Stylish and Sexy Samsung (Samsung LE-37A436T)

Member Name: glitter_princess

Product:	Samsung LE-37A436T
Date:	11/03/09 (143 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great picture quality, reasonable price, stylish design

Disadvantages: Sound quality is poor

Since moving in together over 3 years ago now, a new TV has been on our list of "would like to have's" but somehow was something that never quite made it to the top of our list until recently, preferring to stick with our trusted but sadly very bulky Goodmans. After Christmas however, and with some birthday money contributions, we finally found we had enough money to invest in a snazzy flatscreen. The LE37A436T is part of Samsung's 'Series 6 Range' and features a 37 inch widescreen LCD capable of displaying a 720p picture (meaning you can watch High Definition content, ie: Sky HD or BluRay). It has a built in freeview receiver with EPG (Electronic Program Guide), three HDMI inputs, a pair of Scart sockets, and VGA in for hooking up a computer. On the output side you get an RCA out and optical out for hooking this TV up to an amplifier.

Design

Samsung say of their series 6 models, not too modestly I might add, "With exquisite design and unique harmonious qualities, the LCD TV Series 6 reflects nature?s essential elements. Its inspirational design evokes the depths of emotion that have never been seen on a TV screen before. The combination of premium performance and aesthetic elegance makes for a truly stunning TV that sets new standards"

Well, modesty and marketing bumpf aside, the Samsung flatscreens have always been my favourite style of TV since they were launched - I love the sleek glossy black and the curve of the stand. The only interruption to the wash of glossy black is the Samsung button at the bottom in the middle, with it's small silver ring. The style is nice and modern but not so uber trendy that it's going to date really quickly and it looks great on our glossy white 1960-esque stand. The black gloss looks superb but is a bit of a dust collector, so worth bearing in mind if you are a) not a fan of dusting or b) a clean freak.

The model we went for was the LE37A436T - 37" being in my opinion the perfect size for a living room TV - not so big it dominates the room, but not so small you struggle to see the picture. I always think the size of your TV is in direct proportion to how much of a chav you are - I guess this puts us as pretty chavy, as when we first got this set up, we marvelled at the size for about a week. It's amazing how quickly you get used to it though, and we do have quite a large open living space, so you appreciate the size.

All of the inputs are sensibly located - lovely after using our Goodmans where we had to have cables coming out of the side of the screen in order to run our sound through our speakers rather than using the TV's own speakers. So all of your cabling will look lovely and tidy and hidden from view.

Setup and Ease of Use

Set up is very easy - we followed the clear step by step instructions (with pictures!) to slot the screen onto the stand and voila - TV is ready! The menu options are clear and easy to follow which given the amount of configuration we have had to do to get our various devices working on this was something of a blessing! We don?t use the Freeview receiver built into the TV as we have a PVR which allows us to record and pause TV; but from the brief play it seemed easy to use and the menus were neatly laid out. The remote control feels solid, is easy to use and comes with a pair of AA batteries.

Picture Quality

The picture quality is excellent and my boyfriend tells me that it compares well with the more expensive plasma displays with vibrant colours and deep blacks. The Samsung offers a "Crushed Blacks" option with three levels which allows you to artificially add deeper blacks to the picture - this works well and enhances the experience when watching films. Some people may be put off by the fact this panel can only display 720p, not 1080p which many people consider to be "True HD", however, the real truth is the fact that unless your TV is bigger than 42 inches, you will be hard pushed to count the extra pixels! If you've yet to experience HD playback then the difference will be astounding; but be warned that standard definition broadcasts can suddenly appear a lot more blocky and lack detail compared to a CRT television.

Sound

I have to say that the speakers on the Samsung are probably its weakest point; the sound produced is pretty thin and hollow, but this is a common complaint with LCD TVs as there simply isn't room to put large speakers and baffles without compromising on the design of the set. If you are at all serious about getting a decent audio experience then you will want to use the analogue or digital audio outputs on the back of the TV to hook it up to an A/V receiver (which is what we do). Suffice to say that a couple made up of an audio engineer and an opera singer is going to be a bit picky about quality of sound though!

Price and availability

We bought our Samsung LE37A436T from Amazon, where we got it for the bargain price of £449.99; sure you will be able to pick up a cheaper 37" LCD flatscreen, but there's no guarantee of the quality and you know with a Samsung it's a reliable, quality brand.

Summary: A great priced quality tv

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Installation:
Sound quality:
Features: