#2 50inch TV for 2008

Big Screen Evolution. This was my 17th big screen TV purchased over the past 25 years and my 4th Samsung DLP.

Each time I buy one, I tell myself that there's no way they can make it better. Within a year or 2 at most, I prove myself wrong.

Before hauling the new Samsung home, I was enticed by the Vizio 47" LCD with 1080P specs. Hauled it home and sat it side-by-side with last years Samsung DLP. The Vizio went back to Costco after 1 day because colors and contrast just never seemed right or smooth.

Brighter Picture. My HL-S5087W has now been demoted to downstairs living room to make room for the HLT5076S because, after comparing them side-by-side, the 5076S has a much brighter image.

Same Lamp. Curiosity forced me to compare the quartz lamps between my older and new DLP sets. Surprisingly and despite being listed with different part numbers, they are 100% identical 132 Watt Philips bulbs which you can find for sale on EBay for $120 so don't let any fast-talking salesman at a retail store con you into thinking that they'll cost you $300. How long they'll last may be another fallacy. I've read reports stating from 7,000 to 20,000 hours. If you watch the TV every single day for 3 hours, that means 1 bulb should last you 7 years or longer.

Sharper Image. While the 10,00 to 1 contrast ratio may be a contributing factor (vs. 2,500 to 1 last year)
the improved sharpness may be the result of the built-in QAM tuner as opposed to using an LG DR787T as my HD tuner for my older TV.

HDMI. Ran into one problem with the new TV. Plugged my LG DVDR into the HDMI port and NOTHING showed up on the screen except a popup saying that it's unsupported. Spoke to LG and was told that they are aware of a compatibility issue with "some" Samsung TVs. This made me curious so I tried a few combinations to see what kind of picture resulted.

Plugged my LG DVDR in as Component 1 (3 video 2 audio cables). Watched a DVD movie. Bought Samsung's latest AR650 DVDR and watched the same DVD via HDMI. After switching back 7 forth a few times, I came to the surprising conclusion that the LG DR787T produced a slightly sharper image through the Component ports than the Samsung AR650 did through the HDMI ports!

While tinkering with the 2 DVD recorders I also discovered that if you record a TV show on the LG, the disk is unreadable in the Samsung recorder. Ok, back to info on the 5076S.

Slimmer Cabinet. It amazes me how they can create a 50" diagonal image from a box that is now only 11 inches deep. This set still weighs 62 pounds like last years model.

Samsung smartly moved the connections so they face sideways on the back of the cabinet. This means you can push the set about 3 or 4 inches closer to a wall than prior models.

Audio. Sound quality is about the same as last year, which means you'll enjoy it much more if you mate it with a Home Theatre System. Mine mated perfectly with Samsung HT-Q70 and there is zero audio delay gap between the sound from the TV and my Q70.

Price. As we get closer to Christmas and new models being shown at the January 2008 CES Show, you might find this model available for $1,000. I was happy to pay $1299 for mine but if the price drops within 30 days, I'll be back at the "Red Store" to get my difference plus 10% back.

MARCH 2008 Update: After purhasing this newer Samsung 50" model HLT5076S that includes the QAM tuner and comparing side-by-side with my HL-S5087W, I found some surprising results when I added a Samsung DVD-AR650 to my older TV:

1. Virtual NO VISIBLE DIFFERENCE in picture brightness or sharpness when I used my Samsung DVD-AR650 as QAM TV tuner for my 5086W TV. Plus, the DVD-AR650 acts as my "TIVO" meaning I can instantly record any show I'm watching.

2. The bezel (frame around the picture/screen) is slightly narrower on the HL-S5087W.

As a result of the comparison, I returned the HL-T5076S !However, I did purchase the HL-T5087W which has a signifcants number of visible & audidle improvements. Just posted a review of it on epinions.

I did add one new $200 accessory last month that has made overall watching TV easier ... get the Harmony One Remote. With the touch of one button (on the touch screen) it turns on my TV, Home Theatre System & DVD-AR650 and let's me instantly switch from watching TV to DVD to VCR with the touch of one button (and it gets everything right 99% of the time).