Giving Plasma a run for
its money is no easy challenge, but I think the Samsung Tantus LTM405W holds its own,
and comes out ahead because of the better picture quality it delivers. Plasma
isn't dead by any means, and as an affordable way to get a
large screen HDTV in the door, it still offers a very lucrative
incentive.
Considering that
up until very recently no manufacturer was producing anything near the size of
this 40" LCD screen, the milestone which Samsung's manufacturing has set is
remarkable.
Plasma displays
have ballooned in size to the absolutely grotesque 61", but if you spend some time
and carefully look at a few of the spec sheets you'll find that the sweet spots are
in the 40-inchers. It is not surprising then, that for an entry level large screen
LCD TV Samsung created the 40" LTM405W to compete directly against the
most popular size in plasma display panels (PDP).
There
exists a large gap in the price between
the Samsung LTM405W and a comparable PDP, but so what? LCD TV's such as
this have better resolution, better viewing angles, a longer screen lifespan, and
nearly the same brightness and contrast ratio's as plasma. Because the technology
is less power intensive, the LTM405W weighs substantially less than an
equivalent plasma screen, creates less heat, and costs less in electricity to
run.
The Samsung LTM405W
is a sexy looking display, but
it does have a few faults. For starters I really wish Samsung would put
just a little effort into their remote controls. The remote that ships with this
40" slab is not the most user friendly, and to be vain, doesn't look all
that great either. I would have expected a remote with a little more weight to it,
with perhaps a paddle that actually worked well, and with a more organized key
layout.
Regarding the display itself I
only find one fault, and that has to do with the headphone jack. For some
reason, the jack wasn't positioned on the side, or front of the display, rather
it was lumped in with the rest of the connectors at the back of the screen. Not
a very accessible position once the LTM405W is setup, and certainly less
accessible if the screen has been wall mounted. Additionally, the lack of audio
outputs is a little disconcerting, but any decent DVD player out to have an HDTV
tuner built into it these days if it expects to sit side by side with this thin
gray beauty.
The LTM405W screen handles background ambient light
reflections very well, and unlike plasma displays which have a shiny
surface, the LTM405W has a more matt finish so reflective distractions are
virtually nil.
Bottom line; if you have the cash to buy the
Samsung LTM405W I'm sure you'll be happy with it over any similarly sized plasma
display.
Check out Dealtime for the latest pricing on the Samsung LTM405W LCD TV display.
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