New Telly

volospian · 18-02-2011, 15:33

Just ordered a new telly. No special 3DHDOMFG, really, just a mid range gogglebox. I did a bit of research and plumped for the following:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/t...ype=prd_detail

The majority of reviews says it's excellent for the money, but a bit laggy for hardcore gamers. Well, I only play RDR and GT5 now and again, and only in single player, so I'm hoping it'll be OK. I'll let you know what I find when it turns up next week.

If the lag is unbearable the PS3 can go upstairs into the bedroom with the old 32" that I'm replacing. The 32" is now sitting happily in the foot of our new bed:

http://www.kaydian.co.uk/?prod=430

Jingo · 18-02-2011, 16:53

We have the 32" version and I've not experienced any lag on xbox gaming

Superb TV and what really suprised me was the depth and volume it produces - superb for film viewing!

Enjoy!

volospian · 18-02-2011, 18:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jingo

We have the 32" version and I've not experienced any lag on xbox gaming

Superb TV and what really suprised me was the depth and volume it produces - superb for film viewing!

Enjoy!

Cool! I researched it online, and then went into Comet to have a look at one in the flesh, although it was pretty pointless as they only had an SD demo running on it (next to a more expensive model running an HD demo, one can only presume it was so that punters would elect to pay the higher price for the "better" display...).

Jingo · 18-02-2011, 18:12

Well there are better models out there, but we love ours and we're yet to think 'oh I wish it was like this / did that'

Princess Griff · 19-02-2011, 21:16

Plus our telly is very pretty

Justsomebloke · 20-02-2011, 22:32

I spent 600 quid on a 40" Samsung over 2 year ago & have never regretted it, Used it for my 360 & have my PC going through it as well.

Dymetrie · 20-02-2011, 22:45

We bought a 32" (4 series, i think) Sammy last year which is fantastical for tv, mediabox (DVI->HDMI) and Wii!

My brother bought a 32" original 1st series Sammy about 3-4 years ago which still gives an awesome picture for tv and his eggbox

volospian · 24-02-2011, 14:50

Well, it arrived yesterday.

General
Obviously I looked at it in the store before I went and ordered it from an online retailer, so I knew how slim it was (blurb says 80mm deep, but looks less than that). However, one minor issue (that I fully understood, but still didn't really appreciate) is how small they look in a warehouse the size of the Fosse Park Comet, and then how huge they look in the corner of your living room. My wife told me she hates it, it's way too big and "looks stupid". But she only ever watches "Wild at Heart", so what does she know?

Apart from the sheer size (and I'm glad I didn't plump for a 46") it looks nice. It has a glossy black surround, about 1" wide, around the display, with a couple of mm of either silver (or clear, not sure which) as an edging. The screen is slightly glossy, but not high gloss, like my laptop, and doesn't reflect too much light. It's just glossy enough to look sleek and fit in with the black surround. It's possibly this large slab of modern black that makes this look so large, as my old TV was silver and as such blended in with the lighter walls easier.

Installation
This TV was very easy to get installed. There are 9 screws that hold the stand on (4 to hold the adaptor to the stand, and 5 to hold the adaptor to the TV) and then it's ready to be plugged in. There is a seperate blanking plate in case you wish to wall mount. It's not heavy at all and it took only a few moments with an electric screwdriver before it was sitting on the corner unit, warming up. As for initial set up, I'm using Virgin at the moment, so I just plugged the HDMI cable in and skipped setting up any freeview channels. 'nuff said.

Picture
The picture quality is wonderfully sharp, although out of the box it was a little overbearing as far as set up was concerned, and I had to fiddle a bit to make it look how I wanted it to. Then I remembered seeing a review on the web that had some suggested settings to start from, so I dug around until I found them and copied those settings. Mine were quite close, actually, only being a couple of digits out on the main screens, however, these settings had more detailed values for various other settings, which I copied. I had to select a different backlight setting from those published (which it says you probably will have to, depending on the lighting in the room), but the rest seem to provide a good picture that I'll stick with for a while at least.

Sound
I changed the sound to "movie" (I think) as the rest sounded a little tinny for me. I was surprised at how loud this tv is. A lot of poeple had dismissed Samsung as having poor volume, and in Comet I had to turn it right up to even hear it over the rest of the stuff in there, so there was no way of telling what the volume would be like at home, but I don't need it on more than about 1/4 volume. Indeed, at around 1/2 volume it was getting uncomfortably loud.

Gaming
I was slightly concerned about the reviews saying that this TV suffered from input lag, and that it was not suitable for "hardcore gamers" with people's ratings dropping dramatically as the TV struggled to keep up with the game. Well, I'm not hardcore, but I do play GT5, which demands relatively quick reflexes to get decent times. I did switch "game mode" on to test the PS3, and noticed no reall difference to my old TV. I can only presume that my old TV was either just as laggy (5 year old LCD Toshiba) or that the lag is less of an issue for mild gamers like myself. Now, they report the lag time as around 45ms, which I still think is a tiny amount of time, but most of the reviews were based around "on line" gaming ratings and perhaps internet lag, coupled with input lag adds up to a definate disadvantage. I can only say that I haven't noticed any real difference to the old box.

Features
Well, it does have built in Internet access, but as I don't have an ethernet connection anywhere near it at the moment, I cannot test the on-line features. It doesn't have WiFi, but it can support a seperate dongle. However, it only supports the Samsung dongle, which is around £45-£50. Seems outrageously expensive for a WiFi dongle to me, and I think I'll be cobbling something together with wires, at least for the time being.

Conclusions
A beautiful TV, with a stunningly sharp picture. HD is pin sharp, and even watching TG on Dave still looked great. The sound is maybe a little tinny on some settings, but the movie mode brings in a reasonable amount of bass. I currently haven't found out how to adjust bass and treble seperately, so it's probably just me. Besides, it can always be sent to an external amp if that's your thing. No real issues with gaming for me, although I do wonder what effect it would have on hardcore online gamers. Shame it has no WiFi built in. I don't know if many people will have ethernet ports too near their main TV location and it seems a bit cheap to offer a partial solution, but then it is not a "top end" TV.

Score
I'd give this TV (after only a day of ownership)

7/10.

I've taken a point off because it's not immediately obvious how to adjust the bass/treble, and another 2 points for not having WiFi. It lost a point of that because it seems a bit silly to offer internet connectivity in this age of wireless everything, but ignore WiFi access, and another point because it adds nearly another 10% to the cost to buy the dongle.

Jingo · 24-02-2011, 20:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by volospian

A lot of poeple had dismissed Samsung as having poor volume

I find this hard to believe - not your comment, but that people feel this way! The sound from ours fills the room like a rolling wave and after some tweaking (Movie mode here also!) it makes for superb viewing!

@ your lady - if we had any larger than the 32" we'd start blocking out one of our windows!

volospian · 25-02-2011, 09:03

I've just re-read some of the reviews and I think I missed the point a little. I think people are complaining about the quality of the volume, rather than the loundness itself. I simply read it as "poor volume in general" when most are moaning about the sound being tinny, muffled or generally poor. Sorry about that confusion.

With that in mind, I would maybe agree..... a little.... In standard audio mode, it is a bit tinny, but the movie setting is much better. I would have thought that adjusting the bass/treble response would be able to tune out a bad balance, so I assume people are moaning about the quality of the speakers themselves (although I still can't find out how to do that... maybe I should RTFM? lol). Whatever, it sounds fine in my house when set to Movie...

18-02-2011, 15:33	#1
volospian Vodka Martini Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 786	New Telly Just ordered a new telly. No special 3DHDOMFG, really, just a mid range gogglebox. I did a bit of research and plumped for the following: http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/t...ype=prd_detail The majority of reviews says it's excellent for the money, but a bit laggy for hardcore gamers. Well, I only play RDR and GT5 now and again, and only in single player, so I'm hoping it'll be OK. I'll let you know what I find when it turns up next week. If the lag is unbearable the PS3 can go upstairs into the bedroom with the old 32" that I'm replacing. The 32" is now sitting happily in the foot of our new bed: http://www.kaydian.co.uk/?prod=430

18-02-2011, 16:53	#2
Jingo Smother me in chocolate and eat flapjacks with it! Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North Somerset Posts: 1,854	We have the 32" version and I've not experienced any lag on xbox gaming Superb TV and what really suprised me was the depth and volume it produces - superb for film viewing! Enjoy! __________________

18-02-2011, 18:12	#4
Jingo Smother me in chocolate and eat flapjacks with it! Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North Somerset Posts: 1,854	Well there are better models out there, but we love ours and we're yet to think 'oh I wish it was like this / did that' __________________

19-02-2011, 21:16	#5
Princess Griff Buns'o'Steel Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Maison Jingriff in North Somerset Posts: 600	Plus our telly is very pretty __________________

20-02-2011, 22:32	#6
Justsomebloke The Night Worker Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 5,228	I spent 600 quid on a 40" Samsung over 2 year ago & have never regretted it, Used it for my 360 & have my PC going through it as well. __________________

20-02-2011, 22:45	#7
Dymetrie A large glass of Merlot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Letchworth with a Lightsaber Posts: 5,819	We bought a 32" (4 series, i think) Sammy last year which is fantastical for tv, mediabox (DVI->HDMI) and Wii! My brother bought a 32" original 1st series Sammy about 3-4 years ago which still gives an awesome picture for tv and his eggbox __________________ Khef, Ka and Ka-Tet....

24-02-2011, 14:50	#8
volospian Vodka Martini Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 786	Well, it arrived yesterday. General Obviously I looked at it in the store before I went and ordered it from an online retailer, so I knew how slim it was (blurb says 80mm deep, but looks less than that). However, one minor issue (that I fully understood, but still didn't really appreciate) is how small they look in a warehouse the size of the Fosse Park Comet, and then how huge they look in the corner of your living room. My wife told me she hates it, it's way too big and "looks stupid". But she only ever watches "Wild at Heart", so what does she know? Apart from the sheer size (and I'm glad I didn't plump for a 46") it looks nice. It has a glossy black surround, about 1" wide, around the display, with a couple of mm of either silver (or clear, not sure which) as an edging. The screen is slightly glossy, but not high gloss, like my laptop, and doesn't reflect too much light. It's just glossy enough to look sleek and fit in with the black surround. It's possibly this large slab of modern black that makes this look so large, as my old TV was silver and as such blended in with the lighter walls easier. Installation This TV was very easy to get installed. There are 9 screws that hold the stand on (4 to hold the adaptor to the stand, and 5 to hold the adaptor to the TV) and then it's ready to be plugged in. There is a seperate blanking plate in case you wish to wall mount. It's not heavy at all and it took only a few moments with an electric screwdriver before it was sitting on the corner unit, warming up. As for initial set up, I'm using Virgin at the moment, so I just plugged the HDMI cable in and skipped setting up any freeview channels. 'nuff said. Picture The picture quality is wonderfully sharp, although out of the box it was a little overbearing as far as set up was concerned, and I had to fiddle a bit to make it look how I wanted it to. Then I remembered seeing a review on the web that had some suggested settings to start from, so I dug around until I found them and copied those settings. Mine were quite close, actually, only being a couple of digits out on the main screens, however, these settings had more detailed values for various other settings, which I copied. I had to select a different backlight setting from those published (which it says you probably will have to, depending on the lighting in the room), but the rest seem to provide a good picture that I'll stick with for a while at least. Sound I changed the sound to "movie" (I think) as the rest sounded a little tinny for me. I was surprised at how loud this tv is. A lot of poeple had dismissed Samsung as having poor volume, and in Comet I had to turn it right up to even hear it over the rest of the stuff in there, so there was no way of telling what the volume would be like at home, but I don't need it on more than about 1/4 volume. Indeed, at around 1/2 volume it was getting uncomfortably loud. Gaming I was slightly concerned about the reviews saying that this TV suffered from input lag, and that it was not suitable for "hardcore gamers" with people's ratings dropping dramatically as the TV struggled to keep up with the game. Well, I'm not hardcore, but I do play GT5, which demands relatively quick reflexes to get decent times. I did switch "game mode" on to test the PS3, and noticed no reall difference to my old TV. I can only presume that my old TV was either just as laggy (5 year old LCD Toshiba) or that the lag is less of an issue for mild gamers like myself. Now, they report the lag time as around 45ms, which I still think is a tiny amount of time, but most of the reviews were based around "on line" gaming ratings and perhaps internet lag, coupled with input lag adds up to a definate disadvantage. I can only say that I haven't noticed any real difference to the old box. Features Well, it does have built in Internet access, but as I don't have an ethernet connection anywhere near it at the moment, I cannot test the on-line features. It doesn't have WiFi, but it can support a seperate dongle. However, it only supports the Samsung dongle, which is around £45-£50. Seems outrageously expensive for a WiFi dongle to me, and I think I'll be cobbling something together with wires, at least for the time being. Conclusions A beautiful TV, with a stunningly sharp picture. HD is pin sharp, and even watching TG on Dave still looked great. The sound is maybe a little tinny on some settings, but the movie mode brings in a reasonable amount of bass. I currently haven't found out how to adjust bass and treble seperately, so it's probably just me. Besides, it can always be sent to an external amp if that's your thing. No real issues with gaming for me, although I do wonder what effect it would have on hardcore online gamers. Shame it has no WiFi built in. I don't know if many people will have ethernet ports too near their main TV location and it seems a bit cheap to offer a partial solution, but then it is not a "top end" TV. Score I'd give this TV (after only a day of ownership) 7/10. I've taken a point off because it's not immediately obvious how to adjust the bass/treble, and another 2 points for not having WiFi. It lost a point of that because it seems a bit silly to offer internet connectivity in this age of wireless everything, but ignore WiFi access, and another point because it adds nearly another 10% to the cost to buy the dongle.

25-02-2011, 09:03	#10
volospian Vodka Martini Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 786	I've just re-read some of the reviews and I think I missed the point a little. I think people are complaining about the quality of the volume, rather than the loundness itself. I simply read it as "poor volume in general" when most are moaning about the sound being tinny, muffled or generally poor. Sorry about that confusion. With that in mind, I would maybe agree..... a little.... In standard audio mode, it is a bit tinny, but the movie setting is much better. I would have thought that adjusting the bass/treble response would be able to tune out a bad balance, so I assume people are moaning about the quality of the speakers themselves (although I still can't find out how to do that... maybe I should RTFM? lol). Whatever, it sounds fine in my house when set to Movie...