Samsung LN46A550 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV by Samsung
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List Price: Our Price: $569.99 You Save: $930.00 (62%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Samsung LN46A550 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Digital camera Review: 46a550 best deal out there!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I looked around for a new hdtv for quite a while. i am so glad that i waited until now. I was looking for something under $1700 but anything out there seemed like throwing money away. I thought that in order to get a good tv i would have to bump up the budget to over $2000, but when i saw that this tv came out i jumped at it,$1499 plus free shipping from amazon. I did go to a local store and looked at it in person and have to admit that i was not completely floored by it, but thought it would be better than the lesser brands. Well i received the 550 on 4/25 and connected my pc and ps3 to it. everything from that point on changed. I could not beleive how amazing bru-ray's looked on this set. i tried a few different movies,some that have very dark scenes and some with very bright colors and it amazed me every time. Even my dvd's looked great upconverted on this set. i love being able to watch HD trailers at full 1080p on line now. The sound that everyone complains about is not as bad they may state. Even my wife said she would not watch another movie unless its in HD or upconverted through this tv.Digital camera Review: 5 star performance, plus a few personal thoughts and tips
Summary: 5 Stars
Why I bought this set:
My old tube TV suddenly burnt out, I guess it sensed that the change was in the air... I originally wanted to go with a 42" 720p set, but my partner insisted on getting a 1080p TV so "We'd be ready for the (near) future." After reading many reviews, I learned that you won't appreciate the 1080p hi-def on a set that's less than 42". So I started to look for a 46" 1080p TV, and my budget was [$...]. 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...
Digital camera Review: A Best Buy for Sure
Summary: 5 Stars
My Consumer Magazine listed this TV as a Best Buy and they were right. It is a great TV for the money.Digital camera Review: A Comment on the Sound
Summary: 4 Stars
I almost went with another brand because of all the reviews on how horrid the sound from this TV is. Because it's over my fireplace, I don't have anywhere to set up a home theater system, and I don't want any cables going to or from the set. So it's strictly a cable watching TV.
After some serious research, I ended up going with this television. Everything that has been said about the picture is true. It's beautiful - so I won't say anymore on that. The exterior design of the television is great with the gloss frame, blue light under the Samsung logo, and the side inputs. I kinda like the little melody it plays when you turn it on and off (reminds me of my iMac). The mat finish on the screen was a huge selling point for me as the TV is in a room with windows almost directly across from it. No annoying reflections whatsoever. It mounted over my fireplace easily with the Peerless SF660 mount.
Now for the sound - it's not that great. As many have said, it's definitely a little tinny sounding and the bass leaves much to be desired. I did the equalizer settings per the thread found on the avforums website and that helped a little bit. Dialogue is usually pretty good, but music isn't always that great. I've also noticed it's dependent on the cable channel to a certain extent. Some are better than others and there's nothing I can do about that.
I received the television before the wall mount, so naturally I had to temporarily set it up on a table using just the included stand. I noticed that because of the downward facing speakers and the design of the case, a lot of the sound is lost out the back of the TV when it is on the stand. After mounting it on the wall, I found that the sound slightly improved (especially the bass) as the sound is reflected off of the wall surface and into the room.
I'm definitely very happy with my purchase! Although it leaves a lot to be desired, I'm happier with the sound than I thought I would be, especially after getting it hung on the wall. Don't let other reviews based on the sound deter you. Like many have said, you can't expect home theater quality sound from a TV that's 4 inches thick.
Digital camera Review: A Fabulous HDTV
Summary: 5 Stars
We purchased the Samsung LCD LN46A550 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Television from Amazon.com and it is wonderful! The televison has a perfect picture - very sharp and crisp. The entire transaction from online purchase to delivery was fabulous. The televison arrived earlier than the anticipated due date and the actual delivery was smooth and on time. The television is great and was priced very competitively. I would definitely purchase another Samsung and purchase again from Amazon.com!