Samsung LE26R72BX - £600

Tommy B

Tommy B

Tommy B

Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2004
Posts
8,024
Location
The Place To Be
It's my 18th birthday in early September. I was going to have a car but due to financial reasons I won't be getting one until Xmas. I've turned my attention to these TVs as I've been looking at them for some time. The price has also been falling and they can be picked up for about £550 now. However, I have a few questions and I'd greatly appreciate any answers!

1) Obviously the design of these screens in absolutely sublime and they are gorgeous in the flesh, but does the actualy screen quality reflect this?

2) Which HD formats does this support, bearing in mind the screen resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels? I take it that it doesn't support 1080p?

3) I wasn't going to use it as a PC screen, but I just realised it could easily be used as one as I have a wireless keyboard and mouse. Does it look good if connected to a PC via DVI>HDMI?

4) (Absolutely Crucial) What is the warranty on these? My family have always bought our TVs from places like John Lewis where they come with 5-6 year warranties. These online places don't offer this, so what is Samsung's default warranty?

I'd really appreciate any answers to these questions. I've seen these in the flesh many times so I'm not really looking for alternative suggestions, but if there is a catch please let me know. Is it worth spending an extra few hundred for the 32"" version if it's a bedroom TV?

Many thanks!
 
Last edited:
Please don't crucify me for opening another Samsung LCD TV thread but I'd appreciate it if these specific questions could be answered :D
 
Tommy B said:
It's my 18th birthday in early September. I was going to have a car but due to financial reasons I won't be getting one until Xmas. I've turned my attention to these TVs as I've been looking at them for some time. The price has also been falling and they can be picked up for about £550 now. However, I have a few questions and I'd greatly appreciate any answers!

1) Obviously the design of these screens in absolutely sublime and they are gorgeous in the flesh, but does the actualy screen quality reflect this?

2) Which HD formats does this support, bearing in mind the screen resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels? I take it that it doesn't support 1080p?

3) I wasn't going to use it as a PC screen, but I just realised it could easily be used as one as I have a wireless keyboard and mouse. Does it look good if connected to a PC via DVI>HDMI?

4) (Absolutely Crucial) What is the warranty on these? My family have always bought our TVs from places like John Lewis where they come with 5-6 year warranties. These online places don't offer this, so what is Samsung's default warranty?

I'd really appreciate any answers to these questions. I've seen these in the flesh many times so I'm not really looking for alternative suggestions, but if there is a catch please let me know. Is it worth spending an extra few hundred for the 32"" version if it's a bedroom TV?

Many thanks!
Click to expand...


Well I have the model before (LE26R41BD) but should still apply.

1) Screen quality is excellent for dvd, xbox 360 and PC. The quality is not so good when it comes to standard def TV but in my opinion it is very good when it comes to digital TV (Freeview, Sky etc).

2) Up to 720p

3) Personally I wouldn't use a HDMI-DVI cable if you are going too be using it as your PC monitor. A VGA cable gives much better results in quality.

4) Not sure about the warranty. Online stores do offer extended warranties but at a price.

Should you spend more for a 32"? well that's your decision.
 
The Sammy's resolution is limited to 720p, but it'll still display 1080i perfectly, albeit scaled down. But that's the same for all but the most expensive screens.

I'm not sure how the Sammy handles PC DVI input, but i've heard that the VGA input is mighty fine.

Finally I would personally say it's definately worth spending the extra for the 32" version. The only situation when I'd go for the 26" is if I was using it as a traditional PC monitor where I was only sitting around 2 feet from the screen. In my room in my flat I have the TV (32" LG LCD) at the end of my bed, and when sitting around 7-8 feet away it's perfect for PC / DVD / Xbox 360 use. In fact at around 7-8 feet it isn't really big enough to appreciate HD sources, so i'll probably upgrade nearer Xmas to 36" or 40".

So if you're viewing from around 4-8 feet away 32" will be fine for TV / HD / DVD, but I would seriously spend the extra on the 32" version, sounds obvious but trust me on this one :D
 
Do Samsung offer extended warranty?

You guys seem clueless but I can't believe ANY of you would spend this much on a TV without having a clue about the warranty. I know it comes with 1 year as standard, but does it come with an extended warranty form you can send off to Samsung? As a young student, I'll be buggered if I see £600 go down the drain after a year.
 
Last edited:
^^^^^

Thats a little bloody cheecky of you!! People are answering what you asked as best they can - may be the warranty isn't a big deal to other people.

The Samsung , like most others, comes with 12 months warranty. I don't know if Samsung offer extended warranties themselves-I would be very surprised if they do.

When I got my LG TV - they offered extended warranty through Domestic & General but you can buy an extended warranty yourself so isn't really a big deal.

Most of the web retailers I have seen offer exteneded warranties which cost more or why don't you order from John Lewis and get the 5 year warranty and try price matching it ?
 
coneypark said:
^^^^^

Thats a little bloody cheecky of you!! People are answering what you asked as best they can - may be the warranty isn't a big deal to other people.

The Samsung , like most others, comes with 12 months warranty. I don't know if Samsung offer extended warranties themselves-I would be very surprised if they do.

When I got my LG TV - they offered extended warranty through Domestic & General but you can buy an extended warranty yourself so isn't really a big deal.

Most of the web retailers I have seen offer exteneded warranties which cost more or why don't you order from John Lewis and get the 5 year warranty and try price matching it ?
Click to expand...


Don't see why it's cheeky. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate all the people who have contributed towards this thread, I'm just annoyed at the lack of availability of warranty information. Even on Curry's website, it doesn't say and they are meant to specialize in that sort of thing. I think the price matching idea is great and I shall give them a ring shortly.
Many thanks
 
Tommy B said:
Don't see why it's cheeky. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate all the people who have contributed towards this thread, I'm just annoyed at the lack of availability of warranty information. Even on Curry's website, it doesn't say and they are meant to specialize in that sort of thing. I think the price matching idea is great and I shall give them a ring shortly.
Many thanks
Click to expand...

I think this is where the confusion arrose:

Tommy B said:
You guys seem clueless but I can't believe ANY of you would spend this much on a TV without having a clue about the warranty
Click to expand...

I think you meant the opposite, i.e. "You guys seemed clued up", regarding the technical side.

But getting back to your question of warranty. I'd make 3 points:

1) Most companies offer their own warranties. As the previous poster said, with an LG LCD TV they offer a 3 year, or 5 year warranty for around £80 I think. Samsung may or may not do something similar.

2) John Lewis are good for warranties, but their prices are far to high for TVs. A Sony TV with 5 year warranty may cost £1800 at JL, but you could order it over the internet, then get your own 5-year warranty for £1500.

3) I've never bought an extended warranty, as I don't see the point. If you buy the item and you find it's faulty within the initial few months you can get it swapped for another one without any hassle. I'd rather save the £300, then if the worse did happen, you could use it to get it repaired. And if you're buying a quality brand, then the chance of something going wrong within 5 years should be < 5%.

EDIT: The price matching thing with JL is a good idea though. You might like to read this:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=262433
 
Last edited:
Having agreed with your third point, I think I'll take the risk.

One last question though. How do I connect it to my PC? Will I need to buy any DVI>HDMI or VGA>HDMI cables, or does the TV already have a DVI input?
 
You'll want get get a screen with per pixel mapping, a couple of the LG's offered this. So if you send 1360x768 it WON'T stretch it, it'll just have 3 vertical lines of pixels unlit. It also has a stretch mode as well for non native rez.
 
squiffy said:
You'll want get get a screen with per pixel mapping, a couple of the LG's offered this. So if you send 1360x768 it WON'T stretch it, it'll just have 3 vertical lines of pixels unlit. It also has a stretch mode as well for non native rez.
Click to expand...

Please excuse my lack of knowledge in this matter. The X1900XT can output at 1280x1024 to my PC screen, and then 1360x768 out the second DVI port to the TV. Are you saying there will be any problems with this?

Which has the stretch mode, the Samsung or the LG?
 
LG 32LX2R. I had one for a week and Windows looked fantastic (movies not so great, poor black levels) The panel had per pixel mode (and streched option) over the inputs.

If the screen doesn't offer native per pixel rez, then the image will be stretched slightly from 1360 to 1366. It makes text a little bit blurry, instead of one pixel being one pixel it'll strech so it fits.
 
squiffy said:
LG 32LX2R. I had one for a week and Windows looked fantastic (movies not so great, poor black levels) The panel had per pixel mode (and streched option) over the inputs.

If the screen doesn't offer native per pixel rez, then the image will be stretched slightly from 1360 to 1366. It makes text a little bit blurry, instead of one pixel being one pixel it'll strech so it fits.
Click to expand...

Ah I'm following you now. It doesn't mention anything about either stretching or native per pixel in the specs. I guess I'll have to wait until someone who owns the TV sees this thread.

Thanks
 
The Samsung is 1:1, but it only has the VGA connection (no DVI)

The LG (32LX2R) has 1:1 through VGA and DVI. I own this screen so it's confirmed :D
 
Raider said:
The Samsung is 1:1, but it only has the VGA connection (no DVI)

The LG (32LX2R) has 1:1 through VGA and DVI. I own this screen so it's confirmed :D
Click to expand...

Ah right. I've always been a massive LG fan. As a matter of fact I've bought over 7 LG LCD computer screens over the past few years!

However, the Samsung has won me over because of design. Don't forget, you can also buy DVI>HDMI adaptors so not all is lost.

Thanks,
 
Tommy B said:
Ah right. I've always been a massive LG fan. As a matter of fact I've bought over 7 LG LCD computer screens over the past few years!

However, the Samsung has won me over because of design. Don't forget, you can also buy DVI>HDMI adaptors so not all is lost.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Yeah that's true, i'm just not sure whether the Sammy will do 1:1 through the HDMI socket. I thought it was only through VGA. But the VGA picture is pretty damn nice!
 
Raider said:
Yeah that's true, i'm just not sure whether the Sammy will do 1:1 through the HDMI socket. I thought it was only through VGA. But the VGA picture is pretty damn nice!
Click to expand...

Your right it will only do 1 :1 via the VGA which is what I recommended in my post above and it does look very nice indeed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom