Samsung HL-S7178W review

1080p DLP Television

Published on August 20, 2006 By Draginol In Televisions

My ancient 35 inch standard TV finally gave up the ghost and it was time to go out and find a new TV. Over the past several years, I've been keeping up with how HDTV has been progressing.

Presently, there's 3 technologies used to create HDTVs worth mentioning:

Plasma screens. DLP. And LCD.

Plasmas generally look the best when fairly large but are also very expensive. LCDs tend to look the best when smaller but lose out at higher resolutions due to being a fixed resolution (especially if you're considering 1080p). DLPs start to shine at higher resolutions but older ones tended to give a rainbow effect and have non-optimal contrast.

My living room is fairly large. As a result, I decided to go wtih the largest HDTV I could afford and that was a 71 inch one. The new Samsung HL-S7178W was the one I decided to go with.

I chose it because of the size, its gaming features, it was a true 1080p (i.e. its inputs accept 1080p inputs) and it could handle 1080i and even standard definition and look fantastic. It even has a game mode for people who have an XBOX 360 or whatever who want to get the best gaming experience.

The performance has been phenomenal. I couldn't be happier with the TV. The newer projectors eliminate for essentially everyone any sort of side effects of having a color wheel (though LED based lights are coming out next year but I doubt they'll show any noticealbe improvement). Having looked at HDTVs for a few years now, it's amazing how far they've come in just the past 2 years. The quality of the picture is just much better.

Moreover, the TV's have gotten a lot smarter about their displays. Gone are the artifiacts one used to see and other noise elements that people with large screen HDTVs had to deal with. The newer sets such as this eliminate noise on the fly. This really comes in handy when dealing with standard TV where the images look pretty good.

The feature I didn't know about but have found very useful is the USB connector on the side. Just plug in your USB key and it'll play music and photos right on screen. This is a very nice surprise because I can show slides of our new daughter at 1080p which look fantastic and conveniently play music through our surround sound home theater system in the room.

If I have any criticism of the set it is only that I wish it had more outputs on the back. I realize that my receiver should do more work but more outputs is always nice. My other minor complaint is that it would be nice if more inputs were accessible. It does have some inputs on the side but an HDMI connector that was easily accessible fron the side would have been nice.

Overall, I would give the set a 9 out of 10. I really couldn't be more happy with it. It's obviously a huge step up from the ancient 35 inch TV we had.

Comments (Page 2)

Pete (Audio-Video Technician)

on Aug 22, 2006

Just a thought:

Who on earth is going to keep a current TV (whatever platform it uses) for more than 8 or so years? Technology is changing very fast these days. It's almost rediculous to use lifespan as a major deciding factor when buying a new TV set. The only thing to possibly consider with regards to lifespan would be the bulb replacement cost of DLP's. Of course, the lower cost of DLP's makes up for the bulb replacement cost. Personally, I think it's more important to consider how and where you'll be using your new TV and make your decision based on that. Some of the earlier postings mention some important thoughts: Viewing angle, Black-Level, Size/Cost ratio. Also consider reflections from nearby windows and other light sources (plasmas are particularly bad with glare), and types of media to be displayed (video games and still computer images can cause burn-in with plasmas and CRT's). As for brand names, just read lots of reviews. Most often the #1 most acclaimed televisions are very high quality at a reasonable cost.

James

on Aug 22, 2006

When you spend $4000-$9000 on a TV, you'd best plan on getting 5-6 years out of it, if not, you got ripped off. I purchased LCDs for my computers in 2003, if they don't last until around 2010, I am going to be pretty pissed off, and I only spent $299 for them.

Regardless, a 5K TV turns into a 1K TV the day you walk out the door with it, as with any electronics. Just remember that when you reach for your wallet.

Tova7

on Aug 22, 2006

I should point out that manufacturers rate plasma MTBF at 50% brightness. *NOBODY* runs their plasmas at 50% brightness, if you do, they look poor, have lousy contrast, and are barely visible during the day. This is a misleading practice you can investigate yourself. Real MTBF on plasmas are 50% of manufacturers claims.

OOOOOh. I haven't read this. I will look into it further though, thanks. Because despite the price I am leaning toward plasma. The picture is so much richer imo. And the viewing angle on the LCD, we have one in our new van, sucks.

I wasn't really disputing the LCD stats...just wanted to give it even coverage. heh.

Well honestly I don't know how the industry expects people to actually fork out thousands of dollars on technology that is so variable....meaning each has a list of do's and dont's...and are not quite perfected.

I want ten years out of a tv I pay thousands for...why? Because I have tvs in my house I bought in the 1980's that still work great and I only paid a couple hundred for them. heh.

Last year we said we'd wait till this year because it seems every year is getting better and better. So now I am thinking maybe next year.

Eventually one type will pull ahead of the others and prices will drop. But until then, its an interesting war.

James

on Aug 22, 2006

I returned my DLP for this reason, there is some amazing newer tech Plasmas coming out within the next 24 months. I am holding off to check them out and see if they live up to the manufacturer claims.

Not to mention HDTV's will see some of their biggest price drops over the next 24 months!

Right now I am not impressed with HD programming, most cable channels still have only a handful of channels worth watching and HDDVD's are just now making their appearance, and with the HDDVD and Blueray fight brewing, best to wait 12-24 months for that to flush itself out.

Tova7

on Aug 22, 2006

Not to mention HDTV's will see some of their biggest price drops over the next 24 months!

Well then I will be waiting....you should come on to JU and give updates....I do research periodically but don't have the background like you do.

Thanks for the info.

Dr Guy

on Aug 22, 2006

Not to mention HDTV's will see some of their biggest price drops over the next 24 months!

Just a question. Opinion? Or inside knowledge? I am going to get them, but your answer may decide when I do.

James

on Aug 22, 2006

Prediction based on trends. Market penetration by the end of 2007 should be close to 50% of the households. Companies know to get the other 50% on board, they'll need some significant price reductions, the holdouts won't budge otherwise.

We're already seeing it though, I saw a 50" DLP for $1299.99 a few weeks ago at Costco, I believe it has the newer revision of the signal processor as well. An older model of the same unit, just last year, was $1699.99. Thats a hefty price drop in a 12 month cycle. (and for better tech)

Give it 24 months, and see what I mean, the new generation Plasmas are fantastic.

James

on Aug 22, 2006

Sorry, that was a 56" New Gen DLP for $1299.00, not a 50.. Anyway, that unit was $1700 a mere few months ago. (for lesser tech one)

DLP researcher

on Dec 05, 2006

The 2-3 year lifespan" you are quoting is on the bulb, not the set itself. Color WHeel lifespan is in the 20-25 year range. So long as there isn't a flat panel you want to replace a DLP with or just want a newer technology etc., a DLP should last you a LOOOONG time. Everytime you change the bulb it should be like a new set. You may want to have a calibration every few years to keep it optimally tuned but it will be awesome regardless. After the first 100 hours of use, the brightness of the bulb deteeriorates at a SLOOOW rate until it finally burns. New bulb = brand new brightness. Color never fades like an old CRT Rear Projection TV does unless there is a problem with the color wheel. Further I believe Texas Instruments warrants the DLP chip for life.

While your numbers are correct for the BULB, they were quite misleading to the average joe user.

DLP Guy again

on Dec 05, 2006

I failed to read further where you explained the logic behind your numbers, I apologize.

I wanted to further comment on this one though

I can get a replacement lamp for my same DLP set as this thread is about for about $150. They are simple to self install, just don't touch the lamp!!!!

Tova7

on Dec 06, 2006

I just broke down and bought a brand new plasma and it rocks HARD. We love it...its huge and exactly what we wanted to pay. WOOT.

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