Samsung LN46A630

Summary: When researching LCD TVs, I narrowed my search to the Samsung 5- and 6-series, based on reviews of quality and overall value. I went to our local Best Buy several times to also let my eyes judge in person what I had been reading.

First, I'd like to say that all three of these TVs are quality units, but each has a different feature set and if you are in the same situation I was, hopefully this review will help you make an informed decision.

LN46A550 (Released March 2008): Great TV for those on a tight budget who still want one of best pictures available on any 46" LCD TV. Initially, this was my choice based on strong reviews and the savings it offered. The 550 has a matte screen, which reduces the reflection of ambient light and glare. I decided to narrow my search to the 6-series based on 120Hz processing (not available on the 550), which is a feature I wanted after seeing it in person, especially for Blu-ray movies and watching sports.

LN46A650 (Released March 2008): Offering Auto Motion Plus 120hz and 50,000:1 contrast ratio, I initially thought this was an excellent choice. However, the 650 suffers from the same problem as plasma TVs, in that they reflect ambient light and significantly increase glare. Samsung chose to use a super glossy surface for their higher end LCD TVs, which increases contrast ratio at the cost of heavy reflection. Personally, one of the main reasons I was buying an LCD over a plasma was to eliminate glare. Samsung offers the PN50A650 for nearly the same price as the LN46A650, and you get a larger screen with 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

LN46A630 (Released August 2008): The first thing you might notice is that Samsung released the 630 five months after the 550 and 650. The reason for this was consumers wanted a 120Hz Samsung LCD in a matte-finish screen. Also, people were quite mixed in their opinion of the red Touch of Color (ToC) frame and thick bezel. The 630 provides a thinner bezel and mutes the ToC. I much prefer this look, both when the TV is on and off, so I'm very happy with the adjustments. As mentioned, this LCD uses the matte-finish, which eliminates the reflection of ambient light and glare. It was interesting when I was in Best Buy, because they had a 650 and a 630 side-by-side. Both picture quality was very sharp (40,000:1 vs 50,000:1), although the 650 reflected light from several sources. I actually stood right in between the two screens and moved to the left and right. When I was in front of the 630, I could not see any reflections and the picture was extremely clear. As I slowly moved to the left in front of the 650, my face and body reflected off the screen like a mirror, as well as other light sources. During bright scenes this was not noticeable and the picture was very good, but during dark scenes the reflection was very distracting. The 630 had none of these issues, with the same advantages of excellent picture quality and 120 Hz processing.

I think this LCD is the best combination of quality and value available right now. The sound of the 630 is average out of the box, so I have a home theater in a box (HTIB) hooked up to it. This is pretty common for most LCDs, except the very high end models.

Overall, I think the LN46A630 is the best choice among Samsung LCDs, in terms of price, picture quality and features. If you are trying to decide between the 550, 650 and 630, I highly recommend the LN46A630.