Samsung HL-61A750A 61 in. HDTV DLP TV
Reviews:
Background
I bought this TV to fill a void… a void in my new entertainment center. I wanted the biggest screen to fill the space and was frustrated that the bezels on the LCD and Plasma TVs were so wide.
The DLP sets are projection TVs. So, the area behind the screen area is mainly air. No bezel is needed to cover the electronics. With other sets, I would have been restricted to, at best, a 52 inch.
My Impression.
My earlier 780p Mitzu DLP TV used the older lamp technology, ran hot, had noisy fans, and took too long to get warm. This device is much better. It turns on in 5 seconds, with no fan noise. It is probably due to LED illumination, which produces less waste heat. In addition, the extra 1080p resolution is nice when viewing a BlueRay disc (I use a PS3 as a player), and for up-sampled DVDs.
There are 3 HDMI inputs. One is for the PS3. One is for the computer (using a DVI-HDML cable). The last is for the Tivo. I’m happy about that.
Drawbacks.
There are two annoyances. First, the TV goes snap and crackle when starting (note the lack of “pop”). From the sound, my guess is the plastic in the case expanding and contracting. It continues to crackle for awhile after the TV is turned off.
The other minor problem is common to projection TVs and that is a limited viewing angle. If you are off-center or lying on the floor, the screen is much less bright.
It has a nice remote, but I don’t use it much. Instead, I use the Tivo remote most of the time.
A little advice.
While the TV is a narrow 19 inches, it needs some air around it for cooling. Don’t place it in a cubby that is too tight.
Bottom Line.
The Samsung HL61A750 61″ is a good compromise of price, space efficiency, and picture quality. I am glad to have purchased it.
Upgrading my TV.
One day, quite randomly, I decided to upgrade my current TV (a LG 42PC5D 42-inch 720p Plasma HDTV) to something larger and with higher HD resolution. I was debating between replacing it with a newer plasma, or getting another LCD (the technology has improved a lot since the last time I owned one. Specifically, the blurring issue was not as bothersome and sharpness was improved).
My requirements
- I want a TV that doesn’t feel like a sack of bricks. Generally, plasma screens are quite light. The plasma I current have that I mentioned is quite light indeed, which was a selling point.
- The motion blur effect causes me headaches and some lightheadedness. It’s not pleasant. A new TV must NOT have motion blur, or it must be so little I can’t see it.
- The TVs must resize old 4:3 broadcasts to fit the screen without distorting the picture. My plasma couldn’t do this, but I tolerated it for quality reasons.
- The TV should be slim. This is related to the weight issue, but it’s also a visual preference.
- The TV should have a small screen border. This maximizes the viewable area.
Checking my options.
After much research (and price checking), I decided to get a DLP TV. DLPs are so darn cheap compared to LCDs of the same size. It semed the most logical choice. But, I needed to see it for myself to make a decision. So, I visited a retailer.They had the Mitsubishi and Samsung versions in this size on display. What I noticed was that the Samsumg sold for over $2,000! The LED version was more expensive than the lamp version ($1,400). Fortunately, there was an open box LED DLP for only $1350. My company had a discount deal which effectively paid the tax. I bought it on the spot (yes, I lifted it from my car and up about 30 stairsteps by myself. That should tell you just how light it really is…lighter than my plasma yet 20 inches more screen space).
My experience.
Once I got it all setup (I have an integrated HDMI system, so there is only one cable to set up a new TV to everything), I immediately looked at some HD programming. I wasn’t impressed…but I know it has to do with the fact that I’m seeing more defects on the larger screen than on the smaller screen. It was no big deal. It’s not that it looks bad, it’s just not as great as expected.It did do quite a bit of cleanup of regular non-HD broadcasts, especially close-ups. Distance shots still looked terrible, as always.
There are a number of additional options in the menus to do more cleanup. I didn’t get to work with them too much since the open box didn’t have a remote. I had to order one. Be careful, they will try to rip you off. Buy from Amazon, if you can.
Trying high-definition.
The next step was to test the true high definition. There’s really only one way to push a TV’s HD output, and that is Planet Earth on HD-DVD or Blu-ray. My goodness…this TV is built for HD movies – 1080p.
Videophiles will easily tell the difference between 720p on a smaller screen and 1080p. Plus, this TV has a much more discriminate color space than my plasma. The plasma was more saturated, yet not as finely detailed. The DLP was so crisp, it felt like you were standing there. Someone new to HD likely won’t be notice the distinction. For me, after having viewed everything in 720p for years, I can easily see the difference.
Drawbacks.
That doesn’t mean it’s all good. But, some of it isn’t the TV’s fault.
- 720p and 1080i don’t look great on this TV, for some reason. Again, it’s not terrible, and not bad, it’s just not great. Why does that matter? Usually, everything broadcast on HDTV is in one of those two resolutions. There isn’t capacity to transmit in 1080p. It doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy those shows. Besides, if your TV is more than 20 feet away from your seating area, you won’t care.
- You have to “force” the TV to autoscan resolution changes between shows. The problem is most digital broadcasts of older shows send in 4:3, which the TV shows. If you don’t like the black boxes on the side, you have to “force” the TV to stretch the image. If you leave it in stretch mode and view a show which naturally fills the screen, it will overscan. You’ll miss some edges of the show. It is a minor irritant.
- There are no carry handles. That is another minor irritant.
- The built in speakers are horrible. But, quite frankly, if you’re buying a TV like this, you should be willing to buy a decent surround sound system to go with it.
Wrapping up.
I didn’t cover all the features of the set. Simply, I buy a TV to watch…well…TV (and movies and other video-oriented things). I know it supports MP3s from the USB and other features, but I don’t really care about that. To play music, I tap in my 360 Media Center and run everything, wirelessly, from my whole library. It is better than a few songs on a USB stick. But, if you like it, to each their own.
Final thoughts.
This is a great TV. Don’t let the display model throw you off. It’s not calibrated correctly, I assure you. Plus, it’s hooked up to a terrible feed, which is split among all the TVs there. That means the quality is severely degraded. Finally, stores want steer customers to the LCD lines. It’s because sales of those models are bottoming out for a couple of reasons.
First, VIZIO has stolen market share with rock bottom prices. DLPs like this one are showing they can put out quality that is comparable or better than their flat panel counterparts. You walk in the store and they have a 1080p LCD display with a Blu-ray player showing some outstanding quality movie. It’s a ploy to get you to buy it. Yet, the truth is, space is really the only reason not to get one of these.
Postscript
UPDATE: Something important you need to know. This TV doesn’t play work well with certain receivers. The Sony STR-DG910 is a problem. There is a setting in the Menu (I think it’s 7-VIDEO). Inside is an Audio setting where to set TV+AMP or AMP. It is CRITICAL to set this to AMP. If you set it to TV+AMP, the amp will send audio to the TV, but the TV won’t accept anything other than PCM. This affects all of your surround speakers. Just set it to AMP so you get the optimal quality out of this thing. This is only an HDMI issue, as far as I know.
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