A very good buy

Category: Review on Samsung LA40M81BDX 40 inch LCD TV

Posted by: 13-Jun-2007

Strengths: Clear and precise picture, lots of connections, inbuilt digital tuner, huge amount of options, a good looker too.

Weaknesses: Some clouds evident, maybe too many options, surface is a dust magnet.

Turned off, this TV is a lovely thing to behold. The rich shiny black construction fits beautifully with most hi-fi equipment, and is clearly a high-quality machine. Set-up was a breeze - from delivery arrival to watching the footy was about 10 minutes, most of which was scanning all the digital channels. And I didn't need to even look at the manual to get that far.

SD TV looks great, and HD TV looks amazing. The picture quality is easily the equal of the Sony Bravia X Series. Switching between the two on the same station was a revelation, though I don't think the presenters are over the moon about viewers now able to see all their wrinkles and other skin imperfections. Switching channels does take a few seconds sometimes, which means channel surfing isn't as quick and easy as it used to be on the old CRT. The black screen shown during a change also revealed some unpleasant fuzzy whitish blotches on the left side. These 'clouds' are also visible during dark scenes when watching DVDs. 'Aliens' did lose some of its immersion factor because them.

Hooking up the XBox360 through component almost made me drool. HD gaming is the way to go! It also meant my 60Hz games that didn't work on the old TV were finally playable. I haven't tried the Game Mode, preferring to tweak the settings myself. The settings are all input-dependent, so you don't have to change them each time you switch from DTV to DVD or between consoles.

Three HDMI ports is overkill for me, as I have no HDMI equipment, but it does mean I am thoroughly future-proofed. The Full HD 1080p will also do that, at least until they come out with UltraHD at 4096p or something.

A recommended buy.