Manufacturer: Samsung Find all Samsung reviews Model#: HLN61.7W Average Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars	Retail Price: $4,799.99 Online Sale Price:
Features: 61-inch DLP-based high-definition widescreen projection television; 56.5 x 40.2 x 19.4 inches (W x H x D) 13 video inputs, including DVI-HDTV, PC, and DVD (480i/p) 1,280 x 720 resolution for a clear, detailed picture 2-tuner PIP with side-by-side split screen 20 watts per channel x 2; Virtual Dolby surround simulates theater sound through any two speakers

In side-by-side comparisons, I found the DLP to have sharp crisp images with deep saturated colors equal to the best Velvia slides. The TV is light enough for one person to move around (less than 100 lbs compared to 300 lbs for my 36" TV) and one can view the picture at angles of about 120 degrees.

I connected my DLP TV to a surround sound system (5.1 - 5 Klipsch speakers plus a Velodyne sub-woofer) and it works well right out of the box. Unlike the statements of one other reviewer, I have found absolutely no advantage to using monster cable (in fact I have engineer friends who work for some of the leading audio speaker companies who assure me that regular speaker wire can more than handle the miniscule amount of electric current that is flowing through speaker wire) and you don't need the services of any professional to hook-up or use this TV.

I have cable TV with an HDTV receiver. One minor quibble is that when you connect it using the component inputs, you lose the ability to zoom in - the only choices being the regular TV format or the letterbox.

I have had my TV for about one year now and use it for several hours every day. I have not had any trouble with it, the original lamp is working just fine and I have not purchased an extended warranty (with no regrets). For the price difference between this one and plasma or LCD TVs (the Sony WEGA LCD is a projection TV and not a true LCD) of several thousand dollars, this decision was a no-brainer - I would strongly recommend the DLP as one of the best on the market.

Date: 2004-04-04
DLP vs LCD is a give and take - See both and decide..
When I bought my new house, I decided that my basement needed a MONSTER tv to make me feel all spiffy and like a big man :P. The choice for me was between the 70" Sony Grand Wega XBR and this 61" Samsung DLP.

DLP and LCD both have their pros and cons.. Seeing the two TVs at Circuit City (where I got mine) nearly side-by-side gave me the opportunity to notice things that I might not have remembered otherwise had I bounced back and forth between stores to make my decision.

Either TV is great.. These are both top of the line sets and you really can't go wrong.. However, here are a few things that I noticed.. And be aware, different people see different things so your mileage may vary..

LCD Pro: The LCD was very slightly crisper in general. For the most part, you couldn't tell the difference. However, there were certain cases where you could see a slightly sharper image on the LCD; namely the TV logos in the bottom right corner of the screen and the edges of cetain images. The picture was stunning and the black-depth was quite good, although not quite as deep as on the DLP.

DLP Pro: I am a big video game player, animation fan and movie buff. Video games and anime tend to have very rich colors since, after all, it is artificially generate.. In video games you will seen greens and blues that you rare ever come across in your life. In the color area, the DLP shines.. While the Sony XBR color was such that you could not criticize it in any way really, the DLP just blew it out of the water. The color on the DLP is *perfect*.. There is no over-saturation or bleed-through.. Colors are crisp, distinct and beautiful. The blacks are JET black.. Top notch.. Another huge plus, although irrelevant for most, is that the Samsung actually has an XGA port in the back, allowing me to hook a computer up to it directly so as to surf the web from my sofa.

DLP Con: As some people have noted, DLP really exposes flaws in your source.. If you have an 'iffy' signal quality, the DLP will make you aware of that. For me this was a non-issue as I bought the Monster Powerbar and the Samsung DVI progressive-scan DVD player.. Since I have a great-quality digital cable feed here, the images look perfect.

LCD Con: This was the killer. Some people do not notice it, but I did and it ruled out the Sony. LCD has a problem with 'motion blur' when there is fast motion taking place on the screen. This is VERY VERY slight.. so slight that even with movies, you are unlikely to notice it. However, as I stood perusing the TVs, the demo-disc cycled to a college football game.. And there it was.. On a long 50-yard pass, as well as a breakaway run, there was clear motion blur around the ball and the athletes.. The LCD just cannot keep up with the image at that level of speed.

As a huge sports nut (FOOTBALL!), this killed it for me..

So, again, you can't go wrong with these TVs. I was all set to spend the extra $2,300 to get the extra 9" of screen, since I do love Sony products.. But that motion blur killed it for me and I happily plunked down the money and took home my Samsung.. I have been COMPLETELY satisfied with it.

NOTE: Do yourself a favor.. Buy this locally (sorry Amazon) and get the extended warranties.. I never buy those but on LCD and DLP TVs, it will pay for itself.. CC's was $499 for a 4 year extension that covers bulb replacement as many times as you call it in.. Bulb replacement can run $200-$300 and is recommended every 2000 or so hours.. So, the extended plan will pay for itself over the life of your TV.

Date: 2004-03-31
Great TV , but buy the extended warranty
Firstly, I love the TV. I bought it because I wanted good contrast, bright colors, and no burn-in (I play a lot of X-Box games) and it delivers all those. But I'm giving it only three stars because it's just not very reliable.
- it is incredibly sensitive to signal quality. I have digital cable; there was heavy snow on many channels and I was getting dropouts - the channel suddenly missing - on the others. The cable company diagnosed a bad ground line, replaced it, and everything was fine. But during the entire time, my spare TV (CRT) looked perfectly fine - no snow, no dropout. So it's this TV that's sensitive.
- It needs a lot of service. It blew the lamp (a $239 dollar part) after three months, the color wheel after six, and now, at 11 months, it's just blown the lamp again. I'm about to get a warranty replacement of the whole light engine.I am kicking myself for not buying a 3-year extended warranty from the dealer.

And just as a FYI, I bought Samsungs HDTV DVD player and use the DVI conenction and the picture quality is awesome.

Date: 2004-03-31
Best BANG for your HDTV Dollar.
I've had this set for 8 months now and I am still impressed with it's performance. I did allot of research before deciding which set would be my first HDTV. After weighing all of the pluses and minuses (for me) the Samsung DLP's came out on top.
No burn-in means you can watch your standard definition (SD) programs in their normal 4:3 aspect ratio (no need too stretch the picture). You could leave a static image on the TV 24/7 and it will not affect the screen. Also DLP's are not affected by magnetic fields, which means you can put non-shielded speakers right next to them. I would highly recommend a DVD player with a DVI output (like the Bravo D1 or Samsung's 931 ) which will provied the best possible picture with these TV's (I've run some tests). Be aware that with DLP's the better the source the better the picture. Now I'm not talking about high dollar cables (a $25 DVI cable will perform the same as a $100 one), what I mean is High Definition programming looks spectacular as do DVD's through a DVI enabled DVD player, but SD programming can look anywhere from good to preety bad. Very happy with my decision.

Date: 2004-03-30
This TV is great!!!
in the past I worked at a major electronics store. The best TV we sold by far was this TV. It has the greatest color and the sharpest picture. Most customers would come in and marvel at this TV along with the employees. On the very rare occassion a customer would come in and tell us that the picture was horrable. After asking a few questions you would be able to find out that the problem wasn't with the TV but it was the way it was hooked up. Remember when you buy the best TV on the market you have to buy the best cables and you must have a high definition source. A power filter is also a great option which will make your picture even better. Monster cables and monster power filters work the best. Expect to tack on about another $1000-$2000 to get it working like you see in the store. If you don't have that extra money to spend don't buy this TV. Trust me from experience, when somone says "this TV is not good" it is simply because they are hooking it up wrong. Remember that hooking up a high definition TV is not like hooking up that old 20" RCA you have in your room. Make sure you leave it in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. In short, if the TV is hooked up correctly, it is the best TV on the market.