Samsung 42 - Plasmatic Fantastic

This review is intended to cover the entire decision to buy a plasma and considerations you'll face when installing it. Even though the guidelines say stick to the topic, if you are making a decision like this, the topic of mounting hardware, where to buy, and accesories, is critical.

Why Samsung?
I noticed that Samsungs are hung all over my Fortune 100 employer's walls for stock market broadcasts, used in most retail stores for video game displays, and have great reviews across the web. I chose this Samsung for how it looks when its off, as much as how nice the picture is. I am a skeptic when it comes to accessory purchase and extended warranties, which are all part of the buying process that don't get mentioned until you've agreed to a price on the tv.

I bought this unit from Circuit City (don't buy from them, if you have a problem and didn't get the extended warranty, they tell you, less politely, to take a hike), buy from Target or Walmart, if they carry this unit...Far better post sales service (see rant below). Or buy online, you'll get as good or better pricing, post sales service, and delivery to your door.

I bought this unit primarily to watch dvds though HDMI input with the 1000 watt Samsung Home Theater system. I don't much care about how good regular broadcast looks, (who wants to see Steven Colberts nose hairs anyway?), or at least, I don't care $100 a month how news looks in HDTV.

The rep (who still lives at home with his parents, but can afford $100 month bill for cable), said the television would not be a good purchase if I used it with regular cable. He was wrong. Most regular cable input is not a hugely noticable difference from 10 feet away (proximity to couch). But movies with the home theater look great coming through the HDMI cable from the DVD player.

When buying an hdtv plasma, keep in mind that it will be off sometimes. How do you want it to look on the wall? I don't care for metal picture frames, and prefer the unit's black gloss. My wife doesn't like the blue circle around the On button, but I do, so I haven't told her you can turn that option off.

The remote offers very useful functionality such as saving favorites. Who really noticies the minute difference in picture quality when it is at this level, and not locating it side by side in your own home with televisions like the LG, which is cheaper and Panasonic, which is more. (The reason why I bought this unit is that the picture quality was better in the showroom, but once you compare models with HDTV, HDMI Input, Plasma, 1020i, etc. there are such small shades of difference, you can adjust them with the advanced color options.

I don't care for the sound quality at all, after upgrading from a Panasonic 32 hdtv with stereo front facing speakers. But why even get a plasma if you are not going to get a Home Theater system to handle the sound processing for you? (I guess that sounds like the sales rep's digital cable in his bedroom pitch).

The picture quality even for broadcast, when the signal is strong is very nice, no matter what cable package you have. I have not explored options for antennae input yet, but I plan to try it soon. It's easy to flip from input modes, and you have quite a few internal options.

The remote has a depth of options, of which I haven't discovered all of. The stand is essential for putting the Television on while adjusting wall mounts, so you don't trip on it on the floor, or risk it tipping over while leaning on something.

The controls for when you lose the remote are on the side, channel, volume, svga, input. I wish it had a button to locate lost remotes. That would be cool.


The auto-program feature is nice. The screen saver feature is nice, when it does not detect a signal, so burn in is minimalized. The menu is easy to follow, but the remote features could be better documented. JPEG images are a little too sharp, but that might be from my digital camera's output .

I cut holes in my wall behind the unit to bring the cables down to the home theater to hide the strand of black spagetti drueling down my wall.

Mounting brackets and cables are all much cheaper at big box stores like Walmart and Target. Make sure you buy the right length, going down through the wall then back to your Home Theater system will require a minimum of 8 feet... My first attempt yeilded cables that were too small, (when I went to Walmart for a new Philips HDMI cable, that's when I realized I got ripped off at Circuit City for the same cables).

You can install the (not included) mounting bracket yourself if you can:
1. find studs in your walls
2. level the bracket and use the provided template for mounting.
3. plug the input/output wires into the matching colors, or if you have an HDMI cable, find the hole on the back of the unit labelled HDMI and plug it in there.
4. It's not rocket science, but it can be an expensive error if you make a mistake. Make sure you can do all of the above.

Apart from that, you should get help lifing the unit onto the bracket, (It weighs around 100-150 lbs.) If you do it yourself, you risk a big investment. You can further level the unit with screw adjusters on the back, then re-hanging it. My unit is level, but my ceiling is not, so the unit needed to be un-leveled slightly to match up with the line of the ceiling. Adjusting might have been easier if I got the tilt/angle bracket.


I suggest that you make a purchasing decision this way:

1. Research online for opinions of current owners
2. Go to 3 stores to view the same unit.
3. Do not listen to the sales guy who more than likely cannot afford one himself and only has his training and incentives to guide him as to which tv to recommend. If he needs to read the sales tag to answer your question, walk away quickly.
4. Do not buy any accessory without first comparing to Walmart or Target because you'll save $50 each item or more.
5. Pay attention to what happens when the unit has problems after 1 month. Can you bring it back to the store? No? Then why not just buy it online where the prices will be better and have it shipped right to your house, instead of strapping it to the top of your mini-van? The manufacturer handles most issues and will send you a UPS ticket anyway, regardless of how you make your purchase. Big Box retailers will be more likely to handle that process for you.
6. No extended warranty. Check out Consumer Reports recent conumer alerts regarding the scam...

Overall, the worst part of this unit was the buying experience. The best part is the picture, especially when watching Narnia, The Polar Express, or other High-Def animated movies with the surround sound cranked.

My suggestion is to focus on the features of each component alone. Try it, THEN upgrade things you are not happy with, like digital cable, or surround sound. That way each component is a considered purchase.

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Ranting on CirumCity customer service here...

I had problems with my home theater system, (not this television but it was purchased at the same time), Circuit City's manager yelled at the CS rep for paging him when he was on break, in front of other customers for even asking that he talk with a customer who didn't buy the Extended (rip-off so says consumer reports, usa today etc.) warranty... nice.