Samsung P9 (ps50p91fdx) Owners Thread

[fast700c]

The only silly questions are those "un-asked". simple answer is component cannot to digital 1080P. I would suggest using a "upscale" device like your DVD player or alike if you have something that will upscale. Had similar issues with my old DVD player until I upgraded.. Hope this answers your question.. P

Just to set you straight. 1080p works over component (check page 7 of the manual). Infact component supports all resolutions.

The screen will upscale all resolutions to 1080p, but obviously the lower the original resolution the worse the final picture will look.

I dont have an Xbox but I believe that not many games are true 1080 native resolution, so that probably answers why your game looks a bit "fuzzy" particularly if you are used to seeing it on a small screen. It's probably a lower res game (720) so when shown on any 50" screen will not look as sharp.

Edited January 1, 2008 by fast700c

[Jomac]

Hi Guys ,

Had mine for about 10 days now , very disappointed with the sound quality as compared to my old LG 42" , cant believe such a high end set doesn't have variable output for sound either because by adding a small sub woofer would make huge difference but the audio output is fixed so it's not possible.

Have also notice another big problem with all HDMI inputs , I am getting an interference around the edges of all characters as the the set heats up , It looks like the effect you would get in paint shop pro etc if you used the magic wand to select the edges of figures.

If I let it cool down and switch back on it's ok for about 3 minutes and gradually gets worse as it heats up again.

I have plugged the same source into my old LG and no problems on HDMI , using the same source into the samsung on component , SVHS or standard AV is ok but 1080 is not usable with this problem.

Anyone seen this problem or have any suggestions other than take it back ?

[fast700c]

Hi Guys ,

Had mine for about 10 days now , very disappointed with the sound quality as compared to my old LG 42" , cant believe such a high end set doesn't have variable output for sound either because by adding a small sub woofer would make huge difference but the audio output is fixed so it's not possible.

Have also notice another big problem with all HDMI inputs , I am getting an interference around the edges of all characters as the the set heats up , It looks like the effect you would get in paint shop pro etc if you used the magic wand to select the edges of figures.

If I let it cool down and switch back on it's ok for about 3 minutes and gradually gets worse as it heats up again.

I have plugged the same source into my old LG and no problems on HDMI , using the same source into the samsung on component , SVHS or standard AV is ok but 1080 is not usable with this problem.Anyone seen this problem or have any suggestions other than take it back ?

I agree that the sound may not be as fullsome as evpected but I personally find it fine for regular viewing. When I want to watch a movie or want "bigger" sound I run it through my AV receiver. I suppose most people who spend $3k on a tv will have some sort of home cinema.

On your second point, it does sound unusual. HDMI is just a plug and play system so not sure what the problem is.

I dont understand what you were trying to say with the highlighted part of your quote. What is the "SVHS and standard AV" compared to 1080?

[Jomac]

I suppose most people who spend $3k on a tv will have some sort of home cinema.

It's funny how a lot of people say this , but I know you can spend a 3rd as much a crappy TV and the sound is way more than acceptable but it seems if you want to spend a heap on a high end TV you are expected to accept it without decent sound or invest more money on a sound system.

This TV is not in my theater room.

What is more annoying is the need for another remote control because the TV volume cant control the sound into an amp.

I dont understand what you were trying to say with the highlighted part of your quote. What is the "SVHS and standard AV" compared to 1080?

This means I have a DVD player with Stardard AV out , or SVHS out , Component out and HDMI out , playing the same movie the picture is fine in all modes except HDMI which is being upscaled to 1080 , ( the prefered mode ).

The picture is so bad through HDMI it cant be watched at all after a few minutes.

[colindale]

It's funny how a lot of people say this , but I know you can spend a 3rd as much a crappy TV and the sound is way more than acceptable but it seems if you want to spend a heap on a high end TV you are expected to accept it without decent sound or invest more money on a sound system.

This TV is not in my theater room.

What is more annoying is the need for another remote control because the TV volume cant control the sound into an amp.

This means I have a DVD player with Stardard AV out , or SVHS out , Component out and HDMI out , playing the same movie the picture is fine in all modes except HDMI which is being upscaled to 1080 , ( the prefered mode ).

The picture is so bad through HDMI it cant be watched at all after a few minutes.

There are HDMI cables and HDMI cables, you may have a cheap cable that could be your problem!.

Edited January 2, 2008 by colindale

[Stooge007]

There are HDMI cables and HDMI cables, is you have a cheap cable that could be your problem!.

digital is digital though, isn't it???

[fast700c]

It's funny how a lot of people say this , but I know you can spend a 3rd as much a crappy TV and the sound is way more than acceptable but it seems if you want to spend a heap on a high end TV you are expected to accept it without decent sound or invest more money on a sound system.

This TV is not in my theater room.

What is more annoying is the need for another remote control because the TV volume cant control the sound into an amp.

This means I have a DVD player with Stardard AV out , or SVHS out , Component out and HDMI out , playing the same movie the picture is fine in all modes except HDMI which is being upscaled to 1080 , ( the prefered mode ).

The picture is so bad through HDMI it cant be watched at all after a few minutes.

Sorry, I understand now. They're actually called composite (yellow), S-video, component and HDMI.

I'd agree with trying a new HDMI cable before you blame the screen. The component cables will pass the upscaled 1080 feed to the screen.

Whilst you don't need a $180 monster cable just try a new $30 HDMI 1.3 cable. Buy it from a shop that you can return it to if you still get the same problem.

Someone else had problems with there connection to an Xbox that turned out to be the HDMI cable. Try the simplest thing first then start looking deeper if that fails.

[dugite57]

Silly question alert!

I have my xbox 360 connected to my p9 via component. Its set to output at 1080p. While playing Mass Effect, the background in the game looks (how id describe anyway) fuzzy? Is this to do with my connection via component or the TV settings?

Its currently in game mode when i play the 360. I had to turn that on to help with the lag. Any suggestions guys?

Thanks!

Kello, I'm running my XB360 via the PC port (blue VGA port like on PC monitors, the telly has this on the back). You will need to get the XB360 VGA adapter. I got mine from HN for $50. It is the proper microsoft one, I've heard varying reports on the cheaper after market ones. I then run optical sound to my receiver (I don't use the red/white stereo RCA that the cable comes with). If you have the $250 XB360 HD-DVD drive you'll see that it recommends using this VGA cable. This is also a good way to get in HD-DVD if you don't have a PS3 (blueray).

Once I installed it I found that the colours looked washed out. This was easily fixed by going into the TV's menu and turning up colour and lowering brightness etc for the PC input.

I'm watching my son in law playing forza2 on the 50" P91 and it looks amazing, as does COD4 and Assassin's Creed. HD-DVD movies also blow me away on this TV, Bourne Ultimatum, King Kong and Smoking Aces have all played brilliantly via the XB360 HD-DVD drive.

[Jomac]

Sorry, I understand now. They're actually called composite (yellow), S-video, component and HDMI.

I'd agree with trying a new HDMI cable before you blame the screen. The component cables will pass the upscaled 1080 feed to the screen.

Whilst you don't need a $180 monster cable just try a new $30 HDMI 1.3 cable. Buy it from a shop that you can return it to if you still get the same problem.

Someone else had problems with there connection to an Xbox that turned out to be the HDMI cable. Try the simplest thing first then start looking deeper if that fails.

Maybe you guys haven't read what I wrote , this problem only happens when the TV warms up , I have tested the same source and cable on my LG plasma and is displaying perfectly in HDMI mode .

I have different cables , a $16.00 one and a $112.00 one with no difference at all both are 1.3a revision.

[o{O}o]

I have had this Samsung 50" Full HD plasma TV since 12 December. I am very impressed by the picture quality.

Much better than studying it in the stores.

I was thankful for this TV because I didn't have to pay $3000+ more for the Pioneer Kuro Full HD 50" Plasma.

I watch it in a completely darkened HT room.

It has realistic blacks.

It has excellent upscaling picture quality.

I intend to buy a HD DVD or BLU-Ray player in the near future but no longer read or care about their upscaling ability in reviews.

It has made a very impressive difference to a couple of dvds that I thought were of poor picture quality

considering they are now 3 or 4 times bigger in picture size.

Previous tv was Sony 80cm 4:3 - ( KVEX34M39; it had 16:9 wide mode with line doubling electronics to give a better quality picture. )

How better could DVD or SD digtial TV pic quality be

On the Samsung clothes and fabrics never looked so detailed except at IMAX cinema.

SD digital TV can also be fantastic depending on the program's quality.

I am feeling I want to save more stuff from my SD PVR set top box because it looks so good.

Most SD tv programs and dvds will look excellent even with old and non mainstream films not filmed using the latest camera equipment.

It depends on how it was formatted or transferred to dvd. I have seen some modern films which look soft in comparison to older films

because the film was a long one or they put alot of extras on it and had to reduce it's pic quality to fit on dvd or some

other reason.

Currently all connections are > COMPONENT <.

In my opinion component is equal to HDMI pic quality except with HDMI you have the tidiness of pic and audio in one thin lead.

Hi Guys ,

.....

Have also notice another big problem with all HDMI inputs , I am getting an interference around the edges of all characters as the the set heats up ,

It looks like the effect you would get in paint shop pro etc if you used the magic wand to select the edges of figures.

If I let it cool down and switch back on it's ok for about 3 minutes and gradually gets worse as it heats up again.

I have plugged the same source into my old LG and no problems on HDMI , using the same source into the samsung on component ,

SVHS or standard AV is ok but 1080 is not usable with this problem.

Anyone seen this problem or have any suggestions other than take it back ?

I tried HDMI via a Zensonic media player but I got strange interference; "sparkling video noise";

series of twinkling pinpricks of light that followed certain contours of objects.

I found if I set the media player's HDMI output to a low resolution I let the TV do the upscaling so

there wouldn't be a clash of upscaling and the interference did not show.

However that leaves out playing HD files from this media player for now until it gets figured out how to cure this,

as it is early days.

Why does the TV's Sharpness control have no effect through HDMI ?

I have returned to using component connection with the media player because the TV's "Sharpness" pic control works.

With HDMI you can slide the Sharpness control up or down but it makes no difference to the screen image .

For the future I will be looking for a HD DVD or Blu-ray player with a Sharpness control incase it is needed.

Buzzing Noise.

My TV has what would be an annoying buzzing sound from the upper right rear corner.

It can be heard from my sitting position = 3 meters.

I have found that if I touch this area with a slight bit of pressure so the screen panel wobbles ever so slightly the buzz goes quieter.

My TV sits on a cabinet with wheels so this is easy to do.

I may soon get the tech's to come out and remedy this so I won't have to touch it.

I read this from an Amazon customer review of a similar Samsung plasma with buzzing;

Buzzing Sound Resolved - scroll to the top of the page if link displays bottom of page

I liked the idea of what the techies did by damping the buzz with "special adhesive strips" into the back panel.

Edited January 2, 2008 by o{O}o

[Jomac]

There are HDMI cables and HDMI cables, you may have a cheap cable that could be your problem!.

This is not the problem here.

Could start a debate here but I have asked many people to prove to me that there is a difference between the cheapest cables and the most expensive , as long as they are both working cables I am yet to see even the slightest difference.

[Jomac]

I tried HDMI via a Zensonic media player but I got strange interference; "sparkling video noise";

series of twinkling pinpricks of light that followed certain contours of objects.

I found if I set the media player's HDMI output to a low resolution I let the TV do the upscaling so

there wouldn't be a clash of upscaling and the interference did not show.

However that leaves out playing HD files from this media player for now until it gets figured out how how to cure this,

as it is early days.

Mine starts off as you describe "pin pricks of light ", the longer it's on the more there are until they eventually join up and become a complete outline.

Have you tried your player when the TV is completely cold ??

[fast700c]

This is not the problem here.

Could start a debate here but I have asked many people to prove to me that there is a difference between the cheapest cables and the most expensive , as long as they are both working cables I am yet to see even the slightest difference.

No need to start a debate, absolutly no argument from me. As long as it passes a digital signal all should be good. Just offering a suggestion to try.

You said not to say "take the screen back" so I wont. (But really I think you should if your convinced it's not a cabling issue.)

Edited January 2, 2008 by fast700c

[o{O}o]

deleted accidental double post due to unstable / slow at the time internet connection.

Edited January 2, 2008 by o{O}o

[o{O}o]

Mine starts off as you describe "pin pricks of light ", the longer it's on the more there are until they eventually join up and become a complete outline.

Have you tried your player when the TV is completely cold ??

I would have to try it again because I cannot remember.

I may even take some digital photos of the problem and post at photobucket or somwhere for online viewing

and also get Samsung or Zensonic to advise on what is causing it and how to fix it.

Furthermore I want to find out why "Sharpness" control does not work on TV when using HDMI cable.

.

Edited January 2, 2008 by o{O}o

[o{O}o]

Mine starts off as you describe "pin pricks of light ", the longer it's on the more there are until they eventually join up and become a complete outline.

Have you tried your player when the TV is completely cold ??

I have just tried it cold with various HDMI output settings from the Zensonic media player.

When it is set to "HDMI Mode : Auto Detect" it causes the "sparkling video noise"

When the media player is set to HDMI 720p60Hz or 1080p24 output the picture has none of this "sparkling video noise".

So that is the fix here, but will still revert back to component connection because "Sharpness" picture control has no effect on HDMI cable.

Edited January 2, 2008 by o{O}o

[Jomac]

You said not to say "take the screen back" so I wont. (But really I think you should if your convinced it's not a cabling issue.)

Went into the good guys where I got it from and they aren't interested at all , told me to call Hills which I did , Guy said he would order in new HDMI board and they will come and fit it when it comes in .

Will keep everyone updated , I'll also ask tech why sharpness control has no effect in HDMI mode .

[jd71]

Speaking of the "sharpness" adjustment on the P9, it doesnt seem to do anything really, Ive altered it from 0 to 100 and cant seem to pick the difference.

cheers

Justin

[kello]

Kello, I'm running my XB360 via the PC port (blue VGA port like on PC monitors, the telly has this on the back). You will need to get the XB360 VGA adapter. I got mine from HN for $50. It is the proper microsoft one, I've heard varying reports on the cheaper after market ones. I then run optical sound to my receiver (I don't use the red/white stereo RCA that the cable comes with). If you have the $250 XB360 HD-DVD drive you'll see that it recommends using this VGA cable. This is also a good way to get in HD-DVD if you don't have a PS3 (blueray).

Once I installed it I found that the colours looked washed out. This was easily fixed by going into the TV's menu and turning up colour and lowering brightness etc for the PC input.

I'm watching my son in law playing forza2 on the 50" P91 and it looks amazing, as does COD4 and Assassin's Creed. HD-DVD movies also blow me away on this TV, Bourne Ultimatum, King Kong and Smoking Aces have all played brilliantly via the XB360 HD-DVD drive.

Thanks! Ill take a look at that. Im also currently chasing for a male to male vga cable to connect my pc to my p9! Dicksmith and harvey norman didnt have any gender changers. Found a few online tho. Fingers crossed.

[o{O}o]

Speaking of the "sharpness" adjustment on the P9, it doesnt seem to do anything really, Ive altered it from 0 to 100 and cant seem to pick the difference.

cheers

Justin

Are you using a HDMI connection ? Sharpness control will not have any effect.

I know it will give definite results if you use a component connection.

It probably will work also using composite and s-vhs.

[PeeJay1503560313]

I've had this set for the last week and a half and still amazed and very happy with it. Been playing around with picture settings a fair bit, and I thought I'd post what i've settled with - would be very keen to see what others are using.

Just a few notes on these:

- I've been reading through tons of stuff and settings over at AVS, and while using a lot of their recommendations, these are largely my own adjustments. I have not used any calibration tools at all.

- Nothing posted there really worked for me - all sets are a bit different, but I didn't think it would be "that" different. So I adjusted to something I was happy with, they may not work for you.

- Dynamic should NOT be used and i've done a massive back-flip on this - grass is supposed to be green like in real live, not a fluoro-green . I see no use for this setting at all.

Here's what I'm using:

For DTV viewing with the in-built tuner:

Picture Mode: Movie

Contrast: 82

Brightness: 43

Sharpness: 20

Colour: 42

Colour Tone: Warm1

Size: 16:9

Digital NR: Off

Active Colour: Off

DNIe: off

In Detailed Settings:

Black Adjust: off note, any other setting here crushes blacks and you lose the finer detail

Dynamic Contrast: Off

Gamma: 0

Colour Space: Auto

Edge Enhancement: off

The general consensus on AVS after calibrating is that Movie/Warm2 is the optimal/only setting that should be used, however I found it a bit too fluffy and over-saturated.

I have also set up a "Standard" picture profile with the above settings, except Colour Tone is set on Cool1 - this seems to produce a more 'tv-like' picture, but i've settled on Movie/Warm1 as a nice in-between that i really like.

For PS3 via HDMI, BD/DVD viewing:

Movie mode with settings as above, except:

Tint: 51/49 (not too sure what diff that makes, copied it from somewhere )

Colour Tone: Warm2

Size: Just Scan (this gets you 1:1 mapping, no scaling (I think?))

Detailed Settings - Dynamic Contrast: High (I found this produced MUCH better detail in darker scenes, in OFF a lot of that was lost and not visible - didn't really work for me in the DTV settings though, a bit over saturated in brighter scenes and skin tones)

Strangely, PS3 games didn't look all that great with the above. So I've setup a "Standard" picture profile with brightness/contrast up to 90/46, colour tone Normal, DNIe ON - all else the same.

Lastly, I haven't played around with the more advanced settings in White Balance and my Colour Control - not quite sure what they do and seems like (for me at least) uneducated fine-tuning.

Would love to see what others have, and if anyone has done some proper calibration.

P

[fast700c]

Went into the good guys where I got it from and they aren't interested at all , told me to call Hills which I did , Guy said he would order in new HDMI board and they will come and fit it when it comes in .

Will keep everyone updated , I'll also ask tech why sharpness control has no effect in HDMI mode .

Jomac, How long have you had it for?

[wannabettapic]

Jomac, How long have you had it for?

I got mine in early December and I've calculated it's had about 100 hrs on it. Didn't want to go to service menu cos it seems you lose all your settings to check the actual figure.

Anyway, it may be my imagination, but the picture seems to have improved since when I first got it. I thought the colours looked more muted the first day I got it, than they do today. In the early days, I was adjusting the picture settings almost everyday cos it didn't look "quite right" (contrast, brightness, colour) but this has reduced and now the pic is perfect from the moment I turn it on. What do others think?

Also, the TV does a great job with SD s-VHS input - I had an earlier PVR with SCART RGB which of course I can't use now so forced to use it's s-VHS. The picture is smooth and very watchable - just don't get too close. Compares quite favourably (surprisingly) with the HDMI upconverted 1080 output on the newer PVR when watching SD.

It's a pity that the sound from the TV is so below average. My older CRT had much better sound with regards to midrange and bass. The PDP's tiny speakers (3 on each side) - 2 side firing, one bouncing through the curved silver side panels, just aren't enough for decent lower midrange and bass. The side firing speakers also create an echoey effect. My TV is about 35 cm away from the wall as I have a stand for the centre speaker in the surround sound set up (and don't want it roasted by the hot air above the TV), so the side firing speakers can't reflect off the wall, maybe that's why it's so echoey. Do others hear this with the wall mounted TVs or if the stand is pushed up against the wall?

[simonr231503561300]

yeah the sound is the one area that the tv is bad. i just listen to everything thru the suround sound now.

[peter2000]

It's a pity that the sound from the TV is so below average. My older CRT had much better sound with regards to midrange and bass. The PDP's tiny speakers (3 on each side) - 2 side firing, one bouncing through the curved silver side panels, just aren't enough for decent lower midrange and bass. The side firing speakers also create an echoey effect. My TV is about 35 cm away from the wall as I have a stand for the centre speaker in the surround sound set up (and don't want it roasted by the hot air above the TV), so the side firing speakers can't reflect off the wall, maybe that's why it's so echoey. Do others hear this with the wall mounted TVs or if the stand is pushed up against the wall?

Yeah notice this problem too. I thought i didnt set the sound right so search through the menu and didnt see any thing special about setting up the sound. Like the poster above said if u want better sound need to use the avr and the HT speakers