SAMSUNG LTP227W 22" HDTV Television Monitor

Rating:
Summary: Buy Samsung at your own RISK
Review: I bought a Samsung flat-panel LCD television in March, and it the panel went dead in April. I brought it to a one of Samsung's certified dealers for repair, and waited and waited. Finally in May, I was told that the the television panel was indeed defective and couldn't be fixed, so the manufacturer was obligated to replace it under the warranty. It's now September, and guess what, I'm still waiting for the replacement. Buy from Samsung at your own risk. From my own experience, Samsung does stand by their products. For a few dollars more, buy one of the better, more reliable brands.

Rating:
Summary: Some programs may not work properly when used as PC monitor
Review: I bought this after shopping for a PC monitor/DVD viewer and this is it's main purpose for me. Side by side comparison showed the picture as being noticeably richer looking than other similar brands with the same source being played. It seems to be the best value in it's size range for a widescreen, and is available online for considerably less than retail. Excellent picture with DVD playback. Analog OTA picture is O.K. but not as good as similar size CRT. Remote and menu is easy to learn and use. The only surprise I had was that the monitor resolution of 1024 x 720 prevents some PC programs that require a minimum monitor resolution of 1024 x 768 to work properly with this monitor because it will recognize it as an 800 x 600 monitor at best. Also when using the DVI input for PC, the PC resolution will be locked at 800 x 600. If you use the PC's analog monitor out and an adapter cable to the monitors DVI input, the resolution can be changed in the PC and as shown on the monitor, but it will still be recognized as an 800 X 600 monitor as far as program minimum requirements. The PC analog picture is also noticeably inferior to digital. The easiest solution, if the PC has an S-video out, is to connect that to the monitor since the PC S-video out will still show the proper graphics onscreen in a program that requires 1024 x 768 even though the graphics and mouse curser will not be shown correctly through the DVI input. Simply switch the monitor input to S-video when using a program that does not display graphics properly onscreen. I am also having a strange occurrence where the screen goes dark for a few seconds and then returns. This occurs even when using the built in Samsung screen saver and is not PC related since it occurs with any input source. It actually happened as I was typing this. I am starting to record the time when this occurs. It was exactly 2 hours since it last occurred. It is annoying when working as it gives the impression that a power failure occurred. Overall I am satisfied with this model.

Rating:
Summary: Almost a 5 star
Review: I first saw this TV in Circuit City. The picture on it was as good or better than all the other flat-panels on display. I was ready to plop my money down right there when the salesman told me that it couldn't be wall mounted. My heart sank (who would make a flat panel that can't be wall mounted?). I went home and within a minute on the internet I found the wall mount for sale at J&R Music World. So don't let the uninformed folks at Cicuit City burst your bubble. Soon thereafter I found the TV on the internet at a substantial discount to the CC price. It promptly arrived about 3 weeks ago. The wall mount was easy to install, and I ran the wires into the wall behind it. Now my TV rests securely yet stately on the living room wall. On to performace...

Not only does the picture meet or beat any other flat-panel I've seen, it even beats my friends top of the line Samsung DLP HDTV. No real problems with fast moving action, and the blacks are black (some lCD's can only produce a dark gray). I currently use an LG Over-The-Air HD tuner, and the HD picture is fantastic using either the component or DVI connection. However, right now OTA HD content is limited to special events (monday night football for example) and primetime television. The regular analog signal is actually a little better picture than the non-HD digital picutre (confused yet?). So I leave it on analog unless true HD content is being broadcast. Now my biggest problem with this tv, and what keeps it from earning 5 stars, is the lack of quality audio when using the DVI source. In order to get audio with the DVI, I had to run regular RCA audio cables from the tuner to the tv, then use a PC stereo adapter (combines the two cables into one input), therefore the audio only plays out of one speaker. The TV has a digital video input, but no digital audio input! Now there are RCA audio inputs on the tv, but they only work when the Component source is selected. So I'm going to have to go back to using Component cables just so I can get sound out of both speakers on the TV.

I suspect they will come out with a model that has the newest HDCP(?) input that combines digital audio and video in one cable. If Samsung could just do that one simple thing, then this tv warrants 5 solid stars.




Rating:
Summary: i like it
Review: I spent a lot of time looking at different lcd tv models in the stores. The challenge, as always, was trying to find one in my price range that met my requirements. I was originally looking for a good quality, widescreen, HD-ready, lcd tv for around $1000. I soon found that it was hard to find a good widescreen below $1000. I looked at the off-brand models from Syntax and Apex and I just wasn't impressed with the picture quality. The brands that offered the best picture quality (at least to my untrained eyes) were Sharp, Sony, and this Samsung (some of the other Samsungs didn't look as good though). I am really happy with the picture quality and features of this model. It was easy to setup. I have never used component video inputs before now and it really makes a big difference. My only wish is that I could have gotten one with a larger screen.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent TV for use with component input
Review: To clarify the title a bit, it's not that there's anything wrong with the TV without component inputs, just that it doesn't take real advantage of the Tv's strengths if you don't at least hook up your DVD player to it. :-)

My setup is relatively minimal: it's hooked up with my DVD player and to satellite TV (with antenna broadcast stations). I haven't hooked this up to any external speakers, and much of my TV viewing isn't HD.

Anyway, the picture is excellent, especially if you have a progressive scan DVD player and/or an HD receiver (obviously). The blacks aren't the blackest of the blacks, but the TV does have a few preset color and brightness settings, and offers a custom setting to the user. There's a fair amount of customization available to the user for the picture and sound, including fine tuning analog signals. My parents have a rear projection TV that isn't so great with NTSC (analog) signals, but this thing doesn't show the pixellated effect to anywhere near the degree that their TV does. The DNIe algorithm does a good job with boosting color and contrast too, and there's a nifty demo mode that does a split screen of DNIe on one side and no added effect on the other on top of the current signal. DNIe and some of the preset color settings do exaggerate colors a bit, but not to the point of a major color shift. If you're a purist with regard to color, you would want to leave DNIe off, set any presets to "Standard" or "Movie." It has two zoom modes for those rare occasions when you want to clip off the top and bottom of a 4:3 signal. The second zoom seems to strech things vertically I guess to fill the screen from wider cinema formats. (I never use it.) The sidebars when in 4:3 mode are black, but screen burn-in isn't a real issue with an LCD.

The sound from the internal speakers is good for what you get in one package, and while I'm generally skeptical of these whiz-bang features like WOW stereo (or DNIe above), it works well with the internal speakers at least. It's probably superfluous if you have a surround or better quality external speakers, but for me, it does somehow make ambient audio sound deeper and more peripheral. For example, sounds that happen offscreen sounds like they coming from way off to the right or left at a proper distance.

The design of the TV itself is nice, though some might not like the black border around the picture. Viewing at angles is not an issue at all -- the picture is great at pretty much any angle, and the frame doesn't block out the picture. The case is a lot of plastic painted a good metallic silver, with a heavy base (not too heavy -- the whole thing wieghs about 24 lbs.), and has a good level of fit and finish. It's not to the level of an Apple computer, but it's as good as the Sony and Philips I looked at.

Samsing makes a pretty big deal about using it as a PC monitor in tandem, with picture in picture (PIP), and a button in an important spot on the remote.

Setup is pretty easy. Cables in the back face down, but it's easy to remove the cover there and get them in place. There are a few extra outputs that are exposed on the back for quick access. Configuring the TV options is easy, and the menu system is clear. It has a quick setup mode when you first turn it on, and it's easy to find that option again later in the menus. Menus are big and easy to read with a semi-transparent background so you can see the effects on the picture behind.

The reason it gets 4 stars and not 5 is because of the average remote. It has all the stuff you need on it, obviously, and some nice and accessible options are on it like the picture mode, the picture size, the audio mode, component switching, etc. It has a covered panel that slides down to access some. It isn't really a complete universal remote, and I think Samsung expects users to buy a real one to replace the included one. The finish, the buttons, and the contours of the remote are OK, but not designed to the same level as the TV proper.

Did I miss anything? Probably, but overall it's a very good TV. I use mine in my living room, though I'm guessing a lot of people will use it in a den or bedroom because of the size. I sit about 6-8 feet from it and it looks and sounds great.

FYI: Be sure to let your DVD player know you're using a widescreen TV, or else it will stretch the picture in widescreen mode and still leave bars at the top and bottom. It took me a few minutes to figure that out.