Samsung LN40A550 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

Product Description
The SAMSUNG LN40A550 delivers the sharpest, most realistic picture quality you've ever seen. Full HD (1080p) contains 1.5 times more scanning lines than conventional HD TVs. That means more pixels, more details and a better picture. A resolution that is approximately twice as much as conventional HD TVs creates the most perfect picture imaginable. Contrast and brightness levels achieve new heights in this LCD TV. Watch movies and shows come to life with enhanced details in very dark or bright scenes. Enjoy a more realistic, sharper picture quality that's sure to catch your eye with 30,000:1 contrast ratio. One of the most important features for an LCD panel is the pixel response time. Response time refers to the amount of time it takes a pixel to "refresh" itself-to go from being active to being inactive, (ready to be re-activated). The lower the milliseconds, the faster the response time. A very fast 5ms response time virtually eliminates any blurring and gives you smooth-motion action scenes. Want to get more entertainment out of your TV than movies and shows? With our Wiselink USB connection, you can easily and quickly hook up your MP3 player or digital camera and entertain family and friends with a photo slideshow set to music. SAMSUNG LCD TVs make your high-definition dreams a reality. With the SAMSUNG LN40A550 HDTV you really get the total package. 30,000 - 1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio 5ms Response Time 16 - 9 Aspect Ratio SRS TruSurround XT 10 W + 10 W Audio System Input Ports - 3 x HDMI (1 side, 2 rear), 2 x Component, 2 x A/V (1 side, 1 rear), 1x 15-pin VGA PC, 1 x S-Video (side), Wiselink (USB 2.0), RF antenna inputs, Headphone jack (side) Approximate Unit Dimensions - 39.2 (W) x 27 (H) x 11.8 (D) with stand Approximate Unit Weight - 61.5 pounds

Samsung's 550 Series is a perfect  way to step up to Full HD 1080presolution. A fast 5 ms response rate produces smooth-motion scenes for sports and action movies, and a dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000:1 makes for deep blacks and crisp lines (15,000:1 in 32-inch and 37-inch models).  Superb connectivity and networking  with a USB port and 3 HDMI 1.3 ports with Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) means these HDTVs play well with all of your other electronics. With our Wiselink® USB connection, you can easily and quickly hook up your MP3 player or digital camera and entertain family and friends with a photo slideshow set to music.

Key Features

• New -- 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio: up from 15,000:1 on 2007 models (15,000 on 32-inch and 37-inch models) (Learn more)
  
• New -- Fast 5ms response time: down from 8ms on 2007 models thanks to a new high-speed liquid crystal
• Full 1080p HD (Learn more)
• 178-degree viewing angle from all four axes with Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (Learn more)
  
• 3 HDMI 1.3 ports: Simplay compliant (Learn more)
• USB 2.0 port: connect devices directly to your your MP3 player or digital camera and entertain family and friends with a photo slideshow set to music.
• DNIe Digital Natural Image Engine improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, and white balance (Learn more)
  
• Hidden speakers with SRS TruSurround XT audio (Learn more)
• Wide Color Enhancer technology and Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) offer a wider color range (Learn more)
• Picture-in-Picture (PIP) enables convenient simultaneous viewing of TV programs and video or PC sources
• V-Chip system allows blocking of rated TV and movie programs determined by the parent to contain objectionable content.
• Trilingual on-screen displays in English, Spanish or French.
  
• Variable sleep timer to turn the TV off in varying time intervals.
• Auto wall mount compatible: 3-dimensional operation via TV’s remote control; no external IR receiver required.
• Swivel stand included
• 1 year parts and 1 year labor warranty (90 days parts and labor for commercial use), with in-home service, backed by Samsung toll-free support

Step Up Features

• Series 6: 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, AutoMotion Plus 120Hz image interpolation for smoother motion, 4ms response time, Transparent and Opaque Color (TOC) bezel, Clear Panel, Ethernet port with Infolink free RSS feeds, 4 HDMI 1.3 ports, Sports and Game modes, Compatible with Samsung's Home Digital Media Adapter for playback and navigation of Internet and stored PC multimedia
• Series 7: Internal flash memory (1GB) with pre-loaded interactive content such as cooking recipes, children's entertainment, HD artwork and more, Integrated woofer for an enhanced audio experience, DLNA-Compatible: for better interoperability with electronics, computers and mobile devices from many different manufacturers
• Series 8: super-slim 1.9-inch thick profile
  

Learn More

Full HD 1080P

Full HD, or 1080p, contains 1.5 times more scanning lines than conventional HD TVs. More scanning lines mean more pixels, more details and a better picture. The new Samsung LCD TV with resolution that is approximately 2 times greater than conventional HDTVs, creating the most perfect picture imaginable. Samsung’s 1080p panel uses a new high-speed liquid crystal to cut response time to 4ms. The fast response time, coupled with Samsung’s Auto Motion Plus 120Hz motion blur reduction technology dramatically reduces motion blur and judder.

30,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio/500 nit Brightness

30,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio will give you a picture better than you ever thought possible, with whiter whites, blacker blacks and a nearly infinite subtlety of gradations in between. As two of the most important determining factors in overall picture quality, contrast and brightness levels achieve new heights in this latest generation LCD panel. Samsung’s new LCD TV’s give the most stunning realistic picture quality ever.

Digital Natural Image Engine

DNIe The Samsung Digital Natural Image engine. This exclusive Samsung technology dramatically improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, white balance and reduces.

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Wide Color Enhancer/Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp

The NTSC (National Television Systems Committee) has established the color standards all TVs in America try to meet. And typical LCD TVs only meet about 72% of this standard. Samsung LCD HDTVs use Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp back lights to give you 92% coverage of the NTSC standard, ensuring truer, more breathlessly vivid colors. Samsung’s exclusive Wide Color Enhancer technology delivers more brilliant colors, even in bright areas of the picture where blues and greens are washed out on conventional screens. The system displays wider color reproduction, showing you truer colors – the fresh green of spring foliage, the intense blue of the summer sky.

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Connectivity

To make the Series 6 a true entertainment hub for any home, Samsung has incorporated advanced HD connectivity and networking capabilities that expand the HDTV’s functionality. A wide variety of multimedia devices can be connected to the set through any one of the four Simplay compliant HDMI 1.3 inputs (including one on the side), and the handy HDMI-CEC feature lets you control all your CEC-enabled peripherals using just one remote. Connect HD digital devices like disc players, game consoles, and satellite dish components into the 2 rear connections and use the side-mounted input for cameras, camcorders, and laptops. HDMI is the best performing interface for displaying an HD source on an HDTV. Once connected, users can easily access device menus and manage and display content through the newly redesigned Wheel Key Remote control and the HDTV’s sophisticated content management interface. All Connections 3 HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) version 1.3: (2 rear/1 side) Component video: 2 rear (Y, Pb, Pr) Composite inputs: 1 rear (shared with component) / 1 side S-Video: 1 side PC input: 1 rear Wiselink (USB 2.0) RF antenna inputs Headphone jack: side

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Super Patterned Vertical Alignment

Samsung’s Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (SPVA) panel provides a 178-degree viewing angle from all four axes

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Audio Features

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. If you know the size of the room you have already, where you want to sit, and where your new HDTV should go once you get it, you can figure out the size HDTV you should get. Minimum size = Viewing distance/3 Maximum size=Viewing distance/1.5

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Customer Reviews:
Better hope it works!
I had this TV for less than 6 months when it died. The problems seemed to start when I got Verizon FIOS and the techs connected the FIOS set-top box to the Samsung with an HDMI cable. Turns out that Samsung has moved ahead with the their HDMI input standard, while Motorola (who makes most set-top boxes) has not. Both Samsung and Verizon recommend only using component cables to connect such boxes (which is a whole other problem). Anyway, the set stopped functioning and the repair techs said they need to replace the microprocessors. They tell me that Samsung is notorious for poor warranty support and resist placing broken sets. Parts can take weeks to months to receive. The repair folks do government contracts in this area and told me that even the Pentagon waits months for their Samsung repairs. They advised buying Sharp the next time. Samsung "field reps" called to troubleshoot, but when I called the company to talk to them (1-800-Samsung) no one there knew anything about "field reps." Try it yourself. You'll be amazed.

Good for us
Not a great review but for somebody who can't understand all the terms of latest TV technology but just have to upgrade to a flat screen.Checked out a similar configuration TV from Sony but it was way too expensive.I am reviewing this after 6 months of purchase.I have been busy admiring the flat screen. Coming to TV, it is excellent for us.It has 3 HDMI outputs and Oh yes, you can connect your 1st gen Xbox to this.No extra cables needed.Just connect the Xbox and TV with existing cables.But for connecting anything else, you need to order HDMI cables.Order them from amazon as they are very expensive in the stores. No problems reported so far. Sound can be a bit better. The remote is bit big for my hands but I guess I can live with it.The picture quality is good.It doesn't have the 120hz feature but unless you watch sports everyday hour of the day, I don't think that matters.Even with ports, there is a sports mode which can used but in normal mode, you can notice the pixels since it lacks the 120 hz feature.The menu can be a bit tiresome.I can't remember which function is in which part of the menu.I have to keep checking each and every option till I find the required setting.
ON the whole, its good TV for the price for anyone who doesn't spend a lot of time infront of it.
The shipping from CEVA was good.White glove service.

Great TV, but it makes noise.
We've had the TV for several months now and it is wonderful. Very clear pictures, especially in HD. The only minor complaint is that there is a relatively long delay between pushing the power "on" button and the TV actually turning on (1-2 seconds), and when it does, it has a loud chime. This wouldn't be annoying except that we have an infant in the house who is often sleeping in the same room as the TV, and the chime is loud enough to disturb her from sleep. It also chimes when you turn it off, though if you mute the TV, the chime is muted as well. Wish that was an option when you turned it on. Otherwise, fantastic TV, great price, clear picture.

Wow!
I would recommend this to anyone. It has a great quality picture. Well worth the money spent.

6ave may ship you the "B" model.
I ordered the LN40A550 from this page, and I actually received the LN40B550 from 6ave. This is indeed a "newer model", but the B-type does not have picture-in-picture, and it has the subtle red "touch of color" while the A-type does not. I can't believe they did this! Here's their response:

"Thanks for your e-mail. We sincerely apologize but we sent you the upgraded model for the one you ordered. If you do not want the new model, please call us at 877-... for the RA number and the instructions for the return. Thanks."

It's not enough of a bother for me to return the thing, but still: caveat emptor!

Anyway, the TV is great, although it's not what I ordered!

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Samsung LN40A550 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV & More...