Samsung LN40A650 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color
- Touch of Color Bezel
- Full HD 1080p Resolution
- 120Hz Auto Motion Plus
- 4 HDMI Inputs
- Super Clear Panel
Product Description
The Samsung LN40A650 incorporates a stylish look with exclusive Touch of Color. Searching for technology that will make your life easier? The InfoLink RSS feature gives you instant access to news, weather, and sports information at the push of a button. And Auto Motion Plus 120Hz delivers smooth motion action scenes that will blow you away. Satisfy your craving for the latest in HD technology with the Samsung LN40A650 LCD TV.Amazon.com Product Description–March 24, 2008
Samsung adds a Touch of Color to a blazing-fast 4ms response time andrich connectivity features to redefine the role HDTVs play in the home with its forward-looking Series 6 (A650) and Series 7 (A750) LCD HDTVs. Utilizing the award-winning technologies found in all Samsung HDTVs, Series 6 and 7 HDTVs deliver unparalleled picture quality and enhanced connectivity and networking capabilities that create a true entertainment hub for any home. Series 7 takes networking and multimedia… More >>
Samsung LN40A650 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color
First of all, Amazon’s white glove delivery service was great. I was a little hesitant about buying a TV of this size online but now that I’ve gone through the process I would do it again in a heart beat.
For those of you who have been following the news on the A650s, the reset issue has been fixed with the latest firmware. Chances are you will have to upgrade the firmware yourself when the TV arrives but it is pretty simple procedure using a USB thumb drive and Samsung provides step by step instructions with photos if you need them.
I’ve had my TV for about four days now and I’m still completely blown away by clarity, detail and colors this set produces. The LN40A650 has three HDMI inputs on the back, and one HDMI input on left side which made my devices incredibly easy to hook up. I then watched Ratatouille followed by Apocalypto, both on Blu-ray – great movies to show off your new set.
The 40″ is the only model in the 6 series that has a fan built into the screen. Some people may be put off because of this but the good news is that this fan is completely inaudible. This weekend we had 90 degree Santa Ana winds here in California and even with out any air conditioning, I still couldn’t hear the fan.
When I first saw the Touch of Color online I was indifferent. I don’t really care for the color red but now that I have the set, it’s slowly growing on me. All of the stock Samsung photos show a vibrant red but with my 40A650 in the living room it has the perfect amount of color. It’s not strong enough to steal my focus away while watching TV but at the same time it looks great when the TV is shut off. I believe the rest of the colors have been announced so if red isn’t your thing then it’s just a matter of time.
The glossy piano black of the A650s does cause reflections at times but I don’t consider it to be a deal breaker. It’s easier to notice the reflections during the day but I still experimented with light placement so that lamp reflections were not visible at night. Most of the time I only notice the reflections when I’m actively looking for them and it has never interfered with my viewing experience but it’s something to consider.
While you’re not going to get any realistic surround sound out of the built in speakers, they do come with a little power if needed. I’ll be upgrading to a 5.1 system pretty soon and the built in speakers are more than enough to hold me over. If you’re not planning on using anything but the built in speakers then the 7 series television might interest you with it’s built in subwoofer.
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Overall I’m extremely pleased with the LN40A650 and my purchase experience through Amazon
QUICK UPDATE: September 30th 2008. No problems to report. It has now been 5 1/2 months and I still love this TV.
Rating: 5 / 5
There are four parts to this review, all useful if you plan on buying, or own this LCD, first part is simply Pros and Cons, the second is a full review, and the third part is to explain some complex features in this LCD, and what they should be set at. The last part is my LCDs settings for optimum picture when connected to the PS3.
*PART 1 PROS and CONS*
Pros: Amazing picture quality that matches its specs. Excellent Design (including the Red touch of color). A lot of picture options.
Cons: The quantity and complexity of picture options can be overwhelming. Remote wheel is useless.
*PART 2 FULL REVIEW*
I was a little worried about Amazon’s shipping at first, but they managed to get this LCD to me in less than 5 days without damaging this fine piece of machinery. Now that I’ve had this LCD for a week, I thought I’d put in my few cents about all of its amazing, yet overwhelming features…
Aesthetically its slick glossy black exterior is well designed and sturdy. The Red Touch of Color is subtle when your actually watching the LCD, yet distinctive when the LCD off. The swivel stand isn’t rickety or wobbly, it works perfectly. The exterior buttons aren’t really buttons per say, they are smooth touch sensitive spots on the side panel. The plentiful amount of inputs are conveniently located. This model also includes a cable management strap on the back. Smart design overall.
You’ve read the impressive specs, the picture on this bad boy is just as impressive. Blacks are dark, whites are bright, and colors are … well colorful!
Now I’d like to point out this LCD features a TON of options. This is both a blessing and a CURSE. Most features are inaccessible for one reason or another, making calibration a brain busting headache. Hours of my own tinkering has finally resulted in perfect color settings, without washing out the picture, losing precious pixels of color.
The sound is impressive for an internal sound system. Comparing it to even the cheapest of 5.1 setups though, make this LCD’s tunes seem puny and weak.
The remote is sleek and well built, but takes some getting used to. The iPod inspired wheel should have never been implemented into this remotes design. Seeing as how you can navigate the menu much easier with button presses instead.
The Wise-Link feature works just as advertised. I connected my iPod with its standard USB connecting cable, it was immediately recognized, and started seamlessly playing back my music. The menu was slick, it loaded and displayed album artwork for each of my songs, but the menu can be laggy or slow at times. Still a cool feature none the less.
As listed this TV can connect to the internet for updated stock info, weather and other useful info. Samsung innovation at its best.
On a side note, you may have to update this LCD if you plan on using a BluRay player or PS3. The link to Samsung’s firmware update can be found on Amazon’s product info page, or do a Google search or something if your still puzzled.
Minor quarks aside, this is an excellent LCD, and Amazon’s price makes this LCD drool worthy. Awesome specs with a picture that matches. Seriously, why haven’t you bought this yet?! (My regards to those unable to buy this LCD if it’s out of stock, my thoughts and prayers are with you during this time of visual need.)
*PART 3 COMPLEX SETTINGS*
-Input Names: When PC is selected as the source for HDMI2/DVI, some settings become greyed out. PC Input must be selected in HDMI2/DVI for optimal viewing of text, otherwise you’ll get color spots in some text. All other settings give you more options.
-Preset Picture Modes: The only real difference between each mode is that Dynamic mode is the only mode that lets you enable DNIe, Movie mode is the only mode that lets you enable xvYCC, and Standard mode doesn’t let you enable either or. Movie is my recommendation because xvYCC is an excellent feature, DNIe isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. (An explanation of both can be found later)
-Backlight: This setting varies for me, I like looking at 5 when surfing the web, but 7 makes colors really pop during movies and games. Your Choice on this one.
-Black Adjust/Dynamic Contrast: Set both of these to OFF if you want a full color palate. Otherwise Black Adjust darkens really dark shades of color, while Dynamic Contrast whitens really light colors. Both lead to a loss in overall color. (Turning them both on HIGH is equivalent to enabling Dynamic mode.
-Color Space: To obtain a wider color range leading to richer colors, set this to NATIVE. The difference should be noticeable.
-Edge Enhancement: When displaying full 1080p content, this setting should be OFF. What this does is add tiny white lines around certain edges in the picture, which actually leads to a loss in overall color. (This setting is automatically turned on during Dynamic mode)
-XVYCC: The Holy Grail of color ranges, this should be set to ON. Movies that are filmed in xvYCC, then played through a device capable of outputting xvYCC (PS3), will lead to an increase in color bit rates, thus decreasing ugly “Color Bands” ruining films and games. (Make sure your PS3 BD/DVD output is set at “Y PB/CB Pr/Cr” to take advantage of this.)
-Color Tone: This setting while add blue or red to anything white. You want your picture to be Blueish? Reddish? or Normal? This option is pure preference.
-Size: Basically “Picture Size”, choose “Just Scan” if your device outputs Full 1080p (PS3), PC mode chooses 16:9 for you. Play with this setting if your picture is being cropped.
-Digital NR(Noise Reduction): Setting this to ON, reduces fuzziness during dark scenes.
-DNIe: Samsung’s “Digital Natural Image engine”, is equivalent to setting Black Adjust and Dynamic Contrast to HIGH, which if you remember, I do not recommend.
-HDMI Black Level: Set this to Normal, when set to low, it darkens the overall image, canceling out some colors. When enabled some dark movies become impossible to see.(ie Batman Begins)
-Film Mode: This setting adjusts and enhances the video signal to ensure optimum picture quality.
-Blue Only Mode: This advanced color calibration tool is a setting used to calibrate hue and tint levels, similar to using blue tinted glasses with those optimizer DVDs.(THX Optimizer, Digital Video Essentials, etc)
-Auto Motion Plus 120HZ: This setting is pure preference. Because most DVD’s and video are around 30fps, the upscaling process between the DVD player and this LCD, may make human movement seem rushed. In my opinion DVD movies on the PS3 look much better with 120hz OFF. BluRay movies on the other hand, look fantastic with the extra frames being processed. Games, especially racing ones, look better upscaled to 120hz. Play with this setting and figure out which you like best for each media type.
*PART 4 MY SETTINGS FOR PS3 INPUT*
As promised here are my picture settings, which will provide the richest colors without sacrificing any color.
-INPUT PORT: HDMI-1
-INPUT NAME: Blu-Ray
-MODE: MOVIE
-BACKLIGHT: 5 > 7
-CONTRAST: 100
-BRIGHTNESS: 45
-SHARPNESS: 0
-COLOR: 55
-TINT: 50/50
-BLACK ADJUST: OFF
-DYNAMIC CONTRAST: OFF
-GAMMA: 0
-COLOR SPACE: NATIVE
-WHITE BALANCE: 25 ALL
-FLESH TONE: 0
-EDGE ENHANCEMENT: OFF
-XVYCC: ON
-COLOR TONE: NORMAL
-SIZE: JUST SCAN
-DIGITAL NR: HIGH
-DNIE: OFF
-HDMI BLACK LEVEL: NORMAL
-FILM MODE: OFF
-BLUE ONLY MODE: OFF
-AUTO MOTION PLUS 120HZ: OFF > HIGH
So there you have it! Great picture without compromising key colors. I’m disappointed in Samsung for adding some ridiculous picture options, but then again its all about preference, so mess around and set what YOU think looks best. Again this is an excellent LCD, why are you still reading this!? (Again my regards to those unable to buy this LCD if it’s out of stock, my thoughts and prayers are with you during this time of visual need.)
-N
Rating: 5 / 5
I did a lot of research before deciding on this Samsung. I wanted 1080p with Auto Motion Plus 120Hz, and I wanted at least a 40 inch screen. After spending about 30 or 40 hours comparing this model with comparable models, I bought this on Amazon and I have been absolutely thrilled! The picture was beautiful right out of the box, and the HD signals from my DirecTV satellite are transformed into the clearest, sharpest images I have ever seen on a television. We can’t wait for the prices on Blu Ray players to drop so that we can start watching all our movies in high definition! The sound from the speakers is fine, but you will need external speakers and a receiver (or an HTIB) to get the best audio experience. For people who have lots of A/V sources, this tv has four HDMI inputs, so you aren’t going to run out of inputs anytime soon. In fact, I only use one HDMI cable from my Yamaha RX-V663BL 665 Watt 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver.
The “Touch of Color” feature wasn’t a factor in my purchase, but it looks terrific in our living room and matches our color scheme very nicely. I was a bit wary about buying a television online, but Amazon made the transaction super smooth – delivery was super fast and FREE. Overall, I felt this model offered terrific value and performance, and I have been completely satisfied. If you are viewing from a distance of 10 feet or more, get the 46 inch or larger.
Rating: 5 / 5
After months of researching all the different LCDs out there, this TV beats the hands down. At first I had ordered the 4071 from Amazon, then 2 days later after it was too late to cancel I saw this TV which has twice the contrast ration and half the responce time for only $50 dollars more than what I paid for the 4071. The CEVA shipping was excellent, the TV arrived a week sooner than estimated.
Pros: Excellent unbelievable picture that you have to see to believe. I watched 300 and Troy on Blu-ray through my PS3 and it was amazing. It’s like looking out your window and watching an epic battle. The 120hz really brings out the full potential of the movies. The 120hz also is great for gaming. While playing Oblivion it definitly adds smoothness to the environment and the movement of characters. The differemce it completely night and day. The Touch of Color is pretty cool it’s very subtle where it gives a nice accent without being too over powering. I was almost worried I wouldn’t be able to see it, whenever I would go to Circuit City or Best Buy I could never see it. I have the TV placed in my bedroom with a cielling light and a window across from the TV and have experienced no ploblems with glare.
Cons: It’s a dust magnet I’v had it less than I week and it’s already getting a thin layer of dust on it. The remote is ok, they could’ve done w/o the rotating directional control.
Conclusion: If you are looking for a high quality tv at a reasonalbe price look no further than this. Believe me I’ve looked. Don’t kop out and sell yourself short and just get any TV. Save and invest the extra money into getting a top of the line TV without a top of the line price. I guarantee you once you’ve seen this picture you won’t be sorry.
Rating: 5 / 5
Just a little warning about their warranty policy. Samsung doesn’t replace broken TVs even if they are brand new. I bought this TV and within 1 day there was vertical lines showing up. Within 1 week there were several different color lines. Samsung contacted a local TV repair to fix it and I was not impressed with the repair shop. They wanted to order a new LCD panel to replace it which would take 2 weeks just to come in. I was already out the TV 2 weeks. I said forget it and return it back to me so I can just return it back to amazon within the 30day return policy. I do not want a brand new TV that has been taken a part and possibly fixed correctly.
The TV is very nice, obviously I got a lemon. I will probably just buy the same model again. I do not like the 120hz option. It makes the scenes look awkward and not natural. So I just turned it off.
Rating: 2 / 5