Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Review Samsung HL-S5687W 56-Inch 1080p DLP HDTV


Get the sharpest and clearest images possible from HD and standard TV with with the 56-inch Samsung HL-S5687W DLP television, which features a full progressive HD 1920 x 1080-pixel reslution digital format converter for all inputs (and true 1920 x 1080p picture from via HDMI). A contrast ratio of up to 10000:1 captures blacker blacks, crisper whites and images that burst into life. And the high-speed of the DLP chip, with millions of tiny mirrors that switch on and off over 15,000 times per second, delivers a precise, razor-sharp picture. It has a built-in analog/digital (NTSC/ATSC) tuner, offers both HDMI and component video connections, . It also features a smaller footpring than other high-definition TVs (with a "hidden speaker" thin bezel), fitting where many other large-screen HDTVs won't.
Samsung's DNIe™
Samsung's DNIe™ (click for demo) technology offers digital perfection in naturally presented, crystal-clear images that uncover even the most minute detail.

Motion Optimizer: The visual data are automatically broken down into signal and noise and adjusted through a combined spatial/temporal process to eliminate noise and blurring without the slightest damage to the original signal. This guarantees the viewer a picture of astounding sharpness, whether the scene is still or moving.

Contrast Enhancer: DNIe has done away with the unwanted side-effects that conventional contrast enhancement can produce, such as noise boost-up and flicker by developing an algorithm that recognizes over 1 million criteria for applying contrast. Its detail contrast enhancement technology can automatically analyze up to 70,000 local images within a frame, treating the viewer to a picture rich in contrast even in the tiniest details.

Color optimizer: For each scene the color optimizer calculates the saturation of red, green, and blue in the input signal and adjusts it to the shades that the human eye accepts as natural. Even a conventional process like white tone enhancement produces more striking results when when used with DNIe. The end result is a palette of vivid hues and pure white tones to satisfy the most discerning viewers eye.

Detail enhancer: Many viewers complain of the unnatural effect that conventional uniform detail enhancement produces by relying on artificial amplification of the input signal. In contrast, DNIe automatically analyzes the portion to be amplified, detecting and re-processing any noise or defect to bring the viewer a startlingly sharp and lifelike image.
DLP (which stands for Digital Light Processing) uses an optical semiconductor to recreate source material with a fidelity analog systems can't match. While other technologies lose a certain amount of light in transit, the microscopic mirrors in a DLP projection system bring more light from lamp to screen. It also features better color uniformity over time--no burn-in, screen aging or color-shifting possible. It's the leading display technology for products like small portable conference room projectors and professional venue entertainment systems.
This Samsung DLP television employs a Texas Instruments DLP chip that is comprised of millions of microscopic mirrors. The DLP chip is faster than any HDTV technology, with the mirrors switching on and off 15,000 times a second to deliver a razor-sharp picture for fast moving images. It also offers Samsung's Cinema Smooth Gen 7 1080p Light Engine, which creates a picture with no visible pixel structure for a captivating, theater-quality experience. You'll get up to a 10000:1 contrast ratio with outstanding colors and deep black levels.
The Samsung Digital Natural Image engine (DNIe) Video Enhancer refines all analog NTSC and wideband video inputs for an overall improvement in picture quality. DNIe improves contrast, white level, picture detail and incorporates digital noise reduction to improve lower quality video inputs. The 3-line digital comb filter constantly analyzes the three dimensions of picture height, picture width, and picture changes-over-time to dramatically reduce edge image artifacts while improving transition detail. Samsung's Cinema Smooth 3:2 pull-down film mode corrects for the artificial frames created when films are converted to DVDs. The result is a clearer image without the subtle motion artifacts caused by 24-to-30 frames per second video conversion.
Samsung's 2.6-inch color wheel spins at 14,400 rpm for smooth, fast motion video, and has five color segments for more accurate colors. It achieves film-like transitions without pixel breakup found in slower color wheel designs and slower switching LCD microdisplays. Air Bearing technology also makes it whisper quiet.
Samsung also worked closely with Microsoft to create a special Game Mode that optimizes image quality, sound and response time for more realistic video game play--with just a single touch of a button. The Game Mode enhances dark areas, sharpens the picture, speeds up the image processing response and enhances the sounds of your games.

REVIEW

I did pretty extensive legwork selecting a television. It was the first widescreen TV I've bought and was going into a new home, so I wanted it to be right. My experience was that I first had to narrow down which technology I wanted to buy. I found that rear projection TVs such as DLP or the Sony variation SXRD looked best to me -- Plasma and LCD were too "pixel"-y for me, and I appreciated rear projection's more film like look. You need to look for yourself at the local video store -- this part of the quest is a question of taste.

The short review of the television is that I found the high end Sony TVs to be best in class, and, after an hour or more of watching them side by side in several environments, could not discern any quality difference with the Samsung. I preferred the Samsung's styling, user control, remote design, and price. My online research indicates that the Samsung is highly configurable to industry standards by a qualified "tweaker". I have also read good things about Samsung's customer service and appreciated that there were no specific issues raised by online enthusiasts, in contrast to several issues such as a green blob discussed repeatedly in regard to the Sony SXRDs. I have had no issue at all with mine.

I'm very satisfied with the television and highly satisfied with Amazon's price, delivery and price drop policy.

The TV is very responsive to quality input -- standard def is OK, but the better the signal, the happier you'll be. I'm looking at DishNetwork satellite, upscaled DVD, and Hires DivX. These 1080i sources are great, and the TV is still limited by signal -- I've seen Bluray demo material on this unit and its yet another step up.

I found sports and high action scenes to look very good -- no rainbows that I can see. I felt that the image was sharper and color range better than other manufacturers' units, except for Sony's XBR series. The Sony I found to be identical in quality, with color and saturation differences that were subject to change based on settings and pretty subjective as to "best".

I feel like I got a bargain compared to the Sony XBR, without having to give up anything. This unit lacks cablecard slots and PIP capability, but my satellite service makes both of these a non-issue. They are available in another unit from Samsung which has identical picture quality. The Amazon price was quite a bit less than any other seller I could find.

Totally positive experience so far -- I've had the unit for about six weeks as of this writing.