On a lot of TVs, yes there is a hidden menu. On mine, you can really fuck yourself over on convergence and geometry if you're not careful. The menus have a ton of options and are cryptic.

Yeah, you have to really know what you are doing to fool around with the service menu. I just occasionally check my lamp hours, then get the hell out.

I've noticed a pretty big difference between Blu-ray and DVD on my Samsung Plasma, even at "just" 720p. I found the difference especially noticeable when seeing the regular DVD version of a movie and then the Blu-ray. Pirates, for instance, was remarkably huge.

The point of professional calibration is to adjust things like grayscale and color tracking, which can't really be done by the consumer without special equipment and the knowledge of how to use it. It's not just adjusting brightness and contrast a few bars.

I'm sure you've never done that ever in your whole life... LOL! You never purchase anything you see in a store online... You really shouldn't pass judgement like that if you don't know everything that happened. I was all set to purchase the TV from him until he upsold me. Actually the sales guy is the one that suggested I purchase it online. He even told me to go to Amazon for the TV since I would get free shipping. Nice guy! He saved me hundreds! It was at Best Buy. It's not like he's on commision or anything. And I don't feel bad in the slightest for not buying something from Best Buy based on the horrible treatment this particular store has given myself, my family and my friends. I no longer shop at that particular location because of the horrible customer service. I travel an additional 30 min to another location no matter how small the purchase. And recently a manager at another BB told me I'm not the first person to be completely turned off by that bad best buy. He said he heard they were considering closing the store because the sales have dropped so dramatically in the past 2 years. I mean the customer service is so poor that 3 out of 5 times I have called the store in two days, during non busy hours, they wouldn't even answer their phone.

What viewing distance? If you're 13 feet away from a 42" your eyes won't tell SD from HD.

My suggestion is to calibrate your set with one of the standard tools (DVE or Avia). At 42", sitting an average distance (7-8') this may be a tough one to justify. If you plan to stick with this size display and a longer sitting distance, you probably don't need HD (unless you like lossless sound or notice the better color). 42" displays are the sweet spot for upconversion, also, I believe.

Personally, I have a 42" 1080p plasma display but I sit close. HD is nice, I see the additional detail and enjoy the picture over DVD at 5-6'. It became significantly more noticeable after a home calibration. Still, I don't really need HD for this display. DVD upcoverted on this plasma is spectacular. But, I plan to add a projector and 90" CIH screen in the next 12-18 months. This will clearly show the advantage of the HD source over upconverted DVD.

Aside: The existence of these "I don't see it" threads does not bode well for Blu-ray (or any high def source).

-beebs

In terms of detail I also believe 42" is probably the smallest you can go and still get a benefit of 1080p over say 720p.

Also, SMPTe viewing distance standards typically suggest something like 1.5x-2x the screen length, not the the diagonal size. So on a 42" display the screen length is likely about 37". So really the farthest you'd want to sit for critical viewing is about 6'. I'm about 9' off of my 61" display and probably could move about .5' closer.

That's good to know. I have a Sony LCD projection TV. I have read up on everything I could on the TV and haven't found any special menu to change the settings. Interesting.

There almost certainly is a service menu, but I don't know how to get at them on the Sony. If there is a master thread for your model at AVS it would probably have the info. As others have mentioned though, tread very carefully if you intend to check it out.

Truth. I hit the wrong setting when I got into my Hitachi's service menu and needed to take it apart to hit some kind of service button / manual reset.

But now I'm not scared to break open my TV.

I was a little underwhelmed by a couple of my first BD titles as well - I was probably just expecting too much of an improvement over the upconverting of my Oppo player, which is pretty impressive. However, as the weeks have gone by, I've just started to realize how much sharper the picture is, now that I've just been naturally alternating between standard DVDs and BD. After awhile, the difference is just more noticeable. I watched The Prestige on BD from Netflix this weekend, and I was blown away. That's the kind of improvement that I had in mind when I bought my PS3.

I agree. I have an Oppo upconverting player, too, and I thought DVDs looked fantastic. But after about a month of Blu-rays, you really notice the difference when you go back to DVD.

If you watch on a 110" screen, you'll never go back to DVDs.

It all has to do with how big and how close you like your movies, imho. I suggest Blu-ray to my friends with 52" screens and up to tell ya the truth.

I never pick a salesperson's brain/waste their time then buy it on the internet.Even from Best Buy.
You have to admit the way you typed it up,in the post I quoted, that it makes you look pretty bad.
That's his job.
Enjoy your set.

I really don't understand your reasoning. The guy works at best buy and it makes no difference to him if I purchase it or not. He even said so. He is the one that suggested I buy it online. Hey if your perfectly willing to pay 35% more for a tv or other electronics in a b&m store like Best Buy, then I personally thank you! Someone has to be willing to pay their price. Oh and I am very much enjoying my tv that was delivered and set up for free with no tax! Thanks Logic!

I'm done posting in this thread. My initial post was at least semi useful in giving my opinion on a set and why the op may not be enjoying his set as much as he thought he would. Not sure why people just post in a thread to bash someone else's post and not address the op's issue but would rather just give an opinion to flex. Maybe people just like to create drama.... I personally watch All My Children when I want to see drama.

I agree with you. Even if you went to check out the product at the store and ordered it somewhere else online, I see no big deal about it. I'd never buy a tv without seeing it in person first. Sure, you're using up the employees time but I doubt he'll care. It's part of his job to inform the consumers.

I have no problem buying things on line and do it all the time. I'm glad the guy told you to buy it there. My point was that in your original post you made it sound like the salesperson gave you helpful information and there are people who feel that its alright to waste sales peoples time and then go buy it on line(see below). I have since heard from you that that was not the case with you. Glad to hear it.

You have obviously never worked as a sales person. It is a salespersons job to inform the customer of the products benefits to solve the customers needs and make the sale. Sales people are not teachers or professors. Your rational is the reason more an more business's close every day. To go in and look at something in the store to see what it looks like is great, even if you want/plan to order it on line, just dont waste alot of the salespeoples time/deprive them of their income just so you can benefit.

Count me as another who has absolutely no problem with learning something from a salesperson, which I have never actually done at Best Buy, since I always know waaaaay more than they do, and then purchasing the item from someplace that ends up having a better deal. I say allow Logic_7 to have his bitterness and you just keep living your life.

You are probably right about not learning something from someone at Best Buy but how is caring about your fellow man bitterness?

Thats how I feel.... I can't watch dvds on my 65" because they look so blown up and pixelated I put a Blu-ray or HD-DVD in and I feel like I am in the movie theatre watching it on a digital screen. It looks perfect.