Nice plasma ... if it works
Written: Aug 18 '06
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Pros: Lots of inputs, competitive price
Cons: Questionable reliability, poor customer service
The Bottom Line: Possibly a good performer, but questionable reliability.
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| ze_shark's Full Review: Samsung HP-S4253 42 in. HDTV TV |
I've had this plasma for almost a month but was only able to use it for a week before it broke down and I sunk in Samsung's technical support deep waters.
I bought this Samsung 42in on the advice of an in-store sales guy, my mind was set on a comparable Toshiba model but the greater flexibility offered by the wide array of inputs (2 coax, 2 HDMI, PC, component) seemed appealing. Styling is sleek but I was not too sure about the piano black glossy surface on the front and the base, the kind of thing which gets scratched only by looking at it.
Difficult to comment on picture quality, but I have to say I am not wowed. Standard Comcast cable signal quality is way too poor to judge, but even on a Samsung DVD player with HDMI output, I find the image a tad grainy, not the sharper-than-life extravaganza you might expect. I have to confess I am neither an enthusiast nor an educated connaisseur, but I thought that 2000$+ of plasma TV would deliver more.
One week after I started using the TV, a loud popping noise occurred when turning the TV on. Sound was still there, but no image. Called Samsung customer service, but resetting the TV was not going to make the cut. That's where the story gets boring so you may want to jump to the next paragraph with the thought that Samsung customer service is dysfunctional. So customer service took all information, model number, serial number, symptom etc ... and assured me that the local service shop for my area (SF East Bay) would called within 24-48 hours. 48 hours I call back to hear that the usual service is 48 to 72 hours. Two days later, the local shop calls me, but the lady, who speaks with a barely understandable japanese accent, has no clue of what my problem is, whether it's a Plasma or CRT, what the model number is, etc ... Another guy calls me back later to tell me that they have to order spare parts and will call me once they arrive to set an appointment the same day. I requested 2 day notice for arranging an appointment, but my counterpart could not conceive that I would not spend my days at home waiting for a call from Samsung. A week later, I receive a call that the spare parts have arrived and I will have the visit of a technician the next day between 1 and 3pm. Impossible to free my calendar under such short notice, I ask for an appointment the day after: blunt refusal, they only service my area on Thursdays. It's only after threatening to return the damn thing (what I should have done for a start) that they concede to call me back for an appointment on Friday.
So 6 or 7 phone calls later, a technician shows up at noon, we spend an hour dismantling the TV and swapping boards: he can't do it alone, the panel is too heavy. After some early misses, the guy finds out that all transistors of one of the scan boards are shorted, swaps the board, alleluya the image is back !
Another small gripe: I was disappointed that when using the PC input, the image zooming functions are disabled.
According to the technician, power supply board failures or scan board failures are quite frequent on this model, so if you are considering it:
- check competition
- consider an extended warranty
- keep all packaging materials and return it at the first hint of a glitch
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 2199
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Epinions.com ID:
ze_shark
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Reviews written: 32
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