Samsung UE40ES5500 / UE32ES5500 / UE46ES5500 - My Calibration Results

Hi,

I am only a recent member to this forum, but having had a fair bit of advice already, I thought I would give something back.

I bought the Samsung UE40ES5500 TV in the New Year and have been driving the Mrs mad playing around with all the settings for a few days.

Having eventually downloaded and created the free AVS HD 709 calibration DVD, I thought I would share the calibration results for this set (haven't found these widely available on the net and they would also presumably apply to the 32 and 46 inch models). I have these same settings applied to all my HDMI inputs.

The first thing to say is that ALL the advice out there is to immediately switch the TV to Movie mode when it arrives. However, in my opinion, this resulted in a far WORSE picture than standard UNTIL I calibrated the set (dunno whether a recent firmware update has altered how the Movie mode appears by default!).

Here are the results:

Picture Mode: Movie
Backlight: 13 (highly dependent on your surroundings)
Contrast: 85
Brightness: 40
Sharpness: 20
Colour: 53
Tint (G/R): 49/51

Screen Adjustment: Screen Fit

Advanced Settings:

Dynamic Contrast: Off
Black Tone: Off
Flesh Tone: 0
RGB Only Mode: Off
Colour Space: Auto
White Balance: Defaults
Gamma: -2
Motion Lighting: Off

Picture Options:

Colour Tone: Warm2
Digital Noise Filter: Off
MPEG Noise Filter: Off
HDMI Black Level: Low
File Mode: Auto2
LED Motion Plus: Off

A couple of things to mention:

The colour setting from the calibration actually came out at 48. However, I personally found this far too weak. Increasing it to 53 makes it a lot better.

I also tried to adjust the white balance (based on advice found on the net) by reducing both the blue offset and gain to about 12. But this resulted in weird colours, so I left alone!

The gamma one is also interesting - have seen some people recommend +3 when I have it at -2!

Just for good measure:

Sound Mode: Movie

Some of these options are "greyed out" depending on whether I'm using PS3 as source, or Sky HD.

I do have to say that this is an excellent TV and I don't think the out-of-the box standard picture is as bad as people make out. However, calibrating the set is definitely worth it - Frozen Planet on HD is absolutely out of this world!!

I was also panicking about the need for an expensive soundbar prior to purchase, but I have deemed it not necessary. The sound is a lot better than anticipated.

If there are any negatives then motion blur does happen during fast moving camera shots - but it doesn't really detract from the experience.

At the end of the day, the set was £449 with a 5-year warranty (and it's coming down in price) so you can't really go far wrong!

Comments

  • rick_694rick_694 Posts: 252
    Forum Member
    Nick, you are a sad b@stard!

    And as I'm looking at buying that very same TV, it was a very interesting and helpful post! So I guess I am a saddo as well! :D

    No replies previously to this thread!? Any comments now I've bumped it up again?
  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,330
    Forum Member
    rick_694 wrote: »
    Nick, you are a sad b@stard!

    And as I'm looking at buying that very same TV, it was a very interesting and helpful post! So I guess I am a saddo as well! :D

    No replies previously to this thread!? Any comments now I've bumped it up again?

    Only that settings are a personal thing, both to the set, the viewer and the environment it's used in.

    Sticking someone else's settings in is only changing them, not 'calibrating', and may be totally useless for your set and requirements.

    Tweak the set how YOU want it :D
  • iangradiangrad Posts: 813
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    OP fyi Calibration is when someone with access to the dealer service mode along with other test equipment sets all the panel drive parameters to achieve a different result to the settings that were decided on by the original factory . Its a very controversial subject with some users swearing it makes for a better picture -- others however laugh at it all and regard it as a total waste of money "kings clothes etc"

    You pays your money and all that !

    If you are using the normal customer menu then just set it up to your liking and room lighting conditions but try to store your settings in user and leave the movie mode at factory as its meant for darker rooms .
  • GroutyGrouty Posts: 33,943
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    Ive got a UE40EH5000 downstairs, and its settings are :-

    Picture Mode :- Movie
    Backlight :- 7
    Contrast :- 87
    Brightness :- 52
    Sharpness :- 50
    Colour :- 50

    Advanced Settings

    Dynamic contrast :- Low
    Black Tone :- Darker
    Colour Space :- Auto

    Picture Settings

    Colour Tone :- Warm 1
    Digital Noise Filter :- Auto
    MPEG Noise Filter :- Auto
    Film Mode :- Off
    Motion Plus :- Clear
    LED Motion Plus :- Off

    All other settings are at their defaults.

    It looks great on those settings, but if i use those settings on my UE40ES6710 ive got upstairs in the bedroom, then they look rubbish, as the Tv is at a different height, im watching it straight on from about 8/9 ft away (the Tv downstairs im watching from an angle, its higher up), the lightings all different etc..., so its settings are :-

    Picture Mode :- Standard
    Backlight :- 7
    Contrast :- 85
    Brightness :- 48
    Sharpness :- 25
    Colour :- 37

    Advanced Settings

    Dynamic Contrast :- Low
    Black Tone :- Darker
    Colour Space :- Auto

    Picture Options

    Colour Tone :- Warm 1
    Digital Noise Filter :- Auto
    MPEG Noise Filter :- Auto
    Film Mode :- Off
    Motion Plus :- Clear
    LED Motion Plus :- Off

    All other settings are at their defaults.

    It looks ok on those, but still not quite right (only had the Tv about 2 weeks), so when ive got a bit of time, im going to go through the big Samsung UES Tv Calibration Thread on AV Forums, as its full of user settings which im going to use as my starting point, and then tweak for my own personal preference (will even give yours a go to, so thanks). :)

    I also have the Sound Mode set to Movie, gives it more oomph, as the defaults all flat, no bass etc....

    Its mainly the SD picture i want right now though (as im watching the built in Freesat HD), as ive got the HD looking great, but the trouble is, the HD and SD settings have to be the same (apart from the screen size, which for HD ive got set to Screen Fit), so i need to get them both right together, where as on my old Sony Tv, the SD and HD settings were totally seperate, so when i got the HD spot on on that Tv, i could then change them all for the SD.
  • GroutyGrouty Posts: 33,943
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    Finally got around to sorting my SD picture settings out (as well as my HD, which ive now tweaked), and very happy with these i found, which ive tweaked for my own preference. :)

    Thanks to 10k on the AVSForums for these.

    Standard Definition Settings :-

    Picture Mode: Movie
    Backlight: 8
    Contrast: 87
    Brightness: 44
    Sharpness: 25
    Color: 50
    Tint: 50/50

    ADVANCED SETTINGS
    Dynamic Contrast: Off
    Black Tone: Off
    Flesh Tone: 0

    Color Space: Custom
    Red: 47, 0, 0
    Green: 5, 47. 5
    Blue: 0, 8, 45
    Yellow: 51, 48, 3
    Cyan: 3, 49, 54
    Magenta: 43, 6, 44

    White Balance: 27 25 21 41 50 30

    10p White Balance (interval, r, g, b)
    1 0 1 2
    2 0 0 0
    3 1 0 0
    4 1 0 0
    5 1 0 -1
    6 1 0 -1
    7 1, 1, 0
    8 0 0 0
    9 2 1 2
    10 0 0 3

    Gamma: +0

    PICTURE OPTIONS
    Color Tone: Warm2
    Noise Filters: Auto
    HDMI Black Level: Low (Greyed Out)
    Film Mode: Off
    Auto Motion Plus: Clear
    LED Motion Plus: Off

    Tweaked my HD settings a tad also as said, so they are now :-

    Picture Mode: Standard
    Backlight: 7
    Contrast: 85
    Brightness: 44
    Sharpness: 22
    Colour: 37

    Screen Adjustment: Screen Fit

    ADVANCED SETTINGS:
    Dynamic Contrast: Low
    Black Tone: Darker

    All other settings are left at their defaults.

    PICTURE OPTIONS:
    Colour Tone: Warm1
    Digital Noise Filter: Auto
    MPEG Noise Filter: Auto
    Film Mode: Off
    Motion Plus: Clear
    LED Motion Plus: Off

    All other settings again, are left at their defaults.

    These are the settings for watching the inbuilt Freesat HD, on my Samsung UE40ES6710 Smart Tv.
  • -GONZO--GONZO- Posts: 9,624
    Forum Member
    I've used AVS HD 709 on my UE40B7020 and calibrated for my Blu Rayay player.
    Recently got a Freesat + <FreeTime> box which using those same calibrated settings didn't look too good. Well HD was ok, but SD didn't look too great.
    Last night I downloaded AVS HD 709 MP4 version and put it on a USB stick., plugged into Freesat box and brought up the test patterns.
    The only problem I've had so far is finding a happy medium with settings that look good for both HD and SD channels.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 15
    Forum Member
    Your recent replies reminded me:

    After two months of using this TV, I've been tweaking the settings on almost a daily basis and have finally found something that works on all inputs, and regardless of SD or HD. Finally the Mrs can watch TV without the menu popping up!

    Under "standard", I found that whenever there was a dark scene, the screen dimmed far too much. This was most evident when there was small amounts of text on screen (e.g. credits) and it was very difficult to read.

    Under "movie", this does not happen at all. However, I have always felt that the picture had a washed-out appearance in this mode - this did not improve when turning brightness down and colour up.

    I have been using the "Natural" setting for a while and think this is a happy medium.

    So here are my latest settings:

    Picture Mode: Natural
    Backlight: 16
    Contrast: 75
    Brightness: 45
    Sharpness: 30
    Colour: 45
    Tint: 50/50

    Colour Tone: Warm2
    Digital Noise: Off
    MPEG Noise Filter: Off
    Film Mode: Auto2

    I have found these are the best regardless of ambient room lighting and also source. Note that under this mode, the "Advanced Settings" (inc Dynamic Contrast, White Balance and Gamma) menu is not available.

    There is a recent review of this TV on Amazon, which also suggests "Natural" may be the way to go.
  • GroutyGrouty Posts: 33,943
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    Theres supposed to be a workaround for the screen dimming on the Standard setting (may work on the others well), its got something to do with the brightness, if you put the brightness up to about 54 (or somewhere in the 50's), then it disables the screen dimming.

    Movie used to look washed out for me to, and white used to look yellowy, but using the settings im using above, it looks fine now, its probably due to setting a custom Colour Space, and setting up the 10p White Balance Settings etc... :)

    I may try and set a Natural picture mode setting, as it does seem to make the colours more vibrant etc...
  • GroutyGrouty Posts: 33,943
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    Just sorted a Natural picture settings, HD looks great, SD not so, and also on SD, you know how when you switch channels, the screen darkens when you switch, then a few seconds later it brightens (the dimming), i.e, if you switch to BBC News, the screen stays dim until the Press Red icon pops on in the top right corner, where it will brighten, on some channels, it will stay dim, so can't get a good Natural setting, as if i brighten the channels that stay dim, when i switch to a one that brightens, it goes way to bright, so its a no go for SD for me.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 215
    Forum Member
    Thanks for all the info in this thread, I've just bought this set today and wasn't that pleased with the out of the box picture settings.

    Will try some of these setting when I get a chance.

    Thanks again. :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 15
    Forum Member
    Still using the same "natural" settings after a month and am very satisfied I've found the best settings for this TV. Especially for HD sporting events.

    Sometimes have to switch to Movie when playing dark ps3 games so the screen doesn't dim too much, though.
  • dazn12dazn12 Posts: 6,910
    Forum Member
    Can anyone recommend settings for a UE32EH5300.

    I havent found any online as of yet.

    Thanks :)
  • GroutyGrouty Posts: 33,943
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    Could try the setting in this thread, or some from the AVSForums, or AVForums, as any models settings would be worth a try, as the Movie settings i use for my SD picture, were settings for the ES8000 :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 215
    Forum Member
    So I used some of the settings in this thread to set up the picture and with a few tweaks everything looks pretty decent, I do however have a problem.

    Is it just me or does this TV have seriously bad viewing angles? I mean sat right in front of the thing it looks great but move a couple of seats along on the sofa and the picture gets more and more washed out.

    This set has replaced a 37" LG that looked good/great from even the most extreme angles so I'm more than a little disappointed.

    Maybe I have something in the settings wrong thats causing my issue though, any ideas?
  • Chris FrostChris Frost Posts: 11,015
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    You might have the backlight too high. But if that's adjusted correctly then I'd look at the panel.

    It's an old article, but it'll start you off in the right direction for doing a bit of reading... LINK
  • GroutyGrouty Posts: 33,943
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    So I used some of the settings in this thread to set up the picture and with a few tweaks everything looks pretty decent, I do however have a problem.

    Is it just me or does this TV have seriously bad viewing angles? I mean sat right in front of the thing it looks great but move a couple of seats along on the sofa and the picture gets more and more washed out.

    This set has replaced a 37" LG that looked good/great from even the most extreme angles so I'm more than a little disappointed.

    Maybe I have something in the settings wrong thats causing my issue though, any ideas?

    Mine goes washed out if im not sat looking straight on, and around eye level, i think its the norm, as the article above shows unfortunately.
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