Customer Reviews

Samsung HPS4273 42-Inch Plasma HDTV

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

 

 

Went through the old "plasma vs LCD" game for a couple of months. Could of fit a 46in LCD in my entertainment center. Looked hard at the LCD's and just decided for me, sports and movies, the plasma gave a better image. A little more film like and not as edgy as the LCD's. LCD's look great upon first viewing, but watch some sports and people's faces. For my usage, plasma works better right now.

Bought this TV when the price dropped. Love the gloss black frame. Picture, after 100hr break in and adjustment, is stunning on HD and acceptable on SD. SD will always look a little soft, nature of the source.
Have read many accounts on the web of this set "buzzing". Set my TV up in the dining room for a few days just in case I got a "bee hive" in a box. Set was super quiet. VERY SMALL buzzing from the top left I could only hear if my ear was 6in away. At 2ft + it was quiet. Yea ! Then went through reconfiguring my entertainment center, new HD cable box, new AV recv'r, new DVD upconvert player, new speakers, just a few wires to re-route.

Got everything connected, cleaned off fingerprints, sat back and turned it on. BUUUZZZZZZZ.
Dang ! (or words to that effect) Sound was not tolerable until the volume was turned up past 15. Now it's 1am.
Looking on line for what I might return the set and get, dreading the back and forth of service calls on a new set, kicking myself for not heading the "buzz" warnings I had seen online. After about 30 minutes of self flogging, I realized "hey the set was quiet in the dining room. what changed?" Started doing the old cable check, surge protector check, even tried another outlet on the same wall. Nada. Then I got a thought, grabbed one of my Transparent Audio Power Cables. It's one of those semi-hi-end filtered AC cords. Plugged it in to the Samsung, turned the TV back on, and whisper quiet was returned. Picture even looked clearer, might just be me though.

Guess the end result is, I'm extremely pleased with the picture quality, set looks great even when off, new antiglare screen dramitcally reduces room glare. It's in a 16x24 room and looks awesome. However you MUST have a clean AC plug or some type of quality power filter/conditioner, not your regular surge protector, to get the most from this set. For some reason this set, or maybe plasmas in general, are more sensative to line issues.

Good luck on your choice. I'm happy with this one. Now if I could only fit that 63in plasma........ :-)

I bought this a few weeks ago after much research over the past couple years. Finally opted for this over the Panasonic 600 when I compared the picture side by side at a local brick and morter. I had read that others had encountered a buzzing issue and later had issues with Samsung's customer service but this was with the 4253's and 5053's. I figured that it was a bad batch and the newer 73's would be fine. WRONG, Wrong, wrong! I hear buzzing in my sleep.

So I called in the local service rep via Samsung's customer service line. Today he shows up and is totally nice and very helpful, but tends to think this is normal of all plasmas. I'm sorry but I shouldn't have to turn the volume up past level 30 to not hear a buzzing sound. Later he agreed that it was an irritant and then proceeded to call Samsung. The test was to set the volume to 10 and listen from 6 plus feet away. If you still heard the buzzing, then something's not right. Well, something's not right with my September Mexican manufactured 4273.

Now I'm waiting to hear from Samsung to see what next. 10 days or so, I guess. I'll reply with details post the event and let you know how that turns out.

Overall not mad...this happens. But will be royally upset if Samsung doesn't own up to this obvious issue. Way too many people talking about this buzzing for it not to be some kind of manufacturing defect.[..]

I picked this set up online for $800. I bought a Panamax power conditioner to prevent some of the things I heard about buzzing. Picked up the conditioner for 20 bucks online and had it read for the tv. Plugged the tv in and it worked perfectly!

HD looks great and I hear absolutely nothing at all. Connected this to my XBOX360, digital camera, and media pc. Have had a flawless performance with all 3 thus far!

Very happy with this set and would definitely recommend it to others.

great plamsa the price is right and the game mode is sweet! i would recomend this to everyone

Well I brought this plasma about a month ago, I'd definately give it five star rating!!! I didn't get it for a steal of a deall @ the $800.00 bucks like someone else did anyway, At first didn't make any buzzing noise with the regular cable box so opted to get the hd cable box & thats the first thing I notice buzzing just like other complained about, & instead of calling the store I called Samsung directly ran a test & still got buzzing,So samsung wanted to set me up with in house service, I then called the store that I puchased it & spoke to the man that sold it to me & he said if it wasn't making the buzzing with the regular box itwasn't the tv, he explained to the wires that the cable co. gives you were poor quality & couldv'e been creating the buzzing so he suggested in buying the HDMI cable a good one monster cable preferably, so I went & bought one 4ft runs about $100.00 & 8ft is about $119.00, Iwent with the 8 footer & it ran me $128.00& change, Any hooked up & "BINGO" that what it was, once I turned it on the pictures clarity & sound was "EXCEPTIONAL" If I can give anyone advice go the better cables especialy when dealing such a nice plasma, "BEING CHEAP CAN ONLY GIVE YOU CHEAP RESULTS"

I got a great deal on this TV, and do think it was worth it. I love the size, and the HD picture is fantastic. I did not have any trouble with buzzing, and I just have the TV plugged into a regular power strip. The standard channels are quite a bit grainy. But I have no real comparison for this. I assume most LCD and Plasma sets have this issue? Anyway, the set is spectacular looking, and versatile. Great features, and great HD picture. If that is what you are looking for, it is worth it.

I've had this TV for one week. The setup was a breeze. It was too heavy for me to hang alone, but my wife and I lifted it onto the mount with little trouble. The picture in HD is super. Standard def looks grainy, but it is not too distracting. The antiglare treatment works well. The sound is good, but too small for a TV this grand. I hooked it up to my receiver w/ bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer. Ahhh, much better now. I was nervous about the buzzing complaint, so I purchased a Monster Power Clean power strip (used for under $50) on Amazon. This little accessory is nice, and I can hear the difference in my soundsystem, which I also connected to it. I found a slight scratch in the glossy cabinet after two days in my living room. I don't think that it happened during setup. My guess is that it happened before it was placed into the box. Overall, I'm extremely satisfied considering that I paid $899 for this TV. It has lots of cool extras (cable card slot, USB port, media card slots, etc.) that make it a more versatile choice than any other in it's class.

I've had this TV for one week, it was manufactured in March 07 from Mexico, I supposed it's fresh off assembly line and trucked to Phoenix then air freight to Chicago. First of all, let me tell you that I only paid $900 total for this brand new TV, shipping included. As such, my expectation was not set at the highest. When connected with HDMI cable to my Denon 2910 DVD player, the movie pops. Watching finding Nemo, the fish looks as if it's going to jump out. Picture is crisp, color is accurate and not overly biased. Using HDMI, the movie can be watched at 1920x1080i, it is a treat.

This TV does performs well in all but 2 aspects. One is the speakers suck, I think samsung could have spent a few more bucks to get some decent speakers to go with this beautiful piece of furniture. Second aspect is the buzz. Although it is not as annoying as other reviewers, I cannot cure it with better power cable or power conditioner. I owned a Monster HTS5100, which is a mid priced powerline conditioner, and some mid/high end power cables from Kimber and MIT. I tried a combination of cables and conditioner and still couldn't get the buzz to stop. I ended up using the cable that came with the TV. Hope it will go away as another reviewer has described.

In all, the buzz isn't all that bad, as long as I have the volume set to above 5 or so I don't hear it. I am holding off calling Samsung at this point, will probably wait for a month for the TV to break in and see what happens. I would have given it 5 stars if not because of the buzz.