Samsung LN46A650 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend 46" widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio) * Touch of Color high-gloss "rose black" finish * built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) * built-in QAM cable TV tuner receives unscrambled programs without a set-top box (cable service required) * Ultra Clear LCD panel (1920 x 1080 pixels) * Product details and pricing info |
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475 Customer Reviews Posted
- Great value, even better TV
- I purchased this model shortly after it was first available from Amazon upgrading my older Phillips 55" rear projection 1080i capable TV. I have now owned it for a month. I've used it with basic (non-HD) cable, basic Tivo viewing (again, non-HD), upscaled DVD viewing, HD-DVD viewing, and blu-ray viewing. I've paired it with a Yamaha 3000 soundbar. My entertainment watching has never been better.
Like many people I did a lot of research before dropping this kind of money on a new TV and, also like many people, it eventually came down to the Samsung TV or one of the Sony XBRs. IMO these are the only competitive mid-range/high end flatscreens to consider for purchase. Because of the Burn in issue (which is not as bad as it was in earlier generation Plasmas) I never considered a plasma TV, though they are a little more inexpensive and often have at least as good a picture as the LCD TVs.
As you've probably read outside of the several hundred dollar premimum for the Sony brand, the primary difference is that the Samsungs have a shiny screen so in high light rooms there can be some reflection vs the matte XBR screens. I generally can control the light levels while I'm viewing the TV so the vibrancy of the Samsung in mid/low light conditions made the choice easier.
I was originally going to go with a 4671f until I saw the "new" 46A650 model and decided to get the new version instead. There have been some visual quality improvements with the second generation of the motion tracking technology which goes a long way to eliminating the blurring and object duplication (the "Triple Ball Effect" or TBE). It isn't entirely gone but for a "normal" person who isn't examining the visuals in minute detail; it is effectively a non-issue now. I've seen a couple sutters where the image seems to "jump" but in my opinion this is more related to the media/movie than a problem with the TV.
If you ask someone who says that the TV has a stuttering problem they will usually only be able to point to one scene in a movie or two where the stuttering occurs ("Check the intro sequenece in Blue Planet from 00:01:23 to 00:01:24! This TV stutters like mad!").
I contend that normal people can handle a 1 second stutter every 100 hours of viewing :)
*VISUALS*
The visuals on blu-ray content are often jaw dropping. This is to be expected with something like "Planet Earth" which is built around its lush visuals, even in non-HD, but even some scenes in movies that I wouldn't consider prime HD material I am often very impressed (there are some garden scenes in "Walk Hard" that are eye-popping!).
Of course the non-HD experience isn't incredible, but I'm happy that it is at least on par with my old TV. Eventually I may decided to upgrade to HD cable and Tivo but my main focus is improving my movie watching, not necessarly making CSI or American Idol look better.
Finally, I have three spots in my TV room where people watch TV from. With some LCDs if you get too far off center from the set then the screen dims and the vitality of the colors bleeds down. That is not a problem at all with this LCD.
*PHYSICAL*
On the hardware end there are plenty of inputs for HDMI and any other connection type you can think of. I have a full set of components and everything plugs right in and works well.
I was a little wary of the "Touch of Color", but in a darker room it is not very obtrusive since it fades quickly to deep red which looks black in lower light. I think the red highlight actually looks really cool! It is much more pleasing to my eye then just a plain black or silver.
I am so pleased with this TV I can barely describe it! Physically it looks stunning, visually it is one of the best out there.
*CONS*
Not everything is rosy though.
There was a problem with some of the original models where the TV would randomly shutoff (mine included, though I did not encounter it often). This is easily fixed with a firmware update available off Samsungs site and is, presumably, pre-loaded on all the new sets being manufactured.
The remote is not great. It has the buttons you want to do everything but the jog/shuttle wheel implementation they used is too sloppy and leads to a lot of inaccuracy. I over came this by purchasing a Logitech Harmony One remote but for using the PS3 I still have to resort to the included remote (the PS3 remote is bluetooth and doesn't work with the Harmony remote).
One of the biggest problems that I have is that the TV is meant to be best viewed in lower light settings, however the labels for the controls on the TV itself can't be seen except if bright light.
Even worse they are very sensitive touch controls so when I want to turn the TV off manually I often end up changing the channel instead because I miss the "off" touch region by a little. Then I either have to turn on a bunch of lights to change the channel again and then turn it off or I have to dig out the remote to change the channel and turn the set off. This is so annoying that I've resorted to keeping a small keychain flashlight beside the TV just so I can see these stupidly subdued labels.
Finally, the software/interface for adjusting the settings on the TV is slow and unresponsive. This is excrabited by the crappy remote. It seems that moving through the menus and selecting settings is very laggy, and I found that I often ended up selecting items I didn't want because of the three second lag between pressing the button and actual acceptance of the setting selection. This is also pretty minor but frustrating non-the-less during the first few days when you're tweaking settings.
The problems I have with the set are so small I think I can fully justify the 5 star rating but the labeling on the controls is VERY frustrating and the remote feels all but useless if you have to rely on the Jog wheel.
EDIT: One last thing:
*SHIPPING*
I was VERY VERY VERY disappointed in the shipping company (Eagle/CAVA) used to ship my TV. When the driver got to my home he proceeded to DRAG my brand new $2600 TV (after tax) by the banding straps. Bouncing it off the back of the truck onto the street, then DRAGGING it onto the curb, BOUNCING it again, then dragging up my driveway, BOUNCING it UP the three stairs to my door and finally dragging into the living room.
I had thought that I was getting white glove delivery but the driver turned to leave as soon as he bounced the TV into my viewing room. I asked him to help me at least lift it out of the box. So he tears indacriminately into the box with his knife and starts trying to lift the TV out by pressing on the corner of the screen itself, not the bezal!
I was shocked. I will NEVER do business with a company that employs this shipping company again. The callous attitude of the driver and the lack of respect for my package was horrid. - 2008-04-29, 20 of 21 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Great TV!
- I love this TV. The picture is so much brighter than my old Toshiba DLP - I can even watch it in bright sunlight without closing the blinds. This TV has a red-tinted bezel, which some may not like but I think it looks sharp. The screen is slightly glossy, which I find appealing. 120Hz means that it supports 5:5 pulldown, so if you have a compatible blu-ray player such as the ps3, you can watch movies without dropped frames. I wasn't sure if 46" would be big enough, but it fits perfectly in my mid-sized living room.
This TV is a little expensive, but the price is dropping all the time. It also makes other TVs look dull, so prepare to cringe when you go to a friends house. :)
A great TV - a little pricey, but well worth it. If you want to see how it looks before you buy, check it out at a local electronics store. They will usually let you play with all the settings so you can determine if it meets your needs. - 2008-04-28, 4 of 4 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Love it!
- I usually write a long, extended review, but previous reviews have covered everything.
In short, the picture is just absolutely gorgeous. The price is extremely good also for 120hz TV. In case you are curious about the "Red Touch of Color" though, you can barely see it. It is not as obvious as some pictures have illustrated. In a darker room, you cannot see the red tint of color at all. The design itself makes this TV very attractive.
The ONLY thing that annoys me is the remote control. Everything about it is great except for the wheel. It can be useful, but it is very situation. Often time I consider the wheel a nuisance than helpful due to sensitivity of the wheel.
Lastly, I *used* to have TV randomly resetting problem. Firmware update took care of it, and I've never had any problem ever since.
If you're looking for a TV, buy this! I've done a lot of research myself (I'm very picky), and I don't regret choosing this television at all.
Side notes:
1. Amazon.com is great! Price is a lot lower than retail, but it still offers 30 days low price guarantee on their own price. I called in 5 times and got over 250 bucks back! (If you bought it recently, be sure to keep checking the updated price).
2. Don't get ripped off and buy Monster HDMI cable. A little research will inform you that a 10 dollars cable will be as good as 150 dollars extra cable. It's all digital signal. 0s and 1s. All or nothing. - 2008-04-27, 7 of 7 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Very Pleased
- Got the TV this week. I ordered it on Friday, April 18th at about 1AM and the TV arrived in my town from CEVA on Monday, April 21st. CEVA called me that morning to schedule a delivery time. The TV shipped from Kentucky and I live in Minneapolis. Can't ask for any faster service than that! They helped unpack the TV and waited until I turned it on to make sure it was working and I was satisfied.
As for the TV, I'm very pleased with the picture. It's my first LCD HDTV and I don't think I could be happier with the overall quality. I have a 56" Samsung DLP in the living room and this LCD has gone in our bedroom. The Touch of Color is VERY faint and I can only notice it when the lights in the room are on. Even then it's not distracting at all. It looks nice.
Also, do yourself a favor and go to the AVS Forums and find the threads about this TV so you can get the display settings setup correctly. They have a thread dedicated to calibrating the picture and it worked very well for me. Someone created a very nice spreadsheet stating exactly what to set all the settings to and they worked very nicely.
Also, this TV was practically made for Blu-ray. Blu-ray looks amazing on this TV, even better than the 1080P DLP in our living room. Far better than HD cable channels! It properly displays 1080P24 content as Blu-rays were intended.. The AMP takes some getting used to. I set it to Low because anything higher just makes the movies look unnaturally smooth. So if you don't have a blu-ray player now, do yourself a favor and get one because NOTHING will look better on this TV than Blu-ray movies which utilize the full 1080P capabilities of this TV.
My TV has the 1002.3 firmware on it (1003.M is the newest I believe) and so far there have been no resets. So I haven't updated the firmware and I won't unless I have the reset problem. No big deal though, glad Samsung got that issue fixed.
Absolutely no problems and TV is great. So if you're on the fence about this TV, just get it. You won't regret it. Also, Amazon's 30 day price match guarentee can't be beat by any other seller. If they lower their price within 30 days of your shipping date, they will refund you the difference in price that you paid. That was one of the biggest reasons for me getting it from Amazon. Amazon has wonderful customer service too if anything should go wrong. Buy from Amazon with peace of mind and save yourself a bunch of money. - 2008-04-26, 9 of 9 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Random shut off's is FIXED.
- Now that the random shut off's is fixed, this TV is now perfect.
WHy this is better than the samsung XX71 series
* AMP (auto motion plus) is smoother, eliminates TBE (triple ball effect) for the most part
* TV actually appers to be sharper
* Better blacks
* Faster LCD screen (4ms)
* NO stutter or jutter at all
JUST BUY IT. This is the BEST 120 hz tv on the market.
I would recomend the samsung 7 series, same specs but with a woofer for audio. - 2008-04-17, 6 of 6 people found this review helpful, Rated:
