I admit that I'm not a videophile and for years I got along well with a conventional TV, so I'm not sure if my review will be of much use to readers. And anyone that is getting their first HDTV will usually love it, no matter who the manufacturer is, so it's probably better to read reviews from those that have (or had) several HDTVs (especially from different manufacturers).
That being said, here is my opinion. It's a nice looking HDTV (but isn't really any nicer looking than many others). It plays high quality hi-def expertly, but as this video novice has found out, not all hi-def is the same (nor is std-def). The first blu-ray movie I played was 2001. It brought out tremendous detail and rich texture, so I was extremely impressed (yes, it had a "wow" effect). Hi-def sporting events (such as a baseball game) also looked very rich and detailed. Simply put, if the source material is high quality, this set seems to have the capability of bringing this out in full ... which is what it is all about.
And if the source isn't high quality? That's another story. Playing standard dvds on a regular dvd player doesn't make me sit up and take notice, but that's why I opted for the Oppo blu-ray / dvd up-converting player. Up-converting does indeed make a difference (but that's another story and another review). Also, std-def can be okay (at best) or very poor, but I didn't really buy this set for its std-def capability. Then again, the hi-def coming from DirecTV can be hit and miss because of limitations of that media source. Some programs are impressive, while others, not so much. Plus DirecTV's HD content can be jumpy with some mysterious audio burps, which is very distracting. This is NOT the fault of this, or any other, TV (it's a source problem), but I thought I'd mention it for all the DirecTV users out there.
The default settings are surprisingly good (I made only a few very minor adjustments to the sharpness, brightness and contrast using the "Spears & Munsil" benchmark blu-ray disk that was supplied with the Oppo player). The menus seemed well designed and I haven't had a problem going through them (just a problem of understanding what some of these settings really mean).
Since this set is in a very bright room (lots of windows), I needed a screen with a matt finish. It does a good job, but one will still see reflections (it does diffuse them well, thankfully). The viewing angle is decent, but not great. There is definitely a fairly narrow "sweet spot" (within about 30 degrees or so), but that's okay by me (I can figure out where I should sit). BTW, your mileage may vary (my girlfriend bought the identical set and her viewing angle is superior to mine ... could be different panel manufacturers).
As far as what I do not like, there are several items that I'll mention, but all are rather minor complaints:
1. The default AMP (auto motion plus) setting of "standard" (120 Hz), gives most programs the soap opera effect. Talk about weird! Fortunately, there are menu settings to adjust this, especially the ability to customize the setting via a slide bar menu option. The various AMP settings (clear = min; standard = medium; smooth = max), don't tell me much. Do any of these settings lower the 120 Hz rate? It was aggravating that Samsung doesn't explain this is.
2. As has been mentioned in other reviews, the front panel touch controls on the TV are difficult to see, and impossible in a dimly-lit room, which makes them useless. Then again, I haven't often used these controls in the past on my TVs, so this isn't really that big of a deal to me. I just found this to be a bad design choice.
3. Since I'm more of an audiophile, I found the sound coming from this set to be pretty bad ... to put it mildly (yes, I adjusted the equalizer and turned on SRS, which helped, but audio is an afterthought on TVs and always has been). I use a separate sound system (as I did with my older CRT TV) and recommend that most people should do the same.
4. Because this HDTV does so much, there is a huge amount of information to process and the manual is a bit difficult to read. The diagrams are too small (as well as the print) and many are too dark. This set has a slew of options and not all are given their just due. Explanations are often brief and some confusing (does the HDMI/DMI port work with a standard HDMI cable, or must one use that port only with a DMI to HDMI adapter?). Basically, I found the manual just okay (after rereading it a few times, but YMMV).
Since it is impossible to make a judgement of picture quality in stores (I don't have the foggiest idea of how they have been set up), picking the Samsung was a crapshoot. And unless I tested several brands in my home, I have no way of knowing which is the best ... for me. Would I be just as happy with another brand? Probably. Still, I give this Samsung a solid 8 out of 10 (or a 4-star rating). It seems to be a reasonably priced set and can reproduce a quality source in fine, and at times, extremely impressive detail, but don't ask me which manufacturer has the best HDTV, because I simply don't have a clue.
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