Best Buy - Samsung 30" for $999 before $100 rebate (1 Viewer)

[George Monroy]

Is this TV any good. I really want to get an HDTV right now but is this one good? I am using the 18 month deal.

The model number is TXM-3096WHF.

Thanks for your help. I want to get something good but affordable as well. This is in my price range. I guess I would go up to $1300

 

[TomHansen]

I just bought the 32" 4X3 version of this Monitor at Costco for $900.

So far everything looks good.

Tom Hansen

 

[George Monroy]

I saw that one but I want a 16:9 set for DVD viewing.

 

[Citizen87645]

Consider that the screen area for 1.85 and 2.35 material on the 30" 16:9 is only four percent larger than a 32" 4:3 (which can do vertical compression to allow for the 16:9 setting on the player). If I were choosing between the two I'd go with the 4:3 since I also play video games.

 

[James Zos]

I'd go for the 16:9 myself. I don't have one, but the Samsung sets have a good reputation on this forum, viewed as a quality product at a great price without paying for a big (cough - Sony - cough) brand name. If I hadn't decided to go for a front projector, Samsung would be my first choice. They look nice too, especially in black.

 

[Bill Geiger]

I was in Best Buy last night and was really blown away with this TV. Even without the 3:2 pulldown, I was drooling.. even with all the other RPTVS around. However, while messing around with it, I noticed when I would change the channel and go back to where I previously was, there was a flicker in the picture. It was almost as if, a quick "scan" of the entire tube was being taken. It was about less than 1 second.

Of course, I asked the BB guy about it.. no help (big surprise). He did say, as we have all heard, problems with Samsung TVS and their durability or lack thereof.

 

[Ian C]

They look nice too, especially in black

Yeah, that's a big plus in my book. I don't get this whole resurgence of silver again. I just can't stand it. True, it doesn't quite show dust as bad as black, though that's the only thing going for it.

I'm also very interested in this TV (though the 32"). Further comments are welcome.

Ian

 

[Modena]

I have to sway against the 30". I bought one for my daughter for her small townhouse, and the picture was fantastic. However, if you watch 4:3 television, the screen is going to be really small if you don't stretch it, and when you do, at that small of a screen size, it looks way too morphed to me. If you get the regular 32", like the previous poster noted, the 16:9 DVD will still be around the same size as the 30" widescreen. Also, HDTV bars on a 4:3 set are not very big. I have a 32" Wega in my bedroom and HDTV is awsome, with very small bars on the top and bottom, nothing major, nowhere near a widescreen DVD. But it's your preference, see if you can view them close to each other (or side by side if possible) then make a decision. You can always take it back.

 

[Gregg Loewen]

One thing to remember with ANY tube set. You will probably have it for 10 plus years (perhaps in the bedroom - at some point).

In a couple more years, you will only see 16x9, then the 4x3 set that you are considering now, will look very dated.

FWIW,

Gregg

 

[David Abrams]

Greetings,

Gregg is right. The set will look dated. I will say that I have calibrated the 4x3 model that everyone is talking about here. It took about three hours to get right. There are quite a bit of adjustments that can make the set really shine in the service menu. Keep in mind these sets are for the budget minded, they are not reference displays but bang for the buck they are awesome.

Best of Luck,

David Abrams
ISF Calibrationist

 

[Modena]

Two years before everything is broadcasted in widescreen? I will have to disagree with that statement. I really don't see how all the cable and satelliete channels with ditch 4:3 which applies to about 100 million people and only have 16:9 content. Granted, there will be a lot of 16:9 television, but it's going to be like HDTV (in two years) in that both formats will be shown. 2007 is the slated date for all NEW tv's to be HDTV, so there will still be a vast majority with 4:3. But either way in his decision, it will be a nice tv.

 

[mike_frontier]

its analog. but nice

 

[James Zos]

"I don't get this whole resurgence of silver again. I just can't stand it."

Yep. Couldn't agree more. I'm boggled by this trend toward the aluminum look, even if you don't use black matts like I do (which would look awful with a silver TV).
I bought a Panasonic XP50 DVD player over the net and man was it ugly - a kind of polished chrome style that would have been better as part of a car hood or a Christmas tree ornament or something like that.
I replaced it with a black CP72 and couldn't be happier. Now I'm just talking about a DVD player: I couldn't imagine buying a big SILVER TELEVISION set. I want my equipment to fade into the background, not stand out like it was covered in tinfoil.
I'm not trying to offend all of you out there who prefer that look - hey, if you're happy with it, fine by me. But why does EVERYTHING have to look like that now?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

James,

You took all the words right out of my mouth as well. I don't understand the silver craze either. And at this point, I might have to settle for silver w/ my next DVD player if the few issues w/ the Philips 963sa get worked out.

And I can't really imagine buying a big SILVER TV either. I'm not picky enough to require mattes over black bars even on my new RPTV (although the grey side bars are another story), but if I had to get a silver TV, I'd probably have to paint it black myself.

Maybe we should write these manufacturers to let them know what we think about this silver trend. At least give us a choice.

Hmmm... Maybe the folks that ran B&O have spread their evil ways into the mainstream.

_Man_

 

[George Monroy]

So if I go t with a 4:3 set at about 32 inches it will not be much smaller when viewing 16:9 than a 30 inch 16:9 set? Maybe I will go with a 4:3 set. The only thing is that I don't want to have an outdated TV that is 4:3 and then have black bars later in its life. I would rather have the black bars when viewing 4:3 even though I view that more. I mainly want a 16:9 set for my DVDs and my Xbox and GameCube. Maybe I should wait and get a larger 16:9 set later. What tvs have the best durability? Should I get a Mitsubishi 16:9 set instead?

 

[Modena]

Here is the thing you need to keep in mind. This is considered to be a "lower end" HDTV. It's under a thousand dollars. Anything you buy in this price range means that within two years, you'll probably want something new anyways. For me, buying a budget tv means being able to do workhorse stuff, which right now is 4:3. If you were buying a high end television, then I would say by all means 16:9 because you don't want to lose that investment. But if we look at the facts, there is not a ton of 16:9 content out right now, the 16:9 on the 32" will be very close to the size of the 30" anyways (all your DVD, HDTV, etc.), and on the 30", 4:3 programming will be small as shit. So it basically comes down to whether or not you would rather have some black bars on top of 16:9 material that is close to the same size as the 30" and great 4:3, or no bars on the 30" for 16:9 and bars on the side of the 4:3 television and a small as hell picture. Like I said, I gave my daughter one and it's a great set, but compared to my 32" Wega HDTV, I'm glad I have the 4:3 for budget duty.

 

[Daniel Becker]

I would completely agree with the 4:3 over 16:9 sets for right now. Unless you watch DVD's 90% of the time, or have a high def tv signal, I wouldn't consider at 16:9 set right now. I'm going to be buying a 32" Sony Wega HD this summer and I have been thinking about it for a while. I've decided the 4:3 is the best option for the next few years. By 2007 it should be a very different story.



Dan.b

 

[Bill Will]

I can't agree more about the color silver. I think the only reason that Sony started using silver was to make their flat screen tv's stand out on the showroom floor. I now see that Sony is putting black around the edge of the tube on the higher models & I'll bet that after all the other brands go to silver Sony will switch back to black. At least on some sets JVC gives you a choice of black or silver & I see that the new 34 inch RCA has optional color panels to put around the screen.

 

[Nick Cerretti]

In defense of the 309x series, the TV is 5 or 6 inches smaller in heigh than the 32" 4:3 one. That alone made the decision for me; I don't have room for a huge 4:3 screen!

Another consideration is what your main source going to be. Where I plan on sitting, analog cable on a 32" 4:3 screen will down right look terrible. Bad enough where I don't want something that big.

 

[George Monroy]

I have analog cable. So the tv will be used for that as well. I have my Xbox and Gamecube so it will be for that as well. So far I am leaning towards the 4:3 set now. I guess in a few years I could get a 16:9 set.