Samsung HC-P4752W 47 in. HDTV-Ready CRT TV
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- Digital TV Standard: HDTV-Ready
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 4:3 Enhanced 14:9
- Weight: 109.6 lb.
- Projector Technology: CRT
- Screen Size: 47 inch
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User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Decent for a low-end model
Pros
For its price, good number of inputs and good picture quality. Manageable dimensions/weight.
Cons
Lack of picture geometry/convergence controls. Manual convergence control is a must on projection TV's.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
An above-average low-end projection TV, very good value considering its features/size. Just don't compare to higher-end 47" projection TV's.
I bought this unit as a transition TV. What I *really* want is an LCD flat panel, and I wanted a decent, non-bank-breaking TV to use while I wait for LCD prices to come down. I chose this model for its dimensions -- the TV needed to be placed on an 18" tall TV stand; most RPTV's are meant to be placed on the floor and thus have a huge bottom bezel area. Plus, its price is in the same range as that of most 36" flat-screen TV's.
After adjusting the screen controls from the factory settings (turn down contrast, color saturation way, way down, sharpness set to zero), screen quality is good considering its price (one major exception below). Being a 16:9 screen, it has the standard picture size adjustments (16:9, 4:3, 4:3->16:9 panoramic, zoom). Note that the picture size can only be adjusted on interlaced signals; progressive signals are stuck at 16:9 mode.
On the plus side, the unit does have a decent number of inputs -- 3(!) component inputs , 1 HDMI/HDCP input, plus the usual s-video/composite/coax inputs.
The unit is supposed to take both 480p and 1080i signals (720p is not mentioned anywhere), although I never tried 1080i, and it's questionable how well an RPTV with 7" CRTs can display more than 800 scan lines.
The big, big downside of this unit is that it has no manual screen geometry/convergence controls whatsoever. Convergence is a very common problem with all projection TV's, and mine was no exception. The unit has an "auto-focus" system which you can fire off from the TV's settings menu. It's supposed to automatically calibrate the convergence, but as with all things automagic, you can only imagine how well this works. On my unit, the vertical convergence is acceptable, but horizontal convergence is horrid -- no matter how many times I run the auto-converge, vertical white lines beyond the left third of the screen shows the red completely out of convergence, and same on the right third with blue. They're so off that the red/blue signal strike a completely different pixel. This is noticeable sitting 10 feet away from the unit. The specs on the promotional brochure mentions a 15-point convergence system, but I found no such thing after scouring the manual twice over and digging through every single menu item -- they must be referring to the retarded auto-convergence system.
One note about this dreaded auto-convergence system -- since convergence changes as the unit heats up, the auto-convergence system is set to fire off 10 minutes after the unit is turned on, and again at 30 minutes after. This sequence takes about 30 seconds, and you will see the screen shifting slightly left and right, go in and out of focus, and four small (about 1") lines blinking red/green/blue on the sides of the screen. If you've adjusted the picture controls (contrast/sharpness, etc), the screen also re-sets to the factory picture settings during this sequence, and reverts back to your setting after it's all done.
So with this convergence problem, am I going to return this unit? On the whole, I'm satisfied with this TV -- I didn't expect a $1200 TV to do miracles; this TV is not meant to compete with more expensive toshiba/mitsubishi models. The convergence problem only becomes *really* annoying when displaying text. Overall, the picture is quite watchable, and the feature set is decent. If you're satisfied with picture controls you'd find in a typical 25" TV, this unit is a good value.
After adjusting the screen controls from the factory settings (turn down contrast, color saturation way, way down, sharpness set to zero), screen quality is good considering its price (one major exception below). Being a 16:9 screen, it has the standard picture size adjustments (16:9, 4:3, 4:3->16:9 panoramic, zoom). Note that the picture size can only be adjusted on interlaced signals; progressive signals are stuck at 16:9 mode.
On the plus side, the unit does have a decent number of inputs -- 3(!) component inputs , 1 HDMI/HDCP input, plus the usual s-video/composite/coax inputs.
The unit is supposed to take both 480p and 1080i signals (720p is not mentioned anywhere), although I never tried 1080i, and it's questionable how well an RPTV with 7" CRTs can display more than 800 scan lines.
The big, big downside of this unit is that it has no manual screen geometry/convergence controls whatsoever. Convergence is a very common problem with all projection TV's, and mine was no exception. The unit has an "auto-focus" system which you can fire off from the TV's settings menu. It's supposed to automatically calibrate the convergence, but as with all things automagic, you can only imagine how well this works. On my unit, the vertical convergence is acceptable, but horizontal convergence is horrid -- no matter how many times I run the auto-converge, vertical white lines beyond the left third of the screen shows the red completely out of convergence, and same on the right third with blue. They're so off that the red/blue signal strike a completely different pixel. This is noticeable sitting 10 feet away from the unit. The specs on the promotional brochure mentions a 15-point convergence system, but I found no such thing after scouring the manual twice over and digging through every single menu item -- they must be referring to the retarded auto-convergence system.
One note about this dreaded auto-convergence system -- since convergence changes as the unit heats up, the auto-convergence system is set to fire off 10 minutes after the unit is turned on, and again at 30 minutes after. This sequence takes about 30 seconds, and you will see the screen shifting slightly left and right, go in and out of focus, and four small (about 1") lines blinking red/green/blue on the sides of the screen. If you've adjusted the picture controls (contrast/sharpness, etc), the screen also re-sets to the factory picture settings during this sequence, and reverts back to your setting after it's all done.
So with this convergence problem, am I going to return this unit? On the whole, I'm satisfied with this TV -- I didn't expect a $1200 TV to do miracles; this TV is not meant to compete with more expensive toshiba/mitsubishi models. The convergence problem only becomes *really* annoying when displaying text. Overall, the picture is quite watchable, and the feature set is decent. If you're satisfied with picture controls you'd find in a typical 25" TV, this unit is a good value.
