Samsung TXM3298HF 32 inch TV
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- Screen Size: 32 inch
- Screen Type: Flat Screen
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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Bought it online, sight unseen. Happy so far
Pros
Price/value, inputs, narrow design, excellent customer support.
Cons
Not available at local stores, doesn't remember screen format when turned off. poor owners manual.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
A very good alternative to other brands at a great price. One of the narrowest 32" HDTV recievers available, so where size is an issue take this model into consideration.
I was faced with a dilema. Only 33 inches of usable, horizontal space in our entertainment center's TV section. After much careful measuring, I found only three HDTVs that would fit. This one, the TXM3098HF(wide screen) and the panasonic CT-32HX42. I was able to look at the Panasonic picture at a local store. I was not impressed. I was able to find the co-model of the TXM3298HF (they share the same picture tube and electronics)at another local store. The Samsung picture was much sharper than the Panasonic and very comparable to the 32" Sony. I was sold on the Samsung picture. I finally decided to buy the TXM3298 instead of the TXM3098. My reasoning is that the 4:3 format will be with us for at least the next 4 years and I might as well enjoy the large screen for conventional broadcast. When the set is placed in widescreen mode, the letterbox is 30" diagonal so to me, buying the 32" 4:3 was a good decision. If I would have bought the wide screen model, I would have had a conventional picture that was about the same size as the 27" diagonal I was replacing. By the time I am ready to replace the TV, who know what other great kinds of technology will be available and I will be ready to replace my entertainment center furniture.
I ended up purchasing through Crutchfield for $1299.
I am very happy with the picture.....It is like WOW! Even with regular analog cable attached to it the picture is great. DVD (non-progreesive scan) is extremely sharp. I just recently added HD cable service and I am blown away. The picture is so clear that when they show a facial closeup, you can count the number of floodlights used to light the scene. I presently get four channels of HD through Time Warner cable. I can't wait until they add more.
Regular digital cable is very sharp as well so you can enjoy many channels not yet in HD.
Lots of info about the set is freely available at Samsungusa.com. You can download the entire owners manual in pdf format from there with good diagrams of the inputs available for the set.
I was not greatly concerned by a/v connections as virtually all of my a/v components run through my a/v audio receiver (Panasonic SAHE200K). I basicly needed one set of component video, and one S-video. I do find it interesting that the one S-video input is on the unit side and not the rear. I have tried both S-video and composite for analog connection and have not been able to tell the difference in picture quality.
As for the audio: The in-set speakers and subwoofer provide more than adequate sound for simple TV viewing. I have left the analog cable input functional so that my 82 year old mother may simply turn the set on and use the volume and channel controls.....without having to turn on the audio receiver and other system peripherals. For my everyday TV viewing, all audio comes from the HD cable box (Scientific Atlanta 3100HD) via the A/V receiver so the tv has no bearing on the sound quality.
As for the remote, It is ok. all I use the remote for these days is seting the picture format. If the set would remember that, I would probably never have to touch it until Mom comes to visit.
Now for the slight negatives: When I got the TV up and running, I noticed a slight tilt to the picture, quite noticeable in letterbox mode. I found the menu item to adjust the tilt but was unable to fully correct the problem. I first contacted Crutchfield's excellent tech support. After exploring the obvious they recommended that I contact Samsung customer support. The CS person I talked to was very nice and quite knowledgable. After determining that I had done all they could, they gave me the number of the local warranty repair service. I called them out and within a few minute the technician had the screen adjusted perfecty, using an internal yoke adjustment.
What impressed me the most was that I recieved two follow-up calls from Samsung to see if the problem had been corrected and if there was anything else they could help me with. That is the kind of CS you don'y see very often.
The only other complaint I have is that the TV does not remember the picture format used the last time the set was on. It only take one button to correct but is slightly annoying to have to do it every time.
As for the remote, It is ok. all I use the remote for these days is seting the picture format. If the set would remember that, I would probably never have to touch it until Mom comes to visit.
The owners manual seems rather poor considering the cost of the set and could be much better written.
All in all, I am very happy with the set and Samsung in general. If all you watch is cable the picture format wont bother you but for HDTV it one more button that has to be pushed and one more remote you need to leave out on the coffee table.
I ended up purchasing through Crutchfield for $1299.
I am very happy with the picture.....It is like WOW! Even with regular analog cable attached to it the picture is great. DVD (non-progreesive scan) is extremely sharp. I just recently added HD cable service and I am blown away. The picture is so clear that when they show a facial closeup, you can count the number of floodlights used to light the scene. I presently get four channels of HD through Time Warner cable. I can't wait until they add more.
Regular digital cable is very sharp as well so you can enjoy many channels not yet in HD.
Lots of info about the set is freely available at Samsungusa.com. You can download the entire owners manual in pdf format from there with good diagrams of the inputs available for the set.
I was not greatly concerned by a/v connections as virtually all of my a/v components run through my a/v audio receiver (Panasonic SAHE200K). I basicly needed one set of component video, and one S-video. I do find it interesting that the one S-video input is on the unit side and not the rear. I have tried both S-video and composite for analog connection and have not been able to tell the difference in picture quality.
As for the audio: The in-set speakers and subwoofer provide more than adequate sound for simple TV viewing. I have left the analog cable input functional so that my 82 year old mother may simply turn the set on and use the volume and channel controls.....without having to turn on the audio receiver and other system peripherals. For my everyday TV viewing, all audio comes from the HD cable box (Scientific Atlanta 3100HD) via the A/V receiver so the tv has no bearing on the sound quality.
As for the remote, It is ok. all I use the remote for these days is seting the picture format. If the set would remember that, I would probably never have to touch it until Mom comes to visit.
Now for the slight negatives: When I got the TV up and running, I noticed a slight tilt to the picture, quite noticeable in letterbox mode. I found the menu item to adjust the tilt but was unable to fully correct the problem. I first contacted Crutchfield's excellent tech support. After exploring the obvious they recommended that I contact Samsung customer support. The CS person I talked to was very nice and quite knowledgable. After determining that I had done all they could, they gave me the number of the local warranty repair service. I called them out and within a few minute the technician had the screen adjusted perfecty, using an internal yoke adjustment.
What impressed me the most was that I recieved two follow-up calls from Samsung to see if the problem had been corrected and if there was anything else they could help me with. That is the kind of CS you don'y see very often.
The only other complaint I have is that the TV does not remember the picture format used the last time the set was on. It only take one button to correct but is slightly annoying to have to do it every time.
As for the remote, It is ok. all I use the remote for these days is seting the picture format. If the set would remember that, I would probably never have to touch it until Mom comes to visit.
The owners manual seems rather poor considering the cost of the set and could be much better written.
All in all, I am very happy with the set and Samsung in general. If all you watch is cable the picture format wont bother you but for HDTV it one more button that has to be pushed and one more remote you need to leave out on the coffee table.
