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Wide Color Enhancer/Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp
Connectivity
Super Patterned Vertical Alignment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Key Features
 | Samsung's Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (SPVA) panel provides a 178-degree viewing angle from all four axes |
Audio Features
TruSurround is a patented SRS technology that solves the problem of playing 5.1 multichannel content over two speakers. TruSurround delivers a compelling, virtual surround sound experience through any two-speaker playback system, including internal television speakers and headphones. It is fully compatible with all multichannel formats up to 5.1 channels. High-quality virtual surround sound can be experienced with just the two hidden, downward-firing side-mounted 2.2-channel dome speakers built into the TV.SRS TruSurround XT technology delivers an amazing, simulated 3D effect with clear dialog and powerful bass.
TruSurround XT audio also adds three audio enhancement technologies to produce an amazingly immersive sound experience.
- Dialog Clarity brings movie dialog into Focus during the playback of any surround-encoded material to make speech much clearer and crisper.
- TruBass creates incredible deep rich bass allowing a person to perceive significantly deeper, richer low bass tones that are far beyond the physical low frequency capabilities of the speaker itself.
- The SRS WOW feature widens the sound stage by processing standard two-channel stereo material as well as multi-channel encoded material for a dramatic improvement in the playback of any stereo audio over a two-speaker system.
Which Size HDTV is Right for My Room?
 | With standard-definition TVs, the rule used to be that viewers would feel comfortable watching a set from a distance of 3 to 6 times the screen size in inches. With HDTV, the resolution is so much better that you can sit closer to a larger TV without noticing the pixels. So with HDTVs, the rule tends to be you can sit anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times the screen size (in inches) for the best experience.
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My review of the Samsung LN46A550P April 21, 2008Roger S. Bullock
127 out of 148 found this review helpful
Well, here's my review of the Samsung LN46A550P 46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV.
A little over a year ago I bought a Samsung 214T-21.3" monitor for my big computer.
I've been extremely happy with its performance and quality. So much so, I decided on a Samsung monitor for my movie watching experience.
I bought the LN46A550P to replace a 20 year old 50" Mitsubishi. The 50" TV was excellent in its day but it was old and had some issues. Obviously, it was time for retirement.
After doing a week and a half's worth of research I decided on the Series 5 for four main reasons:
1) 30,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - The higher, the better picture quality.
2) 5ms Response Time - The amount of time any given pixel on the screen takes to change from one color to another. For game playing this is a must.
3) Appearance - it is a handsome looking piece of furniture!
4) Price
The day the monitor arrived I took the lid off the shipping container and felt that the monitor was cool to the touch. After all, it spent about 10 days in a cold truck and 3 more days in a warehouse before it was delivered to my home. Because of that, I opted to unpack the monitor and let it sit in my living room for a day or so before plugging it in.
I live in a mobile home that has a moderately sized living room. If I had purchased a bigger set, I'd be too close to the action. It would be like being too close to the screen in a movie theatre. (not good)
For optimum viewing it is best to place the monitor at the same height as your head if you were sitting in your favorite chair about 6 to 8 feet away. I've seen pictures of this monitor mounted on a wall much higher up and further away from the viewing perspective and wondered if the people watching a movie would get a sore neck. Having such a setup reduces the movie watching experience as well.
The monitor's subsystems are accessed through a Microsoft Windows-like menu making it easy for anybody to access its features.
I do recommend disabling the monitor's speakers within the monitor's menu system.
The monitor's speakers are fine for average viewing but fall short in providing booming sound for movies.
I have my monitor connected to an amplifier. This is done by connecting cables from the left and right audio channel output jacks behind the monitor to the amplifier's audio input jacks.
My Nintendo Wii is connected to my monitor via a Component cable for maximum video clarity. The Wii's audio cables are also plugged into the monitor and the sound the Wii makes is routed through the monitor's electronics to the amplifier. I included this information in my review for all you gamers.
In studying the manuals you will notice right away that the quick setup guide warns that if you experience any difficulties with the monitor NOT TO SEND IT BACK TO THE PLACE OF PURCHASE. Instead, it instructs you to call SAMSUNG. Samsung offers in-home service for monitors larger than 30 inches during the warranty period.
In the near future I plan to purchase a Sony Blue Ray player (BDPS300). It is a second generation BD player that steps DVD movies up to 1080p.
Care and Maintenance:
ALWAYS use a micro fiber clothe to clean an LCD display to avoid scratching its surface. Samsung includes a micro fiber clothe with the monitor but no cleaning solution. You will need some good cleaner, like; "Monster ScreenClean LCD Display Cleaner 2 Bottle Screen Clean Mini Package (MPC CLNKIT-SM)" found here on Amazon.com.
I use that cleaner to keep my computer LCD monitors clean. It leaves no dirt or dust behind after cleaning.
I gave this monitor 5 out of 5 stars with only one recommendation for Samsung; keep the audio output jacks in the back of the monitor but remove the built-in speakers. People who buy such a monitor have amplifiers and movies in mind.
One Special Note:
On the shipping container you will see a liquid-filled sticker in the shape of a pyramid that says, "Tip & Tell". If the tip of the pyramid is blue it means the monitor was tipped over during shipping. In that case, make sure the delivery company makes note of it on the delivery invoice!!! My monitor was tipped but I saw no damage to the container at all. My monitor has no visible damage either and works perfectly. Makes me wonder what happen? Either way, I'm cover under warranty!
Register the monitor with Samsung as well and keep the receipts in a safe place.
Roger. (40 y/o)
5 star performance, plus a few personal thoughts and tips April 21, 2008B Rice (Houston, TX, USA)
63 out of 68 found this review helpful
Why I bought this set:
My old tube TV suddenly burnt out, I guess it sensed that the change was in the air... I originally wanted to go with a 42" 720p set, but my partner insisted on getting a 1080p TV so "We'd be ready for the (near) future." After reading many reviews, I learned that you won't appreciate the 1080p hi-def on a set that's less than 42". So I started to look for a 46" 1080p TV, and my budget was [$...]. I first looked at 4661/4665 models, but soon realized that they were being replaced by the 46A550. Even though this is a 5 series TV that replaced two 6 series TVs (well, sort of, consider the 4/5/6/7 classification is new for 2008), the 46A550 trumps its predecessors in specs, mainly the contrast ratio. You might have read that the contrast ratio varies from one manufacturer to another since there's no standard for measuring, so it didn't matter too much for me. I also read that 4661/4665 had some firmware issues, and at the time of purchase, they were actually more expensive than 46A550 on Amazon. So 46A550 became the clear winner.
Performance:
So far so good. It's important to note that I currently do not have any HD input-just the standard cable signal and Wii via composite cables. Of course the picture quality is OK at best, but I am hardly complaining as I have faith in the set. Because this set is new (mine was assembled on March 31st and arrived to my house 10 days later), there aren't many extensive reviews online yet. Usually, the Sony sets lead the pack in comparison reviews, but they usually cost [$...] more than the runner-up. To my eyes, the Sony tends to display more details and Samsung does a better job delivering vibrant color and contrast. One might look slight better than the other, depends on your preferences, when they are next to each other. But either one would look fantastic just by itself.
Interface:
The menu is pretty easy to navigate through, and options are where you'd expect. However, because there's no dedicated PIP button, it was a little difficult to activate that. You'd have to either go through Menu or press the Tool button on the remote, then go down the menu and activate that feature. Also, I am not the biggest fan of the remote. It has back-lit feature, but in order to have all the buttons lit-up, Samsung gives us big soft rubbery buttons. Some of these buttons can get stuck if you press hard, and I am yet to use the back-lit feature cuz I usually have a light on in the room. The IR sensor can also be improved. It is located at the bottom right corner of the frame. My room isn't huge, so sometimes I am a little "too close" to the TV, and the remote wouldn't work because it is not aiming straight at the sensor. If the sensor was in the middle of frame, it'd probably work better. The aforementioned "imperfections" are definitely not deal-breakers.
Experience with Amazon and EGL shipping:
Like last time, it was a good experience this time. Amazon had very competitive price in the first place, and the 30-day price protection feature was a plus.
EGL shipping came on time. They delivered the TV to the room, put it on my stand and plugged in to make it worked fine. Noting to complain whatsoever.
Tips on extended warranty:
This TV comes with a 1yr service/labor warranty. If anything goes wrong, you do not need to ship it back. Instead, call Samsung and they will send a technician out to repair it on site.
I thought it'd be a good idea to get some extended warranty (say, 3 year?) on this [$...] toy. At the time of purchase, Amazon offered two 3-yr ext. warr. options on this particular model-Option 1 is from a 3rd party vendor (with the envelop and seal logo) and Option 2 one from Samsung (with a Samsung logo). Option 1 was slight cheaper, but didn't receive very good ratings on Amazon, while Option 2 had no ratings at all. Option 2 didn't even have thorough explanation on what's covered and what's not.
After lengthy research, i found out that the "Samsung ext. service" was really offered through Service Net ([...]), and they told me the fine prints of the warranty can be found at ([...]). The 3-yr Samsung plan through Amazon overlaps the first year manufacturer's warranty, so really you are only getting 2 extra years out of the deal. Service Net sells their versions of the "Samsung 3yr ext. warranty", which really gives you 3 additional years after the first year, but is way WAY more expensive. Don't know why...
None of the above sounded like a sure-sell to me, so here's what I did. I found out that my Visa card has a feature called Warranty Protection. Basically it extends the original manufacturer's warranty for another year. 'n at the end of the 2nd year if you wish to extend the warranty even further, Visa offers an additional 3-yr plan that's about [$...]. You can call your bank and/or Visa regarding this feature.
Hope my review helps...
Fantastic Picture April 10, 2008Deborah M. Papallo (CT)
27 out of 29 found this review helpful
I first bought the Samsung LNT4665F and was fairly pleased with it. I decided to return it when I saw the newer model LN4A550P has better specs and it was cheaper. In fact, the price has dropped almost $100 since I ordered it 8 days ago. (You can call customer service for refunds for 30 days but check the details on refunds).
[...]
Most of the specifications are not listed on the Amazon site. If interested, check the Samsung site.
Ignoring technical stuff, this TV is fantastic. The picture is outstanding especially for the HD shows. The non-glossy screen is also a big improvement. Even the sound quality is better. I watch sports and the picture quality is so much clearer with no shadows. By far, this is the better TV, for less money.
If I could give more than 5 stars, I would.
The delivery company was great - both TVs were delivered a few days after ordering.
Great picture April 8, 2008Jojy George Varghese (Texas, US)
31 out of 37 found this review helpful
I first bought a Samsung 4665 46 inch. At home i was not happy with the picture quality of that TV. It had shadows and was grainy.I got LN46A500P after returning the 4665 because I found the picture quality to be not only better than the 4665 but beats most of the other TVs out there(even the higher end ones). One of the salesman told me that Samsung eliminated the shadows and other defects in 4665 in this model. I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a great picture experience and doesnt want to spend a fortune to get that.
One of the best purchases I've ever made August 5, 2008Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I kept putting off making the leap to high def, in part because I was waiting for the high def DVD format wars to be resolved and in part because I knew I was going to move come August 1, and I decided that I would get a new TV at that time. I simply can't say enough good things about this TV. I've now watched it under a wide variety of conditions and it has been exceptional under all of them. During part of the day my living room gets a very large amount of sunshine and using the "Dynamic" setting I can change the settings to optimize viewing in those conditions. Using the remote it is easy to switch from the DVD player to cable and back.
Because there are so many reviews here, I thought I would limit the remainder of my comments to a couple of very practical matters. First, while the TV is visually stunning, you have to keep in mind that it doesn't look nearly as good if you get within six feet of the screen. Up very close you see some ghost images and some pixilation. Eight feet away the picture is breathtaking. So, don't get this size TV if you need to be closer than six feet. Second, I wanted to share my experience in choosing what size to get. My living room measures 12' x 17' and I usually sit about eight feet from the TV. I debated with myself whether to get the the Samsung 46" or the 52". Given my room size and where I wanted to sit, the 46" has turned out to be just about perfect. The 52" might have worked, but I suspect it would have been a tad too large. If you have a larger area than I do or plan on sitting further away than I do, you might want to get a 52". If you have a room similar to mine or a bit smaller, you would probably be happy with the 46". If you have a much smaller space, you should perhaps think of a 40".
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