Samsung LN55C650 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black) Review

Many, many reports have been written about the problem of the LED lighting in the Samsung LED models because they went with a side lighting configuration. The Best Buy salesman pointed out the black problem, and the clouding of light in the corners. He commented that the LG did not have that problem and that the blacks were truly black in the LG. I could clearly see it, and the funny thing is when I compared the LG black level, the Samsung LCD was just as black. No black problem there either. The Samsung that I saw was the [ASIN:B0036WT3SY Samsung LN55C630 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black)]] which is the same model as the 650, well almost. Also many complain of when using the LED as a computer monitor, which is side light LED is that the light bursts along the edges as a backlight bleed when using it as a computer monitor, and also during certain types of viewing. I haven’t experienced that myself of course, but many, many independent sources say the same thing.

It would be preposterous of me to assume that Samsung is the only show in town, because it is not. In addition I am bottom fishing, and comparing that level of units. There are LED’s going for 4 or 5 times the amount of money, and I am not doing a side by side with them. So for those who can afford it, maybe they are in a different arena. So onto my enthusiasm.

High def fever strikes home. I bought a couple of Acer H243H bmid 24-Inch Widescreen LCD Display (Black)ACER LCD monitors at 1920 x 1080p and was amazed at the picture. When my friend who bought the LED’s, and then I took him into Best Buy to do an A-B comparison, he returned the LED’s and bought 3 LCD’s, all Samsungs again for the same amount of money. So instead of one 40 inch, and one 32 inch, he wound up with two 46’s, and one 32 for the same money. After I ordered the 55 I couldn’t wait, so I went ahead and bought a 46 the LN46C670 which is equal to the Samsung LN46C650 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black) I put the 46 in the bedroom, and the 55 in the living room. I realized that after viewing high def, I wasn’t going to be satisfied with the bedroom set.

I am running my home network with a Multimedia Center PC Windows Ultimate Vista 64, and feeding the TV’s with the Cisco-Linksys Media Center Extender with DVD and they have “up scaling” which gives you a 1080p equivalent. Most all TV stations are broadcasting in 1080i due to bandwidth considerations of having to pump through the enormous amount of data for 1080p, so with the up scaling, to make up for that, you can really see the difference. Unless you have a Blu-ray player, or HD DVD you are probably not getting 1080P. I have an antenna on the roof, and receive all of my programming totally free. Except for when it rains, and you get picture freeze, it is a great setup. My philosophy is to buy the hardware and save the monthly nut. In three years my TV’s will pay for themselves in what I would have spent on cable.

Go for this 55 inch model, it has the extra wattage in the audio, pumping out a whopping (satire) 15 watts a side instead of 10, and yes you can hear the difference between the 46 and 55 because of that. Set it to SRS Surround and tweak the equalizer in both models. Also the internet built into the set is definitely something you want to have. You can see the app’s listed in this product description that are automatically provided. Also with Google TV coming in the fall, they state that TV’s that are already internet ready will be able to take advantage to the integration. They also have partnered with Logitech to create a separate box with keyboard and mouse to integrate the web. I was hoping to get Amazon Video on Demand because they have the latest releases as cheap as 99 cents, and no monthly subscriber fee; so you can enjoy a movie when you want, and not pay for one when you don’t. Google the Google TV feature, it is “Smart TV” and as they claim will change the way we use the big screen forever. Why not integrate our TV’s totally into the mainstream. It’s pretty exciting. I don’t know if the internet TV feature will avoid you having to get the Logitech module or not, but there is a chance that it will. I love the already included in the TV’s Pandora free radio, no commercials, and all my favorite music, old and new pumped into the TV, or you can go online and do it there also. This TV with the ethernet port already has a ton of content built right in. The first time you hit the internet content button it will download the latest apps. There are more apps to come whereas this new medium is an ongoing development. So for the small amount of additional money, move up to the interent TV feature.

TV sizes are deceiving. It is my suggestion to go a little larger than you normally would. There are two main reasons for this; one is that you don’t want to think in terms of old tube sizing dimensions. A 55 inch LCD is only.. what? 33 inches tall, but super wide. So if we had an old square TV, a 35 would seem large, whereas a 32 in an LCD would be much smaller in comparison. Also you need to realize that this is going to be a long term investment, and the experience you want to go for is the feeling like the person on TV is right there in the room with you, or in the action scene you are right there in the middle of it. A lot of people think old TV dimensions so they tend to buy something that in reality has a bigger number attached to it, like a 40, but after getting it home and viewing it for awhile, they wind up wishing they had at least one size larger. Also, another change in thinking is that with old TV’s the resolution was so bad you needed to get real far away from it to make it appear smooth, so with my small room, I am only going to get a 32 for example. With the super high resolution you can get a lot closer. See the chart for see what the range of sizes are for your viewing distance.

To me after owning these, it has created a feeling in me, every time I watch it, and even every time I walk through the room that this is something special. It makes me smile, and I get a lift. I get the feeling in both rooms that I now have a media room. Ok it is not one of those crazy special rooms with the theatre seating, and a whole wall projector screen, but I get some of that same feeling. To me it is a game changer. It is a chin lifter. I know that sounds ridiculous, but that is the feeling that I get. It’s like WOW this is profoundly affecting my fun time, and is giving me something to look forward to. Maybe over time I will grow more accustomed to it, but for now it feels like a real game changer. Check out the photo I uploaded. I know this is a high quality plastic surround but the finish on it looks like a polished grand piano. I tried to capture it on film as best I could. Get the fever, and no matter what set you get and by whatever manufacturer, join the over 60 million people who own high def TV’s in this country.

Samsung LN55C650 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black) Feature

• 15Wx2 audio output
• Wide Color Enhancer
• 10 Watts x 2 audio power stereo broadcast reception
• 2 ConnectShare Movie
• 4 HDMI (ver 1.3), HDMI-CEC

Samsung LN55C650 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black) Overview

Make the move to the smoothest LCD action ever. Samsung’s LN55C650 LCD HDTV offers incredible color and rich clarity, all on a 55-inch screen. Add the power of Samsung’s Wide Color Enhancer, for a picture that optimizes a given color’s hue, resulting in more natural rendering of colors and lifelike action. Samsung HDTVs are also ENERGY STAR compliant, helping the environment by using less energy while saving you money.

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Customer Reviews

Great set, bad PIP – Kevin T. Atkinson – greenville, sc USA
Samsung is still behind Sony in use and funtionality. The TV works very well but Samsung engineers made some mistakes. The inablity to not connect a keyboard is a huge issue with the overall ease of use with the internet/web based applications. Another quarky issue i noticed right off the bat is with the “PIP” picture in picture option. I bought this tv on the premise the pip would be fully functional. I’ve used many sets over the years, basially all sony’s and they got the pip right on the mark. Samsung however has opted to only allow the sub picture to use the cable/air input which doesn’t permit you to source any of the hdmi/component devices to it. This blunder is a waste of the pip option. The Coax input will basically be outdated in 2 years which will make the pip feature obsolete on this set. If you want to get a set with pip you’re going to have to look else where as all samsung TVs are made this way.

Samsung 55 inch TV – B. Disbrow –
The TV is crisp clear and the sound is the best I have ever heard from a flat screen TV. I really like the swivel base. It makes it easy to adjust the angle, which I do because I watch it from the kitchen and the living room.

Great buy, great TV – Brian – WA
I’ve had this TV for about 8 weeks at the time of this writing. I felt I should get some usage out of it before sharing my opinions. I finally decided to replace my early model oversized rear projection HDTV that I’ve had for ten years. I knew I wanted a Samsung LCD based on reputation. The lower-end LEDs still have some issues, so I decided to stick with the tried-and-true traditional LCD. This new model wasn’t available in any store yet, so I bought it from Amazon having never seen it and finding no reviews. I also bought the USB wireless internet device to go with it so I could use the integrated Netflix.
The default picture had the much-touted “soap opera effect” and was terribly distracting. Everything was like watching a homemade video. After some fiddling with the settings that I found online for last year’s model, the picture is fantastic. There is some minimal glare from the windows behind me, but not to the point of being distracting. My old TV had much worse glare issues. I’m also pleased with the viewing angle. Yes, I suppose the picture is not quite as sharp as straight-on viewing, but it’s still very good, and nobody in my family has ever mentioned it or attempted to change seating based on the angle.
This model has about a dozen built-in internet applications, including Youtube (cumbersome) and some games (lame), but the real gem here is Netflix. I used to use a Roku box, but this is seamless, and if you’re lucky enough to select an HD title and have adequate bandwidth, the picture is great.
For the time that I’ve had this TV, there is nothing I don’t like about it. It even looks good when it’s off.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 08, 2010 10:45:57