Samsung HL61A750 61-Inch 1080p LED Powered DLP HDTV by Samsung
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Digital camera reviews of Samsung HL61A750 61-Inch 1080p LED Powered DLP HDTV
Digital camera Review: I'm happy with the upgrade.
Summary: 4 Stars
UPDATED 10/27
OK.
So I decided one day, quite randomly actually, to upgrade my current TV (LG 42PC5D 42-inch 720p Plasma HDTV, for reference) to something somewhat larger and more capable of higher HD resolution. I was debating whether to replace with a newer plasma, or go back to LCD (the technology has improved significantly since the last time I owned one, specifically the blurring issue and sharpness). However, a lot of things are important to me that others might not care about. Some of these are:
- I like a TV to be light. Plasma screens for the most part are quite light indeed. The plasma I current have that I mentioned is quite light indeed, which was a selling point.
- The motion blur effect causes headaches and some lightheadedness. It's not pleasant. Any TV I buy must NOT have the motion blur, or have so little that I can't see it.
- I like TVs that can resize old 4:3 broadcasts to fit the screen without distorting the picture. My plasma actually couldn't do this, but I tolerated it for quality reasons.
- I like slim TVs. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the weight issue, but it's also a visual preference.
- I like my TV to have a small screen border. Maximize the viewable area.
After much research (and price checking), I decided on a DLP TV. Seeing that DLPs were just so darn cheap compared to LCDs of the same size, it only made logical sense. But I needed to actually see it for myself in order to make a decision; so I made a trip down to Circuit City. On display were the Mitsubishi and Samsung versions in this size. What I noticed was that the Samsumg retailed (at Circuit City) for over $2,000...mind you, the LED version was more expensive than the lamp version ($1,400). But Circuit City had an open box LED DLP for only $1350. My company has a discount deal with CC which effectively paid for the tax. Bought it on the spot (yes, I lifted it out of my car and up about 30 stair steps by myself, dead-lifted. That should indicate just how light it really is...lighter than my plasma yet 20 inches more screen space).
Once I got it hooked up (I have an integrated HDMI system, so I only have one cable to set up a new TV to everything), I immediately checked out some HD programming. I wasn't quite impressed...but I know that has to do with the fact that I'm seeing more defects on the larger screen than I did on the smaller screen, so no big deal. It's not that it looks bad...just not as great as I was used to or expected. It did do quite a bit of cleanup of regular non-HD broadcasts, especially close ups (far shots still looked terrible as always). There are a number of additional options in the menus to do more cleanup, but I didn't get to toy with them too much as the open box didn't come with a remote (had to order one. Be careful, they'll try to rip you off. Buy it from Amazon if you can).
The next step was to test true high definition. Of course, anyone who knows HD knows that there's really only one option to truly push a TV's HD output: Planet Earth on HD-DVD or Blu-ray. And my goodness...this TV is built for HD movies - 1080p. Videophiles will be able to clearly tell the difference between 720p on a smaller screen and 1080p. Additionally, this TV has a much more discriminate color space than my plasma; the plasma was more saturated but not as finely detailed. The DLP was so crisp that it felt like you were standing there. Someone new to HD likely won't be able to see the distinction, but after having viewed everything in 720p for years, I can easily tell the difference.
That doesn't mean there aren't negatives, some of which aren't the TV's fault.
- 720p and 1080i don't look so hot on this TV for some reason. Again, not terrible, and not bad, just not great. Why that matters? Everything broadcast on HDTV is usually in one of those two resolutions; there isn't capacity to transmit in 1080p. Doesn't mean you won't get enjoyment out of those shows and if your TV is more than 20 feet away from your seating area, you won't care.
- You have to "force" the TV to autoscan for resolution changes between shows. The problem is that most digital broadcasts of older shows send in 4:3, which the TV will show. If you don't like the black boxes on the side, you'll have to again "force" the TV to stretch the image. If you leave it on stretch mode and view a show that naturally fills the screen, it will overscan and you'll miss some of the edges of the show. Minor irritant.
- No carry handles. Minor irritant.
- Horrible built in speakers, but quite frankly if you're buying a TV like this you should have or be willing to buy a decent surround system to go with it.
I didn't cover all of the features of the set because honestly, I buy a TV to watch...well...TV. And movies and other video-centric things. I know it supports MP3s off the USB and other features, but I just don't care about those. If I want to play music, I can tap in my 360 Media Center and run everything that way, wirelessly, from my whole library rather than a few songs on a USB stick, but if you like it, to each their own.
This is a great TV. Don't let the display model throw you; it's not calibrated properly, I assure you. Additionally, it's hooked up to a terrible feed that is split amongst all TVs there, so the quality is severely degraded. Finally, stores are trying to steer customers to the LCD lines because sales of those models are bottoming out for a couple of reasons - VIZIO has stolen market share with rock bottom prices and DLPs like this one are showing that they can put out quality comparable to or even better than their flat panel counterparts. You walk into the store and they have a 1080p LCD hooked up by itself to a Blu-ray player that is showing some outstanding quality movie, and it's all a ploy to get you to buy it, when the truth is, space is really the only reason not to get one of these.
UPDATE: Something important you should know. This TV doesn't play nice with certain receivers; namely, the Sony STR-DG910. There is a setting under the Menu (I think it's 7-VIDEO), inside there is an Audio setting where you can set TV+AMP or AMP. It is CRITICAL that you set this to AMP. If you set it to TV+AMP, the amp will do its best to send audio to the TV, but the TV won't accept anything other than PCM - affecting all of your surround speakers. So set it to AMP so you get the optimal quality out of this thing. This is only an HDMI issue, to my knowledge.
Digital camera Review: Comment on DLP at the store
Summary: 5 Stars
Very interested in purchasing this particular set; most likely will do so in a few months from Amazon. Have to say, went to a BestBuy today, where they have many huge LCDs, several huge plasmas and TWO huge DLPs on display. The DPLs looked not OK, but terrible. Same experience in a separate BestBuy. This didn't strike me as right since I have a 5 year old Samsung 42" DLP at home & the picture on all wide screen hi-def is wonderful. SO, I tooled around with some of the basic settings in the store, and it's amazing what a difference sixty seconds made. Picture was still much flawed, but improved. (I suspect the setting were either base or turned down and the lighting was high in one case).
Also, the feed going into the DLP was separate from the feeds going into the nearby LCDs. The DLP was running thru scenes from a standard quality movie - these looked blah. The LCDs typically ran through Blu-Ray movie sequences and/or live action concerts - these looked outstanding. (The reviewer above reminded me of this, so I updated my commentary. I guess the practice is not uncommon.)
I'm thinking the retailer would rather not highlight the cheaper version of such large real estate when the lcd equivalent can command 3x more.
Unless you need that 3" depth, this DLP should be a winner in anyone's home plus you save a few thousand bucks. Just a little frustrating that you won't see a good display at the retailer, but it also gives you an idea of the retailers' sales practices.
Digital camera Review: AWESOME set --- AWESOME Amazon Support
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll try to keep this brief, difficult as that may be. After the "white glove" delivery and setup, I sat in front of the set truly amazed, flipping through channels for a good hour or so. I checked the quality from my satellite (AT&T U-Verse), as well as hooking up a high def antenna. Absolutely incredible! I won't go into a lot of detail about fine tuning / adjustments (it's been handled by so many people more qualified than me, already), but I do have a story to tell those who wonder if they should buy on-line ...
First, I'll tell you I have bought a number of "big ticket" items through Amazon, and have always liked their service and follow-up. This time was no exception.
The set arrived within three days of ordering (as luck would have it, I am only a 4-6 hour drive from one of their distribution centers, which may have something to do with it)! Delivery and installation were flawless. About a week later, the IR (infrared) receiver stopped working, leaving me with a set without a remote. A call to Amazon netted me an apology from the customer service rep (RARE, these days), and he arranged for an immediate replacement shipment, with absolutely no coercion on my part (and it wasn't some off-shore outfit!). The white glove folks performed their great installation procedure, once again, and boxed up the original TV, and off they went. What a wonderful support experience!
By the way, I'm NOT dinging Samsung for the IR receiver problem. That could have happened on any TV from any manufacturer. My reporting this was more to give confidence to the wary shopper who wonders if these kinds of purchases are supported as well as a local purchase; the fact is, they're better, and your investment is even more sound when there are no shipping charges and sales tax. Truly a win-win for everyone.
One last thing ... I also did my homework on HDTV's, and this set was an "upgrade" from my 14 year old 60" Mitsubishi TV, which my wife likes to point out "still works fine" (now retired to the family room). I knew that the better deal (bang for the buck, size-wise) was to consider a projection TV --- we've really enjoyed our Mitsubishi (a fine set that just wouldn't die, to give me a "proper" reason to replace it). The Samsung set was clearly rated better, had a better projection technology, and I could see the difference between the two in retail showrooms. I HIGHLY recommend the Samsung TV, and especially recommend the Amazon experience!
Digital camera Review: Big Screen Fun...reasonable price
Summary: 5 Stars
After much deliberation and research we decided to purchase this item. We really didn't need a big screen but wanted to enjoy a theater-like atmosphere if we wanted to watch a movie. I searched many online retailers and settled on Amazon.com because of their reputation, ease of ordering, and FREE white glove delivery service. WE were not disappointed. This is a fabulous television! Brilliant colors, easy user interface, sleek look...I would definitely recommend this unit.Digital camera Review: Excellent choice for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, after 14 years with our 32" tube TV, we decided to upgrade to HDTV. However, we are not upgrading our satellite service as yet. So - which kind of TV to get? The choices are LCD, Plasma, and DLP. We ended up getting this model, but first let me say why we did NOT get one of the others:
LCD:
The advantage of a LCD is that is doesn't burn in images, and it has a very bright display.
The disadvantage is that it can tend to blur the moving images, unless you spring for the more expensive models. I think that most people get used to it. However, it does not look as good with Standard Definition (SD) inputs. Since we need SD input, LCD presented problems for us.
Plasma:
A plasma display has good color, great black, and works well with SD inputs.
The disadvantage with plasma is that it can burn in parts of the screen, especially if they don't change much. Since my son plays games a lot, there would be static "control areas". The newer Plasma displays have pixel shifting, where the entire screen moves (but won't be noticed), and have ways to fix any burn in. But it was still a worry.
DLP:
The DLP does not have any problem with moving images, and it has a great display. Also, it tends to be very inexpensive for the larger sizes. They are also light weight for their size, and have a thinner bezel (the area around the edge).
The disadvantages of DLP are that they use a color wheel and bulbs, both of which can fail. Also, they are deeper in back (about 16" on this model), so they are less suitable for wall mount.
The choice:
This model has all the advantages of DLP, but it also adds some features that diminish the disadvantages.
- It uses LED to light the screen, and the bulbs should last a very long time.
- It does not use a color wheel, so that will not wear out.
- LEDs are more efficient, so it uses less power.
Now on to the TV itself:
There are a lot of customizations available. It has three built in modes: Standard, Cinema, and Dynamic. Each ones sets the TV to certain video settings. The cinema works great with up-converting DVD players (I don't own a blu-ray disk yet). Or you can do your own "custom" settings. The audio is fine for normal listening - I use the TV audio for HDTV via the antenna, and a home theater system for satellite and DVD playback.
Broadcast:
Great. It will automatically scan the airwaves and assign the channels. One gripe I have is that it assigns both the air channel (analog), which looks terrible, and the corresponding digital channel, which look great. There are controls to have the set automatically read the screen resolution and change it as appropriate, and other controls to automatically adjust the volume when the channel is changed.
Standard Definition:
Very Good. Our Dish Network system runs through a home theater, which uses component video inputs to the HDTV. The picture looks almost as good as on our tube TV, when we set the screen ratio to 4:3. I haven't seen a program that did not look good yet, including our DVR playbacks.
DVD:
I am using a Panasonic blu-ray player with DVI connection to the TV and a optical sound connection to the home theater. The up-converting DVD output looks great.
Controls and connections:
All of the inputs are on the right side, which is unfortunate for me because my satellite and home theater are on the left! But it works fine with longer cables. The on-screen controls are easy to use. One thing I like is the capability of "renaming" the various inputs, so that the family knows that it is not just "component 1", but rather that it is the Cable/SATV. I'm using a Wii connected to component 2, a home theater receiver connected to Component 1, and the DVD player connected to the HDMI connector.
Problems:
The only issue I have had so far is that the WII connection via component input has a hum on the main screen and some of the game screens - not while playing, but while choosing options & etc. I will have to investigate this further. The picture is also having trouble, with some lines and other artifacts. It appears to me that the WII console is not very good at drawing the 480p picture. At this point I'm not sure if it is the WII or just the way it works with this TV.
The other issue is that stupid blue circle under the screen, which is annoying, but I finally found the menu to turn it off.
Conclusion:
This is a great choice if you have room for a 61" screen - make no mistake, this is some serious television real estate!
***** Update on WII *****
I switched the component input ports, with no effect. What is happening with the Wii component cables is that when the sound comes in, the screen "twitches"; with continuous background music, you can imagine the effect. HOWEVER, I connected the WII to my home theater via S-Video, and all home theater inputs go to the TV via component inputs. With this setup the Wii display is fine, and everyone is happy. In some ways it is simpler, since I don't have to change TV input source to the WII specifically; it can stay on the home theater receiver, which also provides the Satellite inputs.
For those wishing to hook up a WII directly, there may be an issue with the component inputs!