Samsung LN52A550 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
–March 24, 2008
Samsung’s 550 Series is a perfect way to step up to Full HD 1080presolution. A fast 5 ms response rate produces smooth-motion scenes for sports and action movies, and a dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000:1 makes for deep blacks and crisp lines (15,000:1 in 32-inch and 37-inch models). Superb connectivity and networking with a USB port and 3 HDMI 1.3 ports with Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) means these HDTVs play well with all of your other electronics. Easi [Read More...]
Buy Samsung LN52A550 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV at Amazon
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I have had my TV for nearly a month now and I love it. I am coming from a 27″ CRT TV, so of course, I’m going to be impressed. However, here are a few things I would like to pass along to those of you in the market for a new flat panel TV:
* LCD versus Plasma:
If you are having a hard time deciding between LCD and plasma, LCD has nearly caught up with plasma in terms of being the better flat panel TV. You still pay a bit more for a comprable LCD though. If you are hooking up a PC to your TV, will be pausing live TV, or anything else that keeps the picture still for a while, definitely consider an LCD as plasmas still have their problems with ghosting. I was in a Circuit City recently and looked at a new plasma TV with all the “anti burn-in” technologies built in. After accidently leaving an image on the screen for 4 hours, there was obvious “burn-in” on the screen.
* Screen Size:
I originally started looking at 42″ TVs, but realized that the picture quality is so good on HDTVs that you can buy a much larger TV even if your seating distance is only a few feet away. So, I limited my search to the 46″ – 52″ range. Another factor to consider is whether or not you want to spend extra for a 1080p set or settle for 720p. Most experts will say that you can’t notice the difference between the two in a set smaller than 50″. So, you may want to save the money and go with 720p. Also, I was worried if my TV would look too “big” in my family room, but trust me, it looks great. I’m so used to the screen size now that anything smaller just doesn’t look as nice anymore.
* HD and SD Channel Quality
The HD channels look fantastic. I have an HD package with Dish Network and all of the HD channels are incredibly clear. The SD channels are certainly bearable, but a big step down from watching SD channels on my 27″ CRT TV (in terms of picture clarity).
* PIP
This feature will not work for most people as you must have an analog signal. Those of you with digital cable or satellite TV will not be able to use it. For everyone else, it seems like it would be ok.
* Sound
I didn’t have as big of a complaint as everyone else did. I could hear everything loud and clear. I will soon be hooking it up to a home theatre system to improve the sound, but as for basic TV speakers, they seemed ok to me.
* Price
If you are considering a TV purchase, buying from Amazon is a must. They typically have the lowest price (much lower than big box stores) and you don’t have to pay S/H or taxes. The customer service was excellent any time I contacted them with regards to receiving a price adjustment. The delivery service was good too.
* Picture Settings
Most people will complain about the “Dynamic” mode of the TV saying that this is what the big box electronic stores use to make the picture look brighter, sharper, etc. This is true, but keep in mind that if you want to use the DNIe (Samsung’s picture enhancing engine), you will need to use “Dynamic”. I’m still figuring out if DNIe is worth having on, but what I did was set my “Dynamic” settings to be very similar to the “Standard” settings. This way the screen isn’t so bright. As for the rest of the picture quality settings, I left most of them the same except for a few minor adjustments for my personal liking.
* No Auto-Motion
This was definitely a struggle for me. Do I buy a 46″ 6 series to get Auto-Motion or a 52″ 5 series? I’ve seen fast moving action scenes in both sports and movies and you can at times pick up some jutter (especially when the background is also moving). If you are really picky, consider getting Auto-Motion (which you can set to off, low, etc), but for most people the 5 series with out Auto-Motion is fine. I don’t really notice anything most of the time unless I am really looking for it.
* Bonus
Since you’ve taken the time to read my long review, here is a little bonus. After you buy this TV (or any Samsung), register it online and they will give you an additional 3 free months of product warranty.
Happy Shopping!
From the AVS Forums. These sound settings will bring your sound to life.
“Official LNXXA550 Calibration/Settings Thread”
A lot of people have used these audio settings and reported dramatic improvements:
Mode: Custom
SRS TruSurround XT: On
Auto Volume: On
TV Speaker: On
(# of clicks):
Balance: 0
100Hz: 8 clicks right
300Hz: 8 left
1kHz: 4 left
3kHz: 3 right
10kHz: 5 right
Turn it up and enjoy the ride. . .Great Pic and more than adequate basic sound!
A while ago I got a Philips 52PFL7422 LCD from Costco. I couldn’t get the Philips to look right, even after adjustments using DVE, so decided to return it and get a different brand / model.
After some research and in-store comparisons, I decided to get the Samsung LN 52A550. I checked Amazon and the price was less than I paid for the Philips, and I trusted Amazon, being a satisfied customer of theirs for years.
From the start the Samsung was MUCH better than my previous set. It had none of the issues I had with the Philips. I was surprised how well the colors and black levels looked before I did any tweaking. Wanting to get the best picture I could, I set all the enhancements off and used DVE (Digital Video Essentials) to fine-tune the set. The result was a great picture, not overblown like store displays, but not dim or washed out either.
To summarize, here is my opinion of the pros and cons of this set.
Pros:
1. Great contrast – adjusted backlight, contrast and brightness so the blacks look great and whites are not blown out. A really nice, not-too-bright, natural looking image.
2. Great Color temperature and Tint
3. Menus are well organized and VERY comprehensive – many advanced adjustments are available without entering special service menus.
4. USB photo and music interface was nice and menus were comprehensive.
5. Clean-looking frame and pedestal.
6. Noise Reduction and Dynamic Contrast modes, when needed, offer subtle enhancements without degrading the image.
7. Great HD quality from Blu-Ray/PS3. Games and Blu-Rays look fantastic. Even older non-HD DVD’s look very good.
8. Great HD and Good SD quality from Cable Box (after adjusting the factory default contrast down to mid-60’s, sharpness down to around 0, edge enhancement off).
9. Good quality from Wii and Playstation 2 – contrast, etc. settings similar to Cable Box. The games looked surprisingly good even though they are 480i or 480p. Be sure to not ovewrdrive contrast or sharpness. Use backlight to brighten if necessary.
10. HP Laptop (with NVidia graphics) connected via HDMI looked great. TV displayed various resolutions properly without chopping off the top or sides.
11. Low glare screen. Not as matte as some others, but definitely not high gloss like other Samsung LCD’s. This was a must-have for me due to the bright room where the TV is installed.
12. Very good off-center viewing angles. – MUCH better than my previous LCD set.
13. Remote has good-sized buttons and a backlight.
Cons:
1. Sound is hollow unless you perform some adjustments (see AVS Forums for suggested settings). Not really a factor for me since I connect up to an external stereo system anyway.
Didn’t Try:
1. VGA/PC Video input.
2. Digital sound outputs.
3. Composite video input.
All-in-all I am very happy with the purchase and with Amazon shipping and customer service.