Samsung LN55B650
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"Great TV for the money." on by willrok13
Pros: Ability to change various picture settings, volume/channel controls are rapid, excellent picture quality, accurate color reproduction, good black levels, excellent price for a 55", cool quiet operation.
Cons: Media connect is slow, no handles for moving, Wi-Fi dongle should be included for functionality.
Summary: Overall I am very happy with this purchase. While researching TVs I was looking mainly at Plasmas for their brightness and lack of fade out. After cruising around several stores I noticed how much heat plasmas release. This TV stays cool, and looks even cooler. I love the red accents in the frame, not overwhelming, but I nice touch. Aside from some very minor issues listed above, this scrutinizing buyer is in love...
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"Phenomenal HDTV Absolutely the best bang for your buck" on by evansteinman
Pros: Nice dark Blacks. Great contrast. Vivid Colors. Glossiness does not really reflect a whole lot. The Best TV for X-Box 360 due to built in pre-set Game mode. Seperate de-judder and blur controls helps reduce annoying "video-camera-feel" of the 120 Hz.
Cons: After 4 months, HDMI porst stopped working, but no problem...Samsung mailed me 2 thumb drives with latest firmware., and VOILA!...It works perfectly
Summary: Let me just start off by saying that I owned a standard rear-projection 60" Mitsubishi TV for 15 years, and well, it died on me...boo hoo hoo. So, I HAD to go and replace it. I am very spec-crazy, so it took me well over a month to research all the latest HDTVs out there. IT came down to LG an Samsung. The only thing that kept me from the LG was slightly duller color saturation, due in part to the matte finish of their screens, so LG was out. Thenm, it came down to Samsung models. I looked at the 52", which according to c-net and other reviews, was supposed to have a better image quality, but in a side-to-side comparison, I saw no justification to go to a smaller screen. I figured 55" translates closer to the 4 foot width that I had with my old Mitsubishi, and I did not want to go any smaller. I also looked at the more expensive LED Samsungs, and although they had somewhat better contrast ratios (really nice dark blacks), I could not justfy the additional $800 for that. So, The LN55B650 seemed to be the HDTV for me.
I have the TV mounted on the wall, angled down very slightly, and although the screen is glossy, it is slightly darkened and barely reflects any abient, direct, or side lighting at all (this was my big fear). I am very surprised that lighting is not an issue for me, especially since I have a large bay window to the side, and sliding glass doors opposite the screen. So, basically don't let reflectivity dissuade you from Samsung. The color saturation based on this type of screen is well worth it.
OK, now to the TV. The picture overall is nothing short of spectacular. The high contrast, razor-sharp images, and pure colors are truly breath-taking. The menu system is laid out logically, and with a little playing around can be easily figured out with out the use of the manual. The seperate controls for altering the pre-set 120 Hz is a very good thing (much better than the competition). THe 120 Hz thing is...well.. not great with everything. With the news, sports, Late-nite talkshows, HDTV-filmed content....etc, its fantastic, BUT (and its a big but), for movies, it plain old sucks. Just try watching STAR WARS, for example, in 120 Hz...It lokks like a freakin' video shot with a camcorder !! It's horrible. So, thank goodness Samsung has the seperate de-judder and blur controls...with a few tweaks and a save, the TV lets movies look just like filmed movies instead of uncle bob's trip to Cancun. Ok, now for the sound. Well, the sound is OK...not great, but good enough. When you watch movies, of course, you'll want to use your big hi-fi, but for everyday use it's just fine.
OK, well, just one issue that I experienced. After 4 months of owning this set, The HDMI porst stopped working (HDMIs 1,2,& 4 specifically) Apparently something went wrong and they lost their "hand-shake" with the compents they were carrying. Anyway, the Samsung techs came to my house, we removed the TV from the wall, and they replaced the mother-board (which contains all the connectors...man these TVs are so simple inside...all it is is a mother board and almost nothing else!). We put the set back up on the wall and it worked....for while...then....it happened again 2 weeks later (HDMI 1,2,&4) prts are dead again!!!! AAARRGGGH. So, I reported it again, BUT this time before the techs had a chance to come to my house, I get a call from the Samsung Tech group, and they say it is definitely a FIRMWARE issue. So, as of January 15, 2010, they have a new set of firmware updates (it wasn't even available on their site as of yet) so they mailed me a set of thumb-drives. I plugged them in, they self installed, and WHOO HOO!!! Everything works beatifully again. I must say the techs at Samsung are really on-the-ball as they saved my TV and my wits.
Bottom line: this is the HDTV to get. I reccomend it whole-heartedly. You will not be dissappointed !! -
"We love it" on by s4mantv
Pros: Fantastic picture, great color, does standard TV very well, No need for LED there for less cost
Cons: Glossy screen
Summary: Decided to buy a new TV to replace what has been a great performing Samung DLP HL-P5674W. In picking a new TV, we had a size limitation of a maximum overall width of 53 inches and could not justify spending over $2000. We did not want to go much smaller than the old 56. This left a choice of the 54 inch Panasonic plasma or a small number of 55 inch LCD options. We chose the 54 inch Panasonic S1 (could not justify the V10). After brining it home for a few days the kids were complaining about the standard TV picture (I dont watch standard TV so did not notice it until they pointed it out). If I had read the CNET review, I may have known the S1 was not going to do well with standard TV. The other issue was when watch both standard DVDs and Blu-ray there is a distracting modeling or motion to the background images. We never had this with the DLP and were a greatly disappointment. Took a trip back to the store and noticed the same issues with the display unit. We took it back to hh gregg (no problem or cost with the return) and took home a Samsung LN55B650 LCD. This TV does a great job with standard sources, DVD, and Blu-ray. What surprised us was how black the blacks are (no need for LED). They are as black as the plasmas we have looked at. When to calibrate the TV and found that it required very little that needed to be done for our environment. This TV looks better at home than it did in the store. At the store they have the sets pushed (vivid) and in a retail store picture mode that I believe does not do the set justice. The only negative is the gloss screen. As looks go we like the touch of red.
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"The most vivid picture" on by bkohler
Pros: Picture quality is totally awesome.
Cons: Yahoo widgets are pretty much useless, but who cares.
Summary: I went to buy a Panasonic G-10 series plasma after reading all of the great reviews. But when I got to the store and saw this tv next to the Panasonic, it was a no brainer. The brightness and clarity of this picture blew most of the other tv's away (in the $2,000 price range). I even tried cranking the brightness up all the way on the Panasonic, but the picture just looked dim compared to the Samsung.
This tv is a technological marvel. It has automotion plus, dejudder settings, and tons of other adjustments for tweaking the picture to your liking. Sports look absolutely amazing on this tv. -
"Simply Amazing" on by arumney
Pros: Besides just being an amazing centerpiece to look at, the quality of the picture just blows my mind away. It's a joy to watch anything on this tv and you'll understand why Blu-Ray is so great. Your shows all will look like they are on a live set.
Cons: Some artifact halos come up around people. You just notice this more because the people are so big on the screen. Also the power cord seems to have a short. It turns off the tv even if you just touch the cord.
Summary: You will love this TV. It's worth every penny you will spend.
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