'Av some Samsung. (Samsung LE-37A558)

Member Name: paulhanton

Product:	Samsung LE-37A558
Date:	23/12/08 (416 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great picture, easy to set up and use.

Disadvantages: None so far.

Samsung LE37A558 P3 - 37'' Widescreen 1080P Full HD LCD TV - With Freeview

In our house we have clearly not heard of the credit crunch having bought a new kitchen, new bed and mattress and now a new TV, all in the space of 6 weeks. Actually, we have heard of the credit crunch which is why we got the kitchen at half price and £200 off the bed, though getting a good priced decent TV was a little harder.


~~The Spec we wanted~~

You always need to be clear about what you want BEFORE looking at TV's. We wanted 37-40", LCD (not Plasma), 1080 pixels (better than the 740) and we spent some time on Dooyoo and other sites doing some research. The specs of this TV were just what we wanted:

* Full HD 1080p technology with 37'' widescreen format LCD TV

* Integrated IDTV tuner capable of receiving free to air digital channels plus analogue tuner compatible with analogue broadcasts

* 3 x HDMI sockets in total for excellent connectivity , 1 side connection and two rear connections , featuring HDMI version 1.3
* Screen resolution of 1920 pixels horizontal and 1080 pixels vertical

* 1080p 24 fps Real Movie mode

* 15,000:1 Contrast ratio

* Two Scart Sockets

(The above is from the website)

The contrast ratio is important too we discovered in our research. So what does all this mean for the picture quality?


~~~Picture Quality~~~

No complaints there.

There is a very simple to use menu (more on this later) which allows you to alter the picture in many ways from viewing size, to backlight, to; sharpness, contrast, colour, zoom, even skin tone. I'll be honest, if anything there are a few too many options and I have spent hours getting the picture just right, only to find that when I watch something else I sometimes need to alter again, good job it is easy to do.

The colours are crisp and clean, the picture is clear and very detailed, even without HD. The only complaint I have is that when I watch an older programme, say a film or an old repeat, the poor quality is really noticeable, not from the TV, from the poor quality recording.

The HD has to be connected via a HD cable which I also got from Amazon for a paltry £7.99. I have to say that HD is simply stunning and strangely I am not watching too much HD because then when I switch to non HD I notice a huge difference...I am using HD mainly for Footie and Films..........though I have to confess that Beyonce dancing was rather good ;-0.


~~~Ease of Use~~~

I have to say that this was a surprisingly easy TV to set up. I am hardly techno phobic, but whenever a new piece of electronica arrives I tend to spend some considerable time consulting the manual, setting up, going back to the manual etc. ad infinitum. The manual wit this TV was easy to read.

Not this time. Out of the box, unplug Scart leads from old TV (set top box and DVD Player) plug into new TV, turn on and I was greeted by the first screen, which is to set the time and date. After this you simply ask the TV to search for channels, which it does using the set top box, and within 10 minutes I was watching TV. Okay, it took some time, as I mentioned earlier to set up the picture as I wanted it, and the sound etc, but that is dead easy.

The remote has a 'menu' button, once pressed, a very clear menu comes up on screen with lots (and I mean lots) of options, which I will not simply list here, suffice to say, the TV can be set up just how you want, I found it mind boggling and simplicity itself in equal measures.


~~~Extras~~~

This TV has Freeview built in, which we do not use as we have a Virgin subscription. You can also connect a PC or laptop to the TV, I have not tried this (yet) so cannot comment on it.

The Speaker output is 2 x 10 watts with Nicam Stereo and TruSurround effect, not sure what that means but it sounds alright to me, especially when the sound is switched to 'film' mode.

There are several more 'technical' options on the TV such as how you connect to different devices, but again I cannot comment on these.


~~~Price and Aesthetics~~~

£569.99 is what we paid from Amazon. At the time of buying, the model before this (Samsung LE37A557) was £599 in Comet and they would not come down more than £20 in price even though we told them it was as expensive as the newer model, no wonder companies go bust!

We had though about a 37" LCD last Xmas and they were around the £900 mark, so all in all we feel we did okay. Free delivery from Amazon, and it cam when they said it would.

The TV is sleek, gloss black and not garish like some of these monstrosities are. If I am to find any fault, it is that it gathers dust very hungrily and quickly.


~~~Finally~~~

We Got this TV just over four weeks ago and are extremely happy with it. We had a 28" old style TV before and this is fab.....the only downside is that we have watched too many movies in too short a time. Top TV.

Summary: 37" LCD from Samsung

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