HDTV Trends

Good Enough
I purchased this tv to use with my new xbox 360.I never intended to use it as a television.After reading the 1 star review about what a lousy picture it had i had a lot of concerns.I made the mistake of trying it out in the bed room as a tv before hooking it up to the xbox in the study.I just wanted to see what kind of picture it had.BIG MISTAKE after my wife got a load of that picture no way was she letting it go anywhere.I have a 27in LCD and a 57in CRT both hooked up to Dish network and thy both have a beautifull picture.I hooked this one up to a regular antenna and it has as good or better picture than thy have.True the analoge reception is not that great but for ever analoge channel there is a Digital channel and thy are wonderfull.The person that gave it the 1 star might have just got a bad set or didn't have it hooked up right.The only thing I can say bad is that now I have to sit on the foot bench in the bedroom to play my games instead of a easy chair in the study.

DO NOT LIKE
Pros: It's white, looks nice, fits in with decor in kitchen, menu is decent (something most people don't consider until you get a TV with a really bad one like the TV this one is replacing), auto search channels worked well (did not work well on previous), small form factor, cost

Cons: It's horrible at its primary function - displaying a decent image, both analog and HD are horrible compared to others in this class, imo. Takes forever to turn on for some reason. Cheesy blue light was broken on mine and showed white (this can be disabled),

Compared to other sets in this size, I find the PQ to be awful. Very disappointed, and might even try to sell it.

If you have never had HDTV before, you will probably be impressed by the image (maybe explains the good reviews), but if you are familiar with what HD should look like, I recommend you look at a Sony or maybe a Sharp in this size. Maybe Panasonic, not sure who makes the small ones well. I tried to go the cheap route, instead of pony up for a Sony, but I guess I got burned this time. Was really surprised considering how generally high quality (image quality wise) their LCD monitors are. I also could just have a really crummy sample, who knows.

Anyway, spend the extra -0 and get something else.

A GREAT TV
I recently purchased this TV for my wife's birthday. The white color fit beautifully in the bedroom. It was very easy to set up and she loves it. I searched various places on the internet, and this was the best price I could find. I was told it would be shipped and get here a day before her birthday, but I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived a day earlier. Amazon is number 1 in my book. "Thanks"-Rod

Eh, it's alright....
I just needed a flat panel television in white to fit a particular space in my house. I don't really watch it too often. It's okay I guess.

Good Buy
I bought the this item as a gift. Setup is extremely easy. Bought also Logitech Z-4I 2.1 Speaker System and a Philips DVP5960 DVD Player with HDMI, 1080i Upscaling, DivX Ultra, USB direct. The three products make up a great system at a reasonable price. First movie watched was Pirates of the Caribbean III and saw colors and details that were amazing.

The only reason I do not give a 5 star is:
The optimal viewing angle is very limited...about straight on.
The external speakers is connected throught the earphone jack. When the unit is powered cycled, sometimes it stays that way, other times you have to reset the earphone jack to get sound over the external speakers.

Samsung Red TOC
I did my homework before deciding on my Samsung TOC in red.Buying from Amazon because I've been very satisfied with their service and no one else could beat their price.I saved over 0.00 through them on this TV comparitively and as for the top of the line compared to the store brand (& who knows what company makes them!) it ran me .00 more to have the set with the best reputation.Needless to say I am most impressed with the picture as is any one who sees it,company comes and stares and loses interest in our 53" big screen! The color & contrast are out of this world! It is in my kitchen & only hooked up to an antennia, it immediately pulled in more channels.The touch of red is seen from the side, it is subtle, but this TV is beautiful in design.

excellent tv
The only thing I find wrong with the Samsung LN19A650 is when you look at it next to the LN22A650. The three extra inches of screen make a BIG difference. Both have GREAT pictures . I hope to exchange my 19 for a 22 inch!

Excellent Set, but don't buy it for the TOC
I bought this set for use in my kitchen. We receive both digital and analog stations from our local cable company. The digital picture from this Samsung set is simply superb and the analog picture is very good. Setup was easy although the owners manual could have been better written. The controls that run up the side of the set are very hard to see, to the point of almost being invisible; but, as I will be using the remote control for set operation, this is not a problem.

If you are buying this set because of the Touch Of Color option, you may wish to think twice. The dark red blends into the black of the set and is difficult to see at best. The price at Amazon was reduced enough so that the extra charge that goes with TOC was negated. I didn't buy it for the TOC anyway.

I used the Free Super Saver Shipping option with Amazon and the set was at my house in 2 days from date of purchase - WOW.

Overall, I am very happy with this Samsung. I would have given it 4 & 1/2 stars if possible, only because of the poorly visible TOC and controls on the side of the set. Performance in all other respects has exceeded my expectations. If you are looking for an excellent smaller set this is the one.

Good Gift
I purchased this tv for my partner. It replaced an old color crt tv. He has it in a small bed room and its a good size for the space. It is a beautiful product. The touch of red is barely visible except in bright light, and actually my partner would have preferred it to be more red. It was very easy to set up. The colors are very good. Every few days he tells me how much he enjoys this tv.

So far so good..
I just unpacked and set this TOC Samsung HDTV up. Very easy to do. Very pretty TV! I am using only an antenna that plugs into the back of this set, I do not subscribe to cable TV. I was surprised at the number of channels it receives but they are standard antenna channels. So, if you do not have cable do not believe you will get any cable channels, unless you subscribe. I am perplexed that this Samsung TOC model does not come up in a general search for HDTV's on Amazon. I only found it by accident because it is not pictured on the page with other Samsung models. The Red Touch is very nice, understated and barely noticeable so, do not let that stop you from buying this set. The picture on Amazon actually shows it to be redder than it really is. I actually purchased it for the red color because it's going in my kitchen but it honestly looks black--so I was a tiny bit disappointed. I watched it briefly and the all of the channels are so beautiful and clear that even watching a boring weather channel will be mesmerizing if you have not had HDTV before. All in all, I think it's a good buy and it seems that in all of my searches for an HDTV (months!!) Amazon really sells the HDTV's lower than anyone else--even lower than the big box stores. They are not giving them away but the prices are lower and you can always rely on their great service. I trust them more than other vendors because they have never let me down yet. I hope Amazon makes the Samsung TOC HDTV easier for buyers to find!

Samsung HDTV Red Touch of Color
This TV is the best by far of all televisions/flat screens I have purchased. Picture quality is great, the clarity of the picture is incredible. The price from amazon was also the best around. I would highly recommend this TV and also purchasing from Amazon. Delivery was prompt, notice of delivery confirmation was accurate.

Love the new Samsung TV
Excellent picture, easy to operate controls. However, the sound is muffled on all settings. We had better sound from our 28-year-old Zenith.

humming noise with auto volume on and cable box component connection
UPDATE 08/27/2008: I had a open electric outlet and as this was one of the suspects, I got it fixed day before yesterday and happy to tell you that the humming noise went away completely.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Pros: Picture is excellent as expected. Menu is good and has lot of options. With InfoLink (LAN cable connected to the TV) you can see news, weather and stock updates from USA Today. Backlit Remote.

Cons: With Auto Volume ON I hear humming noise which is constant and annoying. Even with Auto Volume OFF, it is still there but you dont usually hear it unless you mute the cable box. This is happening only with the Cable Box Component and Composite AV inputs. Cable Box Coaxial, HDMI connections and DVD player Component/Composite input dont seem to give the noise. When watching in dark, very thin shining on left/right outer glass edges if you sit at an angle is slightly distracting.

I am still thinking whether to keep this TV or return it but not sure if I can find a better TV in 40" and with good features this TV has. If I keep it I am going to need to buy a Home Theater system so that I can turn off TV speakers.

Reported the issue to Samsung. Technician came to my place after two days and suggested to use HDMI instead of Component AV cable. He also said this is common, known issue and has seen many times but may not happen in every house even with the same TV model.

I have been using Sony 17" LCD TV/Monitor until I bought this Samsung two weeks back and I dont hear the humming noise with the auto volume on, except once while technician is trying to test Samsung with a DVD player and working on connections, all of a sudden it(Sony) started humming otherwise Sony is good. Both Sony and Samsung TVs have two 10W Speakers and a Subwoofer. I showed him the difference between two but he could not tell why Samsung makes noise when Sony does not.

Currently there are 27 reviews about this product and none of them mentioned this issue. I dont know if they all are using HDMI or Coaxial or Component/Composite AV cables but with Auto Volume OFF which is the default setting. If anyone comes across this issue, please post it here. Thanks a lot.

Great TV and service
The TV is everything we expected but we were worried about the delivery after reading the other reviews. We were very pleasantly surprised! The delivery window was 12-4 on Saturday and they called at about 1pm to let us know they were about 10 minutes away. The delivery man was very courteous and even removed his shoes before entering. After he set it up, which he did efficiently and while talking to my 2 year old, he helped us reconfigure the cable settings. He answered our questions and walked us through the channels to make sure we were happy with the TV. We were the ones that said we were happy and ready to sign, there was no time pressure at all. We have been watching the Olympics and PGA Tournament in HD since and really couldn't be happier with the way the TV is displaying shows or the delivery service Amazon uses.

Awesome TV!!! Wife's description
Ok...I can only give this review from my wife's perspective...I will edit it when I get back from the sandbox in a few weeks if necessary. Her exact words... "it is beautiful and has a lot of connections. "

I ordered a PS3 with it too...So I can't wait to get home and see these babies together.

I have been looking for a new TV for the bedroom for a long time. This one kept getting great reviews and all the outstanding post here convinced me to get it. I was afraid to wait to much longer because the prices might go up for Christmas...so I took the plunge. It was delivered in Record time. Ordered on July 31st...delivered on 7 August. CEVA was nice to my mother-in-law...but didn't take it out of the box like they are supposed too. But hey she didn't ask them to either and it was free delivery. I'm just hoping my wife looked this over real good and there are no dead pixels...but she is enjoying it.
The 30 day price guarantee is awesome too. I have already received over .00 back and still have 14 days left. So keep dropping the price...then go up for Christmas.

Thanks Amazon

Nice touch
After spending a month looking for which flat-screen to buy, I went with LN52A750 for it's clear picture, solid colors, no fuzziness - the Olympic performances looked just brilliant! Amazon delivery was perfect..they put the TV right on the stand and connected/tested it.

Knocks Your Socks Off
Amazon shipped this product on Monday and it arrived on Thursday! The company who delivered it, called my home made an appointment for delivery between 9 - 12 noon for the following day. They arrived at 9 am, unloaded the television, set it up and turned it on to make sure everything worked. They told my wife that we should keep the box for 30 days just in case something went wrong, as the manufacture likes it to be shipped back in the same box. Good idea, where are you going to find a box to fit it. My wife said they were very professional and took their time setting it up. Now for the main thing....the Samsung 52" TOC LCD, is amazing! I spent a lot of time going to stores looking at different brands, reading the forum pages on Consumer Report as well as the reviews here on Amazons. The Samsung won outright and it wasn't even close. The picture is the best on any unit on the market and Amazon had the best price and the best service AS USUAL. I could not ask for anything more, I buy a lot of items through Amazon and have never, never had any problems. This was a special gift, our 36th Wedding Anniversary present. My wife loves it and as all of us guys know, you can't beat that! YES, I would recommend it to my friends and if I had it to do over, I would buy it again, it will knock your socks off, it's that real. Thanks Amazon.....again!

Samsung LCD HDTV
I am so glad that I purchased a Samsung TOC 52-inch HDTV. The picture quality is superb and the remote is user friendly, along with the on screen menu selection. I would highly recommend this TV as Samsung produces high-quality products. The clarity of the picture makes me feel as though I am on the set when the movie was being made. The color settings were programmed perfectly by the factory that required minor adjustments during installation.

The most important part is that I realized a savings of 0 by purchasing through Amazon. I had originally purchased the same model at a local store, but had to wait for delivery to the store for pickup. Went home that night and surf the internet and decided to purchase from Amazon instead. Needless to say, the local store manager was not happy and offered a discount that was not acceptable.

Enjoy...beautiful TV and the quality is SUPERB!

From: A Happy Camper

Outstanding Performance
The TV delivers above expectations, easy to setup, bright picture, high contrast, deep black and crisp picture definition from any viewing angle. More than enough inputs for VCR, DVD, Satellite receiver and Blue Ray. I highly recommend this model.

Exceeded all expectations
In short, A fantastic television. The brightest clearest picture I have seen. I have not yet tried the networking capabilities, but it seems quite straightforward. If you are looking for a new television in this price-range and size, I highly recommend it.

I love this TV!!!!!
I actually bought the XBR4 version, which I didn't really see much difference between the XBR4 and the XBR5 except for 0. I did all my research and shopped around for months. I finally had my choices down between the XBR4 and the Samsung 8 series. The XBR4 won out, just by the fact that it doesn't have a shiny screen and doesn't have glare all that much. The picture is phenomenal, it's great for playing my XBox 360 in high-def and it's got more inputs than I'm gonna use cause I got everything running through my stereo. No complaints here except that's it's pretty heavy. Hanging it would be a 2 person job, I barely got it up on my entertainment center. Other than that, this is the best TV out there,in my opinion.

Simply the Best!
I am a semi-professional photographer and I'm very sensitive about image quality. This TV replaced an existing wide screen tube TV that was working fine, so I was able to take my time and fully research a replacement. To cut to the chase, this TV represents the current state of the art in image quality. Period. No compromises.

First, as to screen size. Make sure you take the time to explore the various web sites that discuss the proper screen size for your viewing location. You'll probably be surprised at how large a screen is recommended. I was initially looking at screens in the mid-40" range, but after doing the math it was clear that the 52" was the answer. And they were right, this 52" is perfect for my viewing room -- you get immersed in the film.

Second, image quality. Sony has always been at the leading edge, but I carefully evaluated the competition. Samsung came close, and the Samsung TV was a bit cheaper, but the Sony had deeper blacks and more saturated colors; not by a lot, but it was noticeable. Now here's the important part. A lot of the TV's look great when displaying a Hi-Def picture, and that's what they have connected in the stores, but the proof of the pudding is how the sets present non-HD images. The Sony XBR wins this one hands down. It's not even close. Don't make the mistake of not evaluating the non-HD capabilities. You might be very disappointed once you get the set home.

My only complaint about this TV is that it does not have true picture-in-picture (PIP) because it only has one tuner. So the ability to split the screen and watch two channels at once isn't available. While I'd like to have that capability, it's a fair trade off for the spectacular image quality.

In summary, this TV simply has the best image quality available today. Connect it to any HD source, particularly Blu-Ray, and it will take your breath away. It's a bit more expensive than the competition, but saving a few hundred dollars would be a false economy. You're going to own this TV for years and it will only cost you a few cents more a day to own the best -- it is definitely worth the cost of admission.

A Quantum Leap!!!!!
After many months of careful product research and price comparisons I finally opted to go HD. Truthfully, I had second thoughts about getting rid of "ole faithful"-a 1999 36" Toshiba, which has not required one bit of maintenance nor experienced any downtime whatsoever since I've owned it. Nevertheless, the time came to jump ship from SD to HD, especially since I subscribe to most of the sports packages DirecTv has to offer.I chose correctly. The Sony 52" Bravia is a magnificant package-somewhat more pricey than their competitors-but certainly worth it. Outstanding picture quality and a very easy remote to navigate. Instead of mounting on the wall I chose instead to place "the monster" on a solid cherry finish console TV/components table manufactured by Hooker Co.It warmed the family room immeasurably and looks like it truly belongs. DirecTv quickly and accurately changed out the dish and receiver, and Firedog completed the install with my Sony surround system and combination VCR/DVD player.Trust me when I say you won't go wrong with the 52" Sony Bravia purchase.

Impressive
Pros: Easy to use and an excellent picture quality. Impressive look.
Cons: Above average in price but it is worth it if you enjoy viewing movies and HD programming.

I recommend the product without hesitation.

Best picture out there
With many choices in HDTV, the Sony is geared toward those who don't want to compromise. As the owner of two HDTVs, I put off replacing my primary TV until I could find one that would be good enough to last a while and would not be a compromise.

Sony has done an excellent job of producing a product that allows me to achieve that goal. But they met that goal in a limited fashion.

HDTVs took a while to mature. Standards changed, LCDs improved, and more choices in resolution became available. This is not my first 1080p, but it does give the best picture of any set I've used. The picture is clear and sharp, the TV does a good job of video processing and does not compromise the way other TVs do with many sources.

The problem I have is that a good picture alone is not enough. I wanted something that integrates well into my home, allows for good sound, and allows easy connections to other components. In that respect, Sony missed the mark.

The sound quality is not bad. I didn't expect great sound from the built in speakers, and realistically, people who buy this are likely to have a home theater system anyway. But the built in sound is adequate as far as built in sound goes.

The problem is getting to to other equipment. Sony provides an optical out that sends Dolby Digital/PCM to your home theater system. But although it works great when sending sound from the tuner, it sends only the PCM component when the source is HDMI. Yes, there are ways around that, such as extra cables or different wiring, but for ,300 is it really asking for too much for this thing to work as many users expect? It's not as if I'm asking for a built in home theater system. I'm just asking for a jack that works in a useful way, as other manufacturers already provide.

I could get around the problem by using the digital out directly from my DVD player instead. My Sony DVD player from last year had two digital audio outputs. One was coax and the other was optical. Sony's DVP-NS77H DVD player now sells for .99, up converts to 1080p, and even it has two digital audio outputs. Why did they leave the coax output off the 00 HDTV? If they could afford it on this year's low end HDMI DVD player, it's not as if it would have been a bank breaker.

With a missing output on this TV, I can either get a new AV preamp, or run more cables. But should I have to do that with such an expensive TV? And if I did get a new AV preamp, would the Sony make good use of it?

Not Quite. The TV is also missing a video output. Many home theater systems can make use of one for monitoring, and it would also have allowed me to use my VCR to record, since the VCR has no digital tuner.

Was it left out because VCRs are supposedly obsolete, or was it left out because the TV is considered too low end to have the features expected by a high end AV preamp? Either way, the circuitry involved is a mere fraction of what's already on their cheapest DVD players: something to take a digital signal, and output it to HDMI, S-VHS, component video, and composite. I'd settle for even one of them if I hadn't already settled for less.

Sony still sells things such as PS2 video consoles. Indeed many game manufacturers sell things with composite-only video outputs. Yet this TV, while able to accept three HDMI inputs, can accept only one S-VHS input, and none on the side connector. If you use the rear S-VHS connector for a VCR, that leaves one composite input, plus one on the side. And if I want to use the S-VHS connector for my relatively recent vintage Sony camcorder, I'd have to get behind my wall mounted TV to unplug the VCR each time. And since Sony camcorders have a special connector, the cable can't be shared as an alternative.

My kids got a Wii recently. It's neither Sony nor obsolete equipment. But it does have composite outputs. I don't think it's asking for too much to be able to use things like that or my relatively new Sony camcorder without juggling wires. I think for something as expensive as this TV, it's not asking for too much for it to be able to handle basic connectivity with commonly used household AV equipment. It's not asking too much for it to have things that they are willing to put on even the cheapest DVD players.

With equipment that it was designed to work with, it does a great job. It's nice to be able to press "play" on my Sony DVD player, have it turn on, have it turn on the TV, switch its input to DVD, and just work. It's also nice that it will turn off my DVD player if I turn off the TV. And perhaps if I had an all Sony AV system, that would integrate well too. But it's arrogant to think that customers should use only Sony equipment.

The remote control is adequate, but they could have done a better job of allowing it to integrate with other components. Even with their own DVD player, the TV remote has ALMOST all the buttons I would need. And it requires pressing a button to let the remote know if I am intending the next button presses to be for the DVD or the TV. That's to be expected in some cases, but in situations where it's unambiguous, it should figure it out for me.

Prior to buying this, I came close to getting a Samsung. The Samsung has a very impressive picture quality and I probably would not have felt short changed. The Samsung has a glossy screen surface, which can be a problem in certain living conditions, and I've had that issue with an older Pioneer Elite. I would not have considered that last point to be a show stopper, and the Samsungs still give you more on a dollar for dollar basis. But I'd still give the edge to the Sony for picture quality.

The deciding factor for me, though, was Sony's manufacturing quality. If something goes wrong with this set, I feel comfortable that Sony will stand behind me. With the Samsung, if I were among the unfortunate few who have problems, I'd be cursing myself for buying it. I might have spent more for the Sony, and will have to spend even more for the overall system to do everything I want, but I did get a good HDTV. I just can't give it 5 stars given the features for the price.