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Samsung HL67A750 - can I really abuse this TV? (1 Viewer)

Patrick Sun

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Scott Merryfield said:
Patrick,
I highly recommend a Harmony universal remote to go with your new setup. You will quickly retire all your component remotes to a shelf or drawer, to never be used again.
We sit about 12 feet from our 67-inch model, and I could see moving a foot or two closer if possible (it's not, due to our room layout), but that's about it.
One of these days, I probably will get a universal remote. I wonder if they'll handle the old Outlaw 950 prepro because mine got stolen as well.
The amount of viewable picture on these sets does make for easy viewing, even from a far distance away inside the house. I like not having to be close to it and still enjoying it.
 

ManW_TheUncool

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Good to hear you're enjoying the new set, Pat. Didn't realize the demo unit was missing the original remote, which could certainly be a pain since you don't have a Harmony remote.
Scott Merryfield said:
I highly recommend a Harmony universal remote to go with your new setup. You will quickly retire all your component remotes to a shelf or drawer, to never be used again.
Hmmm... I'm wondering... How well does a Harmony remote work w/ the multi-layered menu system of these Samsung TVs? Seems basic stuff like switching input source is a bit of a pain w/ the way their menu system works.
With my URC remote (RF20), I ended up needing to create some slow-and-tricky macros to handle the input source switching, especially when it came to the HDMI connection w/ my Yamaha AVR, which is what I use to switch between my Denon DVD uni-player and my PS3 before feeding the video to the TV. Seems that the HDMI handshake can be slow-and-problematic at times, so I needed to build in additional delays and refiring of the "exit" command to ensure that the TV menu exits/closes asap after input source switch.
_Man_
 

Scott Merryfield

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Patrick Sun said:
One of these days, I probably will get a universal remote. I wonder if they'll handle the old Outlaw 950 prepro because mine got stolen as well.
Patrick, I checked the Harmony database, and there is an entry for the Outlaw 950.
 

ManW_TheUncool

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Scott Merryfield said:
There are discreet codes in the Harmony database for switching inputs, as well as the different viewing modes (although I leave the set on "just scan" all the time anyway). My Harmony 880 integrates very well with this Samsung set, as well as my Pioneer Elite receiver. I did not need to do anything special when setting up the various activities on the remote.
But does that input switching command work exactly the same way as the original Samsung remote? If it does, then that's not what I was asking.
Ideally, there should be a 1-button-press command to switch input and bypass all the extra steps normally required by Samsung's menu system. Otherwise, the menu system basically forces us to use >=3 button presses to complete an input switch, including the need to press the "exit" button (or some other menu navigation button) *after* whatever HDMI handshake in order to return to normal viewing state unless you want to wait for the menu to disappear on its own (after a fair bit of waiting). Fortunately, at least switching back to the OTA tuner input is direct enough by simply using the channel changing commands, but other inputs won't benefit from that.
The same thing happens w/ certain other useful commands that require menu navigation though those usually do not run into the rather unpredictable timing/pause of HDMI handshake as the input switch, so they pose less problem for a macro function. For instance, I made one macro function to switch video modes via the more streamlined Tools menu.
_Man_
 

Scott Merryfield

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Man-Fai Wong said:
=3 button presses to complete an input switch, including the need to press the "exit" button (or some other menu navigation button) *after* whatever HDMI handshake in order to return to normal viewing state unless you want to wait for the menu to disappear on its own (after a fair bit of waiting). Fortunately, at least switching back to the OTA tuner input is direct enough by simply using the channel changing commands, but other inputs won't benefit from that.
The same thing happens w/ certain other useful commands that require menu navigation though those usually do not run into the rather unpredictable timing/pause of HDMI handshake as the input switch, so they pose less problem for a macro function. For instance, I made one macro function to switch video modes via the more streamlined Tools menu.
_Man_
No Samsung menus pop-up on-screen when changing inputs as part of invoking a new "activity" (Harmony's term for a macro). The TV simply changes inputs when necessary. It's using a discreet IR code to directly change the input. Those discreet codes may not be available via the OEM Samsung remote, but they are known to the TV. I would imagine you could find them somewhere online to program into your universal remote, too (if it supports such a function).
EDIT: Here is a thread on Remote Central regarding discreet codes for Samsung equipment that may be of some help. I'm not sure how you get the codes loaded into your URC remote -- they are already loaded in the Harmony online database, so they were automatically downloaded to my Harmony 880 when I programmed the remote.
 

ManW_TheUncool

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Scott Merryfield said:
No Samsung menus pop-up on-screen when changing inputs as part of invoking a new "activity" (Harmony's term for a macro). The TV simply changes inputs when necessary. It's using a discreet IR code to directly change the input. Those discreet codes may not be available via the OEM Samsung remote, but they are known to the TV. I would imagine you could find them somewhere online to program into your universal remote, too (if it supports such a function).
EDIT: Here is a thread on Remote Central regarding discreet codes for Samsung equipment that may be of some help. I'm not sure how you get the codes loaded into your URC remote -- they are already loaded in the Harmony online database, so they were automatically downloaded to my Harmony 880 when I programmed the remote.
Hmmm... Thanks, Scott. I will have to check that out and see if there's a way to get those discreet commands into my URC remote. I generally just have my URC remote "learn" commands from the original remote for commands that are not included in the built-in library. Maybe I could also find a better set of built-in commands since the discreet commands do exist -- I just didn't realize they existed at all, so didn't try harder to see.
Thanks again.
_Man_
 

Patrick Sun

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Last month, I ran my HD DVD XA2 player in 480i mode going to my 10-year old TV, just to make sure the XA2 player worked.

Last week, I connected the XA2 player to the new Samsung TV via componenet video, and while it looked clean, it was a little creamy little in terms of picture quality, so I wasn't wowed by it.

This weekend, I finally got long enough HDMI cables to run from my HD DVD player to the Samsung 67A750, and watched King Kong again, but the video wasn't syncing up correctly on HDMI, and then I noticed that the XA2 player was still in mode 1 (480i), which explained why it didn't look too impressive via component video since it was still 480i and upconverted. So I flipped it over to mode 2 (1080p) and restarted the player, and I wasn't prepared for the sweet picture quality of 1080p. But I sat there and watched King Kong kicked the crap out of 3 T-Rexes with a big smile on my face. Whoa.
 

Brett DiMichele

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Pat,
You're darn right, Whoa
htf_images_smilies_smile.gif
 

Patrick Sun

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Okay, I hate the P-i-P on this TV, it's barely usable since you can only watch non ATSC channels or non-HD cable channels via picture-in-picture for the 2nd source. Oh well, nothing's perfect.
 

Gregg Loewen

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the hd dvd should look stunning on the display, even with component video.

Always use a bias light with this display. It will definitely help relating to the Sammys contrast ratio.
 

Patrick Sun

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I got my insurance company to pay for a Harmony One remote to replace the 8 remotes that were stolen in late December last year. I could have tried sticking it to the insurance company by replacing the individual remotes and jacking up the payout (over $600), but I think the Harmony One should be able to mimick most of the stolen remotes and 1/3 the costs. Just ordered it this afternoon.

I really wanted one that would mimick my Outlaw 950 because it's killing me not having that remote anymore.
 

Patrick Sun

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My Sammy now defaults to "Dynamic" every time I turn it on.

Even if I change the viewing mode to either "Normal" or "Movie", I'll get a momentary video blip after about 10-20 minutes and the viewing mode goes back to "Dynamic".

Anyone else have this issue? Would seeking a firmware update fix this problem?
 

Patrick Sun

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Just a FYI, I ended up upgrading my firmware from version 1004 to 1005.3 with the firmware found on the Samsung website:
http://www.samsung.com/us/support/detail/supportPrdDetail.do?menu=SP01&prd_ia_cd=02010300&prd_mdl_cd=&prd_mdl_name=HL67A750A1F
Click the firmware link under the Download tab and download the 1005.3 firmware, and download the upgrade guide and follow the instructions. You'll need a USB memory stick with about 20MB free for the firmware files.
Now my Samsung TV set remembers the settings per input, and doesn't revert back to the torch mode upon each time the TV is turned on. There is newer firmware (up to 1007), but it's not offered by Samsung on their website at this time.
 

Patrick Sun

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Famous last words for a thread title.

So fast-forward 5 years, yes, I've pretty much abused this TV, did not baby it at all, left it on for days sometimes.

Now I get the infamous white spots on the screen. Doing some web research, it's a common problem that manifested itself as time went on for owners of this TV set, and it appears if I want to keep using this TV set, I need to replace the DMD DLP chip for around $200 and some elbow grease in replacing it. At least the shopjimmy video made it seem pretty easy to do.

Did find a decent page on the replacement of the chip here too:

http://tso.bzb.us/2013/01/replacing-dmd-chip-on-samsung-hl61a750.html

So, I guess I need to see if I want to gamble $200 or put that amount to another new HDTV set. I sort of like the display form factor, as I can't hang a flat screen in my house without going to a lot of trouble, and the idea of having a large screen flat screen just sitting on a flat surface and worrying about it tipping over if someone (me) bumps into it at a funny angle is not something I want to deal with either. Bah!
 

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OR get into FP instead? :D

That's probably what I'd do if I were you ;) -- well, I actually did that recently (w/ a refurbed BenQ W1070) even though our old 61A750 is still going strong (after replacing the failed red LED a couple years back).

IF you've actually been abusing the set, you might need to replace at least one of the LEDs before too long -- the red one seems most prone to premature failure due to potential overheating from mediocre cooling setup, dust build-up potentially inhibiting the cooling system, etc. Each LED costs ~$90-100, IIRC. You should probably at least check on the ventilation system, heatsinks, etc. and clean out whatever dust build-up, if you want to avoid premature failure of the LEDs.

Some people also run into premature failure of the main board and/or power supply, but those seem less common, especially if the set has already lasted 5 years w/out either problem.

_Man_
 

FoxyMulder

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Oh sorry i entered this thread thinking someone was going to chain their television to the kitchen sink and whip it every hour, i was all ready to call the authorities and report a TV was being badly abused, my mistake.
 

Patrick Sun

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After almost 18 months, finally pulled the trigger on ordering the DLP mirror chip and took apart my TV today to swap out the chip, and I'm happy to report the picture went from a snow storm of white and black dots back to factory specs, so I guess I'll be able to stave off from being an early adopter on OLED 4K for a few more years... :D
 

Gregg Loewen

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hi Patrick
Make sure you clean all the optics, including the mirror and the inside of the screen (if you can reach that)....it will make a huge difference.
 

ManW_TheUncool

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And don't forget to clean off those heatsinks in the rear for the LEDs (probably left side if you're facing the front... assuming same design as my 61") while you're at it...


_Man_
 

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