Customer Reviews

Samsung TXN1634F 16" Flat-Screen TV

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

 

 

When I first turned this Samsung on, my nephew, who had helped me lift it to the top of a chest of drawers in the bedroom, commented how poor the picture was. Being 58, I was reluctant to agree with a 23-year-old about the product of a carefully researched purchase, but he was right. The whites were blooming. The picture was fuzzy and had a purple cast. I wanted a larger set to replace a 13" set in the bedroom. The 16" Samsung seemed the perfect in-between size, being 3" narrower than a 20" set and having a flat screen. Its size allowed room for a DVD-VCR combo along side it on the chest of drawers. Over the past few weeks, I have fiddled with the contrast, brightness, sharpness, color, and tint, and have made the picture more tolerable. Unfortunately, I have two Sony sets (13" and 32") and, no matter what I do, I can't get the Samsung to look anywhere near as good as the Sony sets. On the Samsung, the dark scenes are still too dark, detail is lost in the shadows. The picture looks too flat without definition. The skin tones are rarely correct. Right now, I'm trying to figure a way to add 3" to the top of the chest of drawers so I can accommodate a Sony KV-20FS100 for $260.

I bought this from a local big box electronics store. Unfortunately, the first one had some major colour purity problems. I exchanged it and the replaceent is adequate in all respects. The picture is pretty sharp. Lack of S-Video input and RCA audio outputs (especially the S-Video input) is a major disadvantage. Remote isn't universal, and is ugly looking; but button layout is good. Colour on replacement set is very good with substantial adjustment (as most sets are if adjusted properly), geometry is adequate, and convergance is acceptable. Component input looks good for my PS2, but lack of S-Video input is quite irritating as I don't have a GameCube composite cable and there is no component cable for the Nintendo 64.

Not a sparkling review, especially for such an expensive set, huh? But where this TV really shines is it's size - it's perfect for where a 20" is just too big but a 14" is a little too small. Such as a bedroom, dorm room, etc. I just wish some companies other than Samsung made this size.

Installing a JVC N40-BK DVD player, I found that a 14 year old Sharp 13" color TV lacked the connections, so this model topped my comparison of the 14-19" category. Stereo speakers do not sound tinny, and the picture quality is great! We did discover that the colors changed during "Finding Nemo" but found the cause to be video cables not pushed in completely. My only complaint remains with the shipper(s)as the top of the plastic housing had buckled in transit, but loosening the cover screws, we fixed that. Later comparison of larger sets finds me placing this set above the majority of those for price and features. Cable connections are very tight, so be sure the cables are completely pushed on, since they can feel secure without making good contact. This is a great set for a small room.