Aquitaine

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $1800.00 from Globatronics

Summary:
I'm afraid I must agree with others that have posted reviews, Samsung support is pretty bad. When my PLH403W arrived by truck, it had either been damaged, or just didn't work from the factory. My guess is that this is a VERY delicate piece of equipment. After about a week of back and forth with Samsung (including a number of threats of legal action) they finally sent a service person out to look at it. He ended up replacing just about everything inside the case other than the screen and case itself! Now, since then (over 4 years of everyday use) it has worked perfectly. I should mention the one strange anomaly that no-one else has so far, that is the periodic shutdown it does to force you to clean its filter. I guess its important, but it IS annoying as heck when that little red light pops on and it refuses to start up until you pull it out, unscrew the cover, make sure the filter is clean (in 4 years I've only cleaned it once), replace the cover, then push it back in place. Whew! I imagine there are better samsung TVs by now, but I really love the picture this has with my Sony PS2 Game/DVD system, it was a jaw-dropper then, and still is. Just had HD satellite installed, and it seems to not support this type of 'pure' HD signal, so I had to use s-video for that.

Strengths:
Great picture, good controls and inputs. Really excellent for DVD playback as well as game display. Very lightweight, and an incredible value, easily $500 less than anything comparable (but all weigh more).

Weaknesses:
Support is terrible. Required filter cleaning is a serious PIA. Does not support HD set-top boxes.

Similar Products Used:
Sony Wega TV. PC XVGA monitor used with HD and DVD devices.

Price Paid:  $1800.00 from Local electronica store

Summary:
I finally have had this television fixed and it works excellently. The colors when using Component inputs is so on point. The black levels are excellent as well. When I Zoom in on the component video DVD player I expected some sort of distortion, so far it actually inhances the picture so much. Great picture and perfect size to width ratio.

Strengths:
Birghtness, Light weight, Color, Zoom feature.

Weaknesses:
None

Price Paid:  $2000.00 from Brock Micro

Summary:
First, I must note that this review is of the PLK-405W; the model which replaced the PLH-403W.

All I can say is, "WOW!!". I have had this TV for about 7 months now, and it just keeps getting better and better. Compared to the Toshiba model listed above (which is CRT-based, the same screen size, and in the same price range), it offers similar brightness, WAY better picture sharpness (especially near the screen edges), weighs about 100lbs less, and is not susceptible to burn-in. In fact, I have yet to find a TV that I like better, and this includes several larger CRT-based HDTV's and Plasma displays.

I have loved this set from when I first set it up, but since discovering the service menu, it has gotten even better. Every tiny flaw I have discovered after over 700 hours of viewing has been corrected with the over 80 adjustable options in the service menu. I am obsessive about things I own, and find 'flaws' which others would never even notice, let alone care about. As far as I am concerned at present, this TV has no flaws. The only real feature this display is lacking is wideband component inputs, but this is not an issue for me. The same set is available with wideband inputs for about $1000 more (SLK-407W). This is the BEST, most film-like display you can obtain for $5000 or less.

Strengths:
Picture Quality, Light Weight, Adjustments

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Tosiba 40H80 40" Digital Television

Price Paid:  $637.00 from AAFES (military exchange)

Summary:
Love this TV especially the price I paid for it. I work for AAFES so I brought this TV once it got discountinued and got it at very low price! The only problem I have is when watching DVD's using component video out the word component will flash through out the entire movie like evey 3 minutes or so. Does anyone have any advice on this??

Strengths:
PRICE
picture quality
size, weight

Weaknesses:
none

Price Paid:  $1600.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I have to say that, though I've only had this television for a few weeks, I love it. It has terrific color, especially using the component feature for DVD, incredibly precise definition and is absolutely clear. I sit 7 feet from the set and I can't see the scan lines or any imperfection on the set. Using Video Essentials, it is essential to tweak the color and tint as reds are very high. My only complaint so far is trying to set the black levels correctly. LCD technology registers blacks as slightly grey and I'm having a hard time getting the black level exactly as I like it.No one else even notices this but of course I want perfection(or as close as possible). If anyone else has this set I would be very thankful if you could email me the settings you have it at. Thanks!

Strengths:
Superb color,anamorphic DVD's look incredible,terrific even for regular VHS and cable

Weaknesses:
Needs some color tweaking, black level hard to set

Similar Products Used:
RCA 32" TV