 Really, really amazing TV |
| Review Date: September 19, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Craig Froehle, Cincinnati, OH |
| I've had this TV for a few weeks (bought it from Amazon, who had it to my house in less than 48 hours...how do you guys do that?!?) and am so far very impressed. This set is from Samsung's 8th generation LCD plant, which puts it on the cutting edge of LCD production technology. Blacks are very dark and scaling is generally pretty good (not perfect...an outboard video processor is still the way to go if you're really picky). The number of tweaking settings available to the user is overwhelming...just a huge array of parameters to make you happy with the picture. If there's any downside to this set, it's the softness of the bezel plastic; it scratches very easily. Overall, I'm quite happy with the set and would buy it all over again if I had to make the decision a second time. |
Wish I had bought this one...
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| Review Date: September 6, 2007 |
| Reviewer: RC, |
I researched the 81 and 71 series for as long as they had been announced (~ 6 months, since CES show). I got all hopped up about the "100k" contrast ratio on the 81 series due completely to the new "LED" backlighting. Well, at AVS forums, one guy bought both, and concluded that it only mattered when the screen was totally black (like the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen when watching a wide screen formatted movie, or a fade scene), and then only a little. The general conclusion seemed to point to the 71 series being the sleeper hit so far this year (dunno about the xbr5, but some reports put this one right with it), and that the 81 series wasn't worth the extra grand or more.
Too late for me, because I rushed into BB to pay up front for an 81 series tv as soon as the store had the sku in their system (4 weeks before they even showed up). Yeah, I got to use a 12% off good customer coupon, but in the end I could have had a 52" 71 series instead of a 46" 81 series (especially seeing how heavily discounted they are now on Amazon). The anti-motion options in the 81 are only available in "movie" mode, and are buried in the menus, and only has an on/off option, versus the 71's easy to navigate 3 level options for the anti-motion feature.
The reviews point to the colors and picture appearing just about the same between the 2 tv's when the screen or a large portion of it wasn't all black. Other than that....get this one. It is worth the premium over the 61 or 65 series. As long as you can live with a glossy / semi-glossy screen (versus the xbr4/5's matte screens), you won't be sorry. As for me, I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and be one of those turkeys who uses the 30 day guarantee to return the TV and get a 71 series...it is a lot of money not to be totally satisfied with the purchase. Best of luck. |
Spectacular Picture
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| Review Date: October 19, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Oskar, Boston, MA |
| I have had the Samsung LNT5271 in my house for several weeks and I am still amazed at the quality of the picture every time I watch it. Over the past year, I have done extensive research and spent lots of time at Best Buy and Circuit City comparing the various offerings. Up until this point, I have always been a "Sony" purchaser and initially I was leaning toward purchasing the XBR5. I would have purchased this set over the LNT5265 but during my last visit to Circuit City, one of the salepeople showed me the new LNT5271 and I was blown away by the colors and crisp picture. It was set up next to a XBR5 and had the same feed. In my opinion, there was a substantial difference. The other factor that swayed my decision was the larger size of the Sony and the glass bezel they insist on using around their XBR sets. My wife took one look at the Sony and declared it would not be coming home with us. Sony does not build an XBR quality TV without the bezel but regardless I would have chosen the Samsung. I did purchase through Amazon and it took a bit longer than I hoped given that it was "in stock". Eagle delivered the set with no issues but unlike other reviews I read, they did not plug in the set and they did not take away the box saying I should keep it in case the set needed to be returned. The Eagle guys were kind enough to help me move my old gigantic Sony tube TV (250 pounds) and the armoire that housed it. I tipped both guys well for their help. The overall set-up of the TV was easy and I used the HDMI cables purchased from Amazon. I did not tweak the picture too much since the three standard modes loaded into the set already are more than sufficient for my current needs. One last note, I originally wanted a LCD over a plasma since my room has a lot of windows and gets a lot of light. In addition, with our old Sony tube TV we would always get reflections from the room lamps depending on where you sat. Thus I was concerned with the shiny Samsung screen and also the shiny housing. I even considered just buying the Pioneer Elite plasma instead of the Samsung but I honestly could not tell the difference and thought the Samsung had just as good performance especially in the blacks which are supposed to be the strength of a plasma versus an LCD. The shiny screen and bezel are not even noticeable (except when the TV is off) and the picture is so good that I doubt anyone will be bothered by it. If you are on the fence with this set, I highly recommend jumping off and buying it. |
Seeing is believing
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| Review Date: October 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: W. Lucas, planet earth |
I have seen this 71 up close and personal. It is on my list of things to get. A friend and I went to check out this bad boy at a local electronics store. We compared the Samsung 71 to the Sony XRB5. The results blew us away. Sony comes far in second place in our books. The black contrast was far from being deep black as Sony has boasted. The Samsung was the cleanest, deepest black contrast that we have ever seen; not to mention the color contrast was out of this world. My friend and I are engineers; we see a lot of high tech gadgets up close and personal. If you're a simple hard working person like me, then I would suggest buying the Samsung over the Sony this time. Don't take my word for it; go check it out for yourself. Ask the sales person to connect the same video source to the two TVs at the same time. Make the comparison yourself.
Conclusion:
Samsung has my vote for this TV. Sorry Sony, you really need to get it right in order to get your name back. I am a die hard Sony dude, but this time, Samsung has won my heart (and money).
Follow up:
I just bought this bad boy and can't wait to get it. I am sure that I have made the right decision on this purchase. I told a few of my friends at work and they all hate me (YEAH!). Anyway, I am excited about getting the set soon. I hope my luck will be as good as the others when the set arrives. Now, if I can just get those dudes to heft that heavy boy up the steps in my high rise... (More to come)
Update:
The TV arrived; Eagle shipping had unpacked the box; setup the TV, powered up and WOW! My expectations were exactly as I had expected. Couple of my work buddies helped me hang this bad boy on the wall. We were all blown away the great picture. Later, I tested USB port with a memory stick. I loaded up some digital images and was blown away again. This TV never ceases to amaze me. Yes, I did make the right choice in buying this one.
Oh, BTW, Eagle shipping even carted off the empty box for me.
Thanks Samsung; thanks Amazon and thanks to Eagle shipping for a great experience.
Famous last words, "I'll be back!"
UPDATE: 04.23.08: TV still working great. No problems at all. There is one bit of advice to owners that are not enjoying the TV as much as I am. There is a forum on the website that is dedicated only to this TV. I am not sure of the link, but if you Google "Forum Samsung LNT5271F 52-inch", you'll get a few links. From within the links, check out some of the recommendations in tweaking your TV to look better. I did and I am glad I did. I think if those owners that reported a bad review, they should at least tweat the set to suit their purposes. In all fairness, the TV is a wonderful set. I wished that I had not bought the Sony for the living room because the Samsung really did blow Sony out of the water this time. BTW, I called Samsung to see if there was a problem with customer service. They went out of there way to answer my questions, even though nothing was wrong with the set. Just wanted to follow up on what the other owners are complaining about with the bad reviews.
Final thoughts: I am glad I got this TV. It has been a very good one from the very first day I switched on the power. I only wished that other owners have the same experience as I.
Later! |
Great TV
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| Review Date: December 16, 2007 |
| Reviewer: David J. Burns Jr., CT |
For openers let me say that I love this TV. The picture is great with vivid detail and rich true colors. Hi def picture is great and standard def picture is very good for this size set.
The following is included for those who may run into this problem with their set.
I received delivery from Eagle. They were on time. The TV was delivered from van rather than a larger truck and showed no signs of wear on the outer carton. The delivery man unpacked it and helped me set in on a low table (temporary until I could get help to attach it to my Omni mount). After plugging it in the delivery man attacked the auto set up like the mad clicker from hell. At some point during his clicking the red stand by light started blinking. When he left I signed for the TV as having no picture in case I couldn't fix the problem myself. After a few days of frustration I called Samsung. None of their techs were able to suggest a solution. They put in a repair ticket. At that point I unplugged the set and left it unplugged for a day.
Amazon customer service was great and offered to replace the set.
When I tried plugging it in again the problem was resolved and I canceled the replacement.
I saw 1 posting with the same problem. The bottom line is that the TV needs more than the suggested 15 minutes to reset.
If you want a great picture this is the set for you. Buy it and enjoy your viewing. |
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