Samsung 32 inch LCD Television 1080p 15000:1 (Rose Black)

A doddle to set up. The base doesn't come attached (it is on 37" models upwards) but the telly simply drops onto the base and the four screws provided then secure it. The instructions say that two people should lift the telly, but it's a very light unit and once it's placed on the base it keeps its position whilst you dig out a screwdriver. Once fixed to the base it is very sturdy, I have two young children and they wouldn't be able to pull it over (after all, I have fibbed to them and told them that the new TV doesn't have CBeebies!)

I had a 26 inch TV before this, and what strikes me is how big it is. 32 inch is now considered to be at the lower end of screen sizes - but don't be fooled, it's still an impressive size.

The TV takes you through a simple set up procedure where it searches for analogue channels and then tunes into the digital Freeview channels.

The main issue with large screen sizes is the truth that the bigger the screen the worse the picture quality - this has nothing to do with the quality of the TV, it's just that standard definition TV (be it from Cable, Freeview, or Satellite) is over compressed and suffers from digital image noise/artefecting. This can be well masked on a small screen, but on larger screens these image flaws are magnified and seem obvious.

I am incredibly impressed with the Series 6 and how it manages Freeview through it's internal digital tuner. It does a sterling job of upscaling the image, and when I'm sat on my settee the picture looks natural and (possibly because of the internal software trickery) surprisingly free of digital noise and compression 'tiling'. The picture looks much better and livelier on this 32 inch screen than it did on my 26 inch CRT.

From the many pictures you may have seen on the web, you might think that this 32 inch Samsung has bright band of red colouring outside the edge of the shiny black plastic 'frame' of the screen, but this isn't the case. There is a gentle deep red hue at the edges of the TV. In low light you can barely notice it, but in sunlight it gives the impression of a subtle red glow

Along the right hand side of the TV are a series of buttons - they don't protrude though. They are effectively touch sensitive areas which allow you to control the volume, channel, menu, source, and standby. You have to practically put your face on the telly to see the markings to indicate the buttons. My children haven't noticed them and even when we looked at this in the shop I didn't see them at first. I like how these are essentially invisible, and therefore not breaking the symmetry or the attractive shiny black styling.

The menus are intuitive and simple to navigate through. There are a range of picture and sound options, but I find it best to stick with the 'standard' ones and have a little play with the settings manually to get the picture just how you like it. But the 'straight out of the box' setting would suffice for most people I imagine.

The EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) is far better than my previous Freeview box. It looks nice on screen and there's an in picture frame showing the channel you were on before bringing up the guide. The digital text is quick to respond, and the remote even illuminates gently.

The only thing slightly disappointing about this is the sound quality. It isn't bad, it just isn't as rich as I've heard on some other TVs. But the sound is completely adjustable, and if it isn't quite full enough, again you can adjust the sound properties until you're happy. The sound is very clear though, and I've actually been picking out subtle noises on programmes I never noticed before with my previous set up.

In a nutshell: This offers very little more than the Series 5, so if you prefer the styling of the Series 5 then go for that (Link here --> Samsung LE32A559P - 32'' Widescreen 1080P Full HD LCD TV - With Freeview) - it's dropped in price since the series 6 came out and yet other than an additional HDMI port and the red-crystal styling they are pretty much the same. But this is an impressive television. Realistically speaking you'll not be watching Hi-Def material for most of the time so excellent standard definition performance is critical. This makes the most of standard definition images to make sure that you don't feel disappointed by upgrading to a larger screen (as I did.) DVD playback is incredible - my films look better than they ever have done. A perfect choice and simple to use, there's even a USB port to click devices into to watch JPEG images and listen to MP3s through it.

I have owned this tv for about a month now, and I'm still marvelling at the picture quality. I genuinely think it is the best you can get for the money.
The tv is a doddle to set up, but then you have an almost limitless set of configuration menus. Usefully you can set your picture settings for each input - i.e. if your dvd player seems slightly different from your Freeview picture you can adjust just that input.
The only slight disappointment is the sound quality. The speakers are just too puny to deliver. If you already have a home cinema sound system, it isn't going to be much of a problem. But, if like me, you didn't have one - you'll be out shopping the next day to buy one!
It loses one star because the speakers just aren't good enough.