Would the PLH403W be a wise choice? (1 Viewer)

[Jim Williams]

I am seriously considering a Samsung PLH403W. Now I realise that it is not digital but I seriously doubt that I will ever care about HDTV. Most of my viewing will be DVDs. I would really like a wide screen tabletop TV that is at least 40", but the thought of spending $2000 plus for a 40-42" screen leaves me cold. Would this be a good choice for me if I am going to be viewing mostly DVDs? Are there other good choices out there that will give me a table top widescreen TV at a price of $1500 or less?

 

[Steve_L_B]

Jim,
Is the PLH403W still available? This model was introduced in 1999. I've had mine since February 2000, paid about $2000 for it. The out-of-box picture quality was not that great, but after some tweaking, it looked pretty good. The biggest short coming is the black levels; they are not very good. This is hardly noticeable in a moderatly lit room, but can be distracting in a darkened environment. It really only affects a small percentage of material we watch. Most of the people who have seen ours think the picture is great and don't even realize it's a projection TV.

There is/was a newer version of this TV (PLK405W, I think)that may have slightly improved performance. I think that these days, you can get a much better RPTV in the $1500-$2000 range, but if you really want the small table-top foot print, the Samsung is about your only choice. In any case, I've been happy with mine overall, but I'm now thinking seriously of getting a 42" plasma since they have dropped to the $3000 to $4000 range.

If you end up buying the Samsung and are intertested in tweaking it a bit, let me know. I can send you some guidelines for tweaking the service menu settings.

Regards,
Steve