FYI- I noticed on your previous posts that you personally set your contrast around 95 but in a later post you recommended a contrast setting under 60 to someone with the Samsung HL-S5087W model. I have had the HL-S5087W for about a week and have been working on fine tuning the picture settings and was wondering why the difference in contrast.
Anyone else with this model with suggestions for the picture settings?
All previous HL-xxxxx Samsung sets use a Phillips 100/120 watt lamp, which required more contrast to get the picture to pop. The 50 inch and smaller utilized the 100 watt setting in the service menu while the 61 inch used the 120 watt setting. All HL-S xxxx sets have a new 130 watt Phillips UHP lamp, which is much brighter right out of the box. It's so bright you could probably watch the tv outside in the sun.
From THX setup on a THX DVD
Mode-Standard (daytime)
Contrast-60 Bright-45 Sharp-30 Color 46 Color Tone-Normal
Mode-Movie I don't like it! To muddy!
Mode-Custom (a little less intense for night)
Contrast-50 Bright-45 Sharp-30 Color 47 Color Tone-Warm
Thanks for the recommendation FYI. I tried out your settings and the picture looks great. I have my contrast set a little higher at 67 just because of personal preference but everything else looks really good.
Another thing that I noticed and that I remember reading somewhere is that sometimes the blacks appear grainy on the screen which is something that I do sometimes notice. Is there any adjustment that I need to make or is this just part of the technology?
One last thing, since this tv is capable of 1080p is it able to automatically convert the 1080i and 720p signals up to 1080p or will I have to wait for a true 1080p signal?
If you're not seeing inky blacks your contrast or brightness is too high. A good calibration DVD like Avia or Digital Video essentials will correct that. Also, a THX setup in a THX recorded DVD like Star Wars, Ladder 49, etc. will get it close.
You're set is a native 1080P designed display. It can only display 1080P. That's not to say that non-HD material is suddenly HD, though. Non-HD material is just scaled up or enlarged using 1080 lines. Only true 720P or 1080i recorded programming is truly HD. You are getting the benefit of those today. Any network broadcasting in 720P or 1080i is looking fabulous on your set.
