Quote:
Originally posted by isoflavone7
Am interested in buying the new Sammy TXM3097 hdtv widescreen direct view. See plenty of posts on the 3096 but little first hand experience with the 3097 (or 3098 which is same set with upgraded case & audio). Thanks in advance for any replies. |
I've had the 3097WHF 16:9 since August--and I'm very happy with the set I have now....but getting to this point was a long and slightly painful experience.
I got my first set in late July from Sears.
Beautiful picture geometry and well converged from the factory. And after doing the regular tweaks to picture/brightness and sharpness using nothing more than the THX optimizer that comes with Toy Story 2 I was very happy with the set. [North by Northwest on DVD is a showcase disc for this set.]
However--there was one fatal flaw---I noticed that there was some kind of discoloration on the top left corner in the exact shape of the sticker they had put on face of tube to advertise it's features. Only visible during bright scenes like the sky--No amount of windex would clean it off. Apparently the glue on sticker was strong enough to contaminate/or damage the glass tint!
Anyway--after trying to explain it to Samsung---which basically gaffed me off--I'd called Sears and they sent out a technician and confirmed that I wasn't going crazy.
That was end of set one. Too bad--besides that one flaw--it was the best of the three sets I got.
The following week they delivered set two.
Right out of the box--no sticker residue discoloration but it was so badly converged and adjusted in terms of geometry that I called immediately about the set to have a tech come out again. Sears was very nice about this.
He confirmed the set was whacked--and since it was a new set out of the box--he would not perform a convergence. End of set two[how it got out of the factory like this I don't know--probably a bad morning for the adjuster]
The following week---set three.
Well--not as perfect as set one--but I could live with it--and with some tweaking through the service menu--it was in the ballpark.
For a $1,150 set--I was satisfied. I mean c'mon--if I could/wanted to spend twice that amount--I would gotten almost any brand but Samsung
But with the T-150 receiver for $299 and the radio shack double bow tie antenna for five bucks--I had Over the Air HDTV for around $1,600 complete. Not too shabby....even cheaper if you get Digital cable around here--they give you a box!
Would I recommend this set? If you are handy and can tweak it--you will get a great picture.
If you are critical--even as a casual viewer--and know what to look for--then yeah---just make sure you have a iron clad exchange agreement if the one they delivered to you is a turkey.
So my opinions of Samsung has really changed for both the positive and negative on their products.
I just hope their quality control is better nowadays.
I do commend Sears about their excellent customer service--cause I would hate to have to argue about what constitutes an acceptable set with some less customer service oriented store.
