Samsung LN46A650 Review

Buy Samsung LN46A650 at OneCall.com for a price of $1,599.98 and save $640.00



Great value, even better TV, April 29, 2008
I purchased this model from OneCall.com shortly after it was first available to upgrade my older Phillips 55" rear projection 1080i capable TV. I have now owned it for a month. I've used it with basic (non-HD) cable, basic Tivo viewing (again, non-HD), upscaled DVD viewing, HD-DVD viewing, and blu-ray viewing. I've paired it with a Yamaha 3000 soundbar. My entertainment watching has never been better.

Like many people I did a lot of research before dropping this kind of money on a new TV and, also like many people, it eventually came down to the Samsung TV or one of the Sony XBRs. IMO these are the only competitive mid-range/high end flatscreens to consider for purchase. Because of the Burn in issue (which is not as bad as it was in earlier generation Plasmas) I never considered a plasma TV, though they are a little more inexpensive and often have at least as good a picture as the LCD TVs.

As you've probably read outside of the several hundred dollar premimum for the Sony brand, the primary difference is that the Samsungs have a shiny screen so in high light rooms there can be some reflection vs the matte XBR screens. I generally can control the light levels while I'm viewing the TV so the vibrancy of the Samsung in mid/low light conditions made the choice easier.

I was originally going to go with a 4671f until I saw the "new" 46A650 model and decided to get the new version instead. There have been some visual quality improvements with the second generation of the motion tracking technology which goes a long way to eliminating the blurring and object duplication (the "Triple Ball Effect" or TBE). It isn't entirely gone but for a "normal" person who isn't examining the visuals in minute detail; it is effectively a non-issue now. I've seen a couple sutters where the image seems to "jump" but in my opinion this is more related to the media/movie than a problem with the TV.

Buy the Samsung LN46A650 for only $1,599.98 at OneCall.com

If you ask someone who says that the TV has a stuttering problem they will usually only be able to point to one scene in a movie or two where the stuttering occurs ("Check the intro sequenece in Blue Planet from 00:01:23 to 00:01:24! This TV stutters like mad!").

I contend that normal people can handle a 1 second stutter every 100 hours of viewing :)

*VISUALS*

The visuals on blu-ray content are often jaw dropping. This is to be expected with something like "Planet Earth" which is built around its lush visuals, even in non-HD, but even some scenes in movies that I wouldn't consider prime HD material I am often very impressed (there are some garden scenes in "Walk Hard" that are eye-popping!).

Of course the non-HD experience isn't incredible, but I'm happy that it is at least on par with my old TV. Eventually I may decided to upgrade to HD cable and Tivo but my main focus is improving my movie watching, not necessarly making CSI or American Idol look better.

Finally, I have three spots in my TV room where people watch TV from. With some LCDs if you get too far off center from the set then the screen dims and the vitality of the colors bleeds down. That is not a problem at all with this LCD.

*PHYSICAL*

On the hardware end there are plenty of inputs for HDMI and any other connection type you can think of. I have a full set of components and everything plugs right in and works well.

I was a little wary of the "Touch of Color", but in a darker room it is not very obtrusive since it fades quickly to deep red which looks black in lower light. I think the red highlight actually looks really cool! It is much more pleasing to my eye then just a plain black or silver.

I am so pleased with this TV I can barely describe it! Physically it looks stunning, visually it is one of the best out there.