Samsung Projection TV Owners Please Read

[cmaglio]

I owned a Samsung HCJ552W (16:9 55" Rear Projection) and would get these annoying grey/silver bars on the sides of the screen when viewing 4:3 content in "normal" display mode. They were there to occupy the unused screen real estate when viewing 4:3 content. I could not find any way to change these bars to black to make it less noticeable. Is this normal on samsung tvs? I am looking to buy a newer Samsung DLP model and would like to know if these grey bars are still present in the new models or if they have since changed it to black or a user selectable color. I certainly dont want to end up with these annoying grey bars again. If someone with a Samsung 16:9 projection could respond and let me know about this it would be much appreciated, Thanks!

-Chris

[edtyct]

Chris,

Grey was all the rage after the first wave of black, since it was least likely to show uneven burn on your screen than black was (and probably struck some manufacturers as more elegant). But since that problem of uneven screen wear is native only to CRT sets, the grey had little rationale on a DLP. I don't know whether Samsung has switched to black, and it's unlikely that it will have given users the choice of grey or black (any other color would be wildly inappropriate). However, you should also be aware that on high definition channels, grey bars often accompany 4:3 material for the reason given. You couldn't eliminate them even if you had a selectable black for the set's own bottoms and sides, since they emanate from the content provider.

[N. Abstentia]

If you watch 4:3 programs on a 16:9 TV, the bars are going to be there no matter what brand of TV it is. Why not watch 4:3 stuff in 16:9 'stretched' mode? This will eliminate the bars.

[cmaglio]

I really dont mind the bars, just as long as they are black. I've seen some 16:9 TVs that have the black bars instead of the grey bars, I find them less distracting when watching 4:3 content. And as far as watching the 4:3 TV in stretched mode... it kind of sucks to watch a Miss America contest or something with 350lb ladies, everything looks just too wrong :(

If the black bars happen to come from a channel, I can deal with that for the time being... but I just would like to know if Samsung switched to built in black bars on their DLP sets.

[edtyct]

Do all of your 4:3 stretch modes turn every woman into Totie Fields. You should have one that leaves the center alone, stretching only the sides, as gracefully as possible. I've found this option to work acceptly, at least on noncritical material. The stretch that's meant for letterbox movies or anamorphic films, however, is an obvious no-no. But I assume that you know these things after all your time with the first Samsung.

Ed

[cmaglio]

Well, to be honest with you, I end up watching 4:3 content in some sort of stretch mode all of the time because I find the grey bars to be so distracting in normal mode. But if I had the choice on my next TV, I would like to watch some shows in normal mode with black bars instead of watching that distortion all of the time. The panorma mode (the one that doesnt stretch the center) is ok but it does make for some annoying distortion on certain content (sports for example).

[edtyct]

Okay, I read "Samsung," and I automatically thought DLP without looking any more closely. But I just noticed the model number of your TV and now realize that it's a CRT, which most likely means that it had the grey bars to guard against uneven screen wear. The newer DLPs would have no good reason to substitute grey for black, so black's probably what you'll get, unless a particular HD station uses grey as a courtesy to those people still watching on a CRT. Remember, however, that unless you have acquired brand loyalty at this point, other companies make good DLPs as well, and for one reason or another, price and quality vary a bit.

Ed

[cmaglio]

I was actually looking at Samsung again because I found some refurbished sets with a manufacturer warranty for pretty cheap, not because I love my Samsung. I have had no problems or regrets with the Samsung CRT, but it is more of a cost issue. I'll go down to the local brick and mortar stores to check out the quality of the DLPs before settling on a brand though...