A Product Review: TXR3079WH Samsung HD Dlp Television

While looking into purchasing an HDTV, I did thorough research and came upon two possibilities of brands: Samsung and Sony. After visiting electronics stores and viewing both brands I decided on Samsung. The picture always just looked a little sharper to me in comparable sets. It’s possible that this is because of the black border that surrounds the screen. When the television picture is contrasted against the black frame, it gives the appearance of a crisp picture.

I finally settled on the Samsung TX-R3079WH 30″ Wide SlimFit HDTV with Built-In HD Tuner and ordered it online so that it could be shipped directly to my home. At 120 pounds, I did not want to carry this heavy set home. I had no problem setting up the television and within minutes had it connected to my HDTV cable DVR, my DVD player, and my auxillary stereo system.

For the first month I had no problems with the Samsung HD dlp television set. Then once it came time for March Madness, the NCAA basketball post-season tournament, I noticed my first problem. On the left side of the screen there was a faint green column. Because I was watching a basketball game the whole television screen was filled with a picture of the wooden basketball court. This was the first time I saw the screen filled with the same color (the color of the court floor). When you watch a movie or television program, the background of the screen is usually filled with many different colors. In the case of a sporting event, since you are viewing the same color all over the screen (green grass for football, white ice for hockey, etc)you are able to see where the screen is flawed.

After noticing the first problem, I began to notice other problems as well. As many people have noted in other reviews of this television, the ticker that appears on the bottom of the screen on channels like CNN or ESPN2, is not up to par. On the bottom of my screen, the ticker appears both wavy and slanted. I wanted to see if the slanting only applied to the ticker, or if in fact, the television picture as a whole was slanted. To do this, I watched a program in letterbox format. Sure enough, the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen were slanted. I also viewed the my cable company’s program guide on the screen (a perfect grid listing what programs are on at what time), and the lines on that were uneven as well.

With all the problems I had, I decided to call the repair shop. The Samsung Slimfit HDTV comes with a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty so I was able to have the set looked at for no charge. Samsung referred me to an “authorized Samsung repair shop” in my neighborhood and I scheduled an appointment. The television was taken away and the repair shop ordered a new part to fix the green tint problem. It did not fix it, yet the television was delivered back to me. I called Samsung again, and again they referred me to the same shop. The second time the television was taken away from me, the repairmen claimed to see nothing wrong with the television set. When I complained about the slanting (no, that wasn’t fixed either), the repairmen told me “Well Miss, it’s not a plasma, you aren’t going to have straight lines.” I find that very hard to believe, as when I looked at the same model in an electronics store the television displayed evenly. Currently I am still in the process of speaking with Samsung about getting my television up to a satisfactory level.

Despite all the problems, there are some good aspects of the television. When I am watching a television show on an HD channel the picture is very clear. You can absolutely see details that you can’t with a non-HDTV. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the set to only watch television shows. This television has been one expensive mistake.