Samsung LN32A450 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV by Samsung
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Digital camera reviews of Samsung LN32A450 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV
Digital camera Review: A $100 makes a difference
Summary: 5 Stars
I first bought a Sharp unit and I was not happy with the look of the SD content so I took it back. The Samsung unit cost a $100 more but I was much happier with look of the SD content I was using. Would recomend to a friend but spend the extra money and buy the "4" series unit it has more features.Digital camera Review: A Great Starter HDTV!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this TV and fell in love with it despite the gray shadow that went across the monitor. I took the flawed set back and got another one which is perfectly fine. Though I am not a Techie, I did some research before I bought this TV, so I knew what to expect. The only downside is the remote
ends can be indistinguishable, but hey not a problem if you look at the remote before you use it. I recommend it---it's a beautiful TV.
Digital camera Review: A Winner!
Summary: 5 Stars
Samsung LN32A450 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV This 4 series Samsung does everything I want it to do with one exception. It does not have a video output. I can't seem to find any present generation LCD screens that offer a video out. Other than that, the equipment was in perfect condition, the picture is awesome, the black tones are great, no electronic hum, 720p is plenty at 32", and the price was terrific! Computer connection allows great clarity, HPDI connection from DVD/VCR player/recorder nets super results - but I can't record without adding a cable box which I am loathe to do since this is an additional bedroom TV. I use the Component One connection for a camera dock connected by component connectors and I get HD results. It was delivered by CEVA four days earlier than estimated.Digital camera Review: A bumpy start, with a happy ending.
Summary: 5 Stars
Our new tv was a Christmas gift, and our first high definition set purchase from Samsung. After carefully installing the wall mount, and attaching the set to it, I was surprised to find the set completely dead on arrival. No picture, sound, or even a power indicator. That was the bumpy start. After ruling out any electrical problems with the wall outlet, I called the Samsung toll free help line. They talked me thru a few troubleshooting steps, and determined that service was required. They then contacted the local serviceing tech firm for Samsung with authorization for an in-home repair (32 inch and larger, as per warranty). In a few days the service guy showed up at our home (on time) with the required part and had the set going in less than a half hour. The response on the part of Samsung to correct our problem was exceptionally positive, and is the main thing that I will take away from this experiance. The set has since operated trouble free, and has lived up to all my expectations. That is the happy ending.Digital camera Review: A fantastic TV for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this Samsung LN32A450 32" TV about 2 weeks ago or a bit more after some researching of several sets. I'd been eyeing LCD TV's for several months now once we knew of the tax rebates. I was replacing an old Mitsubishi 26" CRT TV that was purchased new in 1986, making it 22 years old that I got from family friends a bit over 4 years ago to put in the living room for it was larger than my Toshiba 20" set I bought new in 1996. The Mitsubishi had issues with discolorations in 2 corners and the remote sensor I think had stopped working for even a universal remote eventually got to where it would not work with it at all. So, the time had come to do something about it and that's where the Samsung comes in.
Just for the record, I still have my 20" set as it's been the bedroom set the past 4 years and is still very much fine. May well get a digital tuner box for it soon, but definitely in time for the changeover next Feb.
First of all, I ordered the Samsung via the white glove service here on Amazon and have to say that I had a very good experience with CEVA, their shipping contractor. The set came on time, (well, it actually arrived 15 minutes later than they said they'd be here, but in my mind, close enough) and in good condition and works very well with little to no pixel defects that I've noticed.
Setting it up is really simple. When you open the box, you first of all have to lay it down to do so, right side up to unpack it and the first thing you will notice is the bottom side of the base, carefully lift it out and turn it right side up onto the surface you are placing the set onto (that's assuming you won't be hanging it), in one of the Styrofoam packing ends, you will see a black plastic collar, that goes onto the neck of the stand - and only in one direction, snap it into place, there is a bag with screws, 2 kinds and a mount. Slip the mount into the base per instructions and use 3 pointed screws, provided to secure it, then remove the rest of the parts, that includes the instruction manual, the remote and all that and remove the top parts of the Styrofoam packing and then carefully lift out the main unit and carefully take it out of it's bag. Notice on the bottom a rectangular opening, that's to slip over the mount, carefully place the TV on that mount and use the 4 blunt end screws, also provided to secure it and the set is assembled. Plug in the power cord and your a/v cables and antenna/cable/satellite and voila, you are ready to go.
The first thing I noticed upon firing the set up is that it's much brighter than my old set ever could be in large part due to it's age. CRT's will dim over time due to age and the guns inside getting weaker from use. The next thing I noticed was how easy it is to setup to accept channels, adjust audio and video without really having to consult the manual first. The remote for this set isn't the most fancy for it isn't universal, nor back lit, but is very nicely designed and comfortable to hold and to use. Overall, it's a fairly intuitive set to figure out and when I was researching sets, I had gone into Circuit City to check Samsung and other brands out to see how they work, how I liked the menu system, the feature sets Vs price, image quality etc and further research revealed that the Samsungs have had a very good reliability history, second only to the Panasonic and from further research and reviews lead me to note it's image quality and my tryouts in the store were no different, true, the store is not the best place to do this, but it can give you an idea of what you are getting though. Ultimately, it came down to the Samsung 3 series or the 4 series and ultimately, I chose the 4 series over the 3 for it had the extra connectors on the side of the set, the 3 does not, I liked it's overall trim profile w/ the speakers mounted on the bottom, facing down, rather than on the sides, facing forward. Also, if this set were to become a secondary set where the built in speakers may be needed, the 4 series was a bit clearer despite not being as loud as the 3 series due in large part to the speaker's placement. Plus, the 4 series had a plethora of connections, both composite, component and digital DVI/HDMI and has a USB service port, geared strictly for updating firmware when necessary by downloading the updates to a thumb drive, along with the optical audio for home theater.
Currently, the set gets it's material from a non up converting SD Panasonic DVD recorder and a VCR connected to it (for dubbing primarily to DVD) and over the air digital broadcasts. My analog channels don't come in well at all, in fact, are virtually unusable (and have never been that great to begin with) and I am amazed at the quality of the image on this set, the colors are brighter, livelier, SD images tend to be clearer when the source is very clean, be it over the air or DVD. Now I realize that not all movies are meant to have a crisp clear look so I do take that into consideration when viewing material. However, this set does exacerbate the grainy tendency of some films shot on grainy film stock and there really isn't much you can do, but to try and minimize it some so it's not so obvious. "Tales of the City" is one good example of this, shot to film, but for TV in the early 1990's so it's all SD material and even on the old TV, I could detect the grainy film, especially in dark interior or night scenes. Otherwise, in brightly lit scenes, details become more apparent than ever before with the Samsung.
One thing to note, in the information pane at the upper left when you call it up, all DVD sources are shown as 720x480. Don't know if it's being up converted by the TV or not and I am running the component cable w/ the deck set at 480P (progressive scan) and widescreen and I do think it helps to have the DVD player output progressive scan whenever possible and when sources are clean and crisp, it really shows up nicely.
VHS is VHS and no matter what, it'll always look so, so though it might be a touch crisper with this set. For programs originally shot on video tape will often look reasonably good, given the condition/quality of the original source and of course, its age. The older the material, the less the lines of resolution in general so bear that in mind, but overall, from what I've been able to see, it fairs quite well overall even though the set can render more than what the source can provide so one will see the flaws, such as they are where they exist.
Overall, I really love this set for it renders details like nothing I've had before, dust from the cells during original production in a fully restored Looney Tunes cartoon now really show up and I've noted it quite well on the old set so consider it a part and parcel of the cartoons themselves. Well restored cartoons really do look fantastic on this set. When viewing HD sources, you can REALLY see the details like the imperfections of an actor's skin for example, or the texture of an insect shot in macro mode on a nature program, just stunning.
If there is one potential con, and that is the blacks, out of the box are too deep, so much so that you get no details at all. Navy blue, black, dark brown, charcoal all look the same so some tweaking is necessary to render those colors enough to tell what they actually are and in some cases, I could not discern the lapels of a dark suit and barely could see a button of the suit jacket, tweaked, the suit was actually dark gray.
That is a testament to how good Samsung has got the blacks on this set, perhaps a bit too good IMO. And it's this deep, deep blacks are what allow the colors to just pop but without being garish. Avoid the dynamic setting; it WILL render your image in a garish manner color wise, but your blacks will look great. One thing I would suggest is get a calibration DVD and set the set up that way for I think you may get a much better color and etc for YOUR viewing situation, rather than the presets Samsung gives you and they can be used as a reference, but with the wide choice of settings available for adjusting your picture manually, why not take advantage of that and this set does offer the blue only setting, which is necessary when using color bars on a calibration disc and that will ensure color accuracy amongst other things.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this set for its ease of use and setup and for its superb image quality and for it's breadth of features for the price.