The Perfect Vision
Samsung HL-T6189S Additional Notes and Technical Ratings
Under the Hood | Adjustment Notes | Test Discs | Technical Ratings
Under the Hood
Of course, the big news for this set is its LED illumination. Among the benefits of this new technology is that it eliminates the need for a color wheel in a single-chip DLP RPTV. All single-chip DLP sets display the image that corresponds to each primary color—red, green, and blue—sequentially, one after the other.
In conventional sets, this is accomplished using a so-called color wheel, which is divided into wedges that hold red, green, and blue filters. As the wheel spins, the filters are inserted one after another into the light path (white light from a conventional lamp), sending red, green, or blue light to the DMD (Digital Micromirror Device), which forms the image for that color.
In the HL-T6189S, there is one red, one green, and one blue LED instead of a conventional lamp. Each LED is lit in sequence as the DMD forms the image for each color. Thanks to the speed with which LEDs can be turned on and off, this sequencing can be done much faster than the sequencing from a color wheel, which means that the “rainbow” effect is greatly reduced or eliminated, even for those who are sensitive to it.
A feature called Anynet+ is Samsung’s implementation of HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control), a standardized protocol for sending control messages via the HDMI connection. HDMI-CEC allows multiple devices connected with HDMI cables to be controlled in an integrated manner from one remote, but in the case of the HL-T6189S, this feature only works with other Samsung Anynet+ products.
As I was working on this set, I discovered that it could not accept 1080p/24 from a Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray player, which is very strange. It did accept 1080p/24 from a Pioneer BDP-94HD. According to my Samsung tech contact, it’s a problem with the EDID (Extended Display Identification Data), a code that allows HDMI devices to identify themselves and their capabilities. The problem can be fixed with a special firmware update that requires a computer and special software, but it’s not worth doing since 1080p/24 is displayed at 60Hz anyway. My review unit was no doubt an early production sample; most sets should not have this problem.
In addition to the 89 series, LED illumination is also available in the 87 series; for example, the HL-T6187S is the same size as the HL-T6189S and lists for $100 less. What do you get for that extra $100? HDMI 1.3, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, and single-tuner PIP (the inset picture can be from any external source). The 87 series has HDMI 1.1, USB 1.1, no Bluetooth, and no single-tuner PIP. Only you can decide if the extra $100 is worth it; I don’t think $100 either way matters that much when you’re in the $3000 range anyway.
Adjustment Notes
The set exhibited severe vertical hot-spotting, resulting in a bright band across most of the screen's width that follows the viewer at different heights. This is somewhat less evident on normal program material, but it can still be seen in many cases. Ringing was always evident on crosshatch test patterns, even with sharpness turned all the way down. In the Movie picture mode, all basic picture controls were close to correct.
Setting Size to Just Scale invokes 1:1 pixel mapping, but the optical engine cropped more than 30 pixels from the sides, 28 from the top, and 19 from the bottom. This can be evened out with the Position control; I adjusted it to crop 23 pixels from the top and bottom.
Color temp preset Warm2 was closest to correct, but it still tended toward blue. Oddly, the gamma control seemed to jump around rather than increasing or decreasing as the control was moved up or down; I settled on a value of -3 as my fave.
Test Discs
Starting with the HQV Benchmark HD DVD, the video resolution loss test was solid as a rock, and there were no visible jaggies. In the film resolution loss test, however, there was lots of flickering in the vertical bursts, and some detail was lost in the pan across the bleachers.
On Microsoft engineer Stacey Spears’ test HD DVD, there was obvious shimmering in the sailing ship’s curving yellow trim and jaggies on moving diagonals such as the edge of the hockey safety glass. There was no moiré in the screen-door shots, however. The set’s processor never picked up 3:2 pulldown at 1080i.
On the HQV Benchmark DVD, detail looked fine, though jaggies were moderate. The set’s digital noise reduction was relatively effective—it softened the picture a bit, but not badly. It picked up 3:2 pulldown at 480i almost instantaneously, though there was still some shimmering in the bleachers.
Turning to the pan across a long staircase that starts Chapter 8 of the Mission: Impossible III HD DVD, the moiré distortion was pretty bad. However, the shadow detail in the catacombs was quite good, at least with Gamma set to –3.
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