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"Display panel began malfunctioning in under 60 days." on by Dexter888
Pros: None! The TV is worthless as the entire right 1/3 has a black cloud over the picture.
Cons: Inferior product, horrific customer services and be careful as Samsung will try to replace original parts with refurbished/alternate cheaper replacement parts.
Summary: I waited to purchase the perfect Flat Screen TV and got the biggest $2000.00 lemon known to man kind. The right 1/3 of the display panel developed a black haze/cloud after about 40 days of use. Because the defect occurred past 30 days, Best Buy had me deal with the Manufacture directly. This is where the fun really begins ... If you've ever had the pleasure of dealing with Samsung customer service (1-800-726-7864) you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. Here the abbreviated version: My TV had a diagnostic check conducted at my house. The local repair company determined the display panel was defective ... They contacted Samsung to report the problem and were informed the replacement part would not be available until after 24 Nov. The wait was over 30 days! When I contacted Samsung's Customer Service , a very unpleasant lady tried to inform me it was the local repair companies fault, in her opinion they should have coded the TV "not repairable." She got very angry with me as if she was the person that spent $2000 on a defective TV. I called back on Monday morning and spoke to Samsung's Executive Escalation Department (800) 522-7341 and that's where the executive run around began. I was first told ... too bad, nothing we can do and was informed to write a letter to the "Samsung, Office of the President." I called back a few days later and was told that "an alternative part" was available. When I asked for the technical specifications on each display panel I was told that Samsung would not provide technical specifications. Long story short, one of the call center personnel did provide me with the Part #s. The alternate part, was a cheaper replacement part and still to this day Samsung will not provide technical specifications.
There is NO HAPPY ENDING here, still to the day I have been given the option of accepting "the alternate part" or waiting on the original part on back order.
Defective Product ... Call center of excuses ... equals stay away. -
"Why do they STINK?" on by Antoninus45
Pros: Samsung makes beautiful products and the technology is great.
Cons: We got a new Samsung HDTV, and it STINKS -- literally. The outgas is bad; we had to move it to a bedroom, leave the windows open, and sleep in the living room for 3 weeks. Why doesn't Samsung bake it out before shipping? Not for folks with kids!
Summary: The technology of new electronics may be great, but companies have to take responsibility for making sure the product doesn't harm its customers. A little extra care and time are the least they can do for their customers. Environmental illness is a real problem, as those with asthma, allergies, and multiple chemical sensitivities can tell you. Is it any wonder asthma rates in our children are climbing? It's time people take a stand and demand better health standards when it comes to chemical exposure.
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"Buy Extended Warranty" on by MrsIrizarry
Pros: Initially, the picture was everything I could have hoped for. Crisp colors and made watching blue ray dvd's quite enjoyable.
Cons: After 18 months the screen developed red vertical lines and images would freeze on the screen.
Summary: I paid a lot of money for this set and will be paying on it for the next year. I don't know how much it will cost to repair but I will not purchase another Samsung TV. I would expect a TV in excess of $1500 would last longer than 18 months. Sony will be my one and only from this point forward.
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"Have owned this 4 months now..." on by lawgone
Pros: Thin, sexy design. Deep, vibrant colors. Sound is surprisingly good for its size. Doesn't get warm.
Cons: Minorly annoying dimming backlight. Some backlight uneveness noticable during panning on bright scenes.
Summary: Screen: When I first purchased this I was very concenred about the reflective screen. Having previously owned a non-reflective Sony LCD I did notice my reflection the first couple days, but only during very dark scenes when it was really bright inside. BUT, after a couple weeks I stopped noticing it at all. In other words, do not let the reflective screen hinder your decision.
Picture: As for picture quality, it is quite good. I originally purchased a Sony to replace my old Sony but returned it for this and am glad I did. While the Sony was nice, the Samsung has much deeper more vibrant colors. You really notice it in the blue colors...especially if you're looking at your program guide or playing a game. The remote is nice too. I'm not a big fan of the dejudder processing. It leaves things looking too smooth and ironically, sometimes it can't keep up with all the processing and you'll get a stutter. Luckily, you can select a level on this of 1-10. I usually leave it at 3 or 0.
Backlight: I've never noticed any brighter or darker spots so don't worry about that. Whatever they used to disperse the lighting works really well. However, on occassion I'll notice some very faint spotches at the top on scenes where the camera shows the sky and then pans. It's not that bad and I have a feeling others don't notice it but I'm pretty finicky. The other thing is the dimming. Since this is edge lit there is no local dimming, so the firmware looks at the picture and at somepoint when the values are all dark enough it lowers the backlighting. You almost never see this in effect in a show or even a movie. You'll see it in the credits though. Since the background is all black with just small white print the firmware lowers the lighting. Unfortunately, it's kind of annoying because it makes those words hard to read. You'll see it in some commercials too where they just show the company logo against a black screen. There is not apparent benefit to doing this and it should be an easy fix for Samsung but they've not issued any firmware updates. Not a big deal but just slightly annoying. Again, not enough that I would want to get a different TV.
Wireless: I bought the wireless USB dongle and it works well if you want to look at the widgets - although I've found I almost never do (don't waste your money on the 7000 or 8000 just for "yahoo" widgets.) But every time I go to the "check for updates" in the menu to see if there are any firmware updates, I get a message saying there was an error connecting. It's not the wireless or the widgets wouldn't work, so it may be an issue with Samsung's download site.
In summary, if it weren't for the few fairly minor things I've mentioned I would give this TV 5 stars. For now, I give it 4 and 1/2. Samsung could probably issue a firmware update and fix the small issues but I doubt they will. -
"Still an LCD TV it just uses LED for a backlight!!" on by mack5555
Pros: The 120hz is much improved over previous samsung models.
Cons: Uneven backlight, really noticable on anamorphic widescreen. Poor viewing angle. Poor contrast.
Summary: Overall a really cool step in the direction of a sleek style with the thickness of the TV, but a step backwards in picture quality. Still an LCD TV it just uses LED for a backlight which seams to be very misleading as they say nothing about LCD even in the manual.
Uneven backlight, really noticable on anamorphic widescreen movies. Poor viewing angles compared to previous samsung LCD TVs. Contrast is poor especially when taken out of vivid mode or after the TV has been calibrated. Out of the box everything is cranked up on high to make contrast look ok which looks nice in the store but not in a low light area like your home.
In my opinion the only reason to buy this TV is if you need something really thin for a certain application. You can spend less and get a better picture in the standard Samsung or Sony line.
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