I have been waiting for the Samsung 50 inch DLP HDTV HLM507W 50 for a long time. So I decided to wait no more and went to see this DPL Samsung in Braintree Mass. I traveled big miles for a big disappointment. This was another TV with a poor quality picture. The HLM437W was just as poor. The colors were muted and the all they kept telling me was that it was just the way the Director wanted the movie to be. It was the Lord of the Rings and I did see it in the theater, so I know it was not shot through the bottom of a wine bottle like this TV made it look. Then they showed me Monsters and pointed out the monster fur. I said show me a dvd that's not digitally created in a computer, show me flesh tones thur a clear lens.
They lowered the lighting and turned up the volume and show Tomb Raider. I saw that movie on my DVD player attached to a $350 Panasonic and the $350 Panasonic won hand down.
I actually felt embarrassed for traveling all that way.
One dealer latter told me, after his boss walked after pretentiously informing me of 600 on a waiting list, that this happens all the time, people drive a great distance to see the Samsung DLP and walk away disappointed. He said the selling point is its looks and that its not 2 feet deep against a wall.

Check the latest issue of Home Theater magazine. They review a number of plasma TVs. While they have come a long way in quality over the last couple of years, the article kind of damns them with faint praise. Apparently they still don't have the best quality picture available. Plasma screens are selling on their coolness factor, not their picture quality.

I saw this set and think it is the best DLP set yet. Real detail in the dark areas. One problem in looking at all HDTV sets is may dealers have them hooked up to DVD's that are not hDTV.

I have had a HLM507W now for about a month. I initially encountered the set in a high end audio video store and was blown away by the picture quality. They were out selling all other models and I had to wait two weeks for a shipment. During that two week wait I wandered into a new Ultimate Electronics store that also carried the set. The HDNet picture they were showing was horrible. I could not get an answer from a salesman as to why the picture was so bad. I paniced and went back to the store I ordered the set from. They calmed me down and explained about Ultimate's method for distributing the TV signal to several hundred TV's throughout the store. I do not understand why dealers do things like this to make their products look bad. Anyway, I do not know if the dealer you drove the hundreds of miles to see had the same problem, used a poor quality dvd player or had it all set up improperly.

I can tell you that I have been totally satisfied with the set. HD material is of course fantastic. I have a moderately priced DVD player with 3:2 pulldown and connected via composite cables. Picture quality to me is outstanding. And finally the real test to me for HDTV's is how well they handle NTSC signals. This set does very well with my DirecTv NTSC channels. The only sets I have seen that are better are the Pioneer Elite's. The Samsung is not far behind.

Three years ago if you had recommended a Samsung product I would have dismissed your opinion as I thought Samsung only made cheap knockoff junk. Many may still have this opinion but to me the proof is in the product. As always this is my opinion and others will disagree, but I have no regrets about having made this purchase.

I just happened to be purchasing DVD's at Best Buy this past weekend (sale) and glanced at the RPTV's stacked up on top and next to each other. Most of them had a large lousy picture. What a stupid way to display expensive TV'S! However, one set had this incredibly clear picture, so I went over to see the brand and it was the Samsung 50 inch DLP. They were showing a good DVD picture and then some HD from the satellite. The set blew everything else away (the rest were not set up very well) but if the Samsung looks this good out of the box and under poor store conditions, it should be sensational at home properly set up. The black levels were very good.

Not all outlets for this TV can be cutting off their noses despite their faces. It was two months since my adventure in search of the Samsung HLM507W50 DLP. They should now be just down the road, local. In the meantime, the Toshiba 50Hx seems the best consumer choice in picture quality for the money

I just saw the picture in store yesterday and it was by far the best i have seen. It clearly out performs the 3-7000.00 plasma's in my eyes anyway. I actually just ordered teh 43" 2899 delivered, so you cant beat the price either

I was at a high end store today and saw this set across from a pio elite and I'm buying the Samsung.Was going to buy the Pio non elite 533 but the burn in problems,worrying about convergence issues,tip toeing around the tv so you don't knock it out of alingment.Screew that!!!This TV ROCKS!!

8 of us saw the two DLP sets at CES Vegas almost a year ago. (Jan 02) All of us were salivating. Either they didn't have it hooked up right, or something, because the pictures we saw out there were simply gorgeous. Maybe you'd better go look again. DLP is going to blow everything away....it did so at CES and it was pretty obvious. We would have bought them right then and there if we could have. They are hitting stores all over the country now.

well for my money it is pioneer and hitachi all the rest blow..

I viewed a Samsung HLM507W this past week. I too was blown away by the picture. Nothing else in the store came close, and although not cheap, it is still about half the price of an equivalent plasma tv.

Since I watch 3:4 standard tv most of the time(including a lot of CNBC with the stock bars on the bottom), I have not purchased a widescreen for fear of burn in. However, the salesman told me that there is no worry with the Samsung DLP model. I have searched the web, including Samsung's site, and there is no mention of whether or not the DLP unit can get burn in or not. Does anyone have a definitive answer?

No burn-in!

Richard F. Fisher
Mastertech Repair Corporation, Lawrenceville, GA
770-513-3987 E-Mail - help@mastertechtv.com
Have you been calibrated? ISF and HAA Certified
Factory Authorized
Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Toshiba, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, NAD

No, Tv's using DLP technology do not suffer from burn in. Burn in is a problem only with CRTs. For more information see www.dlp.com (Ti's website on DLP technology) and www.howstuffworks.com (detailed but simple explainations of how different gadgets work).

I purchased the Samsung about 3 weeks ago at Tweeter A/V and have been blown away by the picture. Credit should also go to the SIRT-160 STB, which has a great GUI, combines all signals into one menu and has selectable outputs, including 720P.
In fact, my only regret is not waiting for the 60" model due this month. Highly recommended!
Poor store pictures don't surprise me, as I am no longer amazed at the level of technical incompetance among people today - even those in tech related jobs! Case in point - I called several SAT installers this week and no one I spoke with knew there was a Sat C (one even argued about it with me), nor what an LNB is and is used for.