Samsung HP-S4253 42" HDTV Plasma TV

I had been toying with the idea of buying a flat tv for a while. After doing some shopping around, my heart set on plasma (vs. LCD) and Pioneer. Unfortunately my wallet was not as excited. The things that sold me on the Pioneer: the overall picture quality, the true blacks, and the sleek modern design of the cases - esp their "Elite" subbrand, which runs about $4500 for the 42". A tad steep for a tv.

On a "gosh I'm bored, let me run by Fry's Electronics" day I went to look at the tvs. It can be so hard to try to take in all the screens and evaluate screen quality in that setting, much less all the specs. I had Pioneer as my gold standard, and Fry's does not carry them. It would have been nice to be able to compare Pioneer to the others. In the end the Samsungs appeared to have the best picture quality per dollar cost. At that point I was down to three models and it was no contest - the HP-S4253 has almost the exact chassis as the Pioneer Elite - a sleek piano black finish. The speakers are hidden and reflect off a brushed stainless steel strip at the bottom which is angled at 45 degrees. The only control on the front of the tv is the power button. It's a glowing blue orb in the bottom center. It is an impressive tv...there's no "plastic cooler" extruded PVC look to any of the components.

It comes with a similarly finished black stand for placing on a table/tv stand. I chose to mount it flush on my bedroom wall with the wires hidden behind the drywall. This requires the purchase of a mounting kit ($99-$200), and some basic home improvement know how.

Picture quality: In high definition mode, I am still after 3 weeks of ownership blown away by the level of detail and the crispness of the images. This is especially true on dedicated HD channels such as INHD, ESPN HD, and Discovery HD. It's hypnotic to watch. Standard broadcast HD, such as local channels look less impressive, but I attribute this to their broadcast and the cameras used to film the programming. Some shows such as Lost and others on PBS filmed in HD look as striking. Standard definition mode on this TV is not as good as some of the high end models such as the previously mentioned Pioneer. They certainly don't look bad, and blow my Mitsubishi projection tv out of the water, but you will see some noise.

There is a very high degree of adjustment to picture parameters. Plasma TVs tend to look "hot"; i.e. some complain that the colors are freakishly bright and saturated. Samsung has integrated some preset color modes to adjust for this, especially when watching a DVD as film tends to be more subtle. You will have to adjust these settings to your taste. I generally leave it alone on standard mode unless a film or show is especially bright. Adjustments are easy, and the tv has a very sophisticated and detailed on screen menu for changing every parameter.

Sound quality: I could barely hear the tv in the store due to the background noise level. I was pleasantly suprised in how full those two hidden speakers sounded. As with the video, there's several preset sound modes (voice, music, etc) as well as an equalizer. It has a synthetic surround sound mode which really does sound quite nice. Even without additional speakers attached, watching a concert on this tv is a great experience.

Remote Control: the remote is as cool as the tv. It's an unusual shape - flat on top, and curved like a banana underneath as it tapers to a narrow point at the top. It controls every feature on this tv (source, video, sound, sleep mode, etc) It can also be programmed so you can ditch your other remotes.

Connectivity: There's a large number of inputs, with one set hidden on the side, nice when it's flush mounted on the wall and getting to the back is not easy.

PC (1 each)
S-Video (2 each)
HDMI (2 each)
Component (2 each)
AV-RCA (2 each)
Coaxial (2 each)

Hmmm: After 2 weeks of use a approximately 4" long row of red pixels appeared. They were bright and flickered slightly. The darker the image on the tv, the more noticeable they were. I turned the tv off, and let it cool down (plasma tvs get quite warm). When I turned it back on they were gone, but returned within 15 minutes. I let the tv run all night to see what would happen. In the morning they were gone. After 4 days they returned again. I called Samsung. Although it was late - 10PM CST, I got right through to a human, and he was polite and an American. He felt I would need to return the tv. I did this and #2 is going strong. I mention this story not out of concern for the quality, but only to give a full account of my experience.

Overall - for the money ($2400), I am very pleased with this tv. The "God D*amn That's Cool!" feeling has worn off slightly since I first hung it on the wall, but I am addicted to this tv. It has made me a hermit who rarely leaves the bedroom except for the occasional bathroom or food break. Despite the apparent manufacturing defect in tv #1, I believe this to be a very well made product, and I highly recommend it.

Update October 16, 2006:

TV is operating flawlessly. Although for pure electronics lust I wish I had a Pioneer Elite, I doubt I would notice much of a difference from this Samsung. I've noticed this model is now in the $1,700 range, significantly less than I paid. It's a great deal for the money, with very little sacrifice in terms of quality.