Samsung LN46A550 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend 46" widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio) * high-gloss 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) * 1920 x 1080 pixels * Product details and pricing info |
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262 Customer Reviews Posted
- Samsung LN46A550 - Best bang for the buck!!!
- After window shopping, reading online reviews, and spending countless hours in front of every flat panel display out there, it was finally time to make a decision last week. The initial debate was plasma vs. lcd. Plasma technology typically offers great black levels and the newer sets don't have the same issue of deteriorating picture quality over time as some of the previous models. LCD typically offers a more vivid picture with slightly less aggressive black levels. Personal preference after viewing new sets from all of the manufacturers led me straight to the new Samsung 550 and 650 series. The picture quality is simply amazing! The main difference of these two sets is the series 650 offers 120hz processing. While it is intreging, to me personally, it actually leans towards a bit distracting and unnatural. Digital processing that fills in the "gaps" of the frames from a typical 3:2 pulldown is the reason for this unnatural feel and, while there are various settings for the level of artificial frame insertion, it just isn't a feature that is compelling enough to justify the price difference to me. That is just my opinion and some people really enjoy the artificial "smoothness" of the frames on the 120hz set...make your own determination if this feature is compelling enough to spend the extra dollars. So, once I determined the 650 wasn't the right fit for me, the obvious choice was to get almost the exact same feature set minus the 120hz processing and save a bundle of cash with the 550 series.
The 550 gives you so much for the money that I almost felt bad for only having to pay $[...] for such incredible picture quality...I said almost! The colors are rich and vivid and the picture is highly customizable to your preferences. I found the standard picture setting right out of the box to be suitable for almost all types of viewing, blu-ray through PS3/HDMI, HDTV cable through component, and even upconvert standard DVDs, with only a minor adjustment to the black level. By the way, the black level adjustments are very easily found in the picture menu and allow 4 different settings of off, low, medium and high, so you don't have to make any major adjustment to your bright and contrast settings or get out your decoder ring to figure out the right scheme for you. The black levels on this set are simply amazing for an LCD!
This new 550 is replacing a 3 year old 46" Samsung DLP 720p. At that time, the LCD technology simply wasn't up to par and the "screendoor" effect was noticeable in even the very high end sets, so DLP was the right choice for me at that time. I have to say my DLP, although 3 years old, is a great set and offers a fantastic picture, but when I hooked up the new 550, which takes less than 5 minutes from unboxing, batteries in the remote and connections from components (I will be wall-mounting the set next week), I was absolutely blown away when comparing to my old DLP. Wow, instant gratification and assurance this was a fantastic choice to bring into my home! Great clarity, bright image with natural tones and virtually no shadowing or artifacts detectable.
Quick note about the sound quality and speakers. Some of the reviews will knock the sound of the televisions speakers...they are just fine and produce adequate and appealing sound. I have 7.1 surround, so it would be completely unfair to compare. It's really simple though, if you currently listen to your tv through your tv speakers, this set should be at least as good as your current set up. If you have component audio with 5.1/7.1 and you are trying to compare them to the 550's speakers, you will obviously be disappointed. I think most people are getting into home theater setups with component audio at this point, so why worry about the tv speakers anyway?!?!
Bottome line, I would say this a great tv for the money, but that isn't really fair. This is a great tv...period, regardless of price point! There are plenty of sets out there that are easily $[...] more that don't offer picture quality this good. It's a no-brainer...most bang for the buck that you will be able to find in a 46" 1080p LCD. It's almost like going to a car dealership with the intention of taking a BMW off the lot, but you get there and are pleasantly surprised to find out you only have to pay as much as you would for a Honda to get it! All of the benefits of a premium price tv with an incredible price point. Buy it now, before they figure out that we would probably pay a couple hundred more and still feel like it's a good deal!!! - 2008-04-17, 8 of 8 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Fantastic TV
- This is a fantastic TV. It has a breathtaking picture. I got it out of the box and tried every feature and every type of picture i could think of, to see how it would do. It aced the HDTV test from my satellite provider. Next I tried a DVD, once again the picture was pretty sweet. Then I tried out a blu-ray movie. As good as the DVD looked the blu-ray looked about a million times better. Then I popped in my college football game for my PS3. Once again fantastic picture. I also attached my Macbook Pro via a DVI to HDMI converter cable. I had never had very good look with the quality of computers on my other HDTVs however, this one knocked another one out of the park. Great picture quality and i could read the smallest fonts because of the 1080p brilliance. I cannot give a response on how good the speakers are or are not because I have a bose home theater. I have been researching TV's since the beginning of the year and I found both in quality and price Samsung seemed the best. I received my TV from CEVA only two days after ordering. They were very courteous and the there was no evidence that the TV was mishandled in any way. If you are looking for a TV with the quality of a $2500 TV at a much better price this is the one in my opinion. I have many hours of staring at the wall at Best Buy to verify this... at least to my eyes.
- 2008-04-17, 9 of 9 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Samsung 550P best 60hz panel on market
- I have done alot of Pro AV installs, and done so much research on everyones product for HDTV's these days. To tell you the truth, Samsung has the best LCD out there, quality and price. I have seen many higher end 60hz panels, and none of them come close to this in Picture quality or anything else. I think Samsung really mixed things up to by going semi-gloss with the screen to make colors and everything look solid, while not having glare. Right now mine is set up in my living room to a Toshiba A-2 which is set at 1080i on HDMI, and every movie looks fantastic. I also have a Xbox 360 hooked up at 1080p through component and has no motion blur what so ever, and everything is crisp and clear. For my tv, I have the Directv HR21 set at 480p-1080i depending on the channel. Everything looks great, does very well on SD for a LCD. HD on this thing is a charm!
Honestly of all the 60hz panels I have seen this one is the best on the market. - 2008-04-16, 9 of 9 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Great value for the price!
- I love Amazon service and have been a loyal customer for many years. Thought I'd get that out of the way before I stated that I recently purchased the LN46A550 from Circuit City for $1,529. Price has been going down on this item since it was recently introduced. Might be because it is not 120hz, but for the money, this unit is a great value for the reasons posted here by others.
I do not use PIP, TV speakers or Samsung remote so those issues are not a concern for me.
Bottom line is that the HD picture from the cable signal with a $6 Amazon purchased HDMI cable is fantastic! The brightness and vivid colors rival our smaller Sony Bravia.
The only negative is that I have to close the blinds in my Southern exposure viewing room during the day because of reflections on the glossy TV frame (screen reflection not a problem). - 2008-04-15, 6 of 7 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Best HD TV ever you can buy - Look not further
- I have this TV for over 2 weeks now and I have yet to see anything that is below expectation. Some reviewers have complained about speakers but I feel they are quite adequate, sound quality is very good. Of course it would be unfair to compare the TV speakers to a Bose system or other high end audio system.
Picture quality is excellent. I have seen the very high priced Sonys and Pioneers at electronic stores but this TV's picture quality is as good as them or maybe even better. Fast actions sequqences have no blur. Blacks are deep blacks, colors are sharp and crisp.
Remote control with big buttons is very user friendly and for a change even the user manual is well written. I always hate the user manuals that come with gadgets but not this one.
If you are looking for a HDTV look no further. This is the best money can buy. - 2008-04-14, 8 of 8 people found this review helpful, Rated:
