List Price: $9,999.99
Sale Price: $6,997.99
Today's Bonus: 30% Off
I don't normally write reviews, but am doing so now, as this is a huge investment for anyone thinking of buying this TV and I would like to share my own observations.
We have owned this TV for only a week, but after many hours getting acquainted, we are already quite familiar. If you are unpacking this item and mounting it on the wall a couple of important points. Firstly, the danger with any large TV is that the screen may crack if it is allowed to flex. So, be very careful handling it. The TV comes in a huge carton, which lifts off vertically. There is another similar carton inside and this also lifts off, leaving the TV sitting on its stand, in the bottom of the carton. Removing the stand and attaching the replacement plastic cover could be tricky, but the solution is to have your partner lift one end of the TV and rest it on a pile of books 3 high and then to do the same to the other end. This way, when you remove the 5 screws, the stand drops away and you can easily lift the TV on to the wall mount, after attaching the cover that replaces the stand. After removing the heavy stand, the TV weighs a little under 100 lbs. Several reviewers have mentioned that other big TVs weigh more than double this. The first impression, after the TV is mounted is just how slim it is and the bezel is very thin too.
So, about the TV itself. We looked at an Elite 70" and a Sharp 80". Both are excellent TVs. In the store, most TVs are set to "vibrant" or "store" mode, which gives an artifically bright, high contrast picture. We asked for the TVs to be set on normal and natural settings, so we could see the detail clearly. Stores also vary in the quality of their input signal. In the end, it seemed very clear to us that the highly-priced Samsung 75" was the best.
When my wife and I set up the new TV at home, the picture was already great, despite several reviews that say you need to get help calibrating it. After experimenting, we set the TV to the standard setting and also slightly reduced the contrast to around 85. The picture is unbelievably good. We have U-verse and I noticed that, despite the extremely good picture, sometimes close facial detail would be missing, unlike on our 47" Samsung, where you can see every pore. After a little research and talking to AT&T, I realised that the reason is that U-verse and other cable providers are pumping out 1080i NOT 1080p. On a smaller TV, like our 47", you can not see this, but when the screen is 75", you lose a tiny bit of detail although, as I said, the picture is still fantastic. Off the record, a couple of the U-verse people told me that both 1080p and 3D are coming. Someone mentioned that only Directv is currently transmitting 1080p.
Here's the thing, we have a TV with maybe the best quailty picture we have ever seen, but we know that it will get even better, so I next rented a blue ray movie and the picture is now truly staggering. On closeups, every hair is shown in fine detail. This is an incredible TV! The instruction book isn't that hot. Bit thin on info. The 4 supplied 3D glasses are excellent. We have only tried the built-in demo 3D movie extrects, but it is really very very good. Not sure I will use this feature much. The TV comes with 2 remotes a standard one and another that has components like a laptop touchpad. The TV also responds to hand signals and the spoken word, but frankly, we prefer to press normal buttons. The wireless features are good and connect easily to YouTube, Halo etc. The ambiant room auto-dimming works very well, unlike our 47" that tends to make the screen too dark in low light conditions.
If you can afford this mightly TV, it is, in my opinion, the best out there, by a mile. Don't fall for the $999 extended warranty. The store makes 50% profit on that and if the unit doesn't fail during the normal warranty period, it should go on for many years. I registered the TV online and Sumsung gives you 15 months, instead of 12, for doing so.
One last piece of advice for anyone who has bothered to read all this. Our wall mount has quick release tabs that hang down at the back. Because the TV is so large, you can't reach these tabs and need to spend 20 mins with a bent coat hanger trying to reach them. Tie string to each of them.
Oh yes, one other thing, several reviewers suggested turning of the auto motion plus feature. This is a personal choice. I turned it off and was watching some British motor racing. Cars shooting across the screen. I could see a little jerking. I turned the auto motion feature back on and not only was the fast movement corrected, but the picture also seemed to look better.
Hope this helps!
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