Samsung TS-160 issues will be resolved!

[ReesR]

The following post was placed by me on the avsforum today. There has been alot of interest lately in the TS-160. Seeing that I had the time I invested some to talk to someone who could do something about the problems I saw since my purchase of one.
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This afternoon I spoke with the Senior Manager for all Directv standard and high definition products for Samsung.

I provided him a list of 6 items which I felt needed immediate attention concerning the TS-160.

Namely they were:

1) Whenever you switch from DSS to OTA to a "no signal" channel the box will, from that point on not output any video or audio. Switching to any other channel (either DSS or OTA) makes no difference. It takes turning off the 160 and toggling the power to the unit before gaining access again. (I need to pull the power plug). I also shared from other folks here that the same situation occurs just channel surfing OTA.

2) Chroma (color) level is abnormally high on the component output.

3) Many have noticed (via the avsform), as well as I, that we have gotten a message that says "insert valid access card". I took the card out and re-inserted it and the problem went away. So far this problem (for me) has only occurred once. Obviously, unless this is a repeatable problem, this is the least of my concerns. But I wanted him to know about it.

4) TIVO users can not control the TS-160 because TIVO can't get the Infra-red (IR) codes to operate the TS-160.

5) Caller ID does not include name information even though I pay for that to be sent to all my phones. It only shows the number.

6) The guide gets unrequested add in channels. You set yourself up for the channels you want listed and the next day more get added that you did not specify.

I was told in no uncertain terms that ALL of these issues would be corrected in a timely manner.

When talking to him it because obvious to me that this guy understands totally the impact these issues would have on this product. He WILL have this corrected. Because of the nature about the receiver not outputting video or audio when changing channels OTA he suggested for the time being the receiver should be used primarily as a Directv receiver. But if you need to switch to OTA then be careful not to tune in a OTA channel which may not have enough signal to lock the digital channel properly. You have total control over this. For example, one station in Milwaukee only operates part time. The thing to do then is dont select that station when it is off the air. The same goes for stations far away or running low power which might not lock the signal in properly. Just avoid those stations for now.

What has been described as a "Red Push" problem is merely (in technical terms) a high chroma level problem. This will be resolved.

Caller ID with "NAME" will be added.

Access card messages, until researched, may be Directv related. It will be researched fully to avoid those messages in the future.

Channel add-ins may also be a combination of TS-160/Directv software. That will be researched and fixed as well.

Infrared codes will be shared with TIVO to allow all TIVO systems to control the TS-160.

So, now anyone reading this needs to do their part. Which is to recognize why you purchased this box in the first place and be patient to get these resolutions to you. For me, I told them I will wait til I get the fixes. That answer convinced this director of engineering to go forward with this and do so quickly. But you need to be reasonable with your time frame expectations. We are not only dealing with Samsung but Directv, TIVO, companys involved with guide info etc and phone company issues with caller id. But, for me I will stick by Samsung. The feature set is too good to ignore nor give up.

In summary, I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to talk directly with the guy who is in charge of the engineering which created the TS-160. He was attentive, concerned and responsive. I think with people like that on our side, we need to give him support by not coming up with rash decisions on our part and to stick with the reason why you got this product in the first place. It WILL be a win-win scenario.

Oh, I expect people to react to this post in a professional manner. I realize there may be some who would want to pan this product just to validate their switch to another one. Keep it positive gang.

Regards



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Rees Roberts
Racine, WI
reesr@wi.net

HDTV Receiver:  Sony KD-34XBR2 16X9
Bi-directional AntennaCraft VHF Yagi Model #2260P
+
2 Winegard PR9022 UHF yagi's pointing N & S
Antennas at about 30 feet
Samsung SIR-TS160 HD Directv receiver

[StarvingForHDTV]

Good job Rees,

Hopefully they will correct those issues in a timely manner for you.  I agree it is a nice box for the price.  If the issues did not exist, or they were corrected, this STB would be nearly impossible to beat IMHO.  

On the other hand, I am looking for a STB which doesn't have "issues" at the start.  So far the discussions I have read at the AVS forum concerning the Sony SAT-HD200 have been positive without major problems in the box design mentioned.  Unless I missed something.  That being the case, I went ahead and ordered the Zenith HD-SAT520, which from what I understand is a clone of the Sony STB (or more correctly the Sony is a clone of the Zenith).  The price is $100 less though.  I don't need the output of S-Video to record with while I am watching HD material.  I also have a phone which announces Caller ID information audibly vs. visually, so on screen Caller ID is not a feature I need at this point in time.

I hope they fix the problems with the Samsung shortly for you and others.  I do like the box you have, but I'm not willing to wait for fixes.  I have been waiting too long the way it is.  That's just me though.

Starving

[StarvingForHDTV]

Actually thanks to the AVS forum I found the Sony for $699 in stock, so I ordered that instead of the Zenith.  I cancelled my order on the Zenith for the same price, but not in stock at the moment.

It looks like I won't be "Starving" much longer.

I will be interested in how the Samsung plays out though.  Maybe some day I will get that box as well.

Starving

[mike jacobi]

Ialso talked to the same person and he told me that they will replace any ts-160 where the red is to vivid and any defect . He also promised within two months to have full instructions on how to integrate TIVO with thjis box and put two pages on the games and how to play them.
I really after two weeks like the box. I have a 40 inch sony 4x3 tube and the choice of letterbox ,zoom, or standard is prime. The only way you  can tell it is modified in the zoom and standar4d mode is slight [1inch clipping and slight elongation. but it fills whole screen. due to my room dimension I could not buy a 14x3 aspect as icould nout have fit in my VOICE of the theater ALTECS on side of tv and had room. So I am Happy and even more happy that it was only $599 at Tweeterin Gurnee les $50 rebate

[davidrab]

I'm sure it's been said many times on the other boards, but thanks a bunch Rees for all your help!

I have had the "lock up", access card, and the "screen shift" with DVI problems, but I'm bit confused about this "red shift" problem. For the most part, I think the picture looks great and maybe don't have a TS-160 that is affected by the problem (it was limited to a series of serial #'s right?), but what would I look for to see if I did have this problem. I'm new to big screens and rear projection, so I'm happy with it, but would like to make sure that things are preforming the way they should.

Also, on a side note. Being new to these types of TV's,I see an interesting "problem" in my Hitachi 51GWX20b that somewhat bothers me. When I move my eye's quickley across the screen (especially on black and white material like the Beverly Hillbilles   there seems to be greenish yellow "streaks", for lack of a better work, on the screen. Not sure what is? I know, because a magazine told me  , that the Hitachi GWX, SWX, etc, line needs to be calibrated because the gray scales are off the charts, and was wondering if that could take care of this problem. Looks like the guy is coming out at the end of the month to calibrate it, so hopefully it will help.

Again Rees, thanks for all dealing's with these 160 issues,

Dave

Hitachi 51GWX20b
Samsung TS-160

[ReesR]

Thanks Dave.

If you email me your phone # I can share with you more info.  My email address is in the profile.

Rees

[StarvingForHDTV]

Welcome to the forum Dave,

Do faces look abnormally red, pink, or orange to you when watching with the Samsung?  When viewing faces through regular antenna TV input or cable TV not through the Samsung, VHS, or DVD, do they look reddish to you?  I guess you have to find out if your TV itself has a red push first.  If you own the Avia DVD, there are ways to set color and tint properly for that format.  When/if you do this, check faces after those adjustments.

If you do not own the Avia DVD, you can do something like this.  With both the Samsung input signal, and a non-Samsung input signal, adjust the color, tint, and color temperature settings.  For this you want a scene(s) with natural lighting, and a face(s) to make the adjustments.  Get to know your color setting, crank it up high and notice how there is too much color in everything, then crank it down low and notice there is too little color in everything.  Find the setting which makes the faces look most natural.  Most everything else should have a natural level of color as well.

Next play with the tint.  Crank it in both directions, and see where the different colors look "wrong" in both directions.  Find the setting which makes blue skies blue, grass green, flags or fire hydrants red, and faces look as natural as possible.  Then change color temperatures.  If your set has 6,500K marked for you, that should seem natural, and should be correct or close.  If not go to cooler settings and see how whites become more bluish, and go to warmer settings and notice how whites become more yellowish.  The proper setting is probably near the middle of the options.  When viewing outdoor scenes, the correct color temperature setting should make things seem natural.

If after doing all of this for your non-Samsung input, faces seem natural and not reddish, pinkish, or orangish, your TV probably has little if any red push.  If you do these settings on the Samsung input and you cannot get the "red" out of faces, the Samsung is most likely pushing too much red.

Of course when your calibrator comes out at the end of the month, that person should definitely be able to tell you what's going on.  You might want to turn down the Contrast or white level for now, until he gets to your house, setting it high can be dangerous, and the setting is often high from the factory.  Back it down so that whites do not glow or bloom beyond sharp edges.  Watch Jay Leno when someone is wearing a white collar on the show.  Make sure your contrast or white level is low enough so that the collar edge is crisp, not glowing or blooming.  Also you may want to set black level or brightness for your own pleasure.  Back it down so blacks are as black as they can be.  Then bring it up slowly until black becomes a very light gray.  This is too high, back it down just so blacks stay black, but no further.

Good luck,

Starving