Samsung LN46A550 46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Samsung LN46A550 46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV
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Samsung LN46A550 LCD HDTV Review - 14 Benefits
Customer Reviews
My review of the Samsung LN46A550P
Well, here’s my review of the Samsung LN46A550P 46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV.
A little over a year ago I bought a Samsung 214T-21.3″ monitor for my big computer.
I’ve been extremely happy with its performance and quality. So much so, I decided on a Samsung monitor for my movie watching experience.
I bought the LN46A550P to replace a 20 year old 50″ Mitsubishi. The 50″ TV was excellent in its day but it was old and had some issues. Obviously, it was time for retirement.
After doing a week and a half’s worth of research I decided on the Series 5 for four main reasons:
1) 30,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - The higher, the better picture quality.
2) 5ms Response Time - The amount of time any given pixel on the screen takes to change from one color to another. For game playing this is a must.
3) Appearance - it is a handsome looking piece of furniture!
4) Price
The day the monitor arrived I took the lid off the shipping container and felt that the monitor was cool to the touch. After all, it spent about 10 days in a cold truck and 3 more days in a warehouse before it was delivered to my home. Because of that, I opted to unpack the monitor and let it sit in my living room for a day or so before plugging it in.
I live in a mobile home that has a moderately sized living room. If I had purchased a bigger set, I’d be too close to the action. It would be like being too close to the screen in a movie theatre. (not good)
For optimum viewing it is best to place the monitor at the same height as your head if you were sitting in your favorite chair about 6 to 8 feet away. I’ve seen pictures of this monitor mounted on a wall much higher up and further away from the viewing perspective and wondered if the people watching a movie would get a sore neck. Having such a setup reduces the movie watching experience as well.
The monitor’s subsystems are accessed through a Microsoft Windows-like menu making it easy for anybody to access its features.
I do recommend disabling the monitor’s speakers within the monitor’s menu system.
The monitor’s speakers are fine for average viewing but fall short in providing booming sound for movies.
I have my monitor connected to an amplifier. This is done by connecting cables from the left and right audio channel output jacks behind the monitor to the amplifier’s audio input jacks.
My Nintendo Wii is connected to my monitor via a Component cable for maximum video clarity. The Wii’s audio cables are also plugged into the monitor and the sound the Wii makes is routed through the monitor’s electronics to the amplifier. I included this information in my review for all you gamers.
In studying the manuals you will notice right away that the quick setup guide warns that if you experience any difficulties with the monitor NOT TO SEND IT BACK TO THE PLACE OF PURCHASE. Instead, it instructs you to call SAMSUNG. Samsung offers in-home service for monitors larger than 30 inches during the warranty period.
In the near future I plan to purchase a Sony Blue Ray player (BDPS300). It is a second generation BD player that steps DVD movies up to 1080p.
Care and Maintenance:
ALWAYS use a micro fiber clothe to clean an LCD display to avoid scratching its surface. Samsung includes a micro fiber clothe with the monitor but no cleaning solution. You will need some good cleaner, like; “Monster ScreenClean LCD Display Cleaner 2 Bottle Screen Clean Mini Package (MPC CLNKIT-SM)” found here on Amazon.com.
I use that cleaner to keep my computer LCD monitors clean. It leaves no dirt or dust behind after cleaning.
I gave this monitor 5 out of 5 stars with only one recommendation for Samsung; keep the audio output jacks in the back of the monitor but remove the built-in speakers. People who buy such a monitor have amplifiers and movies in mind.
One Special Note:
On the shipping container you will see a liquid-filled sticker in the shape of a pyramid that says, “Tip & Tell”. If the tip of the pyramid is blue it means the monitor was tipped over during shipping. In that case, make sure the delivery company makes note of it on the delivery invoice!!! My monitor was tipped but I saw no damage to the container at all. My monitor has no visible damage either and works perfectly. Makes me wonder what happen? Either way, I’m cover under warranty!
Register the monitor with Samsung as well and keep the receipts in a safe place.
5 star performance, plus a few personal thoughts and tips
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…
Awesome
This is the Holy Grail of great picture at a reasonable price point. I had another LCD (Sceptre) which I returned and this is superior in every way- it just not have the ghosting and motion judder that the other did. The 5ms response time really makes a difference- I don’t think the 120hz processor is necessary since this tv makes up for what it would add in response time and firmware. This is the best looking tv I have seen, and it even does a good job of displaying standard definition satellite signals- 10 times better than others I have seen.
There are no cons except it is possible you could run out of inputs in the future- just count up your components and compare.
Great most of the time.
This TV has one of the best pictures I’ve ever seen when viewing Blu-ray movies of day light scenes, but when it’s dark, the shadows don’t look right. They’re too dark and the color is distorted. It’s not horrible; it just looks fake like the old colorization of black and white movies.
Also on certain scenes of intense movement it is blurry like most LCD’s are that don’t have the 120 Hz.
That’s the negative. Overall, I really like this TV. Even Analog stations look pretty good at a distance of more than ten feet. Any closer they look a little grainy. But at a distance it still looks really good.
Maybe if I set the TV up differently the shadow color problem could be corrected, but I have tried many settings (and there are many settings) to adjust and haven’t improved it yet. If you watch a lot of movies with dark scenes you might be annoyed.
Product Description
What’s New?
- 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio: up from 15,000:1 on 2007 models (15,000 on 32-inch and 37-inch models)
- Fast 5ms response time: down from 8ms on 2007 models thanks to a new high-speed liquid crystal
Features Overview
- Full 1080p HD
- 178-degree viewing angle from all four axes with Super Patterned Vertical Alignment
- 3 HDMI 1.3 ports: Simplay compliant
- USB 2.0 port: connect devices directly to your HDTV–view JPEG photos or MPEG movies or easily listen to your MP3 player through your HDTV’s audio system or your home theater system
- DNIe Digital Natural Image Engine improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, and white balance
- Clear panel technology for deeper blacks and more vibrant colors
- Hidden speakers with SRS TruSurround XT audio
- Wide Color Enhancer technology and Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) offer a wider color range
- Picture-in-Picture (PIP) enables convenient simultaneous viewing of TV programs and video or PC sources
- V-Chip system allows blocking of rated TV and movie programs determined by the parent to contain objectionable content.
- Trilingual on-screen displays in English, Spanish or French.
- Variable sleep timer to turn the TV off in varying time intervals.
- Auto wall mount compatible: 3-dimensional operation via TV’s remote control; no external IR receiver required.
- Swivel stand included
- 1 year parts and 1 year labor warranty (90 days parts and labor for commercial use), with in-home service, backed by Samsung toll-free support
Series 6 Step Up Features
- 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
- AutoMotion Plus 120Hz image interpolation for smoother motion
- 4ms response time
- Transparent and Opaque Color (TOC) bezel
- Ethernet port with Infolink free RSS feeds
- 4 HDMI 1.3 ports
- Sports and Game modes
- Compatible with Samsung’s Home Digital Media Adapter for playback and navigation of Internet and stored PC multimedia
Series 7 Step-Up Features
- Internal flash memory (1GB) with pre-loaded interactive content such as cooking recipes, children’s entertainment, HD artwork and more
- Integrated woofer for an enhanced audio experience
- DLNA-Compatible: for better interoperability with electronics, computers and mobile devices from many different manufacturers
Learn More
Full HD 1080P
 
Full HD, or 1080p, contains 1.5 times more scanning lines than conventional HD TVs. More scanning lines mean more pixels, more details and a better picture. The new Samsung LCD TV with resolution that is approximately 2 times greater than conventional HDTVs, creating the most perfect picture imaginable. Samsung’s 1080p panel uses a new high-speed liquid crystal to cut response time to 4ms. The fast response time, coupled with Samsung’s Auto Motion Plus 120Hz motion blur reduction technology dramatically reduces motion blur and judder. |
Super Clear Panel
Samsung enhances the clarity of select LCD HDTVs by replacing the light-diffusing plastic face of traditional LCD HDTVs with a natural black panel with a clear anti-glare shield. Reduced reflection of external light creates a new dimension in image clarity, highlighting black and darkened areas, enabling vibrant, more compelling colors and a brighter, clearer picture. Black will never again appear grayish. Black details will show in vivid black even in dark scenes. The latest version of Samsung’s breakthrough super clear panel technology makes colors appear more vibrant and blacks even deeper than ever. Enhanced films reduce glare and optimize off-angle viewing. |
30,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio/500 nit Brightness
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30,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio will give you a picture better than you ever thought possible, with whiter whites, blacker blacks and a nearly infinite subtlety of gradations in between. As two of the most important determining factors in overall picture quality, contrast and brightness levels achieve new heights in this latest generation LCD panel. Samsung’s new LCD TV’s give the most stunning realistic picture quality ever. |
Digital Natural Image Engine
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DNIe The Samsung Digital Natural Image engine. This exclusive Samsung technology dramatically improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, white balance and reduces. |
Wide Color Enhancer/Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp
| The NTSC (National Television Systems Committee) has established the color standards all TVs in America try to meet. And typical LCD TVs only meet about 72% of this standard. Samsung LCD HDTVs use Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp back lights to give you 92% coverage of the NTSC standard, ensuring truer, more breathlessly vivid colors.
Samsung’s exclusive Wide Color Enhancer technology delivers more brilliant colors, even in bright areas of the picture where blues and greens are washed out on conventional screens. The system displays wider color reproduction, showing you truer colors – the fresh green of spring foliage, the intense blue of the summer sky. |
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Connectivity
To make the Series 6 a true entertainment hub for any home, Samsung has incorporated advanced HD connectivity and networking capabilities that expand the HDTV’s functionality. A wide variety of multimedia devices can be connected to the set through any one of the four Simplay compliant HDMI 1.3 inputs (including one on the side), and the handy HDMI-CEC feature lets you control all your CEC-enabled peripherals using just one remote. Connect HD digital devices like disc players, game consoles, and satellite dish components into the 2 rear connections and use the side-mounted input for cameras, camcorders, and laptops. HDMI is the best performing interface for displaying an HD source on an HDTV. Once connected, users can easily access device menus and manage and display content through the newly redesigned Wheel Key Remote control and the HDTV’s sophisticated content management interface. All Connections
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Super Patterned Vertical Alignment
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Samsung’s Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (SPVA) panel provides a 178-degree viewing angle from all four axes |
Audio Features
TruSurround is a patented SRS technology that solves the problem of playing 5.1 multichannel content over two speakers. TruSurround delivers a compelling, virtual surround sound experience through any two-speaker playback system, including internal television speakers and headphones. It is fully compatible with all multichannel formats up to 5.1 channels. High-quality virtual surround sound can be experienced with just the two hidden, downward-firing side-mounted 2.2-channel dome speakers built into the TV.
SRS TruSurround XT technology delivers an amazing, simulated 3D effect with clear dialog and powerful bass.
TruSurround XT audio also adds three audio enhancement technologies to produce an amazingly immersive sound experience.
- Dialog Clarity brings movie dialog into Focus during the playback of any surround-encoded material to make speech much clearer and crisper.
- TruBass creates incredible deep rich bass allowing a person to perceive significantly deeper, richer low bass tones that are far beyond the physical low frequency capabilities of the speaker itself.
- The SRS WOW feature widens the sound stage by processing standard two-channel stereo material as well as multi-channel encoded material for a dramatic improvement in the playback of any stereo audio over a two-speaker system.
Stereo broadcast reception is offered for MTS and SAP with 181-channel capacity. A sound leveler keeps audio volume consistent during channel changing.
Which Size HDTV is Right for My Room?
With standard-definition TVs, the rule used to be that viewers would feel comfortable watching a set from a distance of 3 to 6 times the screen size in inches. With HDTV, the resolution is so much better that you can sit closer to a larger TV without noticing the pixels. So with HDTVs, the rule tends to be you can sit anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times the screen size (in inches) for the best experience. If you know the size of the room you have already, where you want to sit, and where your new HDTV should go once you get it, you can figure out the size HDTV you should get.
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