Quote:
Originally posted by Serpico:
<BLOCKQUOTE>Originally posted by Sons FC:
After some time researching for a 32", I decided on either the Samsung N Series or the Philips and decided on the Samsung.
The TV is absolutely sensational, even on SD and is a huge improvement on the old CRT.
32" is also small enough to prevent some of the obvious probelms like motion blur being apparent and it is superb for football.
Films especially are so much clearer and more detailed, even over the Freeview channels as the TV seems to handle the channels better than the old STB.
I am going to get an upscaler DVD for it and will probably choose Samsung again.
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How are the black levels? </BLOCKQUOTE>
Serps;
I knew from the AV Forums that there were some issues around this TV but I also knew that it was getting very, very good reviews and was only let down by the sound.
I also thought having read through nearly 60 pages on the AV Forums on the model that a lot of the problems people were having were down to poor set up, poor reception or poor connections.
The contrast looks great - very deep, black blacks and precise and clear whites. Some people have commented that this is a weakness for LCDs but it is not something I have noticed.
Perhaps because the screen is relatively small, it compensates for contrast levels which would perform more poorly on a larger screen.
It took some time to set it up before I was happy with the settings, especially the colour settings.
One or two other thoughts:
* It is far, far superior to my old TV (Hitachi 26" CRT) and looks simply stunning
* The picture quality is equally stunning and with relatively low colour and contrast settings it is not too bright and garish. It took me a while to obtain realistic flesh tones
* The remote is very detailed and the functionality is superb. There are, however, one or two settings which could be improved if there was a one button option (for example, the energy saving setting - you have to go into the menu to revise it) but I think it is a wee bit picky and churlish to complain about these
* The tv has some very good features that I had not expected - the scheduling is a great idea - I understand that Sky does this but I do not have Sky, so it was new to me, the "now and next" guide is much, much better than the one I had on the old freeview STB, the energy saving feature makes a substantial difference in different light settings, the source button is quick and easy for switching from video to dvd
* Picture quality. This is simply superb. Films especially are unbelievably detailed and sharp. Even the analogue pictures are vastly superior to my old TV (which I thought gave a good picture). Even the trashy US daytime TV programmes (I was setting the TV up, I had no option) looked good
* Watching Match of the Day on Saturday night, the football was stunning
* Sound. As many people on AV Forums have said, this is a weakness. After some tweaking, I think it is acceptable but it is not great. It really needs a good sound system but to be honest, most LCD tvs need to be boosted
* Motion blur. This is not noticeable at all on my tv. The football was crisp and precise. No blurring in any action sequences when I tried out some DVDs
* Colour and red fringing. Not noticeable at all
* Auto dimming. I know this has annoyed a lot of people but to be honest, I have only noticed it about five or six times. I am just not conscious of it when it happens. When I do notice it, it doesn't bother me. Maybe I am less demanding than some other people, I don't know
* Overall. Simply, a quite stunning tv. I am delighted with it and I can't believe that I struggled on for so long with an old CRT. It transforms all sorts of programmes - football, golf, films etc. I watched Shawshank Redemption the other night and I can only describe the quality as cinematic. It was like watching it for the first time again
So, you pay your money, you take your chance. This is an awful lot of tv for the money and a lot of the negatives pointed out by other people on the AV Forums personally haven't bothered me to be honest.
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