Just bought a Samsung 40" LCD :)

MercilessKiller

Hey there.

Well another silly day for me in Currys.Digital.

I managed to get for £889, a Samsung LE40M86BD with the £200 stand included.. and delivery included. This was down from the instore price totalling £1150ish ex del.

So I thought it was a good deal. If I bought them online it would be a smilar price, but at least I have the added value from it being a retail chain.

I have to wait a week for delivery so doing some research first:

1) I have a new PCI-E GFX Card. I assume I just need DVI to HD for that?
2) Is HD transferred over S-Video?
3) I can't seem to find a website with the optimal colour/display settings as theres lots of discussion about that

If anyone has any comments I'd love to hear them. Thanks

(Going to be used for 360, Sky (but not HD) and PC (with HD Content) mainly..)

libra10

Can't give any technical information but we purchased the same Samsung model as you a couple of months ago. It's a fabulous choice, the picture is excellent and sure you'll love it.

Good luck

planemad

Most recent Samsung TVs are rubbish as they started using LCD panels made by outsiders that do not produce the same results as Samsungs own S-PVA LCD panel.

Good news for you is that most 40" panels are Samsung panels (but not all) this is denoted by S at the end of the model number sticker at the back of the unit the letters to avoid are A and C.
C being the worst panel, the C panel has a problem displaying motion and suffers from excess ghosting.

This TV has the speakers at the bottom of the set so the sound is pushed downwards and backwards

IMO: Avoid the Samsungs and pay extra for a Sony Bravia, Panasonic Veira or Toshiba.

This is the review to take note off http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Samsung-LE40M86BD/, don't forget its not to late to get a refund and look a bit closer at the wide range available.

MercilessKiller

planemad wrote: »

Most recent Samsung TVs are rubbish as they started using LCD panels made by outsiders that do not produce the same results as Samsungs own S-PVA LCD panel.

Good news for you is that most 40" panels are Samsung panels (but not all) this is denoted by S at the end of the model number sticker at the back of the unit the letters to avoid are A and C.
C being the worst panel, the C panel has a problem displaying motion and suffers from excess ghosting.

This TV has the speakers at the bottom of the set so the sound is pushed downwards and backwards

IMO: Avoid the Samsungs and pay extra for a Sony Bravia, Panasonic Veira or Toshiba.

This is the review to take note off http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Samsung-LE40M86BD/, don't forget its not to late to get a refund and look a bit closer at the wide range available.

Hey thanks for your comments.

I've read the review and really the only difference, for £300, is to do with the 100mhz motion intelligence in the Bravia.

However, I've seen these tele's in use in Stores. Obviously not optimal settings, BUT in the high motion HD videos such as extreme sports, standing as far back as my couch would be, I couldn't detect any major problems!

The tv wont come till next week and I can cancel anytime in between. I'm happy to cancel if I find something better, but to be honest, I can't justify buying a Sony Bravia when I believe the Samsung to be better!

The contrast ratio is much higher.. is the bravia 1080p? I know this samsung is.. Also the stand is included in the price i quoted, which is usually £200 extra for most sony's!

EDIT: A big comment in that review:
"But I'm nitpicking here... mild colour inaccuracy and less-defined shadow detail are probably too subtle for most viewers to pick up. Make no mistake, the tv is easily among the best in its class"

That sounds perfect for home use? Its not exactly like its 50" whereby problems are obvious to viewers.

Blacksheep1979

1 - yes dvi->hdmi will display what's on your PC but won't carry sound
2 - no you won't get hd displayed via s-video (well not very well) but dvi will
3 - Everyone's different that's why so many differing opinions. Just try to minimise the brightness so as to get better blacks - but again adjust to your prefs

MercilessKiller

1 - Thought as much though sound not a problem
2 - Also thought as much but glad for confirmation
3 - I've found a lot of forums with arguments between "samsung" and sony" fan boys. I'm trying to avoid that and look at quality for price. I can't spend £1200 on a tv.. but £850 (what I paid) is my peak! So yes...

Looks like I've got a good tele then! Cheers blacksheep.. see u can be helpful hehe :beer:

banger9365

there is one thing that no one has said they need to have HDCP(High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) on the graphics card (hardware, drivers and playback software)and lcd to play hd/blueray disks using dvi/hdmi ,or a black screen with out it and not all have it ,put lucky for you samsung do have it on there LCD tv and latest monitors

if you want to play HD disks on pc and your new tv,you can us the xbox 360 HD player (just plug it in a usb and let windows{vista}find the driver and away you go after you installed CyberLink PowerDVD Ultra Deluxe latest version )

Poppycat

I got a SAMSUNG LE40R88BD 40" LCD in October, with a tv stand from Dixons.

I have the pc (with XP) connected to it as a media centre with dvi to hdmi cable to hdmi 3. I get a great picture from it, along with the Humax pvr 9200T.

I play media files (and dvd's) with Zoom player

I have the sound via sound card to the audio inputs on tv. But I also connected pc to a amp with 5.1 surround sound, its brilliant. I have played 720p HD content from pc on to it.

Poppycat

There's a long thread on Samsung lcd in avforums to optimise the tv for various inputs

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=513376
Samsung R86/87/88 Owners Thread, Optimal Settings & Discussion

MercilessKiller

Thanks Poppycat.

Nice to hear some good experiences Really increases my hapiness on the purchase! Of course after spending that much u think "is it the right one?" Defeinitely looks that way

Coveredinbees!!!!

You could have got a panasonic plasma for that much