 Very Impressive. Samsung showing style and performance. |
| Review Date: April 3, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. J. INYoon, IN |
First off, I have had an 40" Samsung for 3 years and have been very pleased with it. It has a matte screen so that is what I was looking for. I really didn't want any glare so I actually was looking at LG's since they are one of few companies that make 50"+ lcds with matte screens. CNET reviewed the LG's with high marks as well so I was pretty much dead set on an LG.
So I went to Fry's, Bestbuy, HHgregg, and local TV shop just checking out the products. I definitely liked the pictures of the LG's. The colors are on par with the Samsungs and the washout from off angles is also better. But I couldn't get over the simple fact that the Samsungs just looked better. Every store I went to I was like yeah there's glare, but when the screen is fully lit you don't really see it, plus you know we all were used to CRT glass screens for years. The LG technically had deeper blacks, but in reality the matte refraction light made the screen seem more grayish and the glossy screens appeared to have deeper blacks due to clarity. Also, the clarity of the images in the Samsungs was noticeably better. Just one of those things you just see and say yeah that's better. For a final look, I brought my wife for her opinion and she point right to the Samsung as the better picture.
So as a matte finish fan and all the technical abilities of the LG's I had to go with the Samsung. Beyond the amazing picture the style is so much better. So thin, lighter, and the UN55c6500 has a great thin border, actually charcoal matte, with a nice clear trim. Looks so clean.
I've read where some people have said that the picture is so good that it almost looks 3d. I have to agree, playing some video games and bluray, the picture is so good it does almost look 3d.
I also got the wireless dongle (free with purchase) and it works quite easily. No issue thus far.
There definitely are reflections, but glare isn't really too bad. I also did see the rainbow effect from my ceiling lights, but only if in direct view. The motion plus still makes everything look soap opera, but being able to turn it down helps a lot. Samsung has more settings for this than LG's.
I am very pleased with this buy. |
Best I've ever owned, picture really grabs you
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| Review Date: May 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: John in OC, Lake Forest, CA |
we already had 4 HDTVs when I bought this one on 5/2/10- Sony 46", Sharp Aquos 65", Samsung Touch of Color 52", and Panasonic plasma 58". All but the Sony are less than 2 years old- and all look good. But that Samsung Touch of Color really stood out. The picture has always been a real step above the others. So, we went to Best Buy to look at the latest Samaungs, and ended up buying this one.
I have never seen a picture like it. It looks 3 dimensional- you can really place people and scenery in space. It's almost eerie. Another reviewer has complained of flash lighting- but I can't see any evidence of it. Plus the thing is energy efficient- 190w max- less when back lighting is down (which everyone will turn down I'd expect- it's very bright). It's better at not reflecting light than plasmas for sure- another plus- and looks great when the room is brightly lit. It's quiet when on- no "buzz"- and it's relatively cool.
I've (unfortunately) sent back large TVs in the past- including a 65" (which Amazon was great about). I couldn't be happier with this one- so far at least.
*edited 5/8/10- netflix streaming nor Blockbuster streaming worked initially- but a firmware release in early May corrected this. Apps work fine- and VuDu works great and streams in 1080p/24 with Dolby Digital sound anyway- so it's a better source for great looking content. Currently Netflix still sends only stereo (dolby prologic II) audio... |
Amazing TV, but don't buy it from Amazon
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| Review Date: August 2, 2010 |
| Reviewer: enzo, |
So far this TV has been a spectacular purchase, I'm extremely happy with this choice. The picture quality is the best I've ever seen.
I see little to no light leakage in this TV, even on "credit" scenes that have white text on a black background, and even in a dark room. The blacks are jet black and the picture and resolution are simply unbelievable. I have not yet seen any "flashlighting" or "clouding" that some other reviewers have experienced, though I'm told this can vary greatly by panel so it's a bit of a lottory with any LED.
There are a couple settings you'll want to tweak right out of the box. First, like other reviewers I noticed some problems with the auto motion plus feature. It adds a pretty severe "soap opera" effect, and on some feeds I also noticed significant jitter and dropping of frames. This seemed to be more pronounced if the feed was of poorer quality. I turned this feature setting down to "clear" and those problems all went away completely, so far I have not missed it.
The second setting is the auto dimming (these newer samsung sets can automatically lower the intensity of the backlight based on sensing how bright the room is). This wasn't enabled by default on my set, and I found turning it on reduced the light leakage I can see in dark scenes in a dark room to nearly zero because the backlight is lowered appropriately when I dim the lights in the room.
Despite being extremely happy with the TV, I was extremely unhappy with my experience purchasing this large item from Amazon; If you're buying one, look elsewhere.
Dealing with Amazon's third party freight carrier was absurdly frustrating. They were extremely disorganized. Each day for several days they gave me different information as to the whereabouts of my TV. It finally arrived at the local warehouse 2 days later than promised, and then they called to tell me they'd be unable to deliver it for another 4 days because their last truck going to my area was full and they weren't sending another for 4 days.
This TWICE as long as they promised for delivery, and I'd imagine most people making a purchase like this one are anxious to get their new TV quickly. The frieght company told me there was nothing they could do, but if I called Amazon, and Amazon called them they could usually "work something out" (hinting if Amazon offered to pay extra they'd do a special delivery right away).
After waiting on hold for almost an hour for an Amazon customer service representative, he put me on hold to call the freight company, he came back and told me they would not have a truck for another 4 days, and he did absolutely nothing for me. Eventually I ended up driving 40 miles each way down to the freight company's warehouse and picked the TV up myself.
It was an extremely aggravating ordeal, and I don't know about you, but when I buy an item that is this expensive, I expect a bit of service in return. This is a spectacular TV, but buy it from another retailer. |
Awesome TV worth every penny
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| Review Date: April 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. Ramamoorthy, Seattle, WA USA |
I own this TV. Just one word - its amazing. The picture quality is divine it almost looks 3d. Everything is so life like. I compared this TV in the store with others and found it significantly better than the Sony's, LG's and Panasonic's. Did I mention it is thin, that's the second wow factor. The remote is easy to use, I however use it with my Logitech Harmony remote.
All games on the Xbox 360 come alive, the screen size and clarity really immerse you into the game. Cannot comment about the speakers since I don't use them, I have an external 5.1 speakers. It has 4 hdmi ports, more than enough to connect all your inputs. It also has a VGA and component inputs. You can also connect it to the internet, this means Youtube, Netflix and other apps.
I did a comparison in the store between 120hz and 240hz and didn't notice any difference.
So far no cons. |
Going from CRT to This...WOW!
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| Review Date: May 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Gregory Hendricks, San Antonio, TX |
I can't think of much about which to criticize this television. The picture quality is fantastic. Use HD cable, Blu-ray, or DVD, and you'll be flabbergasted, especially if you're moving from CRT to LCD like I was.
The TV speakers are simply passible; you're likely going to use a Home Theater System if you're in the market for a TV like this. I'm using it with a Yamaha RX-V467 receiver, Polk Audio SurroundBar, Polk Audio PSW10 Sub, Sony BDP-360 Blu-Ray, Pace HD Cable Box (Time Warner), and a Nintendo Wii. All look and sound great together.
Consumer Reports gave similar TVs low marks for viewing angle, but I think it's fine (at least in my house); don't know anyone who wants to watch a flatscreen TV at a 10-degree angle anyway. Make sure you turn on the Motion Plus and depth-of-black options to mitigate those issues, or you'll notice some anomalies.
The remote is very easy to use; no issues at all. Only controls the television (and maybe other HDMI-CEC components attached). Don't view it as a universal remote...I bought the Logitech Harmony 300 remote, which works great with all my components.
The Internet and streaming functions NOW mostly work as advertised by Samsung, including Netflix. Netflix did not work at first (it's a new television in 2010), but a recent firmware fix in May 2010 alleviated that annoying issue. I use the Samsung WiFi adapter to connect to our home network (Apple Airport Extreme). No problems watching HD movies via Netflix.
Negatives:
If you unplug the television for any reason or lose power, you'll lose most of your settings and need to enter most of them again. This includes reactivating the motion controls and depth-of-black settings (very important for an LCD television).
Needs a Samsung wireless adapter for WiFi Internet ($79). Works great, but it also takes up one of your two USB ports! Still can't get my account Favorites on YouTube...keeps throwing up an error. All the other Internet "apps" I've tried work fine, though, including Netflix (after the May 2010 firmware fix). Does not feed the Internet connection to other components via HDMI (so it's HDMI 1.3). Too bad. You'll need a separate connection for your Blu-Ray (for BD Live and other updates) or other Internet-savvy components.
Don't know if this TV supports audio return channel via HDMI; I haven't tried it. For audio from Internet apps, I simply made a TOSLINK connection back to my Yamaha receiver. Perfect! You could also just use the audio from the television (again...passible; spring for the TOSLINK cable).
HDMI for Blu-Ray works great! HDMI for the Pace Cable Box...not so much (constant "blinking" for about 20-30 seconds when changing channels), but this may be the fault of the receiver or cable box. |
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