Life at 1080

It’s Hard to be Better When You’re This Good

I have never had a problem with my old television. I mean, it displayed all 181 channels—most of them in colour, it had a remote control, and the picture was so crisp I could almost compare it to real life. I was ready to party like it was on sale for $19.99. And it almost was. But that was 2001 and things have changed since then. Today I’d be hard pressed to find that same television on sale if it’s even for sale at all. I remember looking at the picture and wondering how it’s possible that technology had come that far. Well, enter the twenty first century and if you’re still marveling at what CRTs have to offer then you don’t know the first thing about what you are actually missing. And 1080 is just the start.

It’s So Real It’s Almost Ten-Eighty

Brilliant picture. Great sound. Simple controls. Wow, what more could I ask for? Okay, the sound is only great if you connect to external speakers, but otherwise so far so good. And the picture is only acceptable if you're watching it from a standard def signal. But hey, the picture is still brilliant, and the former two aren't exactly the set's fault.

This television is amazing, and even better if you can get it dirt cheap. My set arrived in perfect condition. It had not a nick, scratch, or scuff on it. It had all the supplied wiring and manuals within and the batteries for the included remote were…. well, included. Best of all: I plugged it in and it just plain worked. Oh, and it even had a dusting cloth. How cool is that?

Perhaps this may come as a bit of a surprise to some, but in the old days one would plug a television in and it would just turn on and play whatever was on the screen. Not so much anymore. Now you may have to go through various menus and configurations just to get your television up and running and this television wasn’t so much different. Although there was a hoop or two that I had to jump through it seemed more rule than the exception for today’s sets. I basically had to let the T.V. go through the various channels to check their strength and signal and decide whether they should be added to my channel lineup. Channels without a signal, and I presume that ones where the signal was very weak, were omitted. Unfortunately this process took a good part of ten minutes. At least. I was given the option to skip this part of the setup process, but I wasn’t sure how that would affect the channel list down the road, so I opted to let the set do its thing. Then there was just a quick menu to select source, time, and a display option… or something like that. I was just too eager to watch my new screen to stop and pay attention to what I was even doing at that point. Especially after the lengthy channel scan. It’s great that I get to select all these wonderful options when I start up my television, but after plopping down a few grand, these options, quite frankly, aren’t what’s on my mind. It would be nice if the television was tweaked for the average user and their environment, and perhaps it is, but if I have to go through menus that I can’t even recall then that’s one step too much.

The menus are relatively easy to navigate, although I am still trying to master the right and left movement, as moving right takes you to the next menu and left to the previous. Simple enough, but don’t ask me why it is that I find this somewhat challenging. I understand the concept, but perhaps the movement of the keys on the remote comes somewhat as unnatural. Perhaps it’s also because when I tap the ‘back’ button on the remote I hope to scroll back to the previous selection, but instead end up at the previous menu.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words but What if it’s a Moving Picture?

Many times since the introduction of High-def I’ve watched television on my old set and thought how things could be so much better. Not anymore. The only thing that hampers my viewing experience is the input signal. The television’s claimed response time of 8ms and contrast ratio of 10000:1 tell me (Average Joe User) almost nothing. Really! It mostly comes down to whether the television you’re watching is bright enough for the room you’re in and whether the response time is fast enough for what you’re watching. Let’s face it: the response time is more than plenty for this television combined with my viewing interests and probably the interests of most people.

Although I noticed ghosting on my older LCD panel with a 14ms response time I can’t see a difference between this Samsung T.V. with a response time of 8ms and the faster time of my current LG computer monitor with the 2ms claim. As for the contrast ratio: I’m not sure it even matters when the numbers are in the tens of thousands. I view it in my living room with a patio door and several windows and the television is as good as any television I have ever seen. The above-mentioned contrast ratio will more than suffice for almost any user and unless you’re watching your television facing against direct sunlight I really can’t see any issues with it. And even then the issue may not be with the television, but with your viewing location.

Crystal Clear…. Unless it’s Not

This TV's picture is outstanding. The menu navigation is simple enough for almost anyone to operate (aside from that darn back button mentioned earlier). The television is sleek enough to put in any room, and it’s just such a great set I can’t justify waiting longer for the next best thing. It’s worth mentioning that although this television does come with a stand attached to it right out of the box, it is possible to hang this set on a wall with a hang kit, which, is not included.

So now it comes down to the signal. Ah, yes… the signal. I have just ‘plane Jane’ cable coming into my house and unfortunately the signal is not perfect. I mean, it’s just basic cable and only recently has my cable company added a few higher def channels for tease. I don’t know how the rest of the world has it, but as for me cable is better than any other option so far, though I’m sure it could be better—hey, I’ve seen DVD and beyond. It may not be outstanding, but let’s go with the devil you know than the devil you don’t. As a result the picture on my new thousand-something dollar TV matches its source. So, don’t expect outstanding results from this set if you hook it up to a horrible source. DVD provides a much better picture, once attached, but again, much of this depends on how well your player can up convert the signal. I don’t have Blue-Ray or HD-DVD so I won’t be trying those anytime soon, but from what I can see so far, using standard cable with the odd high def program thrown in, this television is great in high def and just as good using standard def as any previous set I had. It’s just bigger and that's not the TV's fault.

The basic included speakers are just that: basic. Located at the bottom of the set they provide basic sound. It's enough if you're watching a sitcom, or the news, but if it's anything more than basic sound, such as that during a movie, then I'd suggest connecting at least a couple of external speakers.

Also worth noting is that this TV reacts with burn-in protection techniques as if this were a plasma set. What I mean is that if you mute the sound, for example, a small dialogue box appears in the lower left indicating that the sound is muted with a crossed out speaker and the word “Mute” next to it, but yet it moves about in that corner of the screen as if retaining it in one spot would result in burn in. LCD televisions don’t have the burn in problem, but maybe it’s a cool or even lazy thing that Samsung did to save reprogramming costs.

It’s also amazing how many inputs thing television accepts. And this is where I lose count, but from being used to just one input, no, two—the cable input and the power plug, the back of this set is overwhelming. At least for me. For me it was like walking into a dealership and trying to buy the latest car, having stepped out from a 1980 Chevy. There are some things there which I wasn’t prepared to see, quite frankly and have no idea what they are even for. I’m guessing it can accept just about any input and output possible in this day and age. Perhaps it’s best you refer to http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/sc/32385769-2-300-DT1.gif for a quick look at the many plugs staring back at you to make sure it has the connection(s) you want. I have had the chance to connect my computer to this set via the VGA connection and I was impressed at not only the resolution on the screen, but also the fact that my laptop was capable of displaying such a high resolution without croaking.

I managed to hook up a basic two speakers and a subwoofer system via the headphone jack, located to the left of the screen, and it works wonderfully. Yes, I may not be taking full advantage of the sound, but then again, I’m not quite exactly taking full advantage of the picture to start with watching a standard def signal on a high def television.

What Pushes MY Buttons

It’s easy to fall in love with this set. I know I did. But after pushing all the right buttons I've noticed a very small quirk. When switching between sources it takes a moment or two for the television to check the signal before discovering that there isn’t one and moving onto the next source. It may be a good idea just to ensure that any signal doesn’t get ignored, but at the same time if there isn’t a signal you may end up waiting longer than you’d expect. And speaking of source, it’s a shame that one can’t select the source directly, but has to go through various source options in sequence. This is a small gripe though. Perhaps it’s just me being lazy this time.

Sale Ending Soon

The picture is great, if connected to an equally performing source. The sound is pretty good, but it never can replace the custom setup of your in-home THX surround sound. The remote is easy to use and the television is just as easy… and it just plain works. I guess I just have to get used to the remote control and that isn’t something you can try and buy, but more of the buy and try type.

Looking back at my old set reminds me of an Ikea commercial where an old lamp is standing out at the curb in the rain looking up at a newer lamp that has just replaced its place indoors. But that’s just the way it goes and my old television won’t be looking at the new one much longer as I donate it to charity. Having purchased this new Samsung I have no regrets and no gripes. This set adds to the room with its good looks, vivid colours, easy setup, and simple controls. It’s like buying a colour television all over again.