Customer Reviews

Samsung HLN617W 61-Inch Widescreen Projection HDTV with DLP Technology

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When I bought my new house, I decided that my basement needed a MONSTER tv to make me feel all spiffy and like a big man :P. The choice for me was between the 70" Sony Grand Wega XBR and this 61" Samsung DLP.

DLP and LCD both have their pros and cons.. Seeing the two TVs at Circuit City (where I got mine) nearly side-by-side gave me the opportunity to notice things that I might not have remembered otherwise had I bounced back and forth between stores to make my decision.

Either TV is great.. These are both top of the line sets and you really can't go wrong.. However, here are a few things that I noticed.. And be aware, different people see different things so your mileage may vary..

LCD Pro: The LCD was very slightly crisper in general. For the most part, you couldn't tell the difference. However, there were certain cases where you could see a slightly sharper image on the LCD; namely the TV logos in the bottom right corner of the screen and the edges of cetain images. The picture was stunning and the black-depth was quite good, although not quite as deep as on the DLP.

DLP Pro: I am a big video game player, animation fan and movie buff. Video games and anime tend to have very rich colors since, after all, it is artificially generate.. In video games you will seen greens and blues that you rare ever come across in your life. In the color area, the DLP shines.. While the Sony XBR color was such that you could not criticize it in any way really, the DLP just blew it out of the water. The color on the DLP is *perfect*.. There is no over-saturation or bleed-through.. Colors are crisp, distinct and beautiful. The blacks are JET black.. Top notch.. Another huge plus, although irrelevant for most, is that the Samsung actually has an XGA port in the back, allowing me to hook a computer up to it directly so as to surf the web from my sofa.

DLP Con: As some people have noted, DLP really exposes flaws in your source.. If you have an 'iffy' signal quality, the DLP will make you aware of that. For me this was a non-issue as I bought the Monster Powerbar and the Samsung DVI progressive-scan DVD player.. Since I have a great-quality digital cable feed here, the images look perfect.

LCD Con: This was the killer. Some people do not notice it, but I did and it ruled out the Sony. LCD has a problem with 'motion blur' when there is fast motion taking place on the screen. This is VERY VERY slight.. so slight that even with movies, you are unlikely to notice it. However, as I stood perusing the TVs, the demo-disc cycled to a college football game.. And there it was.. On a long 50-yard pass, as well as a breakaway run, there was clear motion blur around the ball and the athletes.. The LCD just cannot keep up with the image at that level of speed.

As a huge sports nut (FOOTBALL!), this killed it for me..

So, again, you can't go wrong with these TVs. I was all set to spend the extra $2,300 to get the extra 9" of screen, since I do love Sony products.. But that motion blur killed it for me and I happily plunked down the money and took home my Samsung.. I have been COMPLETELY satisfied with it.

NOTE: Do yourself a favor.. Buy this locally (sorry Amazon) and get the extended warranties.. I never buy those but on LCD and DLP TVs, it will pay for itself.. CC's was $499 for a 4 year extension that covers bulb replacement as many times as you call it in.. Bulb replacement can run $200-$300 and is recommended every 2000 or so hours.. So, the extended plan will pay for itself over the life of your TV.

Here's a feedback which I left for HLP model TVs also. HLNs are older thatn HLP and the feedback below compares HLP/HLN/HLM. It does not has the nunmber of input/output (composite/component etc) since that can easily be found on the product description page.

This reviews pretty much applies to all the DLP level TVs from Samsung. I researched for around more than couple of months before finally buying this one.

Samsung initially started with HLM/HLN series DLP models which were using HD2 chip from Texas Instruments and the contrast ratio was 1000:1. This performed very well in reviews, quality and black level as compared to Sony LCD rear projection.

The next series is the latest on which is HLP xx63 series where xx is the size in diagonal (HLP 4663, HLP 5063). The improvements in this are 7 segment color wheel instead of 6-segment, which gives better color. This also uses 3rd generation chip HD3 which has contrast ratio of 1500:1. The bulb are also better in this one since there were some problems in the earlier version of the TV. This is a great TV, light weight as compared to some other and plasmas.

The next series which is out only in 2 models is HLP 5085 and HLP5685. These are also 7-segment color wheel but they have HD2+ chip. This is 4th generation chip and is better than HD3. Its contrast ratio is 2500:1 which should mean better black levels. These are the ones with pedestal which looks cool in the picture but is kinda bulky looking in the store. I'm not sure why this model is not out in 46 inches, may be it doesn't make difference in smaller sizes.

Next, 5th generation chip is going to be xHD3 and should give around 4500:1 contrast ratio.

Overall, DLPs are better since they have better contrast than plasmas and weigh less. They also don't have a burn-in issue like plasmas. HLP series is the best one till now and Samsung is the oldest player in this.

Other manufacturers are also catching up, so this should drive the price down further. good for consumers.

Hope this helps and good luck shopping.

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Some more feedback on the picture and input modes after two weeks into the purchase:

The contrast ratio of HLN/HLP series are good provided you are watching the TV at the same height. If you watch from slightly above/below or left/right, then you'll see it slightly less bright. Just like a laptop screen behaves, maye slightly better.

It has following picture modes:
- 4:3 standard definition (SD) cable programming. puts black bars on the side of the picture if you watch it in this mode.
- wide mode (16:9). if you watch SD tv on this mode, it'll stretch the picture
- panorama mode. stretches only the outside portion of the picture making center of the picture in the correct proporting (aspect ratio) but the sides bit distorted
- zoom1/zoom2: they just soom in from the center with different stretching methods.

Component inputs (in SD and HD) aspect ratios only have normal and wide options. Normal being a little pinched, while wide is normal.

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Some more feedback after 5 weeks of purchase.

I started seeing some problems with the lamp. The manual says that when the bulb/lamp needs replacement, all the three lights on the front switch will start blinking. Atleast couple of times a day, the following was happening:
- when I switch on the TV, the lamp will try to bring the picture while the audio was there
- after couple of seconds tv will go to standby mode
- it'll turn on again after couple of seconds and try to bring up the picture
- and go again the loop to standby mode

something this happens 3-4 times and the pictures comes and sometime it just gives up and the tv turns off.

I'm glad that I bought the warranty after couple of weeks from Circuit city itself, otherwise lamps are not covered in one year Sammy warranty.

... to be continued ...

updated on 12/19:
The TV has been working great ever since, no complains what so ever. I've also tried playing DVD and asf format movies on the laptop connected to the TV thru 25pin monitor cable and stereo audio cables, and it all works fine.

Firstly, I love the TV. I bought it because I wanted good contrast, bright colors, and no burn-in (I play a lot of X-Box games) and it delivers all those. But I'm giving it only three stars because it's just not very reliable.
- it is incredibly sensitive to signal quality. I have digital cable; there was heavy snow on many channels and I was getting dropouts - the channel suddenly missing - on the others. The cable company diagnosed a bad ground line, replaced it, and everything was fine. But during the entire time, my spare TV (CRT) looked perfectly fine - no snow, no dropout. So it's this TV that's sensitive.
- It needs a lot of service. It blew the lamp (a $239 dollar part) after three months, the color wheel after six, and now, at 11 months, it's just blown the lamp again. I'm about to get a warranty replacement of the whole light engine.I am kicking myself for not buying a 3-year extended warranty from the dealer.

And just as a FYI, I bought Samsungs HDTV DVD player and use the DVI conenction and the picture quality is awesome.

I've had this set for 8 months now and I am still impressed with it's performance. I did allot of research before deciding which set would be my first HDTV. After weighing all of the pluses and minuses (for me) the Samsung DLP's came out on top.
No burn-in means you can watch your standard definition (SD) programs in their normal 4:3 aspect ratio (no need too stretch the picture). You could leave a static image on the TV 24/7 and it will not affect the screen. Also DLP's are not affected by magnetic fields, which means you can put non-shielded speakers right next to them. I would highly recommend a DVD player with a DVI output (like the Bravo D1 or Samsung's 931 ) which will provied the best possible picture with these TV's (I've run some tests). Be aware that with DLP's the better the source the better the picture. Now I'm not talking about high dollar cables (a $25 DVI cable will perform the same as a $100 one), what I mean is High Definition programming looks spectacular as do DVD's through a DVI enabled DVD player, but SD programming can look anywhere from good to preety bad. Very happy with my decision.

This is the second HDTV that I own (the first is a "normal" flat screen 36" Panasonic). I did a fair amount of reserach comparing this DLP TV with the Plasma and LCD types.

In side-by-side comparisons, I found the DLP to have sharp crisp images with deep saturated colors equal to the best Velvia slides. The TV is light enough for one person to move around (less than 100 lbs compared to 300 lbs for my 36" TV) and one can view the picture at angles of about 120 degrees.

I connected my DLP TV to a surround sound system (5.1 - 5 Klipsch speakers plus a Velodyne sub-woofer) and it works well right out of the box. Unlike the statements of one other reviewer, I have found absolutely no advantage to using monster cable (in fact I have engineer friends who work for some of the leading audio speaker companies who assure me that regular speaker wire can more than handle the miniscule amount of electric current that is flowing through speaker wire) and you don't need the services of any professional to hook-up or use this TV.

I have cable TV with an HDTV receiver. One minor quibble is that when you connect it using the component inputs, you lose the ability to zoom in - the only choices being the regular TV format or the letterbox.

I have had my TV for about one year now and use it for several hours every day. I have not had any trouble with it, the original lamp is working just fine and I have not purchased an extended warranty (with no regrets). For the price difference between this one and plasma or LCD TVs (the Sony WEGA LCD is a projection TV and not a true LCD) of several thousand dollars, this decision was a no-brainer - I would strongly recommend the DLP as one of the best on the market.

After long and arduous search for a big-screen TV, and having bad experience dealing with RCA's Scenium model (avoid at all cost!), we finally settled on the Samsung DLP. The technology is great. Pictures are crystal clear and much brighter. Best TV for Monday night football (with an antenna) and the great DVD movies you have. Network broadcasts of sports events are a whole new experience with this TV. Plus you can't beat the light weight. Highly recommended.

The only drawback is that this TV makes those channles with poor signals that much more difficult to tolerate.

To find out more about the DLP technology, you can visit:
www.dlp.com

This is the first review I have ever posted on a product I have purchased. I am so impressed with this TV that I had to post a positive review as a public service. I know the time I spent researching big screen TVs and hopefully I can help somebody shortcut that time. This is the most amazing picture I have seen on any screen including LCD, plasma or anything else. I enjoy DVDs and HDTV more than the theater experience. I highly recommend this set.

The DLP system produces a stunning picture for the price. Another important feature for those with kids is that unlike a plasma or LCD, you can't "burn in" an image by pausing a playstation game, etc. Set is amazingly light. Purchasers need to understand up front that eventually you will have to replace the bulb, generally at 3-4 years. Get a service warranty that includes coverage for a bulb failure.

Also recommend purchase the Samsung (or other) DVD with a DVI interface. Movies are stunning with this feature.

My wife and I purchased our Samsung HLN617W HDTV one month ago and we are very pleased with it! We researched a lot of products and technology before buying our big screen TV and surround sound system. We divided the large screen products into four categories, Projection High Definition TV (HDTV), Projection HDTV with DLP, Flat Panel Plasma display and overhead projectors. The overhead projector is a viable option only if you have a dedicated room with controlled lighting. The Flat Panel Plasma displays are still way too expensive for the size screen that we wanted. The HDTV with DLP has a brighter picture and wider viewing angle than HDTV without DLP. Plus the HDTV with DLP units are lighter and more compact than HDTV models (our Samsung 61" HLN617W is only 18" deep and weighs less than 100 pounds).
After deciding on a HDTV with DLP we researched reviews on the Internet and looked at lots of makes and models in stores (Circuit City, Costco, Sam's Club, etc.). One thing that I noticed looking at the TVs is that when the screen is dark, some models have a clear and distracting reflection in the background. You can see a mirror reflection of people and lights behind you. Other makes and models have a much more muted, diffused and subtle reflection that is less distracting. In a totally darkened room this might not be a big deal, but most people have some background light in their home theater family or living rooms. I HIGHLY recommend that you choose an HDTV-DLP model that has a subdued background reflection (like the Samsung HLN617W)!
I also recommend that you buy an extended warranty with any HDTV-DLP. The projection lamp for the Samsung HLN617W is rated for approximately 6000 hours or about 3 years and costs around $250.00.
Recommend you get a DVD player (or surround sound DVD system) with "progressive scan" video output for which you need special red-green-blue high quality video cables. You should also use digital audio cables whenever possible. If you have cable or satellite TV, you will want to subscribe to the new High Definition (HDTV) channels. I declined the more expensive option for the home theater setup-wiring-configuration because I am a technology buff, but I spent more than a few hours getting our home theater setup and integrated with a few of our other entertainment units. For those who are purchasing surround sound systems, the extra bucks for home theater setup, wiring & configuration might be worth it.
On a final note, do a Google search for "Samsung HLN617W reviews" and read some of the other fine reviews and prices before you spend big $$$ for your HDTV with DLP.

Looked at both the Sony LCDs and Samsung DLP. Samsung picture sharper and brighter (for my taste). Oversaturation of greens was not an issue and not distracting. Noticed it more where scenes were darker. Samsung 931 DVI works very well. Onkyo 701 receiver along with Polk Audio and Velodyne speakers sound great. Other concerns mentioned in other reviews I have not found to be an issue such as "fan noise" and "rainbows". Overall a very theatre-like experience and well worth the money.