Great tv for the price, June 16, 2008
By W. McCracken (Marlton, NJ) - See all my reviews


Hello,

I have had my tv since April 25, 2008, and thought is was time to give some input that should be helpful for anyone looking to buy. I am very happy with samsung ln40b650 and would highly recomend it. Simply, samsung ln40b650 is the best price vs quality on the market. I use samsung ln40b650 for Fios HD, PS3 gaming and blu-rays.

First, I bought samsung ln40b650 online from Amazon when samsung ln40b650 was at its lowest price (much cheaper than BB or CC with sales or coupons). samsung ln40b650 was delivered within 5 minutes of when CEVA told me they would be there. The driver brought samsung ln40b650 in, we opened samsung ln40b650 up and set samsung ln40b650 up. Looked good, then signed for samsung ln40b650 and he was off. CEVA is supposed to help set samsung ln40b650 up (Amazon white glove service). Remember, never sign for anything until after you see it!! HD

After about a week I noticed (on solid color scenes) that the screen was ununiform. One area from top to bottom about 3 inches wide was much lighter that the rest of the screen. I had Samsung service come out and they told me "I have never seen anything like this before." Samsung told be they would need to replace the panel (not the tv). I did not want a "rebuilt" tv after just getting it, so I called Amazon. Amazon was happy to send me a replacement and CEVA delivered samsung ln40b650 HD and picked up the old set. The new set has no problems.

I decided on the 550 because I do not feel the 120hz 650 model is worth the extra $500. Also, the room is very bright during the day and I did not want the glare that the 650 would give. However, if I had a dark room and the extra cash, I would have picked the 650 for the much higher contrast ratio and the option to HD use the 120hz.

My setup is a 40A550, PS3, Fios HD, my laptop, and an Onkyo TX-SR506 with Infinity speakers for surround sound. The Fios and the PS3 are connected to the tv using [...] HDMI cables and optical cables (for surround sound) run to the Onkyo from the PS3 and FIOS. I tweaked the settings on the tv using combinations of some posts of I found online and what i felt looked natural.

The speakers on the tv are just ok, but what I would expect from a flat tv. I generally use the Onkyo for surround sound.

If I would rate this tv, I would give samsung ln40b650 4 stars out of 5 stars because of its poor PIP setup. The PIP will only work with analog through the RF connection. The channel cannot be changed without going into the menu HD screen. And since analog is going to be turned off by Feb. 09, is will be useless unless you buy a digital to analog converter box. So, I got a digital converter box and use that remote to change the PIP. What a short sighted design flaw on an otherwise good tv.

Also, Fios in my area of NJ has turned off analog now to make room for more HD, and is planning a major expansion of its HD channels soon. I have about 30 now (plus PPV and on demand) with promises of 150 HD channels by the end of the year. If you can get FIOS, I highly recommend it. The picture quality is amazing and the internet is super fast. Even the regular tvs look much much better.

Remember the picture on any tv is only as good as its source.

http://www.samsung.com/