HDMI black level settings with HR-21

[willywonkaisrsh]

I have and HR-21 hooked via HDMI up to a Samsung LCD TV. In the settings for the Samsung there is an HDMI black level option with 2 settings, low and normal. With my PC hooked up to the TV via DVI-HDMI I change this setting to low and the picture seems to look a lot better. However, with the HR-21 this setting is blacked out. It is also blacked out with my DVD player which is also hooked up via HDMI.
I need to know why this setting is blacked out with the HR-21 and DVD player but not the PC and how I can fix it.

 

[jrcorwin]

I have and HR-21 hooked via HDMI up to a Samsung LCD TV. In the settings for the Samsung there is an HDMI black level option with 2 settings, low and normal. With my PC hooked up to the TV via DVI-HDMI I change this setting to low and the picture seems to look a lot better. However, with the HR-21 this setting is blacked out. It is also blacked out with my DVD player which is also hooked up via HDMI.
I need to know why this setting is blacked out with the HR-21 and DVD player but not the PC and how I can fix it.

If the input source is outputing RGB over HDMI, then the HDMI black level will be adjustable between Normal and Low. If the input source is outputting YCbCr, then the HDMI black level will be grayed out.

Your PC is an RGB source and the HDMI Black Level is therefore adjustable. Your HR-21 is a YCbCr source...so the HDMI Black Level is not adjustable. Once you adjust your brightness, the image quality will be no different.

 

[willywonkaisrsh]

If the input source is outputing RGB over HDMI, then the HDMI black level will be adjustable between Normal and Low. If the input source is outputting YCbCr, then the HDMI black level will be grayed out.

Your PC is an RGB source and the HDMI Black Level is therefore adjustable. Your HR-21 is a YCbCr source...so the HDMI Black Level is not adjustable. Once you adjust your brightness, the image quality will be no different.

Thank you very much for the reply. I will mess with the brightness on the YCbCr source as soon as I can. However, I have seen the way the picture looks on the RGB source with the HDMI black level set to low compared to it set to normal or the YCbCr source with this setting blacked out and the picture just looks so much better. The blacks actually look black, unlike the YCbCr source, which looks more like faded black/gray. There is another setting on the TV to change black level from Off, low, med, and high and this setting is always available no matter the source. With the RGB source set to HDMI black level low and the black level set to med, the black look so much better than the YCbCr source with the HDMI black level setting blacked out and the black level set to high. I have already tweaked the brightness but I doubt that I can get the picture to look as good as the RGB source just by adjusting brightness.
Is their anyway to trick the TV into thinking the YCbCr source is RGB, maybe with a different cable or something?

 

[jrcorwin]

Thank you very much for the reply. I will mess with the brightness on the YCbCr source as soon as I can. However, I have seen the way the picture looks on the RGB source with the HDMI black level set to low compared to it set to normal or the YCbCr source with this setting blacked out and the picture just looks so much better. The blacks actually look black, unlike the YCbCr source, which looks more like faded black/gray. There is another setting on the TV to change black level from Off, low, med, and high and this setting is always available no matter the source. With the RGB source set to HDMI black level low and the black level set to med, the black look so much better than the YCbCr source with the HDMI black level setting blacked out and the black level set to high. I have already tweaked the brightness but I doubt that I can get the picture to look as good as the RGB source just by adjusting brightness.
Is their anyway to trick the TV into thinking the YCbCr source is RGB, maybe with a different cable or something?

Is the other black level setting called "Black Adjust"? That should be left off. YCbCr is what Video is encoded in, so you don't want to change that. RGB is for PC related items like programs and games.

Let's take a step back. What Samsung model is your TV?

 

[willywonkaisrsh]

Is the other black level setting called "Black Adjust"? That should be left off. YCbCr is what Video is encoded in, so you don't want to change that. RGB is for PC related items like programs and games.

Let's take a step back. What Samsung model is your TV?

It is called "Black Adjust" and why should I leave it off. The TV model # is LNT4066FX.

 

[jrcorwin]

It is called "Black Adjust" and why should I leave it off. The TV model # is LNT4066FX.

Sorry, I shoud have said I prefer an accurate image and don't suggest using that setting. You can use it if you wish. Here are my recommended setting for your display though:

?

Picture Settings:

Mode: Movie
Contrast: 85
Brightness: 44
Sharpness: 20
Color: 47
Tint: G51 / R49
Backlight: 10
Color Tone: Warm2
Detailed Settings:
Black Adjust: Off
Dynamic Contrast: Off
Gamma: 3
Color Space: Auto
White Balance:
R-Offset: 14
G-Offset: 15
B-Offset: 14
R-Gain: 21
G-Gain: 11
B-Gain: 14
My Color Control:
Pink: 15
Green: 15
Blue: 15
White: 15
Edge Enhancement: Off
xvYCC: Off
(Size)
Digital NR: Off
Active Color (grayed-out): Off
DNIe (grayed-out): Off

Relevant Setup Settings:
Game Mode: Off
Energy Saving: High
HDMI Black Level: Low

Those may or may not work well for you.

 

[willywonkaisrsh]

Sorry, I shoud have said I prefer an accurate image and don't suggest using that setting. You can use it if you wish. Here are my recommended setting for your display though:

?

Those may or may not work well for you.

Thank you very much for posting this. Do you have a link to where you got it? I will def try these settings as soon as I can and tell you what I think. Just by looking at them though, it seems like some of them don't make sense, like having the back-light maxed out at 10 and also the energy saver at high. They kind of contradict themselves. why not keep the back-light at 7 and the energy saver off?

 

[tigerfan33]

Thank you very much for posting this. Do you have a link to where you got it? I will def try these settings as soon as I can and tell you what I think. Just by looking at them though, it seems like some of them don't make sense, like having the back-light maxed out at 10 and also the energy saver at high. They kind of contradict themselves. why not keep the back-light at 7 and the energy saver off?

Good question. I have never seen a calibrated Sammy with backlight set evev close to that. Mine is set to 4. He has gamma on 3 which is a bit suspect too. Do remembe that no 2 panels are the same. My calibrated settings will NOT work on someone elses panel (even the same model) if you do want an acurate pic.

 

[jrcorwin]

Thank you very much for posting this. Do you have a link to where you got it? I will def try these settings as soon as I can and tell you what I think. Just by looking at them though, it seems like some of them don't make sense, like having the back-light maxed out at 10 and also the energy saver at high. They kind of contradict themselves. why not keep the back-light at 7 and the energy saver off?

Try either of these threads. They pertain to the calibration settings for your display.

Samsung LNTXX61/65/66 Calibration Settings *1007/1011 VERSION* - AVS Forum

Samsung LNTXX61/65/66 Calibration Settings - AVS Forum

I can't really defend the settings. I don't have the display and won't own an LCD if I can ever help it.