hjsimpson01

Nah, helps if I download the right firmware.... I don't know what I grabbed the first time... I am now running 1008.. thanks though for the suggestion, you never know the level of knowledge of people buying this gear... Just a note on the person trying to get better Audio out of the TV Optical... I run direct out of my Panasonic BluRay(STB) with HDMI to the TV, but I run the Optical direct from the BluRay to the Receiver and have my Harmony One tell the receiver which Audio to select for TV(via the Panasonic BluRay recorder STB)... Works every time... I have 5 optical inputs on the receiver, so why not use em... Of course your setup my be different.....

Firstly, thanks for all the great advice on this thread, and the forum in general... I can confirm that the B8000 does indeed play 720p & 1080p mkv files with AC3 audio. It WILL NOT play DTS audio. Funny thinking about this... you can buy a cheap DVD player that will playback DTS, a cheap amp that will decode DTS and a $5500 Samsung LED edgelit panel that will not.... Go Figure... Using the TV for sound there is no difference essentially.... Just trying to find people that have ripped movies with AC3 is bloody hard.. most rip DTS, so I have found.... LOL With regard to buying an STB just to play mkvs... I have a WD TV box in the bedroom for my Philips panel and it plays back the mkvs with DTS just fine... so WE either need to convince Samsung that they f_ked up with not including the DTS on these panels and get a result which hopefully is fixable in firmware (I don't know if this is possible) or settle for having to play them back as previously suggested, or through the WD TV like I do currently... which means paying the $2000 more is a waste of dollars really... Or download the AC3 equiv as already suggested... Bloody nice set though, blew me away... i don't have much off axis issues side to side but if I stand up the picture looks woefull.... (I have it on a low-line unit right now, not wall mounted) Groover... Is there anyway to tell if my set is one of the improved models? I have not inspected it since reading this thread, but will certainly look tonight to see panel specs etc... Purchased from HN end of August/Early November.... Also I am having issues with firmware updates... I downloaded the July dated firmware files (released Aug) however it states it cannot find any firmware files on my USB thumbdrive... Firmware on the TV is as already mentioned in a previous post, lots of zeros and ones... LOL I have also read (I do take what I read with a grain of salt) that plugging in non-powered USB drives will kill the panel, any thoughts on this? Most of my drives are externally powered anyhow, not through USB... Anyone in the market for a second hand Toshiba 36SW9UA?? I gave my 42" Pana Plaz to my Mother for Christmas... Not a great viewing experience at all... The Samsung is in a different league, although at 2.5x the price, so it should be... I overpaid looking at this thread... Late August I paid $6600 for B8000, Samsung "picture frame" wall mount, USB WiFi and 5 year extended warranty, plus deferred payment for 20 months... (I agree that makes bargaining a lot harder) I will also try the recommended settings on this forum, as I too am having issues with white clouding, although mine tend to be on a black screen, eminating from the edge lighting and three per side, top centre and bottom of each side about 3 inches (7cm) in diameter and about 2 inches (5cm) in from the side... SPEAKER QUALITY And for those knocking the speaker quality (each to their own, but here's my two cents worth).... Who uses TV speakers? OK, so maybe some people do... But I bought a $90 set of Logitech 5.1 speakers for the bedroom and they play DTS "loverly"... LOL TV speakers are always crap, even my Toshiba with built in sub woofer was crap... Seriously.. anyone buying a $5500 55" TV would surely be playing sound back through a home theatre system... surely? There, I think I have responded to the sections that I am no doubt not qualified to answer... just my two cents worth... I hear the hornets buzzing... HARMONY REMOTE Oh... hang... Yes the inputs configure OK on the Harmony... I have a Harmony 1000 and a Harmony One. I have configured both to work. One thing I will say is that when selecting the activity "Watch USB" it does tend to wander about trying to find the input but a simple push of the OK button on the Harmony remote seems to confirm.. I am sure with a bit of fiddling I could get this to work.. Any other activity works fine. Keep in mind the original remote for the TV is RF and so will work from any angle... obstruct the front lower section of the TV at all and the Harmony will not respond as favourably, since it is IR... Rudolph

Thanks for that info. Interesting that they initially stated April 2004 as the commencement date.... I wonder why they are delaying us.?? Looks like it may well be a Christmas wish than anything else.... At least Hobart are online, doesn't help those of us who are in Launceston. Coming from one who has LOS to Ben Lomond, and lives beneath Juliana St, well not far from. I can't wait for the rest of the stations to get their act in to gear... Jun is so far away, when it was meant to be this month.....