Samsung LCD series A950 LED

[mark0077]

Are you sure the usb problem is what you describe. I just downloaded the .exe file. I ran the file which created a folder of the same name. I then moved this entire folder to the usb stick and that worked.

Still playing with various peoples settings but I like pureffm's settings. Anyone else calibrated their European model and care to share the settings?

[jon_uk]

Originally Posted by mark0077

Are you sure the usb problem is what you describe. I just downloaded the .exe file. I ran the file which created a folder of the same name. I then moved this entire folder to the usb stick and that worked.

Still playing with various peoples settings but I like pureffm's settings. Anyone else calibrated their European model and care to share the settings?

Yes positive problem is as described, exactly the same as you, but tv will not recognise USB is connected, have tried size wise 512kb, 1gb, 2gb, 8gb just in case and diff FAT, FAT32 formatting to see if that made a difference. Will try Samsung in the morning and see what they say.

[CheesyPuff]

After a weekend of fiddling I have resolved the issue's with my set.

The frame drop I've narrowed down to two seperate issue's;

One is feeding the tv an interlaced input, 1080i from Sky HD results in the frame drops and poor motion but switching to 720P resolves it. To be honest I think this issue is related to Sky not the T.V as i just found a thread on it, just happens that it reared it's head exactly the same time I got the T.V

The other is the 24p frame drop which is definately there, switching to 60hz resolves this and there is no judder. Movment is very smooth as reported in HDTVTest. (Samsung LE55A956 Review)

Resolving both these issues means the 100hz is far better and I can now have it on low rather than completely off.

I dont know what has happened to the backlight bleed I had as after several days viewing I am now unable to see it at all, I'm sure I wasnt imagining it but seems to rectified itself somehow

Based on this I can now thoroughly reccomend the TV, it has the best HD performance I've ever seen. Only trouble is I have an engineer coming today to confirm it need's replacing but I dont really have anything to show him now!!!

[mark0077]

Hi Cheesy Puff,

I don't mean to be a spoil sport but the reason why 24p is smooth on 60hz is because the tv has some way of tearing up the image to make 24 fit into 60. This is what introduces the combing effects if you look closely enough.

Very noticible in certain areas of most dvds I have.

I think I will end up switching my 100hz to 120hz using the service menu option. All 25fps content I have should be played at 24fps anyways so I think 120hz is the perfect setup for this tv. If using a PC you can do the 25fps to 24fps reduction using ReClock and its perfect. Pity all European DVDS are set at the incorrect 25fps rate. Some nice comparisons online of the original 24fps videos and the pal ones upped to 25fps, the voices are noticibly more high pitched. Downing it back to 24fps sounds surprisingly more realistic! Highly recommend you PC guys try out ReClock and the PAL Speed option.

I have yet to try 120hz mode but I imagine the 60hz combing would go away and 24p would be perfect because no tearing up of the image needs to be done......

[CheesyPuff]

I hear what you are saying regards the combing and did read some of your previous posts on it but I have as yet been unable to see any diff between 24p and 60hz. I studied a few BD discs to look for it as if 60hz resulted in any loss of pic quality I would'nt use it.

I dont doubt what you are saying as you have done tests I am unable to but do you have any examples of material it is evident with and what should I be looking for?

Have you noticed the 24p frame drop?

[mark0077]

Well the first time I noticed it was when playing Star Wars Episode 3. When the dvd menu is about to appear, there is a sequence (one of the different sequences) that shows a ship coming in to land. The horizontal combing can be seen here easily because it is moving from left to right across the screen.

To really test it easily I found on the pc, to move the white arrow / hand from left to right using the mouse. I can see the combing here quite easily in 60hz mode....

I'm glad you don't see it, don't let it effect your viewing that I have noticed it..

[mark0077]

Combing update on European Model
Unfortuantely I have started to notice combing effects on my 100hz screen at 1080/24p....

Updated my original post. Here are my results now.

Normal Connection (Not hdmi-2 named to "PC")
24hz - Combing
50hz - PERFECT
60hz - Combing

PC-Mode (HDMI-2 Named to "PC"
24hz - Combing
50hz - PERFECT
60hz - PERFECT (Probably dropping frames to get to 100hz though)

The combing seems to be dependent on whats happening. If I don't have any video's playing, and just for example move an object around on the screen, it might not comb, but it seems to detect video movement and start combing then in an apparant attempt to scale properly to 100hz, but I don't like this effect.

Edit: OK I figured out a way to reliably test different modes. If I display the following webpage http://www.12noon.com/displaychanger.htm and play a video clip anywhere on the screen, the two horizontal red lines on that webpage go mad flickering in all modes that have the combing effect. In 50hz mode, PERFECT absolutely perfect. I bit the bullet and tried going into the service menu while in 24hz mode, red lines flickering, i turned on LD Scanning to 1. The screen went darker, but the screen didn't seem to switch from 100hz to 120hz. No change in screen hz at all, just darker. I switched it back to off before I left. I think we need to figure out a real way to get from 100 to 120hz, anyone have any idea what setting might do it?

Maybe if some of you American guys want to help us out you could post some of the settings so we can compare against our service menu. This is bugging me now, 120hz is the way to go for everyone I think, well for the real enthusiasts I guess, especially the fact that our pal 25 fps movies are meant to blayed at 24hz anyways.

Smoothness - Motion interpolation possibilities difference between 24p (120hz) and 50p (100hz) with smoothness enabled.

Its a pity us Europeans can't select 25p as an output mode. I just wrote out the difference between 24p and 50p in terms of the possible smoothing effect with the motion plus. This is how I believe the displays would use motion plus to smooth the video. If anyone cares to disaggree let me know.

25fps video output at 50hz -> 100fps
Video Frame 1 - 1
Samsung Frame 1 - 2 (samsung can't do any interpolation really because video player is only showing the same frame twice)
Video Frame 1r - 3
Samsung Frame 2 - 4 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 1 and 2 here)
Video Frame 2 - 5
Samsung Frame 3 - 6 (samsung can't do any interpolation really because video player is only showing the same frame twice)
Video Frame 2r - 7
Samsung Frame 4 - 8 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 2 and 3 here)
Video Frame 3 - 9

So overall the player will send 50 frames, the display itself will display 50 of its own, 25 of which will add a smoothing effect, 25 of which will not so overall thats 75 different frames seen in the 100hz. This will cause a jumpy effect where the motion is smooth and not smooth several times a second like this
Smooth
Not Smooth
Smooth
Not Smooth
Smooth
Not Smooth

24 fps video output at 24hz -> 120fps
Video Frame 1 - 1
Samsung Frame 2 - 2 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 1 and 2 here)
Samsung Frame 3 - 3 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 1 and 2 here)
Samsung Frame 4 - 4 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 1 and 2 here)
Samsung Frame 5 - 5 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 1 and 2 here)
Video Frame 2 - 6
Samsung Frame 6 - 7 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 2 and 3 here)
Samsung Frame 7 - 8 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 2 and 3 here)
Samsung Frame 8 - 9 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 2 and 3 here)
Samsung Frame 9 - 10 (samsung can interpolate between video frame 2 and 3 here)
Video Frame 3 - 11

So overall the player will send 24 frames, the display itself will display 96 of its own. The smoothness should be continuous unlike the 100hz screen in 1080/50p mode. More like this..
Smooth
Smooth
Smooth
Smooth
etc......

Please Samsung
Please please please if at all possible, give us an option called something like "Smart 100hz/120hz" or something like this, which can internally select the right mode depending on input. This would eliminate all the combing problems, and allow us Europeans to see the smoothness of 24p -> 120hz without any disadvantages (combing to get 24p -> 100hz). PLEASE!!!! :D This is the solution to all of these problems!!!

[DaveC]

Originally Posted by mark0077

Combing update on European Model
Unfortuantely I have started to notice combing effects on my 100hz screen at 1080/24p....
..........
.........
..........

When you talk about combing what exactly is it that you mean? My understanding of combing is that it's a deinterlacing artifact? When successive lines on the screen are poorly aligned? ...particularly noticeable during movement?

I've seen combing on other TVs but never on this one. I know samsung did have a problem with combing artifacts on the A786 sets which is well documented on these forums but look at the video processing section of this review:

Samsung LE40A786 Review

They also found combing with non 60Hz inputs but their review of the A956 found none of these.

[mark0077]

Well maybe its smarter in the A956 but its still there at input rates that don't divide into 100hz.

I suppose its not Samsungs fault, its either use this method of breaking up frames to make them fit evenly into 100, or just drop a frame or two per second to make it fit in.

I actually rather the latter, a frame or two dropped per second is hard to notice, but the effect of the combing is driving me mad, especially now that I have found a few areas that really show it up. Seems like the latter is used when in 60hz and in PC-Mode. I wish this was an option.... or better yet switch to 120hz internally. So tempted to try and install the US firmware.... Tried the service menu setting that was set to 100hz (can't remember what it was called), and tried to change it to the next setting (hoping to see 120hz) but it just said "Err" so I backed out of that. Firmware update is the only way to get the 120hz I reckon.

And by combing, yes I mean horizontal lines from the display breaking up frames (adding its own interlacing) to evenly fit them into 100hz. The combing isn't anything to do with the source material in this case, its the TV adding the combing. And as I say, it only kicks in when a certain amount of movement is happening, and stops when overall screen movement is at a minimum, very strange.

Samsung - Solutions For This
1) Give us the option to select the method of dividing 24p and 60p into 100hz, interlace technique, or repeated/dropped frame technique.
2) Better still, allow the TV to switch to 120hz internally if possible for 24p and 60p......

[ocram]

Me too have this issue, my a656 doesn't have this problem.

It seems to be a bug in the firmware.

If I set my PC at 50hz, the picture isn't great, enormous lag and strange flicker. At 60hz just the combing wich isn't noticable from the chair.

[mark0077]

Picture is fine for me at 50hz, but thats it, anything else = especially if your someone who is picky.... :D

Firmware update it has to be with at least an option to disable the combing method.

[wthephasdin]

Originally Posted by mark0077

Well I am using pureffms settings from http://www.avforums.com/forums/7813314-post200.html and am assuming he has things like power saving off, smart led on, black adjust off.

Is there a difference in using these settings with a US bought LN46A950?

Since I've had the LCD, I've also experimented with tweaktv and Mascior's settings and I think Mascior's has great pq, but is too dark. I'm going to try pureffms, it sounds like they're well liked.

Question: Are these settings a good scheme for other components? Specifically a Comcast cable, XBOX360, PS3, and a Toshiba A2 HD-DVD player? (all connected via HDMI)

[mark0077]

I assumed because masciors were done on a US tv, that they would be best for you, but obviously too dark also. I really don't know if they will mean you have a calibrated tv if yours is a US version. I wouldn't use them, well at least the service menu ones because the service menu settings definitely have a different range between US and EU versions. The eu versions don't go to minus values in some areas where the US ones do so different numbering system! Other than that I think because his (and most others) are calibrated to rec.709, that should be perfect for xbox360, ps3 (might need to change hdmi black level depending on the output of the ps3/xbox, as I know at least ps3 can output limited or full range levels. If you select full range in ps3, then select normal on your tv). Play with black level for your Toshiba also, unless you can find out what it outputs, full or limited.

[wthephasdin]

For my Digital Cable input, I've bumped the backlight up to 10 and I think it makes brighter scenes look amazing, but darker scenes are too dark.

In the XBOX360's settings I can set black level to Normal, Intermediate, or Expanded. If I have black level (On) on the Samsung, what should I select on the 360? Or should I have the 360 on expanded and the Samsung set to (Off)?

In the PS3's settings I have it set to Limited, with the Samsung black level set to (On), I believe. Any thoughts?

The Toshiba, I have set to Full. Looks great.

Any feedback you can provide would be appreciated, thanks.

[mark0077]

Usually if your device outputs "Full (probably called expanded in some devices)" then your display can be set to "Normal". This seems to work perfect for me.

So Output Device at "Extended or Full" - > Tv at "Normal"
OR
Output Device at "Low or sometimes called normal" -> Tv at "Low"

I reckon that should do it.

Output extended is advantagous I am sure for devices like ps3 as I think that might improve games because they can use the full range. I must look into this however.