-Breathtaking Beauty- Samsung LT-P326 32 in. HDTV-Ready LCD Television
by bluehawq - Written: Feb 02 '05
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Pros: Crisp and Realistic Picture, Easy set-up and ready to go out of the box.
Cons: Finding it!
The Bottom Line: Buy it! Beautiful picture, easy to set up, light weight, cutting edge technology.
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| bluehawq's Full Review: Samsung LT-P326W 32 in. HDTV-Ready LCD TV |
Samsung LT-P326W 32 in. HDTV-Ready LCD Television
Bottom Line at the Top:
The Samsung LT-P326W 32 inch television brings you a picture nothing short of breathtaking. With a price tag between $2100-$3000 (Circuit City seems to be the highest and NOT where we bought ours), you really can't go wrong and get all you could want in television technology. I highly recommend this one for price, set-up simplicity, use, and viewing enjoyment. Compare it with other brands and you'll find Samsung rides neck and neck with the competition if not pulling out far ahead.
Why Samsung and Why the LCD Type:
So, I wanted a plasma television. I mean, after all, it's the now thing to do, right? That may be so but not for this old gal. Once I took the time to compare between the two (LCD vs Plasma), there was no question as to which I would be going with.
I chose Samsung simply because I like the brand and have had many Samsung brand electronics and have had an overall satisfaction rate greater than most other brands. At least pertaining to televisions and VCR's. They have really come along way with their LCD's too.
I've found that LCD's will outlast a plasma by twice the hours. An LCD, specifically this Samsung model should live up to 75,000 hours. If you ran it 24/7 that would figure out to be about eight and a half years. I'm figuring since I will not leave the set on twenty four hours a day, it should last me for at least 15 years. The plasma would lose it's picture quality over a period of time from 25,000 to 30,000 hours. For me, and since the price tag is a lot of money, it just made more sense to go with the LCD. I will say that plasma gives you a better viewing angle over the LCD though.
Set-Up:
I mainly buy and watch DVD's. I haven't had my Dish on in forever. I also watch our local channels. Setting this baby up was easy as pie. Since it has built-in dual analog tuners, right out of the box I was able to hook the antenna cable (RF signal cable) up to it and watch. Something that I had always wanted but never had is "picture in picture". This one has it and I love it. I can watch two news channels now and not feel as though I am missing something. It has large, small, and split modes. Connecting my VCR, DVD, and stereo was a breeze too and since this is a flat panel, moving it around is nearly a delight. Our old TV probably weighed 350 pounds and was so large, moving it around was a nightmare.
Picture Quality:
My thoughts: It's one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever witnessed. It's crisp, clean, vivid, life like, bright, and inviting. You can see the picture from a direct side view though a plasma will supposedly give you better. I have no complaints as I'm not going to be watching from behind. Just kidding but you get the point. It doesn't matter if I can see it directly from the side or not.
Of course digital quality is always best, but I really like the way it makes my local channels appear by simply using an antenna. Outstanding. I can hardly watch the Samsung then go into my office and watch my regular television. I'm telling you, it will spoil you.
This, of course, is a wide screen and what a difference it makes when watching DVD's formated in their originality. It's like being in a theater.
Technical aspect: The Samsung LT-P326W has HD-Grade 1280 Horizontal x 768 Vertical high resolution pixel density with built-in image scaler. It handles digital and analog audio/video sources with greatness. The Samsung LCD has something called DNIe. That stands for Digital Natural Image engine. I am lead to believe this is Samsung's own technology. What the DNIe does is combine a Motion Optimizer, Contrast Enhancer, Color Optimizer and Detail Enhancer all together to bring you the best picture possible and to make it appear more realistic. This model gives you a 600:1 contrast ratio and 500 cd/m2 brightness. The balance is perfect and when viewing other models on the floor, the picture on this one was most outstanding.
It has two component video inputs: S-Video and Composite Video.
Sound Quality:
I have a Bose home theater set up and I've got it hooked up. But if I didn't have it, I wouldn't care. The sound is awesome from the Samsung LT-P326W. It has built-in speakers on the bottom. It's powered by a 10 watt per channel built-in amplifier and SRS TruSurround XT. The sound is rich and bold. Words are easy to understand. Hubby has a hearing problem and with our old set, even through the Bose, he had trouble understanding some words. So far so good with the Samsung. He really likes it. This TV's sound system gives you a great alternative to home theater equipment. In my opinion.
The Remote:
The remote control is fairly simplistic. I really expected something with so many buttons that I'd never figure out how to use it. Not so. It has an LCD read-out at the top. It tells you if you are in TV mode, DVD, Stereo, or whatever. It has the numeric buttons. Below the numbers is the mute, and source buttons with the channel and volume up-down buttons in between those. Below that are the control buttons for the DVD player or whatever else you have connected. I still use all my remotes. Never have got into having everything on one. Probably never will.
This and That:
The set has trilingual on-screen displays. I only use English but you could use French or Spanish. It has a V-chip for parental control that will allow you to block rated programs or movies. You have full control over it and can decide what is appropriate and what is not. It has a sleep timer and supports closed captioning. It has the most advanced features and will support just about any external device you'd want to hook to it as you will see when I include the specs. The set can be used as a PC monitor (simultaneously). I wouldn't but I suppose some would really enjoy a monitor this large.
The TV is quite a change when considering weight and my old TV. This unit only weighs about fifty pounds.
The included manual is easy to follow and is written in layman terms.
Warranty:
The Samsung has a one year parts and labor warranty but only allowing a ninety day warranty for commercial use. I wish these companies will up the time on warranties but I don't see that happening any time soon. Sure would be nice though.
Finally:
There is much that I have not covered in my review but I will include the specs at the bottom. I basically wanted to give you an idea of what to expect in picture and sound quality and to let you know how easy it is to set up with listing a few of the features that I've managed to use in the short time I've owned it. I am very proud of the Samsung LT-P326W. I couldn't be more pleased. I hope to have many years of enjoyment from it. If you are in the market for an LCD flat screen, why not give Samsung a look? Their technology is right up there with any of their competition.
Specs as listed in the Manual:
HD-Grade 1280 x 768 Pixel Resolution
Widescreen Aspect Ratio
HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface)
DVI Connection with HDCP
2 Component Video Inputs (480i/480p/720p/1080i), S-Video and Composite Video Inputs
Bottom Built-In Speakers with 10 Watts x 2 Audio Power
Dual NTSC Stereo Tuner Built-In with Split Screen & PC Picture-in-Picture
600:1 Contrast Ratio, 500 cd/m2 Brightness
DNIe (Digital Natural Image engine), Detail & Contrast Enhancers, Motion & Color Optimizers)
170-Degree x 170-Degree Viewing Angle
Fast 16 ms Response Time
3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter
Power Adapter Built-In (No External "Brick")
MTS/SAP Stereo Sound
SRS TruSurround XT
PC (RGB) Input
V-Chip Parental Control System
Trilingual On-Screen Displays (English, Spanish, French)
Color Temperature Control (Normal, Warm, Cool)
Closed Caption (CC)
Screen Capture Picture Freezing
Variable Sleep Timer
Clock with On/Off Timer
Picture Modes (Custom, Standard, Dynamic and Movie)
Aspect Modes: Wide Panorama Zoom1, 2/4:3
Plug & Play Setup
Auto Volume Leveler
Sound Modes: Standard, Music, Speeech, Movie and Custom
Stereo Headphone Jack, Subwoofer Line Out
Antenna: CATV/VHF/UHF 75-ohm, F-type
50.7 lbs.
Monitor: 33.9" x 23.0" x 5.0", Monitor with Stand: 33.9" x 23.9" x 12.9"
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2200.00
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