is wrong, again, IMO.

Best of luck man, I do mean that.

You want Samsungs or the tech's?

It's at the point where I just shouldn't sit around to find out about the service menu thing. I should just call up Samsung and tell them to send a "qualified tech" out or hook me up with a new tv. The tech that serviced it won't check the service menu and claims he can't because he doesn't have multi-million dollar equipment. I can't check it either for the obvious reasons. Or maybe sammy should hook me up with a professional calibrator that's ISF certified.

[Vonner]

Originally Posted by "The Dude"

What display are you using Vonner?

Toshiba 56HM195 DLP, via HDMI.