Customer Reviews

Samsung HL-S5686W 56-Inch DLP HDTV

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

We researched HDTVs for a month on the net and in stores, and went with Samsung due to the high degree of customer satisfaction expressed in reviews like this one. We don't watch broadcast television, we got it just for DVDs. If you are a sports fan, or plan to be the first on your block with Blu-Ray, you might want to consider going for a higher end model with 1080p, but this TV is terrific for movies. The aspect ratio and size is a welcome step up from our old 35", and the features and connectivity are understandable and convenient. We've had the TV for a month, and our unit has performed flawlessly. One of our concerns was possible fan or color wheel noise, but only if your ear is close to the TV (and everything else is off) is the fan detectable. The brightness and contrast are excellent, and the color rendition was natural right out of the box. The sound is unexpectedly good, we haven't bothered to hook it up to an amp. Can't think of anything bad to say about this TV! Check it out!

I'm the kind of consumer who doesn't mind waiting an extra week or even an extra month in order to get MY price. I read every opinion, shopped lots of locations, both on and off the internet and ultimately decided upon the 56" Samsung. I must admit that I was quite skeptical at first of making such a large purchase on-line and having to deal with whatever nightmare might arise from it. I can honestly say that after just three short days, my breathing has become as steady and clear as the picture on this incredible television. This is quite a unit. Very simple instructions walk you through the installation. It virtually took just minutes to complete. I do plan, as I'm sure most of the PROS will tell you, on "tweaking" with the many adjustments that are offered on this set. But right out of the box, it looks watchable to me. If you're worried about the perfect green and/or the absolute flawless of contrast, you have it all at your fingertips of a rather functional remote control. I plugged in three different colored component video lines, poked the cord into the wall and VOILA . . . high definition television. Bay Area delivery was handled by Eagle Logistics. I simply recorded the tracking number which Amazon provided and kept in close phone contact with the shipper. Once the shipment hit ground at SFO, I called and asked for dispatch, booked a convenient three hour window and happily received a dent free box of television. I am VERY satisfied with the results and happy to share this experience with you. Go ahead . . . . . trust YOUR judgement !!!

I have had this TV for nearly two months. The picture on most programming is really nice but on some shows it has lines and/or pixels; not sure if it is my signal or the TV, I have comcast HD; which the HD channels are great. I have in the past had a 50" plasma (which I returned due to a humming noise that couldn't be fixed) and a 50" Sony LCD projection (which I lost due to a flood; it worked excellent for the two years I had it). The plasma definetly had a better pictures for contrast and brightness; if you can live with a humming and the fact that they typically break more.

I had considered the 1080p version however since there are almost no signals out there that are that high of resolution; whats the point.I also have a 32" LCD tv and in my opinion it has the best picture compared to plasma; DLP and LCD projection. In hindsight I might buy a 40" LCD and live with a smaller picture.

this TV is easy to operate and has ample inputs.

The problem I have had with the Smasung was the remote only worked from 3-4 feet from the TV; not very convient if you sit 12 feet from it. Samsung sent out a repair man and aparently it was just a little peice of plastic that was not removed during manufacturing was blocking the signal.
I buy a lot from Amazon however I bought this from Butterfly Photo with a three year warranty and bulb replacement plan for $2080 including tax, and shipping. Their warranty kept coming down in price as I told them I didn't want it.

In all for large TV's I would reccomend this TV or the Sony.

Check out the reviews at Cnet.com and decide if the difference in price between the Sony and the Samsung is worth it to you. Further decide if you want to spend more for a 1080p (the new standard at some future date) or go with 720p/1080i which is the best broadcast available today. Remember that the prices will continue to fall. This model delivers excellent high definition. I watched the Texas game last night on ABC and noticed metal flake in the helmets, condensation on the water bottles and a grasshopper on the bench. My standard DVD's look better too. The only problem with this TV is that I can't stop watching it :) In conclusion: save money online and don't pay TAX!

I purchased the Samsung HL-S5686W 56" DLP HDTV last week and am very happy with my purchase. The TV looks great and Halo 2 rocks on the big screen - just make sure to change it to game mode. I saved so much money buying this TV from Amazon over an electronic store. Here is the price break out:

Amazon
Samsung 56" DLP $1499
Samsung TV Stand $183
4-yr Warranty $119
5 DayShipping $50
Total $1851

Electronic Store
Samsung 56" DLP $1999
Samsung TV Stand $250
4-yr Warranty $399
5 DayShipping $0
TOTAL $2648

That is a difference of $797. That is HUGE.

The TV itself is great, but you really need to get the HD service to make it spectacular. I bought a HD antenna, but didn't get any reception with it. I can only assume it's because I'm too far from the broadcast station.

The TV stand (TR50X3BX) looks very sleak with the TV. It was easy to put together and is very sturdy.

The warranty can be purchased through Amazon, but it is actually distibuted by another company. When you search for TV warranties on Amazon, you will see 4 warranties that appear to be the same, but are different prices. I called the company that sells these warranties and asked what the difference was. They told me that there is no difference between the $119 warranty and the $499 warranty; they cover the exact same thing. The girl I spoke with even asked her manager and he said there is no difference. Warranties are a tricky item to review, because it all looks good until you actually need it. So, on this one, I suppose only time will tell. The one diffence between the Amazon warranty and the electronic store warranty is that the Amazon one will not replace the first bulb in the TV; but I figure if I need to replace the bulb within those four years I will still be saving $100 because I can get a new bulb for around $200.

The shipping was great too. I paid about $50 to get the 5 day shipping. It was delivered to my door within 5 days; the delivery guy unboxed it and carried it in the house for me. This is great for those who don't have a truck of their own.

I am very happy with this purchase and look forward to many more nights of watching football and playing Halo.

I had been waiting and waiting to purchase a big screen and finally chose this one. I had read all the reviews, had seen all the comparsions, and I couldn't be more happy with my decision. This was a great buy! I saved over $700 buying it from Amazon instead of at Best Buy or another store.

With the price of large, widescreen HDTV sets dropping, and after thinking about it for the last 2-4 years, we decided that this would be the year we upgraded our 20-or-so year old 27 inch Zenith CRT TV for a larger, widescreen TV that would truly allow us to enjoy our DVD collection, as well as Dish Network broadcasts. Initially, I was looking at a low priced 50 inch CRT rear projection model that was on sale.

After doing extensive research on-line, as well as going into numerous stores and comparing countless sets and various technologies, including DILA, LCD & Plasma, we decided that DLP technology would give us the most bang for our buck with the most pleasing picture and settled on the Samsung HL-S5686W as being the best investment within our price range. I would recommend that you decided on a price range that is comfortable for your budget and then narrow down your choices from the available sets within that price range, trying to center on which features are most important to you. Otherwise, you will continually find yourself trying to justify spending "just a bit more" and then actually spending substantially more in the end. The 56 inch screen is bigger than the 46-52 inch screens we had been looking at, though the price difference wasn't that much, and it shows bright & colorful realistic images. It is slightly matted, so there is no glare from the windows or lights in our living room. There is no Screen Door Effect that we noticed with every LCD TV we looked at. With DLP technology, there are also no concerns about burn-in or the degrading of colors over time. The projection bulb, which will eventually need replacing some years from now, with the length of time depending on how many hours a day you use your TV, can be removed and installed by you, so there will not be a potentially expensive service call needed. This also ensures that the colors are just as vibrant 5-10 years from now as they were when the set was brand new. There is a very thin border around the screen, so the case doesnt detract in any way from viewing, and it is also both shallow and lightweight. If you do not have a home theater audio system, which I highly recommended, there are stereo speakers built-in that will give decent, acceptable sound. There are a wide variety of connection options to the rear, including HDMI and component video. There are also audio & video connections on the right side for attaching equipment, with digital & video cameras as well as all of the various gaming consoles immediately coming to mind. Speaking of gaming consoles, there is a Game Mode setting that is supposed to provide optimized settings. In addition, there is a USB port, called WiseLink, which can be used to attach flash drives, MP3 players, digital cameras and such for viewing or listening. The menus are easy to navigate and are pleasing to look at, and they can be adjusted for transparency to your personal tastes. The remote control is easy to use, once you get accustomed to it, and it is programmable for other audio & video equipment.

As for the picture.... With my Apex DVD player hooked in via component connectors, I viewed Finding Nemo and found the picture quality to be truly breathtaking. I was immersed in bright, vivid colors and crystal clear video. Everything was so sharp, with lightning fast action and no lag time noted. At some point you felt like you could swim right into the picture! Sitting from 10 feet away, I felt like I was in my own private movie theater, which is exactly what I had hoped for. I used the THX calibration available on the disc to fine tune the display and found the picture even better! I'd say that at least basic calibration of any HDTV is a must, as the settings from the factory are usually overly bright and saturated. From what I have read on-line, a newer DVD player with progressive scanning and an HDMI connection should even be better, which is not only hard to imagine, but something that I will definitely look into after the Holdiays. That being said, be aware that the digital picture quality is SO good that it will also show *any* flaws in the source material or any problems with the broadcast signal. The larger your screen size, the more this will become glaringly apparent. This is true of ANY of the modern HDTVs using digital technology. Keep in mind when viewing TVs at the stores that they are trying to give you the best signal they can to sell you on High Definition TVs. Also keep in mind that some TVs may be properly calibrated, while others are not so side by side comparisons are not always so cut and dried. The picture will look utterly fantastic with DVD & true HD materials and broadcasts, but Standard Definition material, including broadcasts from my present Dish Network Model 4900 receiver, will show numerous imperfections, and possibly even a blockiness and pixelization. I especially noticed this on certain Dish broadcasts, probably due to both poor source material and the MPEG-2 compression methods used in the satellite transmission. Once again, please note that this is NOT a fault of the HDTV! After the Holidays, I may look into upgrading my Dish receiver to an HD model or setting up an antenna to see if I can get Over The Air signals in HD. I have found that keeping a distance of 10-13 feet from the screen greatly enhances the viewing of SD material, as the closer you get the more you will notice the degraded picture quality. Additionally, if a specific broadcast is more annoying than others, I found that using the Movie Mode helped. Be aware that once you view HD anything in SD is always going to pale in comparison.

All of that being said, I cannot recommend this set enough! If you want the absolute latest technology with 1080p resolution, be prepared to spend more, MUCH more if you start looking at more connection options and LED projection lamps, but for most normal folks, this set with 720p-1080i, with 720p actually looking better, will do it all and do it very well at a very reasonable price.

i have searched all over the net and read plenty of reviews and ended up choosing this model. so far it works flawlessly with comcast hd and with upconverting dvd. its amazing how projection tv has progressed...even better than my 42" sharp lcd. i will buy nothing else. my lcd samsung monitors at work have been reliable and gave me outstanding pics for many years and this will not be an exception. this was 1 of the best purchases i have made.

I did a lot of research on purchasing a bigscreen TV. I have wanted to get one for sometime, but was waiting for the price to come down some. I was comparing the Sony Wega and the Samsung models, both the 50 and 56 models.

I read a lot of reviews, did a lot of research on the net and found the DLP technology to have a lot more favor with everyplace I read.

I was a little concerned with whether or not to buy online because of possible issues. I read alot of the customer reviews and people were happy, so I decided to bite the bullet. The 56" was $700 cheaper than the local brick and mortars. Not including tax and shipping, it was a great value purchasing from Amazon. I did do the express 3-5 day shipping, but the TV took a week to get here, that was my only complaint, but the shippers were excellent. 5 minutes in and out and it was all taken care of. They even found my apartment with no problems which is almost unheard of.

I highly reccomend both this brand/model of TV and purchasing from Amazon.

I extensively reviewed TV's for pricing and quality. The Amazon deal was hundreds less comparted to Target and Best Buy. I got the stand, the TV and FREE shipping. I've had this TV since early September 2006 (perhaps a month or so).

The stand arrived first, within about a week I believe. The TV came about two weeks later. It is light-weight and easy to move around. The stand is actually heavier and you have to put it together, however the quality is good and the stand is good looking.

The TV picture is excellent, with four modes to choose from (I use the 'standard' mode mostly, 'dynamic' is very bright). You can view the picture quite well from angles, though straight-on is obviously the best. Sound on the TV is excellent as well (for a TV). Menu controls are easy to access and intuitive (no brain surgery here).

I also chose this TV because it has PC connectors for video and sound, right from the PC. I connect my PC because I have many movies on it. You could use the TV as a huge monitor if you want to browse the Internet.

NOTE: My research showed you cannot connect a 'normal' DVD player and expect a HQ picture. I purchased a LG DVD player which upgrades the signal to 720p and the picture is excellent. !! If you need an HDMI cable, go to Sam's Club and save $50 on a cable !!

I've been technical since childhood, and have worked with many, many electronic items (radio/video/stereo, etc.). My last TV is a 32" Sony tube. This TV is outstanding and the price was excellent, I saved over $500 through Amazon. I shied away from 1080p because virtually no one is supporting it yet, it was not worthy the extra cash in my mind.