Very good, but not great (still, I'm satisfied)
Written: May 21 '05
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Pros: Very stylish, very good picture, nice sound system
Cons: "halo" effect, black level performance could be better
The Bottom Line: Nice 32 inch LCD for those on a budget. Not quite as good as the best available, but still pretty darn good.
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| ds8251's Full Review: Samsung LT-P326W 32 in. HDTV-Ready TV |
I guess this review is a moot point since the model is discontinued, but it’s pretty likely that most changes for the new model will be cosmetic.
I have never been the sort of person who will buy the best available when it comes to televisions. In fact, I’ve always thought that the 20 inch TV was perfect because it’s pretty much the smallest TV that can easily be moved by one person. I’ve been using a Sony Trinitron since the late 1990’s, and before that, I used a 20 inch RCA TV that I bought in high school. I’ve been thinking of upgrading to a flat panel TV for while now, but cost has been a huge deterrent. I know this is going to sound silly, but in my mind, I've told myself that I could never see spending more that $1500 for a TV. I mean it’s just a TV! Up until last year, all $1500 was going to get you in a flat panel TV was something in the 17 to 22 inch range. I might as well just keep using my Sony. Since then, I’ve loosened up my checkbook and decided that I was willing to spend up to 2 grand. But only if I could find something in widescreen format in the 26-32 inch range. Well, that time is here, sort of. You can find 26 inch widescreen LCD’s under $2K from pretty much any manufacturer (even Sony). The 32 inch models run anywhere from $1500 for the No Name brands to $3-3500 for Sony, Mitsubishi, and others. Last week I finally made the plunge and bought the Samsung LT-P326W. It was priced at $1999, but since they only had the floor model left in inventory, they gave it to me for $1799. All told, after buying an extended warranty, some cables, and paying taxes, I made it out the door $2,064 poorer.
Setup was a little more difficult that anticipated. The TV does not come out of the box attached to the stand. On this particular model, the stand is just as wide as the TV, and two large pegs protrude from the stand on either end. The bottom of the panel has two corresponding holes which accommodate the pegs. Since I was doing this by myself, the hard part was lining up the holes with the pegs while trying not to drop the panel. (which weights at least 50 lbs) It took me about a half dozen tries to get the panel seated properly on the stand.
I only intend to use this TV for analog cable and DVD use, but this model has the following inputs: HDMI in, DVI-D in, PC in (Standard SVGA connector), 2 sets of component inputs, Composite video input, S-video input, and coaxial antenna/cable input. I purchased a Monster Cable component video cable, but decided to not use it initially because the RCA jacks are so tight. So, for the first few days, I used the composite video input from my DVD player. After finally getting the component video cable in place, and figuring out the proper settings in my DVD player, the obvious choice is to use the component inputs. The picture is significantly better!
First off, while using the composite input, I noticed that I was fiddling with the brightness and contrast settings each time I started a new DVD, while the picture with the component inputs was more consistent from DVD to DVD without any adjustments on my part. Also, there is a weird halo effect in the composite video mode which is much less noticeable in the component mode. I’m sure this effect is known by different terminology to professionals but I’ll try to describe it. Let’s say that the screen is completely black except for a small bright white circle in the middle. (you can recreate this by watching the movie “Finding Nemo”- the deep ocean scene where they encounter the strange fish with the light generating appendage hanging off it’s forehead). Ideally, the gradient from white to black would be smooth, and you would have progressively lighter shades of white and grey bleeding into the blackness of the surrounding ocean. On the LCD, there is a weird halo effect, where you have the bright white spot, and then a halo, and then a lighter shade of white, a halo, then a still lighter shade of white, a halo, then gray, then halo, then darker gray, then black. This halo effect is also noticeable in very foggy scenes, such as the one in the Al Pacino movie “Insomnia”. I have even noticed it in various movies where the backdrop of a scene is a solid colored wall with a light spot cast in from a window. I guess this is one drawback of LCD technology in comparison to the old CRT tubes. I have noticed this effect to a small degree in the more expensive LCD models, but I guess it’s even less noticeable. Maybe the quality of the LCD has a bearing on how noticeable this is??
Anyhow, those small complaints aside, I’m very satisfied with my purchase! The WOW factor was definitely there for the first few days. I understand that DVD’s do not have the same resolution as an HDTV broadcast seen in the stores, but I still must say that the picture is amazing. The picture quality with analog signals is much less impressive, but I can learn to live with it for now. The Samsung allows you to toggle the screen between various aspect ratios, so I can even watch cable in the old 4:3 aspect ratio if I wish. (watching the signal in 4:3 will create letterboxes on the far left and right portions of the screen)
This Samsung has a few other notable features. First, this model has speakers developed by JBL, which sound very good to my ears. The speakers are located on the bottom of the panel, which I prefer to other LCD’s which have the speakers to the sides of the screen. Also, Samsung has some propriety circuitry to process the video signal called DNIe (Digital Natural Image engine). “Samsung’s new technology brings you more detailed images with contrast, white enhancement, and 3D noise reduction”. In some instances, turning this circuitry on improves the black levels and contrast, and improves the depth of field of the image. (sort of makes the picture pop out at you rather than look like a 2-D image) In other situations, the DNIe circuitry tends to over saturate the picture, and in my opinion, predisposes the TV to the dreaded halo effect. So I deactivate the DNIe feature most of the time. The TV comes with a remote control which seems adequate. It's not backlit or particularly fancy, but it does the job it's supposed to do. Finally, I really like the fact that this model has a black bezel around the picture. It seems to add to the perceived contrast level, and besides, I’m really getting tired of silver audio and video components. I really prefer black.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1799
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Epinions.com ID:
ds8251
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Location: Milwaukee
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 2 members
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