Samsung LN40A550 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend 40" 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
- Great TV - one big minus for cable customers
- This is a great TV as other have already said except for one thing. It does not have a cable card slot, so if you have cable and don't want just the most basic channels you need to rent the large cable box (especially to get HD) instead of just the tiny cable card, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a compact and sleek LCD.
- 2008-09-30, 2 of 3 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Picture-in-picture (PIP) is not fully supported
- Picture-in-picture (PIP) is not fully supported. I have confirmed this with Samsung support. The most common scenario that I can think of is NOT supported - which is over-the-air (OTA) digital tv and another signal (digital or analog). There are no options for PIP with OTA digital tv as one of the sources.
- 2008-09-29, 1 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- I'm In HD Heaven!
- Just a little over two hours with my LN40A550 and words don't do the experience justice . . . but I'll try anyway. Stunning definition, brilliant color, amazingly easy to set-up and calibrate and purchasing from Amazon.com was a true pleasure.
First, about the buying experience. I was initially hesitant to spend a large amount of money on such an important purchase. But with the lowest price anywhere on the TV, a Blu-ray player for less than half the list price, a $200 gift certificate for sports memorabilia and no taxes to pay, I saved over $700 compared to getting the same set-up a my local brick and mortar store. My deliveries (three separate shipments including an HDMI cable) took about a week and everything arrived in good condition. While Amazon and CEVA phone reps were all extremely helpful, the local delivery guys here in Las Vegas (City Cargo) couldn't wait to leave after getting the TV plugged in and turned on. Fortunately I read a ton of stuff online so getting everything up and running was pretty simple.
I'm currently using Cox Cable but DirecTV is installing tomorrow so I'll have at least twice as many HD choices. The HD picture quality was very good right out of the box but with a few tweaks it is truly amazing. I found some good calibration suggestions at AVS Forum (see the Official Samsung LNxxA550 thread post #995). The clarity and depth is outstanding and the range and intensity of the color is as good as any plasma I've seen. I'm finding myself watching channels I'd usually not watch just because the picture is so good. When I finish this review, I'll pop-in a Blu-ray movie, which, based on everything I've seen and heard will be even better. Standard Def is less than perfect but I really believe that that's as much an optical illusion effect as anything. When you're seeing an HD picture with such incredible quality, an SD picture just looks that much worse in comparison.
As for the sound issues I keep hearing about, external audio is the easy fix. I just took the stereo output from the TV to my trusty old Aiwa bookshelf system and it sounds awesome. I've seen suggestions from plugging a set of small speakers in the headphone jack, to expensive component 5.1 HT systems, but if you spend a grand or so on this TV do yourself a favor and get some kind of external audio.
I'm so glad I decided on this set and chose to buy from Amazon.com. If you are reading this thread, struggling with all of the choices like I did before making the decision, I have three words.
Just do it. - 2008-09-26, 3 of 3 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Nice tv
- I love this TV. It has a great picture. Amazon was good to work with. The set was delivered on time with no problems. LOVE the TV!!!!
- 2008-09-25, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Don't be scared by CEVA shipping!
- I ordered the TV on Tuesday night, and Thursday morning it is already in Detroit. I can either pick it up today or they will deliver tomorrow morning. I called CEVA a few times and they were very professional and helpful. I will review the TV once I get it.
- 2008-09-25, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
