First time Plasma buyer here...need info on calibration/initial setup concerns.

[bandphan]

I have a coupple of plasmas.

I just turned them on and watched them (after turning off the torch).

Don't worry too much about it.

what speed is your modem running at

 

[erock9174]

Whay not download the disks I referenced as they are intended for break in solid color patterns looping. You can watch planet earth 90 times

When you first said disks I figured I couldnt use the break-in slides because I don't have a DVD burner. But I saw on that site today that you can download them to a flash drive. So I will be using that method.
Thanks for the link !!

By the way, I never did buy Planet Earth. I've already seen it and they want between $50-80 depending on where you buy it.
I have a buddy that will be letting me borrow it Thursday.
Can't wait to see how it looks once the TV is broken in.

Somebody mentioned in an above post that's its ok to break in using the slides in torch mode. It is better to do so or should I just leave the settings low as they are now?

Also somebody asked if my unit buzzed. No buzzing yet.
Granted I've only had it on maybe a total of 15 minutes since I haven't broken it in yet. I am still waiting on a couch and tv stand to put it on. So viewing isn't optimal in my room yet, lol

I read somewhere (can't locate it now) in this forum or another with a site that shows various tv models and people's settings they came up to make the quality better.

Can somebody post a link to that site or provide some settings for the PN58B550 ?

 

[FuzzyReets]

When you first said disks I figured I couldnt use the break-in slides because I don't have a DVD burner. But I saw on that site today that you can download them to a flash drive. So I will be using that method.
Thanks for the link !!

By the way, I never did buy Planet Earth. I've already seen it and they want between $50-80 depending on where you buy it.
I have a buddy that will be letting me borrow it Thursday.
Can't wait to see how it looks once the TV is broken in.

Somebody mentioned in an above post that's its ok to break in using the slides in torch mode. It is better to do so or should I just leave the settings low as they are now?

Also somebody asked if my unit buzzed. No buzzing yet.
Granted I've only had it on maybe a total of 15 minutes since I haven't broken it in yet. I am still waiting on a couch and tv stand to put it on. So viewing isn't optimal in my room yet, lol

I read somewhere (can't locate it now) in this forum or another with a site that shows various tv models and people's settings they came up to make the quality better.

Can somebody post a link to that site or provide some settings for the PN58B550 ?

I found this http://reviews.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/samsung-pn58b550-calibration.html

That is the only specific settings I have found. I get mine tomorrow. looking forward to it. Let me know how you make out with yours.

 

[erock9174]

thanks just found that one myself doing a google search.
neat stuff for sure.

 

[FuzzyReets]

thanks just found that one myself doing a google search.
neat stuff for sure.

Yup. If you find anything like that with settings or specific threads about that TV, be great if you passed them on. Thanks.

 

[BruZZi]

By the way, I never did buy Planet Earth. I've already seen it and they want between $50-80 depending on where you buy it.
I have a buddy that will be letting me borrow it Thursday.
Can't wait to see how it looks once the TV is broken in.

If don't mind buying it used...

I paid $32 including shipping for a excellent condition Planet Earth (Blu-ray).
Lots of great deals at HighDefDigest:

http://forums.highdefdigest.com/blu-ray-disc-exchange-21/

Note: make sure to get the BBC Version.

Somebody mentioned in an above post that's its ok to break in using the slides in torch mode. It is better to do so or should I just leave the settings low as they are now?

It's better in torch mode as you accelerate the break-in process.

Also somebody asked if my unit buzzed. No buzzing yet.

Hopefully it won't buzz.

.

 

[erock9174]

thanks for the highdefdigest link. will have to try that out.

 

[erock9174]

Ok, so I tried adjusting my settings to match the calibration settings provided in the link in the post above.

I got everything adjusted however they recommend changing the HDMI black level to "Low" and Film Mode to "Auto"
Both of these settings are grayed out (not selectable) for me. HDMI black level is set to "Normal" and Film Mode is set to "Off".

Does anybody know how to unlock these so that they can be changed?
Or do I even need to change them.

By the way thanks again for the link to the slides used to break in the tv. I am using them now. Works like a charm once I discovered I had to unzip them once in the folder, lol

 

[bandphan]

FWIW there are to many variances from set to set off of the line to use another's calibration settings.

 

[erock9174]

FWIW there are to many variances from set to set off of the line to use another's calibration settings.

that's true. Forgot about that.

at least the settings i found will be a good starting point. Plus I figure everybody has their own eye to know what looks good and then can tweak the settings accordingly.

 

[erock9174]

Kind of off subject, but I noticed in the stores that the LED LCD 240hz tv's have a strange appearance to me when playing blu-ray content.

For instance at HHGregg they had the King Kong blu-ray in and the actors, King Kong and Dinosaurs all looked fake to me. They didn't blend in well with the background at all.

Does this have something to do with computer generated objects in the movie?

Even the actor's movements looked artificial. Hard to explain but I don't get that same effect thankfully on my plasma.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I am almost certain that King Kong and Dinosaurs are fake...

For instance at HHGregg they had the King Kong blu-ray in and the actors, King Kong and Dinosaurs all looked fake to me. They didn't blend in well with the background at all.

Does this have something to do with computer generated objects in the movie?

Even the actor's movements looked artificial. Hard to explain but I don't get that same effect thankfully on my plasma.

 

[FuzzyReets]

Alright. I got my TV today. Got it running. Right now I have it running in the following:

Movie Mode
Cell Light 7
Contrast 50
Brightness 50


I have the break in DVD running. If someone can confirm this is okay that would be great. Still worried a bit about messing this thing up. Should I turn up or turn down anything? Thanks.

 

[bandphan]

Alright. I got my TV today. Got it running. Right now I have it running in the following:

Movie Mode
Cell Light 7
Contrast 50
Brightness 50


I have the break in DVD running. If someone can confirm this is okay that would be great. Still worried a bit about messing this thing up. Should I turn up or turn down anything? Thanks.

The horse is dead you can stop beating it Again while running the breakin dvd any mode is ok, torch is better. Viewing TV , use movie mode.

 

[FuzzyReets]

The horse is dead you can stop beating it Again while running the breakin dvd any mode is ok, torch is better. Viewing TV , use movie mode.

Ha. Yeah I know I deserve that. I've just been reading too much and getting all these different opinions about what is okay and what is not okay so I'm worried a little too much I guess. The movie mode settings were higher than the settings I'm using now actually so I don't know if that is a good idea on this TV. THanks for your input.

 

[nibhaz]

The horse is dead you can stop beating it Again while running the breakin dvd any mode is ok, torch is better. Viewing TV , use movie mode.

+1 QTF

FuzzyReets it's pretty simple, when you are using the slides you want:

Cell Light 10
Contrast 100

When watching live content use the cinema mode.

There is nothing you can really do to screw up the set...I mean if you left a static 4:3 image up for 24 hrs you might get some significant IR that would take awhile to go away, but it’s highly unlikely that even this would cause permanent damage. It would however cause non-uniform phosphor wear and thus should be avoided.

If you are worried about burn in read this.

 

[Alex2507]

If you are worried about burn in read this.

Good read ... right at the limit of my attention span.

I noticed that it was edited by Michael Fremer.

I'm calling my lawyer.

 

[FuzzyReets]

Let me ask one other thing regarding this TV. Do you guys here use different settings for different things? I know there is Dynamic, Standard, and Movie. I think Standard and Movie are just two different settings that you setup and dynamic is something different? Not totally sure. Looking for input on that. Thanks.

 

[bandphan]

Let me ask one other thing regarding this TV. Do you guys here use different settings for different things? I know there is Dynamic, Standard, and Movie. I think Standard and Movie are just two different settings that you setup and dynamic is something different? Not totally sure. Looking for input on that. Thanks.

SCREAMS.... Calibrate for Day and Night viewing. Those should be it, unless you want to pay a pro Dynamic is torch. Calibrate and those are your settings

 

[FuzzyReets]

Thanks for all your input Bandphan. Really do appreciate it. If I have you at the point of screaming on the thread then its probably best if you opt out of notifications for this. Up to you but if my questions are annoying then that's probably best. I do appreciate your input though.

What I'm asking is the difference between standard and movie and when to use them. My TV is in a basement so telling me to use one for day and one for night doesn't really apply. I have all the settings for both of them set to the same as much as possible but I don't know which to use and when. I'm guessing standard is for TV in a well lit room and Movie is for watching movies in dim lighting. I noticed that the standard setting only allows for "normal" and cool1" picture mode. Dunno. All the other settings seem the same. Trying to put together the final pieces. Thanks to all.