My old RCA 27" tube finally died, so it was time to enter into the world of HDTV's. After a ton of research and price hunting, I settled in on this 40" model for the full 1080, 120hZ experience (plus a smokin' deal from Amazon helped seal the deal).
First one arrived shattered, so that was a bit of a buzz kill. Fortunately the delivery includes set up & power up, so we immediately saw that the thing was destroyed. The delivery crew took it back with them and Amazon got another one out. The 2nd one arrived in perfect condition, and after getting DirecTV out to install the HD dish, I've been on HD for about a week now. I know this is not part of the product review, but Amazon's customer service was excellent in this matter.
All I can say is that the picture is more than I anticipated, having never owned an HDTV before. The clarity is unreal, the colors and images just pop off the screen.
Sports and movies are incredible to watch. I do see how some folks are a bit taken aback by how crisp movies appear (as if in 3d), and they have to get used to the look of cinema based stuff. It doesn't really bother me that much, as I know that's the byproduct of HD. It's crisp. It's clear. But I set the 120Hz option to standard, and I find that works well enough for my eyes. There are certain scenes in some movies that just look surreal, but not in a bad way (at least to me).
The amount of control that this TV gives you to adjust the picture is great -- you can stick with one of their built in "modes" (dynamic, standard, natural or movie) and then customize every aspect of the picture as much as you wish. I spent a couple of days just playing with the settings & calibrating. The dynamic mode is way too bright, and gives results that are just not natural. I've found that the "natural" mode works best for me, with additional adjustments in contrast & brightness to enhance the blacks as much as possible. The "standard" mode allows you to push the blacks even more deep, so I've been going back & forth between both that & "natural". If desired, you can adjust for gamma, white balance, flesh tones, so you can go pretty deep.
I do have to say that at this point, the 120Hz feature doesn't really appear to add that much. I did read in a number of reviews that it is not easy to discern the difference between 60 and 120Hz in most viewing situations. A fast millisecond response rate is where you want to be, and with this TV's 4ms response time, there's no issues. And for me, I don't mind having a little blur on fast moving scenes.
I have watched movies & sports on my dad's samsung 37" HDTV (LN37A450), which is a 60Hz model, and have to say that the picture looks just as incredible as on this 40". So if you're looking to save a couple hundred bucks, don't get too hung up on the 60Hz/120Hz issue. Go with the 60Hz, and you'll be plenty satisfied. But if you can get a deal for a 120Hz Samsung for under $1k, it's worth it. Always nice to have extra options, as long as you're not breaking the bank to do it. I just have not seen a major difference between the two. Having said that, I've not watched any blu-ray movies yet, but have watched a couple of HD movies from DirecTV. But most of the complaints about the 120Hz are with people who think it makes movies look weird -- so again, 60Hz won't kill you there. If you're a gamer, you may want to do some more research on it. I don't own an Xbox, Playstation or Wii, so I can't speak to that.
Many complain about the sound on this TV as well, but I found that with the surround turned on, the TV gives off a pretty decent output. I hooked up the stereo to the tv, so usually have the audio coming through the full stereo. But on it's own, the TV isn't too bad, especially for such a slim profile.
The touch of color is a really nice feature as well -- it does give the TV a very sophisticated look. I was concerned that the red may be distracting, but it's tastefully done and very subtle.
Overall, I don't regret purchasing this TV - I could've saved some $$$ by going with the B550 model and sticking with 60Hz, but for the price that Amazon had at the time($999), I felt that I'd just get the extra options.
For what it's worth, I believe that this TV is also an 'A' panel. I'm not even sure if there are 'S' panels being made anymore. If the last letter of the serial number is how this is determined, then I don't see 'S' panels on any of their models. But whatever type panel it has, it doesn't matter. It looks fantastic, and even more so after being adjusted/calibrated best to display in my living room. There is a review out there (hi Matt!!) that gave the tv one star because of this panel issue...but said little to nothing else on how the tv actually was performing. One of the complaints about 'A' panels was that the 'off angle' viewing was very poor. First of all, I don't know why you'd want to view these TV's from too severe of an "off angle" -- you want to be in front of it as much as possible -- maybe 45 degrees off...but I've also inspected it from severe angles (pushing 160-170 degrees) and the picture holds up just fine.
This model is fantastic. I still can't believe my eyes when watching some stuff...there was a show about the Grand Canyon on National Geographic channel this weekend. All I can say is, wow. Unbelievable. The epic Wimbledon final between Federer and Roddick was also fun to watch.
No regrets here at all. Great TV. Brilliant picture, with plenty of options to tweak to your preference.
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Samsung LN40B630 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color.
