Samsung LN55B650 (55" LCD TV)

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 !!