Samsung HL-S6186W 61-Inch DLP HDTV
By: Samsung Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 35
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 On: 2007-03-29
I cant say enough good about this unit. Image is sharp and crystal clear from almost any angle. Even in a daylight room. Remote controller is a bit awkward, but that may be due to the set-up. Highly recommended.
 On: 2007-03-28
I bought one of these units Jan 15 07, took delivery Jan 24. Had it delivered and set up by Best Buy with the 4 year warranty. The install was fine but it went, here is, have fun, good bye! Screwed out 200 bucks for delivery!
Not being familiar with HD /TV it took about a week to figure out that the unit was not working correctly. I called for service they come a week later. Tell me the HD tuner is out. We need to order a new one. A week and half later the wrong parts come in. The right parts come four days later.They are installed and the set looks great, now I know what I paid for. The very next morning the lamp is out? I call service, they say they will be back tomorrow Thursday first thing. The next day they dont show, so I call them back. Service tells me we had a tech call in sick we have nobody to come and fix the set until next Tuesday? "And you were going to tell this WHEN"? By now I blowing a gasket! I get on the Internet find the number for Best Buy Corp office, and give them a call tell the story. Corp has me file a report, tells me to go see the Best Buy store manager. He sets me up with a new TV, new model because the S6186W has been discontinued. Today Best Buy delivered the new TV model HL-S56187W. Stand by for an update on this model, its looking good today? Best Buy did this with almost 60 days past the original delivery date.
On: 2007-03-27
With HD this set cannot be faulted. great form factor and amazing picture. Great value also.
On: 2007-03-27
I bought one of these units Jan 15 07, took delivery Jan 24. Had it delivered and set up by Best Buy with the 4 year warranty. The install was fine but it went, here is, have fun, good bye! Screwed out 200 bucks for delivery!
Not being familiar with HD /TV it took about a week to figure out that the unit was not working correctly. I called for service they come a week later. Tell me the HD tuner is out. We need to order a new one. A week and half later the wrong parts come in. The right parts come four days later.They are installed and the set looks great, now I know what I paid for. The very next morning the lamp is out? I call service, they say they will be back tomorrow Thursday first thing. The next day they dont show, so I call them back. Service tells me we had a tech call in sick we have nobody to come and fix the set until next Tuesday? "And you were going to tell this WHEN"? By now I blowing a gasket! I get on the Internet find the number for Best Buy Corp office, and give them a call tell the story. Corp has me file a report, tells me to go see the Best Buy store manager. He sets me up with a new TV, new model because the S6186W has been discontinued. Today Best Buy delivered the new TV model HL-S56187W. Stand by for an update on this model, its looking good today? Best Buy did this with almost 60 days past the original delivery date.
 On: 2007-03-12
I purchased this TV becuase I was looking for the largest screen for the money. I received my Samsung DLP in early March. The delivery was just as Amazon and Eagle promised. I was impressed with the delivery.
But after returning home from work and plugging the unit in I noticed a noticable high pitched humm coming from the back of the unit. I may return this and get a higher priced model. I was concerned with the price of this unit. The fact that it was about $500 less than comparable sized screens. The humm is not real noticeable, but you can hear it when the room is quiet and the unit turned off, like in the morning when I am putting my shoes on for work.
The viewing angle is also kinda off. You need to be right in front and sitting down to get the optimal picture. Great for regular watching, and movies. But I like to watch TV from the kitchen when drinking beer at night, and the picture quality is a little off when off to the side, and a little higher.
Overall, I am impressed with the picture quality, aside from the viewing angle issue. The first DVD I watched with this set was Bullitt last night. I could make out a little "rainbow effect" during more black and white scenes. But it wasnt too annoying.
For the price, its not a bad unit. And this is my first large screen TV so I have nothing else to gage by. My only major complaints would be the high pitched humm, and viewing angle issues.
I got this TV for March Madness, and March Madness thus far, looks pretty good on this unit.
Like most of these reviews. Most are posted shortly after people receive the units when they are most happy. I will try and post here after having the unit for several months.
On: 2007-03-08
Love the size and better video than I expected. Also, you can view it on both sides no problem.
On: 2007-03-08
it arrived a little late, but on the day it was supposed to. set up was easy and the price was very good.
On: 2007-02-20
I purchased the Samsung HL-S6186W 61" DLP HDTV right before Christmas after readig the reviews and shopping around. I even went into several stores to look at it in person. The TV itself is great looking. Very sleek. But the picture looked horrible in Circuit City so I was leaning towards the Sony Bravia. My cousin who works for Bryn Mawr (who only sells top of the line products) told me the Samsung was the best, and they have the fewest trouble calls (which is what he does.) He also said the TV and the warranty from Amazon were the best deals anywhere. He told me that they looked bad at Ciruit City becuase of the signal that they were sending to it, or because they intentionally "de-tune" the pictures of some TVs in order to promote ones they have higher mark-ups on. (Like the Sony) We went back to Circuit City, and got the remote for the TV and adjusted the sharpness and put it on an HD channel and it was simply amazing. Bought one that day and had it in the house 3 days later! The Super Bowl looked amazing on it in HD and my family loved it so much, I ordered a 2nd one on Sunday Jan 20 and my father had it in his house by Tuesday January 22nd and he loves it as well. I highly recommend this TV. I will be purcasing a Samsung Plasma HDTV next.
On: 2007-02-19
Since I have recieved this T.V there was not another t.v that i have watched. Amazing Quality, HD is perfect....Only Paid 1,500....Are you serious?? For a 61in Dlp Hdtv??? CHEAP....I get Compliments for this t.v everyday....people are shocked when i tell them i only paid 1,500 for it....havnt tested all the feauters on it but i know already they are good. One drawback is the Ugly Remote.....its long and it just doesnt look good....If you are looking for a big tv with a cheap price w/ a great quality....THIS IS YOUR T.V!
On: 2007-02-08
I have had this tv for a couple weeks now and i must say that i have no complaints about it at all. I do not have HD channels as i do not watch tv too much but standard television still look fine. THe only complaint is being to close is where you can really see the pixelation. I use my xbox 360 on it and i couldnt be more happy. Great price also!!!!!!!
On: 2007-02-01
I am very happy with my purchase. The price was absolutely awsome. I would say that this TV is the best value and it ranks right at the top as far as picture quality and options for expanding your home entertainment system.
On: 2007-01-09
When my 55" Sony tv went belly up, I shopped around, first all the usual places, Wal-Mart etc. then we went to a local tv store called Sound Bank, where we first laid eyes on this beauty. It was $3000.00 plus tax, way too much for our buget. We then went on line and did a search for the 61 inch Samsung that we had seen. Low and behold there it was at Amazon for around $1600.00 no shipping and no tax, I also took out an extended warranty for 2 years on this TV. We love it the best Tv we have ever owned. WE have had so many comments from people who come visit who love it also.
On: 2007-01-04
I was Frys looking at the Sony KDS60A2000 and Samsung HL-S6186W. The Sony was a 1080p and cost $1300 more than the Samsung which is only 1080i. I decided to buy the Samsung based on the following.
1. Currently, no cable or dish provide broadcast at 1080p. They only broadcast at 1080i. So why pay more for a for something I cant get anyways.
2. When its all said and done, Ill be saving almost $1300.
3. Quality wise I cant tell the difference between the Sony and Samsung
I would recommend you comparing the 2 side by side to see if the its worth it.
On: 2006-12-18
I have had the unit only 5 days. I went from a 27" to this 61". Great move on my part. I sit about 16 feet away and finally can hear, good sound, and see everything on the screen. Might be lower priced units or more expensive, but this one has met and exceeded some of my expectations. The delivery took only 10 days and was in perfect shape when received. Help in getting in house and was timely in making and meeting appointment time. Set up was easy and has great control of color, tint, sound, and overall picture quality. I cannot see a big advantage to the 1080p over the 720p. I have clear crisp picture. When viewing on 4:3 mode the screen narrows to diagonal of 50 inches. Take that into consideration when buying, not all viewing can be accomplished on 16:9 mode, so the screen is smaller from my satellite feed.
On: 2006-11-29
Bought it from Amazon and saved a ton of money over the stores! I was a little warey about buying a big ticket item on line, but worked out great!
The picture is better than I thought it would be and it was easy to set up!
Eagle did a first class job of taking it out of the box and taking it to the basement! They even took the box!!!!!!!!!!!
On: 2006-11-25
Samsung HL-S6186W 61 is a pleasure to watch. But we need to be cautious while watching cricket matches, as cricket matches are played for long hours and we need to be glued to this item. at times my eyes feel itchy and have to take a break.
Overall this item is great and has great sound quality.Samsung HL-S6186W 61 is a pleasure to watch. But we need to be cautious while watching cricket matches, as cricket matches are played for long hours and we need to be glued to this item. at times my eyes feel itchy and have to take a break.
Overall this item is great and has great sound quality.
On: 2006-11-07
Very good HD picture, easy controls. Deep cabinet not as practical as plasma systems, but the price is just right. Get matching table.
On: 2006-10-31
My second SAMSUNG and another awesome TV. I have a 46" in my main room and just bought this 61" for my basement. I am by no means an expert, but I do some research. For the price this is an incredible TV. I decided not to step up to the 1080p since most DVD and signals will not have it any way. What you get with this 720p is a great HD picture, perfect for sports or movies.
On: 2006-10-19
This tv has great picture quality especially in HD I see no pixel squares at all as someone has stated in another review,maybe its there cables.We did however have this tv for 2 weeks when the ballist went on it (no pic)which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 but Samsung sent out a tech right away and 3 days later we got our tv back working great.I truley believe for the price you cant go wrong with this one.As far as delivery worries the delivery men wait while you inspect it fully so you dont have to worry about Amazons no return policy.
 On: 2006-10-19
Samsung is the WORST. We bought this TV in August and it was delivered in September to our new house. We opened it on a Sunday, plugged it in and watched it for a while, then on Monday it would not come on. They thought it was a lamp, but that didnt fix it so they came and got it to service it. We bought it for football season and football season is half over and we still have no TV. They decided to replace it since they couldnt fix it. That was three weeks ago. Now they are giving us the runaround blaming shipping/warehouse/etc for the delay in sending the new one. During a phone conversation with Samsung they basically said they were so far behind on shipping because they had so many to ship out (ie lots of them have problems and are being replaced is the way I took it.)
On: 2006-10-15
I went from a Sony 42 inch 1080i to this Samsung 61 inch 720p. The 42 inch picture quality is much better. The 61 inch television is nice but I can clearly detect the square pixels even in high definition broadcasts. I believe the size and not the brand causes this. I wish I had not bought this television and I cannot return it since I bought it from Amazon. I will probably get used to it but my first impression is negative.
While Im at is there is no point in buying a 1080p television until broadcasts are made in 1080p. Currently there are none unless you have a $1000 Blue Ray or HD DVD player. Your 1080p television will not be any sharper than a 720p or 1080i but you will have paid a serious premium in price.
On: 2006-10-05
We bought this TV last February and have enjoyed great picture quality until recently when the bulb in the picture lamp assembly blew. After waiting 5 days for a technician, we were informed that this item is not regularly carried by technicians as it is too new and that a replacement is $179.99 from Samsung and is a self installed replacement. The technician quoted that this issue may be a frequent occurance after 9 months to a year (less than 5000 hours). Hopefully, technology will improve the longevity of these bulbs in the future.
On: 2006-10-04
I got this TV two days ago, delivered and set up by Eagle Freight. Very happy with the order/delivery experience. Although I would suggest you take the initiative and call Eagle freight as soon as your tv makes it to its destination. Mine arrived last Friday, but wasnt "scheduled" to be delivered until the next friday. I called them, explained that the TV had arrived and if I could schedule delivery sooner, which they happily complied with. Two guys arrived right on time and brought the TV in, let me fiddle with it all I wanted before I signed the form (I was worried because the box had been severely damaged, and the internal styrofoam was munched, heres to hoping that nothing later will develop, but the TV was apparently unharmed) (aside: WHY does samsung use such cheap packing techniques for these TVs they know will be individually sent to customers via freight??)
So they unpack it and take the box and trash away, and there I sit with my new toy. I fire up ESPN HD and am a little disappointed with the picture quality, but reserve final judgment until I work out the kinks. Right off the batt, I realize I had the picture zoomed from my cable box, and was outputting 1080i instead of 720p. Once I fixed that things were instantly better. Then I adjusted the factory picture settind and got the picture looking great. Monday night football looked absolutely supurb! I had originally ordered the 6187 (1080p model) but it was backordered, so I cancelled and went with the 6186, for six-fifty less! I figured that because my main facination with HDTV is for sports, and that ESPN and other broadcast in 720p (I think NBC is 1080i), that this is the best sports can look, as I cant see the networks ponying up to switch all of their new expensive equipment to sitch to 1080p anytime soon.
So what do standard definition broadcasts look like? Well.... its garbage in, garbage out here folks. Some look "OK," others look terrible. And then there are some that look absolutely wonderful (like HBO, for example). Yes I wish some of the standard def stuff looked a little better, but it doesnt really bother me that much, as the shows I watch are mostly prime timw network stuff thats in HD or sports...
So all in all Im happy with the TV, but very nervous that no problems develop, because Amazon wont be there to help at all, and Ive heard nothing but horror stories from people dealing with Samsung customer service. But I guess that is what you get for a much better price.
Oh and by the way, dont get ripped off when buying HDMI cables, you dont need the $100 monster cable. Check the AVS Forums and the like, it just isnt necessary. There are sites that have great quality cable for MUCH cheaper (m o n o p r i c e . c o m) is one of them, thats where I got mine, and it works great.
On: 2006-09-27
I am watching more TV than ever. The built-in HD tuner with a simple rabbit-ear antenna is the winner. "Dancing with the stars" on CBS is lively. I wish they had the superstation - channel 5 - as HD as well.
Got a Sony HDMI and optical audio out DVD player(DVPNS75H) for $111. HDMI cable from e-Bay for $1.50 + $5.99 shipping. And I am all set.
By the way, originally I got the TV for 1940, but got price matched to $1700. I am not at all scared with the prices falling. Amazon is great!
Wish list-
The USB should have supported the movie files instead of just stills and MP3s. Would have loved to play the DivX and VOBs etc. from USB drives.
Audio could have been better. The optical audio out could have been the raw audio out (5.1 or 6.1 - whichever the DVD supports) - output to audio reciever, so that a non-optical DVD player would have been fine.
On: 2006-08-09
This is a great TV - But do not buy it from Amazon!
If ANYTHING is wrong with it, God help you because Amazon wont.
Amazon needs to stick to used books.
On: 2006-08-06
This TV is a great value! I have it hooked up to a Media Center PC and have had a permanent smile ever since. I found that this television was brighter and clearer than any other DLP TV. I am not sure if it is typical, but I ordered this TV through Amazon and the delivery crew brought it into my house and hooked it up to make sure it worked. I would recommend this TV to anybody.
Also, the only problem I had hooking it up to a PC was that it MUST use a VGA cable (HDMI-DVI does not work on this TV from a PC.)
On: 2006-08-04
This amazing DLP HDTV is for someone who demands quality. Its incredibly light, but displays the most amazing images as if it were a Plasma or LCD HDTV.
The 61" display turns any room into a theater, with perfect views from any viewpoint.
On: 2006-07-29
Amazon said they had this in stock on July 12 and only received it today, on July 28.
Hooked it up and DVDs using Sony HDMI upscale player look horrible! The picture got worse and worse.
The bulb burned out after 3 hours of use!!!
**I am now being told that it will be 3 weeks before they can send a service tech to change the bulb!
On: 2006-07-28
Amazon said they had this in stock on July 12 and only received it today, on July 28.
Hooked it up and DVDs using Sony HDMI upscale player look horrible! The picture got worse and worse.
The bulb burned out after 3 hours of use!!!
**I am now being told that it will be 3 weeks before they can send a service tech to change the bulb!
On: 2006-07-28
Overall good tv. Save couple hundred compare to Sony.
On: 2006-07-26
This is a great TV - But do not buy it from Amazon!
If ANYTHING is wrong with it, you are on your own because Amazon wont help.
On: 2006-07-21
Very pleased with my new TV...picture and sound are great....free shipping from Amazon was a big savings.....a great overall deal!
On: 2006-07-18
Picture quality flat-out beats the competition; the clarity is just unmatched! Sound quality is excellent. Controls are easy to use. Id buy a Samsung product again!
On: 2006-07-15
Big Size, Bright Color, Installed HD Decoder....
Too Good for the Price
This is a New Model and a lot cheaper than old model.
Definetely recommend to you. Trust Me!
 On: 2006-07-14
As stated below, the quality of the output of the picture is terrific, but IF you have a problem Samsung sends a tech to your residence. BUT, if your TV needs to be replaced, God help you. The price paid for an expensive TV is high, especially when it comes to brand name support. Make sure you read reviews/posts from other brands to make a logical decision. Samsung is not what it use to be. Their too many customers and I am being treated like cattle. Im sure Im not the only one whos been handled poorly.
Good luck!
On: 2006-07-11
HD picture is outstanding. This was an Amazon fulfilled item (no sub-vendor) & the whole buying experience was as great as this TV is. Ordered on a Thu night, shipper had it within 24 hrs & I received 5 business days later in perfect condition via freight. And although this was to-the-door delivery, the driver didnt hesitate to help me unpack, place & dump the huge box. Of course I slipped him a double-saw, but he obviously wasnt looking for it because I practically had to chase him down after signing the bill of lading cuz my wallet was in another room.
5 stars all the way around.
On: 2006-05-15
I dont have a lot of high definition (HD) content available to me, but this TV does great with standard definition TV and DVDs. The black levels are darker on this generation than previous year Samsungs. I personally dont like the look of Plasma TVs, and LCDs are still a little expensive for the largest models, so right now, DLP is the best type of TV technology for larger sizes at a reasonable price.
Be sure you use the best possible connection from your video sources to this TV for the best possible picture. Hopefully you have at least S-Video (out) on your satellite or cable box and component (out) on your DVD player. Get some good cables (gold connectors), but you dont need the very high cost premium cables.
I also looked at the 50" and 56" versions of this TV, but this size is the best for my room based on viewing distance. IMO, you should choose the size of your TV based on the viewing distance. A rough formula is to divide your viewing distance (in inches) by 2 and also divide your viewing distance by 3. Your TV diagonal size should fall between those sizes. In my case, our viewing distance is at about 12 feet (144 inches) => 144/2 = 72 inches, and 144/3 = 48 inches. Then pick a TV with a diagonal between those numbers.
The lower end of the range will be more like your standard TV viewing and the upper end will be more like a movie theater, "immersive" experience. Choose whats best for you.
EDIT
Update as of October 2006: We still love this TV. There are other reviews here that indicate bulb problems. If your bulb does go out, it is a user repairable item, no need for a tech to look at it. Just order from samsungs replacement part site. Bulbs should last for about 5,000 hours. Thats the only downside to this TV, the bulb replacement cost.
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