Widescreen Heaven (Samsung SP-42W4)

Member Name: sandemp

Product:	Samsung SP-42W4
Date:	10/02/05 (505 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Large screen, 100Hz

Disadvantages: Not enough room on shelf

With our old 32” TV on it's way out we decided to go for a bigger screen. Our main reasoning for this is that our youngest son has very poor eyesight, so the bigger the picture the more he can see. We also needed the TV to have a refresh rate of 100Hz as he has photosensitve epilepsy.

The only question really, was whether we should go for a plasma or rear projection?? Well at the time plasma was out of our price range, so when Argos had this particular model on sale at £849 we jumped at the chance. So we placed our order and patiently waited the three weeks until it was delivered.

~~~Delivery and assembly~~~

The TV came supplied in two very large and heavy boxes, the biggest of which contained the TV itself, while the stand was in the second. Installation was NOT included in the price, and I would suggest that putting it together is definitely not a one man job. While the flat-packed stand was easy enough to assemble in ten minutes, the actual TV is extremely heavy and it took two of us to lift it onto the stand.

~~~Installation~~~

Once the TV has been assembled, there is a great variety of input choices available, these include :

Three Scart, one component and a standard aerial connection on the back of the TV. Then as a nice bonus an extra component connection on the side.

Therefore in theory you could connect upto five pieces of A/V equipment along with an external aerial. I personally have a Toshiba DVD recorder and Sky+ box permanently connected to mine and occasionally connect a TV game through the side connectors.

So now we have all our equipment connected, the TV is switched on and were ready to go. Well not quite, when you first switch on the TV will auto-tune. A great feature for those with an external aerial, but a waste of time for me. There is no way of cancelling the process, even if you can't actually get any terrestrial channels.

~~~Picture Quality~~~

Once the auto-tune process is finished you'd think you'd be able sit and watch a wonderful clear picture, wouldn't you?? Well you'd be wrong. I found I had to fiddle about with picture setting, including a function called perfect focus before we got an optimum picture. However, once we'd done this, I have to say I very impressed with the picture quality. You can also change the picture size, depending on what you are watching, which is a nice feature.

~~~Sound Quality~~~

Sound quality is perfectly acceptable, if a little quiet. We find that volume generally needs to be turned up to about 30, which seems high to me. There are no fancy surround sound speakers, so everything is in bog standard stereo, but if you want more then you'd buy a separate surround sound system.

~~~The size~~~

This TV is massive, and to get the best from it you will need to place it in a large room, the further away you sit the better the picture looks. We have about 14 foot between the settee and TV, which seems about ideal.
For all of the size of the actual TV, space in the cabinet is pitifully small, and it's a squeeze getting the SKY+ box and DVD recorder in. More room here would definitely have improved things.

~~~The remote~~~

The remote is functional, but that's it. It's certainly not fancy, but can be programmed to operate VCRs, DVD players and Cable (not Sky/+ or DVD recorders though). Battery life for the remote is pretty much within normal ranges, with the batteries needing to be replaced after about a year.

~~~Maintenance~~~

There are couple of points as regards to maintenance:

Firstly the screen is like a soft fabric, so its not a good idea to use glass cleaner on it. I generally use a soft duster and GENTLY wipe it.

Secondly, in common with plasma and LCD screens if a picture is displayed for a long time it will cause ghosting, therefore it's important to use the picture size function to ensure there are no black lines at the top and bottom of the screen.

~~~Price and availability~~~

This TV is available online at Argos for £899 including delivery, or £999 with a home cinema system.

~~~Final words~~~

Although expensive, I feel this TV was well worth the price. My son can now enjoy watching programs, and the TV takes pride of place in our living room. I would perhaps still consider a plasma screen when and if this TV ever breaks down, but for now I think its a perfect compromise.

I would therefore recommend this TV to someone who has a large room in which to place it and feels that plasma screens are perhaps still a little too over-priced

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