Customer Reviews

Samsung PN42C430 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Black)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Update 1.1.2011 - Just wanted to update everyone that my tv does in fact exhibit the buzzing. It's only noticable if I sit close enough and at a certain angle with the back of the tv angled towards my side of the room. I read that a firmware update reduces the buzzing, but after updating the firmware the tv still buzzes. Because of this I wouldn't buy another Samsung.

After researching HD plasmas for about a month, I was all set on an LG model from a different website because it was the least expensive 42 incher with the best reviews I could find, but then I came across this model on Amazon for a hundred and fifty dollars cheaper (This was onsale for under $500 then..I dont think it is anymore). This is the least expensive 42 incher I've been come across, and I'm very satisfied with the quality. After watching a lot of movies with dark scenes, I was concerned because if I increased the brightness the colors seemed to wash out - well, after selecting the 'dynamic' picture setting instead of 'standard' that has been resolved - the colors are crisp and dark scenes are sharp and more visible.

I was concerned that this tv might have the ugly red stripe on the base of the tv like some pictures of other samsungs I've seen, but thankfully it does not. The tv frame and base are a sexy piano black. My opinion on why it's inexpensive is because it has the fewwest inputs on it. It only has 2 hdmi inputs. Perfect for an hd cable box and a ps3. This tv also has 2 sets of component inputs, which are ideal for a vcr or other video game system that isnt in hd (like a wii).

I don't have digital cable, just a plain old basic cable service and the QAM tuner picked up all the digital channels, but they're not in hd so I'm still thinking of getting a comcast hd box, even though I despise the significant compression comcast utilizes with its signal. Compare comcast hdtv to a blu ray and you'll notice how compressed the comcast video signal is (tiling and pixelating and motion blur is evident from the comcast signal).

All in all, at this price point, this can't be beat.

Anyway, feel free to ask any questions on this new model via the comments section and I'll be happy to respond.

I was a little apprehensive about getting the TV after reading some reviews about the 2009 sets having buzzing sound problems and the contrast looking gray rather than black, but decided to pull the trigger because Amazon had it on sale for $494 with free shipping! I received the set earlier today, got it hooked up with an OTA antenna and scanned for channels. I was blown away by the picture quality! Blacks are black and the colors are vivid. The CBS and NBC evening news look fantastic. I'm looking forward to watching other HD channels once I get digital cable hooked up. When playing an Xbox 360 game the picture is awesome! Netflix streaming in HD is fantastic as well. For those wondering, here are some specs on the TV:

HDMI x 2
USB x 1 (allows for playing of photos and music, as well as firmware updates)
Component x 2
DVI Audio In x 1
Ex-Link x 1
Audio In x 1
Digital Audio Out (Optical) x 1
Antenna In x 1

Now for the buzzing sound issue. There isn't one. I don't know if I lucked out or what, but the only way I can hear a buzzing sound is by sticking my head right next to the set, and even then it is so low you can hardly hear it.

The sound quality of the TV is excellent. Much better than my old CRT that this replaced. I haven't had a chance to play around with the picture settings much. There are three factory preset modes (Dynamic, Standard, and Movie). In my opinion Dynamic is way too bright. I have it on Standard right now and am extremely satisfied with the picture. Even the darker Movie mode is nice. I plan on calibrating it eventually though. All in all this is an excellent TV, and in my opinion, a lot better than a majority of the 1080p LCDs on the market today!

I recently purchased this TV from amazon.com. I was a little apprehensive at first because I had never bought something this large, expensive or fragile online before. We had been looking for a new TV and found the exact same one at Best Buy except the model number was one letter off. After calling both Amazon.com and Samsung to find out why that was, I decided to buy it. I spoke with Samsung and found out that the letter C in the model number means it was made in 2010 as oppose to the letter B for 2009(that was in the Best Buy model). I did not pay for the upgraded shipping and received the TV within two business days. The tv is great, exactly what I expected it to be. I too did have the constant buzzing when we first set it up, however once we made sure the co-axle cable was in securely it stopped. I would recommend this TV to anyone, very happy with the experience and outcome!

**Updated 3/8 to remove comment on black levels being grey. That had more to do with the lighting and reflections on the screen. After seeing through that I have to say the picture and contrast on the tv is great.**

Picture 5/5
Audio 4/5

I've owned 2 LCD tv's previously. This is my first plasma.

Pros:
- Audio is as good as I've heard on a tv.
- Picture is great.
- Design is as good as it gets. This is one sexy beast.
- No noticable 'motion blurr' or fuzziness with fast moving scenes.

Cons:
- Loud constant BUZZZZ sound coming from the back of the tv right out the box. I've put up with it because I'm used to it now and don't want to go through the troubles of returning it.
- Reflections on the screen from room lighting make a huge difference on the picture. The screen looks like a mirror. (This is just part of the nature of plasma screens though so its not a huge con. Dimming the lights reduces the effect but this can be really inconvenient at times.)

Well first let me start off by saying that I am pleased with my purchase and with Amazon, and I love the TV. I purchased it after doing some research on plasmas, and the price just can't be beat!! It's a beautiful TV.

ALTHOUGH......
I had one not-so-small problem. Not with the TV itself actually, but with Samsung. I had always heard that Samsung is one of the best brands when it comes to LCD/plasmas, so I had absolutely no concerns going into my purchase. With that being said, I have to share my frustrating experience. I got the TV 2 days ago, and I was lucky enough to have my brother here to help me get it assembled (the base and mounted onto the base, etc). Well there are 10 screws needed for this TV for the base/platform. The first 6 screws went in no problem, we assembled the base with ease. Next step was to lift the TV screen itself onto the base/platform. That went fine, and then you have 4 screws to secure the TV to the platform. I tried to get them in, my brother tried, and we kept trying and thinking we were making some sort of mistake or something. The screws just would NOT fit into the 4 holes, they were too fat. Well after nearly an hour, and lots of swear words later, we noticed that the instructions included with the TV were not for this model TV. Also, and more important, neither were the 4 screws. The instructions referred to a different size screws, and the screws included with my TV were NOT that size. Now I know, we couldn't fit the screws into the holes but we kept thinking the TV wasn't aligned right, or the screws were not going in because maybe we were putting them in crooked... or something??? Never in a million years would I have thought that the wrong screws were boxed into this unit. Well after we finally figured out why the screws weren't going into the holes, we put the TV back in the box and I called Samsung's customer service. I spoke briefly to a rep, explained that the incorrect screws were put in the box, and I couldn't assemble my TV to the base. She gave me a number to J&J's for the parts (that's who they have send out Samsung parts), and also a website. I tried the website first to see if I could locate the screws on there, but I couldn't find them. So I called J&J's and talked to a person who asked for my model and serial number, which I gave him. The then told me that my TV is a newer model (from 2010) and they don't have parts for these new TVs. He said he couldn't help me. So I called Samsung back, and spoke to a different customer service rep. She was a WITCH. I assure you, I was polite - at first - and explained to her the situation, told her that I had just got off the phone with J&J's and they couldn't help me. All I needed was to find out how to get 4 screws that would fit into my TV so I could finish assembling it to the base. Well she told me that unfortunately she couldn't do anything for me. I asked her if she was telling me that I just had purchased a $549 dollar TV that was just going to have to sit here and collect dust? Do you know what she said "Yes, that's what I'm telling you, there is nothing I can do". Well I asked to speak to someone else, and she was rude and told me there is no one else that can help me. She said there's nothing that she could do, no one that could help me, and that I had no options. I couldn't believe it. I mean I was just sitting there with my mouth hanging open like I couldn't believe it. I mean, how terrible is that??? I just spent money on a brand new 2010 plasma TV, and they are telling me that they can't service it or help me, or send me the correct screws???? Well then I decided to call Amazon, and I spoke to a rep who placed a call to the number she had for Samsung, and to make a long story short, Samsung is now sending me a variety of screws (not sure if they are the correct size) after Amazon got ahold of them. But here's another crappy part - I have to wait up to 28 days for the screws to arrive. So I don't even know if they will work, and I won't have them for up to a month. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have Amazon on my side, helping me out with this. For the time being, I have gone to Menards and I found 4 screws that are not 100% correctly fitted to the TV, but it was my only option at this point if I wanted to get the TV out of the box. And I had to, because my brother is only in town for a few days, and once he leaves, there would be no one who can help me lift the TV out of the box when/if the correct screws arrive from Samsung. I have also been to another hardware store and they couldn't find me any screws that would work either.

But, the TV has been turned on briefly, and I love the picture. I can't wait until I have the correct screws so I don't have to worry about waking up to the TV crashed onto the floor!

I bought this TV to replace a philips 32 inch LCD HDTV. I'm an avid gamer so playing games was going to be my primary usage for this TV while watching TV/Movies/Netflix/etc would be secondary. So far I really like this TV. The video quality really blew me away! Colors were so much more vibrant compared to my older LCD set. It has a nice shiny almost mirror finish on it while the remote has a more matte finish. I was a bit concerned about burn-in but this TV has various anti-burn functions built in and after several long sessions of gaming (most lasting over 5 hours) I have not noticed anything. The sound is not necessaily bad but could be better. It's not that the TV has low sound but rather has flat sound, espicially the factory settings (most noticeable when gaming),where the sound doesnt quite have that "pop" you would expect. I found that after adjusting the sound settings, I got some pretty enjoyable sound but dont expect surround sound. Now this TV is not without its flaws either. The biggest flaw I would say is that when mounted to a wall, the buzzing/humming sound is more noticeable espicially when the sound is low. This is due to the technology of Plasma TV's. Plasma TV's always produce a very low buzzing/humming sound which is normal but when mounted it echoes a bit off the wall so it sounds a bit louder than normally but this can be remedied by using the stand/base rather than mounting it. Keep in mind that I'm a very observant person so I tend to notice things that other people don't notice so it might not be too big of an issue for others. Overall, this is an excellent Tv which anyone can enjoy. Dont let some misconceptions about HDTV's turn you off from buying this Tv espicially since its so affordable compared to similar TV's. 1080 is nice but not a necessity; you will be shocked how great 720 looks. If you are a gamer, your Plasma screen will not burn in because you play your games (unless you leave your game paused and the static image is on screen for several hours or something). Also, for anyone buying a HDTV, please take into considerations the appropriate size/distance ratio as it will help you choose an appropriately sized HDTV which will enhance your viewing experience (Bigger is not necessarily better).

Overall I'm very happy with this purchase. Ordered and received quickly from Amazon as always.

It has taken a bit of adjustment to get the picture quality to where I like it, but this should be expected by every user since every lighting situation is different.

Other than price the key reason I decided on this TV was the statement in the item description that it had a PC input. This is NOT the case. You can hook up a PC by use of an HDMI dongle, but there is not a VGA input. This does limit usability somewhat. I cannot hook up cable, xbox 360 and a PC at the same time without additional equipment (an HDMI "switching" box).

If it weren't for the extremely attractive price point this would have been a deal breaker for me, but overall I'm quite happy with the tv. I've not experienced any buzzing as others have stated and the picture is very crisp and clear.

Sound quality on mine is good, but not great.

I'm rating this a 3 hoping readers will take a look. I'm going thru the same problem as a previous reviewer; the screws connecting base to TV don't fit. After the same back and forth with Amazon, Samsung, J&J, and Samsung, it appears the base shipped with the TV was the wrong model. The correct model number according to Samsung is BN96-13016C. Mine came with a BN61-0643A. The model number is on the underside of the base. Samsung is sending me a new one, I'll report later if this solves the problem.

I want to start by thanking Steve and his "Wrong Base" review on April 28, 2010 because it saved me hours of headaches.

I was having a serious issue trying to screw in the screws to the tv base. I'm a pretty strong guy and I could not for the life of me get them all the way in. So I came to the site and saw the review. I to had the INCORRECT BASE: model BN61-0643A. The CORRECT BASE: model BN96-13016C. The MODEL NUMBER IS ON THE BOTTOM OF STAND. I immediately called Samsung at 1-(888)987-4357, explain to them the issue and they are mailing me out the proper stand. Which will take 4-14 business days to arrive! The tv delivery was fantastic, the tv itself is phenomenal but, because I wanted to use it right when I first got it I was miserable. Waiting and extra week or two to use your brand new big screen tv is torture. I suggest you get the product but, check the bottom of your stand immediately for this problem.

I bought this TV after months of research and tons of readings on TONS of reviews on all the different televisions in a $500-$800 price range. This was by far the best deal I was able to find on this size of Samsung. All the other sites I searched had this TV listed for $100 or more than Amazon. The product itself arrived within 2 days of placing my order, (with no damage done to the TV) It was a little hard for me to set up/put together (i was unaware there was assemble on these types of TV's) but I am NOT in any way tech savy. But the picture quality on this product is B-E-A-UTIFUL. Highly recommend it!!!! Perfect for the space, thin set, and user friendly.