Best bang for the buck, great features of LED, July 10, 2008
Very happy with this TV! Much improved over last years LED sets. Excellent picture, great performance, and nice, efficient LED engine. Does it have the best picture available? No, that's probably the 9G Pioneer Kuro plasma, but that costs about $3000 more. Even the new Mitsubishi bulb based DLP's have a slightly better picture, since they use the...read full review
Very happy with this TV! Much improved over last years LED sets. Excellent picture, great performance, and nice, efficient LED engine. Does it have the best picture available? No, that's probably the 9G Pioneer Kuro plasma, but that costs about $3000 more. Even the new Mitsubishi bulb based DLP's have a slightly better picture, since they use the newer TI Darkchip4 DLP chip, and the Samsung uses the Darkchip3. But, I feel the advantages of the LED light engine outweigh any slight picture quality difference. In my opinion, this TV has the best bang for the buck, by far.
I wrote a FAQ on AVS forum, so I will include some of that here:
- Why should I get a 750 LED series over the 650 bulb series?
* The 750 comes in bigger sizes, 61" and 67".
* The 750 has an LED light source that should last the life of the set. No bulbs to replace.
* The 750 uses the CinemaPure Color Engine that creates brilliant, realistic images and displays color that's 40% brighter than traditional HDTVs. (Note that most sources don't take advantage of this extra color space. Some Camcorders do support it.)
* Nearly instant startup times, with instant brightness no need for the bulb or ballast to warm up.
* No spinning color wheel, so quieter TV (color wheels spin fast and can sometimes have a high pitch whine), and less moving parts
* Much, much less chance of seeing rainbows as the LED's cycle much faster than the color wheel.
* "Green" TV. The LED set uses much less power than bulb based sets and has one of the lowest energy consumption of TV's. Note that actual energy usage is less than the max rated watts listed on the TV.
- Why should I get the 750 series over a competitor, like the Mitsubishi
* The 750 has an LED light source that should last the life of the set. No bulbs to replace.
* Nearly instant startup times, with instant brightness no need for the bulb or ballast to warm up.
* No spinning color wheel, so quieter TV (color wheels spin fast and can sometimes have a high pitch whine), and less moving parts
* Much, much less chance of seeing rainbows as the LED's cycle much faster than the color wheel.
* "Green" TV. The LED set uses much less power than bulb based sets and has one of the lowest energy consumption of TV's. Note that actual energy usage is less than the max rated watts listed on the TV.
* The Samsung has 120Hz video processing for smooth, judder free playback of 24 fps film based material, such as Blu-Ray movies. Have to move to the expensive Diamond series to get this in the Mitsubishi.
* Extensive user menu settings for picture adjustments
* The Phlatlight LED engine is made in the USA.
This TV has A LOT of options for adjusting the picture. So many, that some may get confused, so I will post my suggested settings. First of all, when you get the set or see it in the store, it defaults to Dynamic mode, which in my opinion looks HORRIBLE!!! Don't judge this set too much by how it looks in the store, it looks waaay better in person.
Suggested Picture settings
Picture mode: Standard
Usage: What I like for normal Cable/HD viewing. Provides extra "pop", and 3D-ish look but clearly over saturated.
Contrast 97
Brightness 48
Sharp 0
Color 49
Tint 46/54
Detailed Settings
Black Adj off
Dyn Contrast Low (Adds the "pop" many people are looking for)
LED Control Auto (Sometimes turn down to medium at night)
Gamma 0
White Bal -4
Flesh Tone -3
Edge Ehancement off
xvYCC off
Picture Options
Color Tone Normal
Size Just Scan
Digital NR Auto
DNIe Off
HDMI Black Lvl Normal * See notes below
Film Mode Auto
Blue Only Mode off
Color Gamut sRGB
Picture mode Movie
Usage: Movies, Blu Ray playback. Generally, the most accurate mode
Contrast 100
Brightness 47
Sharp 0
Color 49
Tint 50/50
Detailed Settings
Black Adj off
Dyn Contrast off
LED Control Medium
Gamma -3
White Bal 0
Flesh Tone 0
Edge Ehancement off
xvYCC off
Picture Options
Color Tone Warm 2
Size Just Scan
Digital NR Auto
DNIe off
HDMI Black Lvl Normal * See notes below
Film Mode Auto
Blue Only Mode off
Color Gamut sRGB minimize
Nice set but not without issues., June 25, 2008
We recently purchased a new townhome and I spent a large amount of time researching TVs for our living room's home theater set-up. After much deliberation, I purchased this Samsung 61" A750 DLP. After 3 months of daily usage, we have been very happy with the TV, but there are some issues to be aware of.
Pros:
- Overall picture ...read full review
We recently purchased a new townhome and I spent a large amount of time researching TVs for our living room's home theater set-up. After much deliberation, I purchased this Samsung 61" A750 DLP. After 3 months of daily usage, we have been very happy with the TV, but there are some issues to be aware of.
Pros:
- Overall picture quality for HD sources (cable or Blu-ray disc) is excellent. The set has life-like colors and a bright picture. Blacks are very dark, even though it only has a 10,000:1 Contrast Ratio. My bedroom set has 30,000:1 CR (a Panasonic PZ85U Plasma), and this Samsung looks almost as good as that for blacks. Keep in mind that black levels are very important as they also affect how vibrant other colors appear.
- The set is very sleek. I really like how thin the bezel is around the set. This isn't your father's projection TV. The Comcast Cable installer actually thought it was a plasma set.
- The large screen size makes for a fantastic home theater experience at our viewing distance of 12 feet. I haven't been to a movie theater in a while as this set brings the theater to you. The large size is especially great for watching sports and movies. After watching TV on this set, I complain about the 42" set in my bedroom because it looks small. And the price for this much screen makes for an excellent value.
- Firmware can be easily updated through the USB slot.
- Unlike past DLPs, there is no bulb to replace.
- Unlike LCDs, no motion blur at all for sports (and I watch a lot of sports).
- Unlike plasmas, the energy consumption is very low. This set does not run hot at all.
Cons:
- All rear projection TVs are subject to something called Silk Screen Effect (due to the screen material used). Think of it as someone holding up a silk screen or clear panty hose up against the screen, and trying to watch TV through it. While it can be downplayed by lowering the contrast ratio, it cannot be eliminated. This set has a fair amount of Silk Screen Effect, generally only noticeable when watching a bright scene. A lot of people only notice it when watching all white events, such as hockey or skiing. But I notice it sometimes in other colors as well, and it's annoying when I do. It detracts from the "3D" experience that you get when watching a high-end plasma. My wife has not noticed it at all though, so maybe I'm just being picky.
- Check out the owners thread for this set on AVS Forums. This model has pretty big geometry problems. Again, pretty much every set has it, but the seriousness varies from set to set. Basically the casing used to house the TV is very thin and flimsy, and the outside borders are not always straight. For example, my set has a dip in the top middle of the screen, and a rise in the bottom middle of the screen. Pull up a linear grid from the service menu and you will be able to see just how bad the bowing is. Luckily for me, I never notice the bowing when I watch something. But it can be seen if you are looking directly at the bowing. I also have serious bowing on the side black bars when I watch 4:3 standard definition content (looks like an hourglass shape). I do not watch much SD content so it doesn't bother me that much. Again, check out AVS Forums and you will see a lot of people have returned or exchanged this set due to bowing problems.
- Sound quality is pretty poor. I hooked up a 5.1 surround system and never expect to use the internal speakers again. Make sure you invest in a surround package if you buy this TV.
- Standard definition content looks terrible. Trying to watch "Seinfeld" re-runs on TBS or an SD baseball game is not enjoyable at all.
Overall, mainly due to Silk Screen Effect, I would say I prefer the picture of my Panasonic PZ85U plasma over this Samsung A750. But a 60"+ plasma is very expensive and that is why I am happy with my Samsung purchase. You get 90% of a high-end plasma's picture quality, at a much lower price. If you do decide to buy this TV, you may want to get it at a local store though instead of online. Due to the bowing issue, you may need to exchange it once or twice before getting a set you can be happy with. minimize
HL61A750 My Experience, May 9, 2008
Almost bought the HLT series from Samsung when I read that it was being replaced by this model. Several issues were addressed, one concerning a halo effect that effected some of the sets, which Samsung later had a fix for. When shopping, went to BB and CC to compare this set with larger screen lcd, plasmas and dlp models. Chose this over other...read full review
Almost bought the HLT series from Samsung when I read that it was being replaced by this model. Several issues were addressed, one concerning a halo effect that effected some of the sets, which Samsung later had a fix for. When shopping, went to BB and CC to compare this set with larger screen lcd, plasmas and dlp models. Chose this over other brands of dlp because there is no bulb to replace in the Samsung (led light source). For the same quality picture I found that the plasmas and lcd sets were far more expensive in this screen size range.
Ordered from Amazon, was delivered, unboxed, and hooked up to make sure everything was fine, by the trucking co. Very satisfied with their white glove delivery. In fact, it was better than I expected.
The picture on this set is much better at home than what you see in well-lit stores. The contrast, color and resolution are amazing. Even up close the picture is excellent. Replaced a Toshiba 60" (HD) that was about six years old. Major improvement in HD. The screen on this has no reflective glare as the older one did. Always had a reflection of something in the screen, a light, window... Have directv, so was able to use the HDMI hook up, that replaced the 3 wire component, and two wire audio to the set--now just one. The sound from the set is ample,(it has SRS) however, I hooked it up to surround which gives the viewing experience a lot more kick!
I highly recommend this set on my personal satisfaction, and Amazon for their excellent customer service and the delivery.
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Great TV, April 27, 2008
I ordered this last Sunday. It shipped out Monday from Reno and got to LAX by Tuesday. I called CEVA on Wednesday and had it delivered Friday morning. I was apprehensive of the bowing issues I've been reading about on avsforum.com, but I do not see any bowing on mine. Also, mine came with the updated firmware already installed (it was manufactured ...read full review
I ordered this last Sunday. It shipped out Monday from Reno and got to LAX by Tuesday. I called CEVA on Wednesday and had it delivered Friday morning. I was apprehensive of the bowing issues I've been reading about on avsforum.com, but I do not see any bowing on mine. Also, mine came with the updated firmware already installed (it was manufactured 3/31/08). The picture is fantastic -- it's replacing a 5 year old Samsung HLM507W. I have DirecTV and a PS3 feeding it. The SD picture is also much, much better than my old set. The price dropped 3 times since I ordered it, and I was able to get a refund for the price difference already because of Amazon's 30-day price guarantee. Couldn't be happier with it. minimize
Lost Image in 1 day, June 30, 2008
Ordered from Amazon LLC. Delivered in 3 days. Super fast. But the unit stopped working on the 2nd day -- only after 3.5 hours of usage. Lost image in the middle of a show. Unit started to shut down and re-start by itself. After a few tries, all 3 indicators on the front panel began to blink. According to the manual, this means: "LED defect. Call a ...read full review
Ordered from Amazon LLC. Delivered in 3 days. Super fast. But the unit stopped working on the 2nd day -- only after 3.5 hours of usage. Lost image in the middle of a show. Unit started to shut down and re-start by itself. After a few tries, all 3 indicators on the front panel began to blink. According to the manual, this means: "LED defect. Call a certified technician." I called Amazon and was told that a technician would call me in 24 hours to schedule a visit and "we will see from there." FRUSTRATED!!!!
UPDATE: July 2, 2008
Amazon first suggested to contact 1-800-SAMSUNG to see if the manufacturer can arrange for a quick refund or exchange. Called, but was told by a Samsung representative that the manufacturer does not arrange for exchange or refund unless the problem is not fixable or has been repeated for numeral times. Thus, the best Samsung can do at the moment is to have a technician come over to fix it.
But I have lost confidence in DLP TVs. So I decide to go with an LCD, even though that means, for the same price, I need to reduce the size from 61' to 52'. I need a reliable unit.
I then called Amazon and asked for a straightforward refund. The representative was very nice. She said she would send a request to the courier, who would then call me to arrange a time for pick up. I wanted to "swap" for an LCD TV, but was told they cannot do that, the two orders have to be processed separately. The TV will be sent back to the warehouse. Upon verification of the defect, a full refund will be issued to my credit card. The total time for the refund will take around 2-4 weeks.
I am now waiting for my money back so I can purchase a new TV. I do not want to pay 20% interest to the credit card company. Will write another update when I receive the refund.
UPDATE: July 9, 2008
The delivery picked up the unit today. Now, I am officially waiting for the refund from Amazon.
The pickup people are not as professional as the ones who delivered the TV. I guess we receive "white glove" delivery for our purchase, but not necessarily "white glove" pickup for returns. But anyway, as long as I can get my money back, I am happy with it.
OTHER USERS' COMMENTS
A couple of friends commented to this message that a quick firmware upgrade should fix the problem. But I did some research on the web, and am not so sure it will do the trick. First, those people who reported having upgraded their firmware seemed to have a different problem from mine. That is, their DLPs occassionally turned on and off automatically. But my unit does not even start from the beginning. Second, I asked 1-800SAMSUNG regarding firmware upgrage. The representative said it probably wouldn't fix my problem. Sure, he's a telephone representative, not a certified technician. But, since I have decided to return the unit, I'd better not touch it. What if Amazon/Samsung later says that it is me who damaged the unit during the process of firmware upgrade? After all, Samsung advised to wait for a "certified technician". If I insist on doing some self-help, I bear my own risks, right? I am sure for people who has passed their 30-day return period, a quick firmware upgrade is definitely something to try. But for me, I rather return it for a full refund.
In any event, thanks for those friends who commented on this message. Really appreciated.
July 24, 2008 UPDATE:
Full refund received with no hassle. No shipping. No repackaging fee. Amazon's services are still top notch. Strongly recommended if anyone is buying expensive electronics on the web. minimize
