Great picture, good controls and inputs. Really excellent for DVD playback as well as game display. Very lightweight, and an incredible value, easily $500 less than anything comparable (but all weigh more).

Support is terrible. Required filter cleaning is a serious PIA. Does not support HD set-top boxes.

I'm afraid I must agree with others that have posted reviews, Samsung support is pretty bad. When my PLH403W arrived by truck, it had either been damaged, or just didn't work from the factory. My guess is that this is a VERY delicate piece of equipment. After about a week of back and forth with Samsung (including a number of threats of legal action) they finally sent a service person out to look at it. He ended up replacing just about everything inside the case other than the screen and case itself! Now, since then (over 4 years of everyday use) it has worked perfectly. I should mention the one strange anomaly that no-one else has so far, that is the periodic shutdown it does to force you to clean its filter. I guess its important, but it IS annoying as heck when that little red light pops on and it refuses to start up until you pull it out, unscrew the cover, make sure the filter is clean (in 4 years I've only cleaned it once), replace the cover, then push it back in place. Whew! I imagine there are better samsung TVs by now, but I really love the picture this has with my Sony PS2 Game/DVD system, it was a jaw-dropper then, and still is. Just had HD satellite installed, and it seems to not support this type of 'pure' HD signal, so I had to use s-video for that.

Similar Products Used:

Sony Wega TV. PC XVGA monitor used with HD and DVD devices.

Clear, crisp picture, light weight, wide screen format

Needs to be professionaly calibrated

I found this set at a local Audio/Video shop that specializes in high quality home theater setups. I was immediately impressed with the quality and clarity of the picture. Even with several other digital and HDTVs on display, I just kept coming back to this one. I disliked the bold and bright colors of the HDTV units. The colors looked so fake. On this unit the colors are sharp and most importantly natural. A blue shirt looks like a blue shirt, not some paint advertisement. Skin tones look pure and natural. Then I started comparing pricing and was amazed at the low price of this unit. Even next to units that were twice as expensive it holds it’s own. Every time I turn this set on, I am wowed all over again. Even after having the unit for about 6 months.
Out of the box it is in definite need of an initial calibration, as the factory settings are awful. Then again if you buy it from a local dealer instead of those online places they will probably do this for free. The newer models have even more service options to tweak, but the dealer menus are not accessible to the consumer. The consumer menus are very limited and do not allow you to make anything other than minor tweaks, but if you have the unit professionally calibrated, you should never have to tweak them further.
I have not had experience with other LCD units out there, but understand that black levels are usually an issue. This is one issue that I have never noticed on my set. I feel the blacks are very black, and with my Pioneer DV-05 it rocks.
I do use this set for home theater purposes only, watching only DVDs on it. I do not use the set for TV viewing or Cable/satellite. But I imagine that it would be quite nice for that as well.
One of the other Great features is that I wanted a set that I could move around. This set is Only 60 lbs! My wife and I can move it around each with only one hand on each end. It is incredibly light weight. I have even thrown it in the back seat of my car to take it over to a friends house for a party, thanks to the 13 Inch deep construction. Compared to other big screen units this is a great feature.
If you buy this set from a local dealer, and get it professionally calibrated, you will never be unhappy with this unit. I still love mine!!

Great picture, good remote, and easy to read manual.

Component video has a problem (see below)
Customer service is terrible (again see below)

This set is great with a good picture for both regular television/video payblack and DVD.

I have one major complaint that yielded the 4/4 rating rather than a 5/5 rating. The set that I have has a problem in component video mode. The word COMPONENT pops up in the top right hand corner of the picture at random intervals when playing a DVD. I tried contacting Samsung about this problem and they gave me the run around. This really makes me angry: I accept that electronic equipment have faults but I expect their manufacturers to admit them and fix them when pointed out by customers.

Similar Products Used:

Other regular CRT televisions

Excellent picture after calibration

I am gonna have to shell out $300 for a new light bulb when it burns out - I have used it a lot over the past year and a half and the bulb is still going strong (which means it will burn out tonight).

I wanted to say that I have had this unit for a year and a half and I still love it. Component is great for anamorphic disks but zooming in shows its falut (described in the other reviews).

For the current price range this is a great TV. Get AVIA and the TV's service menu codes. Out of the box the red is pushed above 20%. Once adjusted the color and clarity is phenominal - for a non HDTV it is nothing short of amazing. I want to urge the readers that if you have the $$$ to get an HDTV, get it.

I am taking away one star for the high price of the light bulb.

Inexpensive widescreen, very lightweight, doesn't take up much room.

Numerous product defects, tech support is a *nightmare*, whites seem to "bleed", red is pushed by 25%, a darker bar is seen across screen with component video, on-screen menus make it a pain to calibrate with VE or Avia, you can't change aspect ratios if using component video, serious compatability issues with some DVD players.

If you've already bought this, don't worry: it's an ok set and will give you ok performance.

But if you haven't already bought this, DON'T. My experience with Samsung has been so negative I will never buy one of their products again, unless I decide to give one as a gift to a particularly loathed enemy.

I don't even know where to start my rant about this TV set. I had two different TVs of the same model. The first one died almost instantly and had to be replaced. The second one has a horizontal bar across the screen when using component video that I've confirmed is not just restricted to my set.

Their tech support is outsourced to other AV service centers who don't know a thing about the product. It's virtually impossible to get any questions about the product answered. Even the guys at Samsung don't seem to know anything about this product.

After having them look at my set for months, sometimes on site and sometimes back at the shop, they concluded that (get this) it wasn't compatible with Sony DVD players! I also tried my father's Pioneer DVD player, and it too didn't work. They pointed out (oh so helpfully) that hey, it works with a SAMSUNG DVD player ... jeeze ...

Picture is ok, but I'm always slightly unhappy with what I see. For some reason, whites seem to "bleed" and be a little overpowering. I suspect that it's hitting the protective screen and reflecting a little and that this may be a necessary evil. Colors are ok. Black is decent once you calibrate. Red is pushed significantly, but that's a common flaw of a lot of sets.

Using the on-screen menus is a royal pain when calibrating with Video Essentials or Avia, because the level settings show up on screen and block your view. And if you wait for a second or two to see how your picture looks, suddenly it pops back into a different menu completely obliterating your view.

Do yourself a favor: don't buy this or any other Samsung product. Really.

I'm giving it two value stars instead of 1, because it's one of the least expensive widescreen TVs I've seen on the market. If you absolutely have to have a widescreen TV and you're on a budget, this isn't a tragedy. But if you've got the bucks, go with a different set. I wish I had.

None

Customer Service

This review is for the Samsung PLK 405W TV or more to the fact about the totally lack of accountability of Samsung customer service. I got the TV in August 2000 and it had problems right out of the box. It took me a long and frustrating 5 months with Samsung customer service and their authorized service center to replace my dead TV with a refurbished model (remember....I had bought and paid for a new TV). Now even the refurbished TV seems to be having problems although infrequently so far ....only after about a week of arriving.

Bottom line, don't buy Samsung products. Their products are third rate and their customer service....the less said the better about them .

They do not even bother to acknowledge your phone calls / e mails / letters .

Do your research over the internet and see the horror stories of people who had to deal with them. I did not do enough research and ended up with this lemon. So everyone....beware of what you might be getting into if you buy Samsung and need service for any reason.

Similar Products Used:

None

Outstanding picture, especially using component inputs with dvd. Resolution is incredible and color is great!

None yet.

Bought the 403W about one month ago. Not one single problem, except adjusting the color when taken out of box. This is the best tv I have ever owned. I was a Sony die hard, but this set beats the best of them in terms of resolution in component dvd. The problems discussed in this board makes me wonder if by chance a disproportional number of people having set problems have come here with those with good sets not reporting so here. A friend also bought the 403W more than one year ago and his works great also, no problems at all. He is even going to buy another one, the newer 405 for another room in his house. I highly recommend this tv, buing it from a good retailer like Best Buy.com.

Similar Products Used:

Sony HDTV

None

Quality, customer service, picture quality, everything else

I didn't buy this one, but the following year's model PLK405W. Nothing but problems straight out of the box. Had to beg and call customer service 20 times for them to send someone to repair it 3 weeks later, two weeks after the repair it dies! More begging and pleading for a month then they repair again and it dies 2 weeks later. Get a new replacement set and that one dies two. I ultimately bought a Mitsubishi 46807 and compared it to the PLK405W and basically the PLK405W looks terrible. Colors are washed out, brightness is poor, resolution is poor, and it has a horrible black level. Spare yourself from Samsung. Buy something else.

Similar Products Used:

Mitsubishi 46807

Colors are bright and very clear, flesh tones are near perfect, the black bars on a 2.85:1 aspect ratio DVD are actually dark black. Which makes the picture look beautiful and give the picture a type of cinescope effect.

Component video inputs

I have had this television for some time now and I must say that I am still very pleased with my purchse. The picture quality is astounding and the Wide screen thing is a plus and the weight issue is another plus.
This is my second model. The other model had a green dot in the center of the screen and the store I bought it from took it back and exchanged it with out a fuss. Well the green dot was no longer there. However, now there was a verticl green line when viewing a DVD in the component video and also there seemed to be a horizintal pinch of the images on the screen when I would Zoom in the component video inputs. This was repaired rather quickly by the authorized technicians. However, the pinch is still there (sort of like when you immerge half of a pencil into a cup of water and half out). The technician did replace the main board, but is completely perplexed as to what that pinch is. He told me that he would get the whole model replaced, but will request for the PLK405W. So far the unit works extremely well. The colors are still beautiful. Component video works just as good except when you zoom in the image. I did notice however it only happens with movies and not live in concert DVD's. Currently this is the only wide screen TV (tabletop) that is fair in price and performance. If I lived in a 2000 Sqare Foot house I would not purchse this Television. I would get the Mitsubishi 55" Wide screen TV, but for my space this TV is extremely ideal. If you are having problems with your set I strongly advise you contact the store you purchased it from and not the manufacturer on your own. The last thing a store wants is to refund a television. It takes up too much space. Plus it would be a $2000,00 loss.

THINK TWICE BEFORE PURCHASING A SAMSUNG PRODUCT!!!! I decided to ignore warnings from other Samsung buyers and I am now experiencing first hand the TOTAL LACK OF SAMSUNG CUSTOMER SUPPORT!!!! if something goes wrong.