I exchanged a Sony BRAVIA 32" LCD HDTV (KDL-V32XBR1) for the Samsung 30" Slimfit HDTV (TX-S3082WH) and I'm starting to regret it, somewhat. I had hopes for this set after reading a number of on-line reviews. But, before I get to why I'm not very happy with the Samsung I'll explain, briefly, why I chose to return the Sony set. It really came down to picture quality on analog channels. I have Comcast digital cable and while the HD channels were absolutely stunning, the non-HD channels were not so impressive. Yes, I knew this would be the case when I bought the Sony, but I thought I could deal with it. But we watch a number of non-HD channels like HGTV, TLC, Comedy Central, etc. - not to mention On Demand movies - and, being a visual guy by profession, it bothered me. Some channels were borderline watchable.
So I looked for a happy medium - which is what, to some degree, the Samsung set offers. I would say that in comparison to the Sony set the HD channels on the Samsung are excellent and realistic. I can't say the Samsung is stunning though because text is not quite as crisp as the Sony set and the shadow detail better in the Sony. So far this is an acceptable compromise (especially when you consider the Sony set cost three time the price of the Samsung). Plus, now I have a tube screen and my non-HD channels and they display better than the Sony - but not as good as my 10 year old ProScan 27" CRT. I assumed that non-HD channels would look that same, if not a bit better since I was replacing 10 year old technology.
A brief hookup description is warranted at this point to describe my first issue with the Samsung set. All audio goes through my Marantz A/V receiver so I won't be making any comments on the audio performance of any of the sets. With my old ProScan I was using a standard RCA video cable which received all of it's video signals through the receiver. The Sony was hooked up via a DVI-HDMI cable directly from the Comcast box and component cables directly from my Denon DVD player. The Samsung is also hooked up via a DVI-HDMI cable directly from the Comcast box and component cables from the DVD player. However, with the Samsung it appears that I also need to run an additional set of component cables from the cable box. Why? Because it appears that the Samsung set can't display non-HD channels through the HDMI input. How annoying is this? Very. So if I'm flipping back and forth between a game in HD and Comedy Central I have to change the TV's input as well as the channel. Talk about poor engineering. I did not have this issue with the Sony set. My next issue is that the two wide picture modes are only available on non-HD channels. With the Sony set wide modes were always available. I also think the Sony set's wide modes were better designed, i.e. less cropping.
Another issue, and maybe this has something to do with inability to scale (wide mode) the HDMI signals, is that sometimes while displaying a 16:9 picture, puts a black border around the *entire image*. I never saw that in the two weeks I owned the Sony set.
Then there's the distortion. It's not really a tilting issue so the tilt adjustment did not help much. The lower left corner of the picture dips down and the right slightly up. I know that sound like tilt, but when I used the tilt adjustment to compensate for this it only helped the right side - and I had to adjust it as far as it would let me. Also, the top of the picture - on both the left and right sides - pinches inward. The verticals are also not quite vertical - which is particularly noticeable when the picture goes to 4:3.
My last comment on picture quality is that it's got some color distortion in the upper left corner of the screen - like a mild magenta burst emanating from the corner.
As with the TX-R3080WH and the TX-R3079WH you can not inactivate (skip) over unused inputs. That's a bit of an annoyance.
So, I'm going to return this TV. I might be able to deal with the less than great quality of the non-HD channels and I might be able to deal with the limited wide viewing options. While I don't always notice the picture pinching and the dipping I can see that getting annoying, especially with stock tickers and menu displays. The separation of HD and non-HD channels by input would drive me (and my fiancée) nuts. The black border of pictures that should fill the screen is definitely a deal-breaker.
Is it possible to find a TV that:
1. Is in a wide screen format
2. HD-ready, HDMI inputs
3. Displays non-HD channels well
4. Has no picture distortion issues or odd input switching issues?
The Sony KDL-V32XBR1 only missed on #3, which unfotunately is a big issue as I don't see that majority of cable channels switching to all HD for another 5 years, at least.
So I looked for a happy medium - which is what, to some degree, the Samsung set offers. I would say that in comparison to the Sony set the HD channels on the Samsung are excellent and realistic. I can't say the Samsung is stunning though because text is not quite as crisp as the Sony set and the shadow detail better in the Sony. So far this is an acceptable compromise (especially when you consider the Sony set cost three time the price of the Samsung). Plus, now I have a tube screen and my non-HD channels and they display better than the Sony - but not as good as my 10 year old ProScan 27" CRT. I assumed that non-HD channels would look that same, if not a bit better since I was replacing 10 year old technology.
A brief hookup description is warranted at this point to describe my first issue with the Samsung set. All audio goes through my Marantz A/V receiver so I won't be making any comments on the audio performance of any of the sets. With my old ProScan I was using a standard RCA video cable which received all of it's video signals through the receiver. The Sony was hooked up via a DVI-HDMI cable directly from the Comcast box and component cables directly from my Denon DVD player. The Samsung is also hooked up via a DVI-HDMI cable directly from the Comcast box and component cables from the DVD player. However, with the Samsung it appears that I also need to run an additional set of component cables from the cable box. Why? Because it appears that the Samsung set can't display non-HD channels through the HDMI input. How annoying is this? Very. So if I'm flipping back and forth between a game in HD and Comedy Central I have to change the TV's input as well as the channel. Talk about poor engineering. I did not have this issue with the Sony set. My next issue is that the two wide picture modes are only available on non-HD channels. With the Sony set wide modes were always available. I also think the Sony set's wide modes were better designed, i.e. less cropping.
Another issue, and maybe this has something to do with inability to scale (wide mode) the HDMI signals, is that sometimes while displaying a 16:9 picture, puts a black border around the *entire image*. I never saw that in the two weeks I owned the Sony set.
Then there's the distortion. It's not really a tilting issue so the tilt adjustment did not help much. The lower left corner of the picture dips down and the right slightly up. I know that sound like tilt, but when I used the tilt adjustment to compensate for this it only helped the right side - and I had to adjust it as far as it would let me. Also, the top of the picture - on both the left and right sides - pinches inward. The verticals are also not quite vertical - which is particularly noticeable when the picture goes to 4:3.
My last comment on picture quality is that it's got some color distortion in the upper left corner of the screen - like a mild magenta burst emanating from the corner.
As with the TX-R3080WH and the TX-R3079WH you can not inactivate (skip) over unused inputs. That's a bit of an annoyance.
So, I'm going to return this TV. I might be able to deal with the less than great quality of the non-HD channels and I might be able to deal with the limited wide viewing options. While I don't always notice the picture pinching and the dipping I can see that getting annoying, especially with stock tickers and menu displays. The separation of HD and non-HD channels by input would drive me (and my fiancée) nuts. The black border of pictures that should fill the screen is definitely a deal-breaker.
Is it possible to find a TV that:
1. Is in a wide screen format
2. HD-ready, HDMI inputs
3. Displays non-HD channels well
4. Has no picture distortion issues or odd input switching issues?
The Sony KDL-V32XBR1 only missed on #3, which unfotunately is a big issue as I don't see that majority of cable channels switching to all HD for another 5 years, at least.
