Customer Reviews

Samsung HL-S4266W 42-Inch DLP HDTV

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought my 4266w from Amazon. The shipping took less then a week and that was without paying extra to get it fast. The product was carried into my house unboxed and placed from the shipping company. From 20 seconds after I turned it on the picutre was nothing short of awesome. This is true for SD and HD which is a feat in itself. Many HDTV's I have or see do a great job on HD but not so nice on SD.
Now for the the dirty little secret. After the euphoria wore off I noticed a few spots on the right side of the screen. After a closer look I noticed they were on the inside of the screen. No one at Samsung would tell me how to clean the spots off, they told me to call a service guy to clean it (not under warrantee). After a bit of effort I figured it out. There is an access panel on the right side (while facing the screen) of the TV. The tab on the panel can be removed with a flat tip screw driver. Once you remove the tab you can unscrew the one phillips screw and remove the access panel (circle). Look inside and ,surprise, you can wipe off the inside of the screen. This info is not anywhere on the web or in the documentation but it's worth noting (just in case)..

After way too much research, I decided to go with this Samsung HL-S4266W 42" DLP HDTV over the Sony KDFE42A10 42" LCD Rear Projection Television. I compared the two side by side for a long time with different signals going into them. I may have seen slightly better colors on the Sony from time to time-but it seemed that the reverse was true too. It was just not enough difference between the two to justify $200 difference. They both look incredible with HD content. The sound on the Samsung is great(not sure about the Sony). I finally set it not to stretch 4:3 content on non HD signals because I could see artifacts in the middle sometimes. I've had this TV for about 2 weeks now and when I invite people over to see the TV, they are amazed by the Picture Quality(of course I always show them 1080i HD content). I am very happy.

Update: I actually forgot I had reviewed this here so that is why I am just now updating this review(3/16/10). After a few weeks of watching the Samsung and adjusting it, I took it back and got the Sony KDFE42A10. The reason I took it back and got the Sony was because I couldn't get the colors to look as natural on the Samsung as I could the Sony, and the blacks on the Samsung were just that(black), where on the Sony I got more detail in the dark areas. The HD signals looked great on the Samsung, but they did on the Sony too. What I found was that most of the content I watch is in SD, and I liked the Sony picture much better when viewing Standard Definition content.

After lots of research, bought this TV because we needed a bigger screen, and didn't want to spend what it takes for a Plasma or LCD set. This is a GREAT television. We have HD reception, but even with regular signals, the picture is fantastic. Easy to use, meshes perfectly with our HDTV DVR box, and shows movies with breathtaking clarity. Highly recommend this set if you want great performance at a price considerably less than plasma or LCD.

Note, somehow Amazon saved my review as 4 stars, and I gave it one star. The only reason I gave it one star is that there was no choice of ZERO stars.

Purchased the TV online at a great price. Arrived in a very short amount of time, and EGL did an excellent job.

I set the TV up as per the directions, and ran the Digital Video Essentials DVD to calibrate the TV properly. This was done during daylight hours, and at first, everything seemed fine. However, when watching at night with a semi-dark room, and dark subject matter on the screen, I noticed what some people have called "black grass" in the lower center of the screen. It is only visible on dark scenes when watching in a semi-dark room.

I reseached this problem online, and it appears to be a CLASS problem, that is, everyone of these TVs has that specific problem. Other than that, the picture is wonderful - sharp, crisp, great color and deep blacks. But, once you notice the "black grass", it is hard to ignore and you start seeing it more and more. My girlfriend even commented on it, and she's not very picky when it comes to tech stuff like HDTV.

It is "strange" that after numerous people complained to Samsung, they lowered the price of the 46" model to the same as the 42" model. Essentially, admitting they have a problem and should do a recall, but not taking responsibility for their product. If you research this in AVS Forum online, you'll see that no one has been able to get Samsung to fix this problem on their TVs, yet SAMSUNG refuses to replace the TV or give a refund. Luckily for me, the online store I purchased the TV from accepted a return and gave me a refund. In turn, I purchased a 46" Sony LCD TV from them, and am 100% satisfied with that. Buyers beware of Samsung HL-S4266W HDTVs!!!

i bought this tv from amazon 3 weeks ago and i haven't regreted it since. the delivery was fast and the white glove service was awesome. they unpacked the tv, set it up on the stand, made sure the tv was working properly, and threw out the box. i suggest getting an hdmi cable to connect to your cable box instead of using the regular coax cable. the picture is 100x better with hdmi. there's even a second hdmi port on the tv, so i hooked my dvd player up to it as well.

i didn't pay plasma quality money, so i wasn't expecting that. but it sure comes close! regular channels are tolerable, but the hdtv feeds are incredible. it can get a little grainy at times, so if its going to bother you THAT MUCH then spend an extra $1000 for a plasma. i'd give the overall picture quality a 9 out of 10. the sound is great with the tv speakers alone.

people who have bad things to say about this tv have champagne taste with beer money. like i said, if you want the best quality possible get a plasma. but if you want an hdtv that comes real close without breaking the bank, i suggest getting this one!

After I had reached "research overload" comparing plasma, LCD, DLP, etc. I purchased the Samsung HL-S4266W DLP HDTV. And I was not disappointed. This TV is so fun to watch! I am completely satisfied with it. Great job Samsung on an incredible TV. (I should note however, I have not even turned the TV speakers on because I have a surround sound system. So I cannot comment on the speakers, just the great picture.)

Update: Well, I finally listened to the TV speakers. I was using the USB feature to watch a slideshow of some photos while listening to an mp3 of Mozart. The sound quality was great for TV speakers. The slideshow feature of the TV is very nice for viewing photos with groups of people rather than crowding around a computer screen.

This TV has been a disappointment. You're supposed to be able to view in 720p, and I haven't been able to since I had DirecTV HD setup. It flickers every 3 seconds and makes a horrible screeching sound. 480p works just ok. You can't watch one channel however for more than 10 minutes without the picture flickering, going black or getting a "searching for signal" message. I've had this tv for three weeks now and haven't been able to talk to a samsung technician because they're only available from 6-7 EST, M-F, which sucks for any West Coast person with a job. I've tried troubleshooting the thing myself, resetting the HD box, switching out HDMI cables, unplugging and replugging in the tv. Nothing seems to work. Scarily, the DirecTV guy, who I had come out a second time just to make sure it wasn't a bad connection, said he just installed the hd box for another customer with a different samsung dlp, who had the same problems not being able to watch on 720p. Seriously, what's the point of having an HDTV if you can't watch in HD? 480 isn't considered HD!

Having seen this TV in stores, I was very impressed. After doing further research, though, I found that the 46" model had slightly better black levels and did not suffer from a problem some refer to as "black grass." Black grass describes a (slight) certain shadow or impression that you see at the top and/or bottom of the screen that may be distracting for some. So, if you have the space, the small price increase (around $40, if I am not mistaken) is certainly worth it for those small details and a larger image.

Aside from that, the TV is brilliant and produced a picture as good as most any LCD or plasma I have seen (albeit from a more restricted viewing angle). I just submitted a very detailed review of the 46" model, whose details, except for those mentioned above, are just about the exact same as this one's, and the bottom line is that it is a great choice.

This is the first HD Wide screen TV I have purchased so my experience is limited.
I had to set-up the TV on my own and it took me several attempts to get it right. My difficulties were with getting the wide screen capabilities on channels that were not HD. The result was well worth the time and effort it took.
Every day I marvel at the picture quality [especially this time of year while watching football].
Also, I was very pleased with saving $250.00 over the best offer I could find by purchasing through Amazon.
Delivery was on schedule and the delivery team was professional in their interaction.
All in all I am extremely pleased with this purchase and I plan to purchase another Samsung [most likely through Amazon] for my rec room.

I purchased this television after researching all my HD options. It is the perfect balance or price, size,picture, and life span (of course, anticipating a lamp change). When I purchased it in June of 2006, the price was still $1499 at most places. A couple of points:
1. Great picture IF you use HD cables. I've gotten great performance out of three video game systems (PS2, Wii, 360) and an upconverting dvd player.
2. Buy an upconverting DVD player. It is so worth it. And use an HDMI cable with it.
3. The picture might take a little adjusting, but once you get it right, I think it offers more cinematic visuals than anything I've seen.
4. The sound quality is surprisingly good.
5. I haven't had any problems with the tv (although, I must say that mine is not hooked up to any tv signal and I only use it an average of 2 hours a day for movies and games). My understanding is that a lamp change is likely, but that overall, DLP has a longer life than any other HD format.