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Samsung LN46A550 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Product Description
Product Details
Video Reviews
Customer Reviews
My old tube TV suddenly burnt out, I guess it sensed that the change was in the air... I originally wanted to go with a 42" 720p set, but my partner insisted on getting a 1080p TV so "We'd be ready for the (near) future." After reading many reviews, I learned that you won't appreciate the 1080p hi-def on a set that's less than 42". So I started to look for a 46" 1080p TV, and my budget was [$...]. I first looked at 4661/4665 models, but soon realized that they were being replaced by the 46A550. Even though this is a 5 series TV that replaced two 6 series TVs (well, sort of, consider the 4/5/6/7 classification is new for 2008), the 46A550 trumps its predecessors in specs, mainly the contrast ratio. You might have read that the contrast ratio varies from one manufacturer to another since there's no standard for measuring, so it didn't matter too much for me. I also read that 4661/4665 had some firmware issues, and at the time of purchase, they were actually more expensive than 46A550 on Amazon. So 46A550 became the clear winner.
Performance:
So far so good. It's important to note that I currently do not have any HD input-just the standard cable signal and Wii via composite cables. Of course the picture quality is OK at best, but I am hardly complaining as I have faith in the set. Because this set is new (mine was assembled on March 31st and arrived to my house 10 days later), there aren't many extensive reviews online yet. Usually, the Sony sets lead the pack in comparison reviews, but they usually cost [$...] more than the runner-up. To my eyes, the Sony tends to display more details and Samsung does a better job delivering vibrant color and contrast. One might look slight better than the other, depends on your preferences, when they are next to each other. But either one would look fantastic just by itself.
Interface:
The menu is pretty easy to navigate through, and options are where you'd expect. However, because there's no dedicated PIP button, it was a little difficult to activate that. You'd have to either go through Menu or press the Tool button on the remote, then go down the menu and activate that feature. Also, I am not the biggest fan of the remote. It has back-lit feature, but in order to have all the buttons lit-up, Samsung gives us big soft rubbery buttons. Some of these buttons can get stuck if you press hard, and I am yet to use the back-lit feature cuz I usually have a light on in the room. The IR sensor can also be improved. It is located at the bottom right corner of the frame. My room isn't huge, so sometimes I am a little "too close" to the TV, and the remote wouldn't work because it is not aiming straight at the sensor. If the sensor was in the middle of frame, it'd probably work better. The aforementioned "imperfections" are definitely not deal-breakers.
Experience with Amazon and EGL shipping:
Like last time, it was a good experience this time. Amazon had very competitive price in the first place, and the 30-day price protection feature was a plus.
EGL shipping came on time. They delivered the TV to the room, put it on my stand and plugged in to make it worked fine. Noting to complain whatsoever.
Tips on extended warranty:
This TV comes with a 1yr service/labor warranty. If anything goes wrong, you do not need to ship it back. Instead, call Samsung and they will send a technician out to repair it on site.
I thought it'd be a good idea to get some extended warranty (say, 3 year?) on this [$...] toy. At the time of purchase, Amazon offered two 3-yr ext. warr. options on this particular model-Option 1 is from a 3rd party vendor (with the envelop and seal logo) and Option 2 one from Samsung (with a Samsung logo). Option 1 was slight cheaper, but didn't receive very good ratings on Amazon, while Option 2 had no ratings at all. Option 2 didn't even have thorough explanation on what's covered and what's not.
After lengthy research, i found out that the "Samsung ext. service" was really offered through Service Net ([...]), and they told me the fine prints of the warranty can be found at ([...]). The 3-yr Samsung plan through Amazon overlaps the first year manufacturer's warranty, so really you are only getting 2 extra years out of the deal. Service Net sells their versions of the "Samsung 3yr ext. warranty", which really gives you 3 additional years after the first year, but is way WAY more expensive. Don't know why...
None of the above sounded like a sure-sell to me, so here's what I did. I found out that my Visa card has a feature called Warranty Protection. Basically it extends the original manufacturer's warranty for another year. 'n at the end of the 2nd year if you wish to extend the warranty even further, Visa offers an additional 3-yr plan that's about [$...]. You can call your bank and/or Visa regarding this feature.
Hope my review helps...
A little over a year ago I bought a Samsung 214T-21.3" monitor for my big computer.
I've been extremely happy with its performance and quality. So much so, I decided on a Samsung monitor for my movie watching experience.
I bought the LN46A550P to replace a 20 year old 50" Mitsubishi. The 50" TV was excellent in its day but it was old and had some issues. Obviously, it was time for retirement.
After doing a week and a half's worth of research I decided on the Series 5 for four main reasons:
1) 30,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - The higher, the better picture quality.
2) 5ms Response Time - The amount of time any given pixel on the screen takes to change from one color to another. For game playing this is a must.
3) Appearance - it is a handsome looking piece of furniture!
4) Price
The day the monitor arrived I took the lid off the shipping container and felt that the monitor was cool to the touch. After all, it spent about 10 days in a cold truck and 3 more days in a warehouse before it was delivered to my home. Because of that, I opted to unpack the monitor and let it sit in my living room for a day or so before plugging it in.
I live in a mobile home that has a moderately sized living room. If I had purchased a bigger set, I'd be too close to the action. It would be like being too close to the screen in a movie theatre. (not good)
For optimum viewing it is best to place the monitor at the same height as your head if you were sitting in your favorite chair about 6 to 8 feet away. I've seen pictures of this monitor mounted on a wall much higher up and further away from the viewing perspective and wondered if the people watching a movie would get a sore neck. Having such a setup reduces the movie watching experience as well.
The monitor's subsystems are accessed through a Microsoft Windows-like menu making it easy for anybody to access its features.
I do recommend disabling the monitor's speakers within the monitor's menu system.
The monitor's speakers are fine for average viewing but fall short in providing booming sound for movies.
I have my monitor connected to an amplifier. This is done by connecting cables from the left and right audio channel output jacks behind the monitor to the amplifier's audio input jacks.
My Nintendo Wii is connected to my monitor via a Component cable for maximum video clarity. The Wii's audio cables are also plugged into the monitor and the sound the Wii makes is routed through the monitor's electronics to the amplifier. I included this information in my review for all you gamers.
In studying the manuals you will notice right away that the quick setup guide warns that if you experience any difficulties with the monitor NOT TO SEND IT BACK TO THE PLACE OF PURCHASE. Instead, it instructs you to call SAMSUNG. Samsung offers in-home service for monitors larger than 30 inches during the warranty period.
In the near future I plan to purchase a Sony Blue Ray player (BDPS300). It is a second generation BD player that steps DVD movies up to 1080p.
Care and Maintenance:
ALWAYS use a micro fiber clothe to clean an LCD display to avoid scratching its surface. Samsung includes a micro fiber clothe with the monitor but no cleaning solution. You will need some good cleaner, like; "Monster ScreenClean LCD Display Cleaner 2 Bottle Screen Clean Mini Package (MPC CLNKIT-SM)" found here on Amazon.com.
I use that cleaner to keep my computer LCD monitors clean. It leaves no dirt or dust behind after cleaning.
I gave this monitor 5 out of 5 stars with only one recommendation for Samsung; keep the audio output jacks in the back of the monitor but remove the built-in speakers. People who buy such a monitor have amplifiers and movies in mind.
One Special Note:
On the shipping container you will see a liquid-filled sticker in the shape of a pyramid that says, "Tip & Tell". If the tip of the pyramid is blue it means the monitor was tipped over during shipping. In that case, make sure the delivery company makes note of it on the delivery invoice!!! My monitor was tipped but I saw no damage to the container at all. My monitor has no visible damage either and works perfectly. Makes me wonder what happen? Either way, I'm cover under warranty!
Register the monitor with Samsung as well and keep the receipts in a safe place.
Roger. (40 y/o)
The image is extremely clear with no banding or ghosting whatsoever (but like any HDTV don't stare at the screen from point blank). HD channels come in crisp and clear, and blacks look very black, not greyish like my older Sharp LCD's TV displays. They don't have any high definition movie player yet, but we are working on it.
Another thing for those interested in wall mounting. The whole TV is less than 60 pounds. I held it up myself while my dad mounted it to the wall.
Also it's easy to carry up stairs (you don't need to have an expensive moving company do anything for you or mount it if you are sufficiently skilled with such things).
Like the other reviewer said however, the speakers are very underwhelming, in comparison to the rest of the setup. Then again, most TV's speakers are.
In all I have to give it a 5 out of 5 based on the value, even with the lackluster speakers, the display itself is just too good.
[...]
Most of the specifications are not listed on the Amazon site. If interested, check the Samsung site.
Ignoring technical stuff, this TV is fantastic. The picture is outstanding especially for the HD shows. The non-glossy screen is also a big improvement. Even the sound quality is better. I watch sports and the picture quality is so much clearer with no shadows. By far, this is the better TV, for less money.
If I could give more than 5 stars, I would.
The delivery company was great - both TVs were delivered a few days after ordering.
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!!!
This is a GREAT TV!! I've never ordered a large item like this "Online", but the price was great $1600 and I figured (it's Amazon) so try it. The merchant was Electronics Expo and they shipped it right to my door exactly as promised. I initially sent them an email asking for them to confirm my order...no reply. I was a little concerned, but it was just the first day of their estimated delivery window. Two days later, the shipping company called and they arranged delivery, exactly as promised. I thought..this is too good to be true (great price, great TV, no sales tax, free shipping).
I bought this TV to replace a Sharp 45 LCD because the picture appears very "washed out" when viewed from the sides. This Samsung TV's picture is crisp and clear from ANY angle. Also, it took me all of 4-5 minutes from the time I cut the straps on the box until I was actually watching HDTV. This TV comes entirely setup (already on the stand) and ready to plug-in to your HDMI. I never adjusted a thing...it was perfect right out of the box!!! I had always heard that Samsung was the BEST in LCDs...now I am a believer. This is a real HIGH-END TV at a middle-low end price. Trust me, I did hours and hours of research and Google searches. Stop looking and wasting your time...this is the DEAL. I am going back for the 52" 550 Series next week for the Family room.
About a month ago, I got on the AVS forums and asked for those guy's recommendations for a good set. This 550 came up time and time again, so I took the plunge and ordered the 40" version. It took less than a week from Amazon and CEVA did a great job of delivering and unpacking the set. Yet soon after CEVA left, I noticed a single dead pixel, and I ordered a replacement from Amazon. They were very understanding in the matter and very quick to accept the replacement order. [*Quick side note, Samsung considers "a few" dead pixels "normal" and will not replace things as easily as Amazon did. I simply explained this to Amazon and they ordered the replacement, no questions asked!] By the time I had decided to replace the 40", I said what the heck, and I got the 46" instead.
CEVA again came out, packed up the old TV and dropped off the new one. Ever since then, I've been in love. This is the first LCD I've ever owned that did not have a dead pixel, clouding, flash-lighting, banding, or any of the other many problems a LCD can have. The set looks absolutely fantastic inside and out. The bezel is very sleek with the piano black finish. I had always enjoyed this on my plasma and I still like it on this LCD. The bezel is also very thin, so it feels as if the screen is even bigger than it is. The chrome finish on the bottom is very attractive as is the small LED blue light that shines from just under center. The small light fading when the set powers down was a very nice touch as well.
I also really enjoy having a swivel base. My HP-S4253 was always stationary, so it made things very difficult if you were sitting far off of center or if you had to adjust some cords behind the TV. Now with my 550, I can swivel the TV to watch anywhere in the room and also very easily get to my connections in the back. All of the connections are conveniently located on the back left side of the TV, and it takes one quick swivel to have access to everything.
Now for the picture. All I can say is WOW. If you're familiar with the quality of LCDs over the past few years, you'll really appreciate how fantastic this TV looks when correctly calibrated. The black levels are comparable to my old Samsung Plasma. They are by no means "pitch black" or "inky", but very, very close to my Plasma's picture quality. I can now watch movies in 2.35:1 and not be able to see the black bars because they are truly black. I also am free of the worries of burn-in or retention of those black bars. It's a wonderful feeling.
The brights are impressive as well. Very impressive! If you aren't careful, in a dark room this 550 can cause eye strain. I recommend some ambient lighting while viewing this set haha. All in all, this is a good thing. Sports and brighter colorful movies have a lot of "pop" to them, which is something my plasma could never do. In a movie likes Cars, the plasma always looked kind of muddy and bland, whereas this LCD looks incredible!! I am extremely pleased with the picture quality of this set.
Overall, you'd have to be a fool to not realize the value of this television. Two years ago I spent roughly $2,500 on a 42" plasma with a noticeably worse picture. Today I can spend over $1,000 LESS than that and get a 46" set with a superior picture. Amazon gets two thumbs up in my book! They handled everything flawlessly and the customer service was great as always. I also give credit to CEVA for their kind employees and prompt service. This was a great purchasing process and one that no one should be afraid of. If you're in the market for a TV that is full of value, without all of the unnecessary fluff out there today, I say dive in and get this 550!
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.
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