 Visibly better than Samsung LN46A650 |
| Review Date: January 5, 2009 |
| Reviewer: tennis player, Bethesda, MD |
We bought the Samsung LN55A950 and the LN46A650 at the same time - one for the family room and the other for the bedroom. Side-by-side, the difference is very noticeable. Even though I set the image parameters the same on both sets, the colors on the 950 are definitely more vivid. You need not be a videophile to see the difference. Even when I view the 650 by itself in our bedroom, I can tell the subtle difference. It's still a great picture, but it just lacks the "pop" of the 950. Also, when viewing the two sets in total darkness but still powered-up and in the absence of any video signal, the 650 screen is a dark navy or gray, while the 950 is nearly (but not entirely) invisible. Granted, no one ever watches a blank screen in the dark - but there really is a difference in the black levels between these sets.
Both sets have the "glossy" screen, but to my delight and great relief, they pose absolutely no problem whatsoever. Both our sets are located in rooms with windows and overhead lighting. Can I see any reflections? Sure, if you look hard, you can see them - as I could on my old CRT TV. Before I turned-on the sets, my wife commented on the reflections, but no one has ever commented about reflections when the set is on.
As other reviewers have noted for the 650, the 950 also takes 3-4 seconds to pick-up the video signal on start-up. Images do not instantaneously appear as soon as you turn-on the set. This is a very minor issue.
I looked over the games, recipes, and other content that you can access with the 950. I actually found a good recipe for beef kabobs, but the material is mostly forgettable and this content would not be a deciding factor in my purchase.
I paid $4200 for the 55" 950 and $1600 for the 46" 650. Is it worth the difference? Of course, the screen sizes are quite different, but if I were to do it again, adjusting for the different sizes, would I pay $1000 - $1500 more for the better picture? Hmmm, that's a tough one. If you can afford it, I would go for the 950. The 950 made our holiday houseguests all wonder what was so different between our HDTV setup and theirs. That satisfaction is certainly worth something. However, I would definitely be very happy with the 650 and if I had not seen the 950 first, I would not be dissatisfied or wanting in the least. |
Great New Generation LED Backlight LCD HDTV!
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| Review Date: October 26, 2008 |
| Reviewer: A. Guinto, San Jose, CA |
I've had this for a month now. I also bought the Samsung BD-P1500 with it. I love both units. I connected them to my Sony HT-CT100 soundbar and I am perfectly happy with the sound. Yes, I know the soundbar does not do HD sound,etc,.. but I don't care because the soundbar is quite slick with the TV. Plus, it does what I want it to do so no complaint.
As for the TV. The picture is so crisp and clear and the black level really black that it took a while to get used to watching it. I have a DirecTV HD DVR attached to it too via HDMI and it is an entirely different level of watching TV. The images look so "real" as my daughter said.
I know the TV can do a lot of other things if you attach it to the internet. But, I bought it really for just watching HD TV and movies. So, I was/am not that concern about its other functions.
Right now, DirecTV just upgraded my DVR to 1080p, so I can't wait to see any program or shows in 1080p. But the 1080i resolution is great as it is. So, no complaint in there either.
BTW, the upconversion from the BD-P1500 looks great too. Also, make sure you use HDMI 1.3b cables. I got mine here from BargainCell for < $10 each. |
55 inches of amazingness
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| Review Date: December 18, 2008 |
| Reviewer: movierat07, |
This TV is amazing. The picture is near perfect and it has the darkest blacks I have ever seen on any television. I watched The Dark Knight on Blu Ray and I was blown away by the performance of this TV compared to my old Sony LCD. One of the main complaints I have is the 120hz feature. Thankfully you can turn it off. It makes everything look fake and ruins the viewing experience. After the first couple of minutes of The Dark Knight I had no choice but to turn the feature off.
Though on the expensive side, the TV is worth every single penny. You will not be disappointed.
Update: After doing some research and monkeying around with the settings, it should be known that the 120hz feature is not what ruins the viewing experience. 120hz TV's will always play content in 120hz, and it practically eliminates motion blur. What ruins the viewing experience is Samsung's "Auto Motion Plus" feature. This is the feature that I recommend turning off. Some people like it, some people don't. I personally am not a fan of the feature. Here is a more in depth description of the way 120hz TV's work.
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-13973_102-0.html?forumID=146&threadID=312626&messageID=2884506
I have owned the TV for a few weeks now and am still loving every minute of it. The TV is beautiful. I have found myself pausing while walking through the living room and starring at the TV even when it is off. Once again, you will not be disappointed. |
Samsung LN55A950
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| Review Date: January 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Astroboy, Baltimore |
Final Update:03/17/09
I have had the second TV for almost two months now. I do believe that later firmware update improved the TVs viewing, at least from my view point. The first TV the back lighting was not optimized and I found that all of the darker sences from Dark Knight sort of blended together. That is not the case with this example.
One thing I have noticed now that as I have gone from the reviewing phase of the TV to the watching phase, I find myself liking this TV more and more each day. I was really intent on going to see Watchmen in the theater but when I kept seeing the previews in HD on my TV I decided I will wait for it to come out on blu ray because the previews looked simply awesome on this TV. I can't think of a better endorsement than that.
Update: 01/31/09
Vizio has come out with their version of a 55" LCD TV the 55" vf550xvtia. I brought this one into the home to compare against the Samsung, here are my observations:
The color was surprisingly good. It started out a little over driven but Vizio provides enough ability to manipulate the screen that in no time I was able to get a fine viewing picture. Honestly, I would have to say that it compared very favorable to the Sony. However, the samsung, just has a more pleasing viewing image.
Dejudder: The vizio weakness came in the dejudder. It didn't do a good job handling any fast scenes. The Ironman Blu-rayer disc is the one I used to test all the TVs. During Ironman's confrontation with the air force jets the structure of the aircraft are never symmetrical unlike the samsung which renders a perfect picture and the scene plays flawlessly. Maybe the Back lit LED 240hz version of this TV will correct this issue, but with this current offering, the samsung 950 is easily the winner.
Update: 01/21/09
My first LN55A950 at the end of the 30 day return period started having issues with the LED lighting. It came in the form of 4" by 8" rectangular shapes on the screen with varying shades of color ranging from dark black to bright yellow. Each rectangle was showing independent color than the adjacent rectangle. It appears the back light is set up in quadrants of 64 throughout the 55" display. Needless to say, I took it back and got a replacement. For the moment, it appears to be functioning correctly. I will update as necessary. I am starting to get a little concerned about the QAing of the samsungs. The new TV has the later software revision loaded. 1003.0 version
Reviewed: 01/14/09 I have compared this TV side by side in my viewing environment with the following products:
Sony 52" W4100 (2 different sets)
Song 52" XBR6
Samsung 52" 750 (2 different sets)
Samsung 52" 850
Samsung 58 550 plasma
My findings were these:
Clouding: I was unable to find a TV that didn't suffer from some degree of "Mura" or clouding. All sets had it expect for the 950 and the plasma. I found during the testing that the sole samsung 850 tested the worst of the lot ( clouding evident in both back panels, even showing some of the worst areas during well lit content) and the second Sony W4100 to have the least clouding (had I not had the 950 I would have kept this example because while clouding was present, I could have lived with it) but it was evident in ALL TVs save the plasma and 950.
Color: I would say the Sony probable rendered the truest picture color but found that the samsungs vivid color presentation was the most pleasing to my eye. Side by side the 750 and 850 compared favorable to the 950. It's hard to forget that you can own at least two of the lower series of samsungs for the price of the 950.
Blooming: It is present but my "skills" at calibration allowed me to mitigate the worst effects of it. This is not a deal breaker.
Black: While light pumping can be seen at times, if you let go and watch the movie it is barely noticeable. I would like to point out that when you see black, it is black. LED back lighting is the way. Compared to the plasma (albeit a low end PN58A550 plasma)It rendered better blacks than THIS plasma.
So after much comparing of various makes and models I can say clearly that if the money doesn't bother you...then this TV is most certainly a keeper and will stay contemporary for many years to come.
Plasma's days are numbered and this TV is the messenger. |
Great LCD with Hi Tech Features
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| Review Date: February 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: D. Frost, |
This is my second Samsung TV and I am very happy with this purchase. Sure its a pricey TV but its also loaded with great features, tons of settings, and the latest LED backlight technology which provides black level that takes LCDs into Plasma territory without the power demands or heat of plasma. This new 55 inch takes less power than my old 40 inch LCD panel due to the smart backlight which turns down (or off) LEDs in dark areas of the displayed image.
Overall I think its picture quality is up there with the high end Sony (LDC) and Pineer (plasma) displays. Samsung has really made a name for themselves in the last few years with there continually improving line of LCDs. I really like how each input saves its own settings so you don't have to adjust whenever you switch inputs.
For gaming: Like other LCDs, in its default configuration there can be some trouble with some games with latency and image blur. I had one major issue with Rock Band when the animation behind the scrolling notes made the notes blur. You can use "E-Mode Game" to fix this but I found a better solution. Because you can not change the brightness/contrast or backlight with "E-Mode Game", I used HDMI2 input for the Xbox 360 and changed the label on HDMI2 to "PC". This tells the TV that you have a PC hooked up to HDMI2 and skips some of the color and image processing just like the "E-Mode Game" but you can now control brightness/contrast and backlight. This only works on HDMI2 and its briefly mentioned in the manual but it makes a much better low latency game mode than the "E-Mode Game" that Samsung provides.
For Movies: Much better than any other LCD due to the great black levels. Deep blacks and good dark detail can be seen with this TV with the right settings. With LED backlight and a Blu Ray player, blacks are actual black instead of dark gray and the black bars on widescreen movies disappear from view. And because its and LCD, bright seens have much more punch than even the best plasma displays.
For TV: If its standard definition don't expect too be impressed. I think the scaler and standard def TV feed looks good for what it is and you can use the LOW setting of dynamic contrast and auto motion plus to make it palatable. But if you have HD TV it should look great on this TV.
Negatives: There is only one real negative to this TV but for me its a very, very minor one. When viewed from an angle, you will loose the inky blacks even from just 30 degrees off axis. Its not a big deal for me for two reasons. The couch is directly on-axis and it looks great from any seat on the couch. From the side chair (about 40 deg) it still looks great and you would probably not even notice you were losing some black level until you move to the couch. Off axis, this TV still looks as good as any high end LCD I have seen. So if you will often need to watch off axis, you do lose some of the benefits of the LED backlight and maybe you should go for a plasma because all LCDs have this issue and most have it much worse than this TV. I just think its noticed more because the on axis blacks are so good. That is why it is often mentioned in reviews. Then only other minor issue is that the stand does not swivel. That would have been a nice touch but with a TV of this size, I probably would not move it much.
For Geeks: This TV is great. The number of different settings you have to play with are unbelievable. You can even do both color balance and grayscale calibration with this TV without needed to go into the services menu. You are provided with full grayscale setting (RGB Gain and Cut) and Color (RGB and YCM) from the standard settings. I really like this because I can try to calibrate it myself without the worry of messing up the service menu settings.
So, you pay a lot for this TV but I think its worth it for the picture quality and a chance to check out LED backlight technology before all the other LCDs get it, and they will! I think LED backlighting is a breakthrough for flat panels and will continue to improve over the next few years and become standard for LCD. So, I just paid a premium to see it now.
UPDATE: I found that the issue with some games was with the "LED Motion Plus Setting" Best to turn this off for most games. Still, its nice to have that PC mode as well to reduce latency. |
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