Samsung HLN4365W 43-Inch Widescreen Projection HDTV with DLP Technology
By: Samsung Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 9
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 On: 2007-04-07
If you want a trouble free set stay away from Samsung. These units have a color wheel, 3 fans and a 250 dollar lamp that need to be replaced periodically.
On: 2007-03-30
Consumers should be aware of serious design flaws which exist in Samsung DLP televisions. Cooling fans and color wheels are highly susceptible to failing. (As a non-techniocal person I should have no idea what these parts are, but alas, I bought a Samsung DLP) Expect these to fail within 1-2 years. Expect to pay approx $400 to replace the color wheel and $200 to replace the colling fan. That is, if your service technician can find them in stock anywhere. These parts are commonly in a national backorder because of the very high failure rates.
You should also expect the lamp to fail sooner than advertized. Many people need to purchase a new lamp between 1-2 years, and some more often than that. The lamp costs approx $150-$250 depending on your model, but you should be able to replace it yourself without too much difficulty. This cost will be in addition to replacement costs for the color wheel and colling fan. Please remember that these maintenance costs are recurring, and you will have to fix them again in another 1-2 years.
While I was very satisfied with the quality and performance of my DLP, my color wheel failed very early. I called tech support to report a grinding noise, and was told to "turn it off", wait 15 minutes, and turn it back on like this would fix the problem. After doing this for a while, the color wheel finally failed, actually shattered! Now I am out of warranty, and Samsung wants nothing to do with me. I have even tried ordering the part myself from two different online vendors, and they are both backordered indefinitely! It has been 6 weeks and they have no estimate for when this part will be available. Samsung cannot even give me an estimate when the supply of replacement parts is expected to meet demand. I have had my TV for 18 months, and apparently there is a national epidemic of them breaking at the same time!
I have a 42" Samsung Plasma which is a beautiful set along with a 26" CRT. Both are wonderful products, but Samsung is selling DLP LEMONS and will not stand behind them. DLP is a great bargain up front, but a maintenance NIGHTMARE! You will pay in the long run, and by the long run I mean every 2 years. If you still want to purchase a DLP television, PLEASE BUY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY! IT WILL SAVE YOU A TON, BUT YOU WILL STILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE CIRCUIT CITY TECH TO FIND PARTS WHICH MAY TAKE MONTHS!
I expect Samsung to abandon their design flaw riddled DLP sector, and focus on their beautiful plasma line. Expect DLP prices to drop even further, but please...LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP!
On: 2005-11-18
Was Great the 1st year and a half, then started getting flashing lights across the screen, they say we need a new light engine at --wait for it--$1500.00
No leeway from Samsung cause this is not supposed to happen, no I didnt get the extended warranty.
If you are going to buy Samsung you better get the extended warranty
I am off to find another brand and forget that Samsung exists
 On: 2005-04-11
I just got the tv yesterday from Sears; actually a floor model and hence the price was less than usual. Definitely an improvement from the behemoth Toshiba that I had. I did do some research prior to purchasing and this is what I found.
Overall everyone seems to like the pic quality. Sony is the closest competitor; if you manage to set the pic correctly there should not be any difference. Switching to satellite from cable supposedly improves pic quality. Since I bought it just yesterday, I cannot say a lot about my experience - the pic is truly great.
However, some also complained about the bad Samsung customer service. Moreover, the bulb needs to be changed every 8000-10000 viewing hours and one can probably do it (according to the manual) without calling the service personnel. The bulb costs around $250. Some customers had a bad experience with the bulb within the first few months of its operation.
Overall, I tend to have no regrets about the purchase and really looking forward to the experience. If something goes awry, I will let you folks know.
On: 2004-05-25
I just purchased this product and had some concern because of a couple of the ratings given. After a couple of days rerunning wires from my DVD, VCR, Audio System and of course the most important thing of all my HD cable box, I was in a New World of TV enjoyment. The key is that everything from TV is not HD compatible yet, but there are channels out there to get you through the night. This product provides you with great bravado. Im not going to go through a lot of tech stuff to justify what I see, but if you want what you see and hear about in adds about really feeling like you are looking through a window, this is the way to go. Hay dudes go for this one and stop wasting your time looking.PS
Yes I did research which included a number of testimonials.
On: 2004-04-28
OK, OK, its spendy.. but this is clearly not a must-have item for any household, its a luxury! As far as luxuries go, this is one of the best and most affordable considering what you get.I love the fact that this TV only weighs 60ish pounds. Ive had to move it a number of times as Ive been hooking up peripheral devices, and the light weight of the TV is appreciated! Also love the fact that, unlike other widescreen projection TVs, the DLP technology assures there will never be tube or burn-in issues. Since much of the TV we all watch is not broadcast in widescreen, viewing in 4:3 is required if you dont want to add 20 pounds to every actor/actress (well, that might not be all that bad these days..) or stretch scenery to where it looks unnatural. DVDs look AMAZING, especially if you have a DVD player with a DVI output. Samsung makes and Amazon sells one and I cant recommend it enough. Long story short - this is an expensive TV but the light weight and the outstanding picture quality (esp from a distance of ~10 feet) make it worth the purchase. You wont be disappointed!
On: 2004-03-26
To get the best from this TV you MUST feed it a good quality signal. The best way to connect this set to any source is via the DVI connector. An HD signal from DirecTV or a DVD played on a HTPC (Home Theater PC) looks absolutely stunning. On some of the standard definition channels that have a lot of compression, you will see flaws in the picture because the TV is quite revealing (almost ruthlessly so). Also, the picture is spectacularly bright, so viewing in a well lit room is no problem.[...]
On: 2004-03-05
I previously reviewed my HLN4365W set with the Samsumg DVD player using DVI output, and normal TV. I now have HD digital cable and want update the review. HDTV comes in two aspect ratios, normal and widescreen. Some of your favorite network shows will be in HD but normal aspect ratio - hence the black bars on each side. Increasingly, top network offerings are delivered in HD widescreen filling the entire HDTV screen. The quality of these pictures is superb, surpassing that seen with the best DVD source. I find myself selecting programs based as much on picture quality as content. In short, this TV will not dissapoint whether the source is DVD or HDTV.
 On: 2003-12-14
Letters move downward from the bottom right to the bottom left and I understand this is picture tilt. Samsung technicians tell me that this shold not happen with this television set (HLN4365W). I am in the process of trying to get the picture adjusted, but to no satisfaction to date.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-06-11
This TV uses the DLP technology...you get HDTV quality, but not the heavy, deep TV set and not the exorbitant prices of plasma TVs. This TV is about 67 lbs and only 16 inches deep, so it fits in a big armoire. Excellent picture, but why buy this TV when you can buy the Samsung HLN437W for the same price? The only difference is that the HLN437W has Faroudja processing. What does this mean? I have no idea. But its supposedly better than not having it.
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