So I picked up my first big screen TV ever :)

[purbeast0]

so this past weekend i did it. i purchased my first big screen! i have always been into video and graphics and that stuff, and the summer after my sophomore year in college i worked at best buy and purchased alot of HT stuff, including a 27" wega. that was the perfect size since i would be moving in/out dorms for a few more years. from that day i always wanted a big screen, and now that i am gradated (may 2004) and working fulltime now, i decided to get one 🙂.

so i got one. i went with the 50" Samsung DLP HL-P5063W tv. this thing is awesome! i love it! i actually got a great deal on it at a circuit city in virginia, right near where my gf works, and since they didnt have any in their store, i picked it up at one in maryland right near where i live, the following morning. it was 9:45 on friday night when i went to purchase it, and i picked it up at noon the following day when i had access to my brothers pickup truck.

so i went to pick it up, and man this thing is light! i cant believe this 50" tv weights less than my 27" tv. that is just crazy. it was a piece of cake getting this thing down the stairs into my basement.

now here is where i would like some advice. right now, i have not adjusted any of the settings on the tv. the picture is great, and i was watching movies in HD as well as playing xbox games in 480p, and i was so impressed with the picture. not to mention, 16:9 movies looks just outstanding on this tv since it leaves no border anywhere on the tv.

i hear all the HT guys talk about calibrating the tv's to make the picture look the best possible. what exactly is this? how do i calibrate i and get it to look the best possible? i am new to this whole projection thing so i am not sure exactly what it means. i was assuming it was just messing around with the basic tv settings until it suits my needs. but is there more to it? thanks!

 

[bluehorizon]

Each of yours posts have more and more information about your "girlfriend". I think eventually I'll have her entire daily schedule, at which point I'll steal her away 🙂

 

[Amused]

http://www.imagingscience.com/

The link above is what calibrating is all about.

This is the guy I had do all my sets.

http://66.201.107.3/services.html

Gregg Loewen is considered one of the best in the business and is highly regarded on avsforum.com. He makes regular tours around the country and can probably make it to your place by the time your break-in period is over.

Trust me on this. ISF calibrating can make a sh!tty set look good. A good set look great. And a great set will simply take your breath away. I cannot recommend having this done enough.

At first, the prices look steep... until you see the results. Quite honestly, it was the best money I ever spent in my AV systems.

 

[maziwanka]

Originally posted by: bluehorizon
Each of yours posts have more and more information about your "girlfriend". I think eventually I'll have her entire daily schedule, at which point I'll steal her away 🙂

hahahahahhah

but im interested in purbeast's question as well. my parents have had their hdtv for a while now but it still needs calibration (the picture tends to "bend" towards the corners of the screen)....

 

[Aharami]

dunno how to calibrate...but congrats! now get a kick-ass surround sound system along with it

 

[Kishan]

OP-your TV has a special function where it upconverts 480p signals to 720P. Get the Microsoft HD Pack for your XBox.
Goodluck,
Kishan

 

[irwincur]

This is a real unique thread. You think you could tailor it to the different forums you post it in.

Just saw this over at AVSforum.

 

[Tiamat]

Very nice TV. Congrats! I dont own one *yet* but I am really digging the really small border around the picture.

 

[davew0670]

avia home theater guide


this does pretty well for calibrating without getting into the service menu on your tv.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: irwincur
This is a real unique thread. You think you could tailor it to the different forums you post it in.

Just saw this over at AVSforum.

so i'm not allowed to post a queston on 2 different forums? 😕

sorry if it offended you :roll:

and KPSHAH316, i do have the HD pack alread for my xbox. does this 'upconversion' thing come as an option i can turn on and off? so far i believe its just running in 480p, but i was just assuming that. i have heard however when upconverting, it causes a little lag in the controls, which i would rather not have and just run it in 480p (although i would still check out the upconversion just to see how it looks 🙂)

i also already have a surround system that is pretty kick ass, however i need to re-arrange my basement when my tv is, so that the front speakers can fit next to my tv lol 😛. but i will probably be doing that this weekend.

thanks for the link about calibrating, ill check it out in a bit.

 

[Kishan]

Originally posted by: purbeast0


and KPSHAH316, i do have the HD pack alread for my xbox. does this 'upconversion' thing come as an option i can turn on and off? so far i believe its just running in 480p, but i was just assuming that. i have heard however when upconverting, it causes a little lag in the controls, which i would rather not have and just run it in 480p (although i would still check out the upconversion just to see how it looks 🙂)

i also already have a surround system that is pretty kick ass, however i need to re-arrange my basement when my tv is, so that the front speakers can fit next to my tv lol 😛. but i will probably be doing that this weekend.

thanks for the link about calibrating, ill check it out in a bit.

you shouldn't have any lag. Power on your Xbox without a game in it, and go into settings. Then go into video, and set it to 720P. Tell me how good it looks from there!
Kishan

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: KPSHAH316

Originally posted by: purbeast0


and KPSHAH316, i do have the HD pack alread for my xbox. does this 'upconversion' thing come as an option i can turn on and off? so far i believe its just running in 480p, but i was just assuming that. i have heard however when upconverting, it causes a little lag in the controls, which i would rather not have and just run it in 480p (although i would still check out the upconversion just to see how it looks 🙂)

i also already have a surround system that is pretty kick ass, however i need to re-arrange my basement when my tv is, so that the front speakers can fit next to my tv lol 😛. but i will probably be doing that this weekend.

thanks for the link about calibrating, ill check it out in a bit.

you shouldn't have any lag. Power on your Xbox without a game in it, and go into settings. Then go into video, and set it to 720P. Tell me how good it looks from there!
Kishan

yea i have that set to yes. on the settings of xbox, it just asks you if your TV is capable of 480p, 720p, and 1080i. i checked YES to all of those. however, each xbox game, on the back of it, says which resolution it can support up to. all of my games only go to 480p, however i heard a few games can be run in 720p although i am not sure which.

so i was assuming all my games are running in 480p, not this upconversion of 720p. but like i said, i have all options (480p, 720p, 1080i) clicked to yes since my TV supports all of them.

 

[Amused]

Your TV isn't capable of displaying 1080i. It can receive it, but it simply converts it to 720P

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Amused
Your TV isn't capable of displaying 1080i. It can receive it, but it simply converts it to 720P

ah okay, thanks. i was unaware of that, ill change my xbox settings when i get home 🙂

and i was wondering about the lag because of PS2 problems on the tv. i hear most ps2 games cannot support 480p even, and in order to display on the samsung tv it has to upconvert to 480p, and it takes a split second to do this conversion. i have read tons of threads about this problem on AV forums, and its something you can deal with, but in games with meters (like hot shots golf where you have the 3 click thing in order to actually hit the ball) it can REALLY throw you off.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Amused
Your TV isn't capable of displaying 1080i. It can receive it, but it simply converts it to 720P

ah okay, thanks. i was unaware of that, ill change my xbox settings when i get home 🙂

and i was wondering about the lag because of PS2 problems on the tv. i hear most ps2 games cannot support 480p even, and in order to display on the samsung tv it has to upconvert to 480p, and it takes a split second to do this conversion. i have read tons of threads about this problem on AV forums, and its something you can deal with, but in games with meters (like hot shots golf where you have the 3 click thing in order to actually hit the ball) it can REALLY throw you off.

I know the capabilities of your set, but I'm clueless when it comes to console games. I'm a PC bigot.

Sorry. 🙂

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Amused
Your TV isn't capable of displaying 1080i. It can receive it, but it simply converts it to 720P

ah okay, thanks. i was unaware of that, ill change my xbox settings when i get home 🙂

and i was wondering about the lag because of PS2 problems on the tv. i hear most ps2 games cannot support 480p even, and in order to display on the samsung tv it has to upconvert to 480p, and it takes a split second to do this conversion. i have read tons of threads about this problem on AV forums, and its something you can deal with, but in games with meters (like hot shots golf where you have the 3 click thing in order to actually hit the ball) it can REALLY throw you off.

I know the capabilities of your set, but I'm clueless when it comes to console games. I'm a PC bigot.

Sorry. 🙂

haha its okay 😛. i just saw on the specs for inputs it can take 1080i so i figured it could display it, but then i checked the resolution of it and yup, its only 720 🙂.

also, im assuming HDMI is better than component video, but does this mean i need to just get a DVD player that supports HDMI or something? probably shoulda looked into that before i purchased my TV 😛

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: purbeast0


also, im assuming HDMI is better than component video, but does this mean i need to just get a DVD player that supports HDMI or something? probably shoulda looked into that before i purchased my TV 😛

No, component will look just fine for DVD. But you may want to upgrade to a HD reciever and/or HDDVR in the future and having that input will be nice.

Whenever HD DVD comes out, that input will work for that, too. But for now, save it for your HD input/s.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Amused
Your TV isn't capable of displaying 1080i. It can receive it, but it simply converts it to 720P

ah okay, thanks. i was unaware of that, ill change my xbox settings when i get home 🙂

and i was wondering about the lag because of PS2 problems on the tv. i hear most ps2 games cannot support 480p even, and in order to display on the samsung tv it has to upconvert to 480p, and it takes a split second to do this conversion. i have read tons of threads about this problem on AV forums, and its something you can deal with, but in games with meters (like hot shots golf where you have the 3 click thing in order to actually hit the ball) it can REALLY throw you off.

I know the capabilities of your set, but I'm clueless when it comes to console games. I'm a PC bigot.

Sorry. 🙂

haha its okay 😛. i just saw on the specs for inputs it can take 1080i so i figured it could display it, but then i checked the resolution of it and yup, its only 720 🙂.

also, im assuming HDMI is better than component video, but does this mean i need to just get a DVD player that supports HDMI or something? probably shoulda looked into that before i purchased my TV 😛

HDMI is basically DVI, with the addition of audio connections. IIRC you can buy DVI to HDMI adapters.

And yes, it is better than component (digital connection). You won't see the difference in DVD, however.

Viper GTS

 

[Amused]

BTW, you may want to turn Progressive Scan off on your DVD player and allow the TV to do that for you. The Samsungs have much better line doublers than most DVD players.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Amused
Your TV isn't capable of displaying 1080i. It can receive it, but it simply converts it to 720P

ah okay, thanks. i was unaware of that, ill change my xbox settings when i get home 🙂

and i was wondering about the lag because of PS2 problems on the tv. i hear most ps2 games cannot support 480p even, and in order to display on the samsung tv it has to upconvert to 480p, and it takes a split second to do this conversion. i have read tons of threads about this problem on AV forums, and its something you can deal with, but in games with meters (like hot shots golf where you have the 3 click thing in order to actually hit the ball) it can REALLY throw you off.

I know the capabilities of your set, but I'm clueless when it comes to console games. I'm a PC bigot.

Sorry. 🙂

haha its okay 😛. i just saw on the specs for inputs it can take 1080i so i figured it could display it, but then i checked the resolution of it and yup, its only 720 🙂.

also, im assuming HDMI is better than component video, but does this mean i need to just get a DVD player that supports HDMI or something? probably shoulda looked into that before i purchased my TV 😛

HDMI is basically DVI, with the addition of audio connections. IIRC you can buy DVI to HDMI adapters.

And yes, it is better than component (digital connection). You won't see the difference in DVD, however.

Viper GTS

ooooh okay. well right now i just have my xbox hooked w/the HD pack. i also am using my xbox to play dvds. i am using DVDx to run movies on my xbox, and i heard that it doesn't support HD. however, i also found a patch for it that makes DVDx support progressive scan (yes, my xbox is modded). i watched Mean Girls last night on it, and I must say it looked great. im like 99% sure its running in progressive scan now (which i am assuming is HD?!?). so which resolution is it most likely playing my movies in?

P.S. Do you HT people recommend getting a seperate DVD player for movies, aside from the xbox? will i see a difference as far as picture quality?

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Amused
BTW, you may want to turn Progressive Scan off on your DVD player and allow the TV to do that for you. The Samsungs have much better line doublers than most DVD players.

Ooooh okay. now is this "progressive scan off/on switch" on the tv something i have to go change in the options?

heh i was too friggin excited to mess around with the manual when i got the tv running so i didn't look at it yet at ALL. do i need to make the tv do progressive scan on its own by going to an optoin and turning it on? or does it do it automatically.

thanks for all the answers 😛

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: purbeast0


P.S. Do you HT people recommend getting a seperate DVD player for movies, aside from the xbox? will i see a difference as far as picture quality?

DVDs only play in 480i or 480p depending on if your DVD player is set to do progressive scan, or not.

I would buy a dedicated DVD player. A moderately priced one should do the trick. And leave Progressive Scan off. As I said, your TV does a better job at that than most DVD players.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: purbeast0


P.S. Do you HT people recommend getting a seperate DVD player for movies, aside from the xbox? will i see a difference as far as picture quality?

DVDs only play in 480i or 480p depending on if your DVD player is set to do progressive scan, or not.

I would buy a dedicated DVD player. A moderately priced one should do the trick. And leave Progressive Scan off. As I said, your TV does a better job at that than most DVD players.

wow so DVDs aren't even in true high definition?!? i always assumed they were 🙂

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: purbeast0


P.S. Do you HT people recommend getting a seperate DVD player for movies, aside from the xbox? will i see a difference as far as picture quality?

DVDs only play in 480i or 480p depending on if your DVD player is set to do progressive scan, or not.

I would buy a dedicated DVD player. A moderately priced one should do the trick. And leave Progressive Scan off. As I said, your TV does a better job at that than most DVD players.

wow so DVDs aren't even in true high definition?!? i always assumed they were 🙂

Are you joking?

No. DVDs are not in HD. Soon, I hope. But not yet.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
ooooh okay. well right now i just have my xbox hooked w/the HD pack. i also am using my xbox to play dvds. i am using DVDx to run movies on my xbox, and i heard that it doesn't support HD. however, i also found a patch for it that makes DVDx support progressive scan (yes, my xbox is modded). i watched Mean Girls last night on it, and I must say it looked great. im like 99% sure its running in progressive scan now (which i am assuming is HD?!?). so which resolution is it most likely playing my movies in?

P.S. Do you HT people recommend getting a seperate DVD player for movies, aside from the xbox? will i see a difference as far as picture quality?

I very seriously doubt your XBOX is doing any kind of upconversion, at best it's doing 480P (unmodded it will only do 480i for DVD's).

If you can afford it, a HTPC can make a great DVD player. It requires a fairly decent machine (very CPU intensive), but you can output whatever resolution you want. kami is the resident guru on that, I haven't played around with one (yet...).

I currently use a two year old Panasonic player (yay for Faroudja) connected via component.

I would imagine that a good quality DVD player would produce better output than an XBOX, but I've never used an XBOX.

Viper GTS