Just got a samsung 50" DLP tv today. got it from Fry's. I'm not too happy with the purchase as the picture quality at Fry's was quite amazing. the best I've seen actually.

But when I brought it home and set it up, the picture quality was lousy. quite different from what I saw in the store.

what can be causing this? or is it because Fry's was broadcasting their pictures in HDTV?

I felt like I've made a bad purchase.

Any help is appreciated.

12/21/2005 5:31:06 AM

Quote :

"or is it because Fry's was broadcasting their pictures in HDTV? "

if you don't have hdtv, your tv won't look like hdtv...the convergence could be the problem too...did you set it up? i assume the dlp tvs have the convergence setup (not an expert on it though)...

also, does it have a built-in hd tuner? if so you should be able to put in a dvd or an hd cable box and see the difference...

12/21/2005 5:38:02 AM

Quote :

"or is it because Fry's was broadcasting their pictures in HDTV?"

by this you probably mean "was it because Fry's had an HD signal going into their HDTVs". And yes, they surely did.
If you do not have HDTV cable service, then I've found that the regular TV channels actually look worse on an HDTV. Digital channels look OK, but the TV really only shines when you watch HD channels.

That's really something you should have looked into before buying an HDTV. You'll have to check with your cable provider, and be prepared to pay $60+/month for digital cable + HD channels

12/21/2005 6:28:37 AM

Or get DISH Network. I'm about to pick up a 30"+ HDTV and my current basic satellite plan is 31.99/month. To add all the HD programming (15 channels) will run me an extra 15/month. So if cable is getting expensive, maybe you ought to consider just picking up satellite instead, if its available to you.

12/21/2005 6:48:04 AM

Yeah right now Satellitte is the way to go for better picture.

However, 80% of HDTV's sold are not setup correctly at the home. I have seen the difference from factor to tailored just by working where I do.

You might want to consider giving a technician a call from here to come out and set you up. Just so you know I get nothing out of this, I've just seen the difference in picture quality and I'll be having someone come in and set mine up when I buy one at the beginning of next year.

PM me if you want to know more.

12/21/2005 8:51:50 AM

Is there a special DVD you can buy or download designed to help calibrate you TV? Recomendations?

12/21/2005 10:10:37 AM

http://www.avsforum.com

12/21/2005 12:32:01 PM

Simple, most DLP HDTV's out of the box look like shit. Get it tuned and it will look better, get it done by a pro. or research how to do it.

12/21/2005 1:11:19 PM

Quote :

" the picture quality at Fry's was quite amazing. the best I've seen actually. But when I brought it home and set it up, the picture quality was lousy."

Your tv is only going to look really good watching an input source the native resolution of the lcd in your tv. Also, you need to mess with the settings a lot to make the picture look good. For some reason out of the box, most tvs are setup like shit.

12/21/2005 1:23:41 PM

they are setup like shit because your lighting is different in your home. Among many other factors.

12/21/2005 1:39:05 PM

Hey Smoothcrim, please look up what DLP stands for buddy.

As for the poster in this thread:

Get an HD service and watch that on your HD tv. Regular TV looks terrible.

You might also want to get your TV tuned by a professional once you get an HD television service.

12/21/2005 1:59:15 PM

Thanks for the tips and links guys. I will have to try and mess with the settings and see if that helps. And how much is it to call a technician to come to my house and have them tune it up?

12/21/2005 2:02:16 PM

Go to channel 200-something. Look in the guide for channels like DISCHD instead of DISCSD.

12/21/2005 2:54:35 PM

Quote :

"Hey Smoothcrim, please look up what DLP stands for buddy. As for the poster in this thread: Get an HD service and watch that on your HD tv. Regular TV looks terrible. You might also want to get your TV tuned by a professional once you get an HD television service."

Yeah his wording was wrong, but same basic idea. Fixed array of pixel producing elements.

Quote :

"they are setup like shit because your lighting is different in your home. Among many other factors. "

Ambient light doesnt fuck with a RPTV very much, viewing cone on the fresnel-like RPTV surface is more of an issue. Have you ever starred at a RPTV that was turned off, that had a white screen? No you havnt.

12/21/2005 3:04:30 PM

And why does DVD's look awful still? even with component cable?

12/21/2005 4:09:01 PM

DVD's aren't HD either. Don't you get it?

12/21/2005 4:22:35 PM

they shouldnt look "terrible"

try using something not made by cyberhome

12/21/2005 4:49:52 PM

yeah, DVDs should definitely not look "terrible". They won't look nearly as good as an HD channel like Discovery HD or FoxHD, but they will be much better than your regular channels

12/21/2005 6:03:21 PM

[user]alfg2[/user]

Yeah when you get HD service give us a call up. AudioAdvice, 881-2005. Ask for service and talk to the guys there. Kalvin or Gary have been doing this for YEARS. They'll come out to your house and have you set up and going fast. It's worth the money honestly...

If you have a DVD player etc, have everything you need ready to set up. Make sure you have the cables unless you want the good stuff ($30+ per cable). We'll make the cables for you if you need but we only sell the good and uber good stuff.

One of those two will come and setup you up and when they're done you'll see why AudioAdvice gets so much business without having to advertise.

12/21/2005 7:14:33 PM

Fun Fact

Dont buy from people who use terms like

"Uber Good Stuff"

[Edited on December 21, 2005 at 7:27 PM. Reason : .]

12/21/2005 7:27:09 PM

well, DVD's should somewhat look a little better than regular TV cable. but it doesn't. the quality is reminiscent of installing a video card without the drivers; the picture is grainy and the colors aren't right.

I use a standard component cable by RCA. (I'm told that monster cables are better - not sure how much truth there is to that claim. and they are pricey too). my dvd player is a jvc xv-n40bk.

maybe I will enable progressive scan and see.

12/21/2005 7:52:45 PM

It could just be your DVD player is kinda crappy.

12/21/2005 8:17:33 PM

Just to be specific, you do mean COMPONENT and not COMPOSITE cables right?

As in, Pb Pr Y, not as in Red, White Yellow?

Also DEFINITELY turn on progressive scan, it makes a HUGE difference. Also get a DVD player that will upconvert to the native resolution of your DLP. They can be had now for about 75 bucks and it will also make a HUGE difference for DLP.

Just a note, I had a 56" Samsung DLP for a few weeks. They are really only made to run at their native 1280*720 resolution. If you run anything else (non hd, or 1080i or 480i/p) it will look much worse than the signal actually is, and there will be audio sync issues due to the conversion.

12/21/2005 10:29:12 PM

PSCAN WONT SAVE THE DAY!!11!1

12/21/2005 10:33:29 PM

yes, I'm talking about component, not composite. it has the red/blue/green wires.

And I don't see where I can set up progressive scan on my dvd player. I went into the menu and didn't see anything there. I'll have to look again.

12/22/2005 10:51:15 PM

So I'm at the inlaws in GSO and they have a Samsung 50" DLP with the SA8300HD digital cable box. I'm a bit disappointed. I was watching an NBA game in HD on TNT in 1080i and the picture looked fabulous until there was a close up with movement and then it was very boxy. So is this an issue with our signal or the TV's ability to display the signal or both?

12/23/2005 10:07:30 AM

^thats because its 1080i and not 1080p and also because the TV doesn't have DCDi, which in simple terms is much like anti-aliasing but for high def video.

i = interlaced (every other line refreshes 1/3 of a second faster)
p = progressive (every line refreshes at the same time/rate)

12/23/2005 10:57:55 AM

^and ^^

it's also because the native resolution is 720p most likely, and dlp's just don't look as good (especially samsung's) when they arent running native. They should change the output settings on the digital cable box

12/23/2005 11:33:07 AM

Upscaling DVD players don't make a "huge" difference. A properly tuned FFDSHOW running on a PC doesn't make a "huge" difference.

12/23/2005 11:48:58 AM

^

I invite you to bring over any dvd player under 500$ and come check out teh pwr of ffdshow

im one of those guys that likes dvds EXTREMELY sharp, so what i like probably isnt the best for everyone

12/23/2005 2:27:05 PM

What are you inviting me for man I live right next to you. We both agreed that FFDSHOW doesn't make a 'huge' difference a while ago and my point is that if THAT doesn't make a difference then upscaling DVD players for 50$ sure as shit wont.

12/23/2005 2:36:48 PM

dude, the main point is

you really dont want a samsung dlp doing any kind of scaling

they are terrible at it

if you watch one of these sets you will see the blocky artifacts during motion as someone above has mentioned

you would be much better off with anything that upscaled (within terms not some cyberhome jargon)

a PC , is in my opinion the best option because you can control so many aspects of the picture.

12/23/2005 2:41:46 PM

just buy a Denon DVD-2910 and a TV or projector with DCDi and you'll be set with DVD video.

oh and you might have to rob a bank before to pay for it.

12/23/2005 3:02:42 PM

^^Yep nail on the head. For samsung DLP's (and in fact, most DLP's) upscaling outside the box makes a HUGE difference.

12/24/2005 2:35:30 AM