incognito
06-19-2005, 04:01 PM
So, I just bought the Samsung TXR3079WH slim-fit TV. It was $899 at CircuitCity and had free delivery. So far it has been great for the most part. Here is my review:
1) Slim-fit - TV is only 16" thick, but it still weighs 120 pounds, so this really is not much of advantage. It does look great though
2) while this may seem silly, I love the black plastic cover around the screen. I find with brigh lighting it's hard to concentrate on a screen with silver tube. Always liked the black plastic tubes.
3) Image quality (most important) - SD looks great, I watch SD programs (non-digital cable) in widescreen mode the whole time, and can't really see much image distortion from stretching - no need to use the bars on the side. HDTV looks amazing (free OTA channels via my Phillips Silver Sensor antenna) provide unbelievable quality images. There is however a lot of red being pushed, which makes skin textures (like faces) look pink or red and unnatural. I use my own custom video settings to reduce colore and red scale, also setting temperature to cold1\normal is better than warm2. There are also some geometry issues (slight puncushion effect on the sides).
4) sound - i have it hooked up to home theater so sound is excellent, but even without home-theater, this TV packs sufficient sound for large size rooms. My only grudge is that many programs broadcast with different sound levels, so if you watch law and order, I set sound to 50-60, for Nascar it can be down at 20-30 and still loud. This is especially a case with HDTV programming, where different channels use different sound levels in their broadcasts.
Ok now for the questions:
1) if you have this tv, what picture settings do you feel are best (brightness\color\RG\temperature levels) for movies and for regular television?
2) does anyone else feel that some programs (even in HD) offer too much black and this TV tends to darken things (like hair or clothes) to point of even black)? Is there anyway around this problem - maybe brightness adjustment?
3) I noticed with some XBOX games that entire screen is filled (widescreen 480P- using xbox hd adapter) and everything looks great, But some games, while looking great have minor black bars on the sides (not from letterboxing) - just thin lines - almost pincushion like in nature. For exampla GTA vice city fills screen completely, but GTA San Andreas has these thin bars (even in 4x3 or zoom modes). Is this from game code or TV issue? Anyone seen this? Any idea how to get around it?
4)There is some pincushion on my tv, where some curvature is present vertically. I know these TVs have service menues that can adjust for that (like on PC monitor). Is this covered by warranty or is this considered calibration and should be done by users\techs. What settings control pincushion on Tvs?
Sorry about message length, but maybe I'll get some help and maybe this will help others with their questions.
1) Slim-fit - TV is only 16" thick, but it still weighs 120 pounds, so this really is not much of advantage. It does look great though
2) while this may seem silly, I love the black plastic cover around the screen. I find with brigh lighting it's hard to concentrate on a screen with silver tube. Always liked the black plastic tubes.
3) Image quality (most important) - SD looks great, I watch SD programs (non-digital cable) in widescreen mode the whole time, and can't really see much image distortion from stretching - no need to use the bars on the side. HDTV looks amazing (free OTA channels via my Phillips Silver Sensor antenna) provide unbelievable quality images. There is however a lot of red being pushed, which makes skin textures (like faces) look pink or red and unnatural. I use my own custom video settings to reduce colore and red scale, also setting temperature to cold1\normal is better than warm2. There are also some geometry issues (slight puncushion effect on the sides).
4) sound - i have it hooked up to home theater so sound is excellent, but even without home-theater, this TV packs sufficient sound for large size rooms. My only grudge is that many programs broadcast with different sound levels, so if you watch law and order, I set sound to 50-60, for Nascar it can be down at 20-30 and still loud. This is especially a case with HDTV programming, where different channels use different sound levels in their broadcasts.
Ok now for the questions:
1) if you have this tv, what picture settings do you feel are best (brightness\color\RG\temperature levels) for movies and for regular television?
2) does anyone else feel that some programs (even in HD) offer too much black and this TV tends to darken things (like hair or clothes) to point of even black)? Is there anyway around this problem - maybe brightness adjustment?
3) I noticed with some XBOX games that entire screen is filled (widescreen 480P- using xbox hd adapter) and everything looks great, But some games, while looking great have minor black bars on the sides (not from letterboxing) - just thin lines - almost pincushion like in nature. For exampla GTA vice city fills screen completely, but GTA San Andreas has these thin bars (even in 4x3 or zoom modes). Is this from game code or TV issue? Anyone seen this? Any idea how to get around it?
4)There is some pincushion on my tv, where some curvature is present vertically. I know these TVs have service menues that can adjust for that (like on PC monitor). Is this covered by warranty or is this considered calibration and should be done by users\techs. What settings control pincushion on Tvs?
Sorry about message length, but maybe I'll get some help and maybe this will help others with their questions.