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- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 9 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Great TV (once calibrated)"
Pros: Excellent picture quality, with exceptional detail and contrast. Superior response even with fast moving images.
Cons: So-so sound quality, you'll need after market setup for good sound. (Though in movie setting it's acceptable)
Summary: Right out of the box this TV was not impressive, I almost repacked the thing to go exchange it for a Sony XBR. However, after doing some quick research on the web I found some advice on proper calibration...WOW...what a difference.
The picture quality is excellent now and color reproduction is only just shy of perfect. I am especially impressed with it's quality even with fast moving images, such as, explosions. The blacks and shadows are dead-on.
There is no blur, distortion or pixelation of any shape or form, it keeps a perfect picture at all times.
The only "criticism" is that compared to the Sony XBR I also checked out, the color reproduction is just shy of the Sony's. Both are excellent, but the Samsung just lags behind a bit, seen only in flesh tones, as compared to the Sony's.
However, the Sony was an extra $340, having oh-so slightly better flesh tones isn't worth it when your on a budget.
Even with a standard definition signal, the quality is top notch.
Here are my calibration settings:
Picture menu
Mode: Standard
Backlight: 3
Contrast: 91
Brightness: 48
Sharpness: 55 (for SD) and 0 (for HD)
Color: 47
Tint: G50/R50
Detailed settings submenu
Black adjust: Low
Dynamic contrast: Off
Gamma: +3
Color space: Auto
Flesh tone: 0
Edge enhancement: On (for SD) Off (for HD)
xvYCC: Off
White balance submenu
R-Offset: 24
G-Offset: 23
B-Offset: 24
R-Gain: 26
G-Gain: 22
B-Gain: 18
Picture options submenu
Color tone: Normal
Size: (it depends)
Digital NR: High (SD) Off (HD) [those this setting is dependent on your signal source
DNIe: [grayed out]
HDMI black level: [grayed out]
Film mode: Auto
Blue only mode: Off
Setup menu
Entertainment: Off
Energy saving: Off
- 2 replies to this review
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A question for you romanom, why is HDMI Black Level greyed out for you? Are you using component? I'm using HDMI and I followed your calibration guide, but when it comes time to select the black level, I'm just not sure. I think Low looks good for deep levels, but in playing my PS3, there's areas I simply cannot see any kind of surface, or texture. There's no clear delineation, just solid black. Since PS3 discs are Blu-Rays, and I thought the Low Black Level looked good on other Blu-Ray (films), I'm confused. I think Normal looks really washed out with your settings, so I'm not sure which to choose.
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Played with the settings some more and I think these are better;
Picture menu
Mode: Standard
Backlight: 6
Contrast: 85
Brightness: 50
Sharpness: 18
Color: 53
Tint: G50/R50
Detailed settings submenu
Black adjust: Low
Dynamic contrast: Low
Gamma: 0
Color Space: Custom
-Red: R33 - G0 - B0
-Green: R0 - G52 - B0
-Blue: R0 - G0 - B51
-Yellow: R43 - G47 - B0
-Cyan: R0 - G46 - B56
-Magenta: R37 - G0 - B43
Flesh tone: 0
Edge enhancement: On (for SD) Off (for HD)
xvYCC: Off
White balance submenu
R-Offset: 25
G-Offset: 24
B-Offset: 23
R-Gain: 25
G-Gain: 25
B-Gain: 20
Picture options submenu
Color tone: Normal
Size: (it depends)
Digital NR: High (SD) Off (HD) [those this setting is dependent on your signal source
DNIe: [grayed out]
HDMI black level: [grayed out]
Film mode: Auto
Blue only mode: Off
Setup menu
Entertainment: Off
Energy saving: Off
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