120 of 121 people found the following review helpful:
Perfect Bedroom TV
I bought this TV a couple of weeks ago primarily for watching DVDs in my bedroom. While I hooked it up briefly (via HDMI cable) to my DirecTv HD DVR just to check the picture (great with both SD and HD programming), most of my experience with the set has been with it connected to a Samsung up-converting DVD player.
Color and contrast are spot-on. Adjusting the...
36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
Great pic, etc., but smelled!
This TV is great on picture/sound, etc. however, while on standby (you can never turn it completely off, unless you unplug it)and on, it emitted a very strong plastic/hot electronic smell. It wasn't hot to the touch, though. Even when unplugged, you could smell it, but worse when on. We had it in the kitchen and there would actually be pockets of the smell as the air...
I bought this TV a couple of weeks ago primarily for watching DVDs in my bedroom. While I hooked it up briefly (via HDMI cable) to my DirecTv HD DVR just to check the picture (great with both SD and HD programming), most of my experience with the set has been with it connected to a Samsung up-converting DVD player.
Color and contrast are spot-on. Adjusting the variable backlight, brightness, and contrast controls yields perhaps the best picture quality I've seen from non-BluRay DVD. Ther are 3 picture pre-sets-Dynamic for viewing in a bright room, Standard for normal viewing, and Movie for watching in a darkened room. Sound quality and quantity are perfectly adequate. Vertical and horizontal viewing angles are relatively generous. While there is not an over-abundance of inputs-one HDMI, one S-Video, a single set of component and composite, and a pc input for use with a computer, that's typical for smaller-screen TVs.
When I purchased this TV, there were no reviews available online, so I was prepared to return it if it didn't meet my tastes or needs. But it has greatly exceeded my expectations. For viewing from a distance of 3-5 feet it's perfect.
Well, maybe not quite. The menu text size is a little small for my middle-aged eyes. The glossy cabinet is pretty light-reflective, as is the screen, if you're watching in a room with a light behind you. And the picture settings apply to all inputs, so you can't store a different set for, say, watching TV, DVDs, or Video games. And the tiny light-touch and poorly marked control buttons on the right side of the cabinet are too easily pushed inadvertently when you pick the set up to reposition it.
Still, those are minor beefs, far outshadowed by the excellent over-all performance of this TV. If its 19' size is adequate for your needs, I highly recommend it.
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I got this TV yesterday to replace my 19" LCD HDTV Sharp which I got from Costco. I do not like my Sharp. Quality of picture was not good and I could not really adjust it to be better. Sound level was too low in maximum position. My new Samsung beats Sharp everywhere. I can adjust sound much louder; quality of the picture is much better right out of the box, without any adjustments. It even looks better.
I use the television in my kitchen and so far I am happy with the picture and sound.
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I've had this TV on my desk to the right of my computer monitor for about three weeks, and have been extremely pleased with it. It replaced an Avermedia TVBox 9 that I had hooked up to a 17" LCD monitor. The difference in picture quality, even on standard non-HD content, is remarkable. Contrast and color are great, and required little if any adjustment out of the box. And none of the backlight issues I've read about with some of the earlier 19" Samsung models.
As for HD content, I find myself watching movies on AMC in HD that I've seen 19 times before ... simply because of the radically sharper view on this TV. As another reviewer mentioned, at about a 3 to 5 foot viewing distance, it's hard to beat the picture.
My only complaint is that the sound is a bit thin in tonality. Adjusting the sound equalizer to boost the bass and midrange helps considerably, but this is one area the unit could stand some improvement (we also have the 26 inch Samsung, and the down firing speakers are a bit weak in it as well). On the other hand, much of my TV listening is done via the Sennheiser IS 410 wireless headphones, and the sound it gets out of the audio-out plugs (RCA type) on the back is full range with no loss of tonality. It's strictly the speakers.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the unit and would highly recommend it for a location like a kitchen, office, or dorm room.
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My mom needed a replacement TV for her kitchen, had to fit in a fairly small space, so this is the biggest that would fit. The most important thing was that it include a tuner, so it can take a straight cable feed with no box. Also that it do a good job with plain old standard definition, which is what is watched 99% of the time.
This TV is excellent! SD picture is fantastic! HD looks good (I've never seen an HD picture that looks really bad, have you?). Only complaint, slight "glow" around the edges when a black screen is displayed. Mom doesn't notice and does not care, for her its perfect.
Tuner did a good job of finding all cable signals (including the strange 80.1, 80.2, etc channels). But it was also smart enough to go back and DELETE all the ones that are scrambled. So even though the setup takes a while, when you are done, its all set, and you don't have to manually delete scrambled channels, very clever.
Remote control is basic and functional. Nothing fancy, and nothing fancy needed.
Manual is mediocre. In many cases it explains that you have a choice for a setting, but really does not explain what the heck the choices mean! (Do YOU know the difference between IRC, HRC and STD cable signals? Me either). But basically just let it set everything up automagically, and its fine.
Audio is fine as well.
I am very happy with this TV.
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Well-thought out LCD TV, with good details. Nicer styling (to my taste) than the very similar 350 series and with sturdier control buttons on the side--'tho not an issue because a remote is included. The TV includes HD circuitry, so if a station like CBS or ABC is broadcasting in HD, you'll see it in HD without having to do anything special. Good sound (better than some other TVs I auditioned where the sound was soft/recessed) and high-contrast picture (also better than some other 19" TVs I looked at). Only complaint is the power cord doesn't plug into the back of the TV tightly enough and can come loose easily. Easy set up: you can connect a cable, VCR and DVD player simultaneously (I haven't tried the DVD connection yet but it looks like there are enough inputs) so you don't need adapters, etc. Some other 19-inch TVs are less expensive but for convenience, style, sound/picture quality and value I really don't think you can beat this.
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This TV is great on picture/sound, etc. however, while on standby (you can never turn it completely off, unless you unplug it)and on, it emitted a very strong plastic/hot electronic smell. It wasn't hot to the touch, though. Even when unplugged, you could smell it, but worse when on. We had it in the kitchen and there would actually be pockets of the smell as the air currents carried it around. Had to return it, but great TV otherwise.
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I bought this television based upon the customer ratings and specs. The first television arrived (early) and had a stuck blue pixel. Amazon's return process was great and I had a replacement in a few days. However, the replacement also has a stuck pixel (only red not blue). I realize stuck pixels are somewhat common, but I still don't like it. For $360.00 it should work great! I haven't decided if it's worth the hassle to send this one back also.
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We were looking for a small 19 to 22 inch LCD for the bedroom. The Samsung had good reviews both here and at CR. Yes, the picture is great. BUT the sound isn't up to par even for a small TV. The stand is a pain to adjust. You are to put the TV face down on something, press against the back, push a button, and swivel the stand into place. (Bizarre.) Then there's the sticker. Who would put a gooey sticker on the frame of a TV? Well, Samsung seems to think it's a great idea. Peel the sticker off and you're left with a sticky residue on the plastic frame. You'll need Oops to remove it, I'm told. (Bizarre, again.) And then there's the tiny little buttons on the front-facing right frame. Accidentally touch the side of the TV to adjust the position and you will likely hit a button and get a menu appearing on the screen.
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This television replaced an old 9-inch model in my kitchen so the upgrade has been a dramatic improvement. Even on its own merits, this TV is a great performer for a smaller space. Ours is connected to a FIOS box, not HD, however. Still, the digital image is crisp and easy to watch. The sound is excellent as well. No complaints whatsoever.
My son has a slightly older Samsung 32-inch used for playing x-box and watching tv. He does have the high-def converter box and the HD pic is awesome. You can see the razor stubble on baseball players' cheeks, blades of grass on the ballfield, etc. We bought the smaller Samsung for the kitchen because we were so impressed with the bigger one in my son's room. The Samsung TV family has been impressive.
I slightly wish I had gotten the white model as it seems more "kitcheny" but the converter box is black plus a black surround makes the "letterboxing" less obvious since the black screen borders merge into the black of the television itself. We generally set the pic to a 4:3 ratio as that seems to match the majority of the non-HD television shows we watch. Oh yes, the remote makes it easy to set the picture ratio. You don't have to enter the menu itself. Just click. A great TV!
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I've had this set for a week now to make sure there were no bugs before reviewing. I purchased it based on reviews and doing some comparing at local electronic stores. I have it on a cantilever wall mount in my kitchen underneath cabinets. I read through the manual to understand the picture modes and sound adjustments. The picture is excellent. No complaints there. The sound quality is terrible. I was hesitant to get this set based on other negative reviews of the sound. They were right. Very "tinny" sounding. It is the main reason I only gave this TV 3 stars. I've adjusted the equalizer as much as I can to get it to being bearable. Another issue is that the speakers don't face forward. They face down, and also vent out of the back. You can forget about low volume listening. I might return it as I'm so disappointed in the sound. If I had purchased a cheap set from Walmart I might expect this. But not from Samsung. As this is primarily for my wife, I'll probably keep it. It sounds fine to her. And ending on a general comment, I don't understand why the Zenith HD converter I bought for my old spare bedroom TV can give me a channel guide, but the Samsung TV can't.
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