Samsung LE40R87

Reviews

Posted on 26 / 11 / 2007

Looks great.
Sound quality is average.

I'd been considering buying a Playstation 3 for a few months. I finally took the plunge and visited my local Currys to buy one. I know I could have found one cheaper online but I didn't particularly wish to wait 2-5 days. Recently my 46 inch Toshiba dlp rear projection TV had broke, this was the 2nd time the lamp gave well, sadly this time the warranty had expired. Instead of paying £14.9.89 for a new lamp, and the cost of repair I felt a new TV was needed as well.

A friend had mentioned that without a HD ready TV the playstation games do not look good at all. I was currently using an old CRT TV and it differently did not include a hdmi socket. So I visited my local currys looking for both a playstation and a new TV. I went into the store looking to spend around about £1000 for a TV, and was after either a Sony, Panasonic or Philips, never again was a taking a risk and going for a Toshiba.

Therefore I was skeptical when the shop assistant started pushing this Samsung down my throat. I wasn't taking his word for it, underneath my composed exterior I was busily concluding they must have a warehouse full of Samsung's they can't shift. He suggested a comparison test instore, and low and behold he was correct. The Samsung was definitely superior to the Sony bravio on display at the same price. The only Panasonic in stock was a plasma which would not have fit in the car.

At this point it was the reliability which concerned me. I'd never owned a Samsung appliance before except for a set of magic s speakers for my computer. The speakers were still going strong after seven years of daily use. The decider was a free samsung dvd recorder included for free. Both for just £844.99. It seemed too good a deal to pass up.

I've been using the TV for one week and a day now. My opinions are mostly positive. From the menu system I had to set the mode to 'movie' rather than 'dynamic' or 'normal'. The 'movie' mode has the most realistic colours to my eye, the 'dynamic' mode is far too bright, with reds literally screaming out of the screen.

It is a fabulously attractive looking machine, did not come with a stand, but I already had one from my Toshiba. It only has two scart sockets at the back which is a disappointment, I'd prefer three for my wii, dvd player, VCR and sky box. There are two hdmi sockets, not three like stated on some sites and one PC socket. I am planning to hook my PC upto the TV once I get a monitor cable which is over six metres.

The sound quality is average, as of yet I have still not located where the inbuilt speakers are :). The picture quality is great, especially for dvd's and sky movies channels. I still haven't got sky HD so I have not seen what the TV is capable of. The playstation did not come with a hdmi cable. So it took 4 days to order one and for it to arrive. It made a remarkable difference to the visuals. I had been somewhat disappointed by the console until I viewed in it HD.

Overall it's a good TV. Perhaps a techno buff could highlight more technical issues with it. But as an average Joe I am more than satisfied.

User Rating -
User Name - Richard, Chesterfield