Comment on Samsung UN28H4000 28-Inch 720p 60Hz LED TV by fppilot.
Appears to be the right choice for my application,
I have only used this TV for one day and at this time only have it connected to an older digital cable box via a coax connection. I did use the Component connections for a DVD player and the picture quality is excellent. I will have a Mini Tivo box installed early next week and following that will have an HDMI cable tv connection. I will update my review following that.
****** UPDATE: ******* I now have this TV connected to a Tivo Mini and the picture quality is totally excellent. If you are concerned about 720 vs 1080 I say don’t worry. I have a four-year-old Visio 22″ 1080 TV in another location and the picture from this Samsung with 720 is just as good if not better.
The first thing I would like to say is that this TV does NOT have any input ports on any side panel as depicted in the photos. All of the ports are on a squarish panel on the rear of the TV and all face to the rear. I point this out because if you plan on using a USB device (such as thumb drive) to view media, you may want to obtain a USB extension cable, because if you have the TV against a wall, or in an enclosed cabinet like I do, the rear panel may not be easily accessible. (Note that a USB extension cable is NOT the same thing as a standard USB cable.) Another reason I point this out is the Amazon photos for this product clearly show a side panel with HDMI and USB ports. I am certain that the photos come from Samsung as the same photos are shown at BestBuy.Com and Beach Audio. The recessed area for a side panel is present on my set, but is smooth plastic. Both the shipping carton and the product label on the rear of the TV clearly identify this TV as a UN24H4000 model. It appears that Samsung has revised the panel configuration of this model to match the separate UN24H4500 model. Both the Setup Guide and Quick Start Guide show the position of the ports correctly.
Set up was relatively simple, with the exception of a great deal of frustration mounting the TV to its base. This model comes with three documents: A Setup Guide; a Quick tart Guide; and a User Manual. All three of these are fold-outs. Even the User Manual is a fold-out, is 16″ by 22″ in size when opened, printed on both sides, and printed in tiny print. Fold-outs are fine for the Setup and Quick Start guides, but I would much prefer a booklet style User Manual.
Mounting to the base takes three screws installed through a relatively deep cavity on the underside of the stand. The small opening and depth of the cavity makes it very difficult to aim the small screws into the small screw holes. I had to use an set of angled hobby tweezers, and even that wasn’t easy. A magnetic bit screwdriver would make it easier.
I read in another review here on Amazon that you must be extremely careful with configuring the TV when you first turn it on because you only get one shot at it. That person returned the set after a botched first attempt. I too had some difficulty with a setup selection as I did not know the difference between STD, IRC, and HRC for the cable setting. I was easily able to totally reconfigure by pressing the Menu key, scrolling down to a gear-shaped icon, which is Plug & Play, then pressing the Enter key. By the way, I later learned that the vast majority of cable tv provider’s signal are STD. The IRC and HRC are noise reduction signals used mostly with older cable technology.
Other reviewers have complained about the sound from this model. So far I find the cable tv sound quality and sound volume to be acceptable for my purpose given the fact that it has rear facing speakers and I have it in an enclosure. I expect the sound to improve when I have an HDMI cable tv connection as the sound quality from the DVD player is excellent given the small speakers. By the way, this model has rear facing speakers because it is designed with a thin bezel. Due to that takes up space only slightly larger than the screen. I am able to fit this 24″ TV into a tall entertainment center’s upper bay that was designed for stacked A/V components. Putting it up high like that is a real plus for the bedroom. An older Visio 22″ TV with a larger bezel and front mounted speakers did not fit into that space.
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