Time to decorate the new home and what better way than to complete it with a brand new Samsung LCD TV. I picked up a 46 inch LCD 1080p and it is fabulous. The model is the LN46A540 which is on par with the 580 and better than the 550. I believe it was exclusively sold at Costco but you can find it from another vendor on Amazon. I have to admit, I got a great deal on it since it still retails for about $1,800 brand new. The only downside is that it isn’t 120hz, but I can wait for that later on for my next home.
I am amazed at how well the Samsung works right out of the box. The QAM tuner to receive digital channels for HD content via the air is amazing. Unlike my older 37″ Olevia LCD 720p TV, the Samsung gives you a signal strength so you are able to point the antennae and find out what your signal strength is. Unlike other televisions that are more of a hit or miss. This television is pure bliss for myself because I pair it with my Onkyo HT-S7100 High Definition home theater system and a PS3 for Blu-Ray movies. By itself, the picture is clear, but when bundled with the sound and ability to watch a Blu-ray movie, its phenomenal. I love how it auto detects the signal letting me know, that I am running one hundred percent 1080p (1920×1080 @24hz).
The remote control is large with easy to read and use numbers and functions, all intuitive and more responsive than I remember any other televisions offered. The user-interface is friendly and I am able to adjust its setting without too much work. It also has preset setting for Standard, Movie and Dynamic. These presets help you switch the color, brightness, contrast, etc. with a simple input to whatever you are watching. So when you are watching a movie, go ahead and set it to Movie and the set will adjust to be darker so you will not feel blind by the awesome brightness in the dark. When watching sports, set it to Dynamic and you will be amazed at how bright and vivid the colors are. Nothing beats that, just like nothing beats the Lakers stomping down the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day and ending their winning streak at 19.
The only weak part of this television set I would say is the speakers, not the audio. The hardware has its limitations and at times, you really have to adjust the volume really high to hear some television shows. If you hook it up to surround speakers, then you have nothing to worry about. However, for the price of the TV, I expected better sound than the provided pair of 10 watts per channel speakers. Another downside is this unit has smooth finish for the screen which appeals for its great looks, but you will need to close your blinds and make sure the room is dark or no light is hitting it straight on because you will see a glare. I personally can deal with the glare because I do not watch TV during the day and I heard of the picture quality suffering after using an anti-glare film on the screen.
I have seen Sharp’s 52 inch LCD 1080p televisions and the contrast does not compare. The Samsung is pure sexiness when it comes to displaying blacks, whites and all the colors in between. Comparably, I found my friend’s Sony Bravia 46″ series to be weaker than the Samsung as well. From top to bottom, I would go Samsung all around over any other television brand for the time being. Sony is only great when its their top of the line model, Sharp’s new super-thin LCD technology appears to be the next holygrail, but for the price I got my Samsung and compared to what was out there, I wouldn’t go otherwise.