Samsung HL61A750 Review (1 Viewer)

[Rick Steverson]

There's "major" overhaul for my family room going on, electronic-wise.

Vann's delivering a HL61A750 Monday. It replaces a Toshiba 57H81 CRT RP set that went dark three weeks ago after 7 years. That the biggest change.

Vann has a bundle of the Samsung with a Logitech Harmony 670 remote, so I'm getting that, as well. Wife is not looking forward to the idea of another remote to get familar with, but we'll see.

Picked up a Sony S350 BluRay at Kmart on Thanksgiving to get into HiDef discs.

Have gotten a Dish upgrade to ViP722 DVR to replace a 821(?) HD sat box back in Sept.

My most dated piece of gear will be the receiver; a Kenwood VR-307 - no HDMI, DD5.1 with one Toslink optic and 2 coax inputs.

For the first time, buying HDMI cables. My order from Blue Jeans will likely arrive today. No point of HDMI with the older tv and receiver. And a question about HDMI and the Samsung - any one ever compare picture quality from a ViP722 to the Samsung via component cable vs. HDMI? For the Sony BluRay connection its a no-brainer; the S350 only does 1080p over HDMI. The ViP722 connection isn't as clear-cut, as I could do either.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Rick,

I just did the same thing!

I went from a RCA 61" 3CRT RPTV to the HL67A, went from a Panny CV51 DVD to a Samsung BD-1500, upgraded the receiver from my Onk 787 to an Onk 806.

Not all I need to do is change out my Pronto Pro for a new one

AV gear is a lot like Lays, can't do just one!

Any source that does 1080P output it's going to look fantastic, it's not as clear cut when you get into upconversion, some do it better than others.

I haven't got my 806 receiver yet it's scheduled for delivery monday. I will be curious to see how it handles upscale of DVD's via the Farojda DCdi vs. the upscaling the blue ray player does when it's direct into the TV.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Rick,

I've been through a similar upgrade path this fall. My replacements were:

• Samsung HL67A750 replaced a Toshiba 56H80 1080i RPTV CRT
• Added a Sony BDP-S350 BluRay player
• Pioneer Elite 94-TXH receiver replaced a Pioneer Elite 47-TX for lossless audio and HDMI support
• Harmony SST-880 remote replaced a Harmony SST-659 which died

While I do not have DirecTV, I have not bothered to change out my HD cable box from Comcast. The current one is component video, but since the source will be 1080i whether it's component video or HDMI, I did not see the point (other than simplified cabling). I initially had the component video running directly to the Samsung TV, but after changing out the receiver I now run component video to the Elite receiver and HDMI from the receiver to the TV. I do not see any difference in picture quality -- the Elite does not upconvert 1080i signals, but just passes the signal through the HDMI monitor out.

As for the remote, I do not know what you currently use, but the Harmony remotes are as "family-friendly" as any universal remote I've used. Once setup, they are very easy for anyone to pick up and use. My parents stay with us when they are in town, and are completely clueless when it comes to home theater or electronics. My dad was able to pick up the remote and turn on my system to watch TV with absolutely no instructions from me (I was not even home that first time he turned it on).

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Ok. I finally took the plunge on this DLP over the weekend for $1300 shipped from Crutchfield (plus the now expired $200 NFLShop rebate) -- should probably arrive w/in a week. Didn't wanna keep hijacking the other current thread for the 67" version, so figured I'd come back to this old one instead.

For those interested in one of these Samsung DLPs (and are also considering a plasma), you might also find the more detailed talk about power consumption of interest. For my situation, it apparently does make a significant diff, but YMMV of course.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...ml#post3498772



But to follow up from my post over there about shopping for a stand now...

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...ml#post3501879

Just went looking at that stand in J&R, and it's probably not gonna cut it. I like the *very* rounded corners for child-safety, but since the top shelf isn't much larger than the RPTV's pedestal footprint (w/ only a few inches to spare at the widest points and practically nothing extra for depth), I'm not sure it'd work w/ those very rounded corners. Also, it does *look* flimsier than other stands I was considering.



Saw this one that I was considering:

Bell'O AVS-4601HG High gloss audio/video stand for TVs up to 52" at Crutchfield.com

Looks nice, but not too sure it's our style, and I'd prefer to spend less unless I'm reasonably sure it'll suit our next TV after this also, which this one probably won't for a big heftier plasma or similar (w/ its 15" depth and 100lb capacity for the top shelf). Of course, this one is probably also more reuseable than most as a regular shelf unit later on.



Also saw this one that kinda grew on me (and for a bit less $):

Amazon.com: Bell'O PVS-4218HG Flat Panel Audio Video System (Gloss Black): Electronics

There would be ~2" overhang on each side (in the front), which is not bad at all, especially considering the style/design. Also, I would probably be able to easily add some support for the frame on either side, if needed (as that is one concern w/ this TV). Top shelf is 16" deep w/ 125lb capacity (according to J&R's listing).

My main concern w/ this one would be child-safety w/ the corners sticking out like that for the middle shelf, which comes out ~4" further than the top shelf -- corners in top shelf would be covered by the RPTV. Of course, I should probably just put some barriers around the whole thing anyway until our 2-yo is old enough.



I also noticed this very modestly priced stand from Best Buy's site -- and it comes w/ free shipping:

Init® - TV Stand for Most Flat-Panel Televisions Up to 50" - Black - NT-C1140

This one claims to support upto a 300lb TV, which would probably be more "future-proof" if/when I want/need to replace the RPTV some years down the road. Hopefully, this RPTV will last me at least 7 years though, if not much more.



So what are y'all using for a stand w/ this set?


_Man_

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I bought a Slam Brands stand for my 67-inch set from Circuit City. Unfortunately, CC's website is no longer operational, so I cannot provide a link for the exact model. Here are a few other Slam Brand models.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Thanks for the suggestion, Scott.

I ended up going for the Bell'Ogetti AVS-4218HG locally at J&R for $220+tax -- and picked it up w/ our "new" minivan just in time for the TV delivery. Nice looking stand and matches the 61" very well me thinks -- and it's definitely a dust magnet much like the TV's bezel too. One caution though for anyone considering this stand (or something similar w/ glass shelves): definitely be careful *not* to tighten the glass shelves into the frame arms too much. The instructions point this out, but I still was not careful enough and ended up pulling out one of the glued-on(?) metal feet from the middle glass shelf. It's probalby not a big deal since the shelf won't move easily, but still a bit annoying (and I'll probably see about regluing it at some point just to be safe).

RE: the TV itself, the bezel is definitely very flimsy (and the overall frame is not far behind). Like many others, I'm seeing the bit of pincushion-like geometry distortion, particularly when viewing 4x3 content or something w/ straight verticals around those areas -- it's generally not noticeable at all otherwise. It's not exactly a deal-breaker, but still slightly disappointing. There also appears to be a slight bit of picture tilt, which was also reported over on AVS, but this is actually hardly noticeable at all even w/ 2.35:1 content (and I'm not too sure it's all a matter of actual picture tilt, instead of partially a matter of the flimsy bezel itself possibly being slighted tilted).

Still playing w/ the settings to see about yielding better black levels (for near-dark-room viewing). Also, haven't been able to get reception to our local PBS digital OTA station yet, which was one of many reasons to upgrade, though we now can easily receive all the other regular digital OTA stations (and a bit more) -- hopefully, reception stays good when the leaves come out during the warmer seasons.

On the whole, otherwise, this seems to be an excellent set for the bargain price I paid -- $1300 shipped white-glove style minus the $200 NFLShop rebate although I'm not sure yet how to get the UPC label off the box in a way that satisfies the rebate requirement since the darned shipping company stuck a big shipping sticker over the UPC label.

And oh, the kids, especially our 2-yo toddler, are loving the TV box too as we decided to cut it up for them to play house while it still holds up.

_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

BTW, I briefly checked the set w/ my KAW meter, and the power consumption seems to depend mainly on the LED Control (ie. brightness) setting. At the "Min" setting, which is good for near-dark-room viewing, I measured just 80W of power use. So far, I have it set to "Med" for regular lighting situations (and "Min" for "serious" nighttime viewing). I didn't measure the "Med" setting, but I'm guessing it probably runs at ~120W since "Max" runs ~170W.

_Man_