TV Reviews

I'v had this for three weeks and still think this is the best HD moniter on the market. The picture quality really stands out in comparison.
I looked at DLP TV from RCA - Thomson and it looked like a lower resolution display, even though they say they use the same device from TI as Samsung.
The minor things noted in other reviews;

1. not the best at standard broadcast TV. Yes, if your only watching this - and no HD or DVD - than save your money. Especially if you view from 12 ft. away or less.I have Directv HD with a Pansonic receiver and a progressive scan DVD player hooked up and use them to get widescreen and HD programs.
Play the new Digital Video Essentials DVD on this system to see how good a picture can get.

2. Minor issue with audio timing to the picture when watching cetain broadcasts using the built in analog tuner. Using the Mute button repeatedly brings this out on my set. This should be fixable with a software upgrade from Samsung - when they are ready.

3. horizontal viewing angle is great - just as they say. But the vertical viewing angle is about 90 degrees max.(45 up or down), like other rear projection TVs. Set the TV at seated eye level and you won't even notice this.

I would have been nice to get a digital TV tuner built-in. Since Directv and cable make you use their tuners for DTV, it's not worth waiting for this feature.

I have not yet used the DVI and PC interfaces. I like the split-screen display using the PIP ( two tuners) in the set. Even the PIP as a window is clear.

2.

Very sharp picture (when viewing HD broadcast or DVD). Vibrant colors right out of the box. No calibration needed.

Regular analog broadcasts, however, are inferior (which I believe is more a function of the larger screen size magnifying the imperfections of a non-HD signal).

Highly recommend obtaining HD cable service with this set. Locally, Comcast is offering HD service at $5/month. Plus they provide their own box with no charge for installation.

What a picture!!!!!!!when you watch a dvd on this baby...you will be in heaven!! I will be getting hdtv thru directv soon..and after that I may never go to the movie theater again..it is that good! The only problem i have is the set is in my bedroom and when i have it on late at nite and the volume is low i can hear the fan...but don't let that stop you from buying this t.v.

Bottom line: It's a terrific TV!

VERY good size and picture-quality for the money. Best of all it is totally flat. We've had it for over a month and now most other normal CRT TV's we watch seem positively tiny in comparison!
When it was right next to a giant panasonic rear-projection TV in this store [worth twice as much], the picture of the philips seemed crisper and less jittery.

You can adjust the colour convergence at different points on the screen, if the red/blue beams are out of alignment (due to a different magnetic field in your house than at the factory). The only gripe I have is that the mute button on the remote control is too small.

The benefits of rear-projection over plasma TVs are as follows:
(read this if you're still in doubt)

People get scared off of rear-projection TV's because they get "muddy" at different viewing angles. However, in recent years, they have become vastly superior to the old ones in this respect. Don't allow some sales git to sell you a plasma screen, merely because it has a wider viewing angle! Who watches TV at an angle of over 45degrees from the center? If you're spending a fair bit of money on a telly, you're NOT going to stand at this oblique angle watching your favourite show, are you? Not with ANY set. Let me dispel a myth: with this set, you /can/ see the picture no matter what angle you're standing at, albeit at slightly reduced contrast beyond about 45 degrees. It's not as if it totally blanks out or anything past this point - which is handy if you're getting a snack from an adjoining room and don't want to miss anything.

A decent rear-projection set has a HIGHER resolution than some of the cheap plasma screens. I don't even think the cheaper brands bother making rear-projection TV's.
Plasma TV's also suffer from pixel drop-out, which means that a few pixels can sometimes become permanently switched on or off. This might not come under the warranty if there is less than a certain number of them, so if the thought of putting up with this bothers you, don't buy a plasma! Also the price of this philips set is, what, about a quarter of what a plasma costs? At that price, plasma's just not worth considering.

Remember though: DON'T buy a set without at least looking at the picture quality. It's amazing how much they vary.

WIDESCREEN?
We thought about getting a dedicated widescreen (16:9) television, but then if you're watching standard TV 4:3 format, the extra width (which you're paying a premium for) becomes black bars at the sides of your screen. Not good. So the picture you're now watching reverts to the equivalent size as what a TV approximately *half* the cost would have given you.

On the other hand, if you happen to be watching a 16:9 widescreen image on THIS philips 109cm (43") TV, you get black bars at the top and bottom, sure, but it is still now equivalent to a 100cm (39") television!!! WOW. In other words, because of its huge size you won't even care if there are black bars displayed - there is that much screen size to play with! For the price you simply can't do any better - you're laughing!

SIZE:
One last thing, I've also seen *normal* CRT TV's, faaar smaller than this one - but costing twice as much!! If you're still considering anything else, then consider this: SIZE DOES MATTER! Unless of course you've got a small to average sized room, in which case a big TV like this will dwarf everything else in it. Having said that, for the size this one does have a small footprint- the TV is not very deep at all (look at the specifications) so it won't stick out much from the wall. Plus it isn't any wider than it has to be.

For a while, I was hesitant in owning a projection TV. The reason was, the pictures were not clear, crisp and sharp. This one has proven to be the exception! It is from the first time I saw it in a store.

It has a clear, crisp, sharp hi-fi dbx stereo sound to match. It has several convenient features I use, including its P.I.P. I can not get all the local channels on satellite. So, having a separate antenna connected, I can watch the local programs and satellite simultaneously. And I can swap on the remote between which is on the main picture and which is in one of the corners.

It has a lot of convenient, easy-to-use features, as well as enough connections. It is one rear projection TV I highly recommend to everyone!

I checked over the years a number of projection TV's. Overall, this is the best one I have seen and heard!

I have been impressed by its clear, sharp, life-like picture and equally sharp, clear dbx hi-fi stereo sound. And I love how all this and more are packed into this excellent overall 43" projection TV!

It has separate bass and treble adjusters and bass boost, as well as several ways to finely adjust both its audio and video.

It is equipped with 3 sets of a/v inputs(2 rear, 1 side), 2 S-video inputs(1 rear, 1 side), 1 rear set of a/v output jacks and one side headphone jack, as well as a dual-tuner picture-in-picture. And it comes with a universal remote.

It has several other features that are convenient and easy to use. It includes its sleep timer and clock that can either be set manually or set automatically through a PBS station it is tuned into when using either cable or an antenna.

Overall, it is the best projection TV to the present I have seen and heard and highly recommend.

I bought this unit like-new...with the intention of using it in my SUV on weekend trips. It has turned into not only a great system for my car (even hooks into my car stereo via the easily accessible headphone jack), but a great 2nd TV/DVD for my small house.

The unit works great, the controls intuitive, and a plus for "folks like me who tend to lose stuff like remotes" is that the DVD menus are navigable via the controls on the unit.

In-Car, I havent noticed any DVD skipping while the car was in motion. Sound quality on the unit's speaker is adequate for an enclosed room, and played through my car speakers via the headphone jack, it gives the impression that I'm in a state of the art theatre.

If you're in the market, this TV/DVD combo is perfect.

We bought this set for a 36 hour family trip. We have a van so I wanted a little larger screen so the kids could see in the back. When you compare the price with portable players or built-in decks this was great.

We set the TV between the driver seats in our Chrysler Town & Country. I had to remove the passenger side arm rest so it would fit. I built a small stand to raise the TV up about 16 inches. The screen was very clear.

During our travels it never skipped. One nice feature is the resume play mode. When we would stop for food or gas we would turn the power off the TV. Then when we were back on the road we would simply hit the power button and it would resume where we left off.

One concern I had was heat. (With it sitting between us) That was not a problem, but we did have air-condiditioning on most the trip.

It only has one headphone jack. We have 3 kids. So I bought a headphone splitter. Because of the rounded case around the headphone jack I had to modify the headphone jack with a grinder to get it to fit.

All in all this television did everything I asked of it and more and kept the kids happy for about and an hour and a half at a time.

I bought this system for one reason and one reason only: Entertain the kids in the car. I really did not care about the picture or sound quality. I just wanted something small to fit in the car and that I could easily haul around. To my surprise the picture is crystal clear and the sound of the system is awesome. You can probably find cheaper systems, but you cannot go wrong with this one. I would not trade my TV/DVD combo for anything.

no complaints. i play a lot of counter-strike. ok at 1024x768. at 800x600 the frame rate/response/refresh/update(whatever you want to call it)gets out of the way of the game. the 3D environment on the screen goes as fast as i can move the mouse. i also just got a viewsonic A90f+, another great value at [$$$].

if you have rare widescreen monitors(such as plasma or LCD rear-projector with VGA input). this card is a perfect match. This card supports three wide screen resolution. text won't look stretched nor blur. I use it on my 50inch Sony w9000 and the screen never looked better. highly recommand this video card.
BTW: pick up manufacturer's rebate from compusa website while at it, before it's too late.

I build my own computers, which has proved to be a mixed blessing....

Since I install nothing but Microsoft Operating Systems (OS) on my computers, I have learned to rely on the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (HCL), to ensure that all the hardware I purchase is supported in some way, shape, or form, by Microsoft. ...

I have build three computers since that experience, and I have used the ATI Radeon 7000 AGP 4x for all of them, because its on the HCL. For my needs the Radeon 7000 AGP offers the best bang for my buck! ....

What is AGP?

All of the motherboards I have purchased over the last two years have had AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slots. If you have an available AGP slot in your computer (it is usually the small black or brown slot in close proximity to the processor), you'll want to select an AGP video card over a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) video card, because AGP offer much faster throughput. But what is AGP?

The AGP standard was originally designed by Intel for Pentium II based motherboards. AGP can deliver a peak bandwidth 4 times greater than then PCI using advanced bus-mastering techniques. AGP is designed to enables the graphics cards to execute texture maps directly from system memory instead of forcing it to pre-load the texture data into the graphics card's local memory first. As a result AGP presents a much smoother frame rate and the ability to display 3D graphics and video that is much more realistic and much at a much higher quality than heretofore found on a PC. Such performance used to be limited to high-end graphics workstations.
Though AGP is geared towards the Pentium class processor and its Dual Independent Bus (DIB) architecture, you do not need a Pentium processor to take advantage AGP, since the use of AGP doesn't depend on the CPU type.
The ATI Radeon 7000 offers full AGP 4X (Version 2.0, 1.5 volt) implementation for a 1GB/sec data transfer rate, sideband addressing, pipelining and AGP texturing support. AGP 2X (3.3 volt) operation is also supported for systems / motherboards which do not offer 4X compatibility. PCI versions of Radeon 7000 are offered in both 32M and 64M DDR memory configurations.

The Radeon 7000 is available with 32MB or 64MB of onboard Random Access Memory (RAM). The older models sported SDRAM while the newer models come with high performance DDR. Unless you plan to use the card for serious game playing the 32MB version of the Radeon 7000 should be sufficient to meet your computing needs.

Installation

Installation of the Radeon 7000 is pretty straightforward; the included instructions from ATI are logical, well written, and easy to follow. Both Windows 2000 and Windows XP detected the card and installed the software drivers (written by Microsoft) for it. ATI includes a CD-ROM with better drivers and utilities designed to get the most from the card. I would skip the installation of most of the software because it offers little in the way of functionality and clutters the desktop.

First Impressions:

I love this card! Even without the installation of the ATI specific drivers, the cards performance was exceptional. The picture was clear and crisp; the colors were vibrant and true to life; the text was sharp and in-focus; and the monitor flickered not a bit. After I installed the included drivers, I noted little difference in performance, but I was able to control the functionality of the Radeon 7000 down to the smallest detail. Though through use I will probably never need to manipulate them the cards many functions and controls, it's nice to know they are there.

I am not a gamer, nor a graphics designer, so I come nowhere near to putting this card through its true paces, or realizing the full potential of the AGP technology. Video and DVD playback are both outstanding at the standard size, but predictably becomes choppier as the images become larger. It is hard to know what to attribute this to: the card or the mediums used to record them. It's not a bothersome problem, but I'll be happy when the technology finally matures.

Conclusions:

I like this card for three reasons: 1. It is on the Microsoft HCL; 2 it's affordable and; 3. it offers outstanding performance for my money. ATI is one of the oldest and most trusted names in computer hardware, and the Radeon 7000 continues their tradition off offering superior products at a reasonable price. If you are looking for a Windows 2000, or Windows XP video card look no further then the ATI Radeon 7000.

The Panasonic TV/DVD/VCR combo is the ideal purchase in a combination television for these reasons:

1. Good picture quality. I've seen better, but I've seen worse, and for more money.

2. Renders components obsolete. The moment I got my television home, I was able to disconnect my VCR from my digital cable converter and hook the new television directly to the converter. No need for an additional DVD or VCR component, which is nice because now there aren't so many cords lying around on the floor behind the television, a big plus if you're type-A like I am.

3. Competitive pricing. For the quality behind the brand name, this television is priced to outsell others in its category, period.

4. Short ramp-up time. The television is easy to program and the remote is extremely user-friendly. Plus the manual that accompanies the television is one of the most well-written component user's manuals I have ever read. The time span between removing the television from the box and watching the television might have been 20 minutes.

My family spent the weekend enjoying our new purchase. If you're in the market for a TV/DVD/VCR combo, then look no further. You've found it!

*This review refers to the 27-inch television.

hiii

this adil,,, i am form wisconsin milwaukee,,,
i boutht a new tv but i dont have the remot control
so, i would like to get one from your great company
the tv model # pv-dm 2093
please help me to get what i am looking for
thakns and my pleasurs
to be one of your best custmors
yours adil ahmed

I owned a 13" Panasonic TV/VCR for about 8 years and loved it so when I decided to get a larger television set I looked around at different brands, but decided to go with Panasonic again since the brand is such good quality.

I love this 20" TV/DVD/VCR. It's a great size, and great quality. After this purchase, I believe my loyalty to Panasonic has increased notably. I will most likely purchase Panasonic in the future.

The Panasonic TV/DVD/VCR combo is the ideal purchase in a combination television for these reasons:

1. Good picture quality. I've seen better, but I've seen worse, and for more money.

2. Renders components obsolete. The moment I got my television home, I was able to disconnect my VCR from my digital cable converter and hook the new television directly to the converter. No need for an additional DVD or VCR component, which is nice because now there aren't so many cords lying around on the floor behind the television, a big plus if you're type-A like I am.

3. Competitive pricing. For the quality behind the brand name, this television is priced to outsell others in its category, period.

4. Short ramp-up time. The television is easy to program and the remote is extremely user-friendly. Plus the manual that accompanies the television is one of the most well-written component user's manuals I have ever read. The time span between removing the television from the box and watching the television might have been 20 minutes.

My family spent the weekend enjoying our new purchase. If you're in the market for a TV/DVD/VCR combo, then look no further. You've found it!

*This review refers to the 27-inch television.

hiii

this adil,,, i am form wisconsin milwaukee,,,
i boutht a new tv but i dont have the remot control
so, i would like to get one from your great company
the tv model # pv-dm 2093
please help me to get what i am looking for
thakns and my pleasurs
to be one of your best custmors
yours adil ahmed

I owned a 13" Panasonic TV/VCR for about 8 years and loved it so when I decided to get a larger television set I looked around at different brands, but decided to go with Panasonic again since the brand is such good quality.

I love this 20" TV/DVD/VCR. It's a great size, and great quality. After this purchase, I believe my loyalty to Panasonic has increased notably. I will most likely purchase Panasonic in the future.

I finally took the plunge and purchased the Samsung 50" DLP. And "wow" is pretty much all I can say. The picture quality is unbelievable. I finally understand why everyone is oogling over HDTV. I hooked up the DVD player (an old Sony, non-progressive scan) and I sat there dumbfounded. I started the "testing phase" with Apollo 13. Wow. I could tell very little difference between S-Video and Component Video, and while Component gets the slight edge, you have to be picky to care because the picture quality is outstanding either way. Hooked up the digital cable box... and again, two wows! The first wow is for how bad a standard television signal looks! It was embarrassing... I can't believe we've been watching this junk for decades! The second wow is for how much better the digital signal looks.

I then ran out and upgraded my cable box to a HD box.... ok, this is a big wow! It's so good it's almost stupid. I sat there mesmerized by this almost surreal picture. Travels through Italy, Hogan's Heroes (who knew this stuff was in HD?), Three Days of the Condor, and the College World Series... it was almost like being there... actually it was better. I may never leave the house!

Hookups are great. Plenty of component, s-video, and even a DVI (which I haven't used yet, although my cable box does have DVI, hard to believe the picture could be better). As integrated speakers go, the Samsung sounds great. It has a simulated surround sound mode which I tested with Apollo 13 and, while not high end surround sound, I was quite impressed. This ain't your daddy's tv speaker. Out-of-box experience was as good as it gets. It was well packed, easy to unpack, and everything worked perfectly. The remote will not win awards for revolutionary design, but it was intuitive enough for me to get to everything I needed.

My only real world experience with big screen tv is my dad's Sony rear projection. What impressed me with the Samsung compared to that experienece is... you can't get too close (no tunneling), it looks great from the side, from the floor, and standing up.... you do lose a little brightness, but it's still very watchable. It's not as good as plasma, but it's not far off. One of my pet peeves with big screens is the finish on the glass... I much prefer the "matte" non-reflective finish of the Samsung. And when combined with the superb brightness, you can watch (and enjoy) the picture even in a brightly lit room.

It wasn't easy for me to pull the trigger... I've spent the past several years of lusting over big screen televisions... never passing up the opportunity to peruse the aisles at BestBuy and Circuit City... watching the evolution from rear projection to plasma to LCD... and nothing really impressed me (ok, the plasma did impress me, but the pricetag was beyond comprehension). But there was always something that turned me off... my dad's Sony projection is cool, but when I watch a movie on it, I can see "CNN" and "Live" burned into the corners of the screen... and then I learned that you can get burn-in on plasma as well. Yikes. Then I saw the DLP... and I came close to falling in love.

If you're thinking about going HD and you can afford it, you will not be dissappointed with the Samsung.

We Searched for the best TV and this is what we came up with.This TV hooked up to a HI Def. signal is one of the best pictures you can get.When we hooked up the dvd player I was blown away, the picture was like glass then we had the HI Def Sat. hooked up and that was even better.I sit only 7 to 9 feet away from tv and there is no blur at all, and the best thing about DLP is to bring the tv back to new all you have to do is change a lightbulb about every 4 or 5 years.(No tech. has to come to your house to realine your tubes or color like in plasma or LCD. Also there is no way to burn image in to this screen unlike plasma or LCD.(for the kids who like to play video games.) Stay at 50 to 55 inch screen anything larger will tend to strech the picture then you get the blur! All in all the hookups are great and i can lift this tv myself.

I got this from Best-Buy in January. It is about 2 months and the picture quality is great. HD channels look even better. Most of the SD is acceptable. One thing that annoys me about this TV is, it takes about 20-30 seconds to fireup. But I can wait that much to see the great picture. If you buy this from Best-Buy, make sure you enroll in their rewardszone program. you will get about $130 worth of gift certificates for your purchase price through rewardszone.

I love this TV, my husband and I really researched when we decided to buy a new television and this one is awesome. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to having such a big TV. The first time we put it on all I could think was what I'd been missing all these years. The only little problem we had was the sound, it seemed to be not up to par with the rest of the set. We hooked up an amp and some speakers and now it sounds great. It is the best $500 bucks I ever spent. If you are looking for a new TV and you can't afford to spend tons of money then this TV is the one. Enjoy!

Picked this TV up two days ago and so far I am very happy. I'm 26 years old now and this is my 2nd Toshiba TV since I was in 8th grade.
I got a deal and being I purchased the floor model from Best Buy, they gave it to me for $450 - which I think is a steal. The price was contingent on me purchasing the ESP - Extended Serivce Plan - for $100, but provides for 4 years in home service.
Overall, very satisfied - if you can find this TV for under $500, it's worth every penny. The pic is as sharp and displays computer video much better then my brother's 32" Sony.

Wow, what an awesome TV we just watched Topgun , the picture and sound blew away my 3 year old Panasonic. If you need a new 32 inch this is it. I could write paragraphs about this new model, but believe everything you read about this set in the other reviews. The back is logically set up for your connections . The set naturally is heavy and cumbersome , so u need 2 guys to lift and set it up into position . buy this unit, you'll be glad you did.

Well, I got this TV for my dorm room. It's got good picture and sound, definitely better than some larger TVs... but, Amazon lists front/rear a/v in. There is no front a/v. So, if that's important to you, you may want to get something else. Also, while the TV has two speakers, it only has mono sound, but since it is a smaller TV I wouldn't expect anything fancy. And the V-Chip doesn't work with most programs. But if you're looking for a good TV for watching TV on, this is a good pick.

This little TV is great. We needed a TV for our daughters room and after looking around, this one was in the right price range and the right size. It has fantastic picture and sound, and a lot of menu options like sleep mode and a clock, to name a couple. For the price and quality...this TV should be your top choice as a bedroom or kitchen set.

DO NOT LET THE PRICE FOOL YOU! THE COLOR IS JUST AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN THE MORE EXPENSIVE IN THIS SIZE. DON'T HESITATE TO BUY!

I'm an audio guy first, so I can tell you first hand, yes, this has improved the imaging and dynamics of my system. For video applications, colors are more vivid, pictures sharper, and even cable TV looks better.

This is [money] well spent. Give it a week to break in, and you'll really start to notice how much you're enjoying music and watching movies, with this hooked into yer system.

...at least somebody is catering to this market. There are so many products out there (cables, power, etc.) that are so obviously designed to make money by giving you the cheapest possible components. I purchase my Monster products with delight because at least they APPEAR to care about quality. I have never actually compared this power strip to another by watching the same video feed and cannot say for sure that it does what it says with regard to filtering AC pollution. BUT, I do know that AC pollution exists and sometimes my mobile video equipment will pick up radio signals and corrupt microphone recordings. This power strip does completely eliminate RF (radio frequency) interference, and that alone made it worth the purchase for me.

The "Monster CLEAN POWER circuitry (Model HTS800) has it all for your audio / video components. Including Sound & Picture.

Simple to use Monster provides you with color coded outlets with mathching tags to apply to the appropiate plugs. (This is very important in those times of removing the correct plug without disturbing the existing system setup).

These are the perks of the HTS800:

* The power cord is 8 foot in length and has a 3 prong plug with a 30 degree offset to allow use of adjacent wall outlets. (A very convenient and wonderful feature).

* 8 outlets to cover all your needs, 5 color coded ones to include; VCR, DVD, Cable, CD, & Audio AMP. 3 additional widely spaced outlets for TV and 2 Spares.

* Video cable antenna (coaxiale) / DSS or DIVX surge protection filter circuit (improves cable picture by up to 30%).

* Phone line surge protection filter.

* A free 6 foot monster video and telephone cable.

*Visual and audio surge alarm.

This CLEAN POWER system is a must for that Family Room with all the gadgets !!!!!!!

Your investment needs to be protected and this is the ALL IN ONE product that can do it for you. I love mine.