Samsung HL-S5679W 56" DLP Projection TV
Samsung - HLS5679WRelease Date: Aug 2006
With the HL-S5679W, Samsung didn't try to reinvent the wheel, they eliminated it altogether — the color wheel, that is. Until now, every big-screen TV based on DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology required a color wheel and arc lamp to provide color and illumination. While that system creates c... Read Moreisp, clean high-definition images, a few viewers occasionally notice distracting flashes of color called rainbows. These rainbows are caused by the spinning color wheel. Minimize
Average Expert Rating
Summary of User Reviews
Number of Reviews: 8Positive Reviews: 88%
Negative Reviews: 12%
Positive Review
Reviewed by: cloudy2007 on 26-Jul-07
Strengths: Beautiful picture when watching DVDs and HD OTA channels. Long bulb life with LED technology. Great price for a TV this size. Looks good even when TV is off. TV guide feature is great.
Weaknesses: Takes time to change channel with the remote. Need to calibrate to get the best picture. Poor SD picture quality. Limited viewing angle.
Summary: I ordered this TV on-line. ABF delivered to my house but didn't set it up. My wife and I carried the TV upstairs without any problem since the TV is considered light and easy to handle. It only took me 30 minutes to set everything up. I connected my DVD player, HD DVD player, Xbox 360, cable and OTA antenna. Everything looks great except cable TV which is expected. I also connected my Sony HD camcorder with firewire and the picture is excellent. Some people concern about the low contrast ratio. I have watched the TV with direct sunlight, and the picture is bright enough. Sometimes I think the TV is too bright when I watch it in the dark.Things can be improved - remote: faster response time and with backlight. SD picture. Better viewing angle. Better picture setting for the different picture modes.Overall I enjoy this TV. Great job Samsung!
Positive Review
Reviewed by: JANETDHOLT on 09-Jul-07
Strengths: CLEAR PICTURE, USER-FRIENDLY INSTRUCTIONS AND REMOTE CONTROL
Weaknesses: WHEN PLAYING A VIDEO GAME, A FEW SECONDS INTO THE GAME, THE PICTURE FLICKERS ONCE, BUT THEN IT DOES NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.
Summary: I really like this TV. It is the best TV I have ever owned. The cabinet is very sleek and modern. The picture is excellent. Game mode is great - it makes the graphics sharper. The user instructions are easy to follow.
Positive Review
Reviewed by: nsyv on 08-Jul-07
Strengths: Very good picture, lots of options and connections
Weaknesses: Faint buzzing sound when using cable
Summary: I've had this tv for a couple days now and initially when I received it, I could make out a faint buzzing or high pitched sound whenever I was viewing cable tv. It now appears less frequently but is still evident at times. This might be the speakers breaking themselves in so I hope that's the case. I don't hear this high pitched sound when connecting a DVD player directly to the tv and playing it so it might also be my cable box's fault. Another complaint I have about this tv is that the remote is a bit slow to respond, but that's a minor inconvenience because I'm usually using my cable remote anyways.Aside from that though, the tv has a brilliant picture. I hooked up my xbox 360 to it, and it looks amazing. To get an 56" LED DLP TV for $1379 shipped is a steal and I'm glad I purchased it.
Negative Review
Reviewed by: rambo1964 on 24-Feb-07
Strengths: Beautiful picture when it works. Hopefully longer bulb life...time will tell. Lots of audio and video inputs. PIP. Quick startup time.
Weaknesses: Well....mine keeps acting up, see below.
Summary: I have been looking for a new TV for a long time. I had decided I wanted a DLP but hated the thought of having to replace the bulb every 4,000 hours. So when Samsung came out with this TV with LED lights I thought this is for me. Did a lot of research on-line but not a lot of reviews on this TV, no one locally had one to look at so I took a chance and ordered one on-line. Like I said when it works it has a great picture, of course I have never had an HDTV before to compare it to. But mine keeps acting up, first the left half side of the screen would go black, now the right side is going black. I can turn the TV off and back on and it will be fine for awhile. I called Samsung and there is no service center within 25 miles so they say they have to get an ok to be able to go further. And mine you I am not in a small town, I don't know why there is no one around that service these, maybe because of the led, but the nearest center is over 100 miles away. The place where I bought it from said I could return it or exchange it and Samsung said they may replace it, so I am just waiting to see what they say. I will update when the problem is resolved.*********************UPDATE********************Ok, after calling Samsung back and them telling me it might be 15 days before they ok ,I gave them another zip code in town. Ended up being a repair shop in town, go figure. But I decided to send the TV back and got a replacement, and it has worked great from day one. I didnt know there was so many digital channels you could get with an over the air antenea. The good thing was that the TV dropped $200 after I got the second one. I e-mailed them and they gave me a $200 credit. So for just a little more than I originally bought the TV I got a 5 yr warranty.
Positive Review
Reviewed by: tekrauss on 29-Jan-07
Strengths: Beautiful pictures, including HD and Digital and Analog. Straightforward on screen instructions. Easy plug-in instructions.
Weaknesses: Bigger footprint than Plasma or LCD, but that was expected. A bit pricey for a DLP, but the LED technology gave me the push.
Summary: This is the first Samsung product that I have purchased. The quality is second to none in my estimation. It remains to be seen whether the long term will prove out as well as the short term, but so far I have no reason to expect anything but the best result. I anxiously await the time when 1080P broadcasts and DVDs become the norm so I can get the full benefit of this superb product.
Positive Review
Reviewed by: abpatel on 18-Jan-07
Strengths: Vivid colors, quick start-up time, never dimming bulb, less noisy, all necessary inputs (esp. 1080p capable HDMI VGA upto 1920 x 1200), ATSC/QAM that works in PIP, and STELLAR customer service.
Weaknesses: Lower contrast than traditional bulb version (blacks and brights have less detail), colors can be overally vivid requiring tweaks to satisfy taste, and PIP only works for built-in tuner as source.
Summary: I originally owned the HL-R5078, but had issues so Samsung eventually offered to upgrade and I picked this unit (Samsung Customer Service was both helpful and professional and did much more to solve problems than other manufactures I've dealt with). All the strengths and weaknesses above are in contrast with my previous model.To elaborate, I am really happy with this TV except for the contrast ratio, which I felt my conventional bulb TV had a better handle of in regards to shading of deep blacks and bright whites. I hope this concern is fixed by a software update, or worse by a new model. However, the big improvements over all projection TVs because of the LED bulbs is the picture comes on in 5-7 seconds, is instantly at full brightness with very vivid colors, no rainbow effect and seemingly faster picture refresh and as a result runs quieter and cooler (the old TV took 30-60 sec. and the bulb did fade slightly over the time I had it). With the faster refresh and no rainbow effect, I suspect when the picture sources improve (ie. Blu-ray, HD-DVD and real 1080p), these features will fare much better than bulb and color wheel.I would have given this TV a perfect rating except for the contrast issue. Most of the benefits out weighted this issue, but for the price I paid, you want the perfect picture. I would still consider the conventional bulb TVs for the time being, but the LED bulb is a huge step forward and I?m happy to have it.
Positive Review
Reviewed by: hackztor on 14-Dec-06
Strengths: Color quality is awesome, size is decent, 2 sets of composite, 2 sets of compenent, optical out, 2 hdmi. can be found for 2800 dollars online.
Weaknesses: size could be bigger such as a 60 or 65 inch tv. Tad expensive but worth it. Color is off what it should be by default, configuration is necessary for best picture.
Summary: This tv is the best tv i have ever bought. Very much worth the money. The color is awesome, black is very black almost too black defintly need to up the brightness, hdmi are the true connectors on this tv 1080p capable, would of liked to of seen hdmi 1.3 but oh well. very shiny tv. Starts up in 7 seconds which for dlp is very good. input selection only shows u what is plugged into the tv which helps alot from switching through to av,composite,component.
Positive Review
Reviewed by: johnd12491 on 23-Nov-06
Strengths: Stunning color and detail
Weaknesses: Some fuzziness with motion
Summary: Never having owned a HD set before I didn't quite know what to expect, I had read pretty good reviews in the magazines, this TV fills my living room, watching now is like being there. Color is dazzling.
