Samsung HP-S4253 42" Plasma TV

Avoid This TV - Big Mistake On My Part

Posted Mar 27, 2007 - TV is five months old, we work 9-5 jobs and watch it at night only and sports on weekends. We have comcast and watch as much HD as we can. The sides of the screen are burned. There is no fix for this nor is this covered by the warranty. It is considered abusive use. We are your normal TV watchers and did what normal people would do. Once you get screen burn you are toasted - goodbye $1500. The worst electronic decision I ever made. Their tech people claim if more than 5% of your total usage is not 16:9, then you have abused the use of the tv and it will burn. Buy LCD they are harder to burn. Also avoid the Best Buy extended warranty - it does not cover this problem and if you call them to get a tech to come to your house they tell you it's $75 if they find screen burn.

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Superb for the sports/360/movie lover

Posted Sep 4, 2006 - Don't let my comment in the "weaknesses" area alert you, this TV is unbelievable. I'm going to do this review from a sports/360/movie lovers standpoint because I really don't watch a ridiculous amount of TV, nor do I have in depth knowledge of everything plasma...read on if you'd like the lehman's view. I searched around the internet and in store fronts for about 6 months before I bought this TV, wanted to make sure I made the right decision for a sizable amount of cash. I was originally leaning towards DLP technology and probably would have been happy with that decision but my smaller room made the aesthetics of a plasma the correct fit. I couldn't be happier. From the TV's I've looked at in the store and a couple my friends own, this is definitely the best. The picture is vibrant and rich, ultra clear. I've seen a couple plasma's with obvious pixelation but this TV shows none of that. I really appreciate the DNIe technology, it makes the picture look just a notch better...lighter and more colorful. I ordered an HD package from Cox and the HD picture I get from my 10ish HD channels is unreal, I almost don't bother with other channels. If you're a sports lover and looking to get a TV for the football season, nothing will look better than MNF on HD, simply amazing! If you own a 360 you'll also be extremely happy. Hook it up through the component cables and you get a whole new 360 experience. Movies also look unbelievable. Keep in mind I have a Samsung up-converting DVD player and HDMI cables for both the cable box and DVD player. I've heard people complain about the remote and sound of this TV. The remote is satisfactory, better than some but if you're looking for something better you'll have to purchase it seperately...please don't let the remote factor into your decision. The sound is adequete but not stellar. However, it's good enough and I'd hope you'd get a sound system to compliment this tv. I purchase the BOSE 2.1 system from Circuit City and coudln't be happier, no need for the surround sound in my living room/kitchen. I've already had two friends purchase this TV from the same retailer, electronics expo, since I bought mine about a month ago, it's that impressive. If you're looking for an HDTV I would highly suggest this TV, don't mull over your decision like I did, go no further. Finally, the standard definition cable channels look MUCH better on this TV than many HDTV's I've seen. The picture is comparable to a tube TV and you don't see that very often with 720p. Highly, highly recommended...and if you're not looking plasma, go Samsung DLP. Samsung has the TV market cornered right now with amazing technology in both plasma and DLP.

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SAMSUNG HP-S4253 42

Posted Jul 14, 2006 - I looked at plasma TV for about a year. The price and the many features of this set sold me. I especially liked the design and the black trim of the set. I was not really impressed with the audio portion of the set - but Samsung did a good job for the space they had. Let's face it, when you spend over $2,000.00 for a plasma TV, you are going to also have a good audio system to compliment the great picture. An abundance of video and audio inputs and outputs left nothing to the imagination including the easily accessable side inputs. Overall I give it a 9.5

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The Best right now !

Posted Jun 16, 2006 - The TV is very nice to see (all Black case) it does not stick out like silver ones. The video is great (blacks show pretty good). Plasma still beats LCD, I have been looking at them for 2 months. All the hookups you will ever need, are on the back which is good, (with a few on the right side too. Compact for a 42" because the speakers are on the inside with small area of slits left and right bottom for it to come out. the (sound is good but not great 6 out of 10 rating). Everything else is 9.5 out of 10.

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This TV was the worst investment I ever made

Posted Jan 15, 2007 - This was the worst electronics investment i ever made. I've already experienced burn in after only 2-3 months and minimal usage. Both store and Samsung failed to stand behind their product - told me too bad. The customer service at Samsung actually made the problem worse after instructing me to run several different utilities in hopes of helping with the burn in. The utilities made the burn in worse, and then caused ghosting on all the pictures. I told them about this, and they didn't seem to care - said it would not be covered. I will never buy another Samsung product again. Just wanted to share.

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Samsung HP-S4253 42

Posted Jul 20, 2006 - I am elated over my purchase. I had a 55" rear-projection wide screen that this TV replaced. I am infinitely more satisfied with this TV experience, and I previously thought I had it good. The Samsung is such a rich, vibrant picture that you feel totally immersed in the image. With a smaller screen, than I had previously, my satisfaction has increased. Have not found an issue with this TV yet, completely satisfied, and more.

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Great TV with Many Great features

Posted Jul 15, 2006 - I was initially going to buy a Phillips 42 inch with ambilight until I saw this model at a local retailer. I compared Plasmas at various retailers and by far this TV's quality is superior to any other in it's class. And for the price you can't go wrong. I got mine for under 2 grand and very delighted with every aspect of it except the sound. The sound is not great but if your going to spend the money on this, you might as well spend the money on the Home Theater System. Overall Great Plasma

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Great TV

Posted Jun 12, 2006 - When I decided to go for a plasma tv I was undecided between this and the new Panasonic 42 inch tv. Im glad I selected the Samsung tv. Colors are great and vivid, and for the price you cant beat this: HD tuner, 2 HDMI inputs, picture in picture, and great sound from the built in speakers. This is a great tv specially if you can find it for 2 grand or about.

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GREAT 42

Posted Oct 8, 2006 - This is a phenomenal 42" HDTV for such a low price. I got it for $1549 including shipping from Amazon.com! No doubt this baby shines with baseball and football. My Mets in the playoffs look amazing on ESPNHD and FOX HD. The only slight issue is banding in dark scenes (such as movies). You don't quite get a true gradation. But you know what, it doesn't matter. The picture quality is breathtaking and this false contouring is not a big deal when considering all the upsides of this TV! I would recommend this TV to anyone and would challenge anyone to find a 42" HDTV with better picture quality for as much as twice the price of this one. This TV could be $2,500 and it would still be a great value! You will fall in love with it the second you pull it out of the box.

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HP-S4253

Posted Jun 25, 2006 - Great look, non-obtrusive exterior.Great picture, both HD and non-HD channels.Many hook-ups on the TV are available for external components.The remote is simple and easy to navigate.The lite-brite feature really clears up the background. Very happy with the product.

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Fantastic TV!!!

Posted Jul 2, 2006 - This is a phenomenal Plasma TV! Outstanding picture quality, aesthetically stunning (speakers are ingeniously hidden), Dual HDMI inputs, Burn-in protection software (pixel shifting), and a PC input. I also found it very competitively priced on Amazon for 1899 (shipping and tax included). I did quite a bit of research and narrowed it down to this TV as well as the Panasonic TH-42PX60U. From a features and picture quality standpoint they are equivalent. However, once you take into account the aesthetics, the Samsung wins out. Amazing TV - Find a good price, and you won't regret it...

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better picture more color brighter and pip go see it 4 yourself...

Posted May 30, 2006 - out of this and the panny i find the color to be more true to nature with the sammy the penny's picture was very good but it just did not "pop" with vibrent colors, but i guess thats because the sammy has like 542 billion with a B colors the penny has only 29 million yes Million and not Billion so numbers dont lie here. the funny thing is I did not come to buy the sammy at all i wanted the hitachi or sony but after looking at everything picture features at bestbuy and circuit city it was obvious the sammy. ....with pip burn in protection and the hd picture the sammy is the one i got.... very glad with that product i highly recommendit even the salesman said it was the best 42' hdtv right know and it was the one he would get will i figured he works here and the penny sony and hitachi cost a little more 200-500 dollars more than the sammy so it was not a case of him making more money on a deal....GO SAMSUNG!!!!

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Samsung HP-S4253 WORLD'S BEST

Posted Jun 27, 2006 - I purchased my Samsung just a couple weeks ago, I couldn't be more pleased at the Exceptional ease of installation, the High tech degree of Performance, and above all, I got more for my money than even I expected once it was in my home. You can't go wrong with this Samsung....... If I would have alot of money, I'd buy one for all my older kids and their families. I recomend this perticular unit to anyone and everyone. Thanks Samsung!!!

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Samsung is the Best

Posted Feb 10, 2007 - I had been searching for a plasma tv for 6months and research Panasonic, Hitachi, and Samsung. I was impressed by all of them but the samsung stood out for the rest due to the elegant style of the set. the samsung has yet to disappoint me... the only troubling thing is the remote didn't work with my other equipment. But that's OK I'll be buying a harmony 880 remote anyways..

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Great Plasma Choice

Posted Dec 22, 2006 - I researched Plasma and LCD TV's for about 8 months before I made this purchase in August '06. I love having the 2 HDMI inputs. Works great for my HDDVR from DirecTv and my Samsung HDMI Upconverting DVD player. The sound from the TV is okay, but if you're getting a high-end TV, odds are you already have or will be purchasing a suround sound system. I originally purchased this TV to hang on the wall, but after seeing it sitting on our hutch, we decided that it looked great without hanging it. My only complaint is that some of the SD programming can be tough to watch (ghosting, mainly). This should be a non-issue soon enough once everything goes to HD. I can certainly live with it since we spend most of our time either watching movies or HD programming. In case you haven't experienced true HD, you are definitely missing out. Overall, I am definitely not dissapointed with my choice. I only wish I would have waited another 5 months for the prices to drop another $500!!

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