Samsung Smart TV Learnings for HTPC

[joeer77]

I bought a new Samsung 65" smart 4k TV from Costco this month model UN65RU740D. It caused me some headaches and I almost took it back. I figured out some work arounds and thought I would share to save other people headache.

Issue #1 - No HDMI signal detected on TV HDMI port with HTPC signal sent through Sony receiver to TV. Plugged HTPC into TV and detected signal without issue. After much trial and error I updated the Samsung software on the TV and signal now detected through the Sony receiver. Took me 2 hours to solve.

Issue #2 - Samsung picture modes for HTPC are "standard" and "dynamic". That's it. Google Chromecast and PS3 had all 4 picture modes available. After much reading I had to manually rename HDMI port 1 on TV (where Sony receiver plugs in) from "PC" to "cable box" and all 4 picture modes available. I prefer "natural" mode and was very aggravated that Samsung would lock it out because HDMI port was labeled "PC".

Hope this helps everyone out. Temporary fix for #2 was to place TV in "retail" mode and "natural" picture mode would be available. The TV would revert back the next day and "natural" would be unavailable.