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| Brand: Samsung
Category: CE
Buy New: Too low to display
New (14)
Avg. Customer Rating:  479 reviews
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Display Size: 46
Shipping Weight (lbs): 49.2
Dimensions (in): 44.5 x 3.7 x 28.1
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: LN46A650
Model: LN46A650
UPC: 036725228214
EAN: 0036725228214
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Great value, even better TV April 29, 2008
49 out of 51 found this review helpful
I purchased this model shortly after it was first available from Amazon upgrading my older Phillips 55" rear projection 1080i capable TV. I have now owned it for a month. I've used it with basic (non-HD) cable, basic Tivo viewing (again, non-HD), upscaled DVD viewing, HD-DVD viewing, and blu-ray viewing. I've paired it with a Yamaha 3000 soundbar. My entertainment watching has never been better.
Like many people I did a lot of research before dropping this kind of money on a new TV and, also like many people, it eventually came down to the Samsung TV or one of the Sony XBRs. IMO these are the only competitive mid-range/high end flatscreens to consider for purchase. Because of the Burn in issue (which is not as bad as it was in earlier generation Plasmas) I never considered a plasma TV, though they are a little more inexpensive and often have at least as good a picture as the LCD TVs.
As you've probably read outside of the several hundred dollar premimum for the Sony brand, the primary difference is that the Samsungs have a shiny screen so in high light rooms there can be some reflection vs the matte XBR screens. I generally can control the light levels while I'm viewing the TV so the vibrancy of the Samsung in mid/low light conditions made the choice easier.
I was originally going to go with a 4671f until I saw the "new" 46A650 model and decided to get the new version instead. There have been some visual quality improvements with the second generation of the motion tracking technology which goes a long way to eliminating the blurring and object duplication (the "Triple Ball Effect" or TBE). It isn't entirely gone but for a "normal" person who isn't examining the visuals in minute detail; it is effectively a non-issue now. I've seen a couple sutters where the image seems to "jump" but in my opinion this is more related to the media/movie than a problem with the TV.
If you ask someone who says that the TV has a stuttering problem they will usually only be able to point to one scene in a movie or two where the stuttering occurs ("Check the intro sequenece in Blue Planet from 00:01:23 to 00:01:24! This TV stutters like mad!").
I contend that normal people can handle a 1 second stutter every 100 hours of viewing :)
*VISUALS*
The visuals on blu-ray content are often jaw dropping. This is to be expected with something like "Planet Earth" which is built around its lush visuals, even in non-HD, but even some scenes in movies that I wouldn't consider prime HD material I am often very impressed (there are some garden scenes in "Walk Hard" that are eye-popping!).
Of course the non-HD experience isn't incredible, but I'm happy that it is at least on par with my old TV. Eventually I may decided to upgrade to HD cable and Tivo but my main focus is improving my movie watching, not necessarly making CSI or American Idol look better.
Finally, I have three spots in my TV room where people watch TV from. With some LCDs if you get too far off center from the set then the screen dims and the vitality of the colors bleeds down. That is not a problem at all with this LCD.
*PHYSICAL*
On the hardware end there are plenty of inputs for HDMI and any other connection type you can think of. I have a full set of components and everything plugs right in and works well.
I was a little wary of the "Touch of Color", but in a darker room it is not very obtrusive since it fades quickly to deep red which looks black in lower light. I think the red highlight actually looks really cool! It is much more pleasing to my eye then just a plain black or silver.
I am so pleased with this TV I can barely describe it! Physically it looks stunning, visually it is one of the best out there.
*CONS*
Not everything is rosy though.
There was a problem with some of the original models where the TV would randomly shutoff (mine included, though I did not encounter it often). This is easily fixed with a firmware update available off Samsungs site and is, presumably, pre-loaded on all the new sets being manufactured.
The remote is not great. It has the buttons you want to do everything but the jog/shuttle wheel implementation they used is too sloppy and leads to a lot of inaccuracy. I over came this by purchasing a Logitech Harmony One remote but for using the PS3 I still have to resort to the included remote (the PS3 remote is bluetooth and doesn't work with the Harmony remote).
One of the biggest problems that I have is that the TV is meant to be best viewed in lower light settings, however the labels for the controls on the TV itself can't be seen except if bright light.
Even worse they are very sensitive touch controls so when I want to turn the TV off manually I often end up changing the channel instead because I miss the "off" touch region by a little. Then I either have to turn on a bunch of lights to change the channel again and then turn it off or I have to dig out the remote to change the channel and turn the set off. This is so annoying that I've resorted to keeping a small keychain flashlight beside the TV just so I can see these stupidly subdued labels.
Finally, the software/interface for adjusting the settings on the TV is slow and unresponsive. This is excrabited by the crappy remote. It seems that moving through the menus and selecting settings is very laggy, and I found that I often ended up selecting items I didn't want because of the three second lag between pressing the button and actual acceptance of the setting selection. This is also pretty minor but frustrating non-the-less during the first few days when you're tweaking settings.
The problems I have with the set are so small I think I can fully justify the 5 star rating but the labeling on the controls is VERY frustrating and the remote feels all but useless if you have to rely on the Jog wheel.
EDIT: One last thing:
*SHIPPING*
I was VERY VERY VERY disappointed in the shipping company (Eagle/CAVA) used to ship my TV. When the driver got to my home he proceeded to DRAG my brand new $2600 TV (after tax) by the banding straps. Bouncing it off the back of the truck onto the street, then DRAGGING it onto the curb, BOUNCING it again, then dragging up my driveway, BOUNCING it UP the three stairs to my door and finally dragging into the living room.
I had thought that I was getting white glove delivery but the driver turned to leave as soon as he bounced the TV into my viewing room. I asked him to help me at least lift it out of the box. So he tears indacriminately into the box with his knife and starts trying to lift the TV out by pressing on the corner of the screen itself, not the bezal!
I was shocked. I will NEVER do business with a company that employs this shipping company again. The callous attitude of the driver and the lack of respect for my package was horrid.
Couldn't be happier... May 25, 2008
43 out of 47 found this review helpful
Although a novice with the new generation of HDTVs, I purchased this on advice of my installer, who could have sold me anything, and I couldn't be happier.
In layman's terms (the only I can speak) I love the deep colors, the versatility (you can very easily switch viewing modes depending on the room's brightness) and the high refresh rates that make it great for sports (no trailing images of hockey pucks, etc).
Anyway, buy it, be happy, and forget all the high tech junk you've been cramming in your head for the past 6 months while you've been dreaming of the new TV.
 Amazon and Samsung service is terrible. July 13, 2008
29 out of 58 found this review helpful
On June 12, I ordered the Samsung LN46A650 from Amazon. Amazon farmed the order out to Adorama and I received the TV on June 20 with no shipping crate damage; HOWEVER, the product was an out-of-crate failure. About 1/3 of the screen was black in a irregular pattern. On June 21, Samsung wsa called, and on Monday, June 23 Adorama and Amazon were called and a replacement was requested. Nothing happened until July 2, when a Samsung contracted repair shop picked up the TV. As of July 13, I still have no TV and no one has offered to replace the defective set.
Interestingly, the Samsung work order gave a purchase date of 5/31, which leads me to believe that I was knowingly shipped a defective set that a previous customer had purchased on 5/31 and returned to Adorama. I can not recommend this TV because of the extremely poor service from Samsung, Amazon, and Adorama.
 Mixed Blessings--Kudos to Amazon August 2, 2008
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
This may seem like a strange review because while this is being typed I'm in the process of returning the television.
This television was delivered via Amazon's White-Glove Service. It arrived earlier than promised, everything to the point of turning on the television went flawlessly. (+ points to Amazon).
Immediately upon turning it on I was struck by two things. First, the picture was absolutely stunning. Second...there appeared to be a problem because the display showed patterns of small fluorescent green dots that clustered around changes of color. It looked much like "poor reception snow" except it was green...and it only appeared in certain colors (lots in green backgrounds, often in flesh-tones, especially where the tones changed due to highlights, and sometimes in grays or dark colors). This occurred no matter what the signal source was (cable, DVD, satellite) and no matter what method was used to transmit the signal (HDMI, Off-Air, Composite).
I went to the manufacturer's website and went through their troubleshooting procedures...and nothing clearly matched my problem. I looked on the internet and found evidence that this had happened to someone else and the result was Samsung sending out a repair person to fix it. I called Samsung, explained the problem, and (voila!) I'm told the problem will require repair and they'll contact me within 48 hours to tell me when this person will come. It was at this point things started to go downhill...when the Samsung rep suggested I could buy an "extended warranty". I try to be reasonable about these things, though...so I figured I'd wait until they called me back to push matters. After no callback at the 48 hour point, I called THEM back. Some irritating young lady then explained to me that because I lived in a "no service area" they "technically" had 5 to 8 business days to find someone to repair the television.
At this point, I'm being told by Samsung that 1) It's just my tough luck that I bought what I thought was a brand-new television and now I'll own what could more accurately described as a "refurbished television" 2)It's more tough luck because I live in the boonies and 3)I should give them MORE money since the tough luck mentioned above has not given me reason to believe my television may not LAST beyond the warranty period.
I called Amazon to ask for help. Amazon immediately agreed that I had a problem, my attitude wasn't unreasonable, I had tried to work it out with the manufacturer....and agreed to send me a new television and pick up the old one at the same time.
I was absolutely stunned! Thank you, Amazon.
I guess the reason this is such a strange review is that I'm complaining about the manufacturer while agreeing to replace it with the same television. Part of it is because I believe that it really was just a stroke of bad luck...the main reason is that except for this problem, I truly am very pleased with the television.
I'm now especially pleased with Amazon. They're amazing.
RANDOM SHUT OFF ISSUE FIXED April 4, 2008
24 out of 24 found this review helpful
Just a heads up to anyone owning any size model of the 650 series...
Samsung issued a firmware update, via their website on 4/3/08, that fixes the random shut off problem. You will need a USB flash drive to apply the update via the Wiselink USB port on the TV. This firmware update also enhances the AMP effect on all sets.
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