-
"Mid-priced; Mid-size; Feature packed Plasma Television." on by gruvregulator
Pros: DVI/VGA/S-Video/2 composite inputs; 2 optical inputs; bright, clear, colorful screen; many features accessible via on-screen menus.
Cons: 720p resolution/1024x768; not true 1080i resolution.
Summary: I did alot of comparing between this plasma and the panasonic in the same class; and they are about the same price. The reason the Samsung won out was the amount of features that it had. I was not only planning on using this as a TV; but also as a computer monitor. This has DVI and VGA connectors; and I bought the HDMI to DVI cable to hook into my cable box to get optimum picture quality (highly recommended); this screen also has 2 sets of component video inputs that you can hook HD inputs into it. it also has S-Video and 19 pin VGA inputs; as well as composite inputs (why someone would use the composite on a HD screen I have no idea). You can also name each of the inputs from the on-screen menu.
Burn-in protection comes in 3 flavors; White screen; a scrolling B&W gradient; and a "pixel shift" option that you can adjust several different parameters for.
The color is impressive to say the least; Samsung claims the screen has 12-Bit Processing (68.7 Billion Colors) and it shows; colors are brilliant and can be adjusted to set values or tweaked via the onscreen menus.
Samsung's DNIe™ technology contributes to sharpening the picture; and the difference can be shown via a split screen demo that can be turned on/of via the onscreen menu.
Speaking of split screen; there's several different PIP configurations you can have this screen display; one of the coolest features is having your PC and TV in a split screen format.
There was a review about the startup sound the screen makes when the unit is powered on/off; it turned out this person returned the screen because of this noise. This can be disabled via the onscreen menu if it's too annoying.
The sound is very good too; with a good range of response and for 15 watts it's pretty loud even at 50%. The simulated surround sound is ok; although I think it gives the sound more "depth" rather than "surround" you.
I paid around 3500 from circuit city with the warranty (got the 3 year one; circuit city covers EVERYTHING) and the DVI cable (was about 100 bucks). So far I'm very satisfied with my investment; and I'm looking forward to the release of the PS3 next year to really take advantage of the capabilities of that system.
This is a great screen for the price; I would recommend it over the Panasonic due to it's extensive feature set. -
"Good TV for the price" on by Frosty619
Pros: Excellent features, Sharp looking just sitting there,
Cons: Blue ring light when TV is off, Not enough inputs,
Summary: First off I picked up this TV for $2599 at Best Buy (add 4yr warrenty, wall mount, free Toshiba Progressive scan DVD player & Tax= $3262 out the door). As I said in "Pros" section, Excellent features as far a being able to adjust this set. You can Tune everything. Picture is so-so with basic (Cox) cable but looks grate with my XBox/Playstation 2/DVD hooked up to it. It even has a feature that lets you adjust each TV staion (analog only non HD signal) to fine tune some of the "fuzz" out of the picture.It made a big difference on some stations and just a little on others. When you have a good video source the picture is very smooth. In my opinon the stock speakers sound good and are plennty loud. I use my 3yr old Samsung 50" DLP a reference for features and picture quality.
Now I only have a few issues with this TV so Far (had it three days as of this review) and that is the #1-Blue light when the TV is off (it's in the bed room and it's bright at night), #2 and for some reasion my Playstation won't fill the screen in any mode (16:9, wide, zoom, ect..) I've tried multiple setting on the TV and My PS2 and can only get one setting to Work but it "pancakes" the picture and it just doesn't look right. I've also tried Regular Video cables, S-Video cables and even Component cables with no luck (but there was a noticeable differance in screen clarity. #3 This set is a little heavy at 85lbs. to 90lbs. My 50" DLP is only 65lbs.
#4 Last would have to be the number of Inputs, I'm a gadget guy and considering the type of products comming out I would like to see more HDMI/DVI inputs, more Component Inputs as well.
But I would have to say that overall I'm happy with this TVUpdated
Well after 5 days I took this TV back and purchased a Samsung 40" LCD. After watching a TV show with the logo in the corner for a couple of hours I could see it in the screeen on other stations (yes burn-in in a couple of hours). The set has features to fix this and it did but only temporarly. After a couple of hours on a video game I could see the "speedo" from the game on other stations. What a bummer, this TV looked really good too. -
"Outstanding Value" on by the_pimp
Pros: High Contrast Ratio/Brightness, Extremely Clear Picture, Low Price For Next Generation Technology
Cons: Not enough component inputs, built in speakers cannot be removed
Summary: I picked this beauty up for $2850 at Circuit City after a price match, and was immediately surprised at how easy setup was. After 30 minutes everything was up and running perfectly fine, with nothing less than a digital signal running through at all times. The colors are really fantastic, showing off the DNIe technology, which basically enhances every color, but never exaggerating anything beyond believable levels. Blacks are pitch black and whites are bright and heavenly. The speakers are a nice addition, but leave much to be desired. It's a shame that they're built onto the t.v. and thus prove to be a bother when mixed with a whole new 5.1 setup. Other than this however, it's a fantastic piece of equipment with a fantastic price and fantastic quality. Highly Recommended.
-
"Stay away from this TV!" on by klkrlk
Pros: Good sound, OK HD picture
Cons: SD terrible, ghosting many HD channels, Samsung service
Summary: TV broke after only 2 mos of use; Samsung took 2+ mos to replace...terrible service. When this unit was working, standard definition (SD) channels were very grainy. In addition, HD channel had a "ghosting" affect where you could see the pixels next to the image (hard to explain). If you are still interested in purchasing this TV, check out the November Consumer Reports article where this TV ranked 20th of the 22 models reviewed.
-
"Decent for the price" on by Krox
Pros: Good price, lots of features
Cons: Cannot turn DNie off, clay face
Summary: I purchased this TV over Christmas. I was agonizing over this set and the Panasonic. I finally settled on the Samsung because it was about $800 cheaper and had more features and better warranty.
The TV was easy to set up and the picture looked okay at first. Although, after watching a few DVDs I started to noticing that the actors faces looked really bad (the bright parts of their faces looked supper saturated and pixelated). I believe this is what is called 'clay face' and is a result of the DNIe feature of the tv. This wouldn't be a problem if you could disable this feature but you can't.
This set does have some image retention as well. One of my family members accidently left a test pattern on the screen for a hour. This image could be seen afterwards. The good news is that Samsung has several features that can remove this. After about 3 hours of the white screen, the image retention was gone. But I recommend you try to avoid any static images for the first 100 hrs but this is true for all plasmas.
Overall, this TV is decent and some of the pictures look really great (e.g HD tv). However, the faces of the actors is really starting to bother me especially in scenes where there are headshots. In these scences, the images look pretty bad. I've tried to calibrate the set using DVE calibration DVD but cannot resolve this issue. I am seriously considering returning this TV and getting the Panasonic which is really a shame because I really want to like this TV. In the end I will have to decide if this problem is worth $800. Although, I would recommend that you check this tv out and decide for your self
Write a Review
%20-%20Flat-panel%20TVs%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-hp-r4252/4852-6482_7-31396047.html&x_breadcrumb=6449:6475:6482&x_arw_bkts=MAD:high_wireless_switcher){kind=small}