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

[DaveF]

I couldn't find data specific to your TV but I found data by googling power usage for 3CRT RPTV and saw figures like 150 watts (which was suprising!).

I googled to estimate the use of my former 36" CRT and was finding values of around 250 watts. It was not clear if that was max draw or average use, but it indicated I could buy a new 50" TV and not see substantial increase in electricity use.

 

[Hogie]

The dollars per inch cost of DLPs are incredible. I considered them when shopping. But their terrible off-center viewing characteristics don't suit my uses at all.



I think you should take a close look at this TV. I think the 67a750 has the best picture of the DLPs at any angle. The LED backlight is a step up in picture quality, also. Fantastic TV for the price! My only concern is the 16:9-4:3 ratio conversion 'stretch' options. Not a lot of options there.

 

[Dave H]

I know my previous Sony 57" CRT RPTV was rated around 230 watts. My 60" SXRD A3000 is around 190 (with Power Savings On).

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Well, I decided to go ahead and pick up a basic Kill-A-Watt for $20 from J&R so I can see for myself what my current RPTV (and the separate OTA HD tuner!) eats for power -- and of course, it'll be used for a lot of other stuff (and probably lent to family and friends as well).
BTW, for those of you concerned about conserving energy (and saving a few bucks while you're at it), might wanna read this article:
Unplug for Dollars: Stop 'Vampire Power' Waste - PC World
Some(?) particular plasma was actually eating lots of power just in standby mode -- enough to cost ~$165/year just for that (assuming national average power cost). And some cable STB was costing ~$10/year in standby mode as well (and a DVR would be 2-3x that just because it's basically always-on). They didn't list the Onkyo 805 receiver specifically, but I remember the Secrets' review saying how it eats like 60W+ in standby if you have some particular HDMI feature turned on.
_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Well, I gave the KAW a try on my 53" CRT-based RPTV w/ my current (moderate) settings for about an hour or so, and got readings that ran from ~130W w/ a black screen upto ~185W w/ a fairly bright scene (like outdoors in daylight w/ some blown out skies showing). Most times I'd say it hovered around 150-165W depending on the programming -- and varying amounts of white areas, including white text, and particularly bright colors, eg. bright/light blue, in the image would bump up the power use. I suspect average viewing would hover ~160W. Standby mode seems to use virtually no power at all -- the KAW read 1W, but it did that even w/out the TV plugged in. But that's just for the RPTV itself.
I checked my few-yo Samsung OTA HD tuner, and lo and behold, it eats nearly as much power in standby as it does in active mode, ie. ~18.5W vs ~20W.
BTW, I went back to that CNet review chart, and apparently, they do report calibrated values under the individual TV reviews (not listed in the big chart). And the calibrated plasmas apparently do eat a ton more power than say the Samsung LED DLP, ie. ~400W vs ~85W for similar size display in the circa 60" range. Those (newer) plasmas listed w/ lower defaults are apparently using settings that run substantially dimmer than their calibrated test bench. Given their test results (and national average for electric cost), we'd be looking at ~$100/year diff in the electric bill between a 58" plasma and the 61" LED DLP for 8-hour/day usage level.
And oh, the rolling 12-month, national average electricity rate (as of 10/2008) is ~11.2 cents per KWH (for residential use):
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electri.../table5_3.html
I haven't checked my recent electric bills for comparison, but I suspect the rate is a bit higher here in the NYC area.
_Man_

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Like I said... The LED uses less power, whether that is a big deal to someone, only that particular person can decide. But IMHO there are many more reasons to chose LED DLP. It's not the right technology for all, but it sure was a no brainer for me.
My 806 is one of the one's that consumes 60w in standby if HDMI control is enabled. Samsung calls it Anynet, Onkyo calls it HDMI-RI basically one remote turns on all devices without any need to program anything. When I use the tv remote it triggers the receiver, when I use the receiver remote it turns on the TV etc.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Oh, I'm not suggesting the LED DLP is right for everyone. I personally was eyeing it for a long time now in large part because a comparable size plasma would cost much more (upfront) than I can reasonably afford, but I didn't realize it would actually also cost that much more in power consumption.
Anyway, I checked a few electric bills for 2008, and apparently, Con Ed in the NYC area does charge a lot more for electricity than that nation average, if I include the so called "delivery charge" at ~7.5cents avg for 2008 (and ~7.8cents last month). Their "supply charge" was ~12.5cents avg for 2008 w/ a peak of ~14-14.5cents during the summer (and ~11.3cents last month) -- and there's a 4% sales tax plus whatever small additional tax/surcharges adding another ~4%. If I consider that rates will just keep rising moderately close to recent trend, the 2009 average will probably go up to ~13cents for supply and ~8cents for delivery. Throw in the ~8% taxes/surcharges, and I'm at ~22.7cents per KWH.
When I was doing a quick estimate last night using the rolling 12-month national avg of 11.2cents per KWH, I estimated roughly $40/year savings in electric bill for me by upgrading to the Samsung LED DLP (using settings slightly higher than the calibrated values listed by CNet). Now, it looks like I'm probably saving closer to $80/year, if I did the upgrade.
Now, if I hadn't been seriously wanting to upgrade (for various other reasons, including the fact that Samsung is no longer making DLPs AFAIK), the electricity savings probably wouldn't sway me into buying right now, but...
_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

BTW, the plasma alternative running here in the NYC area would probably cost extra ~$200/year on the electric bill (vs the Samsung LED DLP) at 8 hours/day use.
_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Well, just took the plunge on the 61" from Crutchfield -- and apparently, got their very last one(!) and just in time for that $200 NFLShop rebate. I was about to order (by phone to ensure I still qualify for the rebate), but saw that their online listing had just switched back to "discontinued". Then several minutes later, it switched to "low stock", so I quickly placed the order online before calling them up for a follow-up.
Now, I'm gonna need to go shopping for a stand -- probably locally from J&R. I might've bought one w/ that same order from Crutchfield at 10% discount, but decided I'd want the stand to be set up and ready for use when the white glove delivery people bring the TV into the house for me.
Hope I don't run into any problems w/ this set...
_Man_

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Congrats on the new TV, Man. I love my 67-inch version. I went the LED DLP route for several reasons -- (1) I was upgrading from a 56-inch Toshiba 1080i CRT RPTV, and wanted a bigger screen, (2) plasma was too expensive in these larger screen sizes, (3) we do not view the set at an extreme off-axis position, (4) I did not want to be concerned with any burn-in issues, and (5) I did not want any "rainbow effect" that comes with the bulb-based DLP sets.
We sit about 12 feet away, and the 67-inch set is definitely not too large. In fact, I wish it was a few inches larger.

The set has been a great upgrade over the old Toshiba 56H80, which was a fine set in its day.

 

[Patrick Sun]

If I do get this 67" beast into my home, I think my viewing distance will be 9 feet instead of 10 feet due to its depth, and the way my table is situated. Whoa!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

We plan to be 9-to-9.5ft eyes-to-screen for the most part -- we'll be rearranging the room (and also not set on the stand yet), so not too sure at the moment. Yeah, I had also considered the 67" -- partly because the frame might be sturdier -- but decided 61" should work fine for us and didn't want to spend the extra ~$400 for it. Also, not too sure we can fit the 67" in our relatively tight space anyway.

_Man_

 

[Brett DiMichele]

I am sitting much closer than 9' right now (as I post this) and it's razor sharp. I've stood up by the screen when in PC monitor mode to see where detail extinction occurs And I can get as close as 3' and it still looks great.
My seating locations are around the room, anywhere from 6' to 13' and it just seems to work great in my room.
Man,
Congrats on your purchase! Keep us posted when the set arrives.
As for stands, stick with something in the 18-24" range. That will get it in the sweet spot for off angle viewing and you won't have an issue with any sort of darkening due to off angle. This set has issues with horizontal off angles more so than vertical off angle IMHO. With that said, I don't watch TV on the floor or the ceiling and I've not experienced any issues with poor angle performance.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I am sitting much closer than 9' right now (as I post this) and it's razor sharp. I've stood up by the screen when in PC monitor mode to see where detail extinction occurs And I can get as close as 3' and it still looks great.
My seating locations are around the room, anywhere from 6' to 13' and it just seems to work great in my room.
Man,
Congrats on your purchase! Keep us posted when the set arrives.
As for stands, stick with something in the 18-24" range. That will get it in the sweet spot for off angle viewing and you won't have an issue with any sort of darkening due to off angle. This set has issues with horizontal off angles more so than vertical off angle IMHO. With that said, I don't watch TV on the floor or the ceiling and I've not experienced any issues with poor angle performance.

Thanks for the congrats, y'all, and the additional tips.
I've actually seen the 61" in action at a local CC last summer, so I have a pretty good idea what to expect w/ the off-angle viewing -- and that should not be a problem for us. Our sofa will probably actually be ~7.5ft away from the screen, but once we settle in to watch something, our eyes will be more like 9-9.5ft away.
And I'm currently considering this stand:
Bell'O PVS-4215HG Audio/video stand for TVs up to 46" at Crutchfield.com
It's not advertised to handle such a big display (probably mainly because they expected a heavy flat panel, if bigger), but the specs seem just fine for the 61". It does mean the display will be recessed ~1/2 ft into the stand, but should probably work just fine for us. I'm also thinking maybe I'll want to rig some DIY posts to provide extra support to the RPTV's frame on both sides, if sagging is really an issue (and would cause geometry/convergence problems). My old Panny RPTV's frame also sag a bit on the sides though I never bothered to do anything about that.
_Man_

 

[Hogie]

If you're still looking for a TV stand, tvstands.com is a good site.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Hogie,
Yes TVstands.com is amazing... Some of those stands are, umm, OUCH! Way more than the TV!

I was lucky when I got my 67 at Circus City they had a nice Bell'o stand that was just a hair wider than the tv (not easy to get one wider than a 67 but it was a requirement of mine) and the stand was $500 and they misquoted me and I got it new in the box for $300

 

[DaveF]

Very fun! Let us know all about it, once setup.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

BTW, I decided to move over to this other old thread instead so as not to continue hijacking this thread since this was originally about a different model than the one I bought -- and it was mainly about "abuse", not display stands and such...
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...ml#post3502634
Hmmm... On 2nd thought, maybe I shoulda just started a new thread (re: display stands, maybe even in a different forum section?) instead.
_Man_

 

[Patrick Sun]

Well, I pulled the trigger on a display model at Best Buys this evening and finally bought one of these HL67A750 TV sets.

Best Buy is clearing them out, and their clearance price is $1299.99 (if you find one in the store, you may have to end up talking to the manager to get the price). I ended up getting the 4 year warranty on it, since the combined price including tax was still lower than my target price of $1700 (I've been waiting for Fry's to lower their price on this set to that $1700 price before taxes for the past month, ever since Super Bowl week). Plus I rationalized that since the LED engine is rated for a very long life, I wasn't worried about the display set being run 12 hours/day, since I wanted this particular model so I could also abuse it if I wanted to do so.

Oh, also got lucky since there's free delivery for TV over $999.99 this week, that was another $69.99 savings. Woo Hoo!

If the set dies within 4 years, I'll have some warranty credit to pick a new TV set, and hopefully by then, the prices will come down even more for comparable picture quality vs. size.

Now I just have to wait for the Tuesday delivery of the TV set...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

That's a great price for the set, Patrick. I paid $2000 back in September. Enjoy your new TV... we've certainly enjoyed ours.