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For anyone looking for a great value on a 720p HDTV, Samsung's 2007 model LNT3242H 32-inch flat-panel LCD is an excellent choice.
As Samsung's entry level 40-inch LCD, it offers a 7000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, a 170-degree viewing angle, an 8ms response time panel, 3 HDMI inputs, and SRS TruSurroundXT from two side speakers.
Between the design update, the aditional connections, and improved contrast ratio this model represents a distinct improvement on the popular comperable 32-inch Samsung from 2006 (LNS3241D).
The Samsung Digital Natural Image engine (DNIe) Video Enhancer refines all analog NTSC and wideband video inputs for an overall improvement in picture quality.
DNIe improves contrast, white level, picture detail and incorporates digital noise reduction to improve lower quality video inputs.
The 3D Y/C digital comb filter constantly analyzes the three dimensions of picture height, picture width, and picture changes-over-time to dramatically reduce edge image artifacts while improving transition detail.
High-quality virtual surround sound can be experienced with just the speakers built into the TV. SRS TruSurround XT technology delivers an amazing, simulated 3D effect with clear dialog and powerful bass through hidden side speakers.
TruSurround XT audio adds three audio enhancement technologies to produce an amazingly immersive sound experience.
- Dialog Clarity brings movie dialog into Focus during the playback of any surround-encoded material to make speech much clearer and crisper.
- TruBass creates incredible deep rich bass allowing a person to perceive significantly deeper, richer low bass tones that are far beyond the physical low frequency capabilities of the speaker itself.
- The SRS WOW feature widens the soundstage by processing standard two-channel stereo material as well as multi-channel encoded material for a dramatic improvement in the playback of any stereo audio over a two-speaker system.
Connections:
- HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) 3
- RF in 1
- Component (Y/Pb/Pr) in 2
- S-Video input 2(1 side/1 rear)
- A/V input 2(1 side/1 rear)
- PC input 1
- Headphone jack 1
What's in the box: Samsung LNT3242H LCD TV, remote control, 2 AAA batteries, Power Cord, stand, cleaning cloth, owners manual, warranty card.
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 Best bang for your buck in 32" LCD TV land! |
| Review Date: August 20, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Sean T. Murphy, Philadelphia, PA USA |
After doing exhaustive research (online, offline, magazines, etc.) for the better part of 1 1/2 years, I finally decided it was the right time to upgrade our main TV and purchase the LNT3242 32" LCD TV from Samsung.
This model is from 2007 but has recently come down in price several hundred dollars already, I'm assuming because there are always new models and new technologies right around the corner. I wouldn't blame you buying this TV directly from Amazon, but if you want to pick it up in person (and be able to return it in person if you run into any troubles out of the box) you could look at Circuit City who has recently been running a sale on it every few weeks the last month or so for $300 off the original price of $1099. You can do even better if you're a AAA member and go to AAA's website to get a coupon emailed to you for an additional 10% off the sale price. Which would bring your TV price to $720!!! (not including tax).
So, let's get right down to it. Even before I turned the TV on, I was impressed by the sleak all black frame and the sturdy yet lightweight construction. For typical living room viewing I think the 32" widescreen is a perfect size. I can't really understand the practical need for a 50-60" screen in your living room unless you don't see particularly well or have fold up seats and sell popcorn out of your kitchen. The picture on the Samsung rivals the Sony's without rivaling their cost. And it makes sense as the Samsung TV's are produced in the same factory as the Sony's. I guess you're paying a little more for those 4 little letters printed on the front as I guess you do for any designer label in the clothing world. With the contrast ratio at 7000:1 you can clearly see the upgraded contrast at work here vs. LCD's of a few years ago. This set also comes with 3, count 'em, 3 HDMI inputs. I would highly recommend purchasing a few of the cheaper (under $5!), and well rated HDMI cables for sale on Amazon to go with this new TV. Not only does it simplify your wiring connections, but the picture quality will blow you away. Both my digital cable signal and dvd player look as good as one could wish for.
The TV comes with 3 pre-set viewing settings (dynamic, standard, and movie). But you can tweak any of them to your liking. The dynamic setting looked great only on HD channels and the movie setting looks dimmer and yellowish, but did look great on a particular episode of LOST that I tried it out on. Even analog channels look excellent, as this is one area that I was worried about as the stores only ever have their looping HD feeds on their sets on the sales floor, and I had heard that sometimes analog channels can look worse on an LCD than a standard tube tv. I'm sure that the imperfections would be magnified on a larger set, but at 32" the picture still looks great. Also standard programming (non-HD) is not formatted to fit the widescreen picture, but the TV has several options to make the picture larger or fill the screen without stretching it out of proportion.
If you're a sports or nature fan, this is two areas that HD programming is already shining in its infancy. ESPN in HD makes everything look ridiculously beautiful. As does Discovery HD theater with a constant mix of terrific programming that will make your jaw drop and bring a tear to your eye. It's that pretty!
Enough rambling, in short, this is a wonderful TV that would look great in any setting, is now at a very attractive price point and I really don't have one single complaint about. One more thing, the audio issue
that others have noted in some reviews, I have not experienced. In fact, I don't have any kind of speaker system setup and I'm only hearing the audio out of the TV speakers and it has great natural surround sound built in to the system. Get this TV now and you won't be sorry, especially with football season just around the corner. One more note, the only differrence between this TV and the slightly newer and slightly more expensive Samsung LNT3251 that I could tell is the contrast ratio is 8000:1 where this is 7000:1 (I couldn't tell the difference) and the blue glowing light at the bottom of the screen on the LNT3251, which seemed like it would be more distracting than anything (you can turn it off however).
Once again, put this TV in your home and you won't be sorry. It will change the way you think about TV viewing. |
Best picture for the price
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| Review Date: May 1, 2007 |
| Reviewer: David Pierce, Seattle, WA USA |
This is my first HDTV. I did a lot of research, both online and checking them out at the local Best Buy and other TV stores. Samsung LCDs always, to my eyes, have the best picture of their price. Sony looks about the same, but they're always hundreds of dollars more expensive. As far as this specific model goes, this is their low end 2007 32" LCD, but I never saw enough of a difference between Samsung's other 2007 models to warrant spending another few $100. Amazon offered an excellent price (which was short lived) so I jumped at it and ordered online. EGL was ok, but the delivery guy was cool, he brought the TV to my apartment and set up the stand, and I was all ready.
Its been an awesome 4 days of playing video games, watching DVDs and free over the air HD content by my little antenna. It all works and plays beautifully. The menus are easy to navigate and there's a help message on every option. The default settings aren't great, but with some tweaking you'll have a very robust picture; the first big thing is to turn off all sharpening, which just adds outlines to everything. The remote is rather long, but the important buttons are big and impossible to miss. VGA input looks good, with my Apple laptop automatically sizing the screen for 1:1 on the HDTV.
If you want the best picture for the best price, and a modern 2007 HDTV that isn't a couple years old, I highly recommend this set. |
Great TV
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| Review Date: March 27, 2007 |
| Reviewer: John, New York, NY |
| I got this TV 2 days ago. So far I love it. The picture quality is fantastic. Although I can't say it's as good as a Sony CRT HDTV I used to have. But then, I haven't seen any LCD that can compare. The unit itself is incredibly light at under 30lbs, compared to my old one at 150lbs...ouch. I'm still playing around with the settings but so far I'm impressed with the deep blacks and rich colors. There are three preset picture settings: dynamic, standard, and movie. Dynamic is a bit too bright and does show the graininess evident in most LCDs. I prefer the movie mode, which is the dimmest of the three, and eliminates the graininess. I'll keep watching with this preset until I calibrate it properly. I'm giving it 5 stars because of the entire package. It looks very slick with its piano black housing, has a nice range of features, 3 HDMI/2 component inputs, and I got a great deal at Circuit City for $999. I went in there to buy the older model LN-S3241D, which I did, but was later told they didn't have any in stock. So they gave me a deal on this new model. No complaints from me. Still have to play around with this some more, but out of the box I'm thoroughly impressed. |
Great TV, Comcast cable TV is a problem...
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| Review Date: May 25, 2007 |
| Reviewer: A. Private Person, Chevy Chase, MD USA |
I ordered 2 of these from Amazon/Electronics Expo the weekend of May 19-20. EE called me Tuesday, May 22 and shipped the same day. UPS delivered both Thursday May 24 about 1 PM. Each box was about 40" x 30" x 8" and weighed about 40 pounds. One person could easily handle one box and easily set up and move one TV. Both boxes were unopened and the TVs inside were undamaged.
We have Comcast cable TV here in Montgomery County, MD and these tvs were to replace 2 Standard Definition older sets, so I called Comcast. They told me I could go to their office and pick up 2 Digital/HD "boxes" to connect my new tvs to my cable service. When I got the boxes home and opened everything and connected everything the last instruction was to call Comcast and have the "box" activated. That failed. I called another Comcast phone number for problems and talked to one tech after another after another. The 3rd tech offered to send a tech to install the "boxes" on Saturday. He meant Saturday, June 2nd. The Comcast "boxes" are made by Motorola and do not have the new HDMI connection the Samsung TV has, only the lower quality "Component" connection. I might have to change to satellite instead of cable.
With a new TV but no cable service I went upstairs and removed the antenna from my Bose FM radio and tried that on the Samsung. It worked! The TV picked up 27 local FREE over the air digital broadcasts. Some channels were poor quality, but one was super. The local ABC affiliate broadcasts several digital channels, one is a 720P signal called ABC HD and it is beautiful! The picture is clear, bright, sharp and colorful! This TV is a great upgrade from the older 27 inch SD tv it replaces. It is a little wider but not much and a little lighter.
Ratings so far: Electronics Expo is great, they did everything just right and their price is great! Samsung gets 5 stars, the picture is great, the sound is good, this is a wonderful entry level HDTV and a big step up from a 27 inch SD tv. Comcast gets a failing grade, so far. I hope the tech they send is not "Larry the Cable Guy". |
Money Well Spent!
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| Review Date: August 22, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Hew Zane, |
All I can say about this product and the current price is WOW! For less than $800 you get a quality product like this? Let me explain:
I bought this product for $1000 and thought I was getting an awesome deal. I am still very happy with the higher price I paid for it because the picture clarity and contrast is actually better than my much higher priced Sony HDTV.
Some people might think this is an inferior set compared to other HDTVs because it is only 720p. This is definitely not the case when it comes to watching live Broadcast television.
Currently, television does not broadcast 1080p. Some stations broadcast 1080i. What exactly is 1080i? the "i" stands for the two interlaced fields making a frame at 1/30th second for each field in the frame. Whereas, the "p" in 720 p, or 1080p stands for progressive.
The best way to explain this, is through the finger analogy given by audio/visual expert Bob Wood (He is an excellent resource for A/V explanations):
Take your fingers and spread them apart. That's an example of interlaced. When you bring your hands together, both fields are combined and you get the whole picture (one frame). You don't notice the effect unless there's motion on the screen, then you might see a difference in the smoothness of the motion (depending how fast the scene is).
Progressive is all the fingers at once. 720p has fewer pixels at 1/60th second per frame.
1080 = 1920 x 1080 pixels | 720 = 1280 x 720 pixels
Therefore, the 1080i has better picture clarity for motionless pictures and the 720p does better with fast motion pictures (for example: sporting events would be one type of fast motion).
Most TV transmissions are 1080i. According to Bob Wood, ABC adopted 720p because it would show sports with better pictures. ESPN and Fox also broadcasts in 720P. The others are 1080i.
So let's think about this. The 1080p HDTV will deliver better picture clarity and motion than anything else. However, you will rarely see anything broadcasted in 1080p (currently there is nothing in my area broadcasting 1080p--my dvds aren't even at 1080p--unless I choose bluray videos, which I don't). Also, if you purchase a lower end 1080p television, then ask yourself--does it have the circuitry to upconvert the 1080i broadcast? The cheaper 1080p sets likely do not.
I love my Sony HDTV in the living room, but let me tell you--I really appreciate the Samsung LNT3242H in my bedroom! Sometimes I prefer watching television in my bedroom, rather than the living room because of this awesome television!
At this price and quality of product, you don't have to hesitate. Once again, Amazon has given us another product that you can be excited about. The "WOW" factor of quality and value makes this a winner!
Oh yes, one more thing--be sure to take full advantage of the awesome picture quality and hook up your connection with the HDMI cable (You have to buy this separately--but definitely well worth the money spent!). |
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