Samsung HL-R5067W 50-Inch HD-Ready DLP TV
Initial troubles like one of the other reviewers
I had some of the same issues as Dennis (Best HD Technology For The Price -- Get Extended Warranty). When the movers arrived the tv worked fine, but minutes after they left the tv picture froze, displaying a black and white image that looked like a photo negative. This is exactly what Dennis reported. I actually read Dennis' review but dismissed his problem thinking that these problems wouldn't happen to me. I assumed that any problems would show up within the first 10 or 20 minutes. The problem with that assumption is that many of the internal parts work fine until they're heated up, so the initial inspection wont reveal any issues until after the delivery guys have left. Some people may not be aware that Amazon doesn't do returns of tv's 27 inches or larger once the delivery guys leave. I knew this, but took the risk anyway.  <br /> <br />On the upside, the repairs were covered under the regular factory warranty, I didn't need an extended warranty of any kind. They had to replace the light engine, which would've cost $1350 + labor, but cost me nothing, thankfully. One thing to note is that the light engine and digital board, which break down the most, are generally on back order for several weeks so you may have to wait awhile. Another thing to be aware of is that although I live in Los Angeles where there are several authorize service centers, only one had enough parts on hand to come out and test my tv. They basically replace one component at a time until the problem goes away. So, if a service center doesn't have enough test parts on hand, then Samsung wont send them out. This could increase your wait time even more.  <br /> <br />One thing that I thought was pretty cool was that Samsung said they would replace my tv if the parts were on back order for more than a few weeks. It never came to that, but it was nice to know. <br /> <br />After the repair guy fixed the tv, the regular analog cable signal looked pretty grainy. I should also say that it looked grainywhen the delivery guys dropped it off, so it wasn't the repairman's fault. The repair guy told me that the tv is designed to display HD signals, not the regular analog signal. I was kind of disappointed because the local Time Warner Cable charges $60 a month for HDTV, it's not cheap. I naively thought I would get HDTV signals for the major stations (NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and WB). He said that regular analog signals would cease by the year 2009, so I'm hoping that at some point I can get basic HDTV for the same price I'm now paying for basic analog cable. Ok, I'm a little cheap, but I'm married and this is what it's like :) <br /> <br />I gave it a 4 because even with the initial problems I had, Samsung honored their basic warranty and were pretty prompt, even with their back order problems. The tv is was still worth the $1700 I spent on it (after tax, after Amazon's sale price, their free delivery, the promotional code I found online, and the 1% off from my citibank card). The analog picture wasn't great, but it was good enough for me to await lower HDTV prices. It looks pretty good as a monitor when I'm playing downloaded tv shows from my computer. I can actually read the computer text. I play some emulated Super NES games from my computer and they look great on the 50 inch screen. The speakers are decent, I didn't even hook it up to my surround sound system yet. There are tons of inputs and features which you probably wont even use, but it's nice that they're there, just in case. The tv is fairly light, my wife and I can move it around very easily. It's not a big deal, but it's nice to know that it wont be a permanent monument wherever the delivery guys happen to put it.