Samsung Plasma PN51E550 Firmware/Luminance - Blu-ray Forum

Beaucamper · 06-12-2014, 07:02 AM

I've had much praise for my Samsung Plasma PN51E550 on this forum.
I hope I can still praise it when this problem is solved.

I noticed the picture getting dull and I did a new settings from my Disney WoW disk. I could no longer get enough of the white point to bring it back. This unit has never shown a pure white or a high enough level to make it clip. But the picture itself has had good white and specular highlights.

I worried about this when I bought it, but I took the word of Samsung that these panels can have a half-life of 60,000 hours and this unit is only year and a half old. I watch it about three hours a day. Surely even using it at 100% cell light, which is necessary to get a nominally 'calibrated' picture would take years to wear it down. The 100% cell setting is recommended for this model on CNET. Very disturbing that it had become less than accurate and it had already lost it's sparkle.

I have a three-year service contract, but how could I convince them that just because I no longer like the picture that I should get a new set? For me 'unwatchable' means it isn't accurate to the source. A terrible outcome because I'm retired on a low income and I can't afford a replacement.

I looked for new Firmware in the faint hope that it would help in some way.
I found it. From March 2014. It did help.

There is headroom we can't access through the menu and the Cell Light can be made brighter. I get beautiful blacks, great shadow detail, and the spectral highlights are better than ever. It is bright enough that I'm able to back off on the Cell Light. It looks amazingly three dimensional. I start to think of the Darbee enhancer, it is so impressive. I went deep into the advanced level on the WoW disc to get all I could from it, and when the firmware kicked in, it was magic.

Except for one thing. It won't stay bright.
For days I've had it looking amazing only to have it fade back to the low contrast picture. Sometimes it goes down in half an hour. Or it will last for many hours and not fade at all. It's like a crazy dream. I start to think I've imagined it when it's back at the old level.

I need to find out what component is causing this, so I can be sure the repair tech will fix it, and I'll be covered by my service contract.

It starts up in two steps. Picture comes on, goes black, comes up again. This may be normal--but it may be a clue.
I've described this problem on the CNET Forum which has Samsung techs reading it.

Anyone else out there had a drop in luminance with a Samsung Plasma?

If you have a Samsung 550 series, have you loaded the new firmware?

06-12-2014, 07:02 AM	#1
Beaucamper Member Member since:Jul 2009 Location:Santa Cruz CA Blu-ray collection:36 Blu-ray reviews:1	Samsung Plasma PN51E550 Firmware/Luminance I've had much praise for my Samsung Plasma PN51E550 on this forum. I hope I can still praise it when this problem is solved. I noticed the picture getting dull and I did a new settings from my Disney WoW disk. I could no longer get enough of the white point to bring it back. This unit has never shown a pure white or a high enough level to make it clip. But the picture itself has had good white and specular highlights. I worried about this when I bought it, but I took the word of Samsung that these panels can have a half-life of 60,000 hours and this unit is only year and a half old. I watch it about three hours a day. Surely even using it at 100% cell light, which is necessary to get a nominally 'calibrated' picture would take years to wear it down. The 100% cell setting is recommended for this model on CNET. Very disturbing that it had become less than accurate and it had already lost it's sparkle. I have a three-year service contract, but how could I convince them that just because I no longer like the picture that I should get a new set? For me 'unwatchable' means it isn't accurate to the source. A terrible outcome because I'm retired on a low income and I can't afford a replacement. I looked for new Firmware in the faint hope that it would help in some way. I found it. From March 2014. It did help. There is headroom we can't access through the menu and the Cell Light can be made brighter. I get beautiful blacks, great shadow detail, and the spectral highlights are better than ever. It is bright enough that I'm able to back off on the Cell Light. It looks amazingly three dimensional. I start to think of the Darbee enhancer, it is so impressive. I went deep into the advanced level on the WoW disc to get all I could from it, and when the firmware kicked in, it was magic. Except for one thing. It won't stay bright. For days I've had it looking amazing only to have it fade back to the low contrast picture. Sometimes it goes down in half an hour. Or it will last for many hours and not fade at all. It's like a crazy dream. I start to think I've imagined it when it's back at the old level. I need to find out what component is causing this, so I can be sure the repair tech will fix it, and I'll be covered by my service contract. It starts up in two steps. Picture comes on, goes black, comes up again. This may be normal--but it may be a clue. I've described this problem on the CNET Forum which has Samsung techs reading it. Anyone else out there had a drop in luminance with a Samsung Plasma? If you have a Samsung 550 series, have you loaded the new firmware?

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