Samsung SIR-T351 observations (1 Viewer)

[Mike_P]

I just got this unit hooked up in my system a few days ago, and I have noticed a few things. I was wondering if anyone else had similar experiences.

First, the 351 will not display 1080i in letterbox on a 4:3 tv. Naturally, I have an older 50" Toshiba. Many newer tv's have a 16:9 mode, which would solve the problem, but that feature came out a year or 2 after my set was made. The 351 will display 1080i in 2 modes, zoom and full. Both distort the aspect ratio.

Samsung's work-around is to set the 351 to 480p. This will display 16:9 material in a letterbox on a 4:3 display. It seems like a waste to display an HD picture in 480p, but the picture is still jaw-dropping.

I also have problems with the digital sound out of the 351. I kept getting dropouts on all the stations I get, even the ones with very strong signals(10 bars). My receiver is a Yamaha RX-V995. I have tried an optical connection to the Tape In and a coaxial connection to the CD in with the same results.

I have discovered that if I set the digital sound output to PCM instead of Dolby Digital, the dropouts magically disappear. I suspect, but can not prove, that the Yamaha, in Auto input mode, is losing the signal and re-detecting whether it's DD, DPL, or DTS.

I have also connected analog audio out of the 351 to the VCR 2 inputs on the Yamaha, and the audio never drops out. I suppose the digital sound dropouts could be caused by the broadcaster, but it happens on all stations I can get.

One more interesting thing about the tv and the 351. The Toshibas ColorStream (component) inputs can be set to DVD or DTV, which I think means 480i/480p set to DVD, and 1080i set when set to DTV. When I switch the 351 from 480p to 1080i, or vice versa, the picture disappears for about 5 seconds and then reappears, regardless of the setting on the ColorStream input! I thought this was odd!

Anyway, I have rambled on for long enough. I would appreciate hearing from anyone else with 351 experiences.

Mike P

 

[Ronald Volkman]

Mike,

I have an older (2000 model) Toshiba 55" 4:3 TV, and I use a Samsung Sir-T165 box. The real solution is to re-adjust the 1080i mode (or have someone do it for you) to 16:9 by adjusting the HIT and WID parameters in Service mode and re-converging the set. When I feed the set a 480i or 480p signal, the display is 4:3. When I feed it a 1080i signal, the display is 16:9. Toshiba should have done this in the first place.

The DVD and DTV settings in the setup menu do not change from 480 to 1080. They change the way the input displays color. The requirements for DVD and DTV are slightly different. If you try switching it with a picture displayed, you will see a small difference sometimes, other times you will not see any difference. The input signal itself controls whether the display switches between 480 and 1080.


RV

 

[Mike_P]

Ron,

Thanks for responding to my post. Could you point me to some threads about changing the parameters in service mode and conveging the set? I know I have read threads about this before, but it's been awhile, and I can't find them.

Thanks,

Mike P

 

[scottS]

Regarding the digital audio dropouts: That seems to have been reported by other owners but AFAIK no response from Samsung as to recognizing as a bug (seems hard to believe it wouldn't have come up in testing).

scott s.
.