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Strengths: Beautiful design; menu design/interface; upconversion of 480i/p, 720p, and 1080i to 1080p; 2 HDMI interfaces
Weaknesses: Concave display of non-16x9 images; movie mode (3:2 pull down) only works with 480i sources; no direct access to many functions (mostly menu driven); remote
Summary: Visually the display of 1080i/p sources is exceptional (though I have not been able to test how well it actually performs the upconversion for non-1080p sources, or whether or not all image data is displayed for 1080p). As with any HDTV, the image quality is highly dependent on the quality of the source material and type of connection. I am using the HDTV with the following devices: Panasonic DVD/HDD Recorder (480p component), JVC CD/DVD changer (480p component), Comcast Digital Converter (STV and HDTV component), PS3 (1080p HDMI), XBOX 360 (1080p component), XBOX 360 HD-DVD (1080i component; USB 2.0 to console), Zektor 4.1 component/optical switch. Improvement in image quality from component to HDMI is slightly noticeable (tested with HD cable box which has both component and HDTV outputs). While the quality of standard DVDs over component is good, the quality over HDMI (using a PS3 in this case) was surprisingly good (480p output). The display of HD-DVDs and BluRay Discs is amazing (1080i/p). The HDTV includes a game mode to eliminate any lag time between game console processing and the display of the image. You won't notice any difference if the output of the console is 1080p. You will want to turn it on for all other sources. The display (1080p source) is fantastic for PS3 (HDMI) and XBOX 360 (HD component). The speed of the color wheel has been increased over previous models to eliminate any rainbow effect, and I have not noticed it with this HDTV (most people can't perceive this anyway). I cannot comment on the built-in HDTV tuner since I am using a HD cable box. PIP only works with analog signals. And the dirty little secret... as noted in the weaknesses above, images that are not formatted in 16:9 ratio will display with black bars to the right and left of the image (no surprise there). You would expect that the sides of the image would be straight and square with the sides of the HDTV. What you will notice, however, is an image in the shape of an hour glass (concave). The sides of the image bow in at the middle slightly (I measured a difference of approximately an inch at the middle on a 4:3 image). Samsung sent out a technician (under warranty) to inspect the HDTV the first week that I owned it. According to the technician, this is a design issue with current rear projection HDTVs on the market and is the result of lens behind the screen that is used to correct the angle of display from the projector to the screen. I went to the showroom floor of a Circuit City to confirm. I observed this issue with the same model that I own to confirm it wasn't an issue with my HDTV, and a 56" Sony SXRD (a non-DLP rear projection HDTV) to verify that it is a common design issue with rear projection HDTVs. The Sony exhibit the same issue. While I'm relieved my HDTV is not defective, I am disappointed that this issues exists at all. You won't notice it with 16:9 images, but the curvature is still there (technician brought up a grid in the maintenance mode that showed the curvature throughout the entire screen). I did a lot of research on HDTV technology and available models before making a purchase decision, and this issue wasn't mentioned once. I would still recommend this HDTV, but I may have made a difference decision had I known about the curvature issue. Now you know.
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