Throwback Thursday

My how times have changed. Fifteen years ago in the September 2001 issue we reviewed Samsung’s Tantus 32-inch HDTV Monitor. It was the early days of high-def and, yes, those clunky vacuum tube TVs that dominated TV for half a century were still around.

“This 32-inch beauty is the company’s least expensive big-screen [emphasis added] set capable of displaying high-definition programs fed by an outboard digital tuner,” wrote reviewer David Katzmaier. “With its traditional 4:3 aspect ratio, however, it’s better suited for displaying conventional programs than HDTV—not exactly a huge problem when you consider that most TV programming will be in the squarish standard for some time to come.”

His conclusion? “At $1,600 the Samsung Tantus costs less than the similarly styled 32-inch Sony Wega HDTV, and it offers many comparable features. That alone would be enough to recommend it, barring the few problems I mentioned with picture quality, especially its ability to hold blacks. But if you want a no-compromise picture quality you can expect to spend a lot more. Samsung’s Tantus HDTV monitor proves that you can get into digital TV without going deep in debt.”

Factoring in inflation, $1,600 in 2001 is the equivalent of about $2,200 today, which will get you a high-performing 4K/Ultra HDTV with a screen size more than twice the size of the Tantus—Samsung’s 65-inch UN65KS8500 LED-backlit LCD TV with high dynamic range capability is just one example.

Which raises an interesting question: What will be the TV of choice 15 years hence? We welcome your predictions and nostalgic recollections from TV days gone by.