| Reviews : Samsung LN55B650 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color |
Samsung LN55B650 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color Product By Samsung Available From 5 Sellers |
Technical Details
- 55-inch LCD HDTV with full HD 1080p resolution for the sharpest picture possible and red Touch of Color design
- Auto Motion Plus 120Hz for amazingly fluid motion, 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 4ms response time, Wide Color Enhancer 3 for more vivid colors
- Internet@TV online content service from Yahoo!, Flickr, YouTube via your broadband connection
- Inputs: 4 HDMI-CEC, 2 component, 2 composite, 1 PC, 2 USB, 1 Ethernet, 1 optical digital audio output
- Includes removable stand; measures 51.6 x 35.2 x 12.1 inches with stand; 15-watt x 2 bottom mounted speakers with subwoofer
Product Description
Samsung's LN55B650 takes your HDTV enjoyment, and capabilities, to new heights. The power of Full HD 1080p resolution delivers clear, vivid images on a 55-inch LCD screen. The Medi@2.0 feature lets you access countless hours of online content from partners like Yahoo! and Flickr using customizable widgets, all controlled by your remote. Auto Motion Plus120Hz technology renders the smoothest, most lifelike HD action. DLNA technology means you can harness your entire home network through your HDTV. Connect your DVD, cable or satellite HD box, or Blu-ray Disc player easily, using any of four HDMI inputs. Experience truer, more natural dark tones and shadows with the 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. And highlight nearly any room in the house with a unique red accent at the bezel's edge, courtesy of the Touch of Color design.Similar Products
Customer Reviews
By et (dallas, tx)
I'm surprised that more people aren't buying this set, or at least reviewing it (which typically is indicative of sales). Really with this set there are only two things that may bother your run-of-the-mill average TV watcher, and that is 1. Glare, 2. Flashlighting/clouding (backlight shining through).
On 1 I can honestly say the glare doesn't bother me at all. Some people may not be able to deal with it because they are picky and/or have a really bright room this TV is going into, but that is not an issue to me. Just personal opinion. I would never let that be a factor to me unless it truly bothered me, and it truly does not with this set.
On 2 I can say that I did have some initial problems with clouding and it being visible. I used settings posted on Cnet for this TV. They are kind of dark, but you get used to it. This prevents clouding from being as noticeable, but some backlight will bleed through, and it's especially apparent on large TVs. How apparent is it? I am very picky and although I can notice it on a completely pitch black screen, it really doesn't bother me that much during normal TV watching. I have my backlight set at 3 (out of 10), standard mode leaves it at 8. This is way too bright and you will most definitely see some bleed through.
There are a few recommended fixes if you have clouding that is poor around the edges. Wiping the entire TV side to side and up and down with a microfiber cloth has worked in limited cases, as well as loosening a few bezel screws along the TVs edge to loosen the pressure and keep the backlight from shining through as brightly. Also limited success stories on this method and I even tried it with no such luck. Changing my settings was the action that gave me the best result. Photographs have proven even TVs that appear as if they have no apparent clouding to the naked eye actually do have clouding, so don't stare at your TV for hours looking for this imperfection, simply find a setting that seems to remove it upon a glance at the TV and move on.
Some other cons to point out that you may or may not know about and/or normally wouldn't think they will bother you but might actually. The off angle viewing of this TV is not good. You will see the TVs contrast change dramatically even moving your head 2 feet from the of the TV sitting 10' away. How big of a deal is that to you? Depends. Some experts have said that this TV is best for one-person and adding multiple people with different viewing angles renders this set to not be preferred. Do I believe that? Not really. I think for most families sitting an appropriate distance from this set probably won't be too irritated at the slight off angle viewing issues. However, it is noticeable and the best angle by far is directly in front of the set. Keep this in mind--maybe check it out in action at the store first if you are buying this set for a family.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the TV has an included rope you screw into the back of the TV and tie off on a screw in the wall. Very silly design and completely retarded to put on and even easy to look over when you purchase the set. But guess what? Use it. This TV is top heavy like mad and easily could tip over. I've also heard some complaints on the PIP and remote and audio as well on this TV, but I don't use any of them so I won't comment. I also don't play games so I won't comment there, although I hook my computer up and it looks just fine.
People like to hear potential negatives in reviews more than positives I think, so there is my list. I consider myself pretty picky but overall I think this TV is an excellent buy at a sub-$2,000 price point. If you can afford a $5,000 LED LCD with the latest technology, why are you even considering this set? While the PQ might be comparable to more expensive TVs (truly this TV looks that good), lesser auxiliary issues like tying a rope to a wall to keep the TV from falling shouldn't even be something you should care about. PQ is great from cable to blu-ray to PC on this set and I really don't think you're going to be disappointed if you purchase and this is your price range (or a little above).
Another big debate is whether or not to go with the 52B750 with a higher refresh rate. The truth is that your eyes will never tell a difference between the two refresh rates. I have read that there are lesser cases of backlight bleeding with the 52", but that's probably partly due to the fact that the 52" is 3" less in size. I'm still in the return period and I could get the 52" if I wanted, but I simply think that's not the best buy. This TV is.
Lastly I will point out that the LCD panel used in this particular set is a CMO Panel and not a Samsung panel. Approximately 60% of Samsung's don't use Samsung panels, so don't worry that you aren't getting an authentic Samsung; it is pretty common. The CMO panel a lot of experts complain about, but they also complain about the S-PVA panel used in the 46" version of the B650 or the 52" version in the B750. The difference between the two is negligible to the everyday user, not to mention side-by-side the two panels are almost identical in specs. If you've heard about this before and it's concerned you, or if you are hearing it now for the first time, consider it extra information and nothing else that should sway your opinion on purchasing this set. Lastly I will say that if you are someone who thinks 42" or 46" is fine, just buy this TV. The price difference is insignificant and very rarely have I ever heard of someone buying a bigger TV than what they wanted and complained about it later. My dad likes to complain it's too big, but that's because his TV is best for viewing under a microscope and he's not used to watching things bigger. Bigger is better. Overall I give this TV a solid A.
By Allana Lee
I have a plasma Samsung that I bought 2 years ago and the TV just flat out and died on me a couple of weeks ago. I looked on the consumers affair website and found out several other people were having the same exact problems. When I called Samsung, they basically told me too bad since I didn't have warranty past 1 year. I have never heard of an expensive tv (or even a cheap one for that matter) just flat out and die (with several purple stripes on the screen) after ONLY 2 years! My advice: Stay away from Samsung TVs unless you can afford to replace your really expensive TV every 2 years.
By L. Lovell (PA)
After shopping for a new TV, both online and in store, I decided on this Samsung tv to meet my needs. I had decided to purchase from a local store, but once I realized how much less expensive it was to buy from Amazon, I immediately ordered from them. One week later I had the TV sitting in my living room, ready to hook up to my satellite system. But then I decided to wait till satellite provider could upgrade me to HDTV, which they did 3 days later. Loving this TV ever since. Exactly as described! Reviews from other customers was so much help.
By Kenneth W. Harbin
We purchased the first LN55B650 on 7/3/2009 and it was delivered a few days later. It had a great picture but we noticed two thing right away, the TV was not level and that glare was bad. You can see every light source on the screen even a table lamp or indirect light from a window. I originally thought this was normal so I just thought we would have to deal with it.
The TV was preassembled with the pedestal and was set on our built in entertainment . The set leaned drastically to the left and forward and continued to get worse so we called for service. By the time they were out in late July in was leaning an inch to the left and a half inch forward. The pedestal is actually installed on this set from the factory and there is no adjustment. The replacement set arrived on 8/4/2009 and it was level to start with but over just a 2 week period it was as bad as the first. After going through 2 of these with the exact same issue we decided to look for a different TV. We thought about the LED version but if Samsung can't design a simple pedestal that works, what else have they missed? This is certainly a design flaw, the second set was over 1 1/4" out of level from the top to bottom and an inch forward by the time our Sony was delivered yesterday.
Thank goodness for the 30 day return policy where the set was purchased. We upgraded to the Sony KDL-55V5100. What sold us on the Sony was when we were talking with the salesman about the glare on the Samsung and the he actually turned off several of the TVs for comparision. The glare on the other brands was terrible compared to the Sony even with the sets off. That along with Sony's picture quality and reputation made the choice very easy. After getting it home yesterday we are glad the Samsung didn't workout, the picture quality of the Sony is drastically better especially considering the glare we experienced with the Samsung. The Sony has no visible glare from the windows or lamps and that alone is a great improvement and the unit sets straight and level.
Not sure how the review on this and other Samsung products are so good, if you could experience both the Samsung and Sony in your home as we have now the choice would be easy. The base is also very substantial on the Sony and looks very nice in our entertainment .
If you decide to go with the Samsung it will come with a couple of scews and a nylon string. The instructions say this is a safety measure to keep the TV from tipping over on a child. The real use of the string is to overcome the design flaw and hold the TV to keep it from tipping if you use the included pedestal, I would put it on immediately!
This model has a lot of cool features, if you can deal with a tilted screen or plan to mount it on the wall and don't mind the glare issues this may be the set for you. I have pictures of this unit posted on some other reviews but do not see an option for pictures on Amazon. They are posted on Bestbuy if you want to take a look to see what I mean by TV leans.
By S. Smith (Richardson, TX United States)
Pros:
+ Terrific picture quality (especially after I calibrated it)
+ Wide range of adjustments available to fine-tune picture
+ No "judder" when playing 24fps Blu-ray movies
+ Worked perfectly out of the box
+ Very good value
Cons:
- Doesn't have anti-glare screen
-"Auto Motion Plus" feature just makes picture looks strange (but can be easily turned off)
- Default picture settings out of the box are WAY too bright (like every new TV I've seen)
- Not the most advanced TV on the market (which is probably why it works out of the box)
I bought this TV to replace an old rear-projection DLP. First I considered a plasma, but was put off by the power consumption, heat output and heavy weight. Pioneer is also getting out of the plasma TV business entirely, which worried me since they made arguably the best plasma TV on the market (the Kuro). Next I looked at the new LED TVs, which are super-thin and look great in the store...but I also found a lot of reports of them being kind of buggy. So I decided to go with a high-quality 55" LCD released this year that had 1080p and a 120Hz refresh rate. This takes us to this TV...
The bottom line is that this is a great TV. It has much better picture quality than even the 1080p TVs made just a couple years ago. It worked perfectly out of the box and there were no bugs, video glitches or imperfections of any kind...it simply works, and works very well. Sound quality is on par with the built-in sound in other TVs. Factoring in the reasonable price it's a no-brainer. More advanced TVs exist, but cost more money, seem to have more bugs and deliver marginal improvements in picture quality - not a reasonable trade-off in my book compared to what you get from a high quality LCD right now.
Like every new TV I've seen, the out-of-box settings are way too bright. Setting the picture mode to "movie" and turning down the backlight to 6 produced a great-looking picture, and calibrating it using Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics [Blu-ray] made it outright amazing. For those who like to fine-tune the picture this TV has every control you could want, and probably several you haven't ever heard of. The menu system is well laid out and easy to navigate.
It also has a bunch of extra features that are fun to play with, but are ultimately better left turned off. Auto Motion Plus is supposed to make fast-moving images look better, but to my eye all it did was make the picture look strange. The Edge Enhancement and Digital NR features sharpen edges and remove video noise, respectively, but they also introduce video artifacts of their own and are probably best left off as well. Finally, the Sharpness settings is *artificial* sharpening - it makes the picture seem more detailed, but also makes it look extremely gritty and noisy - I suggest setting it to 0. These aren't unique problems to Samsung; similar features on other new TVs have the same problems.
If I could change one thing about this TV, I would give it a more glare-resistant screen. There is probably a trade-off between how sharp the picture is and how well it resists glare, but this thing is SHINY. If you have a very brightly lit room it could be a problem for you.
If you want very good performance for the money from a proven, trouble-free design, you can't go wrong with one of these LNxxB650 models from Samsung. They look great, are light weight, consume little power and they just plain *work* without any fuss.
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