Samsung LN52A850S1F user reviews

5.0 stars

"Samsung is simply the best HDTV brand" on April 29, 2009 by Johnny-DK

Pros: Samsung is the best LCD brand. It got high contrast to display perfect dark scenes, great for movie and computer hook-up. I recommend you to check out http://www.squidoo.com/best-hdtv for information on what is the best and cheapest HDTV to get 2009.

Cons: I can't think of one.

Summary: I recommend Samsung LCD for gaming and for watching Blu-ray movie.

4.5 stars

"Fantastic choice for a first HDTV!" on December 6, 2008 by DimZum

Pros: The Big screen size, Brilliant picture quality, Very slim box overall (probably the thinnest TV out there), makes this TV a perfect first choice.

Cons: Because this TV is so slim/thin, I kind of worry a bit when I first lifted it to move it into my living room. If you take good care of it and be gentle when installing speakers, dvd players, blu-ray players, etc. There shouldn't be a problem.

Summary: We got this at Circuit City for about $2700 tax included, which was definitely a great deal for us since we had saved up $3000 for a TV. Brought it home, took less than 15 minutes to set up in the living room, and BAM! Awesome picture quality. Definitely noticed a difference in sports games (NFL).

We looked at a couple of the SONYs to compare prior to buying, but they were all way too expensive with the same specs and features as this Samsung.

If you have the money then go with SONY, if not, then Samsung is the way to go. Samsung currently tops SONYs in LCD TVs overall (mostly due to the prices).

1.5 stars

"good picture" on May 1, 2010 by newbs15

Pros: dlna and thiness of bezel

Cons: after 14 months the middle of screen went black and then clicked back on again took it in for repair the whole lcd panel had to be replaced 1200 dollar repair good thing payed for buy credit card looks like they will cover it stay away from this one

Summary: with this kind of track record saty away old toshiba crt set worked great for 8 years and still going strong

0.5 stars

"Died 18 days after Purchase" on February 8, 2009 by pbxtx

Pros: Exceeded all my expectations, excellent picture, style, DLNA, price point, and nice stand

Cons: Poor reliability--no picture after 18 days--, DLNA implementation fragile, downfiring speakers not good for use with a stand, some screen glare/reflections with backlight, needs more cable taming features

Summary: Great picture, DLNA was a bonus, but the reliability is why it gets 1 star as it died 18 days after purchase, and I am awaiting the repair co to come out (NISI TX). Note this TV was replacement for an older 50" Samsung DLP (HLN5065), and while I was considering another DLP, the LCD was simply so much brighter and clearer it won out.

You will need an external audio setup for this TV. The downfiring speakers might be ok for a wall mounted TV but if you have a stand, the audio is poor.

DLNA is a bonus, but it's a bit fragile...it was necessary to power cycle the TV more than once to recover from playback errors... the TV would not even respond to commands from the remote.

Arrangement of the HDMI inputs is poor for a flush wall mount if you need more than 1 connector.

The little extra remote is neat but is rather pointless for most folks considering that just about everyone has an STB these days, and the audio on the TV is worthless. Nice thought but poorly executed. .. make it programmable, let it switch the inputs or something else, control the DLNA, etc.

Note I'll be happy to post an update with the result of the warranty repair, a company's tech support as well as the people they choose as repair representatives should be a consideration when you purchase.

Updated on Mar 29, 2009

The TV was finally repaired, it was repaired 6 days after the original call to NISI. It turned out that the LCD panel backlight itself failed, and the whole panel had to be replaced. The techs that came out were professional, courteous, and took care not to damage or scratch anything. It unfortunately took 2 visits, the first visit to verify the problem and the second to return with the part.

Note that on the second visit, only 1 tech was sent, and it's clear the repair needed 2 due to the size of the TV. While I did not mind helping the tech to move the TV and to help reposition the new panel, two techs should have been sent. Note be nice to your techs, they are there to fix your problem.

So far the TV has been back inservice for a month with no issues. I'd raise my review to 4 stars, taking off a star given the repair, needing to assist in repair, and a bit of unhapiness in the repair...it's essentially a gut. It would be faster simply to authorize a new TV on the spot.