Samsung SP-50L7HX, black level?

N

nin

Guest
I got my L7 today. Because there was no one that I could go I had to read about it on the net and make up mine mind on the info I got.

Well, I got it and have tried it some. The picture with a good DVD are really nice, but there is one problem; black level. I really think it's too high. Coming form CRT I was not expecting CRT blacks but I think it's too high now.
Do anyone also feel it? Or are there anything to make it better? :lease:
 
what do u mean too high? You mean its not black enough (grey) etc?
 
Did you calibrate contrast and brighness using the THX test ?
it gives generaly optimal results for blacks.
 
tiburs said:
Did you calibrate contrast and brighness using the THX test ?
it gives generaly optimal results for blacks.

How do you do a THX test.

When i'm viewing say a scene like LOTR a torch lit in the caves of moria, i see the light but around it like a diffused glow like distinct rings of gray melting in to the darkness. Does that make sense, how do i sort this out. :lease: help
 
Hum, the caves of Moria are very very dark scenes, just seen it last saturday but did not notice the rings. My setting :
Output HDMI
contrast 76
Brigthness 56
colour 53
precision 50

mode Cinema
 
tiburs said:
Hum, the caves of Moria are very very dark scenes, just seen it last saturday but did not notice the rings. My setting :
Output HDMI
contrast 76
Brigthness 56
colour 53
precision 50

mode Cinema

:oops: Forgot to mention i've got a SP 46L6hX
My settings are

Contrast 65
Brightness 60
Colour 50
Sharpness 60

Output RGB Scart with IXOS 601 cables

On other programmes looks like dark/light scenes are oil painting like
 
tiburs said:
Did you calibrate contrast and brighness using the THX test ?
it gives generaly optimal results for blacks.


I tried with the DVE DVD. Even if I would take the brightness and contrast to 0 the black is still grey.

I wounder, are there any DLP's that have a better black leveln than this? :lease:
 
This set normally has black levels that are blacker than a black thing.

One other person has posted with this problem. You could have a faulty set, or it may simply need the Gamma setting adjusted in the Service Menus.

Gamma makes blacks blacker and whites whiter. Ring Samsung's technical help line and see what they say - they're very helpful.
 
nin,
I think that the other person who has experienced this problem that the_pauley is referring to might be me.

When I first got the Samsung, I thought that the black levels looked poor during very dark scenes in dark viewing conditions. During lighter scenes, the blacks looked perfectly fine. I sent the Samsung back and tried a Pioneer plasma instead. However, I found that the Pioneer also had poor black levels during dark scenes in dark viewing conditions.

It seems like most large screen technology today has problems matching the black levels (during dark scenes in dark viewing conditions) of a CRT set. So I decided to return the Pioneer and get another Samsung DLP instead - both sets have a similar level of picture quality but the Pioneer costs twice as much.

the_pauley,
Is changing the Gamma setting something that I could try myself or would I need helpdesk guidance?
 
I've never had to enter the service menus as yet, so haven't even seen the screen you'd be in.

My previous experience of Gamma correction was on a Pioneer DVD player that could memorise custom settings for individual discs. The original DVD release of Dune had very grey blacks - as if the brightness had been turned up, but only on the blacks.

I reset the Gamma settings for just this disc, so that any time I inserted it the player would make the adjustments, and it worked a treat. It was quite easy to do. In simple terms it allowed me to darken the blacks and nothing else.

However this tweak was in the DVD player and was customied for one disc. If you alter the settings on the Sammy it will be for the screen and everything you watch. I shouldn't imagine there would be much to worry about if you make a note of the original settings before you start adjusting, so if you don't like what you see then you can switch back.

Don't know if the Helpkine would give advice as we're not really supposed to know about the service menus. No harm in asking.

I have the Samsung 46" and the black levels are superb and the SP50s I've demoed were just as good. There is the occasional disc where this is not the case, but on others there are blacks so deep it's like a total absence of light, so you will get variations from disc to disc. Make sure it's not just the material you're watching

Try this for a test. Check out immeditely after the opening credits of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, where Indy comes and sits at the table with the Chinese gangsters. He's wearing a white tux and a black waistcoat and black pants. That is the blackest black I have ever seen. You'll be in doubt of what I mean if your settings are correct. :smashin:
 
the_pauley,

The black problem isn't noticeable in scenes like the one you mention. It only shows itself in very dark scenes under very dark viewing conditions eg. a night-time scene where there is absolutely nothing bright in the scene. The blacks then appear a bit greyish. But as I've discovered, this isn't only a DLP issue - plasmas suffer from the same thing.
 
I was looking at this Samsung today alongside the 50" Sagem and the Samsung looked a lot more washed out and grey looking to me...even after a bid of tweaking...the Sagem appeared much more solid and much darker and also showed far more shadow detail to me.

Cheers, Lee
 
There can be differences in the picture source that could explain that unless both are sharing the same source via the same input etc. I saw the SP50 and it looked fine with dark colours, certainly as good as my old Tosh CRT RPTV. The Tosh DLP (46WM48) I tried had good blacks even on the Xbox game I used.
But I do wonder if the cables used make a big difference. At the moment my component cables are fairly cheap. I guess I could buy some new ones if I had to.
Well, we'll see when I get my SP46 next week (Monday or Tuesday I hope)...
 
The black problem isn't noticeable in scenes like the one you mention. It only shows itself in very dark scenes under very dark viewing conditions eg. a night-time scene where there is absolutely nothing bright in the scene. The blacks then appear a bit greyish.
I do all my evening viewing in a totally dark room. Scenes like you describe look absolutely spot on. Watched Sin City recently and black levels (and that's a movie with a lot of black! :D ) were superb.
 
I got into the service menu and reduced the gamma setting from the default level (002) to 000. This has helped to improve the black levels marginally. Is there anything else that I could try?
 
the_pauley said:
I have the Samsung 46" and the black levels are superb and the SP50s I've demoed were just as good. There is the occasional disc where this is not the case, but on others there are blacks so deep it's like a total absence of light, so you will get variations from disc to disc. Make sure it's not just the material you're watching


Well, then it sounds like my set is faulty. Because I have a very poor black level and the totally dark scenes are almost lighting up the room! :eek:

Would I expect black level on totally dark scenes to be as black as when the TV is off?
 
Not quite, but they shouldn't be lighting up the room either. Contact Samsung and see what their techies say.
 
Ruby said:
I got into the service menu and reduced the gamma setting from the default level (002) to 000. This has helped to improve the black levels marginally. Is there anything else that I could try?


What is the "code" to get into the service menu?
 
nin said:
What is the "code" to get into the service menu?
The Service Menu on these TVs is accessed by pressing INFO - MENU - MUTE - POWER in quick succession when the TV is in standby. Use at your own risk!!
 
Hi All :)

:lease: HELP

I have a SP46 whilst watching LOST the other day on the dark scenes they seemed almost like a pastel painting with shades within , not like an out and out black but with different shades of black like blocks of black to grey made the faces of people very artificial :( . This seems to happen quite a lot know . Any thoughts on how to reduce this :rolleyes: . All help welcome. Thanks in advance
 
Just out of curiosity has anyone got the hdtv Lost divx's that run 800mb encoded and use them on the samsung 46"... just curious if theres much difference over the ones encoded at 400mb size seeing as I dont have Divx Pro/hd to see the settings.
 
you can try it connecting your PC. The difference should huge. As current eps are very Dark, it could be a good exercise.
 

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