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Entered CNET Catalog: 06/19/2005
SKU: TX-R2678WH
Manufacturer: Samsung
Manufacturer description
Combining the highest quality picture in the least amount of space, Samsung introduces one of the world's most affordable widescreen format HDTVs with a built-in HD tuner. The TX-R2678WH tunes high definition TV and displays HD signals from an equipped cable set top box or satellite system. The TX-R2678WH meets the 2005 FCC guideline for incorporating a digital tuner. This set is ideal for the bedroom, a den, or special cabinet. Regular TV even looks better because all analog signals are digitally converted and then presented in progressive scan.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5
User Rating: 
10/10
great bedroom tv
Pros: everything
Cons: ??? how dare you!
Review:
i picked up this set as an open box item from best buy in early february of this year. paid a little under 500 for it and i must say i am still stunned at what a great deal that is. this set does it all, two component in, s-video in, 2 composite in, 1 HDMI in, built in NTSC tuner with guide, it's just incredible. the most important thing is, of course, the picture which is superb. i have yet to see anything surpass the image quality of this set. it's just fantastic. add to that highly customisable image settings and you've got one amazing television. i'm running a philips upconvert dvd player through my HDMI and that upconversion really shows. check out LOTR or any other high quality dvds to see this baby shine. the only drawback, and it is a minor one, is the sound quality. the speakers are only good at producing higher frequencies, which means alot of stuff ends up sounding like it's emanating from a tin can. if you tweak them it's tolerable, but honestly you should at least hook up a 2.1 speaker system to this thing if you spend the dough on it. sound aside it's quite a nice package. the universal remote comes in handy, but it's doubtful that it will replace the manufacturers remotes that came with your other components. all in all it's a great set, worth buying if you're looking for a nice bedroom HDTV or a gaming set. good stuff.
User Rating: 
8/10
Got a HDTV with ATSC tuner for a super price.
Pros: Best deal on a HDTV with ATSC tuner that I have seen
Cons: Very heavy and not been able to access the signal strengh option in the menu
Review:
I consider this a super value deal as I only paid $363 including tax (and not yet discounting for the $20 rebate).
I was looking for a small HDTV for my bedroom when I first noticed NWL (National Wholesale Liquidators) had this model on sale for $499. This week it was offered for $328 (discounting for the $20 rebate) and I could not resist.
It is quite heavy and me and my wife could barely lift it up to where we wanted to place it. It looks great and works very well using the Zenith Silver Surfer HDTV antenna. I get about 12 HD channels off-the-air with 3 or 4 Baltimore stations. In fact, I have difficulty getting the Washington, DC stations and I am right downtown about 4 or 5 miles from the TV towers. I expect if our condo building will fix the "shorts" in the building antenna cabling, then I could use it and I'd really be in the clover with HD channels. I recommend using it with either a Zenith Silver Sensor HDTV (model # ZHDTV) or either of the Terk HDTV (a or i) models if you don't have a good outdoor antenna. If you are close enough to the TV towers, just a good VHF/UHF antenna will even work fairly well to get the free local HD channels.
This is a great bargain for those who want start off at a very nice entry price into HDTV view. I rated this an 8 due to it being so heavy and not a flat screen, but I really want to give it a 9 as I am so pleased by it and the value for my buck -- alot of bang for a really cheap price. In fact, I checked the internet to see if any NWL stores were in Illinois then called family and friends out there to alert them about this terrific buy. So far, I give it two thumbs up. This deal was a steal. So, anyone near a National Warehouse Liquidators should certainly go check to see if they have any more of these in stock. Note: most of the time, these stores do not even have them set up right for you to even view the HDTV channels and they many times look like crap. So most folks don't even have a clue to what a gem this TV can be. If you understand basic HDTV setup, then do not be fooled if the NWL store does not have it set up for HDTV and do few tests and set it yourself -- if most folks could see it work on the shelf at NWL like it does it my bedroom, these TVs would sell like hotcakes. Only 1 store out of the 4 NWL stores I have visited have had this TV properly set up to receive the free over the air HD channels. Because my wife was with me early in my shopping at one of them that didn't have this TV set up right and its picture looked very crappy, she would not agree to let me buy it when it dropped to $400. Now, she cannot believe how good it is in our bedroom and that we only paid $363 for it. I'll send the $20 rebate form in tomorrow to even get $20 bucks more back. Hope this review helps at least one person or family to discover this value and start viewing HDTV at a super price. One of the best deals I've seen for us "frugal" shoppers.
I was looking for a small HDTV for my bedroom when I first noticed NWL (National Wholesale Liquidators) had this model on sale for $499. This week it was offered for $328 (discounting for the $20 rebate) and I could not resist.
It is quite heavy and me and my wife could barely lift it up to where we wanted to place it. It looks great and works very well using the Zenith Silver Surfer HDTV antenna. I get about 12 HD channels off-the-air with 3 or 4 Baltimore stations. In fact, I have difficulty getting the Washington, DC stations and I am right downtown about 4 or 5 miles from the TV towers. I expect if our condo building will fix the "shorts" in the building antenna cabling, then I could use it and I'd really be in the clover with HD channels. I recommend using it with either a Zenith Silver Sensor HDTV (model # ZHDTV) or either of the Terk HDTV (a or i) models if you don't have a good outdoor antenna. If you are close enough to the TV towers, just a good VHF/UHF antenna will even work fairly well to get the free local HD channels.
This is a great bargain for those who want start off at a very nice entry price into HDTV view. I rated this an 8 due to it being so heavy and not a flat screen, but I really want to give it a 9 as I am so pleased by it and the value for my buck -- alot of bang for a really cheap price. In fact, I checked the internet to see if any NWL stores were in Illinois then called family and friends out there to alert them about this terrific buy. So far, I give it two thumbs up. This deal was a steal. So, anyone near a National Warehouse Liquidators should certainly go check to see if they have any more of these in stock. Note: most of the time, these stores do not even have them set up right for you to even view the HDTV channels and they many times look like crap. So most folks don't even have a clue to what a gem this TV can be. If you understand basic HDTV setup, then do not be fooled if the NWL store does not have it set up for HDTV and do few tests and set it yourself -- if most folks could see it work on the shelf at NWL like it does it my bedroom, these TVs would sell like hotcakes. Only 1 store out of the 4 NWL stores I have visited have had this TV properly set up to receive the free over the air HD channels. Because my wife was with me early in my shopping at one of them that didn't have this TV set up right and its picture looked very crappy, she would not agree to let me buy it when it dropped to $400. Now, she cannot believe how good it is in our bedroom and that we only paid $363 for it. I'll send the $20 rebate form in tomorrow to even get $20 bucks more back. Hope this review helps at least one person or family to discover this value and start viewing HDTV at a super price. One of the best deals I've seen for us "frugal" shoppers.
User Rating: 
6/10
Great Buy for some
Pros: Integrated HD tuner (off air), 16x9 screen
Cons: Only Good Picture... not great.
Review:
I bought this TV for my family for Christmas, 2005. The picture seems a little blurry to me at times. I would say it has a good picture but not great. The sound is ok. I had to mess with its settings a little to get it to sound good, but if this were my TV I would have been using a separate sound system anyway. We watch a lot of DVDs and they look pretty good on this TV. My family only watches over the air broadcasts, no cable or satellite, so the tuner is great for them. HD off air is 10,000 times better than staticy SD. The TV only cost $450 on clearance at Best Buy even after sales tax. I would say for what we paid it's excellent. If I would have been buying for myself I would have opted to spend more, but to get a Sony with the same features you're going to have to pay at least twice as much, maybe more.
User Rating: 
9/10
A great TV!
Pros: built-in HDTV turner
Cons: side bars for 4:3 is gray instead of black
Review:
this is really a great widescreen tv, it is bulkier than usual because of the speakers built into the sides. all in all nice hdtv, movies are great on there and gaming is awesome!
User Rating: 9/10
A great small widesreen HDTV for those who don't want to spend a lot of money for a bigger screen.
Pros: Affordable price, superp picture quality, easy to use menues, plenty of connection options, and great build quality.
Cons: Smallest HDTV screen size available and the sound isn't as great as the picture.
Review:
I'd just like to start out by saying that I bought this HDTV because I wanted a gaming TV with a great, crisp, life-like picture, and low cost. This Samsung fit the bill with its $600 price tag and its sharp picture quality that rivaled expensive 30-40? Sony HDTVs that I?ve seen.
Picture quality: As I've said before, Samsung's R268WH HDTV has a great clear and crisp picture. So far I've only tested my Xbox, progressive scan DVD player, and digital satellite. My Xbox games looked extremely better on this TV than on an ordinary stereo TV and even better than my other HDTV (when I use component cables or even composite cables). My games looked smooth, crisp, clear, and very life-like with great color/light transitions and vivid text. I have a few games that support 720p (the best resolution for video gaming) and 1080i and I could tell that they looked even a little bit crisper than my ordinary 480p games. My DVDs looked great with the S-video cable and even better with the component cables, except some of my cheap old DVD's that looked a little grainy. My satellite TV looks great with composite cables but came in a little grainy through the old RF cable (which was expected). Overall I'd give the picture a 9 or a 10.
Sound: This TV does support Dolby Digital and has built in BBE sound quality so the sound is clear, but expectedly doesn't pack a lot of punch. The TV's built in side speakers are fairly low powered, but that is expected considering that this is only a 26" TV and shouldn't need a subwoofer and huge speakers. I'm just glad that it does have simulated surround sound that is crisp and supports a digital optical output port for surround systems. I'd give its sound a 7 or 8.
Menu and hook-up options. Now this is where I was really sold on this TV. This TV has by far the easiest to navigate on screen menu system I have ever seen on a TV. I was especially surprised, because I have a Samsung DVD player and it?s almost impossible to adjust its settings. Its menu allows you to adjust all possible aspects of its picture, sound, connection, and TV guide option. The remote controller also features clearly labeled buttons for quickly and easily switching between your different saved settings. This TV also has every hook-up option an HDTV needs. It features two RF inputs, two S-video and composite inputs (one is on the side), one composite video and audio output, two component (Y, Pb, Pr,) inputs, one optical audio output (the best possible audio output), and a HDMI input (the new standard and best hook-up for HD quality). Since this TV has a built in HDTV tuner that accepts 480p, 720p, and 1080i signals it can accept over air HDTV signals with just an antenna and even up convert non ED or HD digital signals to ED or HD quality. This aspect of the TV deserves a 10.
Durability/build quality: This TV is the newest model of Samsung?s 26? widescreen HDTV and features a more stylized gray to black transition front and is built very solid. It also runs very quietly. After buying my 27? Advent HDTV I was under the impression that HDTV are supposed to put out a lot of a buzzing noise. Unfortunately, like most CRT TVs it?s bulky. It weighs between 60-90lb and is almost 20? deep. This was in no way a problem for me because the TV does have hidden side handles for easy lifting and I have plenty of space, but if that?s a problem for you and you don?t mind spending a $1000 I?d suggest buying Samsung?s new widescreen 30? HDTV that has all the features of this TV, but is under 16? deep and looks like a plasma screen.
Picture quality: As I've said before, Samsung's R268WH HDTV has a great clear and crisp picture. So far I've only tested my Xbox, progressive scan DVD player, and digital satellite. My Xbox games looked extremely better on this TV than on an ordinary stereo TV and even better than my other HDTV (when I use component cables or even composite cables). My games looked smooth, crisp, clear, and very life-like with great color/light transitions and vivid text. I have a few games that support 720p (the best resolution for video gaming) and 1080i and I could tell that they looked even a little bit crisper than my ordinary 480p games. My DVDs looked great with the S-video cable and even better with the component cables, except some of my cheap old DVD's that looked a little grainy. My satellite TV looks great with composite cables but came in a little grainy through the old RF cable (which was expected). Overall I'd give the picture a 9 or a 10.
Sound: This TV does support Dolby Digital and has built in BBE sound quality so the sound is clear, but expectedly doesn't pack a lot of punch. The TV's built in side speakers are fairly low powered, but that is expected considering that this is only a 26" TV and shouldn't need a subwoofer and huge speakers. I'm just glad that it does have simulated surround sound that is crisp and supports a digital optical output port for surround systems. I'd give its sound a 7 or 8.
Menu and hook-up options. Now this is where I was really sold on this TV. This TV has by far the easiest to navigate on screen menu system I have ever seen on a TV. I was especially surprised, because I have a Samsung DVD player and it?s almost impossible to adjust its settings. Its menu allows you to adjust all possible aspects of its picture, sound, connection, and TV guide option. The remote controller also features clearly labeled buttons for quickly and easily switching between your different saved settings. This TV also has every hook-up option an HDTV needs. It features two RF inputs, two S-video and composite inputs (one is on the side), one composite video and audio output, two component (Y, Pb, Pr,) inputs, one optical audio output (the best possible audio output), and a HDMI input (the new standard and best hook-up for HD quality). Since this TV has a built in HDTV tuner that accepts 480p, 720p, and 1080i signals it can accept over air HDTV signals with just an antenna and even up convert non ED or HD digital signals to ED or HD quality. This aspect of the TV deserves a 10.
Durability/build quality: This TV is the newest model of Samsung?s 26? widescreen HDTV and features a more stylized gray to black transition front and is built very solid. It also runs very quietly. After buying my 27? Advent HDTV I was under the impression that HDTV are supposed to put out a lot of a buzzing noise. Unfortunately, like most CRT TVs it?s bulky. It weighs between 60-90lb and is almost 20? deep. This was in no way a problem for me because the TV does have hidden side handles for easy lifting and I have plenty of space, but if that?s a problem for you and you don?t mind spending a $1000 I?d suggest buying Samsung?s new widescreen 30? HDTV that has all the features of this TV, but is under 16? deep and looks like a plasma screen.
Updated
I actually ment that the Samsung HDTV 30" TX-R3079WH is the TV you should buy if you want a thinner tubed $1000 HDTV.
I actually ment that the Samsung HDTV 30" TX-R3079WH is the TV you should buy if you want a thinner tubed $1000 HDTV.
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