Shopping Discussion

Anyone running their Samsung 1080p A530 as a PC monitor?

  • Last Updated:
  • Jan 8th, 2009 6:33 pm
Tags:
None
Banned
Feb 9, 2005
315 posts
3 upvotes

Anyone running their Samsung 1080p A530 as a PC monitor?

Hey Guys,

I was wondering if anyone picked up this monitor for boxing day (LN37A530). I also own the Sharp 37" 1080p LC-37D64U. I'm running DVI to HDMI for PC - and i'm getting really bad output from this monitor. I got a 360 and a dvd hooked up, they both run superb on this monitor. However, on PC i'm finding the brightness/contrast and colours seem bland.

When I run dual monitor and hold a window between between the Sharp and Samsung, the Sharp is so vivid, colours are so much crisper and text is cleaner. I can achieve this with the Samsung if I mess around with Brightness/Contrast settings and colour, but then I lose other colours like grey turning to black - i'm thinking samsung's auto contrast setting through HDMI is messing things up - you can't turn it off, only low or high.

Anyone getting good picture with their sammy on PC? I'm ready to just send this back - despite waiting 6 hours at Bestbuy today just to get it today :(
12 replies
Deal Addict
May 9, 2007
1670 posts
719 upvotes
try hooking up the PC via HDMI 2 and also try naming the input "PC". Also, did you try using the VGA input?
Sr. Member
Sep 2, 2004
796 posts
47 upvotes
Oakville
i dunno, on my a450 i get better colours and native resolution on my hdmi port 1, labeled as hdmi/dvi 1. i get better colours and whatnot thru that port than all the other ports for some reason.... i play my x360 on it and it's the only one that gets my optimal resolution instead of 720p only... looks alot nice and smoother... colours are better too, not too saturated
Banned
Nov 11, 2006
8770 posts
31 upvotes
u guys have the S or C panels? my hdmi/dvi PC output is pretty good on my 40inch sammy, way better then my 22inch monitor when i have dual monitor setup

just i when i play video files it'll have jagged lines, but i think its a NON tv issue( vidcard or cable issue i think)

as for the vga/analog port i hvn't tested that cuz i need a LONG wire for that as my tv and pc are like 12 feet away from one another

oh do u guys have an EMODE button/function?

it'll have OFF,GAME,Sports,cinema?

OFF= best picture
game=ok
sports= great sound
cinema= dark pic ! worse of the settings

anyone xperience the same above?

[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/169pa0y.jpg[/IMG]
E5200 @ 3.5200 Ghz BIOS 1.38125v 24/7 | Asus P5Q PRO | G.Skill F2-8000CL5D 8GB ram @ 853MHz on 2.10v | 1 TB Samsung F1 Spinpoint HD | 1 TB Seagate 7200.11 rpm| 1 TB WD1001FALS Black Caviar | Antec SONATA 500w Designer Case | BFG NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT OC+ 512MB PCIe 2.0 | OCZ Vendetta 2 HSF | Samsung LN40A530 C(rappy) panel | Logitech G51 sound | Xbox 360 60gb | *PS3 w/ 263gb | Nintendo Wii LU37 | Vista Ultimate x64

/me wuz pwn3d by GAG forums lolz
Jr. Member
May 11, 2007
107 posts
24 upvotes
Toronto
I got the LN40A530 and movies (even 640x480 ones) look pretty good when I run them from my computer. Games look gorgeous also at 1080p, but I find reading text kills my eyes, there's no comfortable distance that doesn't strain them. Even just reading the text in fallout 3 strains them during conversations.

No idea what to do about it, I'm considering downgrading to 37 or 32 to see the difference, I wanted to get this for the tv aspect but really wanted to be able to game on this also. I picked mine up for 749 a couple of weeks ago so I still have time to return to BB if something else comes up.

I've tried messing around with contrast brightness and sharpness but I still find my eyes strained if I try to browse the internet (not a big deal since I don't need to on the bigscreen) but in gaming as well.
Deal Addict
Oct 23, 2005
1772 posts
484 upvotes
Montreal
how far are you sitting from the tv?

reading text is impossible if you're sitting too far.
you can browse with firefox and zoom in the text.
Banned
Feb 9, 2005
315 posts
3 upvotes
Bryson wrote: try hooking up the PC via HDMI 2 and also try naming the input "PC". Also, did you try using the VGA input?
This worked great when hooking up to HDMI/DVI 2 and labeling PC input - it really cleaned up the text. However, it also sacrificed colour to a huge degree. Colours are no longer vibrant as they were without selecting the input as PC. THe colours are now also greyed out and i can't change them. Anyone else have this issue?

Colour loss is very noticable in a movie like Toy Story where colour is vibrant. When I remove PC in input list, colours are vibrant again but text is really bad to read.
Banned
Nov 11, 2006
8770 posts
31 upvotes
^ have u tried CINEMA mode when using the lcd as a puter monitor? i too find that its way too brite if its on OFF,GAME,SPORTS mode

im using hdmi 2 input with dvi to hdmi cable from my vid card
E5200 @ 3.5200 Ghz BIOS 1.38125v 24/7 | Asus P5Q PRO | G.Skill F2-8000CL5D 8GB ram @ 853MHz on 2.10v | 1 TB Samsung F1 Spinpoint HD | 1 TB Seagate 7200.11 rpm| 1 TB WD1001FALS Black Caviar | Antec SONATA 500w Designer Case | BFG NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT OC+ 512MB PCIe 2.0 | OCZ Vendetta 2 HSF | Samsung LN40A530 C(rappy) panel | Logitech G51 sound | Xbox 360 60gb | *PS3 w/ 263gb | Nintendo Wii LU37 | Vista Ultimate x64

/me wuz pwn3d by GAG forums lolz
Banned
Feb 9, 2005
315 posts
3 upvotes
kleptodathief wrote: ^ have u tried CINEMA mode when using the lcd as a puter monitor? i too find that its way too brite if its on OFF,GAME,SPORTS mode

im using hdmi 2 input with dvi to hdmi cable from my vid card
i've tried that too - cinema doesn't look the greatest either, looks fake almost. I also can't access e.mode when I select PC as the input on HDMI2/DVI port. I want the colour quality I get when I play any other device normally on the TV, like my HD DVD player.

If I can't get it with this monitor, i'll sadly have to trade it in and grab me the Sharp 37" 1080p again which gave me clear test and great colour quality. Don't want to go through that though :(
Jr. Member
User avatar
Sep 13, 2005
110 posts
18 upvotes
Scarborough
It most likely has to be tuned. When I hooked up my 46a550 it looked really bad because of over sharpening and noise removal was on. I found a PC settings for my model in AVS forum and tuned it, and now it looks amazing.

Also, forget VGA if you can use HDMI. VGA was a tad blurry compared to HDMI when I used both.

Also, not sure if your TV has this mode, but I had to set mine to Just Scan because it was cutting off a small part of the screen and made the background jagged. After setting it, I get the full picture.
Banned
Nov 11, 2006
8770 posts
31 upvotes
[QUOTE]I also can't access e.mode when I select PC as the input on HDMI2/DVI port. I want the colour quality I get when I play any other device normally on the TV, like my HD DVD player.[/QUOTE]


have u tried that input hdmi2/dvi port with NO PC as the input? as in blank input

i've never used that 'PC' input type :confused:
ok when u press SOURCE, there is a PC option

it has ... PC, HDMI1, HDMI2/DVI, HDMI3

if i get the chance i'll test out PC input...too lazy to connect it
E5200 @ 3.5200 Ghz BIOS 1.38125v 24/7 | Asus P5Q PRO | G.Skill F2-8000CL5D 8GB ram @ 853MHz on 2.10v | 1 TB Samsung F1 Spinpoint HD | 1 TB Seagate 7200.11 rpm| 1 TB WD1001FALS Black Caviar | Antec SONATA 500w Designer Case | BFG NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT OC+ 512MB PCIe 2.0 | OCZ Vendetta 2 HSF | Samsung LN40A530 C(rappy) panel | Logitech G51 sound | Xbox 360 60gb | *PS3 w/ 263gb | Nintendo Wii LU37 | Vista Ultimate x64

/me wuz pwn3d by GAG forums lolz
Deal Addict
Sep 28, 2005
4251 posts
2615 upvotes
Pointe-Claire
kleptodathief wrote: have u tried that input hdmi2/dvi port with NO PC as the input? as in blank input

i've never used that 'PC' input type :confused:
ok when u press SOURCE, there is a PC option

it has ... PC, HDMI1, HDMI2/DVI, HDMI3

if i get the chance i'll test out PC input...too lazy to connect it
The PC option will highlight if the PC/laptop is connected to the (VGA) port in the back of the LCD. It's similar to connecting a regular monitor. I have tried this with a laptop and the image is great on a 40" LCD! Kinda hard to carry the LCD around with the laptop though! JK :lol: :lol: :lol:
Banned
Feb 9, 2005
315 posts
3 upvotes
deals46 wrote: The PC option will highlight if the PC/laptop is connected to the (VGA) port in the back of the LCD. It's similar to connecting a regular monitor. I have tried this with a laptop and the image is great on a 40" LCD! Kinda hard to carry the LCD around with the laptop though! JK :lol: :lol: :lol:
Actually the member you quoted initially was spot on. All the PC options does is set all the settings for you, like brightness, contrast, colours, all that. That's why i couldn't change colours... It's best not to select PC option and instead input your own image quality settings

I used the link from avsforum a RFD member sent me - i hardcoded my own image quality settings, and bingo bango, beautiful

thanks guys!

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)